App Attack Volume 1

Discovering new apps is one of my favourite things to do.  There are just so many great apps out there for all areas of one’s life! The list of apps that I wanted to share with you guys is so very long, so this will likely be the first part of a series.

Here are some of the apps that I’m loving right now:

Yoga Studio is the best yoga app I have ever tried.  Plus it was runner-up two years in a row for the Best Fitness App Ever for 2012 and 2013.  It comes with 75 different classes ranging from beginner to advanced poses with classes targeted at balance, flexibility, back pain, yoga for runners and even some guided meditation classes.

The pose base is huge and you can easily create your own classes by piecing together these poses or by using pose blocks included in the app such as various warm up blocks, sun salutation blocks, or vinyasa blocks.

It also comes with a calendar that helps you track your practice and, if you enroll (for free), you can earn coupon rewards from various online companies such as amazon.

The actual classes themselves have a woman’s voice talking you through the poses and giving you tips as  soothing soundscapes play in the background.  All of the classes, even the ones you create, come with a video showing how to transition between poses and proper form.  All in all a great app.  Sadly it’s only available for Apple products at this time, but according to their website there are plans to expand to Android platforms as well.  $3.99 at the app store.

Natural Goddess is a great app for any green beauty DIY-er out there.  It comes with a ton of great DIY recipes for common green beauty and home products.  The instructions are easy to follow and use ingredients that are very easy to find.  The pictures are helpful, also, just so you know what you’re aiming for!  The app is easy to navigate, and even better than that – it’s free at the apple app store!

It isn’t available for android yet, but something very similar is called Green Goddess Recipes and it’s ~$2.00

 

 

I Feel Good is a vegan recipe app/magazine in the both the apple newsstand as well as the google play store.  You have so many subscription options, which allows for so much flexibility.  If you go for their full subscription option, you will be sent 5 – 6 recipes every week complete with meal plan and shopping list to make your vegan week as easy as possible.

 

 

Another option is to use the Recipe Index to find a recipe you’d like to try and then just purchase that magazine to get the exact recipe you were looking for.  All of the recipes are super easy to follow, and are totally achievable even for those who are not super confident in the kitchen.  For those looking for new vegan recipes to try, for the busy vegan who needs help meal planning, or for someone new to the diet/lifestyle who would like some help to get started, this app is for you!  Everything I have tried so far has been delicious!!

 

 

 

Conscious Lifestyle is a digital magazine that was started about a year ago.  I signed up for it right away, as I found the premise of its initial issue very intriguing.  I was hooked right away and have been a faithful subscriber ever since.  Each issue is chock full of mindfulness articles, yoga tips, and meditation ideas.  Not sure? You get a free 1 month trial of the current issue to see what you think.  It is available for both apple and android devices.

 

 

 

 

That’s it for now.  Until next time!

100% Pure Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream Review

Not all eye creams are created equal.  100% Pure have outdone themselves when it comes to this product.  They have truly hit it out of the park with their Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream.

FOTD – Holiday Glam – Rebel by Red Apple Lipstick

Bring out those red lips, ladies!  This is holiday season!

John Masters Organics Evening Primrose Shampoo Review

I have a confession: I’m venturing out of the world of shampoo bars. I will definitely keep some on hand for travelling, but it’s extremely basic composition, it was stripping the fun pink, purple, and teal colours out of my hair. Not ideal. My local natural beauty store carries John Masters Organics, and since I am such a big fan of so many of their products, it was only natural that I’d reach for one of their shampoos. I was not disappointed!

Holiday Manicure

I did this manicure a while back thinking these colours would be perfect for a fall manicure….you be the judge, but I definitely feel this screams holidays and presents more than leaves and crisp autumn air.

November 2014 Favourites

This month has been a battle with my dry skin, and I’m still not quite winning, but I think I’m getting closer.  I have a few products under the body care category this month just to help show the extremes that my skin is requiring of me right now.

Body: I shower in cold water to help preserve my skin’s moisture barrier and then exfoliate every three days or so with 100% Pure’s sugar scrub (review) in the marvelous scent of White Peach.  The oils in this product are helping with my skin too.  Then, after patting my skin with a towel, I apply a thin layer of a body oil.  I’ve been alternating between Chagrin Valley’s body oil in the scent Tranquil Spirit – which I adore!- (review) and Weleda’s body oils (review) in an array of scents (I got the sample pack a while ago, so I’m working through those and using up my full-sized bottle of the rose scent).  I’ll immediately follow that with some shea butter from the African Fair Trade Society and let that all sink in before getting dressed.  It makes me a big greasy mess, but it will hold off the itching and dry skin for at least 10 hours.  Then my skin needs more help again, but what can ya do?  On the especially dry spots I also layer on SBT Seabuckthorn’s Eczema and Dermatitis Salve.  Repurchase? I haven’t found a body oil that has reached HG status, or even come close, so I’ll keep looking on that front.  As for the shea butter and the scrub ? Yes, I already am on my second/third tub of each.

Skin Care: The skin on my face is also feeling the drier weather, so using just my regular moisturizer isn’t enough.  Juice Beauty’s CC Cream (review) not only offers me SPF but gives tons of moisture that lasts all day long.  Now if something could just be done about that smell… Repurchase? Absolutely.  The strange scent isn’t enough of a deterrent for such a high performing product.

Makeup: 100% Pure’s Super Fruits Healthy Skin Foundation (review) pairs perfectly with Juice Beauty’s CC cream because this foundation is a bit on the dry side, and really offsets the moisture of the CC cream.  Both stay put all day long when applied one after the other, and keep my skin balanced and gives me adequate coverage. Repurchase? Probably.  I might try a few other liquid foundations first, just in case I can find something better before I settle.

Hair Care: In an effort to keep the fashion colours of pink, purple, and teal in my hair for as long as possible between hair appointments I am getting used to the idea of only washing my hair every five days or so.  Don’t worry, this diva doesn’t like the idea of greasy hair either, so I’ve been working with dry shampoo recipes.  I can now wear my hair down for three full days before wanting to pull it into a braid or up in a pony tail.  I could probably even push it for 6 days at this point.  Anyway, another part of this journey is to find products with a low pH to help keep the dye on my hair.  John Masters Organics Honey and Hibiscus Hair Reconstructor (review) not only has a low pH (2.5) but gives my hair a rich drink of moisture that lasts for several days.  Exactly what my high maintenance hair is craving right now! Repurchase? I have repurchased this product as a hair mask so many times I’ve lost count.

Do any of those products strike your fancy?  Do you have any body oils to recommend to me?

 

Pure Tashodi Argan Hair Oil Review

I only have to wash my hair every three to four days, and although the majority of my hair stays happy, the ends get very dry by day 2 and need a little extra love.  Plus, the colder weather means more fly-aways so I usually carry something with me to help manage them.

I have tried a few other leave in conditioner sprays and I’m feeling a little bit like Goldilocks – this one’s too much, that one’s not enough, but where is the product that’s ‘just right’?

FOTD – Minimalist Multistick Makeup

There are some days that I just need a minimalist, no-makeup makeup look.  I have wanted to try a multistick look for a while now, using it to its full range so here it is!  I used Vapour Organics Multistick in Crush.

RGB 5 Free Polish in Sea Review

There’s something about RGB polishes that put them just a step above the rest of the 5-free world.  Sea, this beautiful, deep, rich teal colour is no different.

DIY Dry Shampoo & Why Yours Shouldn’t Contain Baking Soda

When I decided to put some fashion colours in my hair and have some pretty pink, purple, and teal ombre highlights I learned a lot more about hair products and hair pH than I ever could have bargained for.  I’ll write-up a more detailed post soon about the importance of pH balanced hair care, but the main summary point is that highly alkaline shampoo products (I’m looking at you, baking soda) can really strip your hair of hair colour and can even break down the protein in the hair itself!  So, if you have colour in your hair, especially fashion colours that are more prone to washing out to being with, if you stay away from products containing baking soda your colour will last much longer!  Not only will it allow you to go for longer between washes, you won’t have to worry about losing some of the colour because of your dry shampoo washing down the length of your hair.

So many of the dry shampoos available on both the green beauty and traditional beauty markets contain baking soda to help soak up excess oil.  So, naturally, I resigned myself to making my own.