Product Review: HerbanLuxe Vegan Mascara

Hi, I'm back with another vegan product review! Recently, I have been looking for 100% vegan eye makeup that is also safe for sensitive eyes. As you know from previous reviews, I found a great vegan mineral eye shadow on Etsy (from a seller called MadisonStreetBeauty ). Since then, I'd been looking for a vegan mascara. I looked at the offerings from the mainstream brands that don't test on animals, but all of them contained non-vegan ingredients. So I decided to check Etsy and was happy to fins a seller called HerbanLuxe who makes vegan mascara in both black and brown. She had a sample size of brown mascara for a total of $8.50 including shipping, so I decided to give it a try and bought it. The mascara arrived this afternoon and I tried it on immediately.

I LOVE this mascara. I wore it for about 5 hours (mostly indoors, except for walking the dog) and even spent 20 minutes jogging (again indoors) while wearing it. There were no smudges or clumps and it did not irritate my eyes. It should be noted that this mascara is NOT waterproof, so I wouldn't recommend wearing it if you know it will rain or there's a high chance you'll cry. But if your looking for a high quality, affordable vegan mascara, I recommend that you give one of the ones below a try. I for one will definitely be buying the full size version when my mini one runs out!

The mascara comes in both black and brown, with mini and full size versions of both available. The full size costs $12.50 including shipping.

Brown Mini Mascara $8.50 including shipping. Get it here: Brown Mini Mascara




Brown Full Size Mascara $12.50 including shipping. Get it here: Brown full size mascara



Black Full Size Mascara $12.50 including shipping. Get it here: Black Full Size Mascara



That's all for now. Bye!

Vegan Makeup!

I'm not the kind of woman who wears makeup everyday. Unless I'm doing something really special, I usually go makeup-less. That being said, every once in awhile I get in the mood to wear it again. I hadn't purchased any makeup since I became a vegan, so I wanted to make sure the make-up that I bought was cruelty free. I also have the added issue of being allergic to the ingredients in many mainstream make up items, so I also had to make sure they were hypo-allergenic. Here are my reviews of a couple of the items that I purchased.

1) Mineral eyeshadow from Madison Street Beauty at http://www.etsy.com/shop/MadisonStreetBeauty

Reg. Price: $5

 I LOVE eyeshadow, but since my eyes are very sensitive, there are only a few types of eyeshadow that I can wear without my eyes watering. I had heard that mineral eye shadows were supposed to be great for people with allergies because the ingredients are more natural, so I decided to give them a whirl. Thankfully, I found a wonderful Etsy shop that sells handmade mineral makeup called Madison Street Beauty. I LOVE this shop because of their very wide selection of vegan items, and the fact that all of their items are all-natural, talc free, hypoallergenic, and of course are never tested on animals. They were having a great 60% sale when I bought my eyeshadow, so I was able to get two of them for about the same price that you would pay for one in a regular store. The colors that I bought are "Heliotrope" (the dark purple) and "California Sun". So far, I have worn the California shade. I wore it for about 4.5 hours indoors and I really like it. It didn't bother my eyes at all and there was no visible creasing. The store is currently listed as "on vacation", so you can't purchase anything right now, but I'd advise you to sign up to be notified when they re-open. I know that I will definitely be a repeat customer!

California Sun

Heliotrope

2) Physician's Formula

  Another makeup brand that I like is Physicians Formula. There foundations are wonderful for sensitive skin, available at mainstream stores, not tested on animals, and they make some of their products in North America. Unfortunately, you have to be careful because some of their brushes are made with animal hair (yes, I know, yuck). However, I can recommend one of their foundations which I have used that is 100% vegan: Mineral Wear Talc-Free Liquid Foundation. It is easy to apply and doesn't bother my skin. I like the fact that it has a built in applicator. You can find a list of Physician's Formula's vegan products here: http://veggiebeauty.com

There are many other cruelty free cosmetics companies out there. A great resource to help you find them is PETA's Cruelty Free Companies list. It is a list of companies that have certified to be cruelty free. The list even tells you whether or not the company is vegan. On the flip side, they also have a list of companies to avoid. You can find those lists at PETA's cruelty free companies list .

Until next time, have fun with being beautiful inside and out!

A Few More of My Favorite Things!

It's time for another edition of my favorite things, which features wonderful vegan items from Etsy sellers! Keep in mind that I may not have actually purchased anything from the sellers listed here. All prices listed include shipping in the USA.


Vegan Mandolin Strap $30 from Islandprovisions1
 If I played the mandolin, I'd definitely buy this strap! I LOVE the peace sign! They also sell guitar, and ukulele straps in the same design.

Peace Flower Necklace $21 from Purpleandlime

This far out necklace features peace signs, flowers, and faux suede. You can't beat that!















Vegans Do It Better Tank Top $23.50 from LittleAtoms

This one is pretty much self-explanatory. Be sure to check out this shops hippie-themed items as well!

Peace To All Creatures Zine $8 from Gingercardco

I have several of volumes of the "Peace to All Creatures" zines (but unfortunately not this one...yet!). They are always chock full of great tips about living a vegan and eco-friendly life. I highly recommend this zine!

And now a little self promotion:

Team Veggie Pinback Button/Badge/Magnet $3.95 from my shop: TheVeganHippieFreak

This is my newest vegan themed creation! This is a button, but I can also make it into a refridgerator magnet upon request. If you would like a magnet, just put the word magnet in the notes to seller section at checkout. If that area if left blank I will send a button.
The button/magnet measures 5.7 cm (2.25 inches) and was made with recycled paper!

Vegan Lip Balm

I often suffer from dry, cracked lips. Unfortunately, all of the lip balms I found in the stores contain lanolin, beeswax, or both. I went online to see if there were any vegan lip balms available. I found some, but they are about $5 for ONE tube. Also, there's the fact that I live in Florida where it's often 80 degrees in Jan. If it had to stay all day in the mailbox, it would be reduced to a puddle! Thankfully, I found a recipe for lip balm online. I was also able to order empty lip balm tubes on Etsy. They arrived today, so I decided to make my first batch tonight. After some tweaking (the recipe makes 15 tubes, while I made less than 10) and some mess, I finally have 8 tubes of cruelty free lip balm. I made 6 of them plain, and used candy flavoring to make two cherry flavored tubes. It feels great to know for a fact that my lip balm is free of animal testing/ingredients, weird chemicals, and slave labor. The balm feels great and makes my lips very soft. The recipe I used is below. You have a choice of different oils. The ones I used in my balms are in bold.
You'll need:

1 oz hard wax (soy wax works well)

1 oz solid-at-room-temperature oil (coconut oil, avocado oil, mango butter, or shea butter)

.75 - .8 oz another additional hard-at-room-temperature oil (cocoa butter, floral waxes, or palm oil/vegetable shortening)

2 oz liquid oil (jojoba oil or olive oil)

Essential oils (optional, your choice) - maximum 8 drops for each lip balm

Microwave-safe cup or bowl with pour spout

Digital scale sensitive to at least .1 oz (a postage scale will usually work for this)

Stirring spoon

Dropper (I didn't have a dropper, so I bought a $2 flavor injector syringe which worked very well)

Lip balm tubes/jars/tins (up to 15)

1. Place your microwave-safe cup on the scale and turn it on. Measure your oils and waxes into the cup.
2. Place it in the microwave and heat in 30-second increments until almost completely melted; remove and stir to finish melting.
3. Add 8 drops of essential oils for each lip balm (use any combination of essential oils listed below, just make it a maximum of 8 drops per balm).
4. Stir the oil in very thoroughly to prevent separation, then use the dropper to dispense the balm into the containers.

Allow the balm to completely cool and harden before applying a cap. This recipe makes about 5 ounces of lip balm, enough for about 15 lip balms in a typical 1/3 ounce container.

Recipe source: How to Make Vegan Lip Balm | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4450466_make-vegan-lip-balm.html#ixzz1l0pmmFCg

 

I bought lip balm containers like this in black. You can get 10 of them for $5 including shipping at CountrySoapShack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well, that's all for now. If you decide to try this recipe, please tells us what you think. Toodles!

My Favorite Things From The EtsyVeg group

I recently joined a great Etsy group called EtsyVeg, which is for vegan/vegetarian crafters on Etsy. I have decided to share some of my favorite items made by EtsyVeg members. Keep in mind that just because I list something here it doesn't mean I've actually purchased anything from the seller.

1. Vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Doughnuts.

Yes, you can buy vegan goodies online! These doughnuts are available for $15 from VeganLotus



2. Harry Potter Blanket

I'm a HUGE Harry Potter Fan, so naturally I LOVE this blanket!  Unfortunately, I don't have $200! If you do, you can get this at Magglepie

3. Batman Recycled Wallet.

A vegan wallet made from recycled comic books. Very cool! $10 from Polyester10

New Buttons!

I recently bought a professional 2 1/4 inch pinback button machine and have started making and selling the buttons on Etsy. I have made several vegan themed buttons that I'd like to share with you. All of my buttons are $2 with $1.72 First Class shipping worldwide.

#1. Vegan Quote Button. Click here to see more or purchase.

#2 Meat is Murder. Click here to purchase.

#3 Vegan Quote Cow Button. Click here to purchase

 # 4 Vegan Hippie Freak. Click here to purchase

This one says it all!



Vegan Gift Guide Part 2.

Christmas is around the corner, and if you're like me, you're a procrastinator (although I actually made/got most of my gifts early this year). So I thought that I'd continue my vegan gift guide that I started a few posts ago and include some examples this time.

Books:

All of the following titles are available at your local bookstore, health food store, or amazon.com

Vegan Freak by Jenna/Bob Torres

This little book is wonderful for new vegans. It gives great advice on how to deal with and respond to any criticism that you may face from our often non-vegan friendly world. The thing that I like best is that the authors are honest and humorous. One warning though: You may want to think twice about this one if your recipient is easily offended by profanity as there is quite a bit of it. But for those without "sensitive" eyes, this book is a damn good resource to have.

Vegan With a Vengeance by Isa Moskowitz
This is the granddaddy of all vegan cookbooks. Trust me, you can make some kick-ass meals from these recipes. No vegan should be without it!

Being Vegan by Joanne Stepaniak

This book consists of answers to questions that the author as received through the years. It answers many of the basic questions that people have about veganism and is great for both new and experienced herbivores.

Clothing and Accessories

Herbivore Necklace $21 on Etsy

Herbivore Dino T-Shirt $18 on Etsy

A super cute way to get the message out!

Meat is Fucking Murder Patch $1 on Etsy

This is perfect for those who go for a more "in your face" approach.

Against Animal Testing Shirt $30 on Etsy

Other gifts

Vegan Lip Balm $3.75 Etsy

It can be extremely hard to find vegan-friendly lip balm (most major drugstore brands have animal ingredients) so many vegans would love to find this in their stocking!





Vegan magnet $5 at Cafepress
This is a nice way to let guests know that no animal based foods are allowed in the fridge.

 Have a very Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Joyous Kwanzaa!





These are a few of my favorite things!

One of my hobbies is making candles, soaps, and jewelry. I love being creative and being able to say "I did it myself"! I also love the fact that when you make something by hand, it is one of a kind. I have many earrings, bracelets, and necklaces (especially with the peace sign) that no one else has. A couple of other advantages to buying handmade items are: 1) you can be sure that at least the finished piece is sweat shop free, and 2) You can support the economy by buying items made by other Americans (or other citizens of your country).I love handmade items so much that if I'm wearing jewelry, 9 times out of 10 the items were handmade by me or another artisan. Many of the items that I buy come from a website called Etsy.com. Etsy allows individual crafters to open a shop and sell their handmade or vintage items for a very small fee. There are many, many vegan crafters and vegan friendly items listed on Etsy. Below you will find some of my favorite shops and items. Be sure to check them out!

1. The Dog Coat Lady: http://www.etsy.com/shop/thedogcoatlady

This shop is wonderful! The seller is a dedicated vegan who donates a portion of her profits to animal rights causes. She sells buttons, and most of those buttons have a vegan or animal rights message. I have bought three buttons from her, two of which are on my purse right now (my purse is covered with various feminist, vegan, and peace sign buttons). Her buttons are HUGE (most over 2 inches) so they will be seen. They are high quality, and at $3 each (including shipping in the USA) they are an affordable way to show off your vegan pride! Here are a few of the buttons that are available in her store:









#2 The Head Shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheHeadShop


As a vegan, feminist, and environmentalist, I think that this is one kick-ass tote. They also sell shirts with this saying in various colors.



















#3 The Radical Uprise: http://www.etsy.com/shop/TheRadicalUprise


Vegan buttons + feminist buttons + self published vegan zine = one hell of a shop! I ordered a copy of the zine below earlier today.




















#4 Psychedelic Tara http://www.etsy.com/shop/psychedelictara

This shop sells a lot of funny and thought provoking buttons for those of us who lean towards the left side of the political aisle. They only have a few veggie themed buttons, but they are nice.