Attending the Rabot 1745 Press Launch & First Impressions

On Tuesday I was invited for a sneak peek of Rabot 1745, Hotel Chocolat's St. Lucia inspired skincare line. The line is sustainable, cruelty free, and the ingredients are sourced from the Rabot Estate in St. Lucia, the same estate where Hotel Chocolat sources their cocoa.

Walking into Hotel Chocolat (located across from the Lexington Ave entrance to Grand Central Station) I was instantly greeted by the delightful and inviting scent of chocolate. The lovely Rabot 1745 team shared the brand's history, pointed out some key ingredients, and I was treated to a hand massage and signature drink. I chose the chili coconut hot chocolate and it was delicious, and also impossible to drink without making a mess... which I didn't even mind.

The line, available on both Amazon and the Rabot 1745 site, has a bit of everything! The team graciously gifted me a few items to take home and I wanted to give my first impressions.

Rabot 1745 Coconut Chocolat Lip Balm

I've kept this stashed in my handbag the whole week, and usually I'm really bad at remembering to apply lip balm, but not this week. I've found myself reapplying this multiple times a day. It smells delightful and keeps my lips feeling smooth and soft. I also love the bamboo packaging.

Where in the world is @acrueltyfreeme?

It's been yet another hot minute since I posted here. If you haven't been keeping up with my instagram, I started explaining a bit there, but I thought it was time I gave the blog an update as well.

Sustainability has played a huge role in my decision to be less active these past few months. I was receiving PR packages as well as purchasing so many products that I couldn't possibly get through them all in a timely manner.  I also realized how many products in varying stages of empty were cluttering my bathroom and bedroom. Some products came in recyclable packaging, but others were less sustainable or included an appalling amount of shipping materials.

Eventually I got it together and donated the items I never got to use, or those that I had wayyy to much excess of. I would encourage you to do the same if you feel as if you're drowning in products.

These days I'm only receiving PR packages for brands I know I'll actually get use out of, or fit a space in my current collection. Rather than letting products clutter my space and my mind, I prefer to wait to review products until I have a need for them in my life. This has led to a decline in posts, but I feel better knowing that I'm not contributing as much to the waste and environmental issues on this planet.

Eddie Funkhouser; First Impressions

It's been absolutely ages since I did a beauty review, so I am pretty pumped to publish my first impressions on a few Eddie Funkhouser products. EF kindly sent me a package last month, you can see my unboxing in my highlights. The box was filled with rocking products including the Decadence eye shadow palette, Ultra Definition Eye Lining Stylus, and a multitude of Molten Metal Matte Lip Creams, keep reading to find out which products were my favorites.

For a little context I saw Avenger's End Game while testing out this makeup look lol. So I put this look through a lot.

I used the Decadence palette for my eye look, while I loved the finished look I used a few matte separates to complete it. This palette is filled with shimmer and glitter shades. Lately I've been going for a very bronzed and sparkly look and this palette fits that routine well.

City Girl Skincare Series| 3 | Sweat Proof, Sunshine Friendly Makeup

After taking a few weeks off from blogging due to work changes, family trips, and just a lack of inspiration I'm back to share more tips in my city girl skincare series.

I'm quickly learning that summers in the city are hot, sweaty, and kind of gross. Most days I'd rather forego makeup, but over the last few week's I've been using FRÉ's Glow Me Tinted Defense Moisturizer. I've been using this since the start of spring, as soon as the sun emerged in NYC. This year I'm really trying to take using an SPF seriously and find it super convenient that this tinted moisturizer contains SPF 15.