Hello lovely people!
This Soothing Super Balm by Lucky Cloud (£7) is a skincare superstar in a jar. It contains organic cocoa butter and oat oil and works wonders on any patches of dry skin. I use it on my face and hands.
It also instantly calms irritated skin if you’ve been absent- mindedly scratching it, instead of applying balm straight away.
The fully recyclable packaging is also appreciated.
Happy Earth Day! I pretend it’s ‘earth year’ and that it’s every year. 🤗
Ways to help our home:
💚Recycle
💚Buy things in easily recycled packaging
💚Repurpose things you’d normally throw away
💚Give things to charity
💚Shop from charity shops
💚Rescue bigger items from skips
💚Bring your own bags (even if you are reusing a plastic bag for life)
💚Use takeaways which don’t use plastic boxes or use them as draw dividers or planters (make holes for drainage).
💚Try to buy organic food and skincare
💚Grow your own veg
💚Plant wild flowers which insects and bees love
💚Cycle, walk or take public transport or buy an electric car
💚Buy locally grown produce (to reduce air miles/shipping)
💚Buy from your own country when shopping online (same reason)
💚Cut down on meat and dairy (to reduce CO2)
💚Replace fast fashion with sustainable fashion or buy things you know will last and you will wear for years to come.
💚Buy a metal water bottle as the plastic one’s de-laminate and go funky after a while anyway.
💚Use skincare and cleaning products which are as natural as possible.
Do you have any other ideas?
I’ve decided to try Wild refillable natural deodorant. I didn’t sign up for a renewable, letterbox subscription but instead, bought a one-off package with the metal case (I chose the Aqua shade) and 5 refills.
I chose 2 limited edition Lemon Meringue (you will smell like desert for hours) refills and 3 Coconut ones.
The case is recyclable and the refills are compostable!
I’ve been using natural stick deodorant for around three years now so I’ve not needed time to adjust and it’s working really well!
One thing I struggled with (possibly because of Dyspraxia and Hypermobilty) was pressing in the little buttons at the side to change the refill. Easier to get my carer to that as you do need some strength and it’s a bit fiddly.
Would you make the swap to a refillable natural deodorant?
Fruu Colour Balm in Peach Perfect £5.00
This has quite a thick consistency but still glides on easily. Soothing Aloe and Banana extracts. Good colour payoff but I should have chosen Cherry as it’s too pale for me. My lips are really happy with it and so is my purse!
Organic / Vegan
Badger Lip Tint in Garnet £5.25
This doesn’t glide on easily but it is hydrating and moisturising with Shea Butter and Cocoa Butter. Sensibly priced for something you would use everyday. The Garnet shade would be a moody sort of nude for people with olive – darker skin tones.
BUAV (leaping bunny) approved cruelty free
Revolution London Good Vibes Lip Balm in Euphoria £5.00
Sadly, the colour of this balm is incredibly sheer. Not quite as long-lasting as some other lip balms but it is a very purse friendly fiver. Cannabis Sativa extract to soothes chapped lips.
Vegan
Glossier Mango Balm.com £10.00
Anyone else hate the title of this, just me?! The colour of this balm only shows up on the palest part of my wrist, it’s that sheer. It works wonders on dull, dry, dehydrated skin. I apply this on my lips, my cheekbones, the tip of my nose and my chin to instantly make me look fresh and awake too.
A tube full of air! I was half way down the tube, squeezing with both hands before any of it came out. I love the colour but it’s too thick to spread consistently. This felt great on my lips at first but when it wore off (rather quickly) my lips felt dryer than they were before!? More like lipstick than a balm. Contains active ingredients of Olive Oil, Paw Paw and Aloe.
Vegan
e.l.f. Mocha Kiss Lip Oil £7.00
This is like the lip gloss you’ve been dreaming off. Glides on easily, with a sheer but noticeable tint and shine. The Jojoba, apricot and Vit E ingredients stopped my lips from drying out.
Vegan
Lottie London Lip Oil in Extra Cherries £4.17
This oil (with Almond Oil with extracts of Cherry) works well and stays put, without feeling too thick or goopy. I love the retro packaging but sadly there isn’t any colour pay off, just a very subtle iridescent shine.
*In the above image I called this colour ‘Sugar’ by mistake*
Vegan
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Hello lovely people! Between the wind, rain, cold and central heating it’s no wonder our skin can become sensitive, dehydrated and dry, or like mine, freak out and become oily and dry in different places.
Here are my winter skin saviours!
e.l.f. Holy Hydration Face Cream
A really light, easily absorbed daily moisturiser which can be layered with serums and balms. This moisturiser contains (plant based) Squalane to improve moisture balance and elasticity, Peptides to protect skin, B3 to brighten and even the complexion and Hyaluronic Acid to help the other ingredients sink deep into the skin.
This serum uses repurposed coffee extract, which is rich in antioxidants and rosehip and jojoba oils to brighten and care for dry, dehydrated skin. I apply this serum and before it sinks in completely I apply moisturiser, which helps the moisturiser to sink in easily. It does have a tiny tingly sensation at first but doesn’t make my skin flush or react.
Wild Tree Skincare Organic Body Scrub Melt
This has the most delicious chocolate scent! It also has the most amount of oil (cacao seed butter and Shea butter) and scrubby bits (cacao seed powder) in anything I’ve ever used before. It’s really easy to hold in your palm and one melt covered my whole body. I don’t think I’ll have dry skin again for the next year! Okay, a slight exaggeration there.
Lucky Cloud Soothing Super Balm
This balm contains Oat Oil, Evening Primrose Oil and Sweet Almond Oil to calm dry, sensitive, itchy skin. The Lavender and Geranium Oils also calm body and mind. It’s a little miracle in a pot!
Balade En Provence Solid Night Cream
I normally have very cold hands so I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to use this but it melted into my palms straight away! Containing Cocoa Butter and Apricot Kernel Oil, this cream is both hydrating and moisturising, without clogging pours or creating an oil slick on your pillow.
Quite the dream team and all plant based!
Feel free to Like, comment (ask questions), follow and share.
These are the products I’ve been using and purchasing repeatedly over the past year. They have been perfect for balancing my combination-type skin and hair.
I hope you’ve found this helpful and, as always lovely people, leave any questions or comments.
Extra…
Over the next couple of months I’ll be reviewing more skincare and beauty (including tinted lip balms and super moisturising lipsticks), as well as self-care and pampering products. Keep an eye on my Insta for a heads up!
My Grandparents were quite poor so they ‘up-cycled’ or made things to reduce buying cheap crap which wouldn’t last.
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My parents supported nature by planting insect and bee friendly plants (their parents had organic allotments/gardens all their lives) growing tomatoes and hanging up bird feeders.
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I was in Junior school in the 80’s where we got taught about the hole in the O-zone layer, global warming and recycling (you had to take it to certain supermarkets).
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In the 80’s we lived a 20 min bus ride away from The Body Shops so I saved up my spends and bought cruelty-free skincare and perfume.
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We never ate much read meat, only in Potato Hash and corned beef butties. Any fresh meat we bought from the local butchers, who had local suppliers.
So for a kid from a low income family, in the middle of a city, I was lucky to grow up with a fairly sustainable and considerate lifestyle, without actually considering it!
🏙🏘🏗
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I’ve cut right back on fast-fashion. Overall, I only buy things which I know I will wear for years or even decades to come. If I like something I will take a photo of it, wait for five days and then if I’m still sure I want it (and it earns a place in my wardrobe) I’ll buy it.
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When I come back from the shops I empty my spare change into a money box and when it’s full I spend the money at an independent business and/or charity shop.
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💚 What do you aim to start or stop doing? 💚
I’ve taken screen shots from my Instagram to remind me, and show you what I’ve been up to this month.
I changed my contraception so got quite a few hormonal spots and this Body Shop Tea Tree, Skin Clearing Mattifying Toner was invaluable; as was The Ordinary, Lactic Acid which very gently and naturally exfoliates.
Now it’s the end of August and my skin has settled so I’m using Neal’s Yard Remedies Orange Flower Toner and Orange Flower Moisturiser everyday to keep my skin all glowy and nourished (along with the The Ordinary Lactic Acid twice a week).
Me and my bloke spent our Tesco vouchers on Pizza Express (who will be going into liquidation next month apparently) and order two ‘new’ veggie pizzas and all of the salad.
To take advantage of the governments ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme we went to Ruyi Vegetarian Restaurant. Amazing!
I’ve gotten back into the fake meat brand Vivera and have been making simple stir-fries. Like these Vivera Shwarma Kebab strips with rice and pea and sweet corn and Jamaican Jerk BBQ sauce.
The hot weather made really reduced my appetite so these mezze/tapas style bowls were great to nibble on.
I’ve had purchasing a Nirvana tee at the back of my mind for decades and this month I found an official pale pink one. Cute and grungy!
I got sick of buying summer shoes that were either too flat and bad for my shitty joints or too heavy or that flew off my feet going down stairs. I bit the bullet and bought Crocs. I actually think these look pretty bad-ass as they remind me of late 80’s/early 90’s street style. Here’s my full review of Crocs.
I still think the simplest thing to wear is a maxi dress. Hides a ton of sins and all you have to choose are shoes and then a jacket/cardigan for evening.
Lifestyle
In the crazy hot weather I’ve been wearing these sandals from Newlook, drinking Rockstar blueberry energy drink, using this light and fruity perfume from Eden and ( even with my limited concentration span) flew through My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.
The households charity shop donations for the second quarter of the year: A crazy wide pair of linen trousers, a face scrub you have to mix from powder (I managed to spill the first pot everywhere), vest I’m now too big for, too small jeans, a teeny-tiny dress from Japan, shoes which I’ve had over a decade and worn out.
Tips on How Not To Be Constantly Late and a fun checklist to see How Basic Are You?
Listened to
80’s pop and bluesy rock.
Watched
Snowfall about the start of the crack epidemic in early 80’s LA, like a mixture of Breaking Bad, The Getdown and The Wire.
Canada’s Drag Race, love Priyanka!
Galdem (on BBC iPlayer) about women making it in the UK grime scene.
Read
My Sister The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.
Don’t forget to like, comment or subscribe! Xxx
I’ve mostly been wearing this combo or these pants with the-dye tops. I’m all about clashing prints this summer.
I bought these adorable and very unique Freda Kahlo earrings by Wilderness from Sour Cherry, who are located in Afflecks and they also have an online shop.
I’ve been wearing this outfit (shrug, maxi dress, black gladiator sandals) the few times we’ve been out and about.
I posted about Items of Clothing That Seem Ideal in Theory but…
Hated my heavy, long fringe in the heat so gave myself a short choppy one instead.
After reading that Pizza Express will be slowly closing branches permanently from September my Bloke used up his Tesco points and treated us to a meal. We thought it crap that the rocket didn’t come with the mozzarella and tomato so we ordered that as well. We also ordered three 14″ pizzas which were amazing. A spicy, smokey one with aubergine, peppers and humus (added after cooking); a slightly sweet one with sultanas, black olives and red onion and a cheesy one with garlic.
I tried Aldi’s No Steak Bake which had the loveliest flakey pastry and a mince sauce that was so rich it would have suited a Spag Bol better!
Did a comprehensive Cupboard and Fridge Shop at Ocado (didn’t realise they have Follow Your Heart Cheese unfortunately). It’s all gluten and dairy free apart from the pepperoni which has milk in the flavouring.
We visited V Revolution. I had this cheese burger with bacon, slaw and onion rings. My bloke had the burger between two doughnuts which he said was very tasty and not as weird as you’d think. Okay…!?
I’ve started putting chilli (fresh, or oil, or sauce), spring onion and crushed roasted peanuts on everything. So refreshing for summer!
If I Could Only Use One Skincare Product this is what I chose and explained why.
I blogged about my Lifestyle Tips for Maintaining Healthy Skin.
Unpopular Opinions – Makeup Tag was surprisingly fun to join in with. Spotted on Just Geeking By.
I posted 20 Tips for Living a Greener, More Sustainable Lifestyle
Another tag which I find by the lovely Heather over at Just Geeking By was The 90’s Tag I was a teen in the 90’s so this was so much fun!
The last tag I joined in with was The Daily Gratitude Tag – Home Sweet Home
Limitless – a spin off from the film staring Bradley Cooper. A guy who’s on pills which expand his mind consults for the FBI. Light and entertaining.
Preacher – About a preacher, a con-woman and a vampire ft. God and a murderous Saint. Totally nuts!
The Avengers films – Never get bored of these.
Captain America – Kinda boring.
Mortal Engines – Film Set in the future most cities will have morphed into huge machines which move around and swallow smaller cities to survive but not all cities are as ruthless as this. Two young people fight to find justice and fairness. Based on the Mortal Engines Quartet books by Philip Reeve.
Super 8 – A film incredibly similar to Stranger Things before that series was created.
Brad Mondo – Very honest, funny, sweet hairdresser who reacts to people doing their own hair and also does tutorials.
Kate Bush album Hounds of Love; Fun Loving Criminals album Scooby Snacks; Lady Ice (fellow Mancunian) single No Silence; Nadia Rose single Skwod.
If there’s anything you want to ask me or to tell me, please leave a comment, I love reading them and replying to you!
TIPS ON LIVING A GREEN LIFESTYLE
Just do your best and don’t stress!
