Margot Elena Spring Box

I have been a fan of the brand TokyoMilk for a couple years now after finding their perfumes at a couple of boutiques in my hometown.  The scents were always a little unusual in combination but lovely in smell, have an edgy look to the bottle and off the beaten path of designer perfumes.  What I didn't realize until a few months ago was that TokyoMilk was actually one of the many brands by a company called Margot Elena. Margot Elena, who is both a person and a company located in Englewood, Colorado, is the "author" of several health brands that include body, beauty, and lifestyle products. All of the Margot Elena products are also cruelty free.

I recently discovered that they had started a quarterly subscription box that comes with each season and signed up for the Spring Box.  The cost was $49.99 + shipping making it about $60.  It seems a little steep if you were comparing it to the likes of Birchbox, Ipsy, etc. but make no mistake, this box is so much more. (And for the record, I am not a fan of Birchbox or Ipsy...)

For one, all the bath and beauty products are full-size.  The value of my box came up to $224 and there is nothing in the box that I will not use.  In fact, so many of the products are now becoming favorites. I sound like a salesperson but this box is really that good... I highly recommend.

The contents were:

• Papaya & Honeysuckle Face Mask | The Cottage Greenhouse, $28.
• Handwoven Natural Fiber Tassel Scarf | Margot Elena, $32
• Rosemary Mint Travel Candle | The Cottage Greenhouse, $12
• At Last Shea Butter Handcreme | Lollia, $25
• Pomegranate Facial Serum | The Cottage Greenhouse, $30
• Gin & Rosewater Eau de Parfum | TokyoMilk, $30
• Willow & Water Perfumed Shower Gel | Library of Flowers, $22
• TokyoMilk Signature Stationary Set of Five | TokyoMilk, $25
• Cucumber French Soap | The Cottage Greenhouse, $6.50
• Grapefruit French Soap | The Cottage Greenhouse, $6.50
• Fig French Soap | The Cottage Greenhouse, $6.50

My favorites so far are: 

• Willow & Water Shower Gel - Smells fantastic and the scent lingers long after a shower. I will definitely be purchasing this again and again.
• Papaya & Honeysuckle Mask - Mild, not greasy face mask that smells wonderful and left my skin feeling soft and fresh. Definitely one of the better masks I have tried and I have tried a lot...
• Rosemary Mint Candle - I have a weakness for rosemary, especially rosemary mint.  My favorite shampoo by Aveda is rosemary mint. I need a large one of these for my bedroom... the smell is so relaxing and clean. ** By the way, if you have not tried the Aveda Rosemary Mint Shampoo/Conditioner and you love rosemary... it is well worth the price.

Again, nothing is bad. Nothing is cheap. All high-quality products.  There is something about getting out of the shower before bed and having a feeling of freshness surround you... especially after a hot day, in your favorite pjs, cuddled up with a book, and surrounded by crisp, clean sheets.  These products have helped fulfill my dreamy nighttime ritual.

I can't wait for my summer box.

Beautylish Lucky Bag 2018 Japanese Fukubukuro

I've posted about Lucky Bags before and my fascination with the Japanese Fukubukuro tradition at the new year to indulge in massive grab bags.  Last year, I discovered that there actually are a few ways to get a Lucky Bag in the United States.  One of those options is by a company called Beautylish. Beautylish is a high end makeup store that sells some exclusive brands that you can't easily find other places such as Charlotte Tilbury, Wayne Goss, Jeffree Star, and Natasha Denona.

Each year, Beautylish does two Lucky Bags, a small bag for $75 and a large bag for $150.  The value of the items in the bag should at least be the amount you pay but if you are lucky, it will be worth well over the value, with some up to three times the price of the bag.  It is necessary to sign up on the Beautylish website in advance of the sale, which typically occurs at the end of December to beginning of January.  The sale opens up early to people who are signed up and because the bags sell out, you have to move fast.  This year, I signed up well in advance but not soon enough to get a large bag.  Large bags were sold out before my time slot of 1 PM.  I sat my alarm on my phone for 1 and as soon soon as I could get in to shop, I purchased one.  It would be nice to not have to sit and wait to shop online but I suppose this recreates the mad dash for Lucky Bags as it happens in Japan....

My bag arrived this last week so I thought I would share what I received. 

The first thing to note is that it didn't actually come in a bag.  It was a cardboard box with cute wrapping paper celebrating the tradition of Fukubukuro. It had a tag that explained the tradition.

It came with a Jouer Powder Highlight Trio in the colors Citrine, Rose Quartz, and Topaz.  I have tried Jouer Cosmetics in the past and am a fan.  This set is priced at $39.

Next was a face mask from Sulwhasoo and #17 crease brush from Wayne Goss.  I've never heard of the Sulwhasoo brand before. The mask is priced at $12.  I've heard good things about Wayne Goss brushes but have yet to try them so am happy about this one.  The brush is priced at $28.

Next was an Oribe Apres Beach Wave and Shine Spray.  This was a small bottle, travel sized and priced at $22.

The next several items I am very excited about.  A matte contour liquid lipstick by Charlotte Tilbury Hollywood Lips.  The color is a great nude color for me called Charlotte Darling. The lipstick is priced at $34.

The Perfect Setting Powder in Translucent Light by Cover|FX priced at $35.

And last, a Natasha Denona eyeshadow palette 5  in #09 with colors Industrial, Indian Gold, Glam Green, Aluminum, and Antique Olive.  These are definitely shimmer colors so saved for a special occasion but I have been on the verge of buy a Natasha Denona palette for awhile so now I can give it a try. The pallet is priced at $48.

Overall I am pretty pleased with my purchase.  I didn't receive anything that I wouldn't try or was already interested in.  The value totaled up to be valued at $218 so about 3X the price I paid. Not bad, not bad at all.

Lip Product Junkie

 

I have always been a fan of lip products.  I would say that they are my favorite makeup item.  You would think that I would then be into crazy, wild colors.  Not me.  I'm as Plain Jane as they come when it comes to lipsticks and gloss.  I have just about every variation of nude possible with a few berry colors intermingled.  And mostly, I just like clear stuff with the slightest tinge of pink that not only smells good but tastes good too.

I attribute this addiction to lip products going back to child hood.  We had the best lip products on the planet in the 80's and 90's.  I occasionally find cool things today but as usual the 80's were always better.

My gateway drug was by Bonne Bell.  The Bonne Bell line was full of beauty products but known for it's soda flavored chapsticks and colorful tins shaped like hearts called Lip Smackers.  I was a complete sucker for the Dr. Pepper flavor. Lip Smackers is one of the few brands that has managed to keep up and the line has expanded into kooky flavors like Double Cheeseburger, Cookie Dough, Maple Bacon, and Funnel Cake.  Santa left some Lip Smackers in stockings and I recall seeing Dill Pickle, French Fries, and Pizza as well!  They also have a line that is pots in the shapes of Disney Tsum Tsum characters that my daughters have been collecting.  For those who still love Lip Smackers, you can actually find them all online at the Lip Smackers website.  There is even a Smoochie Club you can join for free to get the latest updates. I might be a member....

After Bonne Bell, I moved onto Village Lip Lickers.  These were little tins that slid side to side to reveal one or two flavored lip glosses.  Growing up, my mom used to do scavenger hunts for my sister and I.  I always loved finding Lip Lickers as my prize at the end of the hunt!  Cherry Cola was a favorite and has been sorely missed over the years.  I recently learned that Vintage Lip Lickers is back!  Tine Cosmetics has brought back a clear gloss line and a tinted gloss line called Vintage Lip Lickers with many of the old flavors, Strawberry, Grape, Cream Soda, and Miss Pepper.  I couldn't resist this one and had to order a few for myself, you can check out the site here.  You may also remember this line as they also did Kissing Sticks which were similar to Lip Smackers with a variety of flavors.  Original packaging from back in the day is used which makes these so retro and fun.


Next I moved onto Kissing Koolers and Kissing Potion, both by Maybelline. Kissing Koolers were short little fat marbled lipsticks that were flavorful but had a cooling effect as well.  Kissing Potion was in a roller ball style container that tasted great (kind of like oily candy) but was incredibly sticky. By this time in my life, I had a caboodle filled to the brim with this stuff and treated it like a prized possession.  I now remember how frequently my friends and I would trade... I must admit it now grosses me out.

As I have gotten older, my love for lip products has slow down a bit.  I've also moved onto using cruelty-free products which has led me to try new brands as well.  Tarte is great line and I love the nudes that they offer. 

I recently discovered the line of lip balms called Hurraw!  My mom found them at a local tea store and always looking out for me and the hydration of my lips, picked me up a Chai Spice flavored one to try, I will definitely re-purchase in the future.  One thing that was surpising to me as I started looking for new lip products that were cruelty free, brands that I figured were easily cruelty-free weren't.  I was always a fan of Burt's Bees and thought I could easily keep buying their products...wrong.  EOS, the little egg shaped balms that come in pastel colors and are flavored...not cruelty free either.  I believe Lip Lickers is cruelty free so I am pretty excited to add these into my day to day... and enjoy the envious looks of other 80's brats like myself!

 

Biotin for Hair Strengthening

I have had trouble with thin hair for at least the last ten years if not longer.  Around my early twenties, I noticed that I started losing hair.  I have a family history of thinning hair and I also have family history of light Trichotillomania.  Those items as well as a high-stress lifestyle have made it really difficult to grow a thick head of hair. 

On both sides of my family, there is male-patterned-baldness that began in the men early on in their lives. I actually don't remember my dad ever having a whole head of hair although pictures say he once did.  I am probably the worst case of Trichotillomania in my family (most of them just over pluck their eyebrows, something I never have struggled with).  Trichotillomania, often referred to as Trich, is pulling your hair out on purpose. I developed this habit years ago. When I was anxious, I would run my hands through my scalp.  I already have very fragile hair so doing this over and over and over caused my hair to fall out. I now have a pretty thin crown around the top of my head. It requires me to apply sunscreen if I am going to be outside for awhile, invest in volumizing products to amplify the thickness of my hair, and to wash my hair daily to keep it from looking so thin. I am better these days but when anxious I have to make a conscious choice to keep my hands away from my head.

I decided to start taking Biotin supplements by Vitafusion a couple of months ago to see if it would help with strengthening my hair and nails. In the past, I have tried a lot of special shampoos and treatments without much luck.  I am not a fan of pills so when I found Biotin gummies, I thought I could probably stick to it.  I just finished my first bottle and I can tell a difference in my hair growth. The hair isn't necessarily thicker (not sure I am getting any new growth) but the hair I do have has grown faster and my nails are definitely stronger.  I have also noticed less hair in my hair brush after brushing my hair out so it must be doing something.  I think I'll keep at it, it certainly isn't hurting!

A journey towards cruelty-free beauty routine

My lifestyle has changed quite a bit over the years when it comes my consumption of animal products.  When I was in my early teens my family went vegetarian for a short time.  When I was in my early twenties, I went vegetarian for several years.  After that I went vegetarian + fish and chicken.  And after that I went back to eating meat.  And now I eat a ton of meat because of my ketogenic lifestyle.  I've always seen pros and cons to eating one way or another and am not here to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do.  I am content right now with what I eat.  That may change or evolve over time and I'm ok with that.  I don't like putting myself in a certain group, I'd rather do what feels right for me.  After all, I only answer to myself.

Something I would like to do a better job of is using more cruelty-free beauty products.  I may have at times in my life been a bit of a beauty product hoarder.  And I may have a set of drawers in my closet dedicated just to storing makeup and beauty products.  I know, not a good habit and something I am working on with my whole decluttering/minimalism strategy.  In line with my desire to pare down my products, I am very interested in moving away from products that are tested on animals, use products (purchased) that are tested on animals, or are owned by companies that test on animals.  I don't expect this to be an initiative in which I dump half my items that aren't cruelty-free but rather a slow migration to weed out items that I'm no longer comfortable with.

This will be hard.

I can already tell you right now that some of my favorite brands and go-to items currently test on animals. A lot of that has to do with their desire to sell products in China. The China government requires that beauty products are tested on animals before they can be sold there.  So while a brand may not test normally for sales in the US, they have given into China sales and done the testing.  I get it.  It's all about the money to them.  Unfortunately, it's not all about the money to me.  So those brands are off my list too. My definition of cruelty-free will be those brands which do not test or are not associated with companies that test on animals.  I used the website, Cruelty Free Kitty to help with identifying what was and was not cruelty-free.  It has a lot of really valuable information.

I will also mention that this isn't the first time I've gone down this path.  In my early twenties when I went completely vegetarian, I also went cruelty-free.  I was also less beauty-product obsessed and it was fairly painless at the time.  Brands have changed and many new products have come on the market. At the time, there was a fantastic magazine called Natural Living that I read and loved.  Unfortunately, it is no longer published a long with several other natural living magazines that have come and gone over the years.

I'm sharing with you my current list of products and favorite brands that I use daily.  Items that have a * are cruelty-free and I will keep using (unless of course, I just decide to try something new) but everything else I want to eventually replace.  My plan is use up the products that I have on-hand and then replace them with a good cruelty-free alternative.  I'll be sharing how this process goes (whether I am successful or not) and appreciate any replacement product recommendations.

Bath & Body:
 - Shampoo / Conditioner - Systeme Biologe (Matrix), Tigi Bed Head
- Body Wash - Philosophy*, Soap & Glory
- Body Butter / Lotion - Soap & Glory, Origins
- Shaving Cream - EOS

Skincare:
- Moisturizer - Garnier
- Face Wash - Neutrogena
- Lotion - Pacifica*
- Mask - Formula 10.0.6*, Freeman

Makeup:
- Foundation - Estee Lauder
- Concealer - NYX, Urban Decay
- Blush - Tarte*
- Eyebrow - Anastasia*
- Mascara - Benefit
- Eyeshadow - Lorac, Urban Decay, Tarte*
- Powder - Rimmel
- Lips - Buxom

Nails:
- Polish - Zoya*
- Remover - Zoya*

These obviously aren't all the brands I own or use but these are my favorites.  Something that was surprising to me as I researched what brands were cruelty-free were those brands that are marketed as natural, green, environmentally friendly that actually weren't. I was sure that brands like Origins, Burt's Bees, Fresh... were cruelty-free yet they weren't.  I was sadly disappointed.

Elizavecca Korean Carbonated Bubble Clay Mask

Last week I saw a youtube video where someone was doing a bubble mask.  I had never heard of such a thing so I went onto Amazon and sure enough, it was for sale there.

The directions for the mask are in Korean so I had to refer to the video for instructions.  You take the spatula to spread it across your face and then wait for the bubbles to appear.  My girls had a blast doing this and loved seeing how puffy their faces grew.

** Nevermind the messy bed and the husband and dog lounging in the background...

After the mask has bubbled then it is ready to be rubbed in.  Rub in the bubbles until the mask is solid and then let it sit until it dries.  I'm not quite sure what the mask is good for (brightening, oily, etc.) but it made our faces feel nice and soft.  If you are interested in picking up some for yourself, you can do so at the link below.