July Favorites

It's that time again...monthly favs! I am in shock when I think of July being over all ready, mostly because the start of my semester is creeping up. Which then means that my vacation days are coming to an end. I've found some great staple items and I'm super excited to show you my favorite products for July.

July Vegan Cuts Beauty Box

I mentioned in my July Petit Vour post that both of Petit Vour's and Beauty Box's July boxes were co-currated by vegan bloggers. For this months Beauty Box, Sunny of Vegan Beauty Review hand-picked all the products. If you aren’t familiar with Vegan Cuts they offer both snack and beauty boxes. For $19.99 a month, a beauty box contains 4-7 vegan, palm-oil free and cruelty-free products ranging from sample to full sized items. 

Lets take a look at my July box!

July Petit Vour Beauty Box

I've been looking forward to receiving my subscription boxes this month because both (Petit Vour and Beauty Box) were co-currated by vegan bloggers I follow. This month's Petit Vour was co-currated by Tashina of Logical Harmony, and being as popular and well experienced as she is, I was excited to see what products she would pick. If you haven't heard of Petit Vour before, its a vegan beauty box subscription that runs at $15.00 a month. In each box you'll receive a range of products in a range of sizes but Petit Vour promises that the sizes are generous enough for you get an idea of rather you like the products or not. 

Lets take a look at my July box!

Don't Forget About: Your Sparkly Whites

Going cruelty-free is a powerful statement against the shopping norms. However, there somethings people forget to mention to you when you do. No longer can you quickly stop by your drugstore and pick up a new toothbrush or even a box of tampons-some categories get a bit difficult to switch out. I found this to be true for deodorants, any oral care products, tampons & pads, and my need for cheap makeup thrills. Whole Foods Body has quickly become my safe haven but it's not as available across the country. Thankfully (and unfortunately for my bank account) we have online shopping but even then, if you don't know what you're looking for it gets difficult. So hopefully these types of posts can make it easier to guide your transition and also showcase different brands you might not have heard of before.

June Petit Vour Beauty Box

I received my June Petit Vour box a bit late in the month, but that totally okay since me and Petit go wayyyy back. If you haven't heard of Petit Vour before, its a vegan beauty box subscription that runs at $15.00 a month. In each box you'll receive a range of products in a range of sizes but Petit Vour promises that the sizes are generous enough for you get an idea of rather you like the products or not. 

Lets take a look at my June box!

June Favorites

It's been really great getting back to blogging and I hope you guys have been enjoying my posts. If you ever have any questions, comments or suggestions please let me know!

With that aside, I'm excited to show you guys my favorite products for June.

Summer Trends: Bronze & Glow

This is not a new trend for summer per se. I thought I would add it onto my list of summer trends as a friendly reminder. Summer is about the sun-kissed bronzy skin. But assuming everyone is wearing a good amount of SPF, it's harder to achieve that tan. Thankfully we have bronzers and they'll give you that natural tan look. In addition to the bronze, there is the glow. Highlighters waken up the face and give you just enough dewy, with just enough radiance. 

Summer Trends: Orange Lips

Orange lips are my favorite thing in the whole entire world, but really. Orange is a universally flattering color that puts together an outfit without being overwhelming or too overly done-like a red lip can be at times. Its a fun and carefree color that grabs everyones attention. 

If a creamy orange lipstick is a bit scary there are tons of different formulas out there from lip balms to stains that might be in your comfort zone. If you already have a rather strong orange lipstick you can tone it down with applying it with your ring finger in a tapping motion or applying the lipstick after applying a clear lip balm. 

Summer Trends: Sorbet Nails

Nail polish is an easy and cheap way to change it up a bit. I usually go for dark colors all through out the year but I've quickly become a fan of this color trend. It adds a nice and fun touch to any look and they easily compliment your summer sun-kissed skin.

Julep Alexandra On sale now for $10.00- A creamy pastel yellow-the riskiest of these colors. This nail polish has Julep's oxygen technology that makes it fast-drying and long lasting. It is supposed to allow 30% more oxygen to the nail, helping nails strengthen over time. This is a 5-free nail polish. 

Zoya Wendy $9.00- A creamy cool-toned melon color that becomes opaque with two coats. This is a 5-free nail polish.

Deborah Lippman We Are Young $18.00- A rich creme fuchsia. This is a fun alternative if you're used to wearing dark colors. It's also a flattering color for all ages and professions. This is a 5-free nail polish. 

ELF Mint Cream $2.00- Creme mint colored nail polishes have been quite popular since a few summers ago-even a classic. This is a great budget buy, ELF has 47 other colors with the same price tag if you aren't a big spender. This has a quick dry formula and is a 3-free nail polish. 

*Trends are a great way to experiment and get out of your comfort zone. Ultimately, trends should be taken with a grain of salt and are great to keep in mind if you ever get bored. But if you're confident with your style, you do you boo.

Acne Awareness Month

I spent a rather large chunk of my week trying to figure out a witty and cute segway to the topic of acne. Alas, it is obvious I have failed. I tried not to over think it and let the conversion start organically but no matter what, I could barely come up with anything. Instead, I ended up running into a severe writers block. This happens every so often when writing papers for class but I can usually bullshit my way out of it. However, this time around, I was facing a writers block generated from fear. June, being acne awareness month, has made me reflect on my own personal battle and truce with acne. 

In honor of the end of Acne Awareness Month, I wanted to share my personal experience. It was difficult writing this post up while knowing I'm going to have to share it too, but I felt like I had a lot to say and share. It's a lengthy piece but I'm hoping it helps.

Summer Trends: Beach Waves

It's no surprise that beach waves are back again for the summer. Hair tends to become more frizzy, dry and damaged during warmer weather. This is mostly due to high humanity and long exposer to the sun, which is why hot-tools like curling wands and straighteners should be used to a bare minimum. Hair mists are a great way to create an easy, put together hairstyle without the damage. 

Sachajuan Ocean Mist $28.00- Sachajuan has quickly gotten onto the radar of every beauty outlet. This Ocean Mist is their most popular product and for good reason. This helps anyone get a flawless tousled, beachy texture. 

Sevi Vegan Blue Yarrow Texture Spray $4.00 to $14.00- Not only is this a great budget buy but it also has a beautiful fragrance. You get light body and curls without the stiffness a lot of beach sprays cause. 

LUSH Sea Spray $12.95- Out of the three, this is probably my favorite. It's reasonably priced, has the best citrus scent and is a great product that does what it promises-gives texture, volume and shine. In fact, I like to use this for a beachy look, after I curl my hair to hold the style and on braids and buns for a fuller look. 

*Trends are a great way to experiment and get out of your comfort zone. Ultimately, trends should be taken with a grain of salt and are great to keep in mind if you ever get bored. But if you're confident with your style, you do you boo.

Sunscreen: The single most important thing you could ever need for the summer. A personal cautionary horror story (that's a bit funny.)

With the rising temperatures and spring quickly blurring into summer, it’s safe to assume no ones staying home all day avoiding the sun. Instead, you’re making plans with friends, going to the beach, and making up for the horrid winter. However, though the sun and warmth is a nice change, it’s also important to change around some of your skincare routine for your face and body. Different cleansers, lighter moisturizers, lighter body lotions and more importantly incorporating sunscreen. 

I was never that great about using sunscreen when I was younger, this was very foolish and obviously led to a vast amount of very unfortunate situations. One in particular, which I will be sharing as a horror story and an explanation on how I quickly became the biggest advocate for sunscreen.

June Vegan Cuts Beauty Box

Though I enjoy every day in every month, the arrival of my beauty boxes are very much a highly anticipated moment of each month. A few days ago I received my June box from Vegan Cuts Beauty Box. If you aren’t familiar with Vegan Cuts they offer both snack and beauty boxes. For $19.99 a month, a beauty box contains 4-7 vegan, palm-oil free and cruelty-free products ranging from sample to full sized items. 

Lets take a look at my June box!

Blogging Hiatus: Grab a coffee and lets catch up.

Sadly, it's a bit obvious that it's been months since I've last blogged. I had been really focused on progressing in school and work this past semester. It was all a lot more difficult and time consuming then I had originally thought, go figure.

Anyways, I am really excited to get back into blogging. This break has given me the opportunity to think about why I started this blog and if I truely want to continue. I obviously have a love for everything beauty, though my friends would say I’m more obsessed then anything. From the start of my exposer to beauty, I knew I liked it in more ways then just want it could do to my face. As I delved into the industry, I was in awe with all the smoke and mirrors. Honestly, haven’t we all fallen into that trap? As I kept investigating there were things that became clear to me, both on a logical business sense and ethically. I just didn’t like what was behind all the things I originally fell in love with. Being someone who not only had such a strong interest in beauty but also a love for politics and research I began focusing on researching different cruelty-free brands and products. When I decided on switching to strictly cruelty-free brands, I felt like I was doing this confusing transition alone. I wondered if others felt like that too and I wanted to spread my thoughts, ideas, reviews somewhere where others could read it. It all led me to start this blog as an outlet and journal to track my shift into cruelty-free beauty. 

I’m really looking forward to continue sharing and seeing where this takes me. I also started an instagram account for the blog where I’ll be posting beauty and lifestyle photos, @theurbanbeautyjunkie. I’m really glad to have the opportunity to continue this and I really wanted to thank you for reading this. 

Review: LUSH Lip Scrub "Sweet Lips"

With the wicked winter comes colder, drier air. Which can damage hair, cause irritation on the face and body and cause flakes on the lips. None of which is cute and all of which that sucks. I am a huge believer in scrubbing everything; hands, body, face, and lips. Since exfoliating does help speed skin cell turn-over, and create smoother and brighter skin it's something that should be done regularly but the difference between our face, body and hands compared to our lips are that the lips can't remove dry, dead skin. By exfoliating the lips, your lips look plumper, take moisture in better and lip color applies smoother too! 

Review: Urban Decay Razor Sharp

This winter is definitely dragging and I cannot wait for the spring time, and for someone who loves the cold that says a lot. So I am hoping everyone is staying warm and drinking a ton of tea. Today I am reviewing Urban Decay's Razor Sharp Ultra Definition Finishing Powder. Check it out...