Our makeup routines should not stay stagnant throughout the seasons. The skin is affected by many various factors including: humidity, dryness, cold and hot weather, toxins in the air and environment. My particular skin-type is combination so I particularly notice a change in my skin’s chemistry when the weather gets warmer and the air has more humidity.

I wear a liquid foundation in winter because where I live, the climate gets very dry and cold in the blustery months. I need a more moisturizing base during these months, as mineral foundation tends to make my skin look older and drier. If I were to stick with a moisturizing liquid foundation in the summertime, my face would be an oil slick and my makeup would not last more than a couple of hours. Not only that, but too much oil on acne prone skin is a acne flare-up just waiting to happen.

I love the longevity of mineral foundation and how it melds overtime with the oils of my skin (actually looking better as time goes by! The only downside to switching to to mineral foundation is that it places limitations on the products I use. I adore cream blushes and the bright, yet natural finish they impart. If you apply cream blushes on top of mineral foundation, however, the affect is patchy and very hard to blend out.

In this photo, I use a technique that allows me to wear all of my cream blushes and my mineral foundation together. I will also throw in my everyday skin prep and foundation routine, I hope it helps!

Step One: I only wash my face once a day, at nighttime when I remove my makeup. I find my skin is more balanced and and has a nicer glow when I don’t strip my skin of natural oils. I swear by prepping the skin for makeup and moisturizer with Thayer’s Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner. Then, I apply my eye treatment (I enjoy using Andalou Naturals Eye Brightening Serum) and my daytime moisturizer (Devita Solar Protective Moisturizer SPF 30).

Step Two: Once skin is prepped, I apply a cream concealer (Beauty Without Cruelty Super Cover Cream Concealer Fair) to any acne scars, under-eyes, active breakouts, around the nose, and any other discolorations. I use the Everyday Minerals Eye Kabuki brush and pat in the concealer until its well blended. This gives me great coverage, but still allows my skin to breathe.

Step Three: I apply my cream blush heavily with a stippling brush above my cheekbones (I used Pumpkin and Poppy Incognito Cream Blush from the Little Black Dress Collection). It may look scary at this point, but its better to over-apply than under-apply with this technique.

Step Four: Next, I use a synthetic flat topped powder brush to lightly apply my mineral foundation (I use Emani Minerals Perfecting Crushed Foundation Ivory 270). Make sure to tap off excess powder and build up your coverage gradually as you need it. This will even out your skintone and tone down the cream blush you applied. You will have a natural, flush of color this way…no scary clown makeup!

Step Five: I finish up my face routine by applying bronzer. I don’t use the same bronzer all of the time, I change it up depending on what kind of look I want to wear. I have neutral undertones in my skin, so I can play up my cool or warm undertones. In this photo, I used Pumpkin and Poppy Tara Moisturizing Bronzer which is a warmer, semi matte shade. I applied it lightly underneath my blush to accentuate my cheekbones. I also applied it to my temples, nose, and my jawline. I really like using the ELF Complexion Brush for this, as it doesn’t apply too much products and it blends out easily.

Step Six: I set everything with Audrey Organics Mineral Water Complexion Mist, but you can also use toner if you transfer it to a spray bottle.

It may seem as though I’ve dropped off the face of the earth as far as my online presence is concerned. For that, I do apologize, but so much has changed for me in the last few months that it is hard for me to keep up with everything. I do keep an active presence on my Veggie Beauty facebook page, so if you want to keep up with my day to day activities and my life that is the best way to keep in contact.

For many of you long time subscribers, you are aware that my husband lost his job last July. We thought it was only a temporary setback, but it took him over eight months before he was able to find a reliable job. He had several interviews, but that only added to the frustration somedays. It would build up my hope for our future, only to dash it back down after a few weeks went by and no job offer. He has, thankfully, found a job he loves in his field as of April, so that is a huge relief in our household. I am now able to breathe and allow myself to feel something other than panic and desperation.

I already had anxiety issues, depression, and self-doubt before all of this happened, but it definitely intensified the effects by 10x. It all I could do to motivate myself to make new collections for Pumpkin and Poppy Cosmetics and be the sole income in our family, let alone work on my own personal and non-financial pursuits. My studio became a dreaded place for me because I felt guilty when I wasn’t working on a new project so that we could pay our rent. It became a very toxic environment for me, and that made me sad because I had always loved my job before all of this happened.

In the last several months, I have diagnosed myself with being a highly sensitive person. The book, The Highly Sensitive Person by Elaine N. Aron, Phd. was a great help to me. It made me realize that my physiology is quite different from many around me; I sense and feel everything with a great intensity so I easily feel overwhelmed by too many noises, people, sensations, and distractions. It physically and mentally affects the way I function.

So of course the stress of being in a situation that already completely vexes those in a similar circumstance really did a number on me. We are in the process of relocating to a new city for his job, which is a difficult process in itself, but a hopeful one. I have taken what I call a “limbo” period to refocus my energy and to heal. A lot of my apartment is packed up in boxes, so I decided that I would focus on other creative pursuits than cosmetic formulating.

This does not mean that I don’t have great plans for Pumpkin and Poppy Cosmetics, because I definitely do, it just means that I need to recharge my batteries. As an artist, I found that if one medium was frustrating me, I could switch to another way of approaching my idea and find my enthusiasm restored. I also think its important, for my own process, that I find joy and fun in whatever I’m working on. When I’m in a good place mentally, physically, and creatively, I create my best ideas and material.

I have actually been motivated to start a project that has long been on the backburner, my book! I don’t have a title yet, but the focus is going to be a vegan starter kit type of book. I’m going to have essays on my own vegan philosophy, “cheapskater” tips on how to save money, nutritional information, DIY beauty recipes, and of course tons of recipes that I’m testing out and creating in my own kitchen. The main theme of the book is that Veganism is attainable, fun, and well worth the effort. I already have quite a bit of it written, and I’m very excited about how it is evolving. I’m going to be doing everything for it: editing, photography, writing, recipe creation/testing, and doing original artwork for the book, so it is taking up a decent portion of my time. It will take at least a year to finish and I don’t want to burn myself out, but I really hope you all enjoy it.

I really appreciate all of your support and patience over the years. I know many of you relate to and understand my issues with anxiety and how it affects my ability to achieve everything I set out to do. I’m realizing that I’m not in a race and that if I don’t take care of myself, I will have nothing to give anyone else. Its hard for me to accept because my whole life was focused on academia and being the best at everything. I’d rather just be the best at things that are important to me and the rest will fall into place. As always, helping animals is always at the core of whatever I’m doing. As long as that focus is always in place, it doesn’t matter if I decide to draw, paint, sing, write, or create cosmetics. I’m still helping, even if I touch just one person and they decide to explore Veganism in their own life.

On my facebook page, I had been posting scary songs of the day, and I was requested to make a scary music post compiling some of my favorite spooky tunes. I got married on October 30th and we had a Halloween related wedding reception. We were also our own DJ’s to save money, so I’m pretty well versed in scary-Halloween related tunes. I decided it would be fun to share my other interests in this blog, and I used to write for a music blog called Vintage Rock back in highschool, so be prepared for more music related posts in the future! I decided to do a mix of more popular and obscure tracks, something I would have played on my old Halloween radio show back in college (yes I was a DJ for awhile).
Misery is the River of the World by Tom Waits

Lake of Fire by The Meat Puppets

Carousel l by Sioxsie and the Banshees

This Devil’s Workday by Modest Mouse

Halloween by the Misfits

Suffer Little Children by The Smiths

A Forest by The Cure

Suspiria Theme by Goblins

Ghost Riders  In the Sky by Johnny Cash

Red Right Hand by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

It’s Halloween by The Shaggs

Season of the Witch by Donovan

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) by David Bowie)

A Light So Dim by The Black Heart Procession

Country Death Song by Violent Femmes

In the Cellar by Butthole Surfers

Psycho Killer by Talking Heads

The Witch by Sonics

Werewolf by The Frantics

Taboo by Gene Summers

Ballroom Blitz by The Damned

Human Fly by The Cramps

All Gone Dead by Subhumans

You’re a Zombie by Plasmatics

Insanity by Oingo Boingo

Rockin’ in the Graveyard by Jackie Morningstar

Devil In My Car by The B-52s

I Need Your Head by Hasil Adkins

Got a quick little sale going on, in honor of Halloween (my favorite time of year!) 15% off orders over $49…good through Saturday. Remember, I will be discontinuing Forever Young, Dani Lip Pencil (will be reformulating without flavor oil), French Quarter Solid Scent, and Binx eyeshadow on November 1st. Let me know how you are all going to celebrate Halloween and what costumes you are dressing up as!

Here is the code: 26IBJPVQP1-NWZCXFNH2Z

Pumpkin and Poppy Vegan Cosmetics:

http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/pumpkinandpoppy

First holiday giveaway is up and going and winner will be annouced on the 22nd of November (and will be chosen by random.org), the day before U.S. Thanksgiving.

The prize is one, 1 year Best Buddy Sponsorship through Edgar’s Mission (worth $50). The winner will be able to select the animal they would like to sponsor and will receive: welcome pack which includes a sponsorship certificate, colour photograph of your new friend, their profile along with cool informative flyers and stickers. If the winner choses to supply their email, they will receive quarterly updates on their buddy!

Edgar’s Mission is a renowned farm sanctuary in Australia that helps to rescue farm animals and give them rich and full lives. I personally have donated to them in the past and support them whole-heartedly.

Learn more about their Best Buddy Sponsorship program…they make great Christmas gifts and help give back to a worthwhile cause!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I’m going to start sharing meal plans with you guys as a way to show you can eat healthy vegan meals on a budget without them being boring. Just a side note, we will be doing most of our shopping at ALDI to save $, making us able to afford tofu and other more exotic items.

Meal Plan for the week:
Trying out 2 recipes fro Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian Cooking (Very Spicy Delicious Chickpeas & Bean Curd w/ a Deliciously Spicy Sauce) I’ve been reading through this cookbook the last 2 weeks and I can’t wait to try some of the recipes. I bought the book used too, which is a great way to obtain cookbooks on a budget for meal ideas.

There is a good range of simple to more complicated recipes. The recipes I”ve chosen are very simple, but are packed full of flavor. I tend to love spicy food on a budget…it really packs a lot of flavor using spicy ingredients, without breaking the bank. The Bean Curd (Tofu Recipe) I will be doing a blog post on, using the Tofu X-press, which was kindly sent to me by the company to test out. Its so amazing, it takes tofu to the next level of awesome.

Next, I’m taking out an old favorite, Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special and cooking a family favorite, Roasted Chile and Potato Soup. My husband LOVES this…I use vegan cream cheese in it…so creamy and good, affordable too. Using that up from this week too, so we don’t have to throw things away. Its good to utilize things you already have if you can.

I’ll also be making seitan and potato burritos (using the recipe from Viva Vegan, the red seitan) This will be a good way to use up the left-over potatoes from the soup and help the meal stretch a bit further. I will be making homemade cashew “sour cream” to take this recipe over the top. All you have to do is soak cashews in hot water for an hour or so…then, blend with a tiny bit of water (don’t want it runny) and add a bit of salt, pepper, and lemon juice.

I will be making a Sicilian Pasta, my own recipe and will do a video ‘how to’ on it fingers crossed. A nice change from marinara with golden raisins, capers, olives, tomatoes, parsley, and walnuts. A lot of these items are pantry staples, making the meal easy to throw together on a weeknight. You can omit the walnuts if you want to save a bit of money…brown lentils would be a nice substitute, cooked in vegetable broth.

The next meal is another recipe I’ve come up with, Roasted Eggplant Hoagie w/ Avocado, Red Onion, Spinach, Tomato, topped with Sriracha Mayo. I will be saving money on this meal by making my own mayo at home using this recipe. Also, eggplants are in season so they are affordable and delicious. Sandwiches are a great, quick meal to throw together that are tasty, satisfying, and a true affordable comfort food. We use fresh french bread from our bakery, just check and make sure its free of animal byproducts.

I hope this will help you give you an idea of how to make an affordable, yet tasty meal plan. Being on a budget as a veagn doesn’t have to be boring, you just need to be a bit more creative and be willing to cook meals from scratch at home. If you’d like me to include any of my own personal recipes on this blog, please leave a comment below!