Petit Vour March 2015

It's that time, once again...Petit Vour time! It's always so exciting to see that little pink package of goodies in my mailbox. This month they've been teasing Juice Beauty's CC Cream, so I was expecting to receive that product. The other products they included this month are:Vert Mont Perfumery | Eros PerfumeThe Little Alchemist | Cacao & Banana Face GlowMetropolis Soap Co | Spearmint & Lavender Nourishing Lip Cream[responsive][/responsive][responsive][/responsive]After trying the CC cream twice now, I can say it's got a thicker consistency than my usual Yes to Grapefuit CC cream. It also seems to give a little better coverage and gives my face a natural sun-kissed glow. Unfortunately, I'm not a huge fan of the smell. It dissipates after a few minutes but it just doesn't have a great scent. Overall, good product but probably not different enough from what I normally use to make a switch.[responsive][/responsive]This stuff feels and smells amazing and stays on your lips for quite a while. I typically want a little bit of tint in a lip balm, but this would be great to use right before bed to leave your lips feeling soft and smooth in the morning.[responsive][/responsive]First of all, I hate these tiny perfume bottles. They're a pain to open and a pain to use. Also, PV seems to be sending a lot of perfume lately and I'd prefer more skincare products instead. That being said, the fragrance is really nice. It's earthy, sensual and strong. Sort of reminds me of an oil blend that I have from doTerra...I can't recall the name at the moment.[responsive][/responsive]I haven't gotten to try this product yet, but if the scent is any indication it will be fabulous! Like dessert for your face. And the banana notes are actually really subtle.(By the way, in last month's box I got a full size Lily Lolo mascara and I am LOVING it.)In the photo below I am wearing the Juice Beauty CC Cream (PV sample), Everyday Minerals Concealer, Everyday Minerals Blush (PV sample), Everyday Minerals Jojoba Matte Face Powder, Ulta Eyeliner, Lily Lolo Mascara (PV sample) and Pacifica Blood Orange Lip Tint.[responsive][/responsive]

DIY Coffee-Infused Natural Skincare Products

Receiving my monthly boxes from Petit Vour have been really inspiring. After considering the fact that my skin absorbs whatever I put on it, I realized that so many products I use contain all sorts of chemicals and undesirable stuff that can actually make my skin worse.I've been happily pinning all sorts of natural and DIY skincare and makeup recipes. One that really intrigued me was a recipe for coffee-infused eye cream. Caffeine is supposed to help reduce puffiness and also help with cellulite. I decided to give it a go and started by infusing my oil.To do this I ground about 1/2 cup of fresh coffee beans and tossed them in a pint-sized mason jar. Then I covered the coffee grounds in castor oil and set the jar in a pot 1/3 full with water. I set the pot on top of our gas stove/fireplace and stirred it every 10 minutes or so for about an hour. You don't want the oil to get too hot, just enough to steep the coffee.After the oil had steeped it needed to be strained. I strained it through a mesh strainer and realized that I had a ton of beautiful, glistening coffee grounds that would be perfect for a body scrub. So I saved those and used them to create a luxurious sugar scrub. After the oil was strained I let it settle out to get the little flecks of coffee to settle on the bottom.[responsive][/responsive]Here is my recipe for the Coffee-Infused Eye Cream:1 tbsp Cocoa Butter1 tbsp Shea Butter1 tbsp Coffee-Infused Castor Oil1 tsp Vitamin E Oil8 drops Lavender Essential OilBasically you just have to melt the shea and cocoa butters together, then add the rest of the ingredients. Let cool till it's semi-solid and whip it with a fork. Then transfer to a clean, dry container (I used an old baby food jar – perfect for this sort of thing!).The eye cream is a little oily so next time I think I will add some beeswax to take away from the oiliness. It's perfect at night, though. The smell is really lovely, too.[responsive][/responsive]Next, for those luscious coffee grounds. This scrub is so super-simple and completely luxurious. My skin felt soft and smooth after I showered and I didn't even need to moisturize. The coffee grounds are also supposed to help break down cellulite so that's always a plus! Only downside - it made a bit of a mess in the shower. Worth it.Coffee Bean Sugar Scrub1/2 cup Castor Oil-Infused Coffee Grounds1/2 cup Sugar (I used regular granulated sugar)1 tsp CinnamonCombine all ingredients and store in a clean, dry container.[responsive][/responsive]Hope these recipes are useful! I know I'm loving my new coffee-infused products.

Unboxing Petit Vour - December 2014

After being bombarded with Facebook ads for Birchbox, I decided to look into getting a subscription to one of the many beauty boxes available. Birchbox seems nice, but the products look pretty cheap and I already have a lot of cheap makeup that I never use. After a while of searching I discovered Petit Vour. All of their products are gorgeously packaged and luxurious. Most importantly, they are 100% natural, organic, hypoallergenic and cruelty-free. The box is $15 a month, and so far the products have definitely been worth it.I ordered my first box on October 31st. Unfortunately, due to some shipping issues and the company moving, I didn't get my box until late in November. So far I've gotten 3 boxes and not a bad product in a single one. My favorite products so far have been the Caru Skincare Co Rose Facial Serum, French Girl Organics Lip Tint (in rose) and the Pacifica Devocean Lipstick.[responsive][/responsive]For this month their box was themed Merry & Bright. It features Trust Fund Beauty Nail Lacquer in Do You Know Who My Father Is?, Blissoma Evening Calming Facial Creme in Peace, Meow Meow Tweet Cream Deoderant in Lavender and Everyday Minerals Matte Blush in All Smiles.[responsive][/responsive][responsive][/responsive]The packaging for this nail lacquer is just beautiful. I love anything with watercolor designs. The color itself is probably not one I would've picked out, but I like the soft pink. I usually tend to go toward aqua/minty green colors (huge surprise.) This should be really nice to transition into Spring, though.[responsive][/responsive]So far I'm loving this matte blush. It gives my naturally rosy cheeks a healthy look instead of the painted up look that usually happens with blush. I use a kabuki brush to apply it, which is fine, but the packaging is a little tough to get the product out of. It's probably much easier on the full-size version of this product.[responsive][/responsive]I've only used this stuff once so far, but I LOVE anything lavender scented, so this is already a win for me. I used it just before heading to a Christmas party, so it should have been a good test. I honestly forgot I was wearing it. That's probably a good thing though, because my traditional Dove deoderant can sometimes feel sticky and uncomfortable. So far so good![responsive][/responsive]I've used this creme the last few nights and I like it so far. My skin still seems to be on the dry side, but I think that's just a side effect from the cold, dry winter air. It absorbs well and the herbal scent is really nice.All in all, I love this box! The past two have had lip products in them (both of which I love) but I'm glad this one was a little different. The total value of this box ended up being about $40. Not too shabby.