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Month: November 2017

The Beauty Crop Makeup Review

Beauty, General, Makeup, Reviews

The Beauty Crop Makeup Review

Lately, I’ve been focussing more on skincare than I have makeup – it’s been a while since I’ve reviewed some cruelty-free and vegan makeup. Since it’s Black Friday today, I thought I should share a review on some amazing products that I’ve been trying out lately from The Beauty Crop (and news of their Black Friday deals).

A little about The Beauty Crop…

The Beauty Crop are a brand that are inspired by healthy living and create products enhanced with nutrition derived from natural ingredients. The Beauty Crop makeup products are 100% cruelty-free, free of parabens, gluten and phthalates. Most of their makeup are vegan with the exception of the PBJ Smoothie Stick and Glamazon Stick (as they contain beeswax) – the brand is currently working at reformulating these to be vegan so it’s best to keep an eye out for any updates!

Reviews

Blush Duo

I’ve got the Blush Duo in the ‘Fig It’ berry shades (I love that name), it’s worth £8.00 and it’s vegan! The powder and cream blush duo is fragrance and mineral oil-free, nourished with kale, aronia berry, pomegranate and papaya to give you a healthy tropical glow. Generally, I’m not someone that uses a cream blush as I find it to be a little intense, but it did blend in quite smoothly over my foundation and was fairly easy to use. I feel that the powder blush worked well for me in terms of being able to build up the blush on my face for a soft look.

#GRLPOWR Liquid Lipstick

The #GRLPWR Liquid Lipstick that I have here is in the shade ‘Rum & Raisin’, costs £11.00 and is also vegan. The liquid lipstick formula is enriched with Shea Butter and Vitamin E with a comfortable wear for hours, that doesn’t cake, flake or dry out – empowering you to take on the day! This liquid lipstick is amazing – it blends in easily with my lip liner, does not make my lips dry (which is usually the downfall of most liquid lipsticks) and stays on for most of the day. The ‘Rum & Raisin’ is a lovely dusty rose shade, on me (it can look different depending on your skin tone), the shea butter definitely helps keep the liquid lipstick smooth.

Lighting Crew Highlighting Cream

The Lighting Crew Higlighting Cream is £9.00 and is vegan. The highlighting cream is made with Vitamin C and antioxidants derived from Pineapple and Green Tea adding a healthy, luminous glow. This is the first time that I’ve used a highlighting cream (I have a tendency of being a little clumsy) and I’ve absolutely loved using it. The cream is quite versatile; I’ve applied it to my eyelids, inner corner of my eyes and my cheekbones plus the fruity smell was lovely.

PBJ Smoothie Stick Lip Crayon

The PBJ Smoothie Stick lip crayon is costs £11.00 and I have it in the shade ‘Guava Nice Day’. Although it’s not vegan, the lip crayon is quite creamy, the consistency reminds me a little of lip balm. The lip crayon contains Almond Butter & Goji Berry which are rich in Vitamin E, antioxidants and beta-carotene to moisturise and protect the lips while providing a smooth, even application.

Overall, I found that The Beauty Crop makeup were all highly pigmented, affordable and the perfect size to use on the go, I love how fun and quirky the brand is. I would like to thank The Beauty Crop PR team for sending me these wonderful samples. ☺

Click here to get 50% off store wide for Black Friday today, you’ll also receive a Fabulous Flocking Lashes Mascara & Lighting Crew Highlighting Cream (worth $30) absolutely FREE when you spend over $50! This weekend there will be a new deal everyday until Cyber Monday, so please don’t be disappointed if you have missed the previous deals. 🛍️

I hope you all enjoyed my The Beauty Crop Makeup review ♥

– Sonam x

 

P.S: Read more makeup reviews here. 

Peachy Fox Dead Sea Mud Mask Review

Beauty, General, London, Reviews, Skincare

I wanted to share with you a new product that I’ve had the pleasure of testing out – the Peachy Fox Dead Sea Mud Mask.

Are Peachy Fox cruelty free?

Peachy Fox are an all natural, conscious London-based skin care brand that believe in purity and being unapologetically clean. Each product is crafted in the U.K, using only natural and organic ingredients. Their mission is to offer stunningly clean products using ethically sourced natural ingredients which is why all of their products are free of parabens, sulfates, colours and petroleum – to top it all off they are cruelty-free!

The Dead Sea Mud Mask

The dead sea mud mask is rich in minerals and nutrients that help to detoxify and deeply cleanse the skin, promoting clearer, brighter skin while tea tree oil and collagen work to prevent breakouts and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Formulated with nourishing ingredients such as jojoba oil and hyaluronic acid, this mask is a deeply moisturising treatment for the skin. It’s recommended to apply the mask on clean skin, avoiding the eyes, and leave on for 10 minutes before wiping away clean.

The mask costs £13.99 for a 100ml tub and is available to buy online. I received this product free from the Peachy Fox PR team.

Review

When I first tried out the mud mask, the consistency was thick, the smell of the tea tree oil and dead sea salt were quite prominent. As I was applying the mud mask on my face, I noticed that the mask went on and spread across my skin smoothly, the mask is generally quite creamy. Once I had fully applied the mask, I felt a tingling sensation that lasted for about 10 minutes, but I’m guessing that’s more to do with the fact that my skin is quite sensitive so I was expecting that to happen, I could definitely feel the tea tree oil working into my skin and tightening my pores.

Although the recommended amount of time to keep the mask on is 10 minutes, I decided to leave the mask on for approximately 35 – 40 minutes until it was completely dry. After washing off washing off and removing the mud mask with a flannel (water alone did not do the job), my skin was visibly brighter and firm. Not only did the mask reduce the look of the blackheads on my nose significantly, but it also made my skin feel hydrated, in fact I didn’t need to moisturise afterwards. Personally, I would recommend that you use this mask at least once a week, just to help maintain your skin.

As far as I am concerned, the Peachy Fox Dead Sea Mud Mask is an all round brilliant mask for helping keep your skin clear, especially as it starts to get colder outside. I’d like to thank the Peachy Fox PR team for sending me such a lovely mud mask. 🙂 🧖🏽✨

I hope you all enjoyed my review. Click here to buy the Peachy Fox Dead Sea Mask.

 

– Sonam x

P.S: Click here for more skincare reviews. 

#FurFreeBritain

General

Hi everyone!

I hope you all are well 🙂

Today I wanted to discuss the issue of animal fur in the U.K with you all. Although the last fur farm in the U.K has been closed since the past 14 years (since 2003), there have still been numerous occassions where real fur is still being misleadingly sold here in Britain. How? Through imported fur that has been mislabelled and sold as faux fur to consumers in the U.K.

The unnecessary suffering of animals for fur fashion is deplorable, whether the animal involved is a cat, a dog or a seal, whose fur is already banned from UK trade by EU regulations, or a coyote, a fox or a raccoon dog, whose fur is currently still allowed. There’s still uncertainty of whether the retailers buying are aware of the problem at hand, and whether there are any thorough checks to ensure that the fur is indeed faux – this gray area is one of the main factors in the reasons for the distribution of animal fur.

#FurFreeBritain

Despite the fact that opinion polls show continually high levels of public disapproval of fur – more than 80% believe that it’s unacceptable to buy and sell animal fur in this country, real fur is still creeping its way into the market due to false labelling (or what I like to call faux labels) and less restrictions on different animals. Regardless of where you stand when it comes to Brexit, one thing that we can all (hopefully) agree on is that Brexit can provide us with an excellent opportunity to close our borders to the cruel, unnecessary, outdated fur trade, and lead the way as the world’s first fur-free nation!

The Humane Society International have created a petition to our government specifically to tackle the problem of the import of real fur. The #FurFreeBritain petition is not only to retain a UK import ban on cat, dog and seal fur during Brexit negotiations, but also to extend that ban to cover all animals killed for their fur.

The difference between real fur and faux fur?

Before signing the petition, it’s also important for you all to learn the differences between real fur and faux fur to make sure that you’re definitely going for the cruelty-free option. Below is a great post by Lush and the Humane Society International to help you all spot the difference between real fur and faux fur.

To sign the petition, click here.

Please do sign and share the post to help put an end to real fur being sold in Britain! ♥

Lush Twilight Bath Bomb Review

Bath & Body, Bath Bombs, General, Reviews

Lush Twilight Bath Bomb Review

Last week I tried out the Lush Twilight Bath Bomb, and I loved it so much that I tweeted about it, and sent pictures of it to my friends – turns out some of you wanted me to do a review on the bath bomb, so I hope you all enjoy this review!

 

Who are Lush?

Lush are an all-round ethical company that are committed to being cruelty-free, vegan and sustainable as possible. Their products are all handmade, smell amazing, and have a cool sticker at the bottom of their (boxed) products to tell you who and when the products were made. With over 100 stores across the U.K, Lush is easily one of the most prominent organic beauty brands.

Twilight Bath Bomb

The Lush Twilight Bath Bomb is made of a blend of Lavender Oil, Ylang Ylang Oil known for its natural antidepressant and antiseptic properties, Tonka Absolute and Benzoin Rezanion for helping to reduce inflammation and give a sweet aroma. I bought this bath bomb for £3.95 from the Oxford Street, London Lush store.

Review

Before using the bath bomb, the lavender oil was definitely the most prominent smell, seeing as it is a part of the first layer of the bath bomb. At first, I didn’t realise that there were a few layers to the bath bomb until I chucked it in the bath tub. The second layer is a dreamy light pink that started to add a bit of a frothy texture to the bath, and the blue layer, or ball I should say, swirled around the tub – it looked gorgeous. The bath bomb took a while to fizz out completely (approx. 8-10 minutes), I had to break it a little towards then end just to get it to go faster as I was getting a little tired of waiting, I felt like the water would cool down by the time it would be done fizzing out.

Once I got in to the tub, I actually noticed that there are tiny flecks of glitter in the bath bomb, but I didn’t mind it, it added a bit of sparkle to the tub (thankfully it didn’t stick to my body or the tub afterwards). I immediately felt the different oils, within 10 minutes it had completely softened my skin. The combination of the lavender oil and ylang ylang oil were definitely working in terms being soothing, keeping me calm and relaxing my muscles. At one point, I was so relaxed that I forgot about time and almost fell asleep inside the tub, then the hunger kicked in and I remembered that I forgot to eat so I, unfortunately, had to get out. I believe I was inside the tub for about an hour.

This bath bomb is great for someone who may have trouble sleeping, for those that want a night in to relax or just to pamper yourself (why not, eh?) The first time round that I used this bath bomb I just curled up and fell asleep immediately after coming out of the tub, I’m pretty sure that some of you may do the same too, I hope you all enjoy this bath bomb as much as I did   ✨

Don’t forget to comment, share and subscribe for exclusive offers and updates!

Click here to check out the Lush Twilight Bath Bomb.

For more bath bomb reviews click here. 

Plum Goodness Grape Seed Scrub Review

Beauty, General, Reviews, Skincare

Today, I thought it was about time that I shared the second instalment of my Plum Goodness review series.  This post is a review of the Grape Seed & Sea Buckthorn Mild Foam Scrub, which is from the same range as my previous post – this will be a little shorter than the last post.

Are Plum Goodness cruelty-free?

Plum Goodness is an online-cosmetic brand, based in India, that was founded by Shankar Prasad in July 2014. The brand is one of the first 100% vegan brands in India that are completely committed to ensuring that their products are ‘safe and good’ – not only are the products cruelty-free but they are also free of parabens, phthalates and SLS. The products are renowned for being both high-quality and affordable.

One of my favourite things that I like about the Plum Goodness brand is that they do not promote any skin whitening products, something that is unfortunately rife in India’s cosmetic industry. The products all feature the ‘1% For The Planet’ logo, meaning that Plum Goodness give 1% of their sales to non-profit organizations that are dedicated to protecting the environment.

Grape Seed & Sea Buckthorn Mild Foam Scrub

The foam scrub is made of 100% biodegradable, natural, skin-friendly Cellulose beads (no plastic whatsoever) that gently buff away debris and dead cells. The Grape Seed oil in the scrub is rich in linoleic acid,in vitamins and anti-oxidants providing protection against pollutants, sun damage and free radicals, while the Sea Buckthorn oil heals skin damage naturally without skin irritation.

On the Plum Goodness website, the scrub is recommended for those with normal and combination skin types, but is not recommended for people with very dry skin, acne-prone skin and for those with extremely sensitive skin.

The scrub is priced at Rs. 335.00 (Indian rupees) for 75ml, which is approximately £4.00 – please do bear in mind that the exchange rate can fluctuate, and the price could be a little higher for someone purchasing from outside of India but I was charged exactly £4.00 for the foam scrub

Review

At first glance, I could smell the grape seed more than anything and the texture is more like a slightly runny gel, the scrub is transparent with red beads. When using the face scrub, I generally found it to be quite soothing and gentle on the skin. For someone that has sensitive skin, I was pleasantly surprised at not having any kind of tingling sensation as I did with the mask, the scrub gradually turned into foam as I was massaging it on my skin.

After washing off, my skin felt clear, bright and smooth, it had a very polished shine to it – something that I normally get after having a facial treatment in a salon. My skin didn’t  feel the slightest bit oily or dry – in fact it remained quite balanced for the rest of the day, and wasn’t at all effected by the pollutants outside.

The foam scrub has done a wonderful job at maintaining my skin as it begins to get colder outside and help bring out a natural glow to my skin – it is without doubt a face scrub that you want to get your hands on! 👌🏽💆🏽‍♀✨

Click on the image below to read my first Plum Goodness review on the Grape Seed & Sea Buckthorn Renaissance Face Mask.

If you are from India, then you can order directly from the Plum Goodness website. If you live outside of India, then you can order the products by emailing hello@plumgoodness.com

I hope you all enjoyed my Plum Goodness Grape Seed Scrub review. Don’t forget to comment and share my post ♥

The Girlboss Workbook Review

General, Inspiration, Reviews

Happy Sunday everyone! ♥

In the past month or so, I’ve been able to achieve some of my blogging goals, from sending out e-newsletters, to achieving milestones with my social media following and page views.

The most important goal that I am focussing more on is finding a stable job – during my time at university I had gotten so comfortable with unsteady jobs that it kind of became the norm for me. After graduating university, I began to realise that I need to find a stable job, and that lack of stability has made me a little anxious.

To help work on my career goals, I’ve looked towards inspirational women like Sophia Amoruso, a woman that owns everything she does and is no stranger to failures. Earlier on this year, I read her book ‘#GIRLBOSS’ and I was amazed at how honest she was about her journey. Which is why I had to buy ‘The Girlboss Workbook’.

Review

One thing that I really enjoyed about the workbook is that is has the same bold tone as the #GIRLBOSS book. But  this time round it’s not about Amoruso’s personal and career growth, but rather focussing on your own! As written on the cover, the workbook is an interactive journal full of personality with activities, advice and space to list your goals in life. I particularly enjoyed the drawing activities as it gives you a chance to let go and be creative with your approach to your career, self-perception and relationships.

There is a mix of advice, checklists and templates for networking and personal branding which brings out your entrepreneurial spirit even if you’re not planning to run your own business.

Personally, I found this workbook to be very inspiring and empowering. It gives practical advice to help you grow in life and encourages you to get involved causes that are close to your heart. With action points of what you want to do to help – there’s so much to write and draw about in the workbook.

There are also self-care reminders, and evaluation activities that help you address any negative aspects about yourself, or life, encouraging you to reflect on, and improve those negative aspects. So not only are you improving yourself, but are also continuing to do the things you love while becoming a #GIRLBOSS in your own right.

Overall, this is a brilliant workbook for someone who’s starting out their career or looking to change careers that needs a fun, yet productive, way to start off. I pre-ordered the workbook for £8.31 from Amazon, I have an Amazon Prime account so I got it cheaper compared to other websites that sell the book.

Get your own copy of the Girlboss Workbook here. Don’t forget to comment, share and follow.

Happy Bonfire Night to everyone in the U.K 🎆🎇✨

 

– Sonam x

(For more inspirational posts, click here.)

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