Morning Skin Routine

by blondewithcoffeeNovember 26, 2021December 18, 2021

Sorry for the three week hiatus, between the Thanksgiving holiday, working Black Friday, and finishing my university career, things have been crazy, but I’m back! So I’ve covered in a previous post all about my night skin routine (if you haven’t checked that out, I’ll link it here), but my morning routine is a little bit different. Where at night my products are more geared towards repairing the skin from damage after a long hard day, my morning routine is all about trying to prevent the damage to begin with. So the first big difference between the two are that there are a couple of more steps and definitely a few more products than in the evening.

Cleansing and Essence

A good place to start is at the beginning, and both morning and night starts in the same place: a good wash. I love using Fresh’s Soy cleanser on my face brush (the same every night), though I do now follow it with a new product, Fresh’s Kombucha essence. If you’re unfamiliar with an essence, it’s whole primary role is to help with better absorption of other products such as serums and moisturizers. What I love about Fresh’s is that by being based in kombucha means it’s high in probiotics that also help with skins luminosity as well as pollution protection.

Serums

When it comes down to serums, Peach and Lily’s glass skin serum has been a long time favorite of mine; with ingredients like niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, and peach extract, it helps to brighten the skin, gives beautiful luminosity, and reduces pore size and redness. It’s just an all in one serum that fits so many different skin types and needs. I personally also love using a vitamin c serum in the morning; it helps give the skin a beautiful glow as well as helps in the longterm in reducing the appearance of dark spots. I normally love experimenting with different ones just since every vitamin c is formulated a bit differently (vitamin c is notoriously unstable so quite a bit goes into formulating it). Currently, I’m using Tula’s which is a triple vitamin c complex, meaning that the vitamin c actually comes from three different sources.

Moisturizer

Winter is beginning to set in here in Texas, that means my already dry skin is entering drastic drought territory. So I’ve decided to switch it up and go back to one of my old favorites that I haven’t used in quite a while: Drunk Elephant’s Protini Polypeptide Cream. It gives me amazing hydration, and I love the fact that the pump means that I don’t have to put my fingers in the jar (which low-key grosses me out.)

Eye Care

I love a good eye cream, but there are mornings when my eyes just need a little bit more (i.e. the dark circles and puffiness is more than my concealer is going to be able to cover). So depending on how much time I have in the mornings, I do try to put eye patches on after I cleanse to let them sit while I apply serums and let them skin in. Skyn Iceland’s have been a long time favorite of mine, however I have been also enjoying Tinted’s new Copper Rays which have copper peptides in them. I also love a good eye balm (i.e. please refer to my previous reference of hating putting my fingers in jars), and Tula’s new 24/7 swipe is basically eye cream in a stick and is so quick in the mornings to use.

Protection

The final step to any morning skin routine is SPF. There are so many people under the impression that sunscreen is something that you only use in summer and they are dead wrong. The fact of the matter is that you’re exposed to UV radiation every single day n o matter the season so you need to protect yourself every single day. I personally use Tula’s glow sunscreen; I love that it’s a gel so it’s super lightweight and wears really well under my makeup, and as well as offering UV protection, it also offers blue light protection (aka protection against the light from screens like your phone, laptop, and tv).

So those are all of the products in my current morning skincare routine. Again, keep in mind, that these are the products that work for me and my skin type. They may or may not work for you depending on your skin type and the concerns or issues that you are wanting to address. I hope you enjoyed this post, all of my socials are linked if you want to give me a follow. See you next week!

Worth the Hype:The Ordinary

by blondewithcoffeeNovember 19, 2021November 15, 2021

If you have been anywhere on Tiktok over the last year and a half, you know that skincare gurus have become the new top of the beauty chain so to speak (hello, skincare by Hyrmn). With the rise of the skincare influencer has also come an increasing awareness by the public of skincare brands and ingredients, which I fully embrace. While I am so glad to see people not just settle for Neutrogena wipes and calling it a day, this has produced a new thorn in the side of beauty retail workers everywhere: enter The Ordinary. I wish I was kidding when I say that this brand is the entire reason that I got Tiktok; it got real annoying real quick to be asked about the red mask from Tiktok five times a day and have no clue what they were talking about (which btw wasn’t even a mask at all, it’s a chemical peel). There are definitely good and bad parts to the Ordinary, and I feel like this is a good space to explore them all.

The Ordinary is what we have come to refer to as a beginner skincare brand. It’s a really good place to get to feel out and explore and see what your skin likes and needs without breaking the bank. To be completely honest, I know that I have rather expensive taste when it comes to my beauty products (but also in my defense, I also have extremely sensitive skin and it seems like the pricier stuff breaks me out less often), and I am lucky enough that I have a job that makes getting my hands on expensive skincare a lot less of a hit on my bank account. That’s not the case though for most people in their early twenties, and so it’s a great opportunity to explore ingredients without committing to $60 serums that may or may not work for you. By breaking down the serums where each ingredient is it’s own serum so you can make your own kind of concoction that works, and then find those same ingredients in a higher end serum. For example, if you love the nicinamide, hyaluronic acid, and buffet (peptide) serums from the Ordinary, give Peach and Lily’s Glass Skin Serum a try: it has all of those ingredients at a higher quality plus peach extract to help brighten the skin. While the serum is slightly more than the three combined, it also switches you from three to one (and that one bottle normally lasts four plus months), which also frees you up to try other serums and products.

This leads us to one of the problems that the Ordinary does have. A lot of people are unaware that you’re only suppose to use around three serums and oils on your face at a time; the reasoning is that three is the magic number for your skin to absorb, after that it’s just over saturation and you’re just pouring product (and money) down the drain. By separating out the ingredients, it takes more of the Ordinary’s serums to get the same results that you would get with one serum that’s all of those ingredients combined, so while yes it’s a great beginner thing to have the ingredients separated out, it’s also a money grab since you have to buy more. Speaking of money grabbing, let’s talk about the quality of ingredients that you’re getting. You’ll notice that near the top of most Ordinary serums is an ingredient called glycerin. Just as a bit skin ingredient knowledge, glycerin in a small amount is good for your skin, it’ll draw moisture into your skin. However, in large amount after long term use, it will dry out your skin and exasperate any issues that you’re having (so you then buy more skincare hence the term money grab). Glycerin is derived from vegetables, so it’s super cheap to make and is a great filler ingredient. The point is that $6 you’re paying for the serum is mostly filler and not actually that much active ingredient.

I think that I’ve made my feelings on the Ordinary pretty clear, but let’s be clear, I don’t think you have to spend hundreds of dollars to get quality skincare. There are plenty of amazing skincare products in the drugstore; two of my favorite examples of this are Good Molecules and Peach Slices (which is the drugstore brand of Peach and Lily!). They have amazing quality products that aren’t going to break the bank. But that’s the post for this week, and I hope you enjoyed. Feel free to leave a comment letting my know what your favorite drugstore brand is. I post every Friday, so make sure you subscribe to see updates and my socials are linked if you want to stay up to date on my day to day. Hope you have a great week!

My Favorite Vegan Lipsticks

by blondewithcoffeeNovember 12, 2021November 12, 2021

As shifting more of the makeup products I use to clean beauty products has become a personal focus this year, I feel like one of the hardest spots hit for me. This honestly stems most likely from my love of lipsticks on complete opposite ends of the spectrum: nudes and deep reds. Do I own in-between those two extremes; yes, though they are few and far between. While finding amazing nude formulas that are vegan, it is much harder to find a nonpatchy, lasting red. This most likely stems from the fact that historically speaking, the red pigments used in makeup products have come from things such as red algae, fish scales, and more commonly cochineal (aka crushed beetles) which is an ingredient still found today in makeup. Vegan formulas obviously don’t use any animal products, which does make it harder to formulate. However, after much searching and testing, I feel like I’ve come up with a pretty good selection of vegan lipsticks.

Live Tinted’s Hue Multisticks

Live Tinted is a relatively new brand out on the market, but so far what I’ve tried, I’ve absolutely loved. I feel like a real standout from this brand is their multisticks; designed for use on the lips, cheeks, and eyes (they’re ophthalmologist tested), I feel like they are perfectly designed for people who don’t like a lot of extra clutter in their makeup bags. I now own three colors, Perk (a peachy pink), Rise (terra-cotta), and Found (deep brick) and have experienced no real difference in the color payoff despite the great variation of colors. They all blend beautifully, are cruelty-free, and are a must in a minimalist’s makeup bags.

Urban Decay Vice Lipsticks (relaunch)

If you have been a longtime lover of Urban Decay, you will have noticed lately a lot of small relaunches and that there’s not as many shades available in the eyeshadows and lipsticks as before. The reason behind this is simply that Urban is slowly but surely making their brand 100% vegan along with being cruelty free as they’ve always been. If you love’d the old formula, don’t worry the new one is just as creamy and pigmented. While there are some new shades in the range, some time true classics have returned as well such as Backtalk, 1993, Bad Blood, Naked and Hex.

KVD’s Everlasting Liquid Lipstick

I can’t talk about vegan lipsticks without talking about the one that started it all for me. I can’t say enough good things about it; the pigmentation, the staying power, I love how thin the formula is. Like I can’t imagine a day when I’m not obsessed with this lipstick. While shade Lolita is definitely a fan favorite and best selling, personally I thick Ludwig is my perfect shade of nude.

Bare Minerals BarePro Longwear Lipstick

In the past, Bare Minerals has a had a certain age demographic, but I feel like that’s certainly changing as they’ve brought in younger spokeswomen (hello Hailey Bieber) and there brand is just really being slept on. I’ve tried the liquid lipsticks (which are okay) and the gloss-balms (I’m obsessed), but what surprised me most was their OG bullet lipsticks. Like, they are comfortable, long-lasting (for a bullet lipstick), and also have sunflower seed and blackberry seed oil to help protect against environmental aggressors. The two standout colors in my mind are cinnamon (warm rosy brown) and raisin (it’s exactly what you’re picturing).

Honorable Mention: Tarte Lip Paint

So the Tarte lip paint has long been a favorite of mine, but it’s no longer available in my local Ulta or Sephora which is why it’s an honorable mention. A quick search let me know that it is still available on Tarte’s website, but there’s definitely not as many colors as I remember (as well as of the the few they do carry, half seem to be sold out, which makes me think the line is being discontinued) . The formula is really similar to KVD’s, however it’s honestly even thinner which I love. Festival and Birthday Suit were always two of my favorite colors, so if you happen to stumble across them, I would snatch them up.

So that’s the post for this week, I hope you all enjoyed. There are definitely more formulas out there that I haven’t tried (and I already have a list of the ones I want to) so there might be an update to this post in the future. Make sure you subscribe if you want to be kept up to date about when I post, and my socials are linked if you want to stay up to date on my life. Hope you have a great week, and see you next Friday!

Holiday Gift Ideas 2021

by blondewithcoffeeNovember 5, 2021November 5, 2021

Even though we are only in our first week of November, it seems like already the holidays are upon us. A quick stroll through the aisles of Target will tell you that as the lights, wreathes, and ornaments have been up since mid-October. As probably many a basic girl will say, there’s just something about Christmas time that is absolutely magical. However, one of the biggest struggles I have during this season (besides dealing with unagreeable family members) is figuring out what to get everyone in my life. There’s just so many options out there nowadays, that it can be difficult to decide what to pick. So here are a few options for those in your life (with a few of my own longings thrown in) that might be a bit more challenging.

For the Book Nerd: Minalima’s Illustrated Edition of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

This illustrated edition is a great option for any Potterheads you many have in your life as well as those who love special edition books in general. If you didn’t know, Minalima are the duo behind all of the amazing graphic design you see in the Harry Potter films. Like I’m talking every book cover, sign or poster in the movies, they’re the ones who did it. I got the Sorcerer’s Stone edition last year for Christmas, so when I found out that they were releasing book two this Christmas, no joke, I may have let out a scream. Needless to say, this book already has a reserved place on my bookshelf, and will be what I read to my future children at bedtime.

For the Hair Obsessed: Dyson Airwrap

If any of you have ever gotten to play with any Dyson product, you know they are next level and the hair tools are no exception. The airwrap is the one to go for if you’re ready for the commitment (not gonna lie, they are quite the investment piece), but with all the attachments, you’d never need another hair tool again in your life. Also, this Christmas they’ve released a limited edition blue and copper one that’s just *chef’s kiss*.

For the Skin Guru: Limited Edition Skin Sets

We all know that person in our life who could go on for hours and hours about skincare. Their routine has about fifteen steps, and you can bet that they’d never dare go outside without sunscreen (I have a friend who’s so obsessed with SPF she keeps a bottle in her work bag for second application before she goes home for the day). Helping them restock their skincare cabinets is basically their love language, and one of the best things about the holiday season is the variety of sets out there. Whether it be time tested staples (like Fresh’s shower gel and lotion duo) or limited editions of your year-round favorites (Tula’s So Polished is available this season in scents like gingerbread, sugar plum or delicious peppermint chocolate).

For the Conscious Makeup Lover: Tarte Holiday or Urban Decay Cyber Collection

Let me tell you, every year it seems like more and more brands are stepping up their game when it comes to their holiday collections, but personally I feel like Tarte and Urban are the creme de la creme. Tarte of course has always been vegan and cruelty free, but now that Urban Decay’s started creating more and more vegan products, I feel like that these are great options for the clean beauty lovers. The newest holiday collection features both the Cyber palette (think duo chrome and pastels) as wells as the new Naked 3 mini in a set with the perversion eyeliner along with an all nighter spray duo. Tarte every year releases a flood of great value sets like their shape tape sets and palette vaults, along with a few limited edition items (this year there’s a coffee themed palette and I feel like it’s calling my name.)

So while this list is definitely not entirely finished (as in there are probably hundreds more options to offer up), there is always the hope that perhaps this list has given you some ideas about what to get your loved ones this season (or maybe a few ideas about what to ask for yourself). I think the most important thing to remember is that it’s the thought that goes into the gift that matters, not the amount of money you spend. Make sure to subscribe if you want get notified when I post, and my socials are linked if you want to stay up to date on my day to day life. Till next time!

Current Hair Favorites

by blondewithcoffeeOctober 29, 2021October 29, 2021

Hair care is something that I would say takes a priority in my beauty routine/daily life. To say that I’ve put wayyyyyy too much money into my hair to think differently is putting it mildly. I’ve been a platinum blonde since 2017( if you haven’t read my blonde hair post, check it out here), and if I want to keep it that way I have to put some work in. So I’m constantly scouring the market for new products to see what can make my life easier and my hair healthier, and now I can confidently say that I’m in a very good place when it comes to my hair.

Treatments: Olaplex No.3 & Ouai’s Thick Hair Mask

Now there are multiple Olaplex products that have a place in my routine, but the OG No.3 holds a very special place in my heart. I use this product every week when I wash my hair. Of course, No. 3 is a preshower treatment, so while I am in the shower I love using Ouai’s Thick hair mask. All of Ouai’s products smell amazing (this one has Melrose Place, which is the same as the dry shampoo) and this mask is no exception; designed especially for thick hair, it’s a mixture of shea, almond, and olive oils plus keratin. So it’ll leave your hair feeling soft and smooth.

Shampoo & Conditioner: Bumble and Bumble’s Hairdresser’s Oil

This duo is my favorite when it comes to giving my hair hydration but not weighing it down. Cruelty-Free and sulfate-free(so the shampoo isn’t going to suds up), the six oil blend helps to soften and defrizz hair. It’s designed for those of us out here with dry, damaged and brittle hair.

Wet Hair Care: IGK’s Good Behavior Prep Spray & Smoothing Treatment

While you can definitely use the products separately, I feel like I get the best results when I use them together. Both offer heat protection up to 450 degrees and contain Spirulina which helps to smooth, nourish and strengthen the hair. I go in with the prep spray first on my towel dry hair before using a come to detangle and rough drying my hair. After it’s about 85% dry, I section, spray the smoothing treatment and round brush for that smooth, blowout look. All of IGK’s products are vegan, cruelty-free, and formaldehyde-free (which is a big one since I’m allergic), so feel free to use them guilt-free!

Dry Hair Styling: Ouai’s Texture Spray & Drybar’s The Chaser finishing cream

There is a reason that the texture spray from Ouai is a cult classic, if you want beachy-textured waves look no further than this spray. Honestly when I use this spray in my curls, I don’t use any hairspray (it’s kinda like if dry shampoo had a baby). It gives me enough hold and grit that my curls last all day, but if I brush it out, there’s not so much texture that my hair feels unbearably dirty (it’s a fine line I like to walk, lol). Also the scent is great (it’s called North Bondi, and it’s actually available as a perfume and candle on Ouai’s website). To smooth my ends and give them a bit of shine, I’m obsessed with the Chaser from Drybar. The shine actually comes from bits Mica infused in the cream. A little bit goes a long way though, so only use a pump.

And those are some of my favorite hair products. To be completely honest, there are literal baskets full under my sink, and I can probably talk for hours about my favorite dry shampoos (which deserve their own post tbh), these are my ride-or-dies. I know not every product works for everyone the same way, I hope that this can help you on your own hair journey. So that’s the post for this week, make sure to check back in next Friday to see what’s new. All of my socials are linked if you want to give them a follow, and until next week. See you then!

Current Night Skin

by blondewithcoffeeOctober 22, 2021October 15, 2021

We can all agree that getting home at the end of an extremely long day is a sigh of relief, and just like how you want to kick your shoes off at the end of the day, so does your skin (theoretically speaking). Night is the time when your skin is at it’s most relaxed, after a long stressful day of being exposed to different kinds of stressors, whether those are outside aggressors like environmental (like pollution) or internal (example: consuming six cups of coffee and not one ounce of water). Your nighttime routine should be as be as different from your morning as well night and day; where in the morning the concern is about protecting your skin, at night you should be concerned with repairing your skin. The order in which you would use your products also changes depending on the products in your routine. For example: if you use toners or essences (which I haven’t been lately), then they would go after your cleanser but before your serums. I’ve actually been downgrading my routine lately in an attempt to be more efficient with my time so it’s pretty simple: a double cleanse, followed my two serums then my moisturizer and eye cream.

Step 1: Cleansing

Just as with any skincare routine, the first thing you need to do is cleanse your skin to get all the dirt and gunk out of your pores as well as any makeup from that day. To begin, I go in with Juice Beauty’s Stem Cellular Cleansing Oil to melt off any makeup from earlier before doing a light rinse and using Fresh’s Soy Cleanser on my PMD brush.

Step 2: Serum

After cleansing, it’s time to attempt to repair some of the damage from the day. Retinol has always been a popular night serum, though unfortunately with my sensitive skin it has always been a struggle to find just the right one that’s going to give me results while not breaking me out in. Enter in the chat the new retinol from Kiehl’s: it’s a microdose serum which means that it’s gentle and safe enough for everyday use. I am honestly obsessed with this serum and pair it with Fresh’s Rose Oil-in-Serum. Rose is well known for it’s ability to help with cell turnover, so it’s just an obvious choice to pair to help with night repair.

Step 3: Moisturize

And finally, moisturizing and sealing in those amazing serums that I used. Currently I’ve still been rocking the Tula Dew Your Thing oil-free gel cream, which is giving me the hydration that I need while still being lightweight in all of this persistent humidity. As hopefully it starts to cool down soon, I will probably transition into a heavier cream but for now this works like a charm.

So that is my current night time skincare routine. A big thing to take from this post is while this routine and these products work for me, they may or may not work for depending at your skin type and needs. It’s really important to listen to your skin and it’s needs rather than trying a product because it’s trendy. I hope you enjoyed this post and learned a few different things. My socials are all linked if you want to keep up with me, and I post here every Friday. Until next time, have a great week!

Worth the Hype: Fresh Skincare

by blondewithcoffeeOctober 8, 2021October 2, 2021

One of the exciting things that happened during my hiatus was Fresh Skincare coming to Ulta. Once a Sephora exclusive, you can now find this clean skin love at your local Ulta (and it’s not the only once Sephora exclusive that’s found it’s way into Ulta recently). Founded in 1991 by Russian immigrants living in Boston, Fresh is all about natural, sustainable ingredients inspired by the food bazaars found across Europe. An amazing aspect that Fresh has brought to the game is that they’ve partnered with the UEBT (Union for Ethical BioTrade) to ensure that all of their ingredients can be traced back to their source. They are also working towards having net-zero carbon emissions by 2030 and 100% of packaging either made of recycled material or being recyclable by 2025. All of these things are absolutely amazing, but of course comes the question: are the products worth the price tag?

From experience so far, I say, absolutely! There is not a single item that I have tried that I haven’t loved, and as someone with extremely sensitive skin that is a miracle. There are very few brands out there that I can say that about (even my introduction to natural skin, Origins has given me a few reactions). While some of the ingredients are very typical for skincare, they’ve added some unique ones that certainly work (like kombucha, great for the gut and your face lol).

Soy Face Cleanser

As a combo-dry skin person, I am constantly on the lookout for a cleanser that is going to get me clean, but not leave my skin dry and tight feeling. This cleanser is it. Like hands down, one of the best that I’ve ever tried. One of my friends shared with me that she’s not the biggest fan of the scent (think soy and cucumbers), but honestly I don’t mind it. I just love how clean my skin feels after using this.

2. Rose Deep Hydration Oil-Infused Serum

On principal, I’m not the biggest fan of rose scented things. Don’t get me wrong, I love what rose does to my skin, I love receiving roses, however anything that’s artificially scented rose or most things with rose essence just immediately bring to mind elderly ladies (I think it’s a direct correlation to my paternal grandmother and her love of rose lotion). Fresh’s rose line is something else however. It might be the fact that in several of the items I can actually SEE the rose petals (like the toner and mask), but I really just enjoy it. This serum has become one of my nighttime routine, going directly after my retinol serum, and I just love how it makes my skin feel.

3. Sugar Lemon Body Wash and Lotion

So lemon has always been one of my favorite scents/flavors (like lemon Luna bars and Lemonades from the Girl Scouts are my weakness), so the first time I smelt this scent, I was done for. My skin is SO soft after using this shower gel, and the lotion *chef’s kiss*. Together, I just look and smell amazing. With ingredients like mango seed extract and actual sugar, Vitamins C&E, and nourishing shea butter, it’s doing good for your skin while leaving you feeling nice and refreshed.

4. Lip Treatments

So with the return of the masks, unfortunately means that my lips are back to being as dry as the Sahara. Never in a million years would I have imagined myself paying almost $20 for a lip balm, but these have become an actual favorite of mine. To be totally honest, I have two just because I hate going between bags and forgetting it in the other when I need it. So the mint flavored one lives in my work purse, meanwhile the tinted Rose one lives in my just regular purse (so that way there’s a bit of color on my lips when I’m going out to eat). I’m honestly probably way too obsessed, but with winter coming at least I know crusty lips aren’t in my forecast.

Thank you so much for joining me this week, and if you want to check out Fresh for yourself, I’ll have their website linked here. As always, if you want to keep up with me, all of my socials are linked in the bar. I hope you have a wonderful rest of your week, and see you next Friday!

Life Update!

by blondewithcoffeeSeptember 24, 2021September 18, 2021

So it’s been a while……to put it mildly. To say my life has been a mess of organized mass chaos lately is putting it mildly. To break it down, there’s been vacation time, job promotion (whoop whoop), and my boyfriend and I moving into our own place (so finally no other roommates), as well as my final semester of school starting. So like I said, mass chaos. But, in good news, I’m back and I have many, many new ideas of things to explore.

Like many a basic white girl, to say I’m obsessed with fall is putting it mildly. Do I already have my halloween decorations up in September? Yes (but only on the inside, the boyfriend is making me hold off on the lights and cobwebs on the outside till October 1st). Do I have a stockpile of the Pillsbury spooky cookies? Yes (in my defense, those things are a hot commodity in my town , so if I want to enjoy any for the next month, I need to grab them while I see them). Am I unable to go about my day without a pumpkin spice beverage? Unfortunately, also yes (on a side note: has anyone else tried Starbuck’s new oat milk PSL creamer? It gives me life). With a new season, comes new launches, and already the sneak peeks are giving me life. To highlight just a few of the things I’m excited about:

Chloe is coming out with a perfume that is 100% natural origin fragrance.
Urban Decay’s new light/metallic, 100% vegan Cyber palette
The possible return of Colourpop’s Hocus Pocus collection (yes, you heard that right)
Drunk Elephant coming to Ulta

Honestly, I could go on and on about all of the exciting things that I’m looking forward to, but that list would probably be 20 pages long and no one has time to read that. So just make sure you stick around, I promise I won’t disappear again. My socials are linked in the icons if you want to give them a follow, and I’ll see you next Friday!

Current Loves From Ulta’s Conscious Beauty Collection

by blondewithcoffeeJuly 2, 2021July 1, 2021

As people grow more and more aware of the ingredients on their skin, there has been growing push for transparency from brands as well as for cleaner ingredients to be used. Both Ulta and Sephora have begun having collections of brands that they have deemed “clean” according to the standards they have set. This week I want to focus on Ulta Beauty’s “Conscious Beauty Collection”; this collection has five pillars that each brand needs to meet at least two of, they are: clean ingredients, cruelty free, vegan, sustainable packaging, and positive impact.

Tula Balancing Act Toning Pads

As the Texas summer starts to heat up, my skin turns into a grease pit, so I need something to balance that out. I absolutely adore these pads as much as I do all of Tula’s other products I’ve tried. Tula has made a name for themselves with their clean, probiotics based formulas (if you haven’t checked out my post devoted to them, you can click here), but their new toning pads take it to the next level. Instead of glycolic acid like the first one they launched, these use lactic acid as well as witch hazel and niacinaminde to help with oil control. What makes them even better is that they are made of bamboo and biodegradable (hello sustainability), and when you’re done, instead of throwing away the plastic container, you can buy a refill pod to just pop in.

2. Tarte Amazonian Clay BB Cream

My one complaint about Tarte’s Amazonian clay foundation was that while the coverage was amazing, it was so thick that I felt like my skin was being suffocated. This Amazonian clay BB cream though is just enough coverage to hide any discoloration you might be suffering from, but light enough to feel like there’s nothing there. I also love that the formula is vegan, cruelty-free, and has SPF.

3. Drybar Liquid Glass Miracle Smoothing Sealant

Calling all my damaged hair babes that need help containing the frizz, this spray-in treatment is going to be your new best friend. Visiting Drybar is one of my favorite things to do when I visit Austin, and finding out that they’re cruelty-free with clean ingredients and sustainable packaging made me just love them that much more. I absolutely adore the Liquid Glass shampoo and conditioner, but what makes this spray so much better is that it lasts through three washes and gives you heat protection up to 450 degrees F! The entire Smooth Glass line features the iconic Drybar blanc scent with vegan keratin helping to seal, reinforce and smooth the hair cuticle.

4. Peach and Lily Glass Skin Refining Serum

Korean skincare is widely regarded as some of the finest skincare that you can buy on the market (and for good reason), and Peach and Lily’s glass skin serum is a great showcase. One of my all time favorite serums (I’m on my third bottle), this little white bottle is my secret for smooth, glow skin. With key active ingredients like hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, peach extract, and peptides, this serum is going to give you hydration, even skin tone, lighten dark spots, and reduce pore size. You can also feel good about using it since Peach and Lily is vegan, gluten free, and cruelty free; it’s also free from any parabens, sulfates, silicons, along with 1,550 other toxic things.

5. St Tropez Self Tanner

As most likely proven about two posts ago, I love a good self tanner, the only bad thing is that they do somewhat have a reputation for not always being the cleanest product to use. So finding out that there’s a self tanner brand being highlighted by Conscious beauty is absolutely amazing. The great thing about the St Tropez line are there are options for everyone, from good ol’ 8 hour tans with guider colors to water-based mousses and sprays to 2 hour express sprays. There’s a fit out there for literally everyone, and one again, no need to feel guilty with clean ingredients, sustainable packaging, and cruelty-free!

6. Pacifica Plantmagic Nail Polish

So fun fact, I am actually allergic to formaldehyde, and about ten years ago when I found out, there were a lot of nail polish brands that unfortunately still used it. Even though as a industry we’ve moved away from using such toxic ingredients, I still never use a nail polish unless it actually says it’s formaldehyde free (you can never be too cautious when there’s a possible hospital visit on the line). I’ve used Pacifica’s skincare in the past, so their new plant based polish really caught my eye. It’s free from 16 of the most harsh chemicals usually found in nail polish (with 80% of the ingredients bio-sourced), 100% vegan and cruelty free, and the polish has lasted just as long on my toes as the other ones I’ve tried. A great thing about Pacifica is their social impact: 10% of all profits go towards cleaning up the Pacific Ocean.

7. Kopari Coconut Deodorant

I love natural deodorant, unfortunately natural deodorant doesn’t always love me. The amount of times that I’ve broken out in a rash from trying a new deodorant is honestly sad. Another problem with natural deodorants is that they always smell, well, natural. I don’t know about anyone else but the whole smelling like lavender and sage doesn’t always work the best with the situation going on under my arms. Enter Kopari: for the people who love natural deodorant but want still smell good. It’s coconut oil based (so great for sensitive skin), and all of their stuff smells nice and fresh and beachy. I actually usually buy the beach scent from them, but they do have a new scent called coastal that honestly also seems like it smells amazing. Kopari is vegan, cruelty-free, with sustainable packaging and clean ingredients.

Thank you so much for tuning in this week, and I hope you enjoyed this post. My socials are all linked if you want to give them a follow, as well as you can follow this blog so you get a notification every time I post (which is every Friday). Till next time!

May 2021 Favorites

by blondewithcoffeeJune 4, 2021June 4, 2021

Way back in OG Youtube days, monthly favorites videos were some of my favorite things to watch. I just loved watching what other people were loving, and it honestly gave me so many of my favorite products in my teen years. Unlike those early youtubers though, I wouldn’t expect a new favorites post from me every single month. I just feel like it takes at least two months for me to decide if I like something, and even longer for it to become a “favorite”. So these posts will probably pop up more as we change seasons, but you know, still going to call this a monthly favorites. Let’s get right into it!

Sweet by Ellis Brooklyn

So in my last fragrance post, I talked about Ellis Brooklyn’s Bee perfume, and this past month I’ve been loving “Sweet”. So normally my fragrance tastes are far from anything that can be deemed smelling like candy (which one of my friends claims it kinda smells like Swedish fish), but I think this is more of a grown up kind of sweet. With notes of pear, bergamot, violet, as well as white amber and cashmere, it’s just subtle and light enough to get noticed and perfect for the summer season.

2. Megababe Beachy Pits Deodorant

If like me, you loving using natural deodorant but the “natural” scents don’t always work for you (lavender smell does not work in my underarm region), then this is the deodorant for you. It’s baking soda and aluminum free, using sage and green tea to prevent odor causing bacteria from forming.It’s a light scent, but perfect for summer.

3. Megababe Space Bar Charcoal Bar

So here in Texas, it gets HOT in summer, which means that I sweat A LOT, so sometimes you need something a little extra down there. Enter this soap bar, it has glycolic acid, tea tree oil and charcoal. As a bit of a warning though, don’t leave this bar in the shower because it will dissolve fast.

4. Lancome L’absolu Mademoiselle Shine Lipstick in “Mademoiselle Plays”

With the vaccine rollout and mask mandates being lifted, it’s finally time to showoff lipstick again and I have been absolutely loving this one. The formula is amazing, giving you hydration and pigmentation (think lipstick/lip balm hybrid), and it smells divine! I love this shade just because it’s the perfect peachy nude for summer with little flecks of gold inside.

5. Nisolo Huarache Sandals in Almond

What my boyfriend has deemed my “farmer’s market mom shoes”, these are honestly my favorite splurge purchase I’ve recently made. They’re honestly super comfortable (like enough I wear them to work pretty often), but cute enough that I also wear them everywhere else in my life (aka brunch, because that’s all I have going for me currently as a social life). A great thing I love about this brand that makes the price tag worth it is that they’re extremely socially conscious, with the shoes being handmade in Peru where they pay higher than an actual living wage (100% Living Wage) and have also worked towards reducing their impact on the world (0% Net Carbon).

I’m so sorry about missing the post last week, life just got absolutely insane and to be honest, I just didn’t have time to finish working on it. However, I promise I’ll do better in the future, so make sure to check back every Friday for a new post. My socials are linked if you want to give me a follow. Have an amazing week!