Coconut Oil Eye Makeup Remover

I'm  a total coconut oil junkie.

I just discovered how fantastic it works to remove eye makeup and I'm just that much more obsessed! I luuuuuurv makeup. Thick winged eyeliner, smokey eyes, fun colors... I dig the dramatic eye. That said, I'm always struggling to remove all the war paint without tugging and stretching the delicate skin around the eyes. I've tried dozens of makeup removers and so called gentle cleansers. Owwwww they make my eyelids sting! I swear I have it all off and the next morning I look like a raccoon. ugh.

But not anymore!! With a tiny dab of coconut oil I barely have to wipe my eyes and bam... the makeup is gone baby gone. Simple. Organic. Safe. Cruelty free. Cheap. Already had it in my cabinet.

This was 3 swipes with a cotton ball and some coconut oil:

YESSIIIIRRR

*** Just be careful if you have oily/acne prone skin. If I'm not careful to keep the coconut oil just around my eye area, I will break out in a gnarly under-the-skin zit.

Think Before You Pink

A fellow crunchy nursing student recommended I watch the documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc.

I was so pissed by the time I was done watching it. I knew that Susan G Komen was an organization that I couldn't get behind. I participated in several Race for the Cures years ago and when I think about it I get pissed all over again. However I never put much thought in the pervasive "pink power" that has women buying pink flashlights and buckets of KFC.

As I transition into a greener, healthier lifestyle, I'm appalled by the pink shit storm I see everywhere. I pay attention to labels now more than ever and I'm outraged by the toxins in products that are made by companies that are so-called breast health supporters.

The companies pushing pink don't even have to give one penny to breast cancer anything. It's all a marketing bandwagon and it makes me want to puke.

I might piss people off with my ant-pink attitude, but that's OK. Maybe someone will set out to prove me wrong and learn for themselves that Revlon is up to no good.

THINK BEFORE YOU PINK

Curly Girl Method: The Dry Cut

I cut my own hair. When it's dry.

GASP!

I'd obviously rather have it done professionally, but my bank account says no way. Also, I've NEVER been to a stylist that was trained to work with curly hair instead of against it. Don't get me wrong, until very recently I felt like naturally curly hair was my dirty little secret.

Think about it, how many celebrities, politicians, models, or athletes can you think of that rock their naturally curly hair? (I have to let actresses off the hook because part of what they do is adopt new identities for a living.) From news anchors to governors to Miss America... from CEO's to the ladies that grace magazine covers.... even the knucklehead reality TV monsters... curly hair is just not seen as professional or desirable.

I've always done my own thing and not much cared for mainstream hoopla, but I realized I was a total sucker for the straight hair envy pushed on women in our culture. I still think straight hair is gorgeous and I love a great sleek bob, but I realize I'm no more a sleek bob girl than I am a small boned size 0.

I have wild hair. It's who I am. Hair identity is a REAL THING. It's powerful.

And I was hiding mine.

Now that I embrace my curls, I also refuse to destroy them with shampoo or have some stylist tell me I'm nuts for wanting my hair cut dry. So since I can't afford a stylist and can't find one that knows and loves the curly girl method, I cut my own hair. Dry. As needed, which is hardly ever. Need instructions? Allow me to introduce Lorraine Massey, the Deva Curl Queen....

There's Vodka in My Diffuser

It's true.

But don't worry... it wasn't the good stuff. It was just some cheap brand I've never heard of left over from who knows what.

I had a reed diffuser in my bathroom that smelled fantastic, but of course dried up in no time. My $8.99 impulse buy was a bust. No telling what kind of scary chemicals were in that stuff, anyway.

Rather than throw away the glass bottle and little wooden sticks, why not make my own yummy smelling concoction?

INGREDIENTS:

12 Drops of essential oils (I mixed lavender and tea tree this time around)
1/4 cup of a carrier oil (mineral, safflower, almond)
splash of vodka

Buycott App

I'm befuddled.

How is a crunchy girl supposed to navigate the murky waters of marketing and hype?

Most of my life I naively thought animal testing wasn't even happening anymore. I thought it was this archaic bonehead idea. So, so wrong.

I also can't keep straight fair trade, GMO's, organic, sweatshop labor, fluoride, MSG, Toxins, sustainability, etc etc etc etc....

If label reading has given you the kind of headache brought on by exasperation, then join me on Buycott. Its' free.

With this handy little app you can explore every cause near and dear to your heart and even some you've never heard of. Create your profile, then scan a product's barcode and voila! You are an informed consumer.