Beauty Review: Bare English & Co.

In my previous Bare English & Co review, I raved about the wonderful texture of these vegan lip balms from Toronto. With organic ingredients and tea infusions, the non-toxic formula is the best I've come by. My friends at Bare English & Co just came out with 5 new flavors and I'm so excited to share these with you!

They currently have 7 flavors available;

Beauty Review: Bare English Co. Lip Balms

Lip products and winter go together like peanut butter and jelly. We all know that finding a suitable lip balm is a harder task than it may initially seem. It needs the right scent, flavor, packaging etc.. but the right texture is one of its most important components. Achieving a smooth “non-sticky” application can be pretty tricky for producers of such products, especially without using any animal products or harmful chemicals (petroleum jelly, parabens, etc). Since the average woman consumes 2 kilograms (yep, that's kilos my friends) of lip products in her lifetime, it’s important to avoid nasty dangerous chemicals.  [Source: Terra20]

Like most women, I have a huge stash of lip products. They are hidden in every coat, every purse, hidden in drawers and pant pockets all around me. Also, vegans are always on the hunt for really good vegan lip balms, since they are sometimes hard to find. This is why I was so excited to have won a pack of 3 Bare English Lip Balms from Andrea Tomkins’ blog, A Peek Inside The Fishbowl. I put them to the test, and January is one of the best times to do this, in full blown Canadian winter. 

Beauty Review: Purple Urchin

You need soap. P.U.

Probably one of the best slogans I've ever heard. Why? The "P.U." not only stands for "pee-you" (you stink), it also stands for the brand Purple Urchin. Genius! This is an Ottawa-based homemade soap and body product company that was originally from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario (shout out to my Northern Ontario peeps!).

Here's a little bit about their products: (excerpt taken from their About Us page)

Our goal in making this soap was to make a wide variety of soap that contained only vegetable oils and delicious fragrances, while avoiding the use of unnecessary chemicals. We wanted to make soap that felt luxurious and would not strip the skin of moisture, and that was as natural as possible while still offering a wide range of scents...

Purple Urchin soap is not tested on animals, nor do we use lard or tallow in our soap. Most of our products are 100% vegan-friendly, and all are 100% vegetarian-friendly, and biodegradable. We refrain from using palm oil in our soaps since the demand is extremely high...

Being environmentally-friendly is also extremely important to us in our everyday business operations, and we try to reduce waste and to use as many recyclable and/or recycled products as possible. We also use local, Ontarian, and Canadian suppliers whenever possible...

Urban Craft Fall 2013 Edition

On Sunday, September 22nd 2013, the Glebe Community Center hosted the fall edition of Urban Craft Market. This event gathers over 45 local vendors in the Ottawa region and nearby to display and sell their crafts, food and unique items.



On that gloomy Sunday, I went to Urban Craft with my two favourite girlies, Myriam from BeauteOptic and Stephanie from Lip Stains & the Walk of Shame. Before we even went inside, we had a magic moment. Steph and I spotted these adorable purple bikes! This adorable bike rental stand just outside the Glebe Community Center. The company is called Right Bike and it's a membership-based bike-sharing program. Check it out!




I've always loved going to craft shows. It was one of my favourite things to do with my mom growing up, especially during the holidays. It's so much fun to try and see every single booth, not wanting to miss any of the cool new things. Here are a few of the fabulous vendors I went to see.