Vegan

Make Your Own Beauty with the Cosmetixer

https://www.chicvegan.com/make-your-own-beauty-with-the-cosmetixer/

Make your own beauty products with the Cosmetixer! The Cosmetixer is a machine designed to make beauty products in a quick & easy way.

Before going vegan, I didn’t give much thought to my skin care routine or the makeup that I purchased. I moved on from Noxzema to Neutrogena and Oil of Olay (a.k.a. Olay these days), I wore mostly Cover Girl makeup, and I thought I kept it all pretty basic. I now know that my idea of basic meant lots of chemicals, some animal testing, and general ignorance on my part. I know I’m not alone in this, I just wish I’d wised up sooner.

But I have to be honest. I’m still confused about ingredients, and once in a while I find out that I bought a natural beauty product that isn’t vegan. When I stopped eating animal products, I had to learn how to “veganize” a lot of meals that I enjoyed in my pre-vegan days. It took a bit of time, but it was worth it. And there is no reason why I can’t or shouldn’t do the same with my beauty products. Just think of the pros:

10 Reason Why You Should Make Your Own Beauty Products

You can make organic, vegan, cruelty-free, and healthy beauty products.
People who have sensitive skin or skin allergies can make their own products.
You know exactly what ingredients are in your beauty products.
You can customize the scent, color, and texture of your products.
You save money.
You can handmade gifts for family and friends.
It’s fun, especially when you are making the products with your loved ones.
You can start your own cosmetic line.
You can make even more money if you sell the products.
No experience is required.

Makes sense, right? But there’s still that jumping off point. How do I begin?

Cosmetixer

That’s where
Cosmetixer comes in.
Linh Le is the brains (and beauty) behind this fun invention that allows you to make your own beauty products quickly and easily. It looks like a little hot pot, and that’s sort of of what it is. You add in your ingredients (pre-mixed
kits are available for purchase, with all of the ingredients measured out for convenience) and – in just a few minutes – you have a nice little supply of lip balm or facial products.

I tried out the
Cosmetixer one Saturday with my 13-year-old son. We decided on the
DIY Chocolate Lip Balm. My son had no interest in the end product itself, but he’s a guy and he likes to see how things work. We quickly made our little batch of lip balm and set it in the refrigerator to harden. He waited impatiently until it was time to check out the end result. Success! He then lost interest, but I can certainly see how much fun this could be at a slumber part of girls the same age. (Side note: Parental supervision is required, as the
Cosmetixer can get hot when it’s running.)

Cleanup – by the way – is quick and easy.

If you are interested in delving more into DIY beauty products, you’ll also find a couple of
links to classes on the website.

If you are looking for a unique gift, or if one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to make more and buy less, this might be worth considering. You know what you are putting on your skin and you can take pride in the fact that you made something pretty cool.

Vegan

Vegetable Hakka Noodles – 1 Pot Indo Chinese Noodles

Indo Chinese Hakka Noodles are packed with peppers, onions, cabbage and carrots in a simple, flavorful sauce. A perfect one-pan noodle stir fry or entree. (nut-free with easy soy-free and gluten-free options)

Hakka noodles in the pan after garnishing with scallions

Hakka noodles are a type of noodle made with wheat flour, but you can use this same sauce and veggie combination with similar noodles, like ramen or soba, if you can’t find Hakka noodles. Use Hakka noodles to make this Indian Hakka noodles!

Indo Chinese food is a big category of its own in Indian cuisine. There are several dishes that make up the cuisine. The dishes are known for being heavily influenced by chinese dishes and then they are amped up with additions like garlic, ginger, green chile, spices and more.

fork taking a bite from a bowl of Hakka noodles

Hakka noodles are a staple side that goes well with any of the Indo Chinese veggie mains like Cauliflower gobi Manchurian (also in book 1), or chilli tofu paneer. To make this into a meal, add some baked tofu or your favorite vegan meat substitute marinated in soy sauce, minced ginger, and garlic.

I like to make these Hakka noodles with peppers, onion, carrots and cabbage and any other veggies that I have. The sauces used are pantry friendly, some soy sauce, vinegar and Sambal oelek.

Hakka noodles are super easy, 1-pot, peppery and a great light weeknight meal! If you make these, do let me know in the comments and rate the recipe.