Self Care Sundays: Issue 12

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We all know how much I love a pamper every now and then and with the sun out for the past few weeks with a few patches of rain here and there, I made sure I did the works!

After epilating my leg, lasering my moustache and doing my nails, I used the Natura sheet mask that I bought as part of my build your own box from The Cruelty Free Beauty Box. You can find a run through of the box on this blog post.

I’ve used so many Natura sheet masks in the past and they are never disappointing. They feel like a real treat and my skin always feels fantastic afterwards.

The sheets themselves are made from biodegradable bamboo so can be put in your compost bin! (I would check that your local authority can process this before doing so though).

  • During
  • After

As always, I forgot to take a before phone, so I thought I’d include the terrifying during photo. The after photo shows my lovely bright face after the mask.

I will forever recommend Natura sheet masks. They come in so many different infusions for different skin types and their benefits so make sure you have a good read before choosing the one that’s right for you.

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Pure Nails: Halo Gel Polish

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I absolutely love doing my nails. I like to be able to look down and see colour at the end of my finger tips instead of plain nails. It’s the little joys in the life…!

I’ve been doing them with gel polish for a while now and it can be quite difficult to find vegan gel polish. My go-to website for good quality nail polish is Nail Polish Direct. I popped on the website the other day and there was a whole section on vegan polish.

I spotted a brand I hadn’t seen before which was Pure Nails. The polish is reasonably priced and comes in so many different colours. You can find the vegan declaration on their site here that says they do not test on animals or use any animal by-products.

I bought 3 nail polishes which included a matte top coat, a reactive colour changing polish called Denim Pink and a multi glitter called Pandora.

When I did my nails last weekend, I chose Pandora. I’m like a magpie when it comes to shiny things and Pandora was the perfect shade!! It’s a glitter polish made up of pink, purple and copper and when caught in different lights, looks like an entirely different colour each time. I’m obsessed.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with gel nails, they have much more staying power than normal polish and all you’d need is an LED lamp which you can probably get on eBay. I do my nails around every 2 weeks now and I only choose to do them because of the nail growth!

I’ve only just painted these nails so I’m not sure what the staying power of this specific polish is yet but the colour is amazing and I had no other issues with it.

They’re definitely worth a look!

Naturally Kind Food [2]

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I wrote about Naturally Kind Food a few weeks ago after winning their cakes and I have seen their cake boxes with no-contact delivery plastered all over my social media, so I thought I’d treat myself.

I contacted NKF on Facebook to arrange a delivery date and payment. You are confined to the delivery dates available as they are running everything themselves from the baking of the cakes right through to the delivery service!

The box is £20 and filled with SO many goodies from different flavoured cakes, brownies, bars and tarts. And so instagrammable!

Tom and I have made our way through everything now and it was honestly so delicious. My personal favourites include:

  • Lotus Brownie
  • Chocolate Hazelnut Cake Slice

I mean, it was all amazing to be honest with you but those 2 were particularly highlights.

There are so many treats in the box and it comes with a note which includes everything that is contained in the box and their ingredients. Not every box will be the same as it can change depending on what they bake but I can guarantee you that each one will be absolutely delicious.

We’ve even been lucky enough to receive a second box from Tom’s mum and dad as a treat! What I did spot was that some of the cakes were different so I’m really looking forward to trying those out.

I truly recommend taking a look at Naturally Kind Food if you’re in the South Wales area. The treats are absolutely delicious and it really brightens up my day. And for £20, who could possibly say no?!

Make sure you follow them on Facebook and Instagram too to get updates on any delivery areas and dates!

Umberto Giannini Flowerology Colour

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Not being able to leave the house had my roots in absolute chaos. I’d seen adverts on social media for Umberto Giannini’s Flowerology Colour range which is vegan and cruelty free. They have an equivalent Colour Care range too but I haven’t tried that.

Anyway… moving onto the product! I ordered 4 boxes of Dark Brown 3.0 as this was the darkest option available and the multi-buy was on offer. There are quite a few colour options available ranging from blonde and dark brown so make sure you take a look at the options!

My hair colour is very dark naturally so I needed it. My hair has been a shade of red for many years now so going dark was a bit of a change but I already feel so much better about my hair.

It is recommended that you do a patch test 48 hours before to ensure you don’t react to the product so make sure you do that! Application itself is just like any other box dye available on the shelves of supermarkets and beauty shops. my hair is quite long but 1 box was just about enough. After seeing the finished dye, I probably could have done with a little more product…! After leaving the dye on for 30 minutes, wash off and voila!

You can see the before and after results in the images above. I’m much happier with the darker hair and the results were decent for a box dye! The colour was exactly as I expected and it covered up my previous dye well. It’s a little patchy in places but that’s definitely a reflection of my self dying capabilities.

I think another round of colouring will sort out the patches so I’ll give it a few weeks to settle down before dying it again but I’m really pleased with the end result.

It’s quite difficult to find a vegan hair dye but Umberto Giannini are certified cruelty free and vegan meaning that their products do not contain any animal products nor are they tested on animals.

I would definitely check them out to see what they have to offer, and as I said, there are loads of other hair care products available to browse and shop so I would have a look. Based on their hair dye, you’re onto a winner!

The Cruelty Free Beauty Box: Build Your Own Box

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Due to the unexpected COVID19, the CFBB were unable to send out the April boxes. But worry not my friends, when normal business resumes, subscriptions will continue as normal! In the mean time, in order to get my beauty fix, I ordered a Build Your Own Box (plus some extras…!)

The build your own beauty box allows you to select items from a given list for £24.95. The list contains various beauty items and snacks. In total, you’ll be allowed to select 5 items so I chose:

  • 2 packs of Soffle’s Pitta Chips
  • Delhicious Body Scrub
  • Lue by Jean Seo Spot Control
  • Natura Multigrain Infused Sheet Mask

I added an extra pack of Soffle’s Pitta Chips because desperate times call for more snacks, and the tin of Ananda’s limited edition Easter wagon wheels which are always delicious.

I’ve used both the Delhicious Body Scrub and the Lue Spot Control before and I absolutely recommend and rate both products! You can read my blog post about the body scrub here and Lue Spot Control serum here.

Although these products aren’t new for me, it was money well spent as I know I will use them and I know how good they already are. If you’re looking for your fix, hit up The Cruelty Free Beauty Box website to have a browse.

Stay safe out there!

OMG IT’S VEGAN

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I’m sure we’re all very familiar with Facebook and Instagram ads, but I came across an interesting one a few weeks ago for vegan sweets! As we’re in lockdown, I thought I would treat myself to my favourite fizzy sweets so thank goodness for OMG IT’S VEGAN.

I highly recommend a visit to their website to see their full range of sweets which is spectacular with so many different sweets in so many different sizes on offer.

I am a huge fan of fizzy sweets in particular so I treated myself to a 1kg bag of mixed fizzy sweets, a jar of apple sour belts and a jar of strawberry fizzy pencils.

The jars are so lovely. They’re a good size and currently on my home office desk for me to snack on during conference calls! I’ve barely made a dent in them so far.

The kilo bag of mixed sweets is incredible and I am so happy with the mix in them. They make for a great insta photo too.

My only criticism, of myself, is that I should have ordered the bigger bag!! There’s still plenty in the bag but I’m dreading how upset I’ll be when the bag runs out.

The service was great from start to finish. I got updated when my order was dispatched and very shortly after, it arrived! Regardless of this, with COVID19 still amongst us, we have to remember to be more understanding with our delivery services as they are doing their best.

Anyway, I’m so pleased with my OMG IT’S VEGAN order and I heartily recommend that you visit their website for some delicious treats.

Self Care Sundays: Issue 11

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Now, more than ever, it is so important to look after your mind and your body. A lot of us are on lockdown or isolation due to COVID19 so self-care is key to ensure this disruption to your life will limit the disruption to your mind.

For me, self-care is having a nice prolonged bath with a face mask and a hair mask, but this isn’t the same for everyone.

Try reading a book or cosying up with a video game. Whatever helps you relax and take your mind off things, even momentarily!

This week’s issue is another lovely Lush bath bomb, Peachy.

Peachy Lush Bath Bomb

So this might actually be one of my favourite ever bath bombs by Lush. Peachy has an amazing smell and produces a gorgeous colour in the bath.

It produced a lot more bubbles than a normal bath bomb as well which I found surprising but I thoroughly enjoyed my bath regardless

As you can see from the pictures above, the bath bomb melts away beautifully with it’s gorgeous peach, coral and green colours and the bubbles were a nice little bonus.

I highly recommend Peachy. It’s a seasonal Lush product but it’s definitely worth buying!

The Ivy in Cardiff City Centre

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The girls in work and I have very recently made it a tradition to go for a long lunch whenever we have a birthday celebration. Last month was of course my birthday (as if I haven’t mentioned it in every blog post!) and the girls treated me to a lunch at The Ivy in Cardiff.

The table was booked and some of you may know that The Ivy is renowned for being a bit more upmarket than your usual places so we dressed a little less casual than we normally would for work.

We were greeted at the door by the host who offered to check in our coats and then took us to our table. The restaurant is beautifully decorated with gorgeous wall papers and lots of plants. A quick note while we’re on decor, pop to the toilets upstairs. It is absolutely gorgeous up there and the ceiling is covered in flowers. It’s perfect for Instagramming!

We ordered cocktails while we perused the menu.

The cocktails were great. They did your usual classic cocktails like a Singapore Sling as well as signature cocktails which are a bit more interesting.

Shortly after, we ordered food. There isn’t much on the menu for vegans, but there are a few options which is better than nothing. I ordered the Keralan Curry which came with rice. I also ordered a side of thick cut chips, mostly because I just wanted to try them, and also it’s the classic Welsh staple.

I was delightfully surprised by the curry. It was delicious and full of so much flavour. It was filled with fresh vegetables including sweet potato and tenderstem broccoli. It was actually an excellent vegan option and I was not disappointed!

We didn’t get any dessert, but again, there wasn’t much in the way of vegan options for desserts. Sorbet and a plate of fruit… Not the most inspiring!

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. I really enjoyed my curry and the service was fantastic. I was lucky enough to have the girls treat me as a birthday gift, but the menu is a bit pricey. It’s a great location for a nice meal and an excuse to dress up a bit!

The Cosy Club in Cardiff City Centre

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It’s taken me a while to write this post as it appears that birthday gifts and events make great blogging content!

Last month, Tom treated me for breakfast on my birthday before he headed to work. We went to The Cosy Club in Cardiff City Centre. I’ve been to The Cosy Club before and they have a decent vegan menu.

The service is always good and on this occasion it was no different. We were greeted by the host that morning, she asked us if we needed any allergen menus and she kindly gave us the vegan menu and took us to our table.

After a few moments, our waitress came over and asked us if we’d like to order drinks. Tom ordered a soy vanilla latte and I ordered breakfast tea with a side of soy milk. As we were ready with our food order too, she took our order.

Tom ordered crumpets with plain vegan spread. The option on the menu came with cinnamon vegan spread which sounds unusual and Tom wasn’t a fan but they were more than accommodating. I ordered the vegan breakfast with the addition of avocado and scrambled tofu.

Breakfast was great. The scrambled tofu was a great addition. It was full of flavour and wasn’t a standard scrambled tofu you can often find at restaurants these days. The falafel was great and I loved how crispy it was. And as a lover of carbs, the potato rosti was a great equivalent for hash browns.

Tom enjoyed his crumpets and coffee. He’s not a big breakfast eat so he always makes me look greedy when we go out for breakfast which I’m totally ok with.

The Cosy Club is a good chain for vegans. There’s a good range of options and they are tasty. The service is great and every time I’ve been there, the staff are friendly and helpful. The location is great for those who are shopping in the city centre so I recommend a visit if you’re looking for a convenient breakfast spot.

Bad Brownie

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My amazing best friend, Alicia, moved to Mexico last year, but she most certainly didn’t forget my birthday!

The day before my birthday, I received an unexpected package which was addressed to her. I messaged her and she, of course, told me it was my birthday gift. I waited till my actual birthday to open it and it was very exciting.

She had treated me to an incredible box of delicious vegan and gluten free brownies from Bad Brownie.

The box was filled with a tray of brownies in different colours and flavours. I love a good snack so I was ecstatic. I couldn’t wait to try them and Tom was eyeing them up too. He was lucky there was plenty to go around!

There were so many to choose from, it was difficult to know where to even begin. Fortunately, it came with a card that listed all the flavours with pictures!

The first flavour that stood out to me was Peanut Butter & Jelly so that was the first one I tried. To be completely honest with you, I was a little disappointed. I thought it was lacking in the key peanut butter and jam flavours. The brownie itself was nice but the flavours weren’t there.

The next one I went for was Cookie Dough. Again, I was a little disappointed with this one. I don’t know whether the descriptions had hyped me up a little and set my expectations higher, but the cookie dough flavour was really plain.

The saviours of the box however were Salted Caramel and Passionfruit & Coconut which were the 2 I thought I’d enjoy the least.

I alway find Salted Caramel to be a gimmick but the Salted Caramel brownie was really lovely. It wasn’t too rich and it had all the flavours I was actually expecting which is more than I can say for other Salted Caramel treats.

My absolute favourite was the Passionfruit & Coconut. I do love a good fruity flavour and I love passionfruit and coconut so this was great. The part I didn’t think I’d like was the jellied top (similar to that of a Jaffa Cake), but I actually really loved it. It’s so different and makes it so much more interesting.

I’m 50/50 on this box. They weren’t the best brownies that I’ve ever had, but they weren’t bad either. Some flavours were disappointing but the good ones really did make up for it. Overall, a balanced gift which I’m still very grateful for!