Vegan Beauty Review» vegan

Top 10 Vegan Aphrodisiacs

Sunny — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:48:50 +0000

Bow Chicka Bow Wow…

Not like any of you sex gods and goddesses need any extra help in the bedroom, but just in case you do, here’s a list of natural vegan labido boosters. Enjoy, and go on with your bad, sexy vegan selves!

Top 10 Vegan Aphrodisiacs

Chocolate: Vegan dark chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), which stimulates the same hormone your body releases during sex. It also sparks dopamine production in the brain… like you need another excuse to eat chocolate.
Red wine: You don’t have to get all lush-y, but a wee bit of red wine can increases blood flow and help you relax. Make sure the wine is vegan, though!
Aniseed: This sweet licorice-flavored seed gained a reputation in ancient Greek and Roman times for increasing female sexual arousal.
Cinnamon: Eating cinnamon heats up your body and, in turn, your sex drive. Cinnamon also has anti-inflammatory properties and can help normalize blood sugar.
Pine Nuts: These are loaded with zinc (which is essential for producing testosterone), and they’ve been rumored to have provided men with sexual stamina since the Middle Ages. Woot!
Cardamom: This ancient aphrodisiac is warming and pungent, and can increase blood flow (ahem, downtown). It is also has antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.
Celery: It contains androsterone and adrostenol, two chemicals that help you get aroused.
Chili peppers: The capsaicin in peppers heats up the body and increases blood flow. Chili peppers also cause the brain to release endorphins—the feel-good chemical.
Ginger: I ♥ ginger! It spices things up and increases circulation and body temperature (similar to chili peppers).
Pomegranates: The seeds help improve blood flow and are rumored to increase sensitivity in the loinal region.

Honorable Mentions:

Asparagus: While this phallic veggie is known for making your pee pee and other bodily secretions smell funky (hence it only being an honorable mention), it is also known to increase circulation downstairs and make you horny.
Garlic: Granted garlic will make yo’ bref stank, it’s still honorable mention-worthy because it contains allicin, which increases blood flow which can improve stamina and sexual energy. If ya both eat garlic together (pesto pasta for dinsies?), it’s all good.

My Favorite Vegan Things

Sunny — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 22:51:48 +0000

List of goods:

Healing Waters Salt Soak, $20
Strawberry Hedgehog Peridot Perfection Soap, $8
Burnt vanilla soy candle from The Soap and Paper Factory, $18
Bonding Over Beauty by Erika Katz, $14.95
Smashbox Photo Finish Hydrating Primer, $42
C.O. Bigelow Ultra Mentha Lip Shine, $7.50

What are some of your favorite vegan things?

Top 10 Vegan Perfumes

Sunny — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:37:05 +0000

Fact: Girls smell pretty (by nature). But even though we gals never sweat, fart, poop, or stank at any given moment, it doesn’t mean we aren’t down to smell extra ambrosial when given the opportunity.

There are a slew of ab fab vegan and cruelty-free fragrances to choose from. Here are ten of my faves!

VBR’s Top 10 Vegan Perfumes

Lavanila

Pacifica

Ecco Bella

TerraNova

LUSH

Sweet Anthem

A Perfume Organic

KleanSpa

The Body Shop

DIY perfume! Recipe here!

Feel free to add to my list by commenting below! I’m always down to discover new, cruelty-free pretty smelling stuffs! xx

Awesome Coupon Sites for Vegans!

Sunny — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 14:09:11 +0000

In today’s world, sites like Groupon and Living Social make buying anything at retail price seem cringeable. We’re so used to 30-80% off deals, that anything less seems like a total ripoff.

Lucky for us, vegan-friendly Groupon-esque coupon sites are poppin’ up on the interwebs, offering kick-ass animal-friendly deals.

Bomb-ass vegan-friendly coupon sites:

VeganCuts (weekly deals on 100% vegan products)
Pure Citizen (eco & social-conscious goodies)
Daily Gourmet (just check the “vegan” box when you sign up)
Gather Green (LA only)

If you know of any others, please share! Thanks!!

Vegan vs. Cruelty-Free

Sunny — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 03:50:06 +0000

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)!

Easy Hair Loss Solutions (Vegan or Not)

Sunny — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:34:36 +0000

I decided to write this post on female hair loss because a) I get e-mails about this occasionally from vegan readers (and it’s important to point out that if you’re eating a well-balanced diet, veganism is not to blame) and b) I had a hair loss-y sitch a couple years ago (after having been vegan for 7 years) and was able to pull through after doing a bit of research.

First off, the cause of hair loss in ladies can be due to: genetics, stress, hormones, seasonal changes (we “shed” more hair in the spring and summer), or underlying medical conditions.

Secondly, most people lose anywhere from 50 to 100 strands of hair each day—totally normal (our hair grows in cycles, ya know).

Tips for keepin’ your hairsies lush and plentiful

Take prenatal vitamins like the ones from Trader Joe’s (they’re vegan—YAY!) – You don’t need to be preggers to take these; they just have extra iron, folic acid, and B Vitamins which work wonders for your hair and nails.

Wash your hair less frequently (every other day or a couple times a week is fine).
Go easy on the styling and hair products (duh, right?)
Make sure you’re getting your essential fatty acids (found in foods like walnuts, canola oil, flax seeds, soy, etc.)
Chill out on your alcohol intake, de-stress, and try to avoid junk food (←I know, big womp). Also, up your water intake, fools!
Opt for a wide toothed comb over a gnarly brush.
Massage your scalp to increase blood flow to your hair follicles (this will also helps you de-stress and relax).

Do you have any other tips? If so, please share!

My Favorite Vegan Things (and a Giveaway)!

Sunny — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 02:33:12 +0000

I’ve got some new favorite vegan goodies! Check ‘em out! xx

(pssst, there’s a contest at the end of the video, so be sure to enter to win some awesome swag!!)

The Goods:

Amy Sacks Designer Eyewear, $90 each
Manic Panic Collection’s Sooo ’80s Lipstick, $8 each
Beauty Without Cruelty Mascara, $24.94
Beauty Without Cruelty Cherry Blossom Lipstick, $14.95
Organic Splendor Foundation, $34
Organic Splendor Blush and Bronzer, $18 each
Makeup Matte, $22.95
Sophie’s Kitchen Vegan Seafood
VegeUSA Kung Pao Chicken and Citrus Spare Rib Cutlets
The Vegan Collection Wallet, $32 ← Enter to win one by leaving a comment telling me about one of your favorite vegan things! A winner will be chosen at random and notified on July 15th! Good Luck!

Flacos: Vegan Mexican Fare in Berkeley

Sunny — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 17:14:14 +0000

I’ve been officially living in the East Bay for a little over a month now, and I realized it was high time I started blogging about the deee-lish vegan grubs I’ve been discovering with my boo. First up: Flacos. Mhm. Mexican food is usually not vegan-friendly (i.e. it’s usually doused in copious amounts of lard and chicken stock), so when the Avmesiter and I heard about Flacos, we flipped! All Mexican, all vegan, all healthy, and all retardedly tasty! Their soy protein meat filling is insane…

Don’t even front like those skeltetor pubes alone aren’t beckoning you for some Flacos tacos!

Soy Protein Tacos, $3 each

Full Plate w/Banana Leaf Tamal, $9

Eat it, love it! (and report back!) xx

p.s. Bummed I devoured dessert before taking pics… rest assured their Pan Dulce (sweet bread) and Polvorones (Mexican wedding cookies) are indeed the shit!

Movies That Can Save Your Life!

Sunny — Mon, 16 May 2011 20:54:17 +0000

Know anyone who is sick, on meds, unhealthy, obese, suffering from chronic pain, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, etc? My guess is that you know quite a few of these people… let’s get our peeps healthy and happy again!

Q: “How we do dat?”

A: By incorporating a whole foods, plant-based (aka vegan) diet

These following documentaries explain everything (and are highly recommended):

FoodMatters ($17.48; also streamable on Netflix)

The Beautiful Truth ($14.49; also streamable on Netflix)

Forks Over Knives (in select theaters – check your local listings)

Have you seen any of these? Which one is your fave and why?

p.s. If you haven’t already, go vegan, foolio! xx

My Favorite Vegan Things Part 2

Sunny — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 20:23:14 +0000

List of goods:

Kymaro Body Shapers, $30 each
Kymaro Bust Up Cups, $30
Cruelty-free glow-in-the-dark nail polish from Claire’s, $8
Wembé Loofah Soap, 3 for $25
Grateful Body Toner, $18
Grateful Body Essential Eye Cream, $40
Intelligent Nutrients Organic Perfume Spray, $28
Heavenly Acupressure Mat, $30

What are some of your favorite vegan things?