Naturalla Beauty

I've been test-driving a bunch of new hair products the last few months, so I figured it was well past time I sat down and started writing about them!  For those of you who don't already know, I have naturally curly hair that appreciates moisture, but also quickly gets oily from products that are too rich.  My hair also has a tendency towards frizziness, so it's definitely a fine balance!



Bröö Malted Mint Invigorating Shampoo // Conditioner
Water makes up the bulk of many products, shampoo and conditioner included, and Bröö, true to their name, replaces the water in their formulas with all-malt freshly hopped craft beer.  It's a little gimmicky, but it's not just a gimmick, since the beer brewing process releases B vitamins, minerals, and proteins that nourish and strengthen hair.  Ever heard of people using beer as a hair rinse?  The idea is the same, only the benefits are already built into Bröö's products.  

I'm already on my second tube of the Invigorating Shampoo, a gentle and somewhat creamy wash that cleanses hair without stripping away its natural oils.  The conditioner is surprisingly rich and luxurious, and I only need a small amount to sufficiently hydrate my curls.  The invigorating duo is marketed as a "daily detox for hair and scalp," and the formula, which is boosted with caffeine and peppermint essential oil, is intended to stimulate the follicles and encourage hair growth.  I can't speak to any definite effects at this point, but the conditioner in particular does generate a refreshing minty tingle on the scalp.

The company claims that Bröö products have no beer scent, but I don't find that completely true with this pair.  To my nose, the beer scent is mild but still noticeable in both products, along with a nice minty/herbal aroma.  It's completely non-offensive and any beer scent is gone by the time hair dries, so there's no chance you'll be walking around smelling like a brewery.   For me, the scent is a major improvement over the old Bröö formulas -- the ones in plastic bottles, not tubes -- which had much stronger, sweet scents that I couldn't tolerate.  

Original Sprout Natural Hair Gel
Original Sprout is a hair stylist-created line of vegan hair and body products designed to be allergen-free and safe for the whole family.  The Natural Hair Gel, labelled for "babies & up," is a great gentle hair gel that I love using for lightweight curl definition.  Made without added fragrance or essential oils, the gel has just a mild sweet scent and offers medium-hold without any gross sticky or tacky feeling.  It can get a little crunchy if you use a lot, but it's nothing that can't be scrunched out with your fingers.  I started my second tube this week and I also just picked up the company's Miracle Detangler to try out next.  

Beautiful Curls Curl Enhancing Shampoo
The Curl Enhancing Shampoo, specifically formulated to maximize waves and curls, sounded like it'd be perfect for me, and since I've enjoyed other Beautiful Curls products, I had high hopes going in.  Unfortunately, it ended up being a complete dud for me.  The shampoo is rich in shea butter and coconut oil and has a creamy consistency that you'd think would be moisturizing, but no matter what conditioner I paired it with -- both traditional rinse out options and leave-ins, it consistently left my hair dry, frizzy, and feeling stripped of moisture.  The shampoo hardly lathers and after a few washes, it started building up on my scalp, feeling gummy, and not actually getting anything clean.  I'm sure this product works for somebody, but it definitely wasn't me.  

DIY Healthy Scalp + Hair Growth Oil
I've gotten into a constant cycle of pulling my hair back into tight ponytails, loosing hair at the temples, re-growing it, and then repeating the entire awful cycle over again.  I'm back in the growth stage now and trying to speed things up with a homemade blend of hair and scalp-friendly essential oils -- namely rosemary, peppermint, lavender, cedarwood, and tea tree.  The blend does double duty -- I massage it directly into a clean scalp after washing my hair, and it can also be added into hair treatments and masks. 

Along with these five, I've also been experimenting with henna the last few months, but I think that deserves its own dedicated post.  Have you discovered any exciting hair products recently?

I'm a couple days behind schedule, but here it is: my final empties post of 2015.  If you aren't familiar with these, this is where I show you the products I've finished up in the last month and give you my final impressions after using the entire thing to completion.  I was also curious to see how many products I actually use over a year, so I've been tracking total counts in various categories over the course of 2015.  The final results will be at the bottom of this post.  


Beautiful Curls Curl Reviving Tonic
I've gone through four or five bottles of this spray over the last couple years.  It's fantastic on second day hair and really does revive and refresh curls, just as the name says.  Unfortunately the ingredients/formula changed a few months ago and it now includes phenoxyethanol, an ingredient I prefer not to use.
Repurchase? No.  I have one more bottle of the old formula, but after that I won't be buying any more.

Intelligent Nutrients Harmonic Shampoo   [Review]
I included this shampoo in my Top 15 Products of 2015, which pretty much says it all!  It's a great shampoo that gets the scalp very clean without making hair dry or brittle.  I still have 1/2 or 1/3 of a bottle of the matching conditioner, but I'll finish that off with other shampoos.  
Repurchase? Yes, but not immediately.

Scentuals Bodycare Moisturizing Grapefruit Body Wash*   [Review]
This was a nice body wash.  I liked the grapefruit scent and it was actually quite moisturizing.  The texture is interesting too - kind of a creamy midway point between a typical body wash and aloe vera gel.  I used a good portion of the bottle to wash my makeup brushes and it worked really well for that purpose as well.  
Repurchase? Probably not.  I liked it, but there are other body washes I like more.

Nourish Organic Coconut & Argan Body Wash
Nourish's Body Wash is another product that made it onto my Top 15 of 2015 and is something I've gone through numerous bottles of.  Funny story about this one: I'm a big fan of the Coconut & Argan scent and had tucked this bottle away for most of the year after finding out it had been discontinued.  So, imagine my surprise to finally open it and discover the contents were actually the Almond Vanilla Body Wash!  Not a bad scent by any means, just pretty funny under the circumstances.  
Repurchase? Yes!  Obviously not in this scent, but I'll definitely be buying others.  

Young Living Grapefruit Lip Balm
I like the Young Living lip balms, but the grapefruit one isn't my favorite.  It smells lovely, but I don't find it as hydrating as the Lavender, which is my favorite.
Repurchase? Yes, but probably not this scent.

Balanced Guru Calming Masque  [Review]
Yet another Top 15 of 2015 product!  I've gone through a few of these small jars now and it's still one of my all-time favorite masks.  
Repurchase? Yes! I already have.

Sibu Beauty Sea Buckthorn Purifying Mask
I'm not as crazy obsessed with this mask as with the Balanced Guru, but I do like it.  It's pretty gentle and the fact that it's pre-mixed in a tube makes it super quick and easy - perfect for in the shower or other instances when I was short on time.
Repurchase? Maybe.



Weleda Pomegranate Firming Serum + Day Cream (samples)
I like a lot of Weleda products, but the serums just don't work for my skin.  They're glycerin-based and my face tends to break out from a lot of glycerin.  Since I didn't want the samples to go to waste, I used them on my chest and they worked nicely there.  The serum is hydrating but ultra-lightweight.  It sinks in almost instantly, leaving skin basically dry to the touch.  The Firming Day Cream was nice enough too, but after only one packet, it didn't make a huge impression.
Repurchase? No.

Sibu Beauty Sea Buckthorn Hydrating Serum
Another glycerin-based serum that I didn't have very high expectations for, but I ended up really liking it.  I also used it on my chest rather than my face, and it seemed to make the skin in that area look smoother and more even, even just in the five or six days the sample packet lasted.
Repurchase? Possibly.

Darling Girl Cosmetics Dr. Pepper Cake Eye Shadow (sample)
Darling Girl makes some of my favorite shadows, both in color and formula.  Dr. Pepper Cake - now discontinued - was a beautiful complex neutral: a shimmery mid-toned brown with some pink/mauve reflects.
Repurchase? Not possible.

Odacité Intensive Hand & Heel Therapy* (sample)   [Review]
I loved this cream and used it very sparingly to make the sample last.  It's a rich cream, but absorbs quickly to deeply nourish hands, feet, and other dry areas.  The ingredients are also wonderful.
Repurchase? Maybe.

Total Products Used Up in December
Skincare: 3 (Lip Balms: 1)
Bodycare: 2
Haircare: 2
Makeup: 0
Skin/Body/Hair Samples: 7
Makeup Samples: 1

Total Products Used Up in 2015
Skincare: 40 (Lip Balms: 11)
Bodycare: 40
Haircare:  12
Makeup: 15
Skin/Body/Hair Samples: 75 
Makeup Samples: 33

Total Full Size Products: 107 (!!!!)
Total Samples: 108

And that's a wrap!  I had fun tracking numbers this year and it really is interesting to see the rate at which you go through different kinds of products.  Having a better idea of how long things actually last has also made me more conscious when making purchases the last several months.  

What surprised me the most?
i) That I go through about a lip balm a month
ii) How few hair products I actually use.  Definitely something to keep in mind before stockpiling shampoos!

Thanks for sticking with me through this series!  I'm thinking of changing up how I do empties for 2016 - either by not doing them every single month, or maybe just showing noteworthy products, since some things seem repetitive after a certain point.  Let me know if you like these posts as they are, or if you have any ideas for mixing it up!

General blogging practice would mean compiling a list of 14 products for 2014, but I decided to buck convention and stick to just my top five.  I was lucky enough to try out a whole bunch of fantastic products in 2014, but for the sake of this post, I want to focus on just the ones that really rose to the top and stood out to me over the last year.  The ones that, since trying them, I - cue the melodramatic music - would not want to be without.  


Dr. Alkaitis Organic Soothing Gel
Dr. Alkaitis's Soothing Gel got rave reviews across the green beauty community this past year, so I knew I wanted to try it, but none of the bloggers that I'd seen review it had similar-sounding skin to me, so my expectation weren't actually all that high.  For me, this is a spot treatment product, not something I use all over - it's a little too drying for that - but I'm blown away by just how well it works.  If I put this on a blemish or pimple before bed, it's pretty much gone by the time I wake up.  I've been delaying purchasing the full size bottle, but I've nearly finished my first sample and I've already got another en route to me, so I'm sure it's just a matter of time before I succumb to the larger size.

Pacifica Eye Liner Pencils
I wear pencil liner most days, but it's sometimes a struggle finding a good natural one.  You know, something that's pigmented and glides on easily, but doesn't smudge too much or slip down your face throughout the day.  I have two of the four Pacifica pencils - Jet and Bare - and I expect I'll give in and buy the other two at some point soon too.  These are lovely and creamy liners, but but they also stay put once they're on.  The one exception is that they aren't completely budge-proof in the waterline, but I've yet to find anything that is, so I'm okay with that.

Hazelnut Oil
About midway through the year, I realized that many of my favorite oil blends were made with hazelnut oil and made it a mission to track it down individually.  It can be a hard one to find in its unrefined state - hazelnut oil for cooking is easier to locate, but tends to be roasted and/or refined - but it was completely worth the effort!  Hazelnut oil is moisturizing, but it's also very lightweight and has some astringent properties, making it great for balancing oil production and perfect for people like me that are prone to enlarged and clogged pores.  My skin just loves it.  I tend to mix a couple drops in with every other face oil I use now.

Beautiful Curls Shea Butter Curl Reviving Tonic
I don't even know how many times I've written about this product, so I'm sure its inclusion here will surprise exactly no one.  I first bought this back in February, and I'm on my third or fourth bottle now.  I like using the tonic on second-day hair, since it does exactly what the name says - revives and refreshes your curls.  If you have curly or wavy hair, you really need to give this a try.  I usually buy mine off iherb or Vitacost (where it's an affordable $9 or less) but I recently spotted it at Whole Foods for only a few dollars more.

Blush
Not a specific product, I know, but the broader category seemed appropriate, since this past year was fully the first time I really embraced wearing blush.  I'm very fair so clown cheeks are always a real concern, but I've finally realized what the right blush can do for your face and I can't imagine doing my makeup without it now.  My top blush picks?  Silk Naturals Abstract and Lovelace, The All Natural Face Tequila Sunrise and Desert Sand, and Lucy Minerals Juicy Peach.

Have you used any of these? What were your top natural product discoveries of 2014?

I've struggled for years to tame my curly mane, but I think I've finally figured out what really works.  For a point of reference, my hair does really well air drying, but it needs the right products or else controlled curls can quickly turn into a frizzy mess.  I've tried a lot of products - and I especially feel like I've tried a lot this past year - so I think it's about time I put together my "best of" list for curly hair products.  I've included both a budget and high end option for each category.



Shampoo and Conditioner
I always keep Acure's  Argan + Argan Stem Cell Shampoo and Conditioner well stocked, and if money was no object, I would definitely rotate in John Masters Honey & Hibiscus Shampoo and Reconstructor.  Both duos provide a lot of moisture, but they don't weigh down my hair.  

Hair Oil
I've tried a lot of different oils, both singles and blends, but I always come back to using a pure, 100% argan oil.  I use a few drops on damp hair after washing - mainly focused on the ends - to control frizz and keep hair strong and healthy.  I'm a big fan of Acure's Argan Oil - it's certified organic, sustainably harvested, affordable, and good quality - but if you're open to spending a little more, Olie Biologique's Argan Oil - again organic, and also cold pressed - has a richer, nuttier scent and feels that little bit more luxurious.  

Hair Gel
I've probably tried more gels than any other hair product and it's the one category where I still feel like I'm searching for that ever elusive perfect product.  I like a product with hold, but I can't stand anything that leaves my hair feeling crunchy or sticky.  My favorite to date is Intelligent Nutrients' Organic Styling Gel, which smells fresh and minty and doesn't require a lot of product to get the light hold I'm after.  On the more budget-friendly side, I also really like Kinky Curly's Spiral Spritz.  It's a lighter hold product than the Intelligent Nutrients, but it nicely defines curls without leaving any kind of coating on the hair.  

Curl Refresher / Leave-in Conditioner
On days when I don't wash my hair, I like to use something to freshen up my curls and make them look bouncy and (almost) new again.  Beautiful Curls' Curl Reviving Tonic is the first natural product I've found that's actually intended for this purpose and it's pretty amazing.  Yarok's Feed Your Ends also works well, and it can do double duty as a heat protectant on the rare occasions that I heat style my hair.

Honorable Mentions
Yarok's Feed Your Roots was the first natural hair product I fell in love with, so I couldn't make this list without including it!  Some days I'll use the mousse in place of a gel, and it also works well to add volume at the roots.  

Intelligent Nutrients' Hair Shine is a bit of a cheat, as I haven't quite worked out how to best use it with curls, but it's amazing on those rare days that I straighten my hair.  It's not greasy at all and it tames frizz and flyaways like nothing else, all while leaving behind the most gorgeous, glossy, hair commercial-worthy shine.

Clearly I like trying hair products, so if there are any great ones I've missed, let me know in the comments.  I'd love to know your favorites!

Sarah from Sugarpuffish tagged me to do the Starting Over Tag, and since I first saw this tag on Youtube, I decided to try something different and film a video, rather than doing an ordinary blog post.  

Actually hitting publish on this post is a lot more nerve wracking than normal, because it's me + the internet in a new way, but what the heck!  Please excuse the choppy editing and general awkwardness.



If you don't want to watch the video, here's a quick rundown of what I chose.  Where applicable, I've included a link to my full review.
Skin
1. Kahina Giving Beauty Facial Cleanser   [Review]
2. Karooch Hazelnut Oil
3. EvanHealy French Rose Clay Mask   [Review]
4. Epic Blend More Moisture Lip Balm (Unflavored)

Hair
5. Acure Organics Moroccan Argan + Argan Stem Cell Shampoo & Conditioner   [Review]
6. Kinky Curly Spiral Spritz   [Review]
7. Beautiful Curls Shea Butter Curl Reviving Tonic   [Review]

Body
8. Nourish Organics Body Wash   [Review]
9. Acure Organics Unscented Cocoa Butter + CoQ10 Body Lotion   [Review]

Makeup
10. Honeybee Gardens Pressed Powder Foundation (Geisha)   [Review]
11. Silk Naturals Sleep in a Jar (Light Peach)   [Review]
12. Faerie Organic Forty Winks Eye Shadow Primer   [Review]
13. Darling Girl Cosmetics Eye Shadow (Blitzen + Harvest Moon)   [Review]
14. Honeybee Gardens Eyeliner (Smoking Gun)
15. Zuzu Luxe The Mascara (Onyx)   [Review]
16. Mineral Fusion Nail Polish (Amethyst)

I think I've finally figured out this empties thing.  Focus on one product at a time.  Sounds pretty common sense, right?  If you're rotating between five cleansers, it's going to take you a good, long while to finish any.  On the other hand, if you're using just one, you'll get to the bottom a heck of a lot quicker.  Sure, I've known it for a while, but I've never seen it in action quite as blatantly as this past month.  Let's talk about what I finished up in June...


Repurchase? Probably not.  There are other shampoos and conditioners I like more.

Boo Bamboo Exfoliating Body Wash*   [Review]
This is a nice body wash with a light berry scent and the perfect amount of grittiness for an exfoliating product of this type.  Not enough grit to class it as a full-on scrub, but enough that I knew it was there and could tell it was doing something.
Repurchase? Maybe.  The ingredients aren't quite as natural as I'd like, but I'd consider it.

Acure Mint + Echinacea Stem Cell Shampoo and Conditioner 
My mom ran out of her regular shampoo and conditioner and ended up finishing these off while I was using all that Weleda, but I'm including them anyways, since I'd say I used at least 7/8 of both before starting on Weleda's challenge.  My mom was a fan, and I liked them too, just not as much as Acure's Argan + Argan Stem Cell variety.  The shampoos seem pretty comparable - other than scent - but the mint conditioner is lighter and not as hydrating as the argan.
Repurchase? Doubtful.  I've re-ordered the Argan set to replace these.

Beautiful Curls Curl Reviving Tonic   [Review]
This is a great product.  I use it on days when I don't wash my hair and it does just what the name suggests: revives my second day, slept on curls.  I've already started on a new bottle.
Repurchase? Yes.

Skin Essence Organics Facial in a Jar   [Review]
Facial in a Jar is one of those powder products that does double duty as either a scrub or a mask.  Initially, I just used it as a mask, but this past month, I really enjoyed mixing it with my Shea Terra Argan Oil & Acacia Honey Cleanser to make a scrub.  Some of the powder + a pump of the Shea Terra cleanser = honey scrubby goodness.
Repurchase? Probably not.  I might try to DIY my own version at some point in the future though.

Blissoma Bright Eye Vitalizing Nutrient Serum
The ingredients in this eye serum are pretty amazing, but unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be and I ended up with sore, puffy, swollen eyes within a couple days of starting to use it.  Extra sad, because before the reaction, my under eye area was looking pretty phenomenal.  Bright is packed with antioxidants and nutrients and I remember reading somewhere that you could use it on any areas that had experienced sun damage, so for the sake of using it up, I started applying it on my shoulders, decollete, and the backs of my hands.  I wouldn't buy it just for that, but I did notice an improvement in the health and appearance of those areas while I was using it.
Repurchase? No.

Priti NYC Nail Polish Remover Wipe   [Review]
I wasn't going to include these wipes anymore until I finished up the whole set, but after last month's disappointment with them, I wanted to include one more to make sure you guys knew that they're still fabulous.  Glitter polishes are a struggle, but for everything else, these are a great option.
Repurchase? Maybe.  I still think I want to try the liquid remover next.

Young Living Lavender and Frankincense Essential Oils
Both of these are staples for me.  Lavender is basically good for everything, and frankincense has a whole host of uses too.  I use both of them on blemishes, and I like mixing a couple drops of frankincense into my clay masks as well.  I always stress the importance of research when it comes to essential oils, since purity, method of extraction, and processing are all very important when it comes to the final product you're buying.  I'm confident in the quality of Young Living's oils and will continue to buy them.
Repurchase? Yes, I've already cracked open new bottles of both.

Dr. Bronner's Castile Soap in Peppermint and Citrus Orange (samples)
I've got a big, open bottle of the unscented Dr. Bronner's, but I didn't see the point of hanging on to samples anymore, so I used these this month instead.  Dr. Bronner's has a million uses, but what I use it for most often is washing my makeup brushes.
Repurchase? Yes, but I'll probably stick with the unscented one.

Nuka Candy Cane Soap
I had a different Nuka soap in my last empties post, but in case you missed it, Nuka is a local, Ontario soap company that's sold in bulk at my Whole Foods.  Candy Cane was a seasonal scent I picked up around the holidays, but I didn't end up using it until this month, since I found these soaps too drying on my hands in the winter.  Now that it's warmer, I like them and the Candy Cane scent was nice enough, if nothing especially spectacular.
Repurchase? Sure.  I have a lot of soap at the moment, but I'd at least give these soaps a browse the next time I'm at Whole Foods.

Silk Naturals Vegan Kisser Slicker in Shine
I think the Vegan Kisser Slickers, are my favorite formula of Silk Naturals lip products.  Shine doesn't seem to be available anymore, but it was their untinted one.  It gives a slight glossy look to the lips, but I bought it specifically to use as a lip balm, since the formula is very hydrating.  It worked great, but the Vegan Kisser Slickers are pretty soft to begin with, and Shine, without any pigments, is even more so - almost a jelly-like consistency - so the tube got used up really quickly.
Repurchase? Not sure.

Hurraw! Coffee Bean Lip Balm   [Review]
I like Hurraw!'s lip balms.  They sink into your lips and feel like they're really nourishing them.  Coffee Bean is a sweet coffee scent that's not so much straight up coffee beans as it is something like a Frappuccino.  I liked it, but Hurraw! has so many choices that I tend to pick a new flavour every time I buy one.
Repurchase? Yes, but probably in a different flavour.

I generally wash my hair every other day, and while I don't have problems with my hair getting greasy, it can be a challenge keeping my curls looking fresh and bouncy after they've been slept on.  I've been searching for something that will refresh second day curls with minimal effort, and believe me, I've tried a good bunch of things!  This is the most recent batch - I think of these as non-hairspray hair sprays (thus the title) since they're spray-type hair products, but none of them provide the hold of a traditional hairspray.  Instead, they're light, leave-in products that give variable amounts of hydration.  None of them are heavy or greasy.  


Acure Organics Argan Oil + Argan Stem Cell Leave-In Conditioner
I did a full review of this product a few months ago, and my opinion has basically stayed the same.  I love the way it works, but I struggle with how it smells.  It smells like lemongrass, but it's heavier and more herbal than the lemongrass scents I'm used to, and unfortunately, the scent is one that really sticks in your hair.  If Acure were to come out with another scent, I'd be all over it, but as it is now, the smell wears on me enough throughout the day that I won't be buying this one again, regardless of how well it works.

Yarok Feed Your Ends Leave-In Conditioner
Yarok's Feed Your Roots Mousse has been a firm favorite of mine, so naturally I had to try their leave-in.  It smells the same as the mousse - sweet, fresh, and lemony - and it does a great job too.  It's one of the lightest of the bunch, so I can really go to town spraying this one and not have to worry about my hair ending up greasy or sticky.  As an added bonus, it also does double duty as a heat protectant.  

Rahua Voluminous Hairspray
Rahua's is the only one of the bunch that's sold as an actual hairspray - soft, flexible hold - but I really thing it would be better marketed as a leave-in conditioner.  As a curl refresher, it works fine initially, but after just an hour or two everything falls flat again and I'm back where I started.  If I'd bought it intending to use it as a regular hairspray, I think I would have been even more disappointed.  I've read positive reviews, but on my hair, it gives virtually no hold.  

Beautiful Curls Shea Butter Curl Reviving Tonic
It shouldn't come as any great surprise that the sole product of the bunch that's actually marketed as a curl reviving product does the best job reviving my curls.  I was initially concerned about how I'd fare with the mango-vanilla scent and eyed this product for months before finally taking the plunge and buying it.  I was worried it would be overly sweet or fake smelling, but it's actually fairly light and not overpowering or sickly.  The product itself performs exactly how I want it to.  Several sprays and some scrunching easily take my deflated curls from sad and slept on to bouncy and fresh once again.

The Bottom Line
All things considered, the Beautiful Curls is the clear winner here and the only one that I'm confident I'll be repurchasing.  (In fact, I kind of already have.  I let my mom try it and ended up having to buy her her own bottle just so I could get mine back!)  The Yarok is also quite lovely and I could see myself buying it as an occasional splurge, but for an everyday product that gets used up fairly quickly, I can't justify spending more when the Beautiful Curls is equally or more effective and a third of the price.  I think the Rahua and Acure could potentially suit different hair types and noses, respectively, but neither were winners for me.

Am I the only one who struggles with second day hair?  Have you tried any of these?