Category: General

#TooManyWomen

A few days ago, I posted a tweet on Twitter that went viral with the hashtag #TooManyWomen.

I wrote the tweet in light of the tragic news of Sarah Everard who went missing in London on March 3rd and whose body was found in woodland in Kent. For more information, please read this BBC news article.

Sarah’s tragic story has highlighted how vulnerable we as women are even with the extra precautions we’ve been taught to take such as covering up, walking on well lit roads and keeping our phones on us which are just a few among many more.

What really drives it home for me in particular is that Sarah was walking back to her home in Brixton through Clapham. My youngest sister and one of my closest friends both live in the Brixton area and this could easily have been them. It could have been any of us.

After seeing the statistic that 97% of women have experienced sexual assault, I wanted to share one of my experiences from my youth that really stood out in my mind.

There are many trolls who have replied to my tweet, trying to diminish my experience by telling me that people couldn’t have possibly seen him grab my breast, that ‘this is just what happens in night clubs’ or that I’m just lying altogether. I don’t owe any of them any explanation but I will say that people definitely did see it happen, and I was not dancing with him nor even close to him to justify ‘leading him on’.

The #TooManyWomen hashtag is not being used to diminish the experiences of men. The aim is to highlight that these experiences are happening to a lot of women (97% of them to reiterate the statistic). When I have spoken to any of my friends about this, not a single woman hasn’t had a story to share.

Never did I expect in my wildest dreams that this tweet would go viral, but more importantly, empower others to share their experiences also. The number of women who have spoken out and shared their stories proves how normalised this behaviour is across the world.

If you are one of the many women who has experienced sexual assault, we stand by you and we support you.

It’s more important, now than ever, to read these stories, support us and pave the way for change. Education is absolutely essential and victim blaming needs to stop. I hope that with the continued sharing of these stories that people’s eyes will open and we will start to see change happen.

Advertisement

Freedm Street Deluxe Box [August 2020]

Leave a comment

I recently received my Freedm Street Deluxe Box in the post! For those of you that may not be aware, The Cruelty Free Beauty Box have recently changed their name to Freedm Street! For more details, check out their instagram posts.

Let’s move swiftly onto the contents of the box!

Again, nothing in this box disappoints! As always, there are various beauty products and snacks which I’m very much looking forward to digging into. Inside the box is:

  • Flawless Hydrating Toner (RRP £3.95)
  • Love Absolute Mulberry Milk Jelly Cleanser (RRP £24)
  • Pura Cosmetics Lip Scrub (RRP £4.99)
  • Lola Makeup Lash Extension Mascara (RRP £11.95)
  • Jorgobe Black Peel Off Mask (RRP £26)
  • UpCircle Gentle Exfoliating Soap Bar (RRP £6.99)
  • The British Crisp Co Handcooked Crisps (RRP 89p)
  • Brave Roasted Peas (RRP £1.39)
  • Beevive – The Bee Revival Kit (RRP £10.99)
  • Nourished Inner Beauty Stack Trial Box (RRP £29.99)

The contents of the box totals at £121.14 but only cost £39.95 as part of their subscription box!

I’ve yet to make a dent into yet as it only arrived this week but I’m looking forward to it already!

The Nourished vitamins appear interesting. I’m not sure how much benefit you’d be able to see with a 7 day trial but I can’t complain when it’s included as part of my subscription box! Each vitamin is individually wrapped and without opening it directly, I believe they’re gummy ones!

  • Beevive Revival Kit
  • Lola Lash Extension Mascara

The other more interesting product in the box was the Beevive Bee Revival Kit! It’s a little keyring with a little vial of sugar water which can be used to save the bees when they’re in need of a little bit of energy! I love the idea behind it but whether I’ll find good use for it is a different matter.

I also love the Lola Lash Extension Mascara. I didn’t take a picture of my lashes, but I loved it. The brush is great and leaves lashes well separated without any clumps for a nice wide eyed look.

There are so many other goodies included in the box with some wonderful brands that I’m currently using such as UpCircle and Love Absolute. I’m so excited to try them all out.

With the company rebrand, I highly recommend taking another look at the website to see what new products have been added!

Saalt Menstrual Cup

2 Comments

If you’re someone who doesn’t want to read about menstruation, then please look away now and stop reading.

For those of you who are more than happy to read about it and are also interested in changing to a more sustainable solution, keep reading!

My menstruation back story is a long one, but to summarise, I had the implant for a few years and my periods had stopped. I recently had my implant removed and my menstruation has returned to my version of normal which is very regular.

I was fed up of using disposable sanitary products. I had switched to Natracare and the products were amazing and I still rate them over any other sanitary products on the market but the menstrual cup just seemed like a sensible economic and sustainable option.

I did a little bit of research around a menstrual cup, but luckily my sisters already had their own and were able to give me all the information I required. I recommend having a quick read at articles online to find out if a menstrual cup is more suited to you.

I chose Saalt as this was the only brand I found online that were clearer on the guides on cup capacity. What I mean by this is that all the other companies simply said ‘Small’ or ‘Large’. For someone who has no idea what they’re doing, this is incredibly daunting! Saalt did this perfectly by describing capacity based on numbers of tampons and flow type.

  • Size Small: 2 to 3 tampons capacity
  • Size Regular: 3 to 4 tampons capacity

It came with a carry pouch and general and instructions on how to use the cup as well as how to sterilise it.

It’s been a few months now and I can safely say that it has been an investment worth making. I track my period using the ‘Flo’ app from the App Store and I don’t dread when I’m about to start. I simply have my cup handy and it’s never been so easy.

The first attempt was a bit of an experience. I wasn’t sure if it had done it right but I remained calm and managed it after a bit of fiddling. I found it very comfortable to wear. Since the first go, it’s been a breeze every time.

If you’re thinking about making this sustainable swap, I do recommend looking at what Saalt have to offer. They have multiple packages available and even have a ‘soft’ version for those who may find it uncomfortable. Have a browse and make sure you do your research to see if it’s a right fit for you.

SMUG Sleep Mask

Leave a comment

I am a huge fan of naps. I know not everyone can manage it, but I am big on the napping and try to get away with as many naps as possible.

I’ve seen adverts for SMUG pop up all over my social media accounts. Their main product is a 3D sleep mask which is advertised to protect those with eyelash extensions.

I don’t have eyelash extensions, but I do regularly get my lashes lifted so I’m hoping the contour will help protect that too and make them last longer.

When I saw that the mask was on sale at ASOS, I thought I’d buy it to see what it was like. If it arrived and I didn’t think it was suitable, I could always return it.

The mask arrived the following day and packaged as pictured above. I liked the look of the mask. The cute little eyelashes on the front amuse me and the bright pink is bright and distinctive.

The sleep mask has an elasticated but adjustable strap which is really good. Other sleep masks I’ve owned previously have only had elasticated straps which have stretched overtime and then don’t stay in position very well at all.

The contour of the mask is very deep. As I’m Asian, I have quite a flat face so I was concerned that it wouldn’t fit right but it was actually perfect.

I had a nap and used the sleep mask and it was great. It was the perfect shape for my face and blacked out all the light which is exactly as advertised. The depth of the eye mask even fit my flat face and my eyelashes were well protected underneath the sleep mask.

I paid £8 for the sleep mask on ASOS which I think is reasonable. There are a lot of perks to this sleep mask and it was very comfortable. I’m so glad that I can bin off my old sleep mask that no longer fits!

BeYou: Period Patches

1 Comment

WARNING: this blog post talks about lady bits and menstruation, so look away if you’re not prepared for the realities.

Since having my implant removed last month, all possible hormone change symptoms have come flooding my way all at once.

Irritability, discharge, headaches and what this post will focus on… cramps!

A few weeks ago, I had debilitating cramps and I could barely get off the sofa. I haven’t suffered from cramps since I was a teenager, and even as a teen, it wasn’t this bad!

I messaged my lovely friend Emily, and she told me to go get myself a hot water bottle and have a lie down. I had forgotten how soothing a hot water bottle could be and I was glad I messaged her complaining!

Shortly after, she sent me over a picture of BeYou‘s Period Patches which she recommended to me! She described them as ‘4Head for cramps’. If any of you have used 4Head before, you’d have been as impressed as I was… so I took the plunge and bought some.

The pack comes with 5 patch strips. I bought mine on Amazon but I believe you can also purchase them at Boots and on the BeYou website.

I finally got the use them for the first time this month, and they are genuinely life changing. My cramps sort of just appeared out of no where, and although not as a bad as last time, still uncomfortable and tiring. I applied a patch underneath my belly and it made so much difference.

It felt calming and I felt comfortable so quickly after application. The product claims to last 12 hours but to be honest, I wasn’t keeping time. By the time I took it off, my cramps had gone and I was back to normal.

These patches are perfect for use at home, at school or at work. I’ve been lucky enough so far to have only suffered from my cramps at home, but I suspect in the future I may be at work so I’ll make sure these patches aren’t far! What’s better is that they are vegan and cruelty-free (although waiting accreditation)!

Natracare: Plastic Free Periods

1 Comment

For those of you who don’t like too much information or discussing women’s sanitary needs, please stop reading now. Those of you who aren’t bothered and are completely interested, make sure you keep reading because it may change your life (a little dramatic but seriously!).

Prior to my veganism, I used Always sanitary pads and Tampax tampons. I like to use both products for different reasons. Since turning vegan and being more exposed to ‘kinder’ products, I decided to be more conscious about the products I was using inside my body.

I came across Natracare by chance when I was browsing in Brontosaurus in Swansea. I didn’t buy it then and there, but they were on my radar and I started following their Instagram account.

I’ve had the contraceptive implant in for around 8 years now, and during the majority of that time, I didn’t have any periods. Over the last few months, they’ve surprised me by returning! As it was a surprise, I had to use what I had at home which were the Always and Tampax products.

Did you guys know that most of these mainstream products contain plastics, other synthetic products and chemicals? Surely none of these should be put into your body for long periods of time?!

I decided to replace my existing products with Natracare products from a local health store in Cardiff, Beanfreaks. I then donated my old, unused products to a local women’s homeless shelter. I recently found out that Ripple Living on Albany Road have a basket in their shop where you can donate your sanitary products.

I picked up a few products which included:

  • Natracare Panty Liners
  • Natracare Applicator Tampons
  • Natracare Maxi Pads
  • Natracare Ultra Pads

I don’t even know where to begin with these. They are really life changing. There is a very noticeable difference in the effectiveness of the organic, chemical-free Natracare products compared to Always and Tampax. I personally found them to be far much more absorbent. But not only this, they were 100% more comfortable!

I wore a Natracare tampon all day and didn’t even notice it at all. The applicator was a bit fiddly compared to the Tampax Pearl, but with the benefit of not having any extra plastic, that minimal extra effort is worth it.

With the added benefit of not putting anything unfriendly into my body, switching to Natracare is a complete no-brainer. If you’re still unsure, visit their website to research and understand the business and their products.

Vegan Christmas Dinner 2019

2 Comments

So Christmas has been and gone, and my sister, @vgnnatalie, cooked another fabulous vegan Christmas dinner (with the exception of a bit of veggie and meat for my mum, dad and brother! – Still gotta keep the omnis happy).

The Family

To make our lives easier this year, we bought in some of our food instead of cooking it from scratch. For our centre pieces, we had the Waitrose Vegan Festive Wreath and their Vegan Root en Croute. I didn’t manage to take a picture of the root en croute, mainly because I didn’t think of blogging this until after I’d eaten it all!

Waitrose Festive Wreath

The Festive Wreath was made up of vegan sausage and stuffing in the middle. The Root en Croute was a pastry with roasted carrots, spinach and a creamy sauce.

The Waitrose food was freezable for up to a month so I chucked it in the freezer and defrosted it Christmas eve, ready for Christmas Day! What was even more fantastic was that both items cooked at the same temperature for 25 minutes which made it so much easier on the day.

Natalie cooked almost everything else from scratch, which included crispy roasted potatoes, cauliflower cheese (made with vegan Applewood cheese), vegan yorkshire puddings and, of course, all of the vegetables.

The only exception were the pigs in blankets which we bought from Morrisons and were thrown in the oven along with everything else.

Natalie did an incredible job on dinner, as she always does. My parents even enjoyed the vegan Waitrose centre pieces. They couldn’t believe the Festive Wreath wasn’t meat!

  • My brother’s omni dinner
  • My vegan dinner

After last year’s debacle with a very salty and not ideal seitan roast from Bun Fiction, I was nervous that our parents would be disappointed by another lack lustre vegan centre piece, but this was not the case. Waitrose have done a great job in catering for vegans and these were just right for us.

Maybe next year I’ll finally try making a mushroom wellington myself, but until then we’ll be resting and snacking on all our vegan chocolate we got for Christmas.

From all of us, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas and we hope you have a happy New Year!

Give the Gift of Sustainability

Leave a comment

Sustainability is very much in fashion at the moment, and I hope it’s not a phase. A lot of us have made small switches to reduce our waste and lessen our impact on the environment. The biggest change we should be making is moving to a plant based diet, but you can’t gift that!

With the approach to Christmas, many of you may have read some of my gift guide posts. On this post, I’m going to include a few swap and gift ideas that you can give this Christmas!

None of us are perfect, but we can all do our best to make swaps in our lives to help improve things.

Face Halo

I switched to the Face Halo last year and it is still one of my favourite purchases!

For those of you that don’t know, the Face Halo is a make up remover pad. You can visit the website for more details, but it’s so easy to use and has yet to fail at removing my make up! I don’t buy disposable make up wipes anymore as I have no need for them!

I bought a pack of 3 straight away and so far I’ve only used 2 of them, alternating when 1 goes in the wash.

They currently have limited edition cherry ones which look absolutely fabulous and would make an excellent Christmas gift!

Chilly’s Bottles

My brother bought a Chilly’s reusable bottle and it encouraged me to buy my own. There are other insulated bottles out there that are cheaper, however the quality doesn’t match Chilly’s.

I bought both a coffee cup and a water bottle and I love them both. The coffee cup keeps my hot drinks warm for a few hours and I’ve been really impressed with it. The durability of the bottles is amazing and I highly recommend them.

Vegetable Shopping Bags

This may sound like a weird one, but it’s made a big difference for us in our home!

When we pop to the supermarket to buy our fruit and veg, we try and avoid buying the pre-packaged items and pick up the individual fruit/veg that we need for that day/week.

We used to use the plastic bags that the supermarket provide you. We stopped doing that and were placing the bar code stickers directly onto our fruit and veg so we didn’t have to pick up a bag.

I found these bags on Amazon, that have been so handy. We keep them in our shopping bags and now we can keep our fruit and veg separate from the rest of our shopping.

They might not be the most exciting gift to give, but for anyone who is looking to make these swaps, it’ll make a great addition to their lives.

Ripple on Albany Road, Cardiff

On my final note, we walked along Albany Road back to the car from Luna’s Vegan Corner last week and finally popped into Ripple. They are currently working on an expansion project which I think is going to be really exciting.

I wasn’t fully prepared for this visit so didn’t have any containers with me, but everything is amazing. You can buy containers there, but there are also donated containers which you can pick up for free. The range of products is amazing from cleaning products, to tea, to granola and to pasta.

For those of you in Cardiff looking for zero waste shops, Ripple is where you need to be. I was so impressed and I’ll definitely be making another visit with all my containers soon!

Adopt, Don’t Shop

3 Comments

It’s approaching Christmas time, and we all know how popular pets are to be given as gifts. I don’t often do serious posts but I feel this topic is important to write about.

Animals are amazing, and I’m sure my vegan readers out there will be agreeing with me. Pets bring life into your home. They become one of you with their personalities being known to you and the love you have for one another. They become a member of the family.

I never had pets when I was growing up as I was never allowed them, but when Tom and I moved in together, we took in his childhood dog, Max, from the family home. Max was not adopted by his parents but was a cheap buy back in the day! He was a gorgeous long haired border collie with a speckled ear and one eye patch. We sadly lost him 2 years ago, and my heart was in pieces. I still miss him terribly to this day.

Dog breeding is becoming a serious problem in the world. They’re being so heavily bred that they are starting to have serious genetic health problems, all just so that designer breeds such as pugs and frenchies exist for people to buy.

Every Christmas, numerous dogs are left on the streets and abandoned due to families not being able to take care of them or their expectations not being met. For me, this is no different to abandoning a child. It is not acceptable to bring someone into your home, only to leave them when it doesn’t suit you anymore.

Some shelters will euthanise animals due to the unmanageable numbers they receive which is horrendous and unfair. An animals life is not the decision of others which is why I urge you to re-home an animal instead of buying.

Sami

Sami was adopted by Tom’s mum and dad a few years ago after they found her roaming around Greece looking for scraps. She was a stray dog with fleas and matted fur. They took her to the local dog home, Animal Rescue Kefalonia, but couldn’t bare to leave her so started the adoption process. Sami joined us back in the UK only a few short weeks after and has slotted into the family.

Sami has so much love for everyone and has such a gentle demeanour. She’s well behaved with the backyard chickens, and has even been known to pick up their eggs gently without cracking them! She’s cheeky but soft and loving and we all love her unconditionally.

Ned

Ned is a feral cat that Tom’s sister, Hannah, adopted from a local rehoming centre. Like all cats, he’s incredibly independent but has had no issues settling into the family home. He’s a cheeky cat who snuck into his first pack of Dreamies and ate the entire bag! He gets along well with their Alsatian, Shadow, and is now an integral part to their family.

  • Ned and Shadow

Even Lucy Watson, reality TV star from Made In Chelsea, has said previously that she regrets not rehoming her first 2 pets and has since re-homed a kitten.

Before you go out and search for pets, please strongly consider adopting and rehoming one. There are so many different homes and kennels where there are plenty of animals who require forever homes.

Here are just a few well known re-homing centres, but make sure you put in the research as there are plenty of them all over the UK!

Why I Became Vegan

2 Comments

So a more serious blog post this week… I’m going to share with you guys the reasons why I became vegan in the first place.

My vegan story isn’t your normal vegan story, but I’m sure many of you share a similar story.

I’ve been with my boyfriend, Tom, for nearly 6 years now and a year or so into our relationship, he started transitioning towards vegetarianism. This started with going pescatarian first (for those of you that don’t know, that’s eating only fish and no other meat) and the plan was to slowly move from that into veganism.

Before Tom went vegan, he was a big meat eater. He rejected salads, never tried houmous, and was a regular KFC customer. He abandoned his plan of slowly transitioning and went straight into veganism from pescatarianism. I remember when he told me, we were lying in bed and I cried. I told him it was an entire lifestyle change which he didn’t understand at the time but slowly realised.

My reaction was certainly over the top, but veganism wasn’t anywhere near as accessible as it is now. We went out for food a lot and I knew that eating out would become a struggle. Our supermarket shops took longer due to the research required into our ingredients lists, but we adjusted. We remained an omni household where I continued to eat meat. With Tom being the cook of the household, he cooked meat for me for a while until he said he didn’t want to anymore. From that moment, we became a primarily vegan household but I continued to eat meat outside of the home.

Tom had a knack for making people think. He didn’t do it on purpose, but he eventually got his entire family to transition to vegan. Even my sister went vegan before I did. In fact, we used to argue about the discussions we had and I asked him to stop speaking to me about veganism, which he did.

Documentaries started coming out such as What The Health and Cowspiracy. I still haven’t actually seen them, but the world started changing with the demand. More and more people were signing up to veganuary and with this demand, everything was becoming easier. Supermarkets and restaurants were offering more vegan options, veganism was finally becoming accessible!

I was sat on the sofa one day and turned to Tom and simply said, I’m going to go vegan. I wouldn’t say anything just switched, but I’d already made the majority of the way there with being vegan in the household. The only additional change at that point was to only eat vegan outside of the home which was really only at work.

With my clearer understanding of veganism, it just made the most sense. It may have taken me a few years to get there, but it was the best decision I’ve made. It’s not possible to argue with facts.

  • Veganism is better for the environment.
  • Veganism is better for your health.
  • Veganism is accessible.

For those of you who haven’t taken the plunge yet, or are planning to, make sure you educate yourself. I was fortunate to have Tom to help me and educate me, but it is an important life decision. You need to eat the right things to remain healthy and your journey will be eye opening.

Don’t worry about what people have to say either. This is your decision, not theirs! For those of you still with omni other halves, play the long game. They’ll get there through exposure, not pushing.

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and I hope it helps you.

I’m far from an expert on veganism, but if you have any questions or would like to know more about my experience, leave a comment!