Cruelty-Free Hand Soaps

There are two “home” things that always make me excited for the season to change, and with the passing of yet another Ground Hog’s Day (Here in the U.S.) I thought it’d be a great time to invite spring into my home. The two “home” things I LOVE more than anything are:

1. Candles
2. Hand Soap

So, I don’t have any new cf candles at the moment, I’m on a hunt. If you have any to recommend leave a comment below. I’m in dire need of new scents/companies that are cf!

This means that I have some new hand soaps that I love! ❤

I recently ran out of my YesTo hand soaps, (which were amazing! I’ll do a review about those soon) and I wanted to try another brand. While I was shopping at Target the other day, I stumbled across the Seventh Generation selection. I’m currently into anything that is citrus scented. This is mostly because I’ve been sick and the idea of clean citrus makes me feel a little better.

I bought two on this trip. One for our master bathroom and another for the kitchen.

They’re both 12fl oz.; The orange colored one is Mandarin, Orange, and Grapefruit scented. Its great! Not overpowering at all, such a light and fresh scent. The blue one is more anti-bacterial (but not harsh and stripping) and has a lemon grass & tea tree scent. I’ve been LOVING tea tree scents since I purchased the BodyShop face wash so this makes me very happy 😀 This is also a nice and light scent, not too overwhelming.

So far, I’d recommend this soap (in these two scents at least). It leaves a nice, clean feeling without being drying. It also lathers extremely well, which I love because it actually looks like its cleaning better. They were both only $3 USD at my local target. I think thats a great price for a more natural and good quality hand soap.

I hope you found this helpful! Are there any hand soaps that you just LOVE? Oh, and do you have any cf candles recommendations?

Speak to you soon,

-Dianna ❤

Whisker Wednesday: RIP Oliver

This post is difficult for me to write and has to do with a personal/emotional topic. I just ask that everyone reading this post takes the time to consider that all decisions that were made regarding our family pet were what we believed were best for him. Thank you in advance for this respect.

This past May my beautiful cat, named Oliver, was not feeling too well… We took him to a vet (not one that we had been to before because we recently moved) and they stated that he had probably gotten into something, like electrical wires, that he wasn’t suppose to have been eating. They didn’t take his blood and they said they would call back the next business day with results from other tests. We never heard back from them.

Frantically looking for another vet office, we found one that specializes in cats. We took him in, he was looking thinner and acting even stranger. They took blood and got back to us within 24hrs.

It wasn’t good.

Oliver was going through kidney failure and was in really bad shape. They told us our options and, in his case, the only logical (and in our opinion, ethical) thing to do was to euthanize poor sweet Oliver. This was the most devastating thing that had happened to one of my pets… He was only four years old. We had him for three of those four years, and I was away at my University for almost 80% of his time with us.

There are three parts of his death that make me upset to even think about now.

The first being his age. He was still so young. My poor poor baby 😥

The second being that I had just moved into my first “official” apartment and was about to take him, and Velvet (my other cat that I spoke about here), back into my life. My mom was moving out of state and I chose this apartment almost entirely because of the screened patios that Oliver would have just LOVED… He only lived with me in this apartment for just under a month before this all happened.

The third being that the first Vet handled this situation HORRIBLY! I can’t even imagine the pain Oliver would have been through if we didn’t change vets… UGH!

Overall, Oliver was the first pet I felt a deep deep connection with and he was taken away just when we were going to be reunited.

Since his death I have gain a greater appreciation for my cat Velvet and for everyone I love in my life. It wasn’t until this happened that I honestly realized how short life can be and how much you need to spend time with those you love. Don’t waste your beautiful life on people and things that don’t fill you with as much love and happiness as you deserve.

His passing also helped me get back on my CF journey. Oliver was a lucky cat who was greatly loved and respected. We respected him, his life and his pain.The thought that innocent animals are being tortured across the world every single day for the sake of beauty/lifestyle/etc. products and are denied the right to be placed in loving/nurturing and/or natural environments is disgusting. Every animal (including Humans) deserve respect and love.

I am happy for the time I had with Oliver. He really changed my life for the better and made me look at the world in a different way.

Rest easy my little smoosh ❤ We miss and love you everyday… even Velvet, who didn’t want you to know how much she needed you when you were still with us.

I’m sorry for such a heavy topic this Whisker Wednesday. Next week’s won’t be sad, I promise 🙂

Speak to you soon,

-Dianna ❤

Sample Review: Jasmine & Henna Fluff Eaze Hair Treatment

Hello everyone!

I did a LUSH/Sephora haul last week and have tried all of the products now 😀

In the haul I mentioned that I got a sample of the Jasmine & Henna Fluff hair treatment. My hair is VERY dry and processed by years of bleach and dye. When the LUSH employees told me I needed to buy this hair treatment I went to grab it… until I  saw that it was $23.95 USD… for 7.8 oz…. ahhhh!

So, as I said, I got a sample:

Before I go into the review I wanted to include the video LUSH has on their website regarding the product, to give you a better understanding of what it claims to do and how to use it:

Source: Jasmine & Henna Fluff Eaze Hair Treatment | Hair Treatments | LUSH Cosmetics

Applying a cream to dry hair is a new thing for me, which felt so gross… My hair got all tangled and I ended up with knots. The smell is VERY potent and gave me an instant headache. I didn’t realize how strong the scent was until I took it out of the sample pot.

Because of all this, I had low hopes for the treatment, which was actually great since I didn’t want to spend  that much money on such a small amount of product. I left it in my hair for about 15-20 minutes and then took my migraine-ridden head to the shower. And I thought nothing of the product after I washed it out with my shampoo and conditioner except for the scent that lingered on my hands and hair for a couple of hours. If you don’t have a sensitive nose/head then maybe this will be your favorite scent. It’s very strong but it’s also very natural and deep. It has a slightly sweet, earthy… I’m SOO bad at describing scents. haha I would have loved the scent if it wasn’t so strong.

The next day, however, I changed my mind completely. I have never had my hair feel so soft. My frizz was gone, my hair wasn’t weighted down like most softnening treatments , and the once-sickly scent was now soft and earthy. The softness lasted a few washes but my hair is VERY damaged at he ends. In my opinion, it is worth the pain that it caused my head for a few hours.

Do I recommend: 100% Yes!

Pros: Made my hair SO soft, no longer frizzy, and feel light & healthy

Cons: Price, scent (when applying), it only lasted 2-3 washes (on my VERY damaged hair)

I will wait to buy a full pot of this, but I will make this a staple in my monthly hair care routine. I can’t use it too often, my bank account would hate me for it! lol

I hope you all enjoyed this review, some more reviews of my latest purchases will be coming your way shortly!

Speak to you soon,

-Dianna ❤

Whisker Wednesday: My little pup

Hello again!

It’s Whisker Wednesday. Do you know what that is?? No? OH NO! You must go read last week’s first Whisker Wednesday post here to find out!!! Go ahead… I’ll wait a little bit..

I would like to now re-introduce you to my 5 month old puppy named Dobby.

I already had a post about him, but I wanted to elaborate a little… I also want an excuse to show more pictures. He really is adorable ❤

AHHH look at that face… and those paws ❤ ❤ ❤

Yes, he is named after Dobby, the house-elf from the Harry Potter series. He loves to steal socks (which I promptly take away… but he is a free elf I promise!), bark, eat, go for long walks on the beach… I’m assuming, and to cuddle on our very beige couch.

He is a Miami Heat basketball fan (or at least my boyfriend is and he bought him a MH collar), he hates squirrels, loves to lick water off my legs after a shower, is a fanatic for ice cubes, and is growing so quickly it is making me so sad. 😥

My boyfriend and I rescued Dobby this summer in Tennessee. He’s part hound (SOOOO VAUGE) and Lab. He’s a mutt and we love him so much. Puppies are a lot of work, but right when I think I can’t handle him anymore he comes and cuddles. I’m in puppy heaven and I don’t want him to grow up yet!

Have a great rest of your week! I’ll have a new post for you all on Friday 😀

Speak to you soon,

-Dianna ❤

The Body Shop Spree: Skincare Haul

Hello everyone 😀

I spoke about The Body Shop issue I had last week… Here it is again, if you missed it.

But my online order came yesterday. YAY 😀

I have been having more acne issues than usual and have heard good things about The Body Shop’s tea tree assortment. They currently are having a great buy three get three sale (that makes it a BTGT… not as catchy… oh well lol). They’re also having a buy two get one free sale! 😀

I will be doing a review of what I think of these products once I’ve used them for a bit and can give a well rounded, honest review. Until then, here is a more in-depth look at my purchases:

Tea Tree Skin Clearing Facial Wash – $13.00 USD

I have actually tried this facial wash before, but I was trying another face regimen (which didn’t work) and then I lost the bottle.. whoops… Well, here’s to second chances! Tea tree oil is drying for my skin, but not too drying, which will hopefully help with my acne.

Aloe Vera Calming Toner – $14.00 USD

I knew that having ALL tea tree products would be entirely too drying for my skin, so I thought a hint of aloe would be soothing. I have never had great feelings towards a toner before, so let’s hope this one turns out well.

Tea Tree Oil – $10.00 USD

This acne spot treatment is one of The Body Shop’s best sellers and EVERYONE I spoke to raved about it… I guess I had to get it, then lol. You just use a Q-Tip to disperse a small amount of the oil onto any problem areas. I’m most excited about this one 🙂

Seaweed Mattifying Day Cream – $17.50 USD

Seaweed Clarifying Night Treatment – $21.00 USD

Of course, no face regimen is complete without moisturizer. I didn’t want anything too heavy or scented, because I have relatively sensitive skin and I break out when moisturizers just have too much in them. These seem to be light on fragrance 🙂 I got a day cream, which has mattifying properties to help with oil/shine, and a nightly treatment is a little heavier to help smooth skin while I sleep.

Tea Tree Face Mask – $16.50 USD

Last, but not least, is the tea tree face mask. I LOVE masks and I needed a new one. Whenever I feel a bad breakout coming on, I’ll use this one, since it has tea tree oil. I hope it works 🙂

I hope you all enjoyed this haul, I’ll be doing reviews on all of the stuff I bought as soon as I can gather up an honest idea of how they work for me!

Speak to you soon,

-Dianna ❤

P.S. Does anyone else hate these little cardboard wormy things?? I used to not mind them, but with two animals they end up EVERYWHERE I turn! haha

Whisker Wednesday: My beautiful cat!

Hello everyone 😀

I wanted to make a weekly post about my animals to bring a little bit of furry cuteness to the CFC page. Alliterations are my fave, so Whisker Wednesday it is ❤

This week I want to introduce you to my cat! Her name is Velvet.

She is a six-year-old, solid black, american short hair. Velvet is actually named after our Humane Society’s “Black Velvet Club” for black animals. As a lover of all animals I was confused as to why we were now part of a “club” because of our little black beauty.

Once we were officially the pet parents of Velvet, the Humane Society provided us with a booklet on “club” information. They put together this “Black Velvet Club” because of the lack of black animal adoptions within our city. I cannot speak for the entire U.S. but in our town black cats were the most likely to be euthanized due to lack of adoption than any other color cats.

Also, black cats are the center of superstition (especially on Friday the 13th and Halloween). There have been cases of horrific brutalization of black cats on these holidays. Once again, I cannot speak for the rest of America (or the world for this matter) but it is something was happening near me and it was sincerely upsetting. I named her after the club because they were honorably trying to make sure that black cats were not euthanized at such high rates by reducing adoption fees, offering free vaccinations through kitten-hood, and many other amazing things.

We have since moved away from that city, but this issue is something that will follow my heart wherever I go. I cannot imagine not having my little black princess or choosing any other cat over her simply because of her fur color.There are plenty of articles to find supporting and denying the black cat issues, feel free to look into any of this information 🙂

I hope Velvet’s cute little face has made your day a little better ❤

I will be back later this week with another haul, stay tuned!

Speak to you soon,

-Dianna ❤

Small Mall Haul: Sephora and LUSH

Today I went to my local mall only to find out that The Body Shop was no longer there… Many words were said by me to the empty bay in the middle of the mall.

Once I got over this bad news I decided to go get my hands on some products I’ve been wanting for a while now. I had to place an online order of the products I wanted from The Body Shop, so I will make a post about those soon!

I went to Sephora and LUSH, these are the results:

Born This Way Foundation – Medium to Full Coverage – $39 USD

I am so excited that I picked up Born This Way by Too Faced at Sephora. I’ve only heard rave reviews so far about this product. It is my first more expensive foundation I’ve ever owned. As soon as I use it I’ll be sure to let you guys know. I’m not sure I believe that this is my actual color though, I think it looks too dark… We’ll have to see. I just love the box and product packaging. It is really cute!

LUSH’s Shampoo Bar – Montalbano – $9.95 USD

Then I walked three stores down to LUSH. I spent too much time in there and only bought two things. One was this shampoo bar. Its called Montalbano and smells like lemons. I LOVE lemons and shampoo bars. A match made in citrus clean heaven. I’ve never tried this product either so keep your eyes peeled for a review… pun totally intended.

LUSH’s Bar Soap – Sexy Peel – $6.40 USD for 3.5oz

My absolute favorite soap in LUSH is Sexy Peel. I’m so happy that I was able to pick some of this up during my shopping trip. It also smells like lemon, hence the name. This scent always wakes me up when I take those early morning showers and after a long steamy shower the whole bathroom smells super clean. I can’t wait to use it tomorrow morning ❤

These are two samples that I’m really looking forward to using. Happy Hippy is a citrus scented body wash and Jasmine + Henna is a hair treatment for dry/frizzy locks. I have NO idea how these will end up, but I will let you know as soon as I do.

I can’t wait to try all of these products and let you know how they work!

Speak to you soon 😀

-Dianna ❤

New Puppy!

Where have I been? Becoming a new pet mom, of course ❤

CFC followers, meet Dobby. He is now 5 months and I have been extremely busy getting adjusted to being a new pet mom of a dog. This is the first dog my Boyfriend and I have gotten together.

Dobby and I look forward to an exciting fall of posts and products! Have a great labor day everyone 😀

Personal: Why does life happen so quickly sometimes?

Hi everyone!

This isn’t a normal post for me but I thought that I should keep everyone up to date with where I am in life! A new post will be coming in the next few days and then I’m taking a month long trip. I will talk about it in my new post 🙂 Anyway, I have been recently accepted into my major’s honor program and that means that my thesis paper needs to start in a few months. With the thesis paper, GRE testing, senior year as an undergrad, and my first year of living in a real – no dorm, no furniture included – apartment, this year will be very exciting. I need to finish my graduate school applications by December 1st and still enjoy my last year at my University.

I know this is random but I wanted to fill you all into what has been running through my mind lately! Is anyone else stressed about too many things happening at, what seems like, the same time?

Speak to you soon 🙂

-Dianna ❤

Lush Review: Seanik Shampoo Bar

Image: Property of LUSH Cosmetics

This little bar of shampoo is by far the BEST cruelty-free shampoo I have ever used. When I went CF over a year ago now I started with shampoo. I thought that the Yesto blueberry shampoo was pretty good for a first try. I actually did a review of it here. It still is a pretty good shampoo and conditioner set, don’t get me wrong, but is no Seanik!

This disk of heaven is a little pricey for the size ($11.95 USD) but it really lasts if you use it correctly. I’ve had mine since October and it probably has a month or two left in its life. Thats only $1.40 USD a month so far, not too shabby.

Are you confused on how on earth you could clean your hair with a dry little blue disk with seaweed? Don’t worry, the folks over at Lush know exactly what they’re doing:

Video: Property of LUSH Cosmetics

I wish you could smell through the screen. It is seriously one of the best smells! Its very strong fresh scent. With hints of lemon, orange, and jasmine to name a few how could you not fall in love? However, the smell doesn’t overpower your hair. It just leaves your hair feeling extremely clean!

I have found these tips to be the best way to get the most out of this product: Wet all of your hair in warm water, make sure its soaked. Now take the bar and rub it on your hair as close to your roots as possible, lifting your hair to make sure that you rub it on as much of your roots as you can get. Don’t go crazy rubbing it 5 or 6 times on each spot. It lathers EXTREMELY well once you work your hands through your hair. Less is more for this product so one or two swipes per area is fine. Once you’ve rubbed the bar on your roots, scrub your hair with your hands like you would with any other shampoo. Try not to  scrub the ends of you hair and strip any essential oils that keep those locks healthy. Just rinse off the shampoo once you’re as clean as you want, the shampoo that drips down will clean the ends of your hair without being too harsh, and there you go 😀

You should also buy the tin they sell online and in stores so you don’t get residue all over the place. Also, it keeps it dry so you waste even less product! They try to sell you the little tin made for shampoo bars but I find that when the product starts to get smaller and sticks inside the tin you’d have to have baby fingers to get it out. Try the Body Butter Tin, I love it! This tin keeps the shampoo bar dry in between uses and I can fit my fingers around the bar when it gets stuck to the bottom.

My hair has become so much softer, cleaner, and healthier since I’ve started using this product and stopped washing it every day. I could never believe I could go more than one day without shampooing. With the help of Seanik I can go three days in between washes without compromising on that fresh and clean feeling.

Sidenote: This is not a wash-your-hair-everyday type of shampoo, I can’t stress that enough. You shouldn’t wash your hair everyday anyway, but this shampoo helps clean your hair so perfectly that you won’t even want to clean it more than two or three times a week! I have a very greasy scalp during the hot/humid summer months in Florida and this product can get rid of excess oils with no issue.If you use this every day your hair will start to feel overly dry, not exactly the best feeling in the world. If you have dry hair you might want to test this product out only once a week to see if it can work for you!

Oh, and don’t forget the importance of using conditioner on the ends of your hair. Just pair this with your favorite conditioner and you’re good to go. Who knows, there might be a conditioner review coming soon… lol

-Dianna ❤