Makeup Revolution Antibacterial Brush Cleaner Review

Did you know that not cleaning your makeup brushes for a long period of time can allow a build up of bacteria and cause breakouts? Keeping your makeup brushes clean atleast once a week will help your skin stay clean and help your brushes last longer. Today I wanted to blog about the Makeup Revolution Antibacterial Brush Cleaner, I’ve been using it for a little while now, and I thought it was worth sharing because the brush cleaner works so well for me.

A little about Makeup Revolution…

Makeup Revolution is a budget UK makeup brand, owned by TAM Beauty, that offers a wide variety of makeup and brushes. The brand launched in 2014, offering affordable high quality makeup and dupes of expensive high-end makeup – to top it off the entire range is 100% cruelty-free and some of their products are actually vegan.

Makeup Revolution Antibacterial Brush Cleaner 🖌🐇

The brush cleaner is specially formulated to keep makeup brushes clean and free from bacteria, the spray sterilizes and disinfects makeup brushes. To use the brush cleaner, you just need to spray the antibacterial brush cleaner 3 to 4 times directly onto your makeup brush and then gently wipe the brush across a clean tissue or cloth, to remove any makeup and bacteria, until brush is completely clean. Once clean, the makeup brush will need to be air dried. I bought the antibacterial brush cleaner online from the Superdrug website for £5.00 (for 200ml).

Review

The antibacterial brush cleaner works like a charm for me, the spray itself generally has a gentle clean smell, you can smell the witch hazel in there too. Instead of using a tissue or cloth to wash the brushes, I used a towel simply because I’ve generally found that a towel doesn’t break or get too wet when using the cleaner, plus I can wash the towel and resuse it to wash my brushes. I thorougly enjoyed cleaning my brushes with this brush cleaner, it’s such a simple process and my brushes look just how they did when I bought them.

It generally took around 10-20 minutes for the brushes to dry, depending on the size of the brush, which is great if you’re planning on reusing soon after. The smell of the brush cleaner does stay with the brush, even when dry, but that didn’t really bother me so much since I liked the smell of it.

The only thing that I would say should be improved is the bottle as it’s kind of difficult to tell how much is left and whether I need to buy more. Other than that, I feel that using the cleaner is an important part of skincare that tends to get overlooked. Scroll down to see the pictures!

Before using the brush cleaner … (yes I know they’re filthy lol)

Just look at the amount of makeup that’s come off…

And after using the antibacterial brush cleaner… They’re as good as new! ✨

I hope you all enjoyed my Makeup Revolution Antibacterial Brush Cleaner review. Click here to buy the brush cleaner.

Don’t forget to comment and share my post ♥

– Sonam

P.S: For more skincare reviews, click here. 

5 Motivational Newsletters for Women

Happy New Year!

As we’re all starting to get back into our normal routine, I thought that it would be great to keep up the motivation  for the rest of the year with a list of 5 motivational newsletters for women, so that all you ladies can achieve your goals for 2018.

5 Motivational Newsletters for Women

1Boss Babe – is a lifestyle brand for ambitious millennial women,  full of motivational and entrepreneurial resources to help you with whatever venture you’re interested in pursuing, whether that be a business, a blog, or just in general. The Boss Babe newsletters also provide exclusive news and access to webinars, courses and much more.

 

2Idillionaire – is a lifestyle brand and consulting firm dedicated to inner development and ‘spiritual intelligence’ for the mind, body and spirit. If you enjoy spiritual content, then the chances are that you’ve probably come across an Idillionaire quote before. This newsletter is not exclusively for women, but it’s amazing for those of you that are focussing on spiritual growth!

 

3 | Career Girl Daily – This newsletter is full of career, motivational, lifestyle and beauty advice for millennial women. I’ve only discovered this recently and I can’t wait to try out some of their products. I would definitely recommend this to all my fellow bloggers out there.

 

4Career Contessa – is a career site built exclusively for women. With expert advice, interviews, and videos, one-on-one mentoring, online skills-based courses and resources. Career Contessa focus on improving women’s careers, supporting professional development of women at work. This is perfect for any advice you need if you’re looking to change jobs, or even careers.

 

5Girlboss – How can I not mention Girlboss? Girlboss Media was founded by Sophia Amoruso for women redefining success on their own terms. This newsletter is full of posts about managing your finances, wellbeing, advice on work, beauty and with motivational articles and podcasts.

I hope that this helps you stay motivated all year round. Don’t forget to comment, share and follow.

 

– Sonam x

(For more inspirational posts, click here.)

New Year, Better Me

Hi everyone,

I hope you all are well! ☺

As my last post of the year, I thought it only makes sense to talk about this year and the new year.

New Year, Better Me  🎆✨

Every year my social media is full of people that either use the phrase ‘New Year, New Me’  or complain about the phrase. In all honesty, the phrase does bother me at times, one because we (obviously) remain the same person, it’s the feeling behind the phrase that bothers me the most. Though the phrase is meant to be positive, it seems to carry a heavy feeling with it, most of which seems like it’s full of self-loathing rather than wanting to improve – I’m not sure if I’m the only person that feels this way, you may disagree with me and that’s okay.

I think it’s about time that we show more love for ourselves and embrace who we are, any improvements that we’d like to make for ourselves should be practical and always make sure that self-love is at the centre of whatever we do in 2018.

Goodbye 2017 & Hello 2018.

On a personal level, 2017 has been full of lessons, and blessings and I cannot wait to grow and develop more as a person in 2018. This year Kind Culture hit new milestones, and I have many ideas that I am eager to share with you all in the next couple of months. 2017 has been a good year for the blog I’ve met so many fabulous fellow bloggers, collaborated with brands and companies,  I’m confident that 2018 will be another amazing year and that I’ll be able to take my blog to new heights. I hope you all have just as much success in whatever aspect you need to grow in – so here’s to a New Year and a better me! ☺ 

Happy New Years in advanced from me, I hope you all have a fun and safe time.

Lots of love from Sonam x

(P.S. Click on the image below to read my latest review on a great journal to help start your year off with posivity and productivity!) 

MYnd Map MY Journal Review

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Earlier this year I tested and promoted the Kickstarter campaign for the 21 day trial version of the MYnd Map My Journal. Over the past three months, I’ve been using the journal to help me achieve some of my goals and keep track of my ideas.

What about the journal…

MYnd Map MY Journal was founded by Rosemary. The journal encourages and inspires you to stay on track with your dreams, goals and commitments. Helping you practice different methods of mindfulness and productivity – in short takes the concept of connecting your goals to make it a reality.

Personally, I like that the journal includes techniques to improve productivity e.g. the 80/20 rule. There are also daily affirmations and positive psychology practices; giving the journal a holistic approach to planning.

Review

Initial thoughts

At first, I loved that everything was like a blank canvas for me to fill in, there was so much to do with this journal to make my own. Every week begins with an intentions table where you can fill in your small goals for the week from  ‘Body & Health’ to ‘Personal & Spiritual’. The whole journal is perforated so I was able to take rip off the page and pin it up on my desk as a reminder during the week. Towards the end of the week, I enjoyed taking time to write my reflections of the week, especially on how happy I was during the week activity. Filling out the journal has also given me the chance to spend more time introspecting, even if it’s for 5 minutes. It’s definitely very therapeutic for me.

After one month… (October)

My productivity had significantly improved. Writing down and physically making note of everything allowed me to remember what I needed to get done. In this past month, I have managed to achieve my goals that I had set for my blog, making a note of what I did on a daily basis also improved the way I went about setting targets for the week. I have thoroughly enjoyed colouring in, it’s given me the chance to just sit down and spend time being in the moment. I also felt that way when I was filling out the daily journal pages.

After two months… (November)

November has been quite productive for me. I achieved my blog and spiritual goals. I particularly enjoyed the quotes that were on the daily pages for this week, now that I have gotten used to using the journal I feel like I’m able to concentrate on following my goals.  The visual tools are brilliant for the days that I didn’t feel like writing much.

The last month  (December)

Coming towards the end of the journal now and the festive season, I decided to focus more on my spiritual growth. Although I haven’t had much time for my blog this month, I felt that I still had quite a few good ideas that I noted down while I was ill. The end of the week recaps were a great way to help me realise what my next steps needed to be, what I should take away from the week and celebrate.

Overall, I feel that this has certainly made a difference to my motivation. This journal is definitely helping me end the year on a positive note and starting the new year full of motivation.

The complete MYnd Map – MY Journal is available to buy online. Click here to see the full range.

Don’t forget to comment, share and follow.

 

– Sonam x

(For more inspirational posts, click here.)

Plum Goodness Green Tea Face Mask Review

Today I wanted to share with you all the third review of a series of reviews on some products that I ordered from Plum Goodness, it has been a little while since I did another post from this series. (This whole season has mainly been about skin care but I do have some different posts coming out soon.)

Are Plum cruelty free?

A post shared by Kind Culture (@kindcultureuk) on

Plum Goddness 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 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.

 

The Green Tea Clear Face Mask

The Green Tea Clearn Face Mask is made of kaolin and bentonite clays for a natural cleansing and exfoliation of the skin. The face mask also contains extracts of green tea, to stop the acne formation cycle in its tracks and the glycolic acid sweeps away skin debris and prepares the skin for self-renewal.

The face mask is priced at Rs. 490.00 (Indian rupees) for 60g, which is approximately £6.00 – please do bear in mind that the exchange rate does fluctuate but it shouldn’t make too much of a difference in the price for someone purchasing from abroad.

Review

My first thoughts about the face mask is that the smell of the green tea is very subtle and clean. The consistency of the face mask felt very smooth, creamy and almost mousse-like. Once I applied the face mask, my skin did tingle for 5 minutes and I felt like the mask was stretching and tightening my skin and as it dried. It’s important to bear in mind that I do have sensitive skin, so not everyone will have the same kind of reaction that I do.

As the mask had completely dried my skin stopped feeling as tight as it did before. The smell of the green tea mask was actually very soothing and although it’s recommended to leave on the mask for 30 minutes, I ended up keeping it on for (approximately) 45 minutes – I was watching a film and lost track of time.

After washing the face mask off my face, my skin felt incredibly smooth, I generally don’t really have big pores but they were barely visible after using the mask. The black heads and a little bit of oil that I normally get on my t-zone was gone and my skin had an amazing post-facial glow that I normally get after going to a salon. Despite not having acne-prone skin, the mask worked amazingly at clearing my skin.

I still have two more products left to review from this series, and I’d love to know what your thoughts are on it!

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 Green Tea Face Mask review. For more skincare reviews, click here.

The Beauty Crop Makeup Review

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

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

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

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

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 ♥

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