Feel as bright as the moon in your own skin.
If you want to work as a makeup artist, something crucial when building your kit is to have the product to be able to work with every skin tone!
If you want to head over to my channel, I plan on posting more satisfying aesthetics content in addition to more educational videos in the future, click on the link below!
My all time favorite memories from growing up, are from helping my mom with holiday baking—making fudge with nuts, gingerbread and sugar cookies, and then decorating the cookies after they cooled—before she passed away from lung cancer the summer inbetween my sixth and seventh grade years.
When I think of happy holidays and family memories, those long, flour packed (pun not initially intended, but intended, lol) days are where I go.
Looking back, I appreciate my mom and the woman she was for so many reasons, one of which was how she set me up to be a learner and positive in life, and to learn from experiences and listening to others.
Baking is something she used to help me learn math, time management skills, science, sustainability, sustenance and nourishment, creativity, and so much more.
Baking is a way I have paid my rent and bills since those gingerbread and fudge filled days of my childhood, working in local bakeries and coffee shops and learning the craft and growing as a baker.
Now as a home baker I am competing in this year’s Greatest Baker! If I won I’d be able to start the business I’m planning which would benefit other home bakers! Not to mention, finally get my own KitchenAid mixer to keep up with my baking projects. Vote for me daily by clicking the link below.
https://greatestbaker.com/2020/katherine-moore
https://greatestbaker.com/2020/katherine-moore
Thank you so much for reading and if you voted for me thank you so much!
No, your eyes didn’t deceive you when you read the title of this post. While on the search for clean vegan makeup on the web, I stumbled across a real gem of a subscription site.
Vegancuts is a vegan subscription service that does monthly or quarterly boxes for makeup, beauty, and snacks! Finally, a lifestyle brand that gets me—and every other snack loving beauty buff out there.
Instead of signing up for a monthly subscription and choosing one of their makeup, beauty or snack options, I chose one of their deluxe oversized boxes which specifically featured both personal care products and snacks.
In this post I’ll be focusing on all of the edible items I got and will post a follow up about the personal care items after I am able to get a good feel for the products and see what kind of results they are capable of.
The snacks included in the box I got:
3 Bar Cocoa Crunch Dark Chocolate & Peanut Butter
Good flavor. Texture wasn’t unpleasant and the bar was chocolatey enough to satisfy my craving and leave me not wanting more snacks…or chocolate.
Biena Baked Chickpea Puffs, Vegan Ranch flavor
These were my fiancé’s favorite of the snacks included! I wasn’t the biggest fan of the ranch flavor however I did like the consistency of the chickpea puff itself and would be happy to try any of the other flavors from Biena.
Lesser Evil Organic Popcorn Himalayan Gold
One of my favorite snacks in the box. Tastes nice and buttery without the animal harm!
Lupii Lupini Bean Powered Bite, Almond Butter Cinnamon Raisin
Another one of my favorite snacks because I learned a lot about the lupini bean from the wrapper. It also had a flavor that reminded me of gingerbread people cookies that have raisins for eyes, how my mom would make them, so I really enjoyed it.
Craize Plantain Toasted Corn Crisps
These were the most versatile of the snacks in the box, with the package recommending a variety of ways to enjoy them. Their slight sweetness and crispy consistency make these great to pair with anything from spreads and butters like Nutella or peanut butter, to more savory and hearty options like salsa or chilli beans. Their texture reminded me of a flat pressed fortune cookie.
Chickpea Dairy Free Vegan Mac
If you’re into super realistic cheeziness from your faux-cheese products this one’s gonna be a pass for you. Once I opened the flavor packet, I couldn’t get the almost chicken-stock with celery (?) scent out of my nose. This was my fiancé’s least favorite flavor and texture experience, and even I—being used to interesting textures and flavors in dairy and meat free products, and loving sweet potato, pumpkin, and chickpeas in a variety of forms—couldn’t palate this as a mac and cheeze. I was able to eat it after I told myself that it was a vegan ranch mashed potato, so it would be eaten and not wasted. (Side note, I did let the noodles cook a little too long to account for the mushiness in texture, I take full responsibility for that— however the super salty concentrate like flavor was my biggest qualm.)
Drinks:
Oat Milk Mocha Nitro Cold Brew Coffee from Rise Nitro Brewing
This was super delicious! As a huge coffee lover this was my favorite item in the box. If you haven’t already tried oat milk, it’s so creamy and great in lattes. I definitely recommend giving it a try!
Cucumber & Apple Tea from Tea Pigs
This was so refreshing and would be great for anyone who doesn’t like drinking water that’s unflavored to give a try. It was my second favorite item in the box!
Organic Bangkok tea from Harney & Sons Master Tea Blenders
Wow! If you love coconut flavored tea, this will be a must have for your regular at home tea stash. It smells amazing once opening the packet and has a subtle but still there coconut flavor along with a hint of vanilla. This is the product I could see myself using the most year round, hot or iced would be amazing.
Earth Chimp Vegan Protein Superblend in Chocolate
This smelled and tasted just like brownie batter or chocolate cake batter to me. I tried it with almond milk, but am interested to see how it would taste mixed with cold brew iced coffee concentrate instead. I don’t usually use protein shakes or meal replacements, but if I did in the future I could see myself using this, and would recommend it to a friend looking for this type of product.
Unfortunately, not everything can be my favorite and my least favorite item in the entire box was this Harmony beverage from Bela. No hard feelings or offense if this your all time favorite drink, it just had some flavors in its profile which didn’t sit well on my palate and left some unpleasant artificial after tastes.
and last of the edible goods in my Vegancuts box, was a Chocolate Complete Organic Plant Protein+ from New Chapter
My favorite attribute of this product is that it’s both soy and pea protein free! While I enjoyed the other protein shake of the two, this is probably the one I would purchase in the future for what ever reason.
Considering the retail value of the personal care items alone, is more than the price of the Vegancuts box that also gives you the opportunity to try a range of different snacks, and brands, I definitely consider it to be worth its price.
As I said earlier, I’ll be writing a follow up post on the personal care items I received after getting a good feel for them. If you’re interested in finding out more about Vegancuts or signing up for one of their subscription boxes click on the button below!
Let me know in the comments if you’ve tried any subscription boxes for snacks, skin and personal care, beauty, or lifestyle, and which are your favorites. Thanks for checking out this post and give me a follow if you’re interested in more skincare, lifestyle, beauty and other content!
This time last year I was in school for esthiology with a little over a month left before my graduation and had just stopped working at a local mini donuts and espresso shop to focus on preparing for and passing my state board certification exams and finding a job in the skincare and cosmetics industry.
Having worked in a variety of establishments that sling a mean cup of joe—also some mean fried and baked dough goods— this job had a specialty coffee gadget I never experienced before, that would have both coffee and tech lovers who came in contact with it full of child like wonder, awe, and excitement.
While there are many forms of latte art which require craft and experience, with great intricacies of technique and knowledge on how to pour, paint, or build a creation on or out of milk foam, the Ripple Maker is a contraption that’s combined the artistry of latte and culinary arts with the technology of digital printing and modern applications to bring users a beverage top media experience.
In other words, they’ve created a really cool printer for drinks.
The Ripple Maker has a variety of designs that change daily and seasonally, users can choose from or alternatively upload their own photos or designs, via an app for a barista to print on their lattes.
Now, if you had access to a latte printer and an obsession with coffee, what would you use it for? Here are some of my favorite Ripples I got to print:
A flyer for a sick local metal show my band got to play,
Some of my favorite designs by one of my favorite artists, Melodie Perrault (which can be found here, https://melodieperrault.myshopify.com ,to purchase on a variety of items—including coffee cups!),
Those are my favorite of the Ripples I uploaded myself and then of the images that were already in the Ripple Maker, these were my favorite:
One of my favorite herbs,
A cute political statement,
And Cardi B and a cute donut related design.
Some other awesome content I got to print on customers’ drinks but didn’t get pictures of because we were too busy with customers included:
A ton of furry friends 🐈🐶
Selfies and friend’s faces to celebrate them
Business logos
Drake
And my favorite of all of them, Prison Mike from the show The Office!
If you want to know if there is a coffee shop or business with a Ripple Maker near you download their free application to find locations with a device.
Comment what you would get printed on a latte, cocoa, or draft beer!
Thanks for taking the time to check out my site. Give me a follow if you’re interested in more coffee and lifestyle content in addition to beauty and skincare, diy and crafting, travel, food, and more!
It’s 2020 and youthful looking, plump skin is in. With many professional treatments available that target concerns like deep lines, volume loss, and wrinkles via injection— it seems we have a fountain of youth at our needle-tips.
Even though many Botox injections, and other fillers on the market have vegan formulas—most of which consist of plant derived hyaluronic acid—since they are classified as medical devices, they must be approved for safety and efficacy by the FDA.
Unfortunately, this can include animal testing. Although Allergan—the owner of Botox, Restylane, and Juvéderm—has taken huge steps to reduce animal testing by introducing a non-animal testing alternative that uses cells in 2011, they implied non-animal testing could take time, with a timeline that referenced 10-20 years.
Many medical professionals say these injections are safe as long as you’re receiving them from a licensed professional. However the FDA warns, “The safety of these products used repeatedly over a long period of time has not been evaluated in a controlled, clinical study” and in an interview with the, Sydney Morning Herald, the spokesperson for the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, Dr. Dan Kennedy explains, “As well as stretching of the skin, excessive use of fillers can result in longer term damage including wrinkling of the lip and disturbance of the attachment of the facial fat pads and some degree of irregularity and ageing of the skin,” and also expresses concerns of mental health issues associated with long term use of fillers.
With such a great focus on anti-aging and maintaining a youthful appearance through preventative skincare, injections and fillers can be administered to patients as young as 18-22 depending on the type. This is cause for potential concern because the long term effects and safety of these products are still unknown.
As mentioned earlier, most vegan filler formulas consist of plant derived hyaluronic acid.
Here are two products you can incorporate into your skincare routine to get plump lips and skin that feature hyaluronic acid, are completely vegan, aren’t tested on animals, and don’t have the potential to damage the soft and fatty tissues of the face over time—unlike their injectable alternatives.
The timeline to see results when using skincare products like these, in comparison to the instant results of fillers, may seem much longer, but rest assured, with consistent use following manufacturers instructions, you can see results worthy of a before and after photo.
Additionally please keep in mind that while both of these products are capable of giving you a more plump appearance, they are not capable of delivering the same degree of results as a medical grade treatment. As a general rule it’s good to have realistic expectations for your skincare products like how long they could take to show results or even the degree of results achievable.
The Lavender Moon Bedtime Lip Treatment from Pacifica is not what most people would immediately think of when talking about plump lips. Does it make your lips feel tingly? No. Is it even a lip plumper? No!
It’s a vegan lip treatment that can be used at bedtime or anytime, has a very subtle and light lavender rose scent, and is made with shea butter, jojoba oil, and of course—our all star ingredient, hyaluronic acid. This formula is moisturizing, hydrating—and capable of creating a more plump appearance in the lips. While its ingredients are incredibly nourishing, the feel of Lavender Moon Bedtime Lip Treatment is luxurious and moisturizing without feeling sticky or leaving any heavy or unpleasant residues. It lasts all night and stays where you apply it, so users wake up with lips that feel and are moisturized and hydrated, and not a sticky mess all over their face.
Retailing at $13, and available at https://www.pacificabeauty.com/products/lavender-moon-bedtime-lip-treatment ,this lip treatment is much more budget friendly than injections and fillers, which can range from about $500 to over $2000 per treatment.
With that being said, the Vegan Collagen Booster Serum from Boscia has been my most recent skincare obsession. Retailing at $46, and available at https://www.boscia.com/shop/product_detail.php?products_id=354 , this tall sip of serum is formulated with a targeted tripeptide blend that’s derived from seaweed to boost collagen synthesis, fight wrinkles, and firm and plump; vegetable collagen to strengthen, offer elasticity, and moisturize; Amla extract for its potent antioxidant and adaptogenic properties to prevent the breakup of collagen and premature aging, and maintain moisture and skin integrity; and Boscia’s Signature Botanical Blend of jojoba and willowherb to prevent free radical damage, calm skin inflammation, reduce visible redness and irritation, and nourish the skin.
After adding the Vegan Collagen Booster Serum to my skincare routine, using twice daily as instructed, and seeing the results of my own forehead and nasiolabial folds after using regularly, I was very impressed. I got another for a pal of mine who had recently started getting Botox in her forehead for the wrinkles that bothered her—partially because it was the beginning of the pandemic and our state was on lockdown, we didn’t know how long it would last and how long people wouldn’t be able to get filler done, partially because I saw amazing results from it and wanted to see if others had the same results as I did, and I also because I was planning on getting her a gift anyway.
About four months after gifting my friend the Vegan Collagen Booster Serum from Boscia, I received a text with the following:
“Hey girl! *pic of Vegan Collagen Booster Serum from Boscia* Can you get me more of this or tell me where I can get it?? I love it and I’m almost out!”—she saw amazing results as well.
Vegan, cruelty-free skincare products are a wonderful way to get desired anti-aging results without the risks of damaging the soft tissues of your skin and other unknown effects that could from the long term use of fillers, or unknowingly harming animals in the process. Although there’s a time and place for everything, including fillers—which can be used for a variety of medical needs— for long term preventative and anti-aging skincare, focus on incorporating products with ingredients that support the skin’s health and function over time into your skincare routine.
Sources
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/cosmetic-devices/dermal-fillers-soft-tissue-fillers
https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/plastic-and-cosmetic-surgery-for-vegans-information
https://www.latimes.com/health/la-xpm-2011-oct-10-la-he-animal-testing-20110718-story.html
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/dermal-fillers-the-good-the-bad-and-the-dangerous-2019071517234
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