Has it been a while or what? I’ve missed you guys! I’ve been busy making all sorts of things, enjoying spending time with my hubby while he had a little time off and basically just living life. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! If you didn’t know, the hubby and I have adopted a vegan diet, so we made some delicious veggie tamales, refried beans and the best mexican rice I’ve ever tasted for our Thanksgiving dinner. It was great! No lethargic, overly full feeling when we were done stuffing our faces and we didn’t pass out in front of the tv. We also didn’t gain any holiday weight- in fact we have been steadily losing. I am 6 pounds away from my original goal!

Now I have to tell you about this great company I stumbled across on Facebook- Eliza Fragrances and Cosmetics. This company makes vintage inspired makeup and perfumes at an awesome price. Most of the products are under $10!

There are lip rouges, lipsticks, eye shadows and new lip glosses. A holiday lip palette is also in the works with brand new shades. Most of the colors are named after classic Hollywood actresses like Marilyn, Ava and Grace. I was lucky enough to try out 2 of the lipsticks, Bette and Paulette.

Top: Bette, Bottom: Paulette

I don’t know if you are aware, but I have been searching for the perfect pink lipstick for a long time. I’m talking in terms of years here people. I wanted something in a lighter pink. None of this neon, hot pink, you-can-see-my-lips-from-space crap. Not too light, most of those look white on me. Not shimmery, not glittery. We all know how hard it is to find something without shimmer!

Bette IS that perfect pink! It looks great with my skin tone, it’s not shimmery, it’s almost a semi-matte? Very light shine. Though if you want more shine just layer a gloss on top and you’re good to go. It’s moisturizing and lasts a long time, even through eating. I’ve even received compliments on how pretty this lipstick is, and that’s not something people normally comment on. For me, Bette is the perfect everyday lip color!

Paulette is a gorgeous raspberry color. It’s great for when I want something a little more dramatic. And, of course, it has all the same wonderful qualities as Bette.

These lipsticks are all handmade with: Jojoba oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, titanium dioxide, carmine, iron oxides, lemon oil, orange oil, glycerin, allantoin. The price for these? $6.50. When was the last time you bought a lipstick for under $10 that you loved? I even have lipsticks that cost $20 or more and I don’t love them as much as I love these.

If you need a new lipstick (and really, what woman doesn’t need a new lipstick?) or know anyone who wears makeup- I recommend checking out Eliza Fragrances and Cosmetics. You can order through the FB page.

BONUS: All purchases are 20% off from now until Christmas!

A big thank you to Tia for sending me these gorgeous lipsticks!

Full disclosure: I received these lipsticks free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Simply Rustic began shortly after Amanda, mother of 4, learned that her daughter had a chronic illness. She did a ton of research and discovered just how many toxins we are all exposed to on a daily basis. She was inspired to try her hand at making her own simple, natural products for her family to use. Lucky for us, her products are available for the rest of us to use! Click here to learn more about her story.

I got in touch with Amanda a couple months ago when I found out about a special she was having. I let her know I wanted to review her products and she graciously sent me a box of lovely goodies to try out.

Face Food: This is a clay based powder cleanser. You can mix it with water, green tea, juice, honey, etc. Then just massage it onto your face and rinse. You can also use it as a mask. It exfoliates as it absorbs all the dirt and yuckies but it won’t strip your skin of it’s natural oils. I like that it’s so gentle I can use it every day. It makes my skin feel clean and healthy. There are 3 different formulas for different skin types. It comes in a cute 100% recycled glass bottle with a cork. $10 for 4oz.

Peace N Quiet Body Scrub: Who doesn’t love a good body scrub? This one is made with epsom salts, honey crystals, grapeseed and vitamin E oils, mango butter and green tea and it’s SO nice! It made my skin silky smooth and moisturized. No need for lotion after using this stuff. I really like using it before I shave my legs- smoothest shave ever! Just be careful, it will make your bathtub pretty slippery. It comes in a fun shaped mason jar (the same kind I use for my homemade goodies) with a little wooden scoop. There are 6 different scents including Paradise, Pumpkin Spice and Raspberry, yum. I think the jar is an 8ozer, it costs $11.

Body Butter: I got to try 2 different scents, Relax and Nighty Night. These are made with shea butter, grapeseed oil, beeswax and essential oils. Relax is scented with lavender EO and Nighty Night is scented with lavender and chamomile EOs. This is some serious hydration for your skin! A little goes a long way with these body butters. It absorbs well and makes my skin feel so soft. I recommend the Nighty Night for freshly shaved legs. Between that and the scrub, my legs were smooth with no signs of razor burn or redness. The Relax has become my go-to hand cream after washing dishes. There are 10 different formulas including a couple of vegan body butters with cocoa butter and a nut-free version. It comes in a 4oz tin for $9.

Lip Balm: I got the Nutty scent. It’s so good! It’s made with almond oil, cocoa butter, beeswax, vitamin E oil and Organic almond flavor oil. It smells like a chocolate covered cherry- Yum! It glides on smooth and keeps my lips soft. I am a lip balm junkie so I use it all the time. I love it! There are 8 different scents to choose from like cinnamon mocha, orange and raspberry lemonade. They all sound delicious! And since you eat half of your lip products anyway, it helps when they taste yummy! It comes in either a standard sized tube or a round or slider tin, the tube is $2.50, the tins are $3.25.

All of Simply Rustic’s products are handmade with wildcrafted, organic and fair trade ingredients, come in recyclable packages made with recycled materials. You can even send some of the packaging back and get a discount on refills! I think these products are a really great value, they are very reasonably priced. I’ve seen lip balms for $12 and body butters for more than $20 elsewhere. These are much more affordable and as good if not better than those other more expensive products. The website is very informative- the Ingredients page tells you all about the benefits you can get from each ingredient.

Go over and like Simply Rustic’s fb page to stay up to date on what’s new. You might discover a great sale!

From now until the end of September, 16% of the proceeds will go to Dance Marathon who provides support to youth cancer patients and their families. Click here if you would like to learn more.

If you are looking for all natural, healthy and effective products at a great price- you need to go check out Simply Rustic! Tell Amanda I sent you.

A big THANK YOU to Amanda for sending me these wonderful products! ♥

I can’t believe it’s already August! Where did July go? I’ve missed writing for you, but real life sometimes gets in the way of my goals for this site. Now, before August gets away from me I want to tell you about the July edition of White Apricot’s Green Grab Bag!

Green Grab Bag is a subscription service that focuses on natural, organic and vegan beauty products.

I was impressed with this shipment. I was expecting a bunch of samples and was very pleasantly surprised to see 2 full size products and some very large samples!

This is what was in the bag:

EO Certified Organic Deodorant Spray: Full size product! This is an alcohol based spray deodorant with water and essential oils. It came in the citrus scent which is great for guys and girls. I like it so much, I already used my 20% off code to buy some in the other scents they offer. I also picked up a hand sanitizer with my order. 4oz for $5.99- Awesome price for this size, it will last a long time!

Simply Bath Salts Lavender Blend: 8oz sample. 3 kinds of salt mixed with jojoba oil and essential oils. It smells great and is wonderful for your skin. They have lots of different scents to choose from. There is a 15% off code included. Full size of 24oz for $12.99. They offer bulk discounts if you buy more and they will even make a custom scent for you!

GO Skin Care Ginger Face Moisturizer: Sample. I was excited to try this one, but you all know what a stickler I am with my ingredients and this one just didn’t make the cut. So it goes into the pile of products that I give away to family and friends that haven’t transitioned from mainstream products and I can feel good knowing that it’s way better than the stuff they are currently using. Full size is 2oz for $26.95. 20% off code included.

La Mellite Strawberry Lemon Sugar Scrub: Sample. It came in a super cute biodegradable cup made from recycled materials. The problem is there isn’t that great of a seal on it, so the scrub is a bit hard and it might take some work to get it loosened up. The full size comes in a glass jar. The ingredients look good except for the Japanese honeysuckle extract which I personally avoid. Full size is 7oz for $55. At first I thought that was a mistake, but it’s not. I double and triple checked. I can’t really figure out why it’s SO expensive. There is a 20% off code, but it’s still too expensive for my budget.

Opalima Beauty Eyeshadows: 2 samples. One each of The Bluez #8, slate blue and Night and Day #8, white. These colors blend well with each other and I love the blue, it’s very pretty. You don’t find a lot of matte colors in mineral makeup so I am happy to have these! You can get .07oz samples for $1.50 or full size 2g for $15. 20% off code included.

CoTZ PURE Sunscreen: Full size! SPF 30 sunscreen. I’m still researching the ingredients, but it’s better than conventional sunscreen. 3oz for $19.99. 20% off code included.

Mighty Leaf Tea: One tea bag. Organic African Nectar. This is a rooibos based tea, so not my favorite, but I have tried some of their other flavors and really enjoyed the Organic Breakfast tea. I normally use loose leaf tea, but these are great to have on hand when I’m away from home(and my awesome Breville Tea Maker!). Full size box of 15 tea bags for $9.95. 20% off code included.

You can get a subscription to Green Grab Bag for $15 a month, or if you pay for a year, you get a 20% discount- that’s a savings of $35. That’s like getting 2 months for free! You can expect to receive at least 6 samples per shipment. All their packing materials are eco-friendly. If you are looking for a beauty sample program to try, I recommend giving this one a shot. It’s a great price and it’s always fun to get a box of surprises! Their website has beauty tips and a ton of discount codes so you can save money on some great products.

I was provided the July edition of Green Grab Bag at no cost for reviewing purposes. Many thanks goes to Bonny! She replied to all my persistent emails requesting a review bag.