Summer Essentials

It is soooooooo hot. I am melllllltttiiinnnggg. Here is how I am trying to keep the temps at bay and not loose my cool.

Honest 3 in 1 Facial Towelettes not only remove makeup but are good to wipe down your face post gym or post house cleaning marathon. They are gentle and do not irritate my sensitive skin.

I am a huge fan of Sanuk's yoga flip flop series. When I saw the Slinged Up Flat Sandal on the DSW site for under $30, I had to have them. The wrap around strap is cute and the soles - while flatter than I am used too are comfy for extended wear. If you are not a fan of flip flops because of flat feet issues - get a pair of Sanuk yoga flip flops and you will not need to worry.

I love cute food but I am also not about to spend five hours making something look cute and have it eaten in five minutes. So when I spotted these ice pop molds I had to have 'em.  koji Ring Popsicle Molds are easy to use - just fill up with juice/drink of choice, insert the ring pop base and chill in the freezer for a few hours. I did not think they would turn out - but they did! The icey mix did not get stuck to the molds and were easy to get out.

The Pink drink from Starbucks made with coconut milk is sweet heaven.For those not in the know it is strawberry acai refresher moxed with coconut milk. Wow - this is refreshing and it feels so tropical! The bits of strawberry and creamy coconut milk makes it perfect for a hot summer day.  It is like a melted paleta in a cup! Pair it with a cookie for an awesome mid day snack!

Summertime means glowing skin. Medusa's Makeup has a to die for highlighter called Moonlight - that I keep on reaching for. It is my fave highlighter right now. It is only $12 and out performs some of the high end highlighters  I have in my collection. It gives the skin a nice glow without chunky glitter, streaky color or an off putting shade. The company is very vegan friendly and offers up vegan products in many categories all you have to do is look for the vegan symbol.

Cotton candy is such a summer time treat! No need to go to the fair and surround yourself with screaming children and drunken idiots with Pina Colada cotton candy from Lolli & Pops.  It is a bit pricey at about $8 a container but the boyfriend gifted me with some for my birthday and wow is it good! If you find yourself in a Lolli & Pops store know there are some vegan options like single sourced chocolate bars and a small natural candy selection.

How are you beating the heat this summer?

Lush Face Masks Review

I recently took in a stack of black pots to Lush and claimed two new fresh face masks to take home and try.

Don't Look At Me has to be my favorite. It's bright blue hue and scrub-y texture is fun to use. Rice gives the mask a gentle scrubbing effect while the silken tofu and lemon leave skin feeling soft and clean.

Cranberry is a seasonal mask with cranberries as a main ingredient (duh!). This is a lovely mask that feels calming on the skin and smoothing as well as soothing.

While looking at the fresh face masks I glanced up and noticed more new products!
  
Cup O' Coffee smells amazing and after one sniff  I wanted to bolt out of Lush and find a coffee shop to grab a drink or two. I have used this both on my body and face. I prefer body because man is this stuff sticky! It is loaded with agave and once you smear it on you feel like you have been bathed in glue. Not my fave out of the three - mostly due to the stickiness and the coarse coffee grounds in it but again the smell is nice!

More Kat Von D Lip Colors

Susperia (liquid lipstick) on my lips. I wanted something fun to balance and not compete with my brows. It is a nice muted medium purple shade.

I had to go get Homegirl lipstick. The color is a nice dark burgundy. It reminds me of my junior high go to  WnW with black eyeliner as lip liner days. However like with the other dark colors in this line it gets blotchy after a few hours and wear away clumpy. Also it applies patchy - darker in some spots. I seen this happen in swatches - I thought it was bad lighting - nope.

I got a mini Lovecraft with my beauty points. It is a nice nude and wears better than the darker shades in the line.

I am not really great with the selfies-thing but want to share some makeup looks and I hope you dig them. If your bank account only allows one lip color product I would go for a shade in the liquid lipstick range. They wear better and do not fade into a clumpy mess. I plan on getting a few more colors in the liquid lipstick range when I get a chance until then I have plenty of colors to play with!

5 Vegan Beauty Products Under $5 You Need Now

Currently I am using each one of these products in my makeup routine. Most are from the drugstore but a few are from online but still will not break the bank. I wanted to share what I have been using because I really like these products and think some of my blog readers will as well.

Milani Moisture Matte Lipstick in Blissful. So hard to find nudes and light pinks that work with my light olive skin. Usually stuff is too light or pink based and looks horrible on me. The formula is really smooth and applies evenly. $4.99

Purple brows - why not? I really like the lippie pencils from Colourpop. They have crazy staying power and the consistency/texture works well for brows! $5

 
For nice glossy black lashes I reach for Wet N Wild Max Volume Plus Mascara. It comes in a giant pink tube and looks kinda space age-y cool! The formula is a more wet formula and the bristle of the wand are shorter and more spike-y helping to get each lash. It stays on pretty well for all day/night action. $4.99

Jordana 12 Hr Made to Last Liquid Eyeliner Pencil in Black Point - I buy these in bulk whenever I see them. It my favorite eyeliner. It stays all day, super inky black in color, costs $1.99 and goes on smoothly. You need a German blade pencil sharpener to keep the point fresh. After trial and error I find this specific type of sharpener works best.

Another Milani pick is Bella Eyes Gel Powder Eyeshadow: These go on so smooth you can use your finger to apply them. I have a few of the brown shades and am currently using Cappuccino on a daily basis. They are only $4.49 each and feel a lot more luxurious due to quality and packaging. There are colors for everyone (check site for vegan colors), finishes that range from matte to shimmer and blend with other shadows seamlessly.

For $1 you can get Blackbird Cosmetics loose shadow sample in Thirteen. Actually you can pick up any of the samples for $1 each. I actually bought a few and Thirteen is my favorite. I wanted a nude matte that works well with my skin tone and this delivered. The samples are generous and the packaging is very pretty. 

[Vegan MOFO Day 14] Good Enough To Eat - Body Butter + Contest CLOSED

By now you all know I love baked goods/food scented products for my body. When I was informed that Trader Joe's had a coconut body butter that was vegan I ran out and bought one. The smell reminds me of vanilla frosting mixed with birthday candles - I know odd right? It is not an overwhelming scent but light and sweet. What makes this body butter amazing is that it absorbs right away and instead of a greasy oily residue your skin is velvety soft! I have been using this on my sensitive hands before bed and it is really nice!

I bought another tub of the body butter to give to one lucky winner. All you need to do is tell me when it comes to body products do you have a favorite scent and if so what is it? It also helps if you have a way for me to contact you if you are the winner. The contest is open to everyone and I will pick a winner Sunday October 28th in the afternoon! Good luck!

[Vegan MOFO Day 9] Good Enough To Eat: Satrbucks Freebies

Next time you are at Starbucks picking up your coffee with a splash of soy milk - hit up the bar area for free beauty booty.

Sugar in the raw packets: there is enough sugar in one lil packet to get your lips or elbows smooth. Take it home, add a bit of olive oil or coconut oil in a bowl with the sugar and massage onto you lips or a dry spot (avoid your face - the sugar is to course for the face area). Brush off of your lips or wash it off your dry spot. Sugary and soft!

Napkins: Recently I read that the napkins from Starbucks make great face blotters...I have oily skin and a few hours after putting on my makeup and running errands I can be pretty shiny. So I tried using the napkin to remove oil...It worked! It worked just as well as my pricey lil blotting sheets!

Now if only the chain would reverse their new gold card ruling and give us gold card users free soy milk again...

Sept. 15 2012 - 2 Classes I Am Teaching

 

On Sept. 15 I am teaching two classes in Oakland, CA on DIY vegan cosmetics and body care. I will be showing/demoing how to create some awesome products from stuff from the kitchen. I have not worked on what I will be teaching yet but would love to do something fall related like a pumpkin body scrub! 

The first class will be at Rock Paper Scissors Collective  from 1 to 2:30. It will cost $5. You can find the details here. The second class will be part Bay Area LadyFest  and will start at about 3:30 - the cost for the class is free but to get into the fest you are encouraged to make a donation. 

I plan on bringing my Vegan Spa Day zine so people can purchase a copy. Also I am asking people to bring a clean jar or container so they can take some of the producs home that I will be making! 

If you are in the area please come out and say hi!

Vegan Easter "Basket" Giveaway! CLOSED!!!!

Easter is almost here! I love Easter - for me it is not a religious thing but a Easter Bunny thing! My boyfriend and I exchange baskets and Mar gets his own basket full of kitty wonderful stuff! I wanted to spread the Spring time cheer with a Vegan Easter "Basket" giveaway...Why the "Basket" - I cannot mail a basket without fears of it being crushed - you get a Easter gift bag!

I bought some of my fave items that are vegan and that I use daily. Not to mention some vegan sweets to give you a sugar buzz. I will also throw in a copy of my latest zine The Easy Vegan! Here are some the things you will get:
I use this eyeliner every day. It gives me the perfect cat eye wing each time! You get it in black - the color I use of course!


To get the eyeliner to stick I coat my lid with this primer, I started using it even before Urban Decay stated that their Primer Potion was not vegan after all.

I blogged about complexion perfection before - I love this stuff!


This contest is open to everyone. To enter please leave me a comment below telling me what your favorite Spring time activity is. Please have a way for me to contact you, via your blog link or email address.

Extra entry options (leave 1 separate comment for each action):
Follow my blog: MissMuffcake
Like my FaceBook page: http://www.facebook.com/MissMuffcake
Favorite my Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/missmuffcake

Contest ends: April 15!

Vegan Cosmetics

I started writing about vegan cosmetics 10 years ago. I have always been into makeup and when I made the switch from vegetarian to vegan, I had to replace some of my cosmetics due to bee products. The hardest part was finding a beeswax free mascara, the only one on the market that was easy to get was a mascara by Origins - in fact a lot of my cosmetics came from Origins. Since those days the market has expanded with not only more mascaras but lots of new cruelty free options.

Not satisfied with the makeup I had I started doing research. I contacted companies through emails, calling them and reading a lot of labels. When new products hit the market I go through this process again. Right now the biggest source of vegan cosmetic knowledge is Cruelty Free Face . I added some information on the site and point people there weekly.

Some tips about buying cosmetics that are vegan: educate yourself, take a list of the companies and colors you want, read labels and don't trust associates that are clueless. I went to Sephora over the weekend to pick up some new shadows, everything I wanted off my list was not in stock - boo hoo. The sales associate pointed me to companies stating that they were vegan, they had vegan products - sure but not everything was vegan...She was baffled about how some things were vegan and some were not.

Since I get asked about what my fave cosmetic products are I decided to list a few.


Ricepaper eyeshadow by MAC Cosmetics is a shadow I use everyday, I have to go buy another one, it is almost gone. It is shimmery but not obnoxious and the perfect high light or inner corner color to brighten things up.


Yeyo 24/7 Glide-On eyeliner by Urban Decay is a liner I use daily as a base color for the inner corner of my eye, I like to apply Ricepaper over it and it just looks really nice and I look awake!


E.L.F.Cosmetic's Waterproof Eyeliner Pen (in black): I buy these in bulk! These $1 bargins are so awesome - they stay put and the black is so inky and smooth!

New Lush Products Review

I used to not like Lush - I blame it on some of the products I tried not being truly suited for my skin or hair type. Over the years I have come to know my skin and hair therefore knowing what works. Now when Lush comes out with new products and a new catalog I get super excited!

The last few months Lush launched some new vegan products that I bought and sampled for the purpose of fabulous skin and to review!


Ultrabalm: This is a nice soothing balm that takes care of a lot of problems. I use it to remove stubborn mascara and as a lip balm at night. Lately my boyfriend has used it on a rough dry patch on his hand and once applied it instantly looks a lot better! I was afraid it would come to me in a melted mess - even on a extremely hot day it arrived safely!


Summer Pudding: I am a sucker for anything fruity and pink and Summer Pudding is both. It is a soft scrub soap - I like that it is really gentle but it does not lather well and the scent is not fruity enough for me to want to nibble at it.



9 to 5: This has a classic clean smell to it that I enjoy. You have to wash a little more than normal to remove all traces of makeup but this is gentle and makes my oily skin feel refreshed and clean, not tight or dry. Some creamy cleansers have the tendency to break my skin out but this has not done any damage so far. I like this a lot on the days I am not using a scrub and will buy it again.

Quick shout out to kathleen - she won the cupcake contest and should get the book shortly!

Summer Cosmetics - Vegan Style

The temperature is rising and while I love the longer warm days I can’t handle the weather on most days because it is so damn hot. I hate spending time getting ready to only end up end a pile of sweat and oil a hour later. Here are some must have vegan safe products from SPF to cosmetics that help me get through the days.

SPF is important. I have pretty light olive tone skin and rather stay pale than burn. Most sun blocks for the face leave my oily skin super greasy and nasty. However I am a hugggeee fan and will only buy Murad Oil-Control Mattifer SPF 15 . When you put it on your skin feels less oily and almost velvety in seconds.



To keep my face shine free and looking fresh all day I really love E.L.F.’s Complexion Perfection powder. It evens out any redness in my face and makes the shine go away. At $3 it is a must have buy. To apply it I use a large synthetic fluffy brush.




Too keep my black liner in place all day I turn to Urban Decay’s Eyeshadow Primer Potion. It makes my eye makeup not run down my face during a game of Frisbee.


I am a fan of glossy lips but before I put on gloss I slick my lips down with Merry Hempster’s SPF 18 Lip Balm. Glossy lips attract sun and it is important to protect your lips with a SPF.



Can’t forget the body. I use Eucerin Everyday Protection Body Lotion, UVA + UVB SPF 15 Protection. The formula works for my sensitive skin and has never left my itchy or red.



(I am not getting paid by companies to endorse products - these are what I actually buy and use daily!)