Life is Short. Buy the Makeup.

  The year is almost over which means we're past the deadline for online orders to arrive before Christmas - but you still have gifts to buy!   Let's talk about some amazing gifts and stocking stuffers you can pick up in-store that won't break the bank and are made with only the best ingredients!

  Whole Foods Beauty Week is kicking off tomorrow, March 10th! Get 25% off beauty products and an additional 10% off for Prime members through March 16th. This year's beauty bags are available March 12th. Both bags feature a combination of 17 deluxe and full size products from cocokind, Acure, Trilogy, Mad Hippie, Pacifica, Derma E, Juice Beauty, and more! Each bag is priced at $20 but valued at $135. I will definitely be picking up new items from cocokind and maybe some bath bombs and other pampering items. I've included some of my must-have items below that you can add to your carts this week for 25% off! Acure Brightening Facial Scrub - $10 ( review ) Acure Ultra Hydrating Green Juice Cleanser - $13 ( review ) cocokind daily spf - $24 cocokind vitamin c serum with sea grape caviar - $18 ( review ) Juice Beauty Full Strength Exfoliating Peel - $49 ( review ) Pacifica Vegan Collagen Recovery Eye Cream - $16 Schmidt's Sensitive Skin Deodorants - $10

  With the Holidays and Black Friday quickly approaching, I wanted to put together a few Holiday Gift Guides that are cruelty-free, vegan, with clean ingredients and for every shopper who's looking to shop for themselves or for their loved ones that are on a budget! Let's start with Target, the home of an ever expanding selection of clean and natural beauty brands!

The clean beauty market has exploded with options at Ulta Beauty in 2020! I've put together a list of the clean brands carried at Ulta Beauty that are Cruelty-Free, most are vegan-friendly, and their products are made with ingredients that don't leave me questioning where they come from or where they are sourced. Let's take a look!

Best & Worst | Vegan Mascaras I am FINALLY breaking down the best and worst vegan mascaras on the green beauty market. These mascaras are certified Cruelty-Free, Vegan, and are free of artificial dyes, fragrances, and potentially harmful ingredients. As someone with short and stubby lashes, I love a good volumizing formula. If you guys have any vegan mascara recommendations with safe ingredients, leave it in the comments!  Let's get started!

Credit: @ilovepacifica Instagram Pacifica is launching a new lip product for Summer 2017! The Candied Lemon & Sugar Lip Scrub (price not yet available) will be available exclusively at Ulta Beauty starting the end of July. Pacifica is Cruelty-Free, Vegan, and formulated without phthalates, parabens, sulfates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, petroleum, peanut oil, and triclosan. I definitely plan to pick this up for my daily pamper routine!

It has been quite some time since I have done a Monthly Favorites, but I have finally found a few new products that have been AMAZING for me this past month. With the exception of one, every product is vegan.  Some of these products will come as no surprise if you follow me on Instagram ( @justineolson93 ), and some are re-discovered old favorites. Let's get started!

The Pacifica Beauty Stellar Gaze Length & Strength Mineral Mascara ($14, 0.25 oz)---major mouthful---is one of the more affordable Cruelty-Free and Vegan available at mass retailers including Ulta , Target , and Whole Foods. Pacifica cosmetics are formulated without animal testing, animal ingredients, phthalates, parabens, sulfates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, petroleum, peanut oil, and triclosan. Let's get in to the review!

One of Pacifica's newest releases is their Pink Nudes Mineral Eye Shadows Palette ($18, 0.2 oz) . The palette contains 10 pressed powder eyeshadows and is available online and in-store at Ulta and select Target locations. It is Cruelty-Free and Vegan. Pacifica cosmetics are formulated without animal testing, animal ingredients, phthalates, parabens, sulfates, propylene glycol, mineral oil, petroleum, peanut oil, and triclosan. Let's get in to the review!

Credit: @ilovepacifica Pacifica has released new products into their permanent line for Spring 2017! The new releases include 3 eyeshadow palettes, liquid lipsticks, a powder and liquid highlighters, mattifying powder, and concealer palettes. They are available in purchase online and in-store at Ulta  and Target , with the Pacifica Website to follow in the coming weeks. Every product is Cruelty-Free and Vegan. Let's take a peek!

One of the biggest misconceptions about Organic and Healthy makeup is that it has a high price tag---don't get things twisted---some brands are! I'm talking to you Tata Harper and Kjaer Weis! But there are so many Non-Toxic brands that are kind to your wallet and have amazing products. Affordable is a relative term. With the exception of a few Lily Lolo products, the brands mentioned below are $30 and under! Click the products to read full reviews! Let's get started!

Shopping for Vegan beauty products can be very easy or it can be very difficult, depending on your definition of Vegan. As Ulta is one of the most readily available cosmetic retailers, I have put together a Vegan shopping guide full of brands I would highly recommend! Let's get started!

One of my biggest goals for last year was to go completely Cruelty-Free and promote only Cruelty-Free brands. On my journey, I realized there are different ways to classify Cruelty-Free and it is not black and white. As Ulta is one of the largest cosmetic retailers....and also where I happen to work....I thought I would show you guys how shop truly Cruelty-Free at Ulta. This list will not include Vegan or Non-Toxic only brands. Those shopping guides will be coming up soon! Let's get started!

2016 was a great year for Green Beauty; new brands emerged, endless products were launched, and for me, it was a fantastic year for skincare! All of the products I mention are Cruelty-Free, Vegan, and all but one are completely free of potentially harmful ingredients! Let's get started!

I hope everyone that celebrates Thanksgiving had a wonderful holiday yesterday, and safe travels. Yesterday was my first Vegan Thanksgiving, so no turkey or ham for me, but I loved it all the same! Here is the cumulative list of deals and sales going on in the Green Beauty world this Black Friday and Cyber Monday weekend. I will update the list as the sales come and go!

There is a stereotype about Green Beauty lovers and "Hippies"---as my brother often calls me---that we either don't wear foundation or that we wear tinted moisturizers without any coverage and call it good. WRONG I love full coverage and I love matte. Both of which are not very common in the Green Beauty world.  Here are my current Organic Foundations---liquids, creams, and powders. I will also include some foundations I have tried in the past but no longer have in my collection. As always, every product I mention is Cruelty-Free. Let's get started!

Cruelty-Free & Vegan Beauty Favorites Instead of doing my Monthly Favorites for August, I thought I would share with you guys my "ride or die" beauty products that are Cruelty-Free and Vegan! These are products I love year round and will continue to repurchase. Many of these products will come as no surprise---they're repeat favorites. However, if you're trying to go Cruelty-Free, Vegan, or both---and you prefer to shop Green---these beauties are staples in any beauty routine!  Let's get into it!

Continuing on with my Top 5 Green Beauty Buys from Sephora , today I have my Top 5 Green Beauty Buys from Ulta! In my opinion, Ulta has a larger and better selection of non-toxic beauty options than Sephora. From mainstream brands including Pacifica, Honest Beauty, and Physicians Formula Organic Wear, there's always something non-toxic, cruelty-free, or vegan to choose from! Here are my picks for the Top 5 green beauty products from Ulta that are fantastic quality as well as non-toxic for your body!

One of the most common reasons I'm used to hearing about buying non-toxic cosmetics, "It's too expensive and I can't buy it anywhere." Which partially, is true. Green Beauty products are slowly becoming readily available, but they are still largely based through online retailers. So today, here's a list of my favorite online shops and retailers that are my go-to's for Green Beauty products. Plus some coupon codes to save you money at checkout! Let's get started!

May Beauty Favorites A quick monthly favorites today. Spring is on it's way out and Summer is on it's way! June is usually my favorite month of the year, sunshine---low humidity---and time outside. This month's favorite's are all Cruelty-Free, and are perfect for the upcoming hot weather! Now and in future posts, I'll be including whether a product is Cruelty-Free (CF) or Vegan (V). Let's get into my May Beauty Favorites!