Monthly Sub-Box Line-Up

Birchbox

I thought I would spare you guys the details of my Birchbox this month. I've been on the fence about Birchbox for awhile, sometimes they're good and sometimes they're bad. This one fell in the bad category. I got two hand soaps, a cupcake bath bomb, a nasty cranberry bar, grandma perfume, and some awesome mascara. I'm not a big fan of getting 1) food in my box and 2) hand soap. I feel like this is all I ever get. Most of the time, the perfume samples are amazing. This one smelled like straight up grandma. I wouldn't come near it with a 10 foot pole. The mascara on the other hand was pretty cool. If it wasn't full size, I would be complaining. The best part about it though is that it has a mirror on the side (aka cool factor). Like I said, if the mascara wasn't full size I wouldn't be happy. The value of the mascara is $24 and the box is $10. 

Glam Bag (Ipsy) 

For this being my first ever glam bag (ipsy?), I'm impressed. I will get use out of everything in this bag, even the bag! Let's start with the Starlet eye pencil. I've been wanting a brown eyeliner, so this is perfect. It's not automatic, but you win some you lose some. The lip gloss from BareMinerals is ok. It's a pretty color and all, but I'm just not a big lip gloss person. I will try it out though. The Meet Matt(e) eyeshadow is pretty cool. When I first opened it, it looked dark brown, but when I swatched it, it became a deep purple! (I could be crazy though). I have also been wanting to try the Benefit They're Real mascara. I've been seeing it everywhere lately. AND I have been wanting some glitter nail polish. Guess what the last thing is? A glitter nail polish! 10 points for you Ipsy!

So this month the Ipsy bag wins by a landslide and this was the first one I've ever received. If my Birchbox isn't better next month, I might have to consider cancelling my subscription. 

What subscriptions did you get this month? 

Beauty Secrets from Around the World: Egypt

I don't know about you, but when I think of ancient beauty I think of Cleopatra. I mean, come on, two men fell in love with her because she was so beautiful. After doing some research, I found that there was a jar of cleansing cream, a natron mix, and bath salts in her tomb. These were obviously her secrets to glowing skin since they were buried with her.

So I decided to try the cleansing cream and the natron mix so I could just focus on my face. I couldn't find any recipes by anyone else so I had to do a trial and error kinda deal.

First of all, let me tell you what's going on with my skin as of now. I have a few small breakouts on my chin and both cheeks. Nothing that's too big of a deal, but they're pretty red.

Natron Mix Recipe
1 teaspoon baking soda
4-7 drops of lime juice (judgement call, you can do whatever you feel.. 4 if your skin is sensitive or 7 if normal, just depends)
few drops of water
few drops of almond oil (I used olive oil though)

I did this first since the oil/cream recipe is more of a moisturizer. This is supposed to brighten your complexion. Baking soda and lime juice are natural whiteners.

I used a small bowl to mix this. First, put the baking soda in your bowl then the lime juice. It will start to fizz, but don't worry. Continue to add the remaining ingredients. Mix. Apply to entire face or just where you have blemishes or dark spots. Leave on for 10-15 minutes, then rinse with lukewarm water.

Now, you'll notice that this mixture separates quite quickly because of the oil. Just make sure that when you apply it to your face that you stir it back up. When I first put this on my face it burned slightly, but I did have some open blemishes (oops). It only burned for around 10 seconds, but I wouldn't suggest putting it in a cut or anything huge because it will hurt (lime juice is very acidic). Once you have it on your skin for a few minutes you can't really tell that it's there. If you touch your face though you'll feel the oil. When I rinsed it off, my skin was slightly red where I have blemishes, but I have very sensitive skin.


Cleansing Cream (Oil) Recipe

1 teaspoon of olive oil

3-5 drops of lime juice

I know it looks gross, but the color of the olive oil didn't really help. I just took this picture so you could tell how much I used when making it. I forgot to take a picture of the Natron Mix, but I actually measured for that one. 

As you can see from the picture above, I just mixed this in my hand. I more or less just eyeballed how much I would need. I actually made more than I would ever need. To mix it together, I just rubbed my hands together and applied it to my face with my hands. This felt very good when I put it on, plus it smelled like limes. Yum. I left this on for around 30 minutes. Olive oil is a natural moisturizer so you can leave it on for as long as you want. I'm just not a big fan of oil on my face.

I put this on after I used the Natron Mix because my skin was a little red and I figured what the heck, Cleopatra did it, so can I. Once I got all of the oil off of my face, my skin looked very dewy, smooth, and calm. My red pimples had actually gone down! I was so surprised that the pimple that I tried so hard to cover with makeup that morning was diminishing from things from my kitchen! Crazy talk.

I'll most likely be doing this more often now. I really liked what the combination of the two remedies did for my skin. It really opened my eyes for natural facial care. Sometimes you just need to look around your kitchen for things instead of going to the store.

Let me know if you decide to try this! I highly recommend it!

Update: I used the Natron Mix the next night also and my face is completely clear now. I will continue to use this recipe when I get breakouts. I probably won't use the Oil recipe as often though. This is the best my skin has looked in a long time. 

My Favorite Places to Buy Organic Products

Hi everyone!

So I decided to put together a post with all of the websites I like to purchase my organic and natural products when I don't buy them from Whole Foods or Earth Fare.

iHerb If you use my referrel coupon code, you will get $5 off your first purchase!
coupon code: YUZ272

Vitacost I don't have a coupon code for here :(

Lucky Vitamin
My personal link --> http://refer.luckyvitamin.com/a/clk/1TH2KZ

All three of these websites have many of the brands that I mention for a discounted price. It can range from 10% - 60% off of the retail price! I've scored some good deals from all three of these websites! You can get food, vitamins, beauty products, household things, pet things, etc. from all of these websites. I have only gotten vitamins and beauty products though, most everything else I will just get from my local organic store. 

Check them out!

Do you know any other websites like these? Let me know!

Beauty Secrets From Around the World: India

India has been using turmeric for beauty treatments for thousands of years. In India, the night before a wedding, an Indian woman would cover herself, head to toe, in a mixture of turmeric, chickpea flour (also known as gram or garbanzo bean flour), sandalwood powder, and almond oil. This mixture is called the Indian Bridal Mask, surprise surprise. Applying this mask resulted in millions of happy wedding nights. 

Today, turmeric is one of the most healthy spices. It's antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, stimulates circulation, and helps with ailments. It also will soften your skin. It's obvious why the Indian women used this on their wedding night. 

I have actually heard of this mask before, so that's why I chose it to research first. Now, unlike Indian women did, I'm only going to be applying this to my face. I was a little worried about writing this because turmeric is yellow. I was so afraid that if I used this mask I would turn yellow. Nope! No yellow face here. I have read online from other peoples experiences that their face did turn yellow and stain slightly. Just make sure that you don't use a ton of turmeric, just a dash.

Here's my recipe: 

1-2 tablespoons of chickpea flour (also known as gram flour or garbanzo bean flour)

A few dashes of turmeric

Enough almond oil to form a paste from the flour/turmeric mixture

1. Mix flour and turmeric. I used 1 tablespoon of flour for my face alone, use 2 tablespoons if you want to apply to your neck. 

2. Slowly add almond oil and stir until it forms a paste. It shouldn't be runny or lumpy. It should be grainy though from the flour, so don't worry about that if you notice. This is an exfoliating mask.

3. Massage on face, making sure to really work it in. 

4. Leave on for 5 to 10 minutes. 

5. Rinse. Make sure to massage your face while removing so that it's easier to remove and will stimulate blood flow even more. 

That's it! Super easy and all of the ingredients are cheap, considering how much use you will get out of it. I ended up loving this mask. Usually, my face with be red and a little sore from masks because of my sensitive skin, but it wasn't with this. My face felt good and it looked brighter too, which is an added bonus. 

Be sure to let me know if you try this out and what you thought of it!

Beauty Secrets From Around the World

I'm going to try to do a mini-series of diy beauty remedies that are used in different countries. I've always wanted to try out different things that people do in other countries because there are some awesome recipes for beauty out there. Here in the U.S., it's pretty common to just go out to the store and pick up whatever product you need, whether it be a shampoo, face wash, mask, moisturizer, etc. Not everyone has that option. So I have always wanted to try out different things and see what I can come up with. 

I'm not only talking about people that don't have the option to just go to the store, I mean back in the day when people didn't have that option either. So I'm super excited to try out all of the remedies I find. And of course, I'm not going to tell you guys about something that I haven't tried. That's just not how I roll. I'll be starting out on Monday with India!

If you have a country in mind that you would like me to do some research on let me know! I'm up for the challenge!

High Five for Friday!

Today, I'm linking up with Lauren from From My Grey Desk. This week has been so amazing. I'll probably say this about every week until the new year because I love November and December!


1. My team is still undefeated! In case you were wondering, we are one of five teams left undefeated. Yep, that's right. Go Cards. 

2. Monday was me and the boo's 3 years anniversary.

3. He bought me flowers. Not just any flowers, my favorite flowers :)

4. Look at how ridiculous this looks. I mean, she is spoiled rotten.

5. Holy cannoli. I tried a cannoli for the first time. Man are they good!!

What have you been doing this week? Tell me!

Happy Friday!

xo, 
Rachel

Urban Decay Skull Shadow Box

Yesterday, I posted about the Urban Bride kit that I purchased from Hautelook. Along with it, I purchased the Skull Shadow Box. I was so excited about this because the colors are so pretty. Is the packaging not adorable?

The colors are pretty hard to read from the picture above and in person. If I didn't have the card with all of the colors on it, I would have no idea what the names were. 

Top: Cherry, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Grifter

Middle: Vert, Oil Slick, Shattered

Bottom: Blunt, Chopper, Twice Baked

I was most excited for the bottom row of neutrals and that fun green. All of these colors came off amazing when on the skin. They were very shimmery and creamy. I'll be using this palette for awhile. 

Without flash, bottom to top:

Cherry, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Grifter, Vert, Oil Slick, Shattered, Blunt, Chopper, Twice Baked

With flash, bottom to top:

Cherry, Midnight Cowboy Rides Again, Grifter, Vert, Oil Slick, Shattered, Blunt, Chopper, Twice Baked

These colors have such good color pay off, the picture without flash doesn't give them justice. They are so vibrant and very buildable. When I removed the colors from my arm, all came off fairly easily except for Oil Slick and Twice Baked. This just shows how pigmented these eyeshadows really are. 

This palette is still available on Urban Decay's website, but I'm not sure how much longer it will be available. It's on sale for $12.00.

xo, 
Rachel

Glitter Party!

So you might be thinking that I'm going to be writing a post about Ke$ha. Well, I'm not, but she might be using some of the products I mention. 

Anyways, a few weeks ago I told you all about Urban Decay being on Hautelook. I was sooo excited about it. I purchased the Urban Bride kit and the Skull Shadow Box. Now the Urban Bride kit isn't available anymore, but the Skull Shadow Box is still available on Urban Decay's website. 

 

First off, let's get to the glitter party. If you know me at all, you would know that I can't stand to have any form of glitter on me...any where. I do like shimmery eyeshadows though, that's it. 

The Urban Bride included:

All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray travel size

Supercurl Curling Mascara travel size

Razor Sharp Ultra-Definition Finishing Powder travel size

Marshmellow Sparkling Lickable Body Powder travel size

Eyeshadow Primer Potion full size

Midnight Cowboy Lip Junkie Lip Gloss travel size

I purchased this kit mainly for the Primer Potion because mine was running low, everything else was just a bonus to me. You can't tell from the picture below, but this box was full of glitter. SCARY.

I just figured that this was the way it was made, okay okay. I started to pull all of the products out and just wiping off the glitter. I haven't tried out any of these products yet. I own the Primer Potion already and it's fantastic. I'm not a lip gloss girl, so I can't really compare the gloss to anything or tell you if it's good or not. 

THEN I got to the Marshmellow Body Powder. Holy cow. I opened the pretty purple zebra print box and a cloud of glitter exploded in my face. When I say a cloud of glitter, I mean a cloud the size of a real cloud. OK, maybe not, but it was insane. I went to wash my hands off, change clothes, no big deal. The only problem is that when I went back to my desk, you could still see the cloud of glitter floating around the room. So I opened it back up to see what the deal was. I figured that it was open and just been shaken up. It was still sealed. What. The. Heck. I took the entire thing to the bathroom to clean it, turns out there was a teeny tiny crack. 

Anyways, this body powder is called Marshmellow Sparkling Lickable Body Powder. It did smell like marshmellow. It did sparkle. Now is it lickable? In case you're wondering, I did lick a small part off of my hand. Not lickable. It didn't taste like anything. So in this kit they give you a travel size of this Marshmellow crap Powder, this thing is huge. I can't imagine the glitter clouds that the full size would produce. 

I'll be doing the post on the Skull Shadow Box tomorrow because this is already so long. Have you tried this? Did you get a marshmellow glitter cloud?

xo, 

Rachel

Top 10 Cruelty Free Cosmetics

All of the companies listed below are Cruelty Free! 

Low End:
1. NYX 
2. ELF
3. Physician's Formula
4. Hard Candy
5. Prestige

High End: 
1. Tarte Cosmetics
2. Urban Decay
3. Too Faced
4. Lily Lolo
5. Josie Maran

I have at least one piece of makeup from each of these brands. Some I have way too many of, but hey, I love me some makeup. I own more of the lower end brands, just because they are affordable. When it comes to the higher end brands, I like to wait until christmas time because just about every company has some sort of kit you can purchase that is so affordable. 

I couldn't choose one brand out of the ten as my most favorite. NYX and Tarte are definitely tied. I love each of these companies to death. 

What are your favorite brands?

xo, 
Rachel

Bare Minerals 30 Day Trial

You know those commercials on the radio where they say whatever product completely free to try, blah blah blah. Well I'm not usually a sucker for those commercials, I usually just change the station. Just so happens that Bare Minerals had a radio commercial for a 60 Trial of Bare Minerals. I got sucked in. 

I called and asked them about it. Of course, the telemarketter had to tell me alllll about the company and I couldn't get them to shut up. The man I spoke with said it was completely free for 30 days, then if you didn't like it you could send it back without being charged for the product. I did have to pay shipping though, which would be refunded if sent back.

I got the medium shade because I figured that the light would be way too light. If you had skin like Madonna, you wanted to get the light. I am far from Madonna. 

Anyways, I called Wednesday and received the package Friday. Super fast. It came in a cute package. I mean, look at this!

So like I said, I ordered the medium foundation kit. This came with the Original Mineral Veil, Original Powder Foundation in Medium Beige and Medium, and the All-Over Face Color in Warmth. It also came with three brushes, Maximum Coverage Concealer Brush, Flawless Application Face Brush, and Handy Buki Brush. This also came with a bonus pack that contained the Flawless Definition mascara in Black, a mirror compact with a sifter inside (super cool!), a small concealer brush, an eyeshadow in Celestine, and a how-to dvd on how to apply the products. 

First of all, my favorite part is the bonus pack. I was so excited to try out the mascara and the eyeshadow because I'm an eye makeup person. Turns out, the mascara is amazing. I think I like it more than my Physician's Formula mascara and that's saying a lot. I was actually really excited about the eyeshadow because it was such a pretty color. I put it on my eyes and it didn't really show up that well. It's very shimmery. I might not have put enough on though.

I'm 90% sure that they said if I returned the foundation kit that you get to keep the bonus pack. 

The last two things that were in the bonus pack were the small concealer brush and the compact. As you can see in the picture above, the compact came in a zip pouch that says Bare Minerals on it. I assumed that this compact was just like any other with just a mirror on the inside. Boy, was I wrong! I opened it and saw the face brush. I don't typically like these kinds of brushes, so I probably won't use it.  The sifter on the inside is removeable so you can add the product of your choice on the inside. (I'm sure they want you to use your Bare Minerals foundation.) So I'm excited about that. I forgot to take a picture of the small concealer brush, but I probably won't be using it either. I usually just use my finger to apply concealer. 

Now, on to the products that I originally got this for. Like I said, I got this the kit in Medium. Sadly, this is way to dark for my skin. I could tell without even opening the jars. I didn't open the Mineral Veil or the All-Over Face Color (aka bronzer). I knew I would be returning the kit when I saw how dark the foundations were. They said that if it was the wrong color or if you didn't like it you could send it back and get it exchanged for the right color or get refunded. I didn't open anything just in case, you never know about stuff like this. Haha. I also didn't open the brushes that came with the set. SO I can't really tell you anything about the actual kit, just the bonus pack lol. Oops. 

I would not recommend anyone calling the company through a radio commercial like I did. I would suggest just going to Bare Minerals website and ordering a kit if you want to try the company out. If I decided to keep this kit, I would have to pay $75 (including tax) after the 30 days are up. 

Down the road, I may purchase one of their Customizable Get Started Kits, which is cheaper than the kit you would get through the radio. All of the products in the kit you can order online are full size products. I was told on the phone that every product I was receiving was full size. WRONG. Everything in the foundation kit was a fraction of the size (2g as opposed to 8g). The mascara and eyeshadow that was in the bonus pack was full size though.

xo, 

Rachel

High Five for Friday!

This week has been crazy! 

1. I finally got my classes lined up until I graduate (Spring 2014). 

2. The childhood pup has a tumor. :(

3. We didn't get a chance to carve pumpkins this year for halloween, but this is what I would have done. SO cute!

4. My boyfriend always make fun of my for saying pop. Everyone in KY says coke. I just so happened to see this on twitter Wednesday and had to save it. Dork, I know. 

 5. It's that time of year again! Basketball season for us started last night against Pikeville. Yeah, Pikeville. If you look real close at the bottom right corner, you'll see a hat that says band. Yep, that's right. I'm in the pep band. Dork, I know, but I love it! (I went with the team to New Orleans when we played Kentucky in the Final Four!) 

xo, 

Rachel

Essential Oils for Hair!

Essential oils for hair can help you grow hair fast, reduce dandruff, reduce hair loss, and strengthen your hair. 

Do you want great, healthy looking hair? Every time I walk into get my hair cut, my stylist always says she can’t believe how fast my hair grows and how shiny it is! Not to toot my own horn, but I've always had nice thick hair. I've never really had problems with it being dry or unmanageable, well maybe when I had an insane amount of curls. Since high school, my hair has drastically changed. It has somewhat straightened out and calmed down. Not sure why this happened now, but whatever. Anyways, back to oils!

First things first: How our hair looks, feels and grows can change based on -

- What we put on it (synthetic shampoos, conditioners, gel, etc.)

- What we eat and drink (good for body = good for hair)

- What we do (swimming in chlorinated pools, using hair dryer, using any hot tool, etc.)

- Quality of our shower water (Use a shower filter for best results to remove fluoride, chlorine, iron oxides ("rust water"), reduce harmful VOCs and other contaminants.)

- Genetics (what our parents passed down to us. every girl on my mom's side of the family has the same hair color, type, everything! I'm the oldest girl, so my younger cousins watch my hair to see what is going to happen to theirs lol.)

- How much sleep we have nightly

- Our stress level and other health conditions (hormones, poor circulation, etc.)

So, my advice is, in addition to using the oils, review that list and determine if there is something else you need to do to support your hair. This may be as simple as drinking more water!

Also, there are many products on the market that can create problems for our hair and scalp. 

But, what is my hair type and what oils do I use? No problem, below you will find all the hair types and the corresponding oils. Also, provided is the carrier or base oils that are best for your hair type. Enjoy :)

Oils for Normal Hair

Normal hair is neither greasy or dry, has not been permed or colored, holds its style and is usually shiny. (This is my hair type)

- Lavender Essential Oil

- Rosemary Essential Oil

- Lemon Essential Oil

- Geranium Essential Oil

- Cedarwood Essential Oil

- Thyme Essential Oil

- Clary Sage Essential Oil 

The best base or carrier oils to use are jojoba, almond, or avocado. 

Oils for Dry Hair

Dry hair looks dull, tangles easily and can become easily split at the ends. You want oils that will stimulate the scalp to produce more oil. 

- Lavender Essential Oil

- Rosemary Essential Oil

- Sandalwood Essential Oil

- Geranium Essential Oil

The best base or carrier oils to use are almond, sesame, jojoba, cocoa butter, or avocado.

Oils for Oily Hair

Oily hair looks greasy and is caused by over production of sebum by the glands on your scalp. So, you will want to use oils that will restore your glands back to normal. 

- Lavender Essential Oil

- Rosemary Essential Oil

- Lemon Essential Oil

- Peppermint Essential Oil

- Cypress Essential Oil

The best base or carrier oils are sesame and jojoba.

Oils for Dandruff

Essential oils can be very effective in minimizing or completely getting rid of the problem. The best essential oil is definitely Tea Tree Oil, but here are others:

- Rosemary Essential Oil

- Lemon Essential Oil

- Lavender Essential Oil

- Cedarwood Essential Oil

- Thyme Essential Oil

- Basil Essential Oil

- Cypress Essential Oil

- Sage Essential Oil

The best base or carrier oil is jojoba.

If you are going to make any type of mixture of essential oils, the best base to go with is jojoba if you can't decide what to go with. Jojoba won't clog pores and it's very moisturizing. You could even use this by itself or just enhance it's abilities with the essential oils!

I will soon be coming up with a recipe for my hair (normal hair). I like to put oil on the ends of my hair every day after I get out of the shower. I just feel like it prevents split ends and moisturizes the ends to keep them healthy. The bottom part of your hair has been there the longest, so it needs the most love. 

Do you use any essential oils? What are your recipes? 

xo, 

Rachel