The sun has finally begun to shine, and the cold winter weather has broken! Around this time of year, we begin to fill our closets with sundresses and chic strappy sandals, but wait a minute–not so fast! Before you strut your stuff in those sassy wedges, take a good look at your toes: if you’ve neglected your poor feet during the winter months (as many of us do), now is the time to pamper those tootsies with a home pedicure.

Not only will a home pedicure save you a ton of cash, you’ll also have total control over the products you use.  This helps lessen the chance of any inhumane products slipping into the mix. For a cruelty-free–but incredibly luxurious pedicure– look no further than SpaRitual products! They’re not only humane–they’re also vegan and free of synthetic ingredients.

Here’s what you’ll need to make the most of your foot-pampering experience:

• First, remove any dead or rough skin from your heels with Let It Go Callus Remover.  This elixir smooths your feet and helps ease callus build-up with fruit acids, tea tree oil, sugar cane and aloe.

• Try some Sole Mate Hydrating Foot Balm next to deeply moisturize and soothe those tired feet; they’ll be most appreciative!  With a rich formula consisting of baobab oil and organic Fair Trade Shea Butter, this decadent cream even exfoliates with papaya extract and tamanu oil.

• Finally, after all your hard work, comes the fun!  Apply a fabulous shade of polish to show off those smooth, sexy feet! SpaRitual nail polishes are healthy, because they’re  free of commonly used chemicals such as dibutyl phthalate (DBP), formaldehyde and toluene. Hot pink is the hot color for Spring/Summer 2010, so be sure to try Hope Springs Eternal.

Congrats–you’re all done! With just a few easy steps, you’re ready to hit the sand and flaunt twinkle toes worthy enough to be the envy of elite salons and nail enthusiasts everywhere.   Go ahead, you deserve it!

Editor’s note: Content provided courtesy of  guest blogger Amber McKinnon on behalf of Jolie Hair and Beauty Academy, a cosmetology school with locations in both MA and PA; to learn more, click here.

Aveda Texturizing Creme Review

When I do my hair in the morning, I want it to tell a story. Specifically, I want my hair to say that I’d  just concluded a spirited daybreak romp with a leggy Ukrainian swim suit model and am on my way to an early morning Board meeting. To that end, I’d been using Aveda’s Light Elements ™ Texturizing Crème for some time with good results.

It provides a weightless texture with light hold, though I personally prefer a product with a bit more stiffness.  Applying additional amounts seems to do the trick. Quite handy for achieving that freshly tousled look. Also, it features a spicy, citrus aroma that I find clean and not too overpowering and it doesn’t leave your hair feeling greasy or unnaturally crispy. And it’s got enough staying power that you’ll still look fabulous for when you return to Svetlana for round two.

Here are the details on the ingredients:

• Amur corktree and barley blend adds moisture to hair.
• Organic beeswax and pullulan help provide light, flexible all-day hold.
• Plant emulsifiers from jojoba and soy give the product a soft and creamy texture.
• A blend of gamma oryzanol (from rice bran) and Sasa veitchii (bamboo) helps protect hair from UV damage.

I have to be honest. When French company, L’uvalla, contacted me about reviewing their products, I wasn’t expecting much. I had never heard of them, and we literally get hundreds of products to review, many of which don’t cut the mustard. (Why would you want to cut mustard? Oh, nevermind…)

I was so happy to find out that these are amazing products that work! I tried the Foaming Facial Cleanser, Eucalyptus Toner (comes in a gorgeous bottle), Balancing Day/Night Cream, Age Defying Day/Night Cream, Hydrating Milk Cleanser and Eye/Lip Anti-Wrinkle Cream.

My favorites are the day/night creams, and I am awarding the coveted My Beauty Bunny Cruelty-Free Favorite status to these products!

The Balancing Day/Night Cream is a fairly thick cream that manages to go on smooth and leave NO greasy residue! It’s perfect for my combination skin. It has essential oils (lotus flower, thyme, rosemary, clove, etc.) to treat acne and natural oils (such as argan oil and hazel seed oil) to nourish skin and heal acne wounds (don’t act like you don’t pick your zits – you know you do!).

A note on argan oil (perhaps you’ve heard of Kiehl’s new argan oil products): Argan oil was named by the NY Times as the next miracle ingredient in skincare. It contains twice the vitamin E as olive oil, 80% fatty acids (omega 6 and 9) and contains a high amount of squalene which helps the skin produce collagen.

It also smells wonderful – I like to inhale deeply while I’m putting it on – it relaxes me and makes me feel like I’m in a spa.

I also tried the Age-Defying Day/Night Cream. I was expecting this to be way too rich for my combination skin, but it actually makes a great night cream for me.

It’s wonderfully rich and creamy but not greasy at all. It also has the wonderful essential oil scent and DOES NOT MAKE ME BREAK OUT at all! Wow. This would be great for any skin type as a night cream, and for dry skin as a day cream. Because there’s no greasy residue, you can easily use this under makeup.

A few things you should know about L’uvalla – they are dedicated to using 100% natural and organic ingredients, they use no preservatives, they are vegan and 100% cruelty-free! I also love that they list all the ingredients on the packaging and on their website – something department store brands often don’t do.

Do not walk – run to get these products. Seriously – they are worth it!

I really love this Balancing Clay Mask I’ve been using by Chella.  It’s for sensitive or acne prone skin (I have both!).  It dries on your skin to draw out impurities, but it doesn’t dry out your skin (big difference).

It’s got allatonin, vitamin B5, aloe vera and avocado oil to moisturize skin, but it also has hectorite clay, copper, vitamin C, green tea, seaweed, alfalfa, gotu kola and grape seed extract to draw out impurities, kill germs, promote cell renewal and neutralize free radicals.  It also has horse chestnut and ginger root to increase circulation and give your skin a nice glow.

I love it, love it, love it!  It makes my skin feel refreshed, smooth, moisturized and clean.

The hair mask I used is the Healing Neem and Coconut Hair Treatment Oil by Sundari (Christy Turlington’s skincare line).  It’s an oil you can put in your hair about 20-30 minutes before you take a shower (or you can even leave it in overnight).  It’s made from coconut oil, rice bran oil, neem oil (which has moisturizing and antiseptic properties), gotu kola oil (known as “tiger’s grass because wounded tigers often roll around in it for its wound-healing properties – how cool is that?), apricot kernel oil, triphala extract (a popular Ayurvedic herb), lavandin oil, palmarosa oil, rosewood oil and rose flower oil.

It has a nice, fresh, woodsy scent that I really like, and it’s a really nice hair conditioner.

Sundari means “a beautiful woman” in Sanskrit.  This line uses Ayurvedic principles and the products contain organic ingredients whenever possible. They never use artificial fragrances or dyes, and of course they never test on animals.

I tried a solid cream perfume from Green 4 Your Soul by a brand called Nuts.  First of all, it’s pretty dang cute.  It comes in a little, eco-chic wooden container made from residual wood from small mills that meets the criteria set out by the Forest Stewardship Council.

The base is made from 80% beeswax and almond oil – unlike most commercial perfumes which are mostly alcohol and water.  So, you get more for your money and the scent lasts longer.

I got the Ylang Ylang d’Amore scent.  Normally I don’t really like ylang ylang, but the scent combination here is quite different from pure ylang ylang.  It’s definitely got that woodsy, sexy thing going on, but it’s much lighter and “friendlier” if you will.  It’s got mandarin and jasmine too – trailed by notes of apricot, cedarwood, orange flower, patchouli and musk.

I also like that it’s made from premium organic essential oils – not synthetic fragrances.  Some people are allergic to essential oils, but I have very sensitive skin, and I’ve always had good luck with them.  Synthetic fragrance from department store perfume, on the other hand, has made me break out in hives and warranted a trip to the doctor’s office!

The Nuts perfume also comes in mango, vanilla, lavender, raspberry and melon scents.  Also, I must mention – at $20 a pop, I’d say this perfume is a steal.

Don’t miss a thing! Subscribe to My Beauty Bunny by E-mail.