Beauty Favorites | August Edition

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I'm BACK! After a very long, unexpected, and unannounced hiatus happened on this blog... sorry about that (I know, it happens a lot. I have trouble staying committed to things, I'm working on it). But that's in the PAST now, and we're going to just go ahead and put those 2 (almost 3) blog post-less months behind us and start FRESH.

Today I bring you a new type of post that I've been wanting to do for a while after watching countless videos about it on youtube - monthly favorites! Now before you start thinking to yourself, "Sam, you've created themed posts in the past and literally NONE of them lasted. Why should we believe you're going to keep this one going strong?" Well... good point. You shouldn't believe that I will definitely have a favorites blog post every month. However, you should believe that I will TRY MY HARDEST, so long that I have enough products/things that I've been loving for the month. Just give me a chance, alright? Alright.

This post will focus on a few beauty products I've been loving during the entire month of August. 

1. Trader Joe's: 100% Pure Jojoba Oil

First up, a skin care product that has completely changed my view on skin care in general. For so long I have fallen into the abyss of buying bottle after bottle of eye make up remover and pack after pack of make up remover wipes. This resulted in an unnecessarily long skin care process every night, and stripping my skin from scrubbing it with those wipes, and still being left with a gross residue that needed to be washed off regardless. 

I read about how hydrating and nourishing jojoba oil is for not only your skin, but your scalp and hair as well, and even all over your body. I was honestly skeptical about it's ability to break down my make up enough to just be wiped away by a damp cloth, so I would use this in conjunction with my eye make up remover just to ensure that everything was being taken off before washing my face. Fed up with the extra steps involved, I decided to use the jojoba oil to take EVERYTHING off one night, and it did just that. It literally melts your make up off of your face, and then you come in with some warm water on a wash cloth and wipe it all away. It leaves your skin feeling soft, clean, and not at all sticky or gross. Follow it up with a face wash (on days where I don't wear much or any make up, I just use this and go straight to a moisturizer and I'm good to go.)

It's about $8 at Trader Joe's and it lasts a while as you don't need much to take off a full face of make up.

2. First Aid Beauty: Face Cleanser

I've been wanting to try out First Aid Beauty for a while, but it's kind of pricey to just "try out", you know? So I was browsing in Sephora one day when I found a trial package of their Face Cleanser, Ultra Repair Cream, and Facial Radiance Pads. While I'm not completely sold on the Facial Radiance Pads, the cleanser and moisturizer are AMAZING. 

The Face Cleanser is everything I want in a cleanser, simple, gentle, and not stripping at all. I've been using this either after taking off my make up with the jojoba oil or to wash my face in the morning/in the shower and my face is left squeaky clean without feeling tight and dry. Awesome cleanser for sensitive skin that does its job. 

3. First Aid Beauty: Ultra Repair Cream

If you've been reading my blog for a while (thank you!), then you know that my biggest problem areas for dry skin are my face and scalp. This product had 100% solved my dry skin problem on my face. It's a very heavy and rich moisturizer, so I recommend using it at night so it had time to soak into your skin and not be oily underneath your make up. If you do this, you'll wake up in the morning feeling absolutely no need to apply any other type of moisturizer to your face. THAT'S how awesome this stuff is.

Like the jojoba oil, a little bit goes a long way, so even this trial size, I find, is lasting me quite some time. I will absolutely be buying the full size tub once I use this tube up.

The trial package of the cleanser, wipes, and moisturizer was $28 as Sephora. 

4. NYX: Stay Matte But Not Flat Liquid Foundation

I was in dire need of a cheap, but good quality, liquid foundation. My go-to E.L.F foundation was just not cutting it anymore, so I looked to a different brand to try out. NYX blew me away.

I was weary about this foundation at first, as I hadn't read any reviews on it in the past, but I decided to give it a shot anyway. It's awesome to say the least. NYX has a great shade selection, and the product blends flawlessly into your skin. I'll have a full review on this product soon; that's how much I love it!

$7.49 at Ulta. How could you possibly beat that?! Plus, it's not considered a "prestigious" brand at Ulta, so you know those little coupons that you get that usually don't apply to many brands there? Yeah... they apply to NYX products. 

5. NYX: Stay Matte But Not Flat Powder Foundation

To go along with my liquid foundation, I needed a setting powder. Now, this IS a "powder foundation", but it honestly doesn't provide that much coverage, so I just use it as a setting powder for my liquid foundation. It sets my foundation, and also gives just a touch more coverage for a really natural looking base for your make up look.

$9.99 at Ulta

6. NYX: Butter Lipsticks

As for these NYX products, I've heard lots and lots of positive feedback. Naturally, I needed to see what the hype was about. After finding out that Revlon was no longer cruelty free, and therefore I wouldn't by buying their lip butters, I was so excited to find out that there was a similar, slightly cheaper, and cruelty free product on the market.

Again, I plan to have a full product review for these bad boys on the blog soon, but just to sum it up: they're extremely pigmented, moisturizing, and they LAST. They also don't settle into the cracks of your lips if you seem to have that problem with other lip products.

Colors shown:

Big Cherry - it's really a true, very flattering deep red color

Fizzies - a muted berry color that can go with virtually any make up look

Fireball - a coral that's more on the pink side with just a hint of orange

Sold at Ulta and certain Targets and even Wegmans! $5.99 at Target and I think the same goes for Ulta and Wegmans.

7. Bath and Body Works: Blackberry Bramble Tea Candle

Okay, a candle? In a beauty favorites post? What's wrong with you, Sam? I know, it's weird, but I just think it fits. Candles are like beauty products for your home, right? And this one smells so amazing that I just needed to include it. It's sweet, but not too sweet, a little florally, with a very slight musky/spicy scent underneath it all. It's a perfect summer to fall transition candle and I encourage ALL OF YOU to go out and buy it right now!

$22.50 at Bath and Body Works, but I got mine during their 2 for $22 deal. 

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Beauty Tip | 4 Holy Grail Products for Dry Skin

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For a dry scalp

• Coconut Oil

I've been struggling with dry scalp issues for as long as I can remember. I was strictly using head and shoulders for a while, but all the chemicals and weird ingredients in it made me want to switch over to something a little more natural. This cold-turkey quit made my scalp disgustingly dry. After months and months of testing out different all natural products, I decided to just try with good ol' coconut oil.

Dry scalp means that your scalp isn't producing as much oil as it needs to to stay hydrated. This can lead to embarrassing dandruff, brittle, dry hair, and a very VERY itchy head. I had it to the point of signs of possible psoriasis - red, dry, scaly patches all over my scalp, all the way up to my hairline where it was visible to other people. I could go days without washing my hair and my roots would never get oily. A blessing? Not when the oiliness of your hair is replaces with gross dandruff flakes all over the place.

What I do is quite simple, I just lather my scalp and roots with coconut oil, massage it in, and leave it in over night. Your hair will look extremely greasy and dirty, do don't plan on leaving the house after this.

I've only done this treatment once, and there's already a huge difference in the dryness of my scalp. Using moisturizing shampoos and conditioners along with this once in a while treatment will help too. I use an argan oil based shampoo and follow it up with a leave-in argan oil serum. The coconut oil is what really does the trick though. The other things are just supporting roles.

For a dry face

• Trader Joe's Spa Face Wash with Tea Tree Oil
• Lush Celestial Facial Moisturizer

I don't have terribly sensitive skin, but with just the slightest change in the weather, my T-Zone dries up like the Sahara. I use the Trader Joe's Spa Face Wash with Tea Tree Oil after taking off my make up every night, and also anytime I wash my face in the shower. It doesn't leave my skin feeling dry or irritated, which is really important.

After anytime I wash my face, I follow up with Lush's Celestial Facial Moisturizer which is packed with almond oil, almond milk, cocoa butter, and lots of other ingredients that your skin will love. It doesn't leave my skin oily or dewy, so I'm able to use this moisturizer in the morning as well as at night. It doesn't make my make up slide off or anything funky like that. It's also Vegan!

For dry hands

• Lush Helping Hands Hand Cream

Every since I started babysitting and washing my hands a lot, my skin has not been forgiving. My hands would crack and bleed from being so dry and very few things seemed to help... until I tried this product. It's got Chamomile water, almond oil, shea butter, cocoa butter, honey, lavender oil, and lots of other skin-loving goodies. I just massage this into my hands whenever I feel they're a little dry. I tend to especially lather them up before bed.

I hope this helped someone out there with annoying, itchy, gross dry skin! Give these products a try. Maybe they'll become your holy grail products, too!

xo Sam

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Health Tip | Meat Substitutions

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It's so easy to be a vegetarian nowadays with the HEAPS of options you have to swap out the meat components with in your favorite dishes.

I consider myself blessed to have been raised by a mother who sleeps, breathes, and (literally) eats organically. She preaches the importance of non-GMO products. Preservatives, carageneen, and pesticide-covered produce immediately spoil when she's around. And don't get me started about her meat industry rants.

She practices what she preaches and these habits have rubbed off on me. I've been a vegetarian for almost two years now and health-wise it was the best decision I've ever made. I live on my own down at school so I try my hardest to live by what my mom taught me when I'm out buying my own groceries and I think I do a pretty good job.

Here's a list of meat substitutes that are either all organic or use non GMO soy. You can start incorporating these into your diets if you're trying to make the transformation to a completely vegetarian lifestyle. All the products listed I've tried and loved. I'm sure there's a bunch more out there which are perfectly delicious that I just haven't tried out yet. GO EXPLORING!

I'll also post the links to the companies' websites (wherever I can) so you can find out if their products are sold in your favorite supermarket.

Disclaimer: not all of these options are VEGAN friendly.

Gardein

Gardein is probably my favorite brand of meatless cuisine. They have SO MANY options to choose from. These are just photos of the ones I or my roommate currently have on hand. Here's a list of all of Gardein's products I've tried:

The Ultimate Beefless Burger
Crispy Chick'n Patty
Lightly Breaded Turk'y Cutlet
Zesty Marinara Crispy Chick'n Filets
Mandarin Orange Crispy Chick'n
Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers
Seven Grain Crispy Tenders
BBQ Pulled Shreds

Some of these come with little sauce packets, but I usually just toss them and make my own creations (as you can tell with my recipes). The mandarin sauce is really good though if you want a quick meal and don't have the time to make your own elaborate asian-inspired sauce.

Seitan and Tempeh

I don't really have a specific brand that I like to buy when I'm buying seitan or tempeh. For tempeh, it's easy for me to find an organic option in Wegman's or ShopRite or Trader Joe's or wherever I'm buying my groceries. It's not that easy when it comes to seitan... It's a wheat protein and not a soy protein so I cheat a little bit and buy it anyway because Westsoy is the only brand I've seen... but if you can get your hands on an organic brand then absolutely opt for that one.

Lightlife

Lightlife products are relatively new to me, but so far I'm enjoying them quite a bit. They're made with non-GMO soy and they're quite delicious. I was REALLY surprised by their deli options. They're like cold-cuts but totally meat free and tasty. Their Smart Sausages are VERY similar to the Trader Joe's soy sausages that are near and dear to my heart. Definitely an A+ in my book!

Quorn

I'm not sure if it's true for ALL of Quorn's products, but I do know that on the back of the packaging of the ones I've bought in the past, it's stated that the company doesn't use any genetically modified ingredients. Now, the protein that this company used isn't soy or wheat or even vegetable protein. It's called a "mycoprotein" which is similar to that of a fungus, but doesn't taste weird or anything; I happen to really like their products. Here's a list of all the one's I've tried:

Chik'n Patties
Garlic and Herb Chik'n Cutlets
Gruyere Cheese Cutlet
Chik'n Tenders

Trader Joe's


Okay, Trader Joe's is by no means a completely vegetarian grocery store, but they DO have some great meat-free options. ALSO!!!! Their private label guarantees these awesome things:

√ NO artificial flavors or preservatives
√ NO synthetic colors
√ NO MSG
√ NO genetically modified ingredients
√ NO partially hydrogenated oils (artificial trans-fats)
√ NO "marketing" costs

They also offer a BUNCH of organic options. Here's a list of some of my favorite Trader Joe's vegetarian products:

Italian Sausage-less Sausages
Soy Chorizo
Vegetable Masala Burgers
Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels
Organic 3-Grain Tempeh
Organic Vegetarian Baked Beans (I know this isn't really like a meat substitute but I LOVE THESE BEANS)

Veggie Patch

I've only tried their Falafel Chickpea Balls, but oh my GOD are they good. I'm definitely going to go out and try some of their other products. Although they're not organic, all of their products are completely GMO-free.

Dr. Praegers

I currently don't have any of these products on hand so I don't have any pictures, but my favorite product from this company is the Bombay Veggie Burger. They're GMO-free and just really delicious.

Boca

You need to be careful with this company, because some of their products contain GMO soy. However, they DO have some products which state that there are no genetically modified ingredients used, so just read the labels before you buy it.

Well that's all I can think of right now. There are obviously TONS of companies out there that make fantastic vegetarian meals and things of that sort, but this is just a list of specific MEAT substitutes that you can incorporate into your own meals. I hope this helps any budding vegetarians. Just be smart when you're shopping for groceries - do your research and read the labels. 

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Recipe | Stuffed French Toast

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Chris came to visit for my birthday last weekend, so we decided to make a breakfast that was different than the typical eggs and veggies or oatmeal or granola that we normally have. I bought this "cookie butter" from Trader Joe's and I had been wanting to put it in between two pieces of french toast to make a sort of stuffed french toast. Well, needless to say, but it came out AWESOME, and it took maybe a total of 15 minutes including cook time to assemble two of these beauties for us to devour for breakfast.

For two servings you'll need:

4 slices of your favorite bread
4 tbsp cookie butter
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
A non-stick cooking spray

Set a large skillet to medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Whisk your eggs and cinnamon together and pour onto a dish that will allow you to dunk your french toast (like a plate with higher edges so the egg doesn't pour over, or a large shallow bowl). Assemble your cookie butter sandwiches with 2 tbsp of the cookie butter in each. Dunk both sides of the sandwiches in the egg and cinnamon mixture. If your pan is big enough,  you could fit both sandwiches in the pan at the same time. Cook them for about 4-5 minutes on both sides, or until the egg is cooked and the bread is golden brown. Serve with maple syrup and a handful of fresh berries on the side and you're set for a delicious breakfast.

Also, this is really more of a technique than a recipe, so if you can't find cookie butter - nutella, peanut butter, or anything else you can imagine, would taste delicious in this recipe.

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Recipe | Protein Packed Brunch for Two

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Before I went off to college, I used to cook for my mom, sister, and I all the time. My mom's a great cook, but I know she misses my cooking... so it was no surprise that when I mentioned I was going to make some eggs for myself for a little late breakfast, early lunch, she sneakily asked "Oh are you going to make some for me too?"

She couldn't pick up her co-op delivery of fruits and veggies today because of the snowstorm last night, so I just threw whatever was in her fridge that I thought might go well together. I also tried sneaking in a ton of protein to show my mom the amount she really should be getting in each meal. 

Me and my mom finished the whole skillet because it was the only thing we planned on eating for lunch. If you're pairing it with toast, or waffles or pancakes or something else, you could stretch it to be like 3 or four servings.

The whole recipe is 60-65g of protein (I didn't take the time to figure out how much vegetable protein was in it... so this really is just counting the protein from the eggs, soy sausages, and black beans. So me and my mom both had around 30g which is more than enough for one meal. Obviously if you're splitting it up between more people, then you would be consuming less protein, so it's important to make the difference up in other food sources served with this or by doubling the recipe to accommodate more people. 

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 onion, sliced

1/2 bell pepper, sliced

1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 cup of grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

2 soy sausages, halved lengthwise and then cut into half-moons

1 cup black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup miso ginger vinaigrette

3 eggs, whisked

Salt and Pepper to taste

As always, start off by sauteing the peppers and onions in the olive oil until they begin to brown.

Once they start to get some color (after about 5-7 minutes or so), add the cherry or grape tomato halves to the pan. Start blistering the tomatoes. Don't worry if they start breaking up, that's what you want to happen.

When the tomatoes start to blister and break down (about 5 more minutes or so), add the sausages. Refrain from salting everything until the very end. The vinaigrette that you'll be adding might be enough seasoning for some people and you don't want your dish to be too salty.

Let all the flavors mix together before adding the black beans and miso ginger vinaigrette. I used Wegman's brand of vinaigrette. If you can't find a miso ginger one, a sesame or sesame ginger or even a plain Italian would be a good substitute. If you're in a pinch and you don't have ANY vinaigrette to add, just add the juice of half a lemon and some Italian seasoning... that should be pretty tasty. Or just skip it all together... I'm never gonna find out!

Finally, after you've incorporated the beans and vinaigrette (or just the beans), add in the eggs and scramble to your desired consistency. The ratio is going to look like 5:1 eggs to veg/sausage/beans which, in my opinion, is better than having mostly eggs filling up your plate. Enjoy!

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