One of my favorite things about the holidays is all of the festive scents! Tons of beauty companies come out with so many holiday scented products during this time of the year. Stepping into Bath & Body Works and all the other beauty shops this time of the year is absolute heaven. However, for the past year or so I made a pledge to use only cruelty free products and have refused to buy products from companies that test on animals. After doing some research I found out some of my favorite brands are still testing their products on animals.

So I've had to say goodbye to a lot of favorite products and favorite holiday scents. But luckily, there are so many cruelty free brands out there that have amazing products. If you want to know more about cruelty free beauty check out my beginner's guide. Now let's take a look at these festive and ethical products!

Shampoo & Conditioner

Holiday Haircare Barrel from Basin. Basin is a shop that specializes in all natural bath and beauty and products. Their shampoo and conditioner bars are one of my favorite products. This year in their online shop, they are offering a limited edition holiday haircare barrel. Inside the barrel you get three shampoo bars: Charcoal, Iced Cherries, and Egg Noggin and one Scalp Soother conditioner bar. Shampoo and conditioner bars are a great alternative for haircare and bonus points for being better for the environment thanks to the lack of plastic.

Shower Gel

Peppermint Candy Cane Shower Gel from The Body Shop. The Body Shop is basically a better version of Bath & Body Works. They are cruelty free, vegetarian, and working on becoming more sustainable. The shower gel is made with organic cane sugar from Paraguay and leaves you feeling cleansed and fresh. This shower gel is also vegan.

Snow Fairy Shower Gel from Lush. Lush is another store that specializes in freshly made products. All of their cosmetics are cruelty free and vegetarian. Recently, Lush has introduced Naked Packaging which is essentially no packaging. 35% of their products are essentially unpackaged and the rest are packaged using recycled materials. The Snow Fairy shower gel is one Lush's Naked Packaging products. The shower gel is essentially a bar of soap that is creamier than your typical soap. It has a candy-sweet fragrance that will make you dream of sugar plums. Also if you're not a fan of the idea of a bar of soap there is a bottled version available.

Face Masks

Masque Bar Pretty Animalz Face Masks After doing some digging, it appears this popular face mask company is cruelty free. Their winter face masks are fun and most importantly hydrating. Each sheet mask is shaped as an animal and for the winter collection you have a choice between a reindeer, polar bear, or penguin. These masks are sold at Target.

The Creme Shop Face Masks. The Creme Shop also appears to be cruelty free. Just like Masque Bar, they have fun and festive sheet masks to help you relax and provide some must needed self care this holiday season. The Creme Shop offers a variety of festive face masks and can be found at almost every retailer. I've seen these masks from stores like Target to Old Navy.

Rudolph Jelly Face Mask from Lush. This face mask is adorable, it's brown and smells like chocolate pudding. Each container also comes with a bright red nose like the reindeer it is named after. This mask is also vegan.

Lotion

Gingerbread Man Sparkle Jar from Lush. The sparkle jars from Lush are another kind of bare minimum packaging product. The sparkle jar is in the shape of a gingerbread man and to get the hydrating powder out of the gingerbread man, you must poke holes where the buttons are. The powder will be released and will melt right into your skin.

Vanilla Marshmallow Body Butter from The Body Shop. Now The Body Shop has some of the best body butters out there, they keep your skin hydrated all day. Vanilla Marshmallow is one of the seasonal scents that The Body Shop is currently selling.

Candy Cane Mini Body Butter from Basin. It's not Christmas without the scent of candy canes. The only problem with this limited edition body butter is that it is so small, but on the plus side it would be good to bring with you if you plan on traveling this holiday season.

Bath Bombs

All Seasonal Bath Bomb from Lush. Lush is the master of bath bombs, in fact that is one of the things they are most well known for. It is impossible to choose just one bath bomb, especially their seasonal options. Their seasonal bath bombs are all adorable and come in a variety of scents.

Holiday Bath Bomb from Basin. Not only does the holiday bath bomb from Basin look festive the scent is too. From cinnamon to pine needles, this bath bomb literally smells like Christmas.

Peppermint Candy Cane Bath Bomb from The Body Shop. Not only is this bath bomb affordable, it's adorable! It's shaped like a reindeer and smells like candy canes. What's more Christmas than that?

Bubble Bath

Berry Bonbon Bath Foam from The Body Shop. The Body Shop's Berry Bonbon is filled with the scents of the best winter berries. The bath foam provides plenty of bubbles so you can relax and unwind in the tub.

All Seasonal Bubble Bars from Lush. Bubble Bars from Lush are just about as popular as their bath bombs. The bubble bars are soap bars of bubble bath and come in all shapes and sizes. Their seasonal ones are extremely festive and quite adorable.

Hand Soap

Peppermint Liquid Hand Soap from Mrs. Meyer's. Mrs Meyer's hand soap is one of the most popular cruelty free hand soaps that is currently out there. Their seasonal peppermint hand soap is the perfect choice for washing your hands this holiday season.

Perfume

Snow Fair Body Spray from Lush. Who wouldn't want to smell like sugar plums this holiday season?

And there you have it, a guide for the best festive scents from cruelty free brands this holiday season. Now you tell me, what are your go to scents for this holiday season? Until tomorrow.

It's Day 5 of Blogmas, and you know what that means... There's only 20 more days until Christmas! Can you believe time is flying by so quickly?

There's only so many days left to get your Christmas shopping done, and finish up your wishlist for Old Saint Nick. So hey Santa Claus, I'd like to think I've been pretty nice this year. Here are some of the things I've been lusting over for this holiday season:

To Get My Camera Fixed! Okay this is not really a gift, but more like something I need to do sometime soon. I accidentally broke my Nikon D3100 last Christmas while vlogging, hence why I do not vlog anymore, and have not fixed it since. To be honest I'm scared to see how much it will cost because those cameras are not cheap. But sooner or later I need to get it fixed, because that camera is like my baby. So if someone could recommend a place that fixes cameras, that would be great!

Minnetonka Cally Slippers! I finally wore out my slippers and it is time to get a new pair. I've been eyeing these moccasin slippers for the longest time and now that my old slippers have officially been trashed it's time to get that upgrade.

Planner Supplies! When it comes to treating myself one of my guilty pleasures would have to be stationery and planners. I recently just purchased my new planner for next year, The Happy Planner from Michaels and I'm already obsessed with it. So I would absolutely love some organizational stickers for my brand new planner! Yeah, I know I'm a giant nerd.

Hamilton: The Revolution! I'm literally obsessed with the Broadway hit, Hamilton. Ask anyone who knows me, I listen to the soundtrack almost daily. Since getting tickets to see this play is basically impossible, the next best thing is the book. Maybe if I'm lucky enough to receive this book, I can play the soundtrack in the background while reading it and imagine that I'm watching the show. A girl can dream right?

Portable Charger/Power Pack! I'm constantly on the go and my iPhone does not last as long as it used to. So something I really need and desperately want is a new portable charger. That way, while I am out and about I can charge my phone. I don't need anything fancy, just something to keep my phone from constantly dying.

Beauty Products! Do I need more beauty products? No, I think I have enough to last me the rest of my life. But do I want them? Yes, yes I do. Some of my favorite makeup brands would be Urban Decay, theBalm, Tarte, or Nyx. What I probably do need more is more face products, so any kind of face wash or moisturizer from Dermologica, Clinique, or First Aid Beauty surely won't go to waste. Then again, any kind of gift set from Philosophy will not go to waste either. I may or may not have an addiction to beauty products.

Do I need any of these things for Christmas? No not really. For me, what's most important is getting to spend time with my loved ones. During the holidays, I try to focus less on me and focus more on my family and friends. Because during the holidays, it's important to remember to be thankful for what you have rather than focusing on what you don't have. Plus, isn't that what Christmas is all about? Tell me, what do you want for Christmas this year?

Until tomorrow.

Happy Blogmas/Vlogmas! For my 5th Day of Blogmas I decided to do a little haul video of the stuff I got at Saks Off 5th and Nordstrom Rack. Hope you enjoy!

Thanks for watching and For more of my videos, check out my Youtube channel. Subscribe if you'd like, I'd really appreciate it. Until tomorrow!

My proudest moment is a moment that changed my life completely. When I was 19 years old, I decided to spend the fall semester of my junior year studying abroad in Seville, Spain, Rome, Italy, and Paris, France. Spending three months in three different countries without my closest friends or family taught me how to be independent and how to live on my own and take care of myself. During this time I discovered who I was as a person and learned a lot about myself.

While I spent my time in Spain, I was homesick a lot and I spent a lot of time by myself just exploring and walking around the city. I made a couple friends in my rotation, but being shy made it hard to put myself out there and be friendly and talk to others. Spain was lonely at first, I spent a lot of time in coffee shops thinking about writing about my journeys (I wish I would have done that) and taking photos and shopping.

But once I started to make friends, my inner explorer came out. My group of friends and I set out for Africa and we took an adventure to Morocco and truly experienced a whole new world and way of life. I even got to ride a camel!! The greatest animal and experience of my life. That was something to check off my bucket list, and since during that time the world was allegedly ending, so I wanted to make the most of my time abroad from there on out.

Next month I was on my way to Italy, one of my many motherlands. There I loosened up more, and channeled my inner Italiana. Here is where I learned, that I love to learn about other cultures and cities and their history.

Walking around Rome I was simply just fascinated and captivated by the city. I didn't care about the bars or night clubs, I loved the city and the culture. I drank cappuccinos and ate pasta and gelato daily. I admired the ancient ruins and the beautiful architecture that surrounded me.

My love for Italy didn't stop at Rome, I wanted to see more of Italy and see more of this amazing culture. So for my fall break, a close friend I made in Spain and I went on a ten day adventure and we traveled by train to Florence, Venice, Verona and Milan. Florence was a beautiful river city filled with art. Venice romanced me with the gondola rides through the canals. Fair Verona, where Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet lays their scene impressed me because of my love for literature and the arts. Milan, the fashion capital of the world inspired me to dress to impress. We even made it to Athens, Greece on our ten day adventure. Since I was living in one ancient empire, I wanted to see another. Lucky for me, so did my friend. We both shared a love for mythology so going to Greece was a no brainer for us. We walked the ruins of the acropolis for hours and never got tired. Simply because we were in awe because of the amazing city we were in.

Saying goodbye to Italy was tough, I adapted well there but I was excited to make my way to Paris, the city of lights.

Traveling to Paris, was tougher than I thought it would be. I was excited to be in one of my favorite cities of all time, but my friends' negativity towards Paris put a damper on my time there. Constant complaining about the weather and how expensive it was tested my optimism. So instead of sulking with everyone else, I spent my free time enjoying what the city had to offer. Paris is rich with art, literature, fashion and all things creative and intellectual. I spent my time in museums, because I love museums. I loved looking at all the art. I spent an entire day getting lost in the Louvre by myself. I can proudly say I've been through the entire museum.

I climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe and saw what no one else could see: elegance. I studied French in high school so I could communicate a little, but after my time in Paris I realized I really wanted to be fluent in another language, several if I could handle it.

Traveling does teach you a lot about yourself, stuff you did not even think of, especially if you are on your own. It teaches you independence and I'm so glad I learned all about it when I did. Because after my three months abroad, I truly became an adult. Age doesn't make you an adult, legally yes, but mentally it's your wisdom and the lessons you learn in life that truly make you an adult. My time abroad made me wiser, and I grew up. But I never want to stop growing and I've grown more since then. I know my futures adventures will help me learn even more and more each day. Thanks for reading and until next time.