The Liebster Award!

To my surprise, I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by the beautiful Carrie Jackson (www.whatilovetodayx.com).

The Liebster Award is an award given to up and coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers.This is a great way to showcase new blogs and to create a tight-knit blogging community.

The rules to receive this award are to answer the 11 questions created by whomever nominated you and to nominate 5-11 bloggers.  Once you have selected 5-11 bloggers you must create 11 questions for them to answer. Simple enough!

Here are my answers to Carrie’s questions:
1.  What are your reasons for blogging?
I wanted to show friends and family members about the dangers that lurk in everyday cosmetics. I also wanted to show them that safe alternatives DO exist and actually work very well!

2.   If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you want to take with you?

This is so hard. Part of me wants to pick my favorite cosmetics but what use is that! The practical side of me needs to answer this wisely… 

#1. A knife
#2. A net to catch fish
#3. Someone to keep me company – probably my boyfriend, if he is lucky ;)

3.   I have a girl crush on Emma Willis - do you have a secret girl crush on anyone?

I am drawing a blank on this one. I don’t necessarily have a girl crush but I know there are ones who I find deathly attractive. I’ll have to get back to you on this one! (weird right, who draws a blank on this question of all questions!)

4.  Sweet or savory?
Sweet, definitely 

5.   My favorite perfume is Jo Malone Lime, Basil and Mandarin (closely followed by Sisley No 2) - what is yours?

My all-time favorite perfume is Flowerbomb by Viktor and Rolf. It has been the only scent that I can identify with. Now that I am trying to stay away from chemicals I don’t wear perfume often (only on weekends). I am trying to find a natural scent that I can identify with. It has been a hard task. 

6.   Dogs or cats? Dogs….cats…I don’t know! I love them both! Give me both!

7.   How much time do you spend on your blog?
I usually try to write 3 blog posts a week. How many hours that is, I don’t know!

8.   What advice would you give your teenage self?
Please take care of your eyebrows. And by that I mean to brush out the foundation from them and to color them in nicely, you need it! – I cringe when I think of this mistake.

9.   What would be your dream job?
I would love to open a makeup store that has only natural or non-toxic products. There are so many great products out there but I need to online shop for everything. My store would be a one stop shop, easy access. I would want it to be the Sephora of natural beauty products!

10.   What achievement are you most proud of? 
There are many things that I am proud of. In addition to my love of cosmetics I also have a passion for design. I have attended University for Design Studies and have taken a diploma program to become and Architectural Technician. I am proud that I have decided to follow my passions in life.

This may sound weird, but for the longest time I hated when people asked “what is your hobby” because I really didn’t have one. What was I going to say, spending time on the computer?! Now I have found my hobby, something that keeps me centered – yoga. I can see it staying in my life forever. I’ll be one of those 90 year olds that practices yoga. I am proud that I have found this. It’s fun to see yourself develop as a person. 

11.  I'm taking part in a 100K walk in May - are there any challenges you would like to  do/have done?

I am currently doing 2 challenges right now. One is the 30 day yoga challenge from Do You Yoga. The other is a 30 day challenge doing HIIT (high-intensity interval training) with the Daily HIIT. All of these are avilable on youtube. 

And without further ado, here are my nominations for the Liebster Award. (To make sure I was doing this correctly I looked at followers on bloglovin' and on google for those whom it applies to. Twitter did not count when I made my decision).

Sandy - http://bashfulbeautyblog.wordpress.com/
Sabrina - http://chickweedandblush.blogspot.ca/
Rachel - http://www.allnaturalaspirations.com/

Danielle - http://crueltyfreeveganbeauty.blogspot.ca/

Paula - http://saintschick.blogspot.ca/
Shauna - http://www.thenaturalbeautyjunkie.blogspot.ca/

Some people that I've chose have been around for awhile but still have less than 200 followers. They all have fabulous blogs that are worth checking out! 

Here are my questions for my nominees to answer: 

1. Why did you start blogging?
2. What is your favorite blog post that you have created?
3. What is your favorite blog post created by someone else?
4. What is your dream vacation?
5. How would you spend your perfect day (I asked myself this question and actually made it happen, it is worth thinking about!) 

6. Who is your favorite blogger or youtuber? 

7. Coffee or tea?
8. What is one thing that you cannot leave the house without? 

9. What in life makes you the most happy? 

10. What advice would you give your younger self? 

11. If you could relive any day, what would it be? 

ILIA Beauty Neon Angel Lipstick

ILIA is a non-toxic cosmetic brand that has products that are filled with bioactive organic ingredients, up to 85%. This brand is really well known among the green beauty community for good reason. ILIA lipsticks have great color and most importantly, staying power! They do not move! These lipsticks are my absolute favorite, I actually prefer them over most mainstream brands (even MAC Cosmetics!).

I purchased a sample of the Neon Angel lipstick. I was a bit skeptical about this color because it is so vibrant. I was worried that it wouldn't be wearable on a day to day basis. To my surprise I found this color to work well with almost everything. It has become my go to color. I was also worried that this color wouldn't be suitable for winter but the way this lipstick transforms in different lighting is incredible. I found that in darker lighting it can give off a red hue, which is perfect for these winter months. I love that this lipstick looks great in all different types of lighting making it suitable for daytime or nighttime wear. Did I mention that it has staying power? I drank a whole cup of coffee and didn't see a lipstick mark once!

At $25 a tube this might seem expensive for some of you but for a good quality lipstick you can never go wrong. Besides, how often are you replacing that certain lipstick anyways? For me, not very much.

Have you tried ILIA lipstick before? What is your favorite non-toxic lipstick?

The All Natural Face - Eyeliner Gel Pot in "That Black" Review

When I first ventured off into the world of natural and nontoxic makeup I wasn't in the position to be spending a lot of money, especially for items that I have never tried before. Luckily around this time there were Groupons available for The All Natural Face. This was a huge score for me because The All Natural Face is already really inexpensive, having a Groupon just put the icing on the cake. If it wasn't for the positive reviews on youtube I would have never bought anything from TANF because unfortunately their website is of very poor quality. 

One of the items that I bought was their gel eyeliner in "That Black" their blackest eyeliner. When I received this item it had black tape all around the container, I wasn't sure why. When I took off the tape I had black all over my hands! Thank god I wasn't wearing white or anything that could be easily damaged. I was worried that if I threw this eyeliner in my makeup bag it would leak everywhere. Thankfully, it didn't. 

I found this eyeliner very easy to apply and never experienced any problems. The eyeliner on its own does not last all day and will need a little bit of retouching throughout. I found that during the summer months this occurred more. A month after wearing this eyeliner I decided to try spraying The All Natural Face - Fix It finishing mist on my makeup brush. This helped tremendously with helping the product last longer. In a few months the pot did dry up which was expected because it does not come in an air tight container. Fortunately if you just wet your makeup brush with water before dipping it onto the pot, you won't experience any problems. 

Despite this products minor flaws I think that this is a great inexpensive (only $4.75!!!) eyeliner for basic everyday wear or for those just starting to wear makeup. I will buy this product again due to its price.

Have you tried TANF Gel Eyeliner before? What are your thoughts? What is your favorite all natural eyeliner?  

Natural Skincare Products Found At the Drugstore

When hearing about natural cosmetics many people tend to think that it's too expensive and inconvenient to go out and buy.  I know where I live I have to drive half an hour to go to a health food store, where as Safeway is just two minutes away.  I decided to do a test and go to the nearest drugstore to see what natural personal care products I could find.

I am happy to report that I found a whole bunch of them!

1. Kiss My Face
2. JASON
3. Natures Gate
4. Desert Essence 

5. Burts Bees

6. Neutrogena Naturals 

7. Say Yes to 

8. Avalon Organics

9. Andalou Naturals

TARTE Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara Review

Tarte makes high performing cosmetics with better ingredients than most mainstream brands. I'm always happy with anything that I try from them. This is rated a 4 on Cosmetic Database with its most toxic ingredients being Triethanolamine and Phenoxyethanol. As some of you know, I try to stay under a total rating of 4 under Cosmetic Database. For a mascara I am okay with these ingredients as this is not something that I am putting all over my face or body.

That being said, I think that this is a great everyday mascara. It gives volume and length to the lashes. Perfect for both upper and lower lashes.  I also like that this formula is easy to take off. Minimal amount of pulling to the eyes is always better! I do find that this mascara tends to clump up at the beginning of the wand so for best results, of course I take that off. I also lightly roll the mascara wand on the back of my hand just to take off that extra bit of product. I find that by doing this I get no clumping on my lashes. This mascara is also buildable and will do so without any major clumping. 

Of course, as like most Tarte products, I am happy with this purchase and will probably buy this again in the future!

Where to Shop For Non-Toxic Makeup on a Budget

Majority of the time when people hear about natural and organic makeup their immediate reaction is that it's going to be expensive. Just like makeup sold at the drugstore or makeup sold at Sephora there is a wide variety of price range. In fact, sometimes you can find the most inexpensive makeup from small independent companies (I bought a great gel eyeliner for only $5 more than 6 months ago and it's going strong). This doesn't always mean that the quality will be affected. I've gathered the names of some popular non-toxic cosmetic companies so that you'll have an idea about price range. This also works as a great guide if you are just getting into green beauty products. Not all of these companies I've tried, but these are all very well known among the Green Beauty Community. If you aren't sure, just google the name of the company to find reviews on youtube and beauty blogs. I will bold the names of companies that I've tried products from. 

Most Inexpensive $2-16:
Sometimes with smaller cosmetics companies they don't have that professional look on their website and packaging. Don't let this discourage you. They still can create some great products at such a great price! Silk Naturals is well-known for their lipsticks (I have tried these and will do a review separately). The All Natural Face I have bought tones of products from majority of them work very well for me. Honeybee Gardens is on my list next as they have pressed eye shadows for only $8.99. If you would like more inexpensive natural makeup brands check out Etsy as there are lots of independent sellers there.

The All Natural Face

Silk Naturals
Honeybee Gardens 
Pumpkin and Poppy 

Mid-Range $12-30:
Almia Pure 
Lily Lolo 
W3LL People 
Sappho Organics

High-End $25 and up:
ILIA Beauty

RMS Beauty 

Vapour Organic Beauty 
Kjaer Weis 

100% Pure 
Fitglow Beauty Karen Murrell 

In the mid and high-end range of makeup some of the brands can be found on online stores like Nuciya Natural Beauty. This is great if you wish to buy products from multiple companies but don't want to pay all of those shipping fees.

Non-toxic makeup still has a lot of room to grow. It isn't as diverse as non-toxic or natural skincare. I hope that by creating this guide it will show you that healthy products don't have to be expensive. If there are any other great inexpensive, non-toxic makeup companies that you love please share them with me!

Priti NYC 5 Free, Vegan & Non-Toxic Nail Polish

A few months ago I purchased Priti NYC products on a Hautelook sale. Not knowing what to expect from a 5-Free nail polish (free of oulene, Formaldehyde, and DBP, camphor and formaldehyde resin) I could only hope that the nail polish wouldn't chip off right away. 

When I received these items in the mail I was shocked as to how small the nail polish remover was (only 2 oz.). I thought that there was no way that this would ever last me. To my surprise, this is the best nail polish remover that I've ever owned. I only need a little bit on a cotton round to take off ALL my nail polish. This is also unscented so I keep this handy in my bag and if I notice that the polish is starting to come off I'll remove it in only a minute or two. I love not having to deal with that awful smell of traditional nail polish.  You know that this is good because they sell it at Anthropology!

Both of the colors that I bought in 546 Spring Song and 114 Brussels Lace last about 4-5 days without chipping. This is perfect and is about the same as any other nail polish that i've tried. I've heard of 5 free nail polish brands chipping in only a day or two so I was pleasantly surprised with this.  I also purchased the 707 Priti Strong Nail Strengthener. This has made a huge difference on my nails. I used to wear fake nails on a regular basis before switching to healthier products. With the use of the Priti Nail Strengthener and Biotin my nails are stronger than they've ever been! I love this brand so much that there is no question that I will be purchasing more products from them. 

Have you tried Priti NYC nail polish or any other 5-free polish? What are your thoughts?