My faves:

No Drought Dry Shampoo, $12.95: The older [...]]]> All right, Lushies, get ready to swoon over the latest and greatest vegan LUSH goodies. Yahooooooey! Since ChristmaHanukkahHanzFranz&Kwanzaaka is just a hop, skip, jump and booty slap away, there’s no time like the present to hook yourself up with some supa-fab beautifyin’ gifts to make you look über hawt!

My faves:

 

No Drought Dry Shampoo, $12.95: The older I get, the more I realize I can can get away without washing my hair for longer periods of time (shhhh, that’s privileged information). Sers, between waking up at the butt-crack of dawn for work, sleepy nap times, slavin’ away at the gym, and straight up laze-itude, washing my hair is often not a priority (unless it’s crazy stank-nasty and so greasy you could fry tofu on it).  Enter my beloved dry shampoo. I have been waiting eons and a satchel of dried flower petals for LUSH to come out with a dry shampoo, and they finally have! The key ingredients in No Drought—corn flour and talc—absorb excess oil and leave hair soft and clean-lookin’. The zesty fruity scent of lemon, grapefruit and lime leaves hair smelling to die for, too. LOVE.

Latte Lip Tint, $6.95: I’m a lip tint-y kind of chick. I’m all about subtle, soft (and tasty) lip color, so I can go all crazy wild with my eyes (without lookin’ like a clown). This Latte shade has a soft golden (slightly sparkly) coffee hue, and it smells like powdered coffee, sugar icing and vanilla. YUM—try not to eat it! It’s also packed with jojoba and Japan wax for mega moisture for super soft smoochable smackers! xx

Lustre Dusting Powder, $14.95: Being a former glitter addict, I now reach for pretty-smelling shimmery fairy dust aka body powder when I wanna be a sparkling princess. Lustre provides a subtle, golden bronzed glow with all the jasmine-y sexiness of LUSH’s Lust perfume (one of my fave scents, for realio). Get your shimmer on and smell and look like the sex goddess that you are!

Which LUSH goodies are on your holiday wish list?

List of goods:

What are some of your favorite vegan things?

Ladies and germs, I proudly present, The Cocoa-Agave Face Mask! This moisturizing mask will draw out all the toxins and impurities (read: zits [...]]]> All right, all you crazy chocoholics! Get ready to O.D. on your fave antioxidant-rich, mood-boostin’ ingredient (am I right, or am I right!?)—sans the mega dose of calories and saturated fat! Say what? Yep-yep!

Ladies and germs, I proudly present, The Cocoa-Agave Face Mask! This moisturizing mask will draw out all the toxins and impurities (read: zits ←least favorite word in the universe) and bring yo’ skin to life! Holla!

What you’ll need:

• 1/3 cup of organic, unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 tablespoons of soy yogurt
• 1 tablespoon of agave
• 3 teaspoons of ground up oatmeal
• A few drops of lemon juice (natural preservative)

Directions:

• Combine your dry ingredients, and then add your wet & gooey ingredients.
• Mix everything together until it forms a nice, thick paste.
• Apply a thin layer to your skin, and let sit for 10 minutes
• Rinse, and enjoy your kick-ass, beautiful, glowing skin

You can store the leftovers in the fridge for up to a week.

Bottom line: Cruelty-free products are not always vegan.

“Cruelty-free” refers to products that are not tested on animals, and “vegan” refers to products [...]]]> I wanted to post about this because I think there may be some confusion as to what these terms mean in the world of beauty products and whether or not they are mutually exclusive.

Bottom line: Cruelty-free products are not always vegan.

“Cruelty-free” refers to products that are not tested on animals, and “vegan” refers to products that do not contain any animal-derived ingredients. (Apologies to peeps that are already like, “duh”) ←It may seem obvi, but it’s not always. Hopefully one day, “cruelty-free” will actually mean 100% cruelty-free; that is, no animal anything at all (testing or body parts/secretions).

Common animal-derived ingredients include: honey (bee barf), beeswax, carmine (crushed bugs), collagen, lanolin (jizzy sebaceous gland substance from sheep), etc. For a complete list of icky, non-vegan ingredients, click here.

I also wanna point out that you shouldn’t beat yourself up if you’ve been buying cruelty-free products and discovering they have animal ingredients in them after the fact. Nobody’s perfect, and quite honestly, some ingredients are so ambiguous (with their 14-syllable science labby names), that it’s virtually impossible to know WTF you’re buying.

Luckily, lots of companies are incorporating logos like these:

My advice is to not only look for these types of logos, but always read labels for ingredients (just like when shopping for vegan food)—and if all else fails, contact the company and ask them if their products are vegan and/or cruelty-free. You’ll be glad you did (peace of mind is priceless)!

HerbZone, an all-natural vegan line of bath and body products, has been my BFF these past [...]]]> My fave at-home spa treatments—hands down—are face masks and bath treats. ←In fact, I like to combine these! There’s just something about rockin’ a deep-cleansing clay mask while taking a relaxing, bubbly, fizzy, aromatherapeutic bath that totally blisses me out.

HerbZone, an all-natural vegan line of bath and body products, has been my BFF these past couple months for deluxe pamper sessions.

The goods:

Carrot Seed & Neroli Facial Beauty Mask, $26.95: Key ingredients like Carrot Seed Essential Oil, Neroli Essential Oil, Orange Essential Oil, Kaolin clay, Montmorillonite Clay, Green Tea Extract, and Aloe Extract, make this mask great for oily and acne-prone skin. You can actually feel it soak up excess oil, grime and ickies, leaving your skin super smooth and impeccably clean. Btw, this mask is so much easier to rinse off than other masks that I’ve tried—LOVE it!

Ginger & Chamomile Bubbling Bath Melt, $5.95: Not only does this bubbly bath melt smell heavenly (c’mon, ginger and chamomile—fugetaboutit!), but it’s super moisturizing and antioxidant-rich with all-stars like Shea Butter, Kaolin Clay, Essential Oils Of Ginger, Blue Chamomile, Star Anise & Vetiver, Organic Crushed Chamomile, Amaranth, and Oatmeal.

Orange & Spearmint Epsom Salt Mineral Soak, $14.95: Oh, how a dig a delish-smelling epsom salt soak after a long day or hardcore workout. I have to admit, the combo of orange, mint and cocoa drives me a li’l nuts (in a seriously awesome way)! This revitalizing blend will help you detox and relax like no other. I also love how it’s chunky and has little bits of flowers and cocoa swimmin’ around—feels very spa-esque and luxurious. Btw, you can also use this as a hand or body scrub to remove dull, dry skin. ←Yes, and please! ♥

Wanna get your hands on some HerbZone goodies at a ridiculously good price? Head on over to VeganCuts.com NOW for 55% off ($29 for $69 worth of uh-mazing spa products)! Hurry-hurry!

Now that I’m done with classes for the summer, I can concentrate on getting out and enjoying the heat and the sun. That means sundresses, shorts and halter tops—so I’ve [...]]]> The following is a guest post by Lindsey P., a personal trainer and freelance writer living in the Midwest. She’s writing on behalf of Colorado Technical University.

Now that I’m done with classes for the summer, I can concentrate on getting out and enjoying the heat and the sun. That means sundresses, shorts and halter tops—so I’ve got to make sure my skin is soft and glowing.

I’m a recovering product junkie—the cost of my books each semester cured me—and I’m always looking for skin care products I can make myself. The brown sugar body scrub recipe I got from a friend is awesome: it takes just a few minutes to make, it feels amazing and it works better than any store-bought body scrub I’ve used in the past.

What you need:

• ½ cup of sea salt
• ½ cup of dark brown sugar
• ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
• One or two drops of your favorite essential oils for scent (optional; I use basil oil for a cool, fresh scent)

You can double or triple this recipe and make enough for more than one application; just be sure that you store it in an airtight container.

Use this in the shower, after you’ve lathered up and rinsed. Apply to wet skin in a gentle, circular motion. Rinse off with warm water and pat dry. You shouldn’t need moisturizer after this, since the olive oil works as a perfect moisturizer for skin.

Use it once a week for fabulous summer skin!

Shimmy Shimmy Sparkle Bar, $6.95: First of all, I’m in ♥ with LUSH’s massage/lotion bars. They are super creamy, beautiful-smelling, low maintenance (aka not messy [...]]]> LUSH is my BFF. Whenever I need a quick beauty pick-me-up, I head straight to my LUSH stash for some much-needed pamperin’ & TLC. These LUSHtastic goodies are my current faves:

Shimmy Shimmy Sparkle Bar, $6.95: First of all, I’m in ♥ with LUSH’s massage/lotion bars. They are super creamy, beautiful-smelling, low maintenance (aka not messy and super totable), and this particular one is packed with glitter (and loads of it)! When I’m in the mood to be a sparking princess (which is pretty much every day), I rub this vanilla/lavendery scented bar of shimmery magic all ovah and embrace all that is glisteny and girlie in this beautiful world.

Vanillary Perfume, $39.95: I’m a sucker for anything vanilla/sweet/caramel-y/candy-like… if it smells like something I wanna eat for dessert, it mos def deserves to be worn as a perfume. This vanilla scent is soft and sweet and surprisingly long-lasting. I always get compliments whenever I wear this out, and my hubby loves this scent on me, too.

Dirty Toothy Tabs, $3.95 (40 tabs per box): I just got back from a 1 week trip to Europe, and instead of dealing with bulky toothpaste tubes and airport security hullabaloo for toiletries, I opted for a space-saving, convenient, and eco-friendly alternative. These toothpaste tabs are kind of a trip. Basically, you mash one or two of them up with your front teeth and then start brushing… it gets all sudsy like conventional toothpaste, too! These tabs leave your teeth feeling mega clean and fresh!

Cupcake Mask, $7.95 (only available in stores; needs to be refrigerated): Now here’s a beauty product after my own heart. Not only does it have cupcake in its name, but it’s packed with rhassoul clay, cocoa-y goodness (seriously, it smells like a frickin’ brownie), and spearmint & peppermint essential oils! It’s also great for oily and acne-prone skin—yay! Now you might be thinking, “Why would I rub chocolate on  my face to prevent zits?”… it doesn’t contain chocolate per se—just cocoa powder (which is packed with flavonoids and antioxidants), so no fattiness or oils that are found in straight-up chocolate. This is probably my all-time favorite LUSH indulgence. This mask leaves my skin feeling deliciously smooth every single time. I can feel it soak up all the excess oil and gunk from my pores. I ♥♥♥ it!

Which LUSH goodies are you currently digging?