Make-up Remover and Wipes

So, while on my discovery of veganism, I discovered that what I was currently using to remove make-up was neither vegan, nor free of harmful chemicals, nor good for the environment. I decided to find an alternative to my current regiment of using a pack of 30 "pre-soaked" make-up remover wipes. I found many vegan options of make-up remover, but a lot of them still had a few harmful chemicals in them. And then, I found what I was looking for: Chamomile & Green Tea Eye Makeup Remover by Earth Science.

Depending where you buy it, it's about $7, for a 4 ounce bottle. Which is twice what I was paying for the wipes. But, I just checked the contents of my bottle, and it looks like I'm about 1/3 through it, and it's only been about a month. So, double the price, but lasts me three times as longer. Not to mention it's vegan, free of the more harmful chemicals, and is much more "green".

When I first found a bottle of make-up remover, I thought, now I have to go and by some of those pads or swabs to actually use the make-up remover. But, then I thought, why should I use a pad/swab only once and then throw it out? It's just as wasteful as the wipes I was using previously. Then I found reusable wipes I can use. So, after much searching on Etsy and Ebay, I found a pack of reusable hemp/organic cotton wipes that suited my needs: http://www.ebay.com/itm/330900862165. I decided to go with a pack of 9 (to last me a little over a week), which came to a total of $8.75, so less than a $1 per wipe.

Bottle of make-up remover along with the wipes I use
(folded nicely inside a small, re-purposed cardboard box

And let me tell you, these wipes are sooooo incredibly soft. You can wipe them all over your face, while dry, and not get irritated. It's that soft. When I remove make-up now, there's no longer that "toxic" smell. You know that smell, right? I don't really notice any scent with the make-up remover now. There's also no tingling sensation on my face after removing make-up, like I had with the previous wipes I used. So, those two things right there give me an indication that this make-up remover is a lot better, in the sense that it's free of those chemicals. Plus, it removes ALL my make-up, with no issue.

I then thought of getting a small mesh bag to put my dirty wipes in after I've removed all my make-up, so that, not only can I put them in something until laundry day, but also to minimize contact with my wiped off make-up and my clothes. So, after so much searching, I finally found a cheap, SMALL mesh bag. All the ones I had been looking at were HUGE and more designed for an entire load of laundry to fit into. I just wanted something very small. Finally, Ebay delivered: http://www.ebay.com/itm/251226901328. And bonus: it came with three! I'll be using the other two in the future with something else I've decided to switch to to become more green. More about that in a future post once I buy and start using the products ;)

My mesh bag hanging on a knob in the bathroom
with a few wipes inside already

So, now in conjunction with the new make-up remover and wipes, I'm no longer throwing out wipes daily. The only waste I'm producing will be the empty bottle, approximately every 3 months. And like I said before, it's also vegan-friendly, which was my goal.

~Lindsay

Bowling Shoes

So, a couple of months ago, my husband got into bowling. He quickly bought his own ball, bag, and shoes. He typically goes during the week, in the evening after he's done work. With my job in retail though, I typically work nights, so I couldn't join him as often. When I did though, I'd just use the bowling alley's balls and shoes.

In March though, I finally decided to get my own equipment as I was constantly disgusted with the balls; just knowing that other people have used them, and probably aren't as diligent as washing their hands as I am. Not to mention the fact that their shoes are made of leather.

I easily found the ball I wanted, as well as the bag to hold it. The issue I had was trying to find non-leather bowling shoes. After much searching, I finally came across this post (one of the last paragraphs) that mentioned that Dexter's Mary Jane bowling shoes were vegan. Finally! I typically buy things on Amazon, but since I wasn't sure if these bowling shoes would fit or not, I decided to buy directly from the website (it was only a few dollars more anyways), just in case if I needed to make a return (and they make it sound easy to do so). I didn't need to worry about returning though as they fit perfectly (I went with the same size as I do at bowling alleys)!

Once they arrived a few days later, I was excited to try them out. They look different from regular bowling shoes (this can either be a good or bad thing for some people; I went with good), yet are still comfortable!

Dexter's Mary Jane bowling shoes

~Lindsay