In my October Petit Vour Beauty Box, I received a full size bottle of Habit Nail Polish in Deep Sea. I finally had the chance to use it, so I wanted to review it for you guys!

I know I mentioned it in my reveal post, but again I want to point out that I love the design of this bottle. I love the bamboo/wooden handle and the shape of the bottle. It's really sleek and cool looking, and it's definitely the fanciest nail polish bottle I own.

Habit Cosmetics is a completely vegan and cruelty free brand, which I love. Their polishes are five free, containing no: formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, toluene, dibutyl phthalate, and camphor. Good thing, because I can hardly pronounce or spell those and I have no clue what most of them are, so I certainly don't want them anywhere near my body. Also, the big difference between this polish and any other polish that I'm aware of is that it contains myrrh extract which is supposed to strengthen your nails. It also is anti-fungal, anti-bacterial, and anti-inflammatory, so overall it's beneficial for your nail on all levels, according to their website. 

Now, for the color itself..

First, I don't like blue. Work has ruined the color for me, but I love dark colors, and this looked dark enough in the bottle that I might enjoy it. I took the two above photos to show you the true color in the sunlight, and what it looks like just in regular natural light. My first thoughts when I applied the first coat is that the color is much lighter than I had anticipated. I figured it would be similar to Navy blue, but it's brighter. You know that crayon Cerulean Blue? It's similar in color to that, but slightly darker. It's a pretty color, but a little too bright for my liking. Applying a second coat darkened it as I figured it would, and I prefer it more that way. The name of the polish is Deep Sea which I think is pretty accurate. After applying a second coat, it looks exactly how I would imagine the deep depths of the ocean would look. I like the color more than I thought it would.

I think the polish offers really good coverage when applying two coats. I looked on their website, and they offer a decent amount of colors. They offer free everyday shipping on their website too of any orders over $25. My only complaint about this brand is the price tag. $18 per bottle is coo-coo-cachoo. Even including the myrrh extract and the pretty bottles, I could never justify spending $18 on one bottle of nail polish. The free shipping is nice, and maybe if they offered it on every order I could try to justify it, but I doubt it. Sad to say too, because I like the polish.

So overall, great formula and good color options in a pretty fancy bottle. If you're okay with the price tag, I definitely recommend checking them out!

A few months back, in one of my VeganCuts Beauty Boxes I received a perfume called Hello by Harvey Price. I wrote about it in that post, but long story short, the perfume smelled surprisingly awesome. So, when I ordered a different perfume to try on Harvey Prince's website, I got some samples of their shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and body butter. I finally now got around to trying the shampoo and conditioner today, so I wanted to review them for you.

The first thing I do when I get products is read the ingredients label. I do this for every single product I get. It's a habit I picked up from being vegetarian then vegan for so long, and it just spilled out into every label I come in contact with. So, while reading the label, I read something that I got a little concerned with. I saw silk proteins and keratin in the ingredient labels, both of which aren't vegan. So, the first thing I did was A) go to Instagram and B) send an email. Here's what I received on Instagram:

Soon thereafter I received an email response back:

So I hear two different answers and I get concerned. I'm nothing if not thorough. I absolutely don't want to use anything that's not vegan, and I'll sooner throw a product out before going against my beliefs. Also, when I blog about something as being vegan, I don't want to give you guys any false info. So, I responded back, mentioning that I got a response on Instagram stating that they were working on the transition of being completely vegan, but then the email said they are completely vegan. What's up with that? This was the response I got:

So, with that, to the best of my knowledge it's been confirmed that all of Harvey Prince's products are in fact vegan. Although I still find it strange that their website still has silk and keratin proteins listed in the description. That doesn't necessarily mean anything. That could've just slipped their mind. Either way, I don't think that their customer service would lie to me or any of their customers knowing fully well that customers are the reason they're in business, and if they lie and we find out, they'll lose customers in an instant because people talk. So, I trust them. 

Okay, now, for the review part. Let's start with the pros:
1) The fact that you can get samples is an awesome thing. I can't tell you how many times I bought shampoo and conditioner and I absolutely hated it and sucked it up and used them anyway because I didn't want to waste money.
2) Harvey Prince has coupons literally all of the time. I get them sent to my email and seriously every day I get a coupon for 30% or 40% off and free shipping and free samples and all that. So, even though their products are a little pricey you can get everything for a discounted price.
3) The shampoo and the conditioner both smell similar to the perfume, which is great. 
4) My hair felt soft and smooth after using these products.
5) The sample size is convenient for traveling.

Now for the cons:
1) The sample sizes are super small. They're 15 ml, which is 0.5 oz. If you have a lot of hair like I have, you can get like 1.5 uses out of it, if you're lucky. I feel like that's not enough uses to really determine if you like something, so you'll need to buy at least 2 sample sets to give it a fair shot.
2) The scent doesn't last on your hair very long, which I find to be a bummer. Although my hair still does smell good, but not like the perfume.
3) If you buy the sampler set with 3 sample perfumes, shampoo, and conditioner, it's $5, which isn't bad. But, to buy them individually, they're $3 each. Considering the size, the price totally isn't worth it. Even the full size bottles are expensive. The full 12 oz. bottles are $24. Like I mentioned above in the pros section, you get coupons. Even still, pretty expensive.

Overall opinion: I thought the products were nice, but nothing to write home about. Granted, I only used it once, and I'll finish what I have left and if my opinion changes, as always, I'll update. But, I just don't think, even with the discounts, that the price is worth it. Now, that's just about the shampoo and conditioner. I still really love the perfumes and will continue to buy their perfumes. In fact, I have a new post to write about them on some new scents I tried. So keep an eye out for that!

I have a few new post I'm working on for you guys on products that I can't wait to share with you! I hope you're as excited as I am!

​Until then, enjoy!

I wanted to review for you guys the Radiant Gold Leaf Highlighter I received in my VeganCuts October Beauty Box. I was pretty excited for this one. This highlighter contains real golf leaf flakes. You can apply it anywhere you want a shimmer of color. Even your lips! It's stored in a lip balm tube, you just apply it directly where you need it and blend it. I was excited for the convenience of it. One less tool to have to use in the morning the better.

It's really hard to tell on my skin but you can see the shimmer on the back of my hand. I think it does leave a nice shimmer, especially if you have lighter skin than I do. However, because of the oils and waxes that are the main ingredients, it's hard to apply because it doesn't spread easy. It leaves a waxy feel on your skin that stays the entire day. The bonus is this highlighter has staying power because of that. So, it's a give and take kind of thing. I feel like because of the waxes and oils that it would clog my pores. I felt like my skin couldn't breathe underneath. Personally for me, this isn't my cup of tea. To be fair, I have texture issues, and textures like that don't work for me. I like highlighter and I think it does wonders for illuminating your face. The bonus is that this tube must last awhile. So I would imagine you would get your money's worth. This tube is $15 and is available from jerseyshoresun.com. 

 Every time I get a new beauty box, I immediately go and find and follow the companies on Instagram. I am all about finding new companies and finding new products. I love spicing up my beauty routine, and I think beauty boxes are awesome ways to discover new stuff! So, two months ago in my Petit Vour September Beauty Box, I received a lip stick by them in a shade I don't hate but I don't love, but I said I would try to start wearing lip stick this fall. I'm a lip balm girl through and through, but sometimes I like to add a pop of color, especially for special occasions.

I started following Elate Cosmetics after I received my box, and did some research on their website to check out their other products and see what they're about. Turns out, they're pretty awesome. They are a Canadian company that's 100% cruelty free vegan company that is all about empowering women to make smart choices without having to compromise your skin, the earth, or your looks. I love what they represent! Just like with Bare Bones, I was scrolling through Instagram and saw that they were doing a lip stick give away! You had to post your Beauty Wish List and you could win a lip stick of your choice. Posting my wish list took me all of 5 minutes because they have so many awesome things to choose from, pretty much everything I looked at I wanted. So, I posted my wish list and to my surprise I won! I was on Cloud 9, winning the deodorant give away then this! I was so stoked!

So, I browsed through the colors and decided on a beautiful shade of red called Grace. I feel like red is a very sexy and empowering color, and it looks great when paired with black (which is all I wear) and with black and white (which is the color of my wedding dress.) I figured this color would look so pretty with my wedding dress. I was so excited once I received it.

I mentioned before when I received their lipstick in my beauty box about how much I love the packaging. It's very sleek and elegant, and I love the intricate designs etched into the tube.

I went to take a photo of the actual lipstick itself today, before writing this, and this is what I found:

It looks like during the craziness of my day, I may have gotten a little sidetracked and made a mess of my pretty lipstick lol. But, it's still usable and I figured while I was cleaning up the mess seeing the red pop against the tissue would help you get an idea of just how pretty this shade of red is. Also, the lipstick blot on the tissue looks kind of like a bat, and I thought that was cute lol.

Anyway, I did end up wearing this on my wedding day, and below I'm going to post a few photos so A) you can see the color on me and B) so I can show off some wedding pictures.

As you can see, the red was really rich and vibrant. It really popped against my skin tone and against my dress. I got compliments on my makeup all day long. Everyone loved it! And, the color was so perfect for Sally as it's almost identical to the color of her lips in the movie!

This lipstick applies like butter. It is seriously so smooth. It's not sticky or drying on your lips, thanks to the mango and shea butters! It has that "still wet" look which I love, as I don't like the look of matte lips. I love that it looks shiny! The color payoff is so rich and so vibrant. I dare any red shade to compare to this. No crushed beetles either, just all natural pigment! This shade of red I really feel is flattering on everyone, because it's not too dark or too bright. It's just the perfect shade of red. It also has a faint scent of vanilla due to the organic vanilla essential oil! You can't ever go wrong when vanilla is involved.

Their lipstick is $17, and at this time, Grace is sold out, and hopefully they'll stock up soon. They have a lot of other colors too, so if red isn't your thing I bet that you'll be able to find one that you love. They have lip balms and lip gloss and cremes that can be used for cheeks and lips alike. Elate Cosmetics is a full make up company, so they have foundations and mascaras and make ups and everything in between. Be sure to check out their website and browse through all of the goodies they have to offer!

Bare Bones Body Care is a company based out of Los Angela CA, started by a woman named Monica in her own kitchen. She was on a quest to find truly all natural products that were gentle on her sensitive skin, and when that quest turned out hopeless, she started making her own, and boy, am I glad she did.

I've been following their Instagram for awhile and while scrolling through one day I saw they we're doing a give away for their deodorants. I was stoked. I had always wanted to try them, and had tried 9846097405 vegan deodorants and had no luck with any of them. So, I entered and to my surprise I was one of the winners! Here's what I got: 

I received one regular deodorant and one for sensitive skin. Here's the difference in ingredients between the two:

First, take a moment to notice that the ingredients are actually natural. Nothing weird. Nothing hard to pronounce. Nothing where you're like "what is that?!" Bare Bones is legit in their all natural statement. And notice how many ingredients are organic. I was so surprised to see that I knew what every ingredient was in my deodorant. How often does that happen?

I received this early last week, like Monday or Tuesday. I am currently using the regular, and haven't tried the sensitive skin one yet. The first thing I noticed that I am super jazzed up about is this:

It's a twist up container! I have used other natural deodorants in the past that are solid and in a jar and you have to scoop them out and they're hard to apply and you get deodorant under your nails and it's a pain to get out. I love that this is a regular twist up container, pretty much like a giant tube of lip balm. It's super easy to apply.

Second, the scent is pleasant and unisex. The main note I get is lemon, and a hint of tea tree oil. Men and women alike can use this deodorant. I find the scent really nice. I never liked super floraly feminine scented deodorants anyway. I mean, no one is gonna be getting that close to my armpit to the point where they can say "Hey, is that roses and baby powder I smell?!" 

Third, this stuff goes on smoothly. It's not chalky or thick like a lot of other vegan (and non-vegan) deodorants I have tried in the past. And it dries really quick so you don't have to wait forever and a day to get dressed. I apply like 2-3 swipes and it still dries quickly.

Fourth, while I know this isn't relevant to how it works, I really love the name of the company and the logo. Like how often can you tell people that your deodorant has a super cute logo? I love skulls, and I love crossbones. So this design is right up my alley.

Lastly, and this is the most important part, this stuff really works. I've been using it over a week now and I love it. I know that it's fall and I'm not usually sweating, but I even used it on my wedding day and didn't smell. And you better believe I was sweating on my wedding day. Despite all of that, I was still feeling fresh and clean!

I will not try another vegan deodorant. This is it for me. Everything Bare Bones sells is vegan and cruelty free. They have other products I haven't yet tried but plan on trying, including lip balm (you know I'll be trying that sooner or later), cleanser, toner, face oil, and moisturizer. Currently, all of their products are on sale. You can get the two pack of these deodorants for $13, or $8 each. Definitely be sure to check this stuff out, and all their other products while you're at it. You won't be disappointed!