A short break

I am going to be taking a short break from my blog. My 8 year old pet bunny died of cancer today. We didn't know she had it until it was too late and she had to be put to rest. I miss her a lot, but I am glad she doesn't have to suffer.

There is a picture of her, just 6 days ago, beimg the happy wonderful girl she always was.

Julep Maven Jule Box- Free Welcome Box

So I saw the Facebook ad and that my friends had liked and taken the Maven quiz, so I said why not. I took the quiz and got "Bombshell". I didn't like the look of the bombshell box, so I just left it at that. Then someone commented that I choose my box in a different style. Ok, it's a free box, I can cancel if I don't like it. I picked the "It Girl" box, it had 3 polishes and I really liked 2 of the colours and could live with the 3rd. Paying $3.99 for shipping wasn't a big deal when you get 3 $15 polishes for free. The box took about 4 days to arrive from order to ship, which was really nice. It came Priority USPS. I guess their usual shipping method is DHL, but you get free shipping as a Maven, but more on that later.

Opening up the box I found all this stuff. A little "It Girl" description packet, a coupon code and a Julep Flier. The top of the box has a sticker that says Maven, but it's Silver on White so it did not even photograph well.

The polishes come packed together in a white box, and are protected in shipping by all this paper. They also sent along these buffing blocks. I love these things so I thought it was a pretty cool freebie, even if it is super cheap. My rabbits will enjoy playing with the paper.

The polishes also come in their own boxes. This one is called Bunny, and it is a white with small flecks of gold glitter.

This one is called Libby and it's a teal creme polish. It's my favourite of the set.

Lastly is Elle, which I didn't like at first but it has really grown on me. It's a deep redish purple colour with shimmer.

Here are all of them swatched on my nails. Excuse my cuticles, were a mess at the time I took this.

All the polishes went on nice and opaque. It took 2 coats for each one, which is pretty standard, I used to primarily use OPI and I would say this is very comparable to that. I was able to wear this manicure for 4 days without it chipping, which is very good if you ask me. I didn't use a top or base coat either. So it has good staying power.

Over all I am really happy with my intro box to Julep Maven. Since these photos I have actually made 3 other orders to Julep, and it's not even been a month. I went a little overboard, but I have to rebuild my polish collection! Expect more product reviews from them soon!

Want to try Julep Maven for free yourself? Clickhere and use code FREEBOX to get started!

St. Patty's Day Nails

Happy St. Patty's day! Since I dont think I own and green clothing anymore I did my nails up in a festive way. I keep calling them super party nails, but I won't be doing any partying this holiday. What did you do for St. Patrick's day? Did you have a special nail or make up theme?

Poloshes used:
Green- Julep Libby
White- Julep Bunny
Glitter- e.l.f Chic Confetti

A Simple Pin-up look and a simple review

My fiance and I went out to the mall to look at what Sephora had for the Pantone Colour of the Year Collection. They had some pretty things, but I didn't buy because it was all animal tested since Sephora's in house brand is not cruelty free. They had a display with colours by other brands that matched the radiant orchid colour, but it was slim pickin's. I went to Macy's and bought a swim bottom instead so I could use my new YWCA membership to it's fullest. (Due to my disability the pool is currently the easiest thing for me to do to get exercise, which is nice because I love swimming.)

Here is my look for the day, featuring e.l.f. products!

The main products used to get this look are all by e.l.f! I used their Gel Eye Liner (it comes with a tiny angle brush), which I plan to give a full review of soon. We just have too see how long it keeps. Their Essential Lip Stain in Berry Blush and their Essential Hypershine Lipgloss in Vixen which came with the free Mardi Gras set from my order. I also used their Studio Hi Definition power and their Make Up Setting Spray and that kept my foundation in place and my shine away all day!

It was a fun and easy look, and it was my first time using a gel liner. I had fallen for liquid liners in the marker like tubes so I just never tried one. Well, I needed $35 to get free shipping from e.l.f. so I figured why not get it. It went on smoothly and it stayed put all day. Full review soon.

Here is the review

This is e.l.f.'s Studio Daily Brush Cleaner. It's an antibacterial brush cleaner that you use everyday on your brushes to keep them clean, help them last longer and your skin healthy! As you should know your brushes and make up are prone to gathering bacterial from your skin and having it breed there. This can get unsanitary after a while. This cleaner not only kills that bacterial it also removes make up from the brushes so that you can switch colours if you need to. I just sprayed it on and whipped it on a tissue to get the make up out. It also smells really good. As soon as I took the cap off the lovely smell came out. If your brushes are really full of product it might be time for a good shampoo though!

At only $3 e.l.f.'s Studio Daily Brush Cleaner is a great way to extend the life of your brushes and help keep things a little more sanitary.

Help stop cosmetic animal testing!

Help pass a bill that would stop animal testing of cosmetics in the United States. A similar bill was passed last year in the European Union banning the testing and sale of all cosmetics tested on animals. By going to the following link below and sending the letter to your congress person and calling them you will be making a difference in the fight for animal rights. Help be the voice they don't have.

https://secure.humanesociety.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6433&=web_shadow#.UyE4XL0o5Dt

Beauty mail!

Today was beauty mail day. I got my e.l.f. order in which I ordered $35 worth of products to get free shipping and got a huge free gift. It's a lot of stuff, so I will have a lot of things to review for upcoming entries. That and I get to rejuvenate my make up stash after throwing a lot of things out. It's a huge step in my transition to cruelty free.

Next is my order from Julep which I used a a 50% off coupon I got in my first maven box.

So here is my haul from today's mail, and I've got more Julep om the way!

Dairy-Free Gluten Free Flat Bread version 1.0

I was to tired to post this yesterday after being busy with cooking and having a doctor's appointment, so here it is now. For my health reasons I have to eat gluten free and dairy free. I am intolerant to gluten, not allergic, so I am found cheating on this the most, but I really shouldn't eat it. As for dairy I am allergic to the casein found in it, which is a protein. Unfortunately they don't make casein free products like the do with lactose. Lactose free supposedly contains more casein as well. I can't even tolerate goat dairy products. It's really hard because I used to really love cheese, but having my health improve is a lot better than cheese tastes. And Trader Joe's Soy Creamy "ice cream" is so much better than dairy ice cream.

Anyway, this post is about bread! If you've ever tried a gluten free diet or known someone who is gluten free you may know that the bread ranges from totally weird, but edible to kitchen sponge. And it's expensive. And well, I like my bread. I am a peanut butter toast for breakfast kind of girl. Well, one day while browsing tumblr I came across a blog called No More Ramen and there was a recipe for pan fried flat bread. I figured I could make that gluten free, so I looked up more elaborate recipes and compiled one myself.

**Warning, this recipe still need a little tweaking, mine came out quite dense, but still good.** I will post an update when I figure out how much baking powder to add.

2 cups gluten free flour mix (I used trader joes!)

1 cup almond meal (this is for texture mostly, if you are allergic you can just add more flour)

2 eggs

1 cup soy milk

1 1/4 tea spoon xanthan gum

1 3/4 cup water

1 tea spoon salt

Mix all your powder ingredients in one bowl and all your liquids in another. Make an indent in the middle of the powder and pour the liquid into it. Mix until doughy. If it's crumbly you can add more water. When it's mixed well form into balls and flatten. Whatever size you want the bread to be. Then fry with a tiny bit of olive oil in a pan on medium heat about 15-25 seconds depending on thickness. When you go to flip it the bottom should feel firm, and be a little bit browned.

Like I said above this recipe makes them a little dense, but it's still really good. Maybe try for a thinner bread. As you can see in the photo mine are pretty thick. They are great with peanut butter!

Radiant Orchid Inspired Look

I did a simple fun look to go out and get Chiplotle today with my fiance. It was supposedly free Chipotle, but the little advert that has been circling Facebook turned out to be a fake. So we paid for it, because you don't just pass up Chipotle.

I used an eye shadow that matches 2014's Pantone Colour of the Year pretty well. It is in my e.l.f. Beauty Black Book Night Edition eyeshadow pallet that I picked  up a little after Christmas. It looks a little washed out in the photos unfortunately. I am really loving the colour Radiant Orchid for this year, so I want to make sure to try and collect lots of things in this colour.

My unkempt dyejob is a little orchid coloured too.

Oh, and I randomly found a book just tossed in the snow on my way to the light rail. It's about Timbuku. It's a nice, brand new book so it seemed like a shame to just let it get ruined and wet so I brought it home.

The products I used are:

e.l.f. eyeshadow for the orchid and white colours and black liner

tarte lights, camera, lashes 4-in-1- mascara

false bottom lashes from ebay

keihl's bb cream (keihl's themselves are cruelty free, but they are owned by l'oreal, who is not.)

too faced primed and pourless skin smoothing face primer

sephora mineral founation (NOT CRUETY FREE, I am currently looking for a replacement!)

 I am really loving the colour Radiant Orchid for this year, so I want to make sure to try and collect lots of things in this colour. What are your thoughts on the radiant orchid pantone colour of the year? Do you have a colour that is special to your heart this year?

First Product Review! Starrydance Cosmetics on Etsy

Hi everyone! Here it is, my first review for you. It's from an indie maker who sells on Etsy called Starrydance Cosmetics, made by fantasy artist Gwynn Farrington. Currently she is making lip balms, themed with My Little Pony or other characters, and solid perfumes in the same vein.

This time I ordered some lip balms. They are cruelty free and contain natural ingredients. Her ingredients are listed on her selling pages for each product. Sorry, vegans, they do contain beeswax, so this one might not be for you. She makes all of these herself, including the artwork in the labels.

I ordered 3 lip balms, 2 are MLP themed despite my not being a MLP fan. But the flavours sounded too good to pass up and at the 3 for $10 deal I was sold. https://www.etsy.com/listing/172690236/shea-butter-lip-balms-3-for-10-pick-your?ref=related-0
I ordered:
Rarity- which is a black berry pomegranate flavour
Pinky Pie- which is a strawberry swirl flavour
Lucky Cat- which is a natural vanilla flavour

I placed my order on March first, she shipped them by the 3rd and they arrived today March 8th. I think the shipping on her end was nice and quick, but USPS left something to be desired (again).

Her packaging on the other hand left nothing to be desired. It was like opening a present. I could have just gifted it to someone right out of the envelope, and I didn't even have to pay extra for this. It was so cute.

 It arrived to my home in a bright purple bubble mailer, and inside that was a box in an organza bag. I could already see the cuteness flowing out of it.

Inside that bag was a smaller bag that contained some cute gifts. The labels and the notes on the box added a nice touch, to help remind which things you ordered. Opening the box I could already smell the goodness that was inside. I was very excited to open up the balms and try them out.

Here is the order, out of the box. You can see the lip balms with the original artwork, and the professional looking plastic covering the whole tube. The kind that seals it all up for sanitary purposes. She included a free dragon sticker, a cute unicorn phone charm (how did she know I love purple?!) and her wonderful business card, which to me doubles as a piece of art.

On to the balms themselves! The go on like butter. They just melt and absorb into my skin. I even tested them on my dry cuticles. The oils used to add scent/flavour to them doesn't leave burning or itching on cracked skin, even my super sensitive skin, which is a big deal! I will be buying these again for sure.

The tubes were full to the top, maybe about 3mm over so I didn't have to wind them up any. There are no colourants added so they are a milky white in colour. The scent is phenomenal. Seriously, it makes you want to just take a bite out of them. Unfortunately it doesn't have much of a flavour to go with that scent. I was hoping it would, but it's also good to keep me from licking my lips.

So, I recommend Starrydance Cosmetics lipbalms if you are looking for a small batch all natural indie balm that feels great on. Especially if you like MLP and other cute things. I for one will be buying from her again.

Buy Starrydance Cosmetics here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Starrydance

Do you know of a natural cosmetics maker that would want to be reviewed in a blog? Email me at seraphimfeathers@gmail.com

First Post!

Hello and welcome to my brand new blog! As the title suggests this will be about my beautiful life. I will be reviewing products and sharing photos of my various adventures here. Reviews will include make up, skincare, nail care, fashion, art and art supplies. I will also be sharing my favourite artists and blogs with you as well as my own creations. So keep your eyes peeled for the next post, I have a lot to share, and a lot of new things to review!