Cleansers

Following up with my STWW post on using less tissues, I know a lot of people use makeup remover wipes which is not only bad for the environment, but not good for your skin either. Aside from requiring more than one wipe to get the make up off your face, they take up time and don't do a thorough job. So here are some effective make up removers that help your skin and the environment.

The Ultrabland Cleanser by Lush was my very first review on this blog. The cleanser is probably the priciest one of the lot and it's due to the mostly natural ingredients. Ultrabland did a good job of removing make up and keeping the skin hydrated though, in my opinion, the hydration was a little bit much for my oily-combo skin. At first I would just think my skin is unclean before realizing that it was just incredibly moisturized. It's something I would repurchase for its technical performance and the fact that it's all natural but the price tag is too high for me (considering what's coming up next).

The Pond's Cold Cream Cleanser is something I mentioned in my February Favourites. It's a wonder, you rub some on your dry face and wipe off with a washcloth. This leaves your face feeling so moisturized and clean and I can't get enough of it. I tend to use it for when I wear my daily, light makeup as I don't need a heavy duty cleanser - I've used it on heavy make up but it doesn't pack as much punch as my next product.

The Muji Sensitive Skin Cleansing Oil is a surprising find and very quickly became a favourite. I'm on my second bottle already, this stuff is magic! I rub the oil over my dry face and rinse off and it leaves my skin squeaky clean with no traces of make up in site! One complaint is that it is a little drying but it's nothing a moisturizer can't fix. I'm not giving this bad boy up for anything!

What are your favourite non-tissue cleansers? Why do you love them? Comment below or tweet me @SundayWardrobe! 

DIY: Easy Greeting Cards

It takes me ages to buy greeting cards - I have to see if they're appealing from the outside, open up and read the message inside, see if it's relevant and honest and, if not, repeat the whole process. When I buy cards, I try to be genuine so if there's even one sentence that isn't applicable to my situation, I discard it.

Recently I've taken it upon myself to create my own cards - they're quick, cost next to nothing and they're so personal. The bonus is that they don't require envelopes and can be recycled easily (if need be) which helps our environment!

All you need is some cardstock (I bought a pack of a kazillion for next to nothing from Michael's - accurate numbers), a pencil, a sharpie and a glitter pen if you need.

I write the general gist of the card on the one side (Thank you! Happy Birthday! Congratulations!) with a pencil in cursive writing. I then trace over it in a sharpie or glitter pen. I then do a little faux calligraphy trick (a serious game changer) - I thicken lines that move downward and I ignore the lines that are created as my pen moves up the page. This gives the illusion that I am fancier and more talented than I really am. Always a plus. I then erase any pencil markings and flip the card over to write a special message. It's seriously that simple!

Let me know if you'll try this out! Do you ever make personal cards or do you enjoy the process of shopping for one? Comment below or tweet me @SundayWardrobe!

STWW: "Green" Products

This was originally a guest post for Workaday Ramblings (a great blog by the very lovely Sarah) last month but I thought I'd post it here since it's a great STWW. Enjoy!

In honour of St. Patrick's day, I'm talking all things green though this has a little twist to it: I tend to shy away from green coloured make up and so this will be reviews on environmentally friendly and natural (or Green) products that I use.

The first is the Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-hour Full Coverage Foundation. If you didn't know, Tarte is a cruelty-free brand that has eco-friendly packaging and supports co-operatives in the Rainforests. As an added bonus, Tarte uses natural products such as minerals, plant extracts and vitamins in their products and steers clear of parabens, phthalates and synthetic fragrances among many others. Aside from being a Green product, this foundation is winner in that it is a great foundation. It is an almost-full coverage foundation (thanks to my hyperpigmentation, some of my darker spots still need concealer and this is not very buildable), it lasts very well throughout the day even without a primer and it doesn’t feel heavy or greasy. It almost feels like a second skin which is perfect for those who want to wear foundation but hate the feeling of it. The only downside is the range of colours for the foundation is very minimal. I’m between shades so I just opted for the shade down. I find this to be the perfect foundation for long days as it is long lasting and doesn’t feel heavy while giving great coverage.

The second is a combo that I've been using for months now and really love: the Shea Moisture Raw Shea Butter Moisture Retention shampoo and Restorative conditioner. This is another cruelty-free brand which uses certified organic and ethically sourced ingredients such as Argan oil, avocado butter, coconut oil and much more. They, like Tarte, stay away from chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, paraffins which is a huge bonus. I have dry, curly hair which is damaged from dying and using hot tools on it. This combination is a miracle worker: my hair feels soft and moisturized while not greasy; it's clean without feeling stripped. While this works incredibly well for my hair, it may be heavy for those with finer or straight hair - I would recommend skipping any conditioners and using just the shampoo as it is conditioning on its own. My friend with straight, fine and limp hair uses just the shampoo and loves how much thicker and healthier her hair has gotten.

The last green product I love is St. Ives Swiss Formula Apricot Scrub Gentle. St. Ives uses 100% natural moisturizers and exfoliants such as Shea butter oil and walnut shell. A problem with a lot of exfoliants is that they use microbeads which are plastic and cannot be detected or filtered out by water treatment methods. These beads then go out into the ocean where unsuspecting sea creatures consume them and ultimately we eat these beads through seafood. Plastic microbeads are not biodegradable - they cannot be removed from the environment and they release toxins as photodegrade. Walnut shell is a natural exfoliant and this scrub is gentle for my sensitive skin. It's great for brightening up my skin on days where it looks lacklustre and so I use it twice a week.

Hope you've all enjoyed my post, comment below for any green products you like or tweet me @SundayWardrobe. Hope this inspires you to make green choices when it comes to beauty!

Kelly's Going Green

Kelly from Glitter Diaries has written a wonderful post on all things green (literally and figuratively!), I hope you all enjoy: 

Hey lovely The Sunday Wardrobe readers!

This month, the Canadian Beauty Bloggers Network dedicated March's guest posting theme to any and all things green. I kept thinking about green eco-friendly products and green coloured makeup that I love using and then decided to combine both of those ideas into a round-up of my favourite green products, both eco-friendly and in the pretty shade of green. So, here goes!

I collected my favourites of the boldest shades of green I owned, from neon green pigment to pressed eyeshadows to glitter (gotta include that!) and also an awesome green mascara I love pulling out for themed makeup looks. I also had to include one of my favourite brushes and lip crayon, unfortunately not in a shade of green but still gorgeous none-the-less.

From L-R: Urban Decay Electric Palette 'Freak & Thrash' Eyeshadows, MAC 'Green Space' Pigment, Annabelle 'Kryptonite' Glitterama Liquid Eyeliner, NYX Cosmetics 'Glam Lagoon' Glam Liner Aqua Luxe Waterproof Liner, EcoTools Skin Perfecting Brush , Burt's Bees 100% Natural Lip Crayon, Hard Candy 1000 Lashes Mascara

Urban Decay Electric Palette 'Freak' & 'Thrash' Eyeshadows (reviewed here): What can I say about these shadows except that they're two amazing shades from an equally amazing palette that I tend to grab for often. Super pigmented colours that are vividly bright and so much fun to wear for an electrifying (get it? ;)) look.

MAC 'Green Space' Pigment: If I want a higher dose of saturated green pigmentation, Green Space is my go-to. It is the bomb at delivering intense colour that is easy to blend help me create whatever crazy look I'm going for.

Annabelle 'Kryptonite' Glitterama Liquid Eyeliner: Annabelle's Glitterama liners are something I just can't live without ever since discovering them years ago. I love how gorgeous this liner is and how I can use it as a straight forward liner or all over my lids to achieve green apple glittering eyes. The possibilities are endless with these liners!

NYX Cosmetics 'Glam Lagoon' Glam Liner Aqua Luxe: Delivering a sparkling finish as well as bright colour, my favourite green coloured liner is Glam Lagoon by NYX. It truly is smudge-proof and long lasting which is what I look for in bright waterproof liquid liners. This one makes your eyes pop and adds great dimension to any look.

EcoTools Skin Perfecting Brush (reviewed here): I wanted to fit more of these brushes into the pictures because, really, I'm in love with EcoTools and their natural and very affordable brushes. The Skin Perfecting Brush is great for using with light weight liquids like BB Creams and tinted moisturizers. Every time I use any ET brushes, I'm always blown away by the quality and how extremely affordable they are!

Burt's Bees 'Hawaiian Smolder' 100% Natural Lip Crayon (reviewed here): This is just one lipstick out of a collection of all natural lip crayons that deliver great colour and make your lips feel really good too! Hawaiian Smolder is like the perfect shade of pink to brighten up your mood on a gloomy day.

Hard Candy 'Lush Green' 1000 Lashes Mascara: For crazy makeup looks or to simply add a bit of fun to something more subdued, Hard Candy's 1000 Lashes Mascara in Lush Green is where it's at! I used this a heck of a lot during the weeks leading up to Halloween last year, but it also is fun to wear on your bottom lashes for a nice pop of colour!

From L-R Amie Skincare Bright Eyes Very Gentle Eye Makeup Remover, Amie Skincare Morning Light Hydrating Daily Moisturizer, Amie Skincare Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash

Amie Skincare Bright Eyes Very Gentle Eye Makeup Remover: When my eyes are covered in tons of shadow and glitter, Amie's Bright Eyes helps really soothe my eyes as it strips everything off which is critical for me when I'm taking off makeup like that.

Amie Skincare Morning Light Hydrating Daily Moisturizer (reviewed here): Another fave of mine from Amie is Morning Light Hydrating Daily Moisturizer because it isn't too heavy (so it's perfect for wearing now that the weather is getting warmer outside!) and leaves your skin feeling nourished and moisturized all day long.

Amie Skincare Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash (reviewed here): My skin always feels so soft and refreshed after cleansing it with Morning Clear Purifying Facial Wash. It gets rid of everything and smells really good too!

Thank you Nabihah for letting me post on your blog! This round-up was a lot of fun to put together :) What are your favourite green beauty products?!

An InLinkz Link-up

STWW: One Less: Tissue

One of my biggest peeves is people using many tissues. It sounds weird but I hate when I go to a public restroom and see people pull out 5 or 6 tissues from the dispenser just to wipe their hands. Especially when I pull out one maybe two and my hands end up just as dry as theirs.

Tissues are something we don't usually think about but impact our Earth. But did you know that most of the heavily advertised tissue products are made from trees rather than recycled paper1,2? The paper manufacturing industry is the third highest industrial emitter of global warming gases1. If every household in the US replaced one roll of virgin fiber paper towels with 100% recycled ones, we could save 544 000 trees3.

A fast and simple way to start doing good for the environment is using less: use less tissues! Try pulling just one out from the dispenser and using the entire piece to wipe your hands. If your hands are still wet, grab one more (I usually find them dry enough that they air dry within a few seconds). Or at least start off with using one less tissue than you'd normally use. It sounds like a small step but if we all do it, we can all help!

Even better, start buying tissues made from recycled paper! Popular brands include: 365 (Whole Foods), CVS Earth Essentials, Trader Joe's and more, which can be found here. Brands to avoid include Bounty, Charmin and Kleenex among others.

Does this sound like an easy tip for you to pick up? What are your wasteful peeves? Comment below or tweet me @SundayWardrobe!

STWW: One Less: Plastic Bag

This issue made a buzz a few years ago when Toronto implemented a 5-cent charge on plastic bags in an attempt to reduce the number of bags being used. While this worked for a while, the charge has now been lifted and I've seen consumers go back to the convenience of plastic bags.

Plastic bags are aptly named since they're made of plastic, a substance that takes over 1000 years to break down. These bags are accumulated in landfills where they don't biodegrade, they photodegrade: the bags break down into smaller pieces that soak up toxins and then contaminate soil and waterways. Also, unsuspecting animals mistake these bags for food and die from choking on the bags or the toxins of the plastic.

It is estimated that one million plastic bags are used every minute. Each square mile of the ocean has approximately 46 000 pieces of plastic floating around. Also, 10% of plastic product ends up in the ocean, 70% of which ends up on the ocean floor where it cannot degrade. Only 0.5% to 3% of all plastic bags end up recycled.

So what can you do?

1. Reuse your plastic bags. I use any that I have at home to line rubbish bins so I don't have to wash the bins each time I empty them.
2. Recycle your plastic bags. If you have many and no use for them, recycle them. Recycling is the best way to dispose of them.
3. Use reusable bags. I keep a few in the trunk of my car and one folded in my purse in case of emergencies. This means that I'm almost never without one. Bonus: they come in really cute designs!
4. Just don't use a plastic bag. Whenever I have five or less items and I've left my reusable bags in my car, I say I don't need a plastic bag. The walk to the car is not long enough to justify using this environmental nightmare. At supermarkets I can easily take out the trolleys to my car so I opt for that and just put them in a bag once I have one. 

If more of us stop using plastic bags, it gives companies that produce them a reason to stop making plastic bags and destroying the world that we live in. 

Do you use reusable bags? How do you remember to carry them? Let me know if you have something you'd like me to write about or if I'm missing some important information by commenting below or tweeting me @SundayWardrobe!

Cute reusable bags:

1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Information from: 1 / 2

STWW: 5 Tips Green Christmas

Image Sources 1 / 2 / 3

I realize that this post would have been of more use had I thought of it earlier but my STWW series only started two weeks back (see the first post here) and I'm still in the process of organizing myself. I'm making myself feel better by saying these tips are for Christmas procrastinators and can also be used next year. But better late than never, here are five tips for a more environmentally friendly Christmas.

1. Buy a live Christmas tree: though plastic trees are reusable, they are often made from PVC which uses resources to be manufactured and shipped. These plastic trees also end up in landfills after a few uses. Live Christmas trees are grown on tree farms and are a renewable resource as they are replanted regularly. Another bonus is that they have a wonderful pine scent that your fake tree won't have. Another tip is to use LED holiday lights as they use 95% less energy which also reduces your electricity bill. 

3. Buy locally made gifts: these can be found in artisan shops and craft fairs and, aside from being cool and hipster, they are friends of the environment as they don't contribute to greenhouse emissions since they aren't transported halfway around the world. Transportation is an often overlooked but significant cause of global warming and we should be more mindful of where our products come from and how they got here.

2. Give battery-free gifts: aside from the energy required to produce batteries, a problem with batteries is that they generally end up in landfills (please recycle your batteries/electronics when possible!). Help save energy and the environment by opting for battery-free gifts or by providing rechargeable batteries with your gifts.

4. Use environmentally friendly wrapping choices: choose to wrap gifts with fibers such as hemp or with recycled wrapping paper. There are many gorgeous recycled wrapping papers, there's no real reason to buy anything else. Most wrapping papers, providing they aren't metallic papers or foils, can be recycled too! Reusing the paper/bows/ribbons your gifts were wrapped in is great for the environment and your wallet.

5. Don't use disposable containers: whether you're presenting a box of homemade cookies as a gift or bringing some of your beautiful roasted vegetables for dinner, try not to use a disposable container. Despite the hassle of needing to remember to take your dish home at the end of the night, it's much more environmentally friendly to take a resuable dish rather than a disposable plastic one. You could also buy a tin from your local dollar store to present the cookies in - it's something the receiver can and will reuse. 

I hope these tips help you make a more conscious Christmas decision - some of these tips are easier to fulfill than others but even doing one will make a difference! More information can be found here and let me know of any green Christmas tips you have for a more environmentally friendly holiday!

STWW: Buy a Water Bottle

For my first STWW post/tip (for more info on this series, check here) I want to share something I see so often and wish would change; a small but important tip: buy a water bottle. And I don't mean plastic disposable water bottle that is so often thrown away and ends up in a landfill. But a reusable water bottle that costs less than $10 but helps save this planet. I use a Nalgene bottle and have been for over a year - it's hardy, inexpensive and effective.

Some quick facts on bottled water (I apologize for the American stats but I would imagine it's similar for any first world country):

For more info: Greatist and Ban The Bottle. 

Do you think you'll make the switch from disposable to reusable water bottles? If not, why? I'd love to get opinions for and against the use of reusable water bottles so comment away, this is a safe space :) 

Save the World Wednesday

Image Source: http://www.earthtimes.org/climate/rising-temperatures-affect-forests-carbon-storage-role-study/914/

When I started this blog, I told myself it would be to make the world a better place. Whether it be a helpful makeup review, a delicious recipe or a smile from someone reading this. I also wanted to use this blog as a platform to spread happiness and kindness as well as provoke thoughts, opinions and discussions.

While I love all things beauty, I want to use this piece of me to talk about world issues and things that matter to me. So I've decided to (attempt to) start a weekly post: Save the World Wednesdays (STWW). I want to share my limited but well-meaning knowledge on the world we all share and impart little pockets of wisdom. I want to show ways to help save this planet that is suffering for all the selfish or unthinking deeds we do. I want to share healthy recipes and happy thoughts, just something to small to brighten up your or anyone else's day. I don't expect everyone to change their unhealthy/unhappy habits in a second, but there is always a first step for all and any of us to take.

Stay tuned for upcoming posts on how you can make a difference and take a step to make this world a happier and healthier place.

Also comment down below any ideas you have or things you'd like me to research/write about!