I’ve been so busy lately I just haven’t had the time or motivation to post anything. I hope I haven’t disappointed anyone! I was planning on finally getting something up in a couple weeks after I celebrate my birthday, but Conscious Box contacted me with a giveaway I just didn’t want you all to miss out on!

Conscious Box is relaunching their website with some very cool new features! You can now rate the products you received in your box and get points to use for discounts on your favorite products. You can also level up to different “characters” when you earn more points. You start off as a “Seedling”- how cute!

This giveaway is for a 3 month subscription to Conscious Box- a $59 value! Make sure you get all your entries in by March 10th, I will announce a winner on the 11th.

In the meantime, if you just can’t wait to get your hands on the super cool newest edition, they are offering 50% off a Conscious Box subscription with the code: GOCONSCIOUS. This offer is only good for the first 100 people that use it so hurry over and get it before it’s gone!

 
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Congratulations, Debbie!! Please check your email.

For everyone else, I just want to take a minute and say THANK YOU! Thank you for reading my humble thoughts. I truly love interacting with all of you, so if there is ever anything I can do for you, any questions you would like me to answer, please feel free to drop me a line and I will do my best to help you out.

I wish you all a wonderful, safe and happy holiday season with your loved ones!

I’ve run the numbers on random.org, and we have a winner! Congratulations to SARA!

Sara, please send me your mailing address at melissa@melissawhitman.com and I will get your prize out to you!

For all the other ladies that entered, Amanda, Rondah, Heather, Havilah and Debbie- I have a little surprise for you, too. ‘Tis the season of giving and I have samples that I would like to share with you! Some are from Sweet Libertine and some are from other companies like Etniq Minerals, The All Natural Face and a couple others.

So, if you are interested please send me your mailing address and color preference (like tan, green, blue, etc. Not specific eye shadow names, I might not have them ) to melissa@melissawhitman.com and I will see what I’ve got for you!

On to the GIVEAWAY…

Conscious Box has done it again. They have offered to send one of you their extra special December Conscious Box!

To get your hands on this super popular sample box here’s what you need to do:

1: Go over and like the Conscious Box FB page. While you’re there, thank them, tell them I sent you or just say Hi!

2: Leave a comment here that you did it and tell me what you would do if you won. Share with friends and family, give as a gift or keep it all to your self? What kind of goodies are you hoping to see in the box?

You have until next Monday, December 17, 2012 at 12pm Pacific time to get your entries in. Open to US residents.

Good luck!

Lid and under eye: Envy
Crease and above: Rejected color in an orangey-red

I have a problem. It’s pretty serious….

I have an addiction to pretty eye shadow. I need it, I want, it, I have to have it! In every color! I may only wear a color a few times after I buy it, but it makes me feel better knowing it’s in my stash.

Over the past year or so, I have acquired a small collection from a company called Sweet Libertine Cosmetics. Maybe you’ve heard of it?

Between the awesome sales, winning a few contests and my wonderful Mom buying me a 6 month subscription to their Eye Shadow of the Month club, I have a pretty decent selection. I was also sent some gorgeous colors free of charge for this review in addition to a special surprise for one of you- my super cool readers!

Sweet Libertine has tons of beautiful shimmery colors to choose from. All with fun names like Striptease, Freakshow and Bitchin’ Rock Star From Mars. The above photo just doesn’t do justice to the depth and beauty of these colors. Envy is a smoky green, but it also has shimmery gold in it. All the colors look different depending on what type of light you are in and the angle you are looking from.

As with all mineral eye shadows, I did need a primer to keep it on my lids. I have oily lids and if I don’t use something to counteract that, the shadow literally slides right off. With a primer, I am good to go for the day. Especially if I apply the color wet, like I did with Envy in the photo.

With prices from $5 up to $8 for eye shadow and even less for their pretty blushes, you really can’t go wrong. You can also buy a pack of random samples to jump start your own addiction! They have gift sets, lip glosses and balms. And if you head over and like the Sweet Libertine FB page, you will be able to keep up to date with any flash sales and holiday sales they have. Right now they are doing a 30% off sale, which makes some of the eye shadows as low as $3.50!

There are perks for buying from Sweet Libertine. You can join the Lusty Strumpet Society and earn free makeup! With every 10 full-size eye shadows you buy, you can claim a free eye shadow.

The Eye Shadow of the Month club is $10 a month and you get an exclusive eye shadow that isn’t sold in the regular online shop.

I do wish that there were some matte colors in the collection. I just don’t always want to be shimmery. But I think I remember hearing a rumor that matte colors might be on the way soon?

Are you excited about eye shadow yet? Are you ready to hear about the giveaway? Well, here it is…

You could win these!!

I have a set of 3 – that’s right, 3! – beautiful shimmery colors for one of you lucky people!

Top: Smoking Gun, smokey grey/silver with a blue/green shimmer

Bottom left: Absurdity, sparkly dirty gold

Bottom right: Cafe Au Lait, tan with peach shimmer

These colors would be perfect for the holidays- especially New Year’s Eve!

I also have some samples that will come along with the full-size shadows.

To enter, leave me a comment telling me what your favorite eye shadow color is, if you would hoard these all to your self or share them with a friend if you won, or anything else you feel like sharing.

Well, anything within reason. Let’s keep it relatively clean, ok?

This giveaway will close on Monday December 10, 2012 at 12pm Pacific time, so make sure you get your entry in!

I am personally sending these out, so this is open to residents of the US. If you live outside the US, I will have to ask you to pay for the shipping costs. If that is ok with you feel free to enter.

As always, if you like the prize enough to enter, it would be nice of you to go and like Sweet Libertine’s FB page. If you feel so inclined, say thanks and tell Sarah I sent you!

A big thank you goes to Sarah for sending eye shadows for me and for this giveaway!

Has it been a while or what? I’ve missed you guys! I’ve been busy making all sorts of things, enjoying spending time with my hubby while he had a little time off and basically just living life. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! If you didn’t know, the hubby and I have adopted a vegan diet, so we made some delicious veggie tamales, refried beans and the best mexican rice I’ve ever tasted for our Thanksgiving dinner. It was great! No lethargic, overly full feeling when we were done stuffing our faces and we didn’t pass out in front of the tv. We also didn’t gain any holiday weight- in fact we have been steadily losing. I am 6 pounds away from my original goal!

Now I have to tell you about this great company I stumbled across on Facebook- Eliza Fragrances and Cosmetics. This company makes vintage inspired makeup and perfumes at an awesome price. Most of the products are under $10!

There are lip rouges, lipsticks, eye shadows and new lip glosses. A holiday lip palette is also in the works with brand new shades. Most of the colors are named after classic Hollywood actresses like Marilyn, Ava and Grace. I was lucky enough to try out 2 of the lipsticks, Bette and Paulette.

Top: Bette, Bottom: Paulette

I don’t know if you are aware, but I have been searching for the perfect pink lipstick for a long time. I’m talking in terms of years here people. I wanted something in a lighter pink. None of this neon, hot pink, you-can-see-my-lips-from-space crap. Not too light, most of those look white on me. Not shimmery, not glittery. We all know how hard it is to find something without shimmer!

Bette IS that perfect pink! It looks great with my skin tone, it’s not shimmery, it’s almost a semi-matte? Very light shine. Though if you want more shine just layer a gloss on top and you’re good to go. It’s moisturizing and lasts a long time, even through eating. I’ve even received compliments on how pretty this lipstick is, and that’s not something people normally comment on. For me, Bette is the perfect everyday lip color!

Paulette is a gorgeous raspberry color. It’s great for when I want something a little more dramatic. And, of course, it has all the same wonderful qualities as Bette.

These lipsticks are all handmade with: Jojoba oil, beeswax, cocoa butter, titanium dioxide, carmine, iron oxides, lemon oil, orange oil, glycerin, allantoin. The price for these? $6.50. When was the last time you bought a lipstick for under $10 that you loved? I even have lipsticks that cost $20 or more and I don’t love them as much as I love these.

If you need a new lipstick (and really, what woman doesn’t need a new lipstick?) or know anyone who wears makeup- I recommend checking out Eliza Fragrances and Cosmetics. You can order through the FB page.

BONUS: All purchases are 20% off from now until Christmas!

A big thank you to Tia for sending me these gorgeous lipsticks!

Full disclosure: I received these lipsticks free of charge in exchange for my honest opinion.

Simply Rustic began shortly after Amanda, mother of 4, learned that her daughter had a chronic illness. She did a ton of research and discovered just how many toxins we are all exposed to on a daily basis. She was inspired to try her hand at making her own simple, natural products for her family to use. Lucky for us, her products are available for the rest of us to use! Click here to learn more about her story.

I got in touch with Amanda a couple months ago when I found out about a special she was having. I let her know I wanted to review her products and she graciously sent me a box of lovely goodies to try out.

Face Food: This is a clay based powder cleanser. You can mix it with water, green tea, juice, honey, etc. Then just massage it onto your face and rinse. You can also use it as a mask. It exfoliates as it absorbs all the dirt and yuckies but it won’t strip your skin of it’s natural oils. I like that it’s so gentle I can use it every day. It makes my skin feel clean and healthy. There are 3 different formulas for different skin types. It comes in a cute 100% recycled glass bottle with a cork. $10 for 4oz.

Peace N Quiet Body Scrub: Who doesn’t love a good body scrub? This one is made with epsom salts, honey crystals, grapeseed and vitamin E oils, mango butter and green tea and it’s SO nice! It made my skin silky smooth and moisturized. No need for lotion after using this stuff. I really like using it before I shave my legs- smoothest shave ever! Just be careful, it will make your bathtub pretty slippery. It comes in a fun shaped mason jar (the same kind I use for my homemade goodies) with a little wooden scoop. There are 6 different scents including Paradise, Pumpkin Spice and Raspberry, yum. I think the jar is an 8ozer, it costs $11.

Body Butter: I got to try 2 different scents, Relax and Nighty Night. These are made with shea butter, grapeseed oil, beeswax and essential oils. Relax is scented with lavender EO and Nighty Night is scented with lavender and chamomile EOs. This is some serious hydration for your skin! A little goes a long way with these body butters. It absorbs well and makes my skin feel so soft. I recommend the Nighty Night for freshly shaved legs. Between that and the scrub, my legs were smooth with no signs of razor burn or redness. The Relax has become my go-to hand cream after washing dishes. There are 10 different formulas including a couple of vegan body butters with cocoa butter and a nut-free version. It comes in a 4oz tin for $9.

Lip Balm: I got the Nutty scent. It’s so good! It’s made with almond oil, cocoa butter, beeswax, vitamin E oil and Organic almond flavor oil. It smells like a chocolate covered cherry- Yum! It glides on smooth and keeps my lips soft. I am a lip balm junkie so I use it all the time. I love it! There are 8 different scents to choose from like cinnamon mocha, orange and raspberry lemonade. They all sound delicious! And since you eat half of your lip products anyway, it helps when they taste yummy! It comes in either a standard sized tube or a round or slider tin, the tube is $2.50, the tins are $3.25.

All of Simply Rustic’s products are handmade with wildcrafted, organic and fair trade ingredients, come in recyclable packages made with recycled materials. You can even send some of the packaging back and get a discount on refills! I think these products are a really great value, they are very reasonably priced. I’ve seen lip balms for $12 and body butters for more than $20 elsewhere. These are much more affordable and as good if not better than those other more expensive products. The website is very informative- the Ingredients page tells you all about the benefits you can get from each ingredient.

Go over and like Simply Rustic’s fb page to stay up to date on what’s new. You might discover a great sale!

From now until the end of September, 16% of the proceeds will go to Dance Marathon who provides support to youth cancer patients and their families. Click here if you would like to learn more.

If you are looking for all natural, healthy and effective products at a great price- you need to go check out Simply Rustic! Tell Amanda I sent you.

A big THANK YOU to Amanda for sending me these wonderful products! ♥

Thanks to all of you that entered! I love the tips and knowing that I am not the only one that struggled with giving up cheese!

Now for the winner… the lucky lady is… drum roll please…. Audrey!!

Audrey, please check your email for instructions on how to claim your prize.

As for everyone else, thank you again for entering and stay tuned. There is another giveaway coming up next week! If you want to stay up to date with me you can sign up for email updates or click the little like button over on the melissawhitman.com fb page!

I’m pretty excited about this one! My hubby and I recently decided to go vegan with our diet. Well mostly…. I don’t know if I could live without a little honey in my tea. And while it has been a challenge- some people in our lives apparently can’t wrap their head around the fact that we don’t need meat to thrive- we are already feeling the benefits. I’ve even lost some weight that I’ve been trying to get rid of for a long time!

So, when the good folks over at  Conscious Box contacted me to ask if I would like to give one of you the chance to win one of their brand new Vegan Conscious Boxes, I answered with a resounding “Heck, YEAH!”

Conscious Box has teamed up with Brendan Brazier, former pro Ironman triathlete, bestselling author of Thrive, and formulator of Vega. Brendan Brazier is known as a top authoritative source for the vegan, plant-based diet, and has used his experiences to help create one of the most incredible Conscious Box experiences yet!

Conscious Box is now offering the brand new Vegan Box as a subscription option in addition to their regular eco-friendly option. With shipping it comes out to $19.95 a month. That is the same price as the regular subscription, it’s just full of all vegan goodness.

For the chance to get your hands on one of these fun boxes, here is what you need to do:

Go over and give a like to Conscious Box’s fb page. Then come back here and leave me a comment letting me know that you did it. I also want to know if you are vegan or considering going vegan and what you think is the most difficult part of making the change. Or you can give everyone your best tip on being vegan!

Open to U.S. residents. You have one week to enter. The giveaway will close Wednesday August 22, 2012 at 12pm Pacific time. So make sure you get your entry in on time!

Good Luck!

Green Grab Bag is a subscription service that focuses on natural, organic and vegan beauty products.

I was impressed with this shipment. I was expecting a bunch of samples and was very pleasantly surprised to see 2 full size products and some very large samples!

This is what was in the bag:

EO Certified Organic Deodorant Spray: Full size product! This is an alcohol based spray deodorant with water and essential oils. It came in the citrus scent which is great for guys and girls. I like it so much, I already used my 20% off code to buy some in the other scents they offer. I also picked up a hand sanitizer with my order. 4oz for $5.99- Awesome price for this size, it will last a long time!

Simply Bath Salts Lavender Blend: 8oz sample. 3 kinds of salt mixed with jojoba oil and essential oils. It smells great and is wonderful for your skin. They have lots of different scents to choose from. There is a 15% off code included. Full size of 24oz for $12.99. They offer bulk discounts if you buy more and they will even make a custom scent for you!

GO Skin Care Ginger Face Moisturizer: Sample. I was excited to try this one, but you all know what a stickler I am with my ingredients and this one just didn’t make the cut. So it goes into the pile of products that I give away to family and friends that haven’t transitioned from mainstream products and I can feel good knowing that it’s way better than the stuff they are currently using. Full size is 2oz for $26.95. 20% off code included.

La Mellite Strawberry Lemon Sugar Scrub: Sample. It came in a super cute biodegradable cup made from recycled materials. The problem is there isn’t that great of a seal on it, so the scrub is a bit hard and it might take some work to get it loosened up. The full size comes in a glass jar. The ingredients look good except for the Japanese honeysuckle extract which I personally avoid. Full size is 7oz for $55. At first I thought that was a mistake, but it’s not. I double and triple checked. I can’t really figure out why it’s SO expensive. There is a 20% off code, but it’s still too expensive for my budget.

Opalima Beauty Eyeshadows: 2 samples. One each of The Bluez #8, slate blue and Night and Day #8, white. These colors blend well with each other and I love the blue, it’s very pretty. You don’t find a lot of matte colors in mineral makeup so I am happy to have these! You can get .07oz samples for $1.50 or full size 2g for $15. 20% off code included.

CoTZ PURE Sunscreen: Full size! SPF 30 sunscreen. I’m still researching the ingredients, but it’s better than conventional sunscreen. 3oz for $19.99. 20% off code included.

Mighty Leaf Tea: One tea bag. Organic African Nectar. This is a rooibos based tea, so not my favorite, but I have tried some of their other flavors and really enjoyed the Organic Breakfast tea. I normally use loose leaf tea, but these are great to have on hand when I’m away from home(and my awesome Breville Tea Maker!). Full size box of 15 tea bags for $9.95. 20% off code included.

You can get a subscription to Green Grab Bag for $15 a month, or if you pay for a year, you get a 20% discount- that’s a savings of $35. That’s like getting 2 months for free! You can expect to receive at least 6 samples per shipment. All their packing materials are eco-friendly. If you are looking for a beauty sample program to try, I recommend giving this one a shot. It’s a great price and it’s always fun to get a box of surprises! Their website has beauty tips and a ton of discount codes so you can save money on some great products.

I was provided the July edition of Green Grab Bag at no cost for reviewing purposes. Many thanks goes to Bonny! She replied to all my persistent emails requesting a review bag.

We have a winner! And her name is…. Jenny! Congratulations Jenny, please check your email.

I wish I had a box for all of you that entered, but unfortunately, I do not.   If you are interested in purchasing a box for yourself please head over to Conscious Box and sign up. I’ve heard the July box is going to be great!

Happy 4th!!