Tag: cruelty free beauty

Kat Von D ‘XO Vinyl’ Lip Cream

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It’s been a long time since I’ve used a lip gloss. I don’t generally get along with them as I find them sticky and heavy.

As always… along came Kat Von D Beauty and their brand new products… The ‘XO Vinyl’ lip cream. It was announced before Christmas and came to the UK in the new year. Of course, I treated myself to some new make up… because I have no restraint!

  • Carnation
  • Packaging

I bought 2 in colours Carnation and Lolita. Both are more neutral ‘nude’ shades, with Carnation a little on the pinker side than Lolita.

The packaging is beautiful. It has the classic Kat Von D gothic lettering which makes it stand out on your dressing table, as well as showing off the gorgeous colour.

I am not going to deny that I am a huge Kat Von D Beauty fan, but I’m not exaggerating when I say I love this new product. I’m pictured above with the XO Vinyl Lip Cream in Carnation on, and it’s such a flattering shade of pink. I can imagine it looks great on different skin tones.

It has the perfect amount of shine to it and doesn’t have that horrible, thick, sticky feeling that I know a lot of lip glosses have. It dries quickly and feels incredibly lightweight.

I found that the staying power was much better than most lip glosses but didn’t have the same staying power as the Everlasting Lipstick which I was expecting.

As a summary, I would absolutely recommend the XO Vinyl Lip Cream. It comes in 6 different shades and the quality of the lip gloss is amazing. As I mentioned above, it’s lightweight and the colour is flattering. I wore it all night, have a few drinks and some buffet food and it was still on by the end of the night.

If you can go check it out for yourself before buying, you definitely should! It will take no convincing from me as the product will speak for itself.

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The Cruelty Free Beauty Box Deluxe [December 2019]

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As we’re aware, the lead up to Christmas is super busy and deliveries take longer than expected. I almost entirely forgot about my Cruelty Free Beauty Box delivery so it was a nice surprise!

This months deluxe box was FULL of goodies, including a few Christmas extras!

The contents of this months Deluxe box contains:

  • Bowe Organic – Lip Rescue Balm (RRP £11)
  • Balade En Provence – Hand Cream (RRP £8.95)
  • All Earth Mineral Cosmetics – Finishing Powder Eco Pot (RRP £14)
  • Sknfed – Cleansing & Exfoliating Cubes (RRP £14.50)
  • Tisserand – Sleep Better Pillow Mist (RRP £9.45)
  • Delhicious – Original Black Tea Body Scrub (RRP £7.95)
  • Christmas White Chocolate Soy Wax Melt (RRP £1.50)
  • Matcha Green Coffee Sparkling Water (RRP £1.75)
  • Vegan Chocolatier – Christmas Cracker (RRP £3.25)
  • Spacemasks (RRP £3.50)
  • Freedom Mallows – Mallow Bites (RRP £3)
  • House Of Wonderland – Snowflake Earrings (RRP £7.95)

The total value of the box tots up to £86.70 and everything looks and smells fabulous! It only arrived yesterday so I have yet to try everything but here are my comments so far…

  • Sknfed Exfoliating Cubes
  • Tisserand Pillow mist

The Sknfed exfoliating cubes smells absolutely incredible. I’m not sure if it’s a coffee smell but they smell amazing and I’m really excited to use them.

The Tisserand Pillow Mist is life changing. I actually bought one in September for Tom for his birthday so it’s nice that I have my own one. I’ve probably used Tom’s one more than him! Again, this mist smells lovely and full of lavender and I really do have a good sleep when I use it. I usually give a spritz across the pillow and let myself fall into a deep slumber.

  • Balade En Provence Hand Cream
  • Freedom Mallows Mallow Bites

The Balade En Provence hand cream is really absorbent and smells fresh. I’m planning on taking it to work and keeping it on my desk so I can have a good moisturiser to use there! I have enough at home so it makes sense to keep one in the office.

This is the first time I’ve tried Freedom Mallows before, even though I’ve seen them around before but never bought them. They are delicious!! It’s been a while since I’ve had marshmallows but these have a very similar texture and the flavour is great. If you spot these when you’re out and about, grab a bag! As a gift for someone else or even for yourself, these are great.

The only item I sadly won’t be able to show off is the House of Wonderland earrings as I don’t have my ears pierced. I have debated getting my ears pierced for a while now so whether I will do so to make sure of them or not is a decision I need to make. Otherwise I will gift them to someone as they are really cute and a gorgeous rose gold!

Again, The Cruelty Free Beauty Box have not disappointed with their deluxe box. I am always looking forward to receiving my box and the contents has never disappointed. Seriously, look them up if you haven’t already!

This will be my last post before Christmas, and although Wednesday is my usual blogging day, it falls on Christmas Day so normal business will resume on the Sunday, 29th December!

Sand & Sky Porefining Face Mask

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You may have heard of cult skincare brand, Sand & Sky. I’ve seen many Facebook/Insta ads and many influencers have jumped on the bandwagon.

In the Black Friday/Cyber Monday sales, Sand & Sky were offering 20% meaning that the Porefining Face Mask was only £33.52.

After a quick search on their FAQ, I was able to find that the Porefining Face Mask was vegan and did not contain any animal products or animal by-products. The brush applicator is also synthetic and not made of animal hair. Click here for the FAQ details.

My order was dispatched and arrived within a few days!

Branding and packaging were very appealing! The applicator brush is so cute and so useful. It made it so much easier to apply on my skin. The mask did tingle as I applied it but it stopped very shortly after. I looked online and apparently this is normal…

I managed to rope Tom into trying the mask with me too!

After 10 minutes, the mask was mostly dry with a few patches of thicker not quite dry yet. I went upstairs to wash off the mask with warm water. My skin felt so clean afterwards, it did however feel very dry and tight.

Tom has a very different skin type to me and the reaction to the mask wasn’t as good as mine. His skin got much tighter and drier than mine and it didn’t help that he didn’t moisturise.

I followed the mask with my facial oils to help hydrate my skin and it made all the difference. You can read about the oils I’m using in my blog post last week here. I do feel like my pores have been reduced and my skin is just much cleaner in general.

It’s recommended that for oily skin, you should use the mask 2 – 3 times a week. I’ll try to do this to see how much of an improvement it’ll make.

Based on this first try of the mask, I do like it, however I’m not sure if I would buy it again. It’s quite a high price point for such a small pot and unless it suddenly does wonders for my skin, I’ll probably stick to Natura sheet masks!

Fenty Beauty Matte Match Stix

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I’ve written about Fenty Beauty Pro Filt’r Matte Foundation before which is now my go-to foundation and I highly recommend it! Blog post can be found here.

I convinced my friend Leah to treat herself to the foundation as she’d finished her non-cruelty-free foundation. While she was there, she also treated herself to the Match Stix Trio.

The intrigue got to me so I had a look. To emphasise here, don’t fall into the trap of buying the trio! On the FAQ, it states that only the matte match stix are vegan, not the shimmer stix.

What’s great about the match stix trio is that it provides you with an idea of your colouring based on your foundation colour. Mine is 230 so I sit within the medium colour range. So I bought the 2 matte match stix within that trio which were Bamboo and Mocha.

Each stick is a magnet so they stick to each other which is an interesting feature and likely to be beneficial if you have a lot of them.

As you can see one of them is a concealer and the other is a contour. Both are cream and incredibly easy to use! The product itself it’s very easily blendable with a brush or your finger and it creates the exact look and contour that I want. I’m far from a contouring expert but this makes it much easier. And for those of you who like a stronger contour look, this can be applied as heavily or lightly as you want!

At £21 each, they’re not the cheapest product on the market, but I’ve yet to find any contour set that comes close to matching in quality and perfect tone matching.

I’m incredibly happy with my purchase and they work great for me. I’ve read some reviews that they’re not great on dry skin so it may be worth doing some research and popping to your local boots to see if you can sample it but I love them!

Function of Beauty

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I’d finally reach the end of my Maria Nila shampoo and conditioner bottles so it was time to re-evaluate my hair care.

My friend Emily recommended Function of Beauty to me. I’d seen adverts on Facebook before and found the whole thing very intriguing so I took the plunge and ordered some.

Ordering Process

The whole process was very easy. You take the hair quiz by selecting your hair type, the things that you care most or want to achieve from your hair, i.e. ‘Hair Goals’ and I chose the following:

  • Fix split ends
  • Colour protection
  • Oil control
  • Soothe scalp
  • Anti-frizz

You then also choose the colour and fragrance you want your product to be which was really cool. I went for peach and orange and yellow. When you’ve finally finished and signed up, you can submit your order and there are various options with size and subscriptions! I went for the largest one based on all the positive reviews I’d heard.

You can subscribe 3 monthly, 6 monthly and yearly. If you’re not willing to commit quite yet, there is an option to buy it as a one-off which gives you the opportunity to try it first. I decided to opt for a 6-monthly subscription which meant free delivery and a small discount for my first order. I think that was a Summer offer.

I submitted my order and I was given an ETA of 2nd September. You can pay to have it sooner but I didn’t mind waiting.

They give you plenty of updates through the process and let you know when your hair products are being developed and then when they’re dispatched also.

The Finished Product

My shampoo and conditioner arrived earlier than I expected. It arrived via Yodel on the 28th August which was almost a week earlier than stated.

It arrived beautifully packaged in recycled cardboard. My one gripe was that this was also covered in plastic wrap which I felt wasn’t really necessary.

My orange and yellow peach smelling shampoo and conditioner came with pumps and smelt amazing. I could smell them as soon as I opened the box. It also came with a little card to remind me what I selected on ordering and lots of stickers!

I used my new Function of Beauty products the following day and was very impressed. The shampoo lathered really well and smelt incredible. It’s left my hair is feeling luscious and always smelling amazing. I think I’ve definitely seen an improvement in my hair with less frizz and my scalp is less dry and itchy. I’m not sure on any oil control yet though but I’ve only been using it for a week!

Function of Beauty is cruelty-free and vegan, as well as producing paraben and sulphate free hair care. Here‘s a little blog post they’ve written about why they are vegan and cruelty free.

So far, I’m loving my new shampoo and conditioner and I would absolute recommend them to everyone. It is quite expensive but the customisability is a big selling point and as I mentioned above, I am definitely seeing improvements already!

My Top Vegan Skincare Picks

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Our skin is the largest organ of our bodies so it’s important to take good care of it.

My skin is generally quite good. I’m not particularly acne prone, but I do have an incredibly oily T-zone. My skin tone is quite patchy and red so does need to be evened out.

Skin is unique to everyone as we all have different skin types and quirks. These are products that I use and love, but they might not necessarily be great for you. But always continue the hunt for the perfect skincare!

Lush Jade Roller Naked Cleansing Balm

‘Naked’ products are all the rage these days. They give you your favourite products without the unnecessary packaging! The Jade Roller cleansing balm is exactly that.

I bought this product in May and have been using it for the last few weeks and it is absolutely lovely. I only bought a mini version, but more recently they’ve released a larger version which I will definitely be purchasing in future.

The product smells amazing and is so easy to use. It’s quite melty so as soon as you start rubbing it over your face, it melts across the skin. I think massage it into my face, focusing on hard to clean areas like my eye make up. The cleansing balm lifts it all up with ease and I wash off with a Face Halo. My skin is always left feeling refreshed and soft.

Figs & Rouge Hydra-Pore Soft Focus Veil

In a previous blog post, which you can find here, I wrote about a one-off beauty box I bought from Cohorted. This box contained only items by Figs & Rouge which are a vegan, cruelty-free company. I actually love everything that I was given, but the Hydra-Pore Soft Focus Veil was my favourite.

I’ve essentially been using it as a primer underneath my make up. It does say to use it after cleansing and moisturising, but I kind of use it as a moisturiser.

My pores gets covered well every time and any foundation I use sits so beautifully on it. This includes both powder and liquid foundations. It’s not cakey and it’s not too thick. I much prefer it to silicone based primers, and it still feels soft and smooth on the skin.

Natura Sheet Masks

The first of these sheet masks that I had received was in The Cruelty Free Beauty Box before they revamped their options and I finally got round to using it in June. You can read my review of this on this post here.

Because I loved it so much, I ordered another one and it was just as good. Sheet masks aren’t for everyone but I love them. The Natura ones are great, easy to use and smell amazing.

The Rose Infused Sheet mask was absolutely lovely. The smell wasn’t too much and my skin felt amazing afterwards. I think I’ll try and make my way round the entire range, but each one has different skin benefits so make sure you read up.

LUE by Jean Seo: Clear

This one is coming to the end of it’s life so I’m going to have to buy a new one, but for the occasions where I can feel spots coming through (and even when they’re right there!), this skin treatment is amazing.

I apply it directly to the area affected, usually my chin, and it helps dry out the spot and reduce redness. It’s an absolute life saver! I fully recommend buying this one. I think it’s worth every penny.

Self Care Sundays: Issue 3

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Another Sunday, and another day to treat myself to a little pamper afternoon with a relaxing bath and a book!

I was a little bit rubbish this time and only used 1 new product! The face mask I used was the cupcake mask that I used previously which you can read about here.

Lush Bath Bomb: Love Boat

No bath is ever fully complete without a bath bomb or a bubble bar. A few months ago, I popped to Lush and treated myself to the Love Boat bath bomb. In fact, it was a Valentine’s day special…! That’s how long I’ve had it in my secret bath bomb stash.

The bath bomb floated surprisingly well and produced beautiful colours. The smell was fine and it wasn’t too glittery. It was a nice treat and produced quite a few bubbles for a bath bomb!

Lush produce such a varied range of products which include lots of vegan options. Please be careful as not everything is vegan so keep an eye out on the labels to make sure you pick up the vegan products!

Not everything will be to your taste, but there’s so many options that you’re bound to find something you love. I always go to Lush when I’m looking for options and a nice treat.

The Cruelty Free Beauty Box Deluxe [August 2019]

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The second edition of The Cruelty Free Beauty Box Deluxe has arrived and it is, again, another delight! You can read about the first edition in my previous post, here.

I’ve been waiting for my box as soon as the shipping e-mail was sent. It arrived last Friday and I couldn’t wait to open it.

Before the shipping, I ordered myself a Natura sheet mask as I loved the one I received in one of my previous boxes (read about it in this post). One great thing that The Cruelty Free Beauty Box offers is that you can order items on their website to be shipped with your beauty box. This saves on shipping costs and means more treats!

Under all the beautiful and protective, recyclable shredded paper was my sheet mask, so I was glad it made it into my box successfully. Then came the seed paper product lists. I was too excited to read through them so kept digging for the products. I came across all the beauty products first which included a facial bar, a skin scrub, a balm and a gel eyeliner.

Then I thought… wait, where are my lifestyle products?! What I hadn’t realised was that I hadn’t dug far enough into my box… My lifestyle treats included some sweets, a compact mirror and my favourite item… a tote bag with the infamous words…

Don’t worry. You’re just as sane as I am.

Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)

For readers of my blog, I went to the Warner Bros Studio Tours the week before this box landed on my doorstep so it felt like fate for this tote bag to be bestowed upon me! Especially when it was a quote from my fellow Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood.

So the breakdown of this box:

The total worth of the box is £102.75, so for £39.95 it’s an absolute bargain. Everything is full size which is great, especially for the things that I like!

As much as samples are great for trying things, it’s a pain if I love it and I run out. Also, if there’s something I’m not a fan of, I can give it to someone else who may benefit more out of it and I won’t feel silly giving them a small sample size.

I have yet to use everything in my box, but the House of Wonderland Alice in Wonderland compact mirror is now a staple in my handbag, alongside the Luna Lovegood tote bag.

I have yet to be disappointed by The Cruelty Free Beauty Box so I recommend giving them a try. Don’t forget that the lifestyle box isn’t the only box available. There are smaller and cheaper boxes available with different items which you can find here.

Spectrum Collections: Cardiff Sample Sale [27/28th July]

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This is an urgent blog post that must go up right now so that you guys don’t miss out on the biggest savings possible!

Spectrum Collections are having a sample sale this weekend in the Tramshed in Cardiff.

My friend, Emily, and I went this afternoon and we were in our element. We thought we’d pop by just to have a look at what was around but we weren’t expecting to buy much…

We walked into the Tramshed and were greeted by staff and told that all the products were behind the curtain pictured above. There was also a coffee bar on the right hand side in case you wanted to buy a coffee to browse with! (FYI, there was both cow milk and oat milk for the omnis and vegans out there).

We carried on through to the main part of the room and there were tables and tables lined with boxes of brushes and bags!

We made the tactical decision to look at everything first and make a list of the things that we wanted. I’m not going to lie, it was so difficult. With everything at such bargain prices, it was a challenge to filter!

There were so many options, ranging from small brush sets, 10 piece brush sets, make up bags/rolls, limited edition Disney X Spectrum collection items as well as individual brushes at £1 each! The most expensive set there was at £20 for the Disney roll bag set.

I wrote a post about Spectrum brushes that I bought a few months ago. I didn’t need any new brushes at all, but at the price they were, I really couldn’t say no. I bought some for my mum and sisters as well!

The sets were lovely and perfect to buy as gifts if you don’t even need them for yourself. And lets not forget, the products are all cruelty-free and vegan which is a massive bonus!

If you have some time, the sample sale continues tomorrow (Sunday, 28th July 2019) at the Tramshed in Cardiff from 11am – 5pm!

Spectrum Collection Brushes

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I treated myself to a set of brand new Spectrum Collection brushes in May in their 50% bank holiday sale. Spectrum are well known for their bright, colourful, cruelty-free, vegan brushes. I couldn’t help myself when I saw that they were having a 50% off sale, so here I am, telling you about my glorious purchase.

At Christmas time, Tom bought me a set of brushes which were lovely so I knew they were high quality so I was happy to take the plunge. I bought a set to match my existing set, and only 1 brush overlapped!

  • 50% 12 piece set
  • Christmas gift from Tom

I took the plunge and bought myself the White Marbleous 12 Piece Set. It has a wide range of face and eye brushes for application, buffing and contour.

  • A00 – Luxe Powder 
  • C07 – Luxe Tapered Sculptor 
  • A02 – Angled Foundation
  • C02 – Flat Top Contour
  • A05 – Precision Blush
  • B05 – Luxe Blender 
  • B06 – Tall Tapered Blender
  • A07 – Stubby Shader
  • A12 – Fluffy Pencil
  • A13 – Short Smudge
  • A14 – Brow Definer
  • A15 – Lip Definer

I believe the prefix A, B and C for the brushes stand for Application, Buffing and Contour. I’m sure they have a range of D brushes also which I can only guess is for Definition. Either way, I just use whichever brush is clean and does the job!

The brushes are made of synthetic materials and they’re super soft. Whenever I use them to apply, product is always applied evenly and smoothly. And plus, because the brushes are white, it does make them a lot easier to clean!

And on the topic of brush cleaning…

I also purchased their Mini Vegan Brush Soap. Incredibly easy to use. You simply wet the brush and wipe it over the soap. I then clean as always using one of the make up pads with the bumps I bought on eBay and my brushes smell lovely and are clean for re-use!

Spectrum brushes are quite expensive but they are worth every penny. The quality is fantastic and they look great on the dressing table. And more importantly, they are a vegan and cruelty-free brand!