Spooky Summer Goth Essentials to Survive the Sun

With Memorial Day behind us, I can't believe summer is almost here! I'm already in shock of how long the days are stretching and I am already dreading the warmer temperatures. Summer is the last season before the glorious return of fall, and all we need to do is survive summer to get to the best season, autumn! And of course, summer can be fun if take the time to stock up on some necessities that make it so much more pleasant for us darklings...

I have to say that summer is usually a struggle for me (and many other fellow fiends who wear black year-round), so in preparation I've rounded up some spooky summer goth essentials to help me and my fellow spookies survive the summer. Below I'm sharing clothes, accessories, pool floats, parasols, swimsuits, makeup, sandals, and more with a spooky twist to make summertime more bearable.

Eerie Organizing for Glamour Ghouls

Springtime always inspires me to clean out my closets, de-clutter, and tidy up my home. The longer, sunnier days inspire me to brush away the cobwebs, give everything a deep clean, and find new ways to organize my things. Spring is time to start fresh and get my house spooky and sparkling, with everything in it's proper place.

I've been eyeballing some new organizers to achieve this goal, with a spooky twist, of course! I've been looking for makeup holders, curio shelves, desk organizers, photo and memento boxes, all with a gothic aesthetic. I thought it would be fun to share these eerie organizers with you, too, in hopes that they help with your own spooky spring cleaning!

Check out the items below to help you get eerily organized this spring and do some spooky spring cleaning:

What's in My Spooky Purse

Hello lovelies! Confession: I am obsessed with posts showing what is in people's purses/fridges/etc. It is so much fun to get a peek at what people use everyday and seeing how they live day-to-day. And I don't mean just celebrities, I mean like regular people like you and I, especially if they have a spooky or vegan (or both!) aesthetic. Plus, this is a wonderful way to discover new products, bond over similar items and styles, and just get more of an insight into someone else's habits and style!

Ever since my ghoulfriend-in-crime Miranda from Spooky Little Halloween shared what was in her purse, I've been wanting to share what's in mine! I figured now that we are going into spring it would be the perfect time to clean out my purse and share what's been lurking within. I've decided to omit any necessities like my phone, wallet, keys, etc. because everyone has those. Though I do love mine so I've include a photo of them at the end!

Check out what is lurking in my spooky purse below:

Valentine's Day Gifts for Dark Hearts

While Valentine's Day has never been my favorite holiday, it is slowly growing on me, especially with all the delectably dark products we get to treat ourselves or our spooky someones to this time of year!

There are lots of ways to show your love, and an eerie adorable gift is the perfect start. Whether you want to profess your adoration to the one you love, your admiration to your best friend, or want to treat yourself, I've rounded up some gorgeously gothic items to perfect for your favorite dark heart.

20 Goth Gifts for Darklings

Let's face it, sometimes shopping for gothlings can be a difficult task, even if it is for yourself or someone you love. Luckily, I've scoured some of my favorite spooky shops and picked products that will delight the recipient. These items range from adornments to home decor to art to bath and body products and more! I've also made sure to include a wide range of prices, from small stocking-stuffers to more extravagant presents. As always, all items I've selected are vegan and cruelty-free.

Whether you are shopping for yourself or your significant other, check out the 20 eerie items below that are perfect for the strange and unusual.

Make Your Own Pumpkin Spice Coffee Scrub

My sister gave me a recipe for a DIY coffee scrub several years ago, and I love making it to this day! I use it in the shower and not only does it make my skin silky-smooth, but the coffee perks me up and I swear it firms up my behind! With pumpkin season upon us and pumpkin spice coffee so readily available, I had a lightbulb moment and thought to make a pumpkin spice coffee scrub based on my sister's recipe. All I did was replace regular ground coffee with pumpkin spice ground coffee and it came out incredible!

I love everything pumpkin spice, so I usually end up buying pumpkin spice coffee this time of year, despite the fact that I'm not a big fan of flavored coffee (the cute packaging always gets me!). With this recipe, I can use up the pumpkin spice coffee I buy and continue using it all year to make this recipe.

I love how this Pumpkin Spice Coffee Scrub smells and how it moisturizes and exfoliates my skin. Plus, this is such a quick and easy recipe, and you probably already have the ingredients on hand. Check out how to make your own Pumpkin Spice Coffee Scrub below:

Halloween 2018 at Lush

Halloween has returned to Lush with lots of fearsome, fizzy, and frothy bath bombs, shower gels, soaps, and more to keep your suds spooky this Halloween season! There are a few old favorites that have returned, along with some eerily exciting new products, including a neon-green ectoplasm shower gel, glow-in-the-dark ghost soap, Lord of Misrule bath bomb, pumpkin bubble bar, and more! Lush's products are always cruelty-free, and I'm happy to say their entire Halloween collection is vegan!

The Spooky Vegan Shop Now Open On Amazon

Do you ever wonder what kind of things I shop for on Amazon? Do you like discovering new products that I personally recommend? Looking for that spooky something to get yourself or that special someone? Are you interested in what cruelty-free and vegan products I use daily? Wanna check out my favorite vegan snacks? Have you ever wished to get your hands on the black nail polish I use or get a peek at what movies and books I'm into?

Well, fiends, lucky for you I've curated a spooky shop on Amazon full of product recommendations so you can find all of these eerie items collected for you in one place! I thought this would be a fun way to show off some of my favorite things and show you what items I use regularly (for example, what hair dye or face wash I use, which I get asked about a lot!). Also, when you purchase items via my Amazon shop you are helping me earn referral fees, which go toward keeping this blog running, especially since I do not use ads, only Amazon affiliate links.

So take a look at my spooky shop, filled with treats like Halloween decor, horror movies, books, accessories, cruelty-free and vegan beauty/makeup/skin care products, and even some of my favorite vegan snacks and food!! You just might find some must-haves or new favorites! I'll be updating the spooky shop regularly with new and old favorites, so check back often!

Visit The Spooky Vegan Shop on Amazon!

Stay spooky!

Spooky Summer: Eerie Items For A Goth Pool Party

Summer is basically here and though I'm not usually a fan of this season, I'm trying to make the best of it this year. That means putting a goth spin on traditional summer activities, like pool parties or beach visits, because you can maintain and show off your darkling style even in the dreadful heat. I have been preparing for the hot weather and sunny days by browsing for goth summer products, from swimsuits to pool floats to beach towels to flip flops to party accessories...and want to share my fiendish finds with you, so you can make your next pool party (or backyard barbecue, or beach outing, or lake retreat, etc.) spooky!

Below you'll find eerie items you need to have a killer goth summer party:

Goth Guide to Summer: 31 Goth Essentials to Survive the Sun

Temperatures are heating up, the days are getting longer, and we are going to be in the middle of summer before you know it! In my opinion, the only good thing about summer is that Halloween season will immediately follow, so I just have to get through it.

If you are a darkling like me who wears black year-round and hates the heat, you are probably looking for ways to keep cool while still staying spooky. Lucky for you, I've been on the hunt for goth essentials like fearsome fashions, eerie accessories, and so much more that will make summer a little more bearable for us spooky kids. I've found 31 macabre must-haves for surviving summer the spooky way, check them out below:

The Enchantment Box - Hocus Pocus Edition

The Hocus Pocus edition of The Enchantment Box

The Enchantment Box is a new monthly subscription service that sends you a magical themed box full of goodies like cruelty-free makeup, vegan snacks, delightful decor, gorgeous jewelry, fun paper crafts, beautiful bath and beauty products, and other charming treats! Plus, all boxes are completely cruelty-free and vegan, yay! They contacted me recently to see if I would be interested in reviewing their October 2017 box, whose theme was Hocus Pocus. I really had to contain myself (because OF COURSE I WAS INTERESTED), as I was so excited about this box since Hocus Pocus is one of the best movies ever and one of my personal favorite Halloween movies!

I checked out some of their past boxes, whose themes included Marie Antoinette, Mystical Mermaid, and Secret Garden, which made me even more thrilled when I saw the fantastical fripperies that were tucked away in those boxes. I knew then that I was head-over-heels in LOVE and couldn't wait to check out their October 2017 box. See my step-by-step unboxing below!

Goth Essentials for Surviving Summer

I can't believe summer is already here, it feels like the spring went by so fast! Thankfully here in Orange County it is still relatively cool due to June Gloom (swoon!), but warmer weather has been creeping up on us (it will be in the 80s the rest of the week) and as soon as July hits temps will be shooting up to the 90s and 100s (ugh). I hate hot weather so I do all I can to stay cool while still keeping it spooky during the unbearable summer months.

Below I've collected some summer goth essentials to help you keep creepin' in the summer heat, including pool and beach accessories, some dark but gauzy clothing (I don't care how hot it is, I'm still wearing black), items that will protect your skin from the sun, boo-tiful bags to keep all these ghoulish goodies in, and much more macabre merch to add to your wish list!

Acure Organics Smooth + Manageable Shampoo and Conditioner

I love Acure Organics' products and have used their facial cleansers, their argan oil (review), and their ultra-hydrating Moroccan oil shampoo and conditioner (review) for quite some time now. The majority of their products are vegan and cruelty-free and work great! I decided to try their Smooth + Manageable Shampoo and Conditioner a few months back, and every since them I've been using it with fantastic results.

Schmidt's Charcoal + Magnesium Mineral Enriched Natural Deodorant

Whenever I want to switch it up from using my own homemade vegan deodorant, I turn to Schmidt's! Besides my own DIY deodorant, I find that it is only vegan deodorant that works to keep me feeling and smelling fresh all day, even through hot days or hard workouts. I adore their Cedarwood and Juniper deodorant (and they have many other scents!), but I was excited to try their brand new Charcoal + Magnesium Mineral Enriched Natural Deodorant they gave me at Expo West this past March. This, like their other products, is vegan, cruelty-free, and free of aluminum, propylene glycol, parabens and phthalates and does not contain any artificial fragrances. I am a sucker for charcoal anything, so I couldn't wait to try this out! I also love the scent itself, which smells like fresh, clean air after a thunderstorm in spring.

Samhain Scents That Will Make You Smell Like Halloween

In Type O Negative's song "Black No. 1," Peter Steele sings "Her perfume smells like burning leaves," and I've been forever searching for a scent like that which evokes the spirit of Samhain! What do you picture the autumn season smelling like? For me it's a woodsy, smoky scent of autumn leaves with a bit of candy corn sweetness, apple orchard tartness, pumpkin patch earthiness, and a sprinkle of brimstone. Who knows if a scent like that actually exists, but I'm on a quest to find it!

In my search this year I've come across a few small, independent companies who are making perfumes, bath bombs, lotions, and other potions in lovely autumn and Halloween scents that I'm absolutely drooling over! I've compiled some of these for you below, all of which are vegan and cruelty-free (note: always double-check ingredients since formulations can change, though most of the businesses listed below are themselves vegan and cruelty-free!).

Hopefully this year I can find some scented treats that will keep me smelling like Halloween long after all the jack-o-lanterns have been blown out on October 31st.

20 Summer Goth Essentials to Survive the Sun

UPDATE: Check out other Summer Goth Essentials on my 2018 list and 2017 list!

Summer is swiftly approaching here in the Northern Hemisphere and temperatures are already inching up into uncomfortable territory (I can't stand anything over 75 degrees Fahrenheit; yes, I'm a delicate little flower). Though summertime means that Halloween is right around the corner, we still have to get through the sweltering days, which can be a challenge for those of us that prefer dark and dreary to bright and cheery.

So, to help cope with the impending sunshiny doom, I've put together a survival list of 20 summer essentials for dark hearts like myself. Most of these items are for spooky ghouls (sorry boils) and include creepy clothes, sinister swimsuits, boo-tiful bags, macabre makeup, and more. These are all items I either love or covet, I have not been paid to post them. Also, everything you see is vegan and cruelty-free. And I think it goes without saying, but ALL BLACK EVERYTHING (ok, with a few exceptions)!

I hope these 20 items keep you cool and creepy this summer!

Beauty Review: Pacifica Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash

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I have used Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash religiously for about two years now, and I still highly recommend that cleanser (read my full review). However, when Pacifica released their Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash specifically formulated for oily and/or acne-prone skin, I knew I had to try it!

Pacifica is a 100% vegan and cruelty-free line, and all of their products I've tried have been of the utmost quality. It is a brand I trust, and a brand I return to time and time again. Not only do they have face cleansers and other skin care products like moisturizers and makeup remover wipes, but they also have a full makeup line, perfumes (they make some of my favorites!), and they have also recently announced they are releasing more skin care products as well as hair products! The Kale Detox Deep Cleaning Face Wash is one of their newer products in their expanded skin care line.

Beauty Review: Pacifica Dreamy Youth Day and Night Face Cream

I am always on the lookout for an awesome vegan moisturizer, and since the weather has been warming up here in SoCal I decided to look for a new, lighter one that can be used day and night. Many people recommended Pacifica's Dreamy Youth Day and Night Face Cream, so I decided to give it a go!

I already love Pacifica's cruelty-free and vegan products, so I couldn't wait to try their Dreamy Youth moisturizer! This anti-aging moisturizer contains peptides, antioxidants, floral stem cells and natural extracts along with Pacifica's Fleuracell Complex with ingredients shown to improve the overall appearance of skin.

14 Perfect Gifts for Your Spooky Vegan Valentine

It's almost Valentine's Day again, and though I'm not the biggest fan of the holiday, I couldn't resist putting together a gift guide full of goodies for your Valentine, which kinda doubles as my own personal wishlist as many of the items are gothy and dark, along with being cruelty-free and vegan! These are the kinds of things I would loooooove to receive for Valentine's Day (or any ol' day)! Even though I don't believe you need to give gifts of monetary value to express your love, the items below are quite handy as tokens of affection!

Beauty Review: Goddess Provisions Box

The Goddess Provisions monthly subscription box was created by the lovely couple behind the awesomely successful Vegan Cuts subscription boxes (my reviews of the snack box and the beauty box). The Goddess Provisions box is geared more towards getting in touch with your self and the Earth while nourishing both, along with mind, body, and spirit. The monthly box features aromatherapy, crystals, superfoods, natural makeup, and other tools for spiritual growth! Everything is always cruelty-free and vegan, and there are about 4 - 6 full-size products in each box.