Review: Now Solutions Shea Butter

Shea butter and cocoa butter have long been staples around me, no matter where I am. It started with my very dry skin and my parents' attempt to make it better for me. Since they grew up with cocoa butter, when I'd experience tightness with my skin, we'd quickly rub some cocoa butter on it. Eventually shea butter rose in popularity which made it easier to find on shelves. So, to this day, no matter where I am, there's a tub of shea or cocoa butter around. 

If you've got dry skin or if you scratch your skin, shea butter (or cocoa butter) is pretty good to keep around. Yes, it's a bit greasy to start and it's hard to work it in well (more about that below), but that's what helps. I was prone to scratch quite a bit so having skin that was greasy thereafter meant that I couldn't actually scratch that well. (Also, if you use shea butter as a lotion thereafter and still need to do stuff like typing, you can wear gloves). Over time though, it will sink in and not be as greasy as cocoa butter.

Shea butter can be a little bit hard to work with the first time round, especially if you're in a cold area. It hardens up and will require either a bit of microwaving (not too much!) or suspension in hot liquid in order to melt it down. It softens with warmth so if you get a small chunk, your own body's warmth will be able to melt it down. 

Shea butter can be used for a multitude of things, none of which I've actually used it for. I do use it for massages here and there and once in a blue moon, I'll slather it on my feet to soften them back up again. When I was younger and my face was dry and I used to have acne scars, I'd use cocoa butter as an overnight cream which worked wonders for me. The reason why I mention this is that shea butter is actually much better to use for this (especially if you have acne problems) since shea butter is non-comedogenic and won't clog your pores like cocoa butter would. 

Choosing between shea butter and cocoa butter is tough, and I'll admit that I have a tub of each. Cocoa butter is what I'll use at night since it's a bit greasier and shea butter is my preference for the day. 

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Product: Now Solutions Shea Butter
Price: $6-$10
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: For dry skin, it's great as a moisturizer and night facial moisturizer. Since it absorbs a bit more quickly than cocoa butter, it's especially great throughout the day. 

Review: Wholly Hemp Moisturizing Cream & Lip Balm

So before I can begin my review about Wholly Hemp, I first need to state how wonderfully awesome their customer service is. Over on Reddit, the owner of Wholly Hemp visited /r/NaturalBeauty and offered to send some samples along. They sent over some to me but they ended up getting lost in the mail (even though it said it was delivered, it just never made it's way to me) so I contacted them and told them I really appreciated what they did and thanked them for the opportunity even though I didn't get the items. Turns out that they resent the package and I was ecstatic to see what was inside. 

As my story would imply, they are very focused on skin products and at that, making a good product that helps with skin issues such as "acne, eczema, psoriasis, rosacea, or sensitive skin in general."  In the package they sent a full sized bar of Geranium Rose Soothing Soap, Bodacious Bergamot Moisturizing Cream, and Raw Lip Balm.

Since I'm still working on that bottle of Pacifica body wash, it wouldn't be logical for me to start using the soap, so I'll likely be following up in a later post about it. I have been using the lip balm and the moisturizing cream for the last few weeks so here's what I can report on.

I love the lip balm -- and yes, I am a sucker for lip balms in the first place which makes this a bit difficult so let's compare to another staple: Burt's Bees. Tis an odd one to compare it to however it's a simple product that it's as mentholated as Burt's Bees. The ingredient list for Wholly Hemp is as follows: coconut oil, beeswax, sunflower oil, hemp seed oil, vitamin E, peppermint oil, rosemary extract -- which makes it a very simple formula without all the frills. And very simply, it works. No chapped feeling and no weird feeling of buildup thereafter either. I'm somewhat of a lip balm junkie and that's the one thing that annoys me about most lip balms: buildup. I haven't experienced that with this lip balm.

The Bergamot moisturizer is another favourite (and not just because it smells like one of my favourite teas). It is a bit greasy and that greasiness is much different than the type experienced with Native Touch Warrior Bear Rub Mini. The Warrior Bear Rub has a kind of greasiness that stays with you and doesn't ever really go away but that's due to the shea butter base. The Bergamot moisturizer does utilize a shea butter base, but seems to be more heavy on the oils which means that it absorbs much better. Sure, it starts of oily, but over time it absorbs quickly and even when I find myself typing or using my mouse, it eventually fades.

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Disclaimer: I received these products complimentary however all opinions are my (especially since they didn't know that I'd be writing a blog post about the products).

Product: Geranium Rose Soothing Soap
Price: $5

Product: Bodacious Bergamot Moisturizing Cream (1.5 oz)
Price: $5
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: Love this and not just because I'm a junkie for lotions, but for the fact that it's packed with moisture and while it make take a little bit for the oiliness to subside, eventually it is absorbed which makes it a great hand lotion or all over moisturizer.

Product: Raw Lip Balm
Price: $3
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: So I'm kind of a lip balm addict and what sets this one apart is just the fact that it works and it's a simple formula. No thrills, no perfumes, no dyes, just a simple moisturizer that I love. This has been a happy addition to my lip balm lineup... so much so that I kind of don't want to use my other ones that have dyes and have a lot of fragrance.

Pawalla February 2013 Box

Sometime in between getting the first Pawalla box, I ended up screwing up an order of food for the kittens from Petco. Hilarity did not ensue when four giant bags of food showed up at our door, so we ended up cancelling the next Pawalla box in order to figure out the food situation. As it turns out though,the kittens got through most of their first box (and a giant bag of food) so we figured that a second Pawalla box would be worth it since... well, between 3 cats, we'd likely get through everything.

Anyhow, this post is just to show you what we got in the box. As it happens, just before I got home, I stopped off at the pet store and picked up some wet food based on the Canned Cat Food Spreadsheet (basically it shows you what some of the canned foods look like). I ended up grabbed three cans of Merrick cat food (Ocean Breeze, California Roll, and New England Boil) and one can of Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance L.I.D. Duck & Green Pea Canned Formula. This came about when we realized how quickly they were getting through their cans of Wellness Kitten food. I'll probably have a follow-up later to tell you how the kittens received this particular box since they haven't tried the food yet. (And if you're wondering, the first box [January 2013] was a hit).

I'll apologize in advance for the photograph quality; my camera is on it's last leg so I've ordered a new one, but I really wanted to share the contents today. Inside this month's box was the following items:

• 4 Cans of "By nature 95% Protein Food For Cats
• 95% Chicken and Chicken Liver
• 95% Oceanfish
• 95% Turkey and Turkey Liver
• 95% Salmon, Mackerel, and Sardines
• Grizzly Salmon NuTreats for Cats
• Primal Jerky Chicken Nibs
• The Honest Kitchen Grace
• Grizzly Salmon Oil for Cats
• Spot Cute Critters Catnip Toys

While opening of the box; Shiva couldn't stay away from the catnip toys and when I finally "set them free" and allowed the cats to play with them, the older cat came running over and ran off with one. The toys were clearly a hit with them.

The food is interesting; I don't know how the kittens will like it but earlier today when I was at the pet store earlier and I was trying to find the specific brands that I picked according to the spreadsheet, I saw this brand that they were unpacking. I didn't want to grab too many new brands for the kittens so I made a mental note to try it the next one. I was quite happy to see it in their box when I got home.

Honest Kitchen already exists in this house (though my roommate uses Prowl) and the kittens love to steal a bit of the Prowl. I was definitely glad to see this in the box so that they could have their own version of it.

Primal Jerky... well, up until a few hours ago, I hadn't ever heard of this before. When I saw it in the box, I figured that they would like it since they seem to like these variety of things. My roommate came over shortly thereafter and gave a bag of Primal Treats Freeze Dried Turkey Liver Munchies Treats for Cats and Dogs (which she got in the PetFlow's Spoiled Rotten Box for this month). They loved the liver version so I imagine that the Jerky Chicken Nibs will be well received by them.

The last two items were both from Grizzly that I am unfamiliar with. The concept I am no stranger to, but just the brand (which really isn't a problem for me. The NuTreats and the Salmon Oil are things that we're going to have to wait to see if they take to or not.

Review: Pacifica Brazilian Mango Grapefruit Body Wash & Body Butter Tube

This was a Christmas gift from my boyfriend's family which I was really excited about. While I'm not too big on body washes, I do enjoy their multi-purpose use (they can double as shampoos) but what really set this one apart was the fact that it was some of my favourite scents: citrus (specifically, grapefruit) and mango. So... I love mangoes and I'm not just saying that because I'm West Indian and that was a staple part of my diet growing up. Well, actually, that's exactly what I'm saying. Mangoes were on the dinner table every week when they were in season (and sometimes, when they weren't in season because several of my relatives in Florida had mango trees). Memory lane trip is complete, let's bring back in.

The wash itself is amazing because I adore that strong grapefruit scent in the shower when it's early in the morning. Not to mention that it lacks sulfates so it ends up being incredibly moisturizing on my dry skin. I'm not exactly sure what black magic gets the lather up (::cough:: coconut derivatives ::cough::) but this 100% vegan product has become a quick favourite. As I might have mentioned before, I have an extreme love for bar soaps so I didn't know what to expect when trying this, but my skin has been quite happy with the oils in this.

The body butter is where you really get the mango scent (and a lot less of the grapefruit scent). This body butter is extremely moisturizing which is awesome for me. The moisturizing element of shea butter really comes out and does well with the mango butter and all the other oils (like almond and saffron oil). The two work together as a great combination that I'm madly in love with and gives me a great start to my morning. (Okay, I really love citrus but this goes back to when Lush's Happy Hippy used to jump start my day [till I got my hands up a cup of coffee]).  Oh yeah, this body butter also happens to be free of parabens which is another added bonus. 

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Product: Pacifica Brazilian Mango Grapefruit Body Wash

Price: $10
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: Love it. It's not strong on the mango scent but the grapefruit really comes through and it's amazing. With a lack of sulfates, it's not as drying which is great for those with drier skin.

Product: Pacifica Brazilian Mango Grapefruit Body Butter Tube
Price: $15
Stars: ★★★★★
Takeaway: This is a great follow up to the wash and it has much more of that strong mango scent coming through. It's quite moisturizing and another win for those with dry skin. 

Latest Lucky 13 Lacquer Haul

Lucky 13 Lacquer has quickly become one of my favourite nail polish brands (let the whopping 15 bottles that I own speak for itself).I actually wasn't a huge glitter fan, however I am a fan of themed nail polish. So when the Last of the Time Lords series came out, I just had to. I sadly don't have any swatches yet, but you can be on the lookout for these nail polishes making random appearances in future makeup reviews.

This is a bit of the following series: Last of the Time Lords, Hylian Hero, and Aperture Labs. From left to right is the following:

• Oh Yes!: Inspired by the 10th Doctor's pinstripe suit and he just happens to be my favourite. This is a brown jelly with blue glitter.
• Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey: This is when Ten attempts to explain time travel. It's my absolute favourite and I have yet to get a good picture of it (I've used it twice now). It's a blue jelly with blue glitters, moons, and stars.
• A 51st Century Guy: Inspired by Captain Jack Harkness, this one is clear with black, white, and red heart shaped glitters.
• Zelda: Described as a "square purple with small purple and gold and tiny rainbow flecks."
• Companion Cube: Inspired by the infamous companion cube (IJ: NOT THE GAME CUBE) this one is a gray jelly with pink, silver, and pink heart shaped glitters."
• Hey, Who Turned Out the Lights?: IT GLOWS IN THE DARK. Oh, its a top coat.

During my second go, I decided to try something from the Nightmare series, another from Hylian Hero, and a One-Off so again, from left to right:

• Ragdoll: A mix of turquoise, yellow, lavender, gunmetal, and brown glitters.
• Link: Green, brown, gold, and blue glitter.
• Faerie Wings: "Purple flakies with hints of blue, green, and yellow iridescence." (As per the website).

I'm a huge fan of Lucky 13 Lacquers and at $8 per bottle you can't go wrong; the owner has been continually attentive and responsive to her customers so I've always received phenomenal service. Even if glitters aren't your thing, please give this shop a try. 

Review: e.l.f. Oil Blotting Sheets in Tea Tree & Green Tea

It's still a little bit shocking to me that I haven't posted about oil blotting sheets, especially since they've become staples (yet again) in all of my makeup bags. When I was younger, Maybelline was just about the only company (that I could find) that put out blotting sheets so just before they were discontinued, I bought a bunch of packets and had them storage. When they ran out, I supplemented with e.l.f. Essential Shine Erasers, but didn't find myself using them till my boyfriend and I visited Hawaii (see: The Wonders of Kauai). 

Since then, I've been going through a lot of blotting sheets which include the generic store brand rice papers that I picked up in Kauai, Boscia Blotting Linens, and a lot of e.l.f. blotting sheets. At work, I manage to get through a lot of blotting papers because of the heater that I'm almost always stationed by. On a trip to Target on the holidays, I noticed a new set that I couldn't quite pass up. 

In this pack was three different types of oil blotting sheets: Tea Tree for clarifying, Green Tea for rejuvenating, and Aloe Vera for soothing.

I'm almost done with the Green Tea set and shortly after I snapped that picture I had to open up the Tea Tree packet (did I mention that the heater is right by my face?).

So here's the thing, I've tried higher end brands to lower end brands, to those in between and how do these stack up? Exactly the same. See here's the thing... if you have oily skin, then you tend to reach for these things constantly (for me it is at least twice a day, sometimes three times a day) and I no longer try to touch up my makeup either in between (so I can't blame it on that either). Overall, they are fantastic because they accomplish what they need to do and they do it for a cheap price. Each smaller packet is 50 sheets so you're getting 150 sheets for $3. 

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Product: e.l.f. Oil Blotting Sheets (3 Pack)

Price: $3

Would Recommend? Yes

Takeaway: If you have oily skin, then blotting sheets should be a part of your standard makeup bag/kit. These things work wonders in a pinch and don't disturb your makeup (remember, blot, don't wipe). For $3, it's worth it especially if you go through them as quickly as I do. 

Review: Mark Glow Baby Glow & Lancôme Juicy Tubes Smoothie

At any given time, I'm bound to have a couple items on me (or around me) -- especially at work. Back in October I wrote "On Being at Work" which listed out Mark Glow Baby Glow Hook Ups and I had Bubbles, Petal Luxe, and Flirty Luxe. I've since finished the Petal Luxe and Flirty Luxe and I'm working on the Bubbles and a Lancôme Juicy Tubes Smoothie in Simmer.

I should preface this by saying that ever since my friend Tabitha introduced me to the Mark lineup that Hook Ups have been staples in my makeup kit. As for Lancôme Juicy Tubes, my mom has given me so many that to not have them just strikes me as odd. So clearly, these are winners in my book.

Let's take a look as the Hook Ups. The concept is that you get a connector and you can basically swap out for whatever you need in the line (whether that is mascara, lip gloss, makeup brushes, etc.). There's a lot of variations here that you can put together. If you're taking a look at my picture, mine just happens to have a bat because I think it's cute and it was a Halloween favour a few years ago (so no, bats are not part of the lineup). Over the years, while I've had a lot of them, I always tend to go back for the lip glosses. It also happens that they have three different types of lip glosses as well.

The three different lines are: Glow Baby Glow, Glow Baby Glow Luxe (extra shimmer), and the Pro Gloss Plumping Shine. I've had several that span the three types. While colour isn't a huge selling factor to me, my boyfriend has commented the pink ones especially (Flirty Luxe, Petal Luxe, and Girly Girl) were all complementary on me and he really liked them (especially since they didn't come off on him). They give just the right amount of colour (not too pigmented, but just the right amount), moisture, not greasy or sticky, and lasts for a long time. They are also pretty conveniently sized which makes me happy.

From left to right: Mark Glow Baby
Glow in Bubbles and Lancôme
Juicy Tubes Smoothie in Simmer.

Bubbles in the tube looks like a light purple and even on my skin when I swatch it, it looks like a light purple (I want to say the colour is Thistle, but it's more like Heliotrope that is with a bit more pink [possibly closer to Orchid]). On my face it's quite light in colour and that purple tends to go away leaving more of a Queen Pink instead. Either way, it's not like I wanted a deep hue of purple so I'm glad that I'm getting a lighter shade of purple and pink. Let's put it this way: in all the years that I've been using the lip glosses, I've never been disappointed.

Moving onto the Lancôme -- here's yet another situation where I've never been disappointed either by them. Between the Juicy Tubes Smoothie and Juicy Tubes Jelly there seems to be a colour and texture to fit my mood. Although I've only listed one (Shimmer), I've been through quite a few and a lot of my favourites tend to be the pink ones like Fruity Pop, Hallucination, Tinkled Pink, Berry Bold, and while not pink, Touched by Light was a favourite as well.

Simmer itself doesn't quite give off much colour on me; it comes off as a bit light (so if you were wondering why I don't have any images of either lip gloss on my face, that's why -- they wouldn't show up in any of the pictures that they tried to take). Nonetheless, I still get great performance from other Juicy Tubes but it is one of those situations where you need to find what works for you. The texture is good, the pigmentation in some of the other tubes is phenomenal, but in this particular one, I get more of a lip balm feel to it.

With both of these, while they might not be the shining examples of the best lip glosses you can keep around for pigmentation, they are highly moisturizing and the texture is not greasy. They are closer to lip balms in a sense. I'd definitely recommend the Mark Hook Up line and the Juicy Tubes but definitely make sure you check that the colour themselves are complementary to you. 

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Product: Glow Baby Glow Hook Up Lip Gloss
Price: $6.50
Would Recommend? Yes
Takeaway: While Bubbles itself might not be a winner, Mark Hook Ups have been a staple since about 2005 in my makeup kit and this was the first lip gloss that didn't entice love but rather like. It's still a good one to keep around since it's more of a travel size that can easily be switched out with another Hook Up product.

Product: Lancôme Juicy Tubes Smoothie
Price: $6.50
Would Recommend? Yes
Takeaway: As with the Hook Ups, Juicy Tubes have long been a staple in my makeup kit. Simmer isn't the greatest for my skin tone and undertones, but it still gets the job (moisturizing) done which works for me. I've had others which I loved so this is not one I'd easily write off -- but I would recommend checking to see if the colours work for you.

Review: Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant in Vanilla Passion Fruit

This is definitely quite the splurge; I got it a while ago and it's been knocking around in storage because I needed to get through some other deodorants first. Anyhow, I didn't really know much about this one when I ordered it expect that it was pricey and supposedly worked very well.

When I first opened the Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant in Vanilla Passion Fruit, I immediately fell in love with the scent which is proported to the "Tropical Scent of Temptation." The scent is basically "essential oils of passion fruit mingle with guava and vanilla." I can happily report that that is exactly what it smells like which is why I loved it immediately. I admit that I knew that there was a chance it wouldn't work (like how the rock crystal deodorant doesn't work and seemed like a great idea upfront) so I gave it two weeks.

It's officially two weeks later and it's my favourite deodorant to date. (Sorry to the rest of the other deodorants, they are great but I really do love this one). It's long lasting and I find that I don't need to reapply it throughout the day. One application in the morning and I'm good to go. The scent is as great as it is in the morning to the evening, when I get home from work. The one thing that took a bit to get used to is that it is a regular deodorant with the normal white residue. I haven't encountered much issues with it getting onto my clothes but if you're switching from a liquid or gel deodorant, then you might want to keep this in mind for the first few days (and check for those stains!).

The drawback is the price though. Compared to other natural deodorants, the price is exorbitant -- most deodorants I expect to pay roughly between $6-$8 but this one is $18. I did purchase this at Sephora (which strangely doesn't seem to be carrying this scent anymore) so I'm pretty sure I bought it along with some other nifty makeup which made it pale in comparison price-wise. Nonetheless if you're willing to give it a shot, it is most certainly worth it.

Now if you decide to get it at Sephora, you can get the popular scents there however if you specifically want the Vanilla Passion Fruit or Vanilla Coconut tubes, then you'll have to get it directly from Lavanila.

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Product: Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant in Vanilla Passion Fruit
Price: $18
Would Recommend? Yes!
Takeaway: I love this deodorant simply because it works so well. It is free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic dyes, petro-chemicals, and phthalates. All natural, smells great... the only drawback is the price but it's worth!

The Cat Food Debacle

Since getting the minions I've been proactive about getting new information specifically regarding food from both Reddit and Cat Forum. One of the big topics that I try to keep informed about is food. 

The shelter that the minions came from said that feed the cats and dogs Halo food. So when we went to check out food options, we decided to go with Spot's Stew since it's the only one that is grain free. (Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of other brands that carry grain free, it's just that Halo has one grain free dry food and luckily the kittens love it).

The vet said that while a dry diet was fine, we should be giving them a bit of actual kitten food rather than something that was for all life stages only because they needed more fattier substances but it turns out that grain free kitten food is actually kind of hard to find.

Now before I can get to what we did find, Shiva got sick shortly after so it was a scramble to get him food that he could find. Turns out that kittens (or cats) when sick aren't always able to find their food so warming up a bit of wet food (about 5 seconds in the microwave) helped Shiva find his food. It wasn't the greatest solution but it worked. In our scramble to find wet food though we ended up getting a few cans of Iams ProActive Health Kitten Premium Pate with Gourmet Chicken.

I wasn't exactly thrilled to be making such sudden changes to Shiva's diet so I tried to find another type of food. I ended up stumbling upon Newman's Own Organic Cat Food and figured that I'd work that in with the two of them.

Overall, they enjoyed both foods but weren't in love with them. It also didn't help that Shiva was very sick and Hiro was also a bit sick. After they finished the few cans we got, we headed over to Pet Food Express to see what other options we had for them.

Did I mention that it's a bit difficult to find kitten food that is grain free? After hanging out in the store (for what seemed like forever), we finally decided to get Lotus. We tossed a few cans in our cart and just as we were about to walk away, Wellness caught our eye. Lo and behold, Wellness has a kitten formula that is grain free! We grabbed a few cans of that too.

After seeing how the kittens go to town on food, I'd say Lotus and Wellness are the winners here (in terms of wet food). The Lotus cans are a bit smaller but the food disappears almost before I can leave the plate. They love the Wellness just as much, but the Lotus food comes out on top.

I think the great thing though is how well they have handled the mix of foods lately. They still love their Halo which is a staple of their diet but it's great to see them flit between Lotus and Wellness without experiencing too much of a disruption.

I still don't know exactly what is best for them though -- we try to balance their diet between dry and wet foods along with treats and along with their vets approval, I think we've been doing alright. 

Review: CoverGirl LashBlast Clump Crusher

Something that I noted right away is that it was a bit hard to pull the wand out of the tube. This isn't a deal breaker or anything, but I did find it kind of odd that I had that issue. That issue has presently gone away so if you encounter it, it gets bvetter. The wand itself is a bit curved, black, and plastic -- I only mention the colour because I saw a lot of pictures with a neon green wand but this wasn't like that. Overall the transition from the PF mascara to this one was seamless. Especially because the performance of the mascara was so good.

On several makeup forums that I frequent, Clump Crusher was (and possibly still is) all the rave. I got wind of it a few weeks ago and picked it up but because it wasn't time to get rid of my other mascara, I kind of just held onto it.Then on the night of my boyfriend and I's anniversary, I finally got the chance to use it (along with Tarte's Amazonian clay waterproof liner which I also used for the first time). So just so that you understand context, the previous mascara I was using was Physicians Formula Organic Wear Jumbo Lash Mascara (review) and while there was nothing wrong with it -- the six month mark was up so it was time to get a fresh tube.

I was able to apply 2-3 coats of mascara without any clumps. I didn't even need to fish out my spoolie brush to separate my lashes or do a bit of touch-up. It wore well into the night, so much so that when we got back from our dinner, I was hesitant to take it off. 

While I couldn't get a lot of my makeup to work correctly that night (like my Everyday Minerals eyeshadow falling down my face and creating a problem or the other cornsilk eyeshadow coming off too strong, which gave my eyes the appearance of being oily -- my mascara was lovely.

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Product: CoverGirl LashBlast Clump Crusher

Price: ~$6-$10

Would Recommend? Yes!

Takeaway: This is another mascara I can happily add to the "LOVE" pile and might quickly become a staple as it is on par with my two other favourites. Applies well, doesn't clump, and lasts for a long time -- I can't say I've found anything that I don't like about this mascara.

New Gaming Toys

I bought myself the Xbox 360 Afterglow Controller and my boyfriend got me the SteelSeries Siberia V2 in purple. It's almost like I'm a real gamer... you know, once I get over the whole motion sickness thing.