I have never put too much stock in cleansing balms. The thought of cleansing with the balm and then having to cleanse again with my normal cleanser just didn’t seem a great use of my time. Then I started using Beautycounter’s Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm. This is by no means a plug for this product, but if you are interested in trying I can send you a sample. There are others that I have tried as well and I will share a list below.

Let me start by saying that this is still an extra step that may seem unnecessary, and it totally is. That said, I am absolutely loving this step. It is nice to take the extra few minutes to massage the cleansing balm into my face and removes my makeup like a dream. As a mom, I find that I have less time to myself to take care of my skin and my sanity. This extra step in my skincare gives me a few minutes to myself to slow down and breathe and enjoy the few minutes of self care that I can take.

So, self care aside, what does it actually do for my face? Well, as I mentioned above, it is amazing at removing makeup. Even the waterproof or long lasting varieties. While it is doing that, it is also hydrating the skin and helping create a barrier to keep the moisture in. Once the product is rubbed around all you do is rinse off. You can stop here for a bit more hydration or continue on with another face cleanser. I tend to go that route on most days just to make sure that I have removed all impurities from my skin. You can also use as a hydrating mask overnight on already clean skin.

Here are the products that I have tried and what I love about them:

Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm ($79 for 2.5oz) I absolutely love the texture of this product. It is silky, but I don’t find it too greasy. The smell is also dreamy. Very earthy and creates a bit of a spa experience. To by honest, I keep using it for the smell! Though a bit pricey, it lasts a really long time. You only need the smallest amount for each use.

Farmacy Beauty Green Clean ($36 for 3.4oz) I love the formula and ingredients of this product and the price tag doesn’t hurt either. This formula is a cleansing balm and cleanser in one so there is no need for a second cleansing step.

I would love to know if you have every tried a cleansing balm. If so, what are you thoughts? If not, why?

I know, I know, I know…it has been too long since my last post. Once again life has gotten in the way. There doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get all of the items on my list checked off. This blog just keeps getting pushed to the bottom. So, here I am making a go of it…again.

Since being pregnant (and having my beautiful baby girl) my body has needed a bit of extra TLC. I haven’t really been crazy about any of the commercial body scrubs that I have tried and the few that I have made weren’t super great either…until now. I adapted the Vanilla Latte Body Scrub from The Compassionate Girls Guide to DIY Beauty and I think that I have found gold. Here are the ingredients and directions:

• 1/2 cup almond oil
• 1 cup ground coffee freshly ground
• 1.5 cups Sugar in the Raw

Mix all ingredients together and pour into a glass jar.

I like my scrubs extremely scrubby so if you want it a little less harsh you can sub in a finer grain sugar (the original recipe called for vegan granulated sugar) or less of the raw sugar and more of the coffee. The original also called for vanilla powder. I didn’t have any of that at home and I don’t think that it is really necessary. I suppose that essential oils may add a nice note to this product. A little of this goes a long way and it smells amazing. The almond oil (or you can use coconut oil) leaves my skin feeling soft and silky. For just a few dollars you can have a body scrub that rivals even the most expensive options.

Algenist Genius Sleeping Collagen – $98.00
I have tried tons of moisturizers and overnight creams and this has to be one of the best. Yes, it is pricey but it is really worth the money. A very tiny bit goes a long way. What I enjoy most about this moisturizer is the texture. It feels thick when you scoop it out of the tub, but applies so nicely and doesn’t leave a greasy feel on the skin. Their ingredients seem to be pretty clean and they do not test on animals.

BeautyCounter Countermatch Recovery Sleeping Cream – $56.00
I do absolutely love the Algenist moisturizer, but was looking for a cheaper alternative. While $56 is still on the pricey side, this sleeping cream ticks all of the boxes. It is a thick cream that soaks into skin beautifully. The smell of this cream is so nice. I have been enjoying using it and this 50mL jar will last me quite a while. If you are unfamiliar with the BeautyCounter brand they are a company that is committed to safer products by not using ingreditents such asformaldehydes, parabens, phthalates, toluene, triclosan, etc. (and they do not test on animals).

Hourglass Caution Extreme mascara – $29.00
Dare I say holy grail product! For a while now I have been on a glow-y skin kick. With this glow-y skin comes a bit more oil. Even though I use an amazing setting powder (see below), my under eye area is a bit more oily. This has caused my usual favorite mascaras to transfer to my under eye are throughout the day. I could use a waterproof mascara to combat this, but have tried to stay away since it really isn’t that great for my lashes. This product has helped immensely. No transfer! I have been blessed with long lashes already, but this makes them so much longer and thicker. It doesn’t clump at all or flake off throughout the day. I find it really easy to layer a few coats on without it looking gunky.

Hourglass Ambient Lighting Finishing Powder – diffused light – $48.00
As mentioned above, I am loving glowing skin these days. I was finding that my usual setting powder was leaving my face looking dry and cake-y (pregnancy has also added to this dryness in my skin). It was time to make a change. This powder is finely milled and gives a lovely glow to my skin while setting my foundation.

Colourpop Eyeshadow Palette – Going Coconuts – $12.00
While this isn’t the most mind blowing palette on the market it gets the job done. It has a beautiful array of neutral tones which I find flattering and easy to use. I would say that this is a lovely palette for beginners or for those looking for a cheap, easy palette to add to their collection. I love Colourpop shadows. They are always soft, pigmented, and easy to blend. I find myself grabbing for this palette on a daily basis especially when I want a quick and easy look.

**All products purchased by me.

Here’s the thing. I had a great brow gel, but in my move to go cruelty-free this brow gel is no longer an option. So, I was on the hunt for a great brow gel from a cruelty-free company. I am sure that you can tell by the title that my hunt has not been going well. The two brow gels that I have tried are E.L.F.’s Beautifully Bare Sheer Tint Brow Gel in Medium and CoverGirl’s Easy Breezy Volumizing Brow Gel in Medium.

To be fair, I did not do my homework on these products and they were both spontaneous buys while I was at Target or the grocery store. Let’s start with the E.L.F. product. To start with a positive–I really like the color of this product. It perfectly matches my eyebrow color. Unfortunately, that is where the positives end for me. The product is quite wet and doesn’t seem to set or hold my unruly brows. I wish it was a slightly drier product. The product wand is what I disliked most. It is super long and flexible. I found it really difficult to use and the bristles are very short. Basically, this product just didn’t perform the way that I had hoped.

CoverGirl’s Easy Breezy Volumizing Brow Gel has a more traditional wand that I like. It is small, compact and stiff–the type that I need to get through my unruly brows. Although the color is light, it doesn’t show up much on my brows which is perfect. My brows are very prominent and i don’t need any extra color in them so this color worked for me. The only thing that I don’t care for is the formulation which was way too waxy. It made my thick brows feel stiff and gross. This formulation might be better suited to someone who doesn’t have the excessive amount of eyebrow hair like mine.

For now, I am working through these two products—you know the old adage: waste not, want not. Ultimately, it is back to the drawing board. If anyone has any cruelty-free brow products that they can recommend I would love to hear them!