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Lush ‘The Birth of Venus’ Jelly Face Mask Review

Beauty, General, Reviews, Skincare

Today I thought that I’d write a review on a relatively new face mask that I’ve been quite impressed with in the short amount of time that I’ve been using it – ‘The Birth of Venus’ jelly face mask by Lush.

Are Lush cruelty free?

Lush are an all-round ethical company that are commited 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.

‘The Birth of Venus’ Jelly Face Mask

The Lush ‘The Birth of Venus’ Jelly Face Mask is great for toning, soothing and balancing your skin. Fresh sea water tones and refreshes skin, lavender oil calms and rose absolute soothes and balances. Carageenan seaweed gel is intensely softening and will leave skin irresistably soft. To use, simply pinch off a piece of the mask and work to a paste between clean, dry hands. Apply to the face and let it work its magic for 5-10 minutes.

I bought ‘The Birth of Venus’ Jelly Mask for £6.95 at the Oxford Street, London store.

Review

My initial thoughts on the mask were that the texture reminds me of melted marshmallows and once you start to rub it between your hands it the jelly mask starts getting thinner and looks a little like lather.

Normally, I like to leave on face masks longer than the recommended amount of time, mainly because I like the face mask to be completely dry before taking it off. So I left the jelly mask on for about 15 minutes, and once the mask had dried completely I washed it off with luke warm water. As I was washing it off, I felt that my skin was visibly more softer and was glowing, and after drying my face my skin was smooth and firm. I would definitely recommend this mask for you all, especially before you sleep!

I hope you all enjoyed my review of the ‘The Birth of Venus’ Jelly Face Mask. ‍💆🏽✨

Buy the mask here.

For more skincare reviews click here. 

Fenty Beauty

Beauty, General, Inspiration, Makeup

Happy Sunday everyone!

I hope you all have been well.

All my beauty lovers will already know about the launch of Rihanna’s beauty range earlier this week, frankly I can’t stop gushing over the products already. One thing that stood out in particular, was that the foundation range has 40 shades making Fenty Beauty one of the most inclusive makeup brands, ever.

As someone who has known many young girls and women that have struggled with finding the correct foundation shade for their skin tone, Rihanna’s range seems to be a breath of fresh air that the beauty industry needed. I’ve seen first hand that the problem is not just skin-deep but it’s the sense of being marginalised by mainstream beauty brands which has been going on for longer than it really should have. It’s such a shame that mainstream beauty brands have only started to become more inclusive in recent years.

What’s worse is the fact that for a long time, not only have women had to choose from a limited range of shades but they have also been shamed for wearing the wrong shade

“Fenty Beauty was created for everyone: for women of all shades, personalities, attitudes, cultures and races. I wanted everyone to feel included. That’s the real reason I made this line.” – Rihanna

Is Fenty Beauty cruelty-free?

Kendo, the ‘brand incubator’ and parent company of Fenty Beauty, also manage cruelty-free brands like Marc Jacobs and Kat Von D. The beauty range is cruelty-free, but it is yet to be independently verified by PETA, Cruelty-free International etc.

“POPSUGAR reached out to BOLD PR, the agency that represents Kendo Brands and Fenty Beauty, and a rep told us that Fenty Beauty is cruelty-free and it is not available in or to ship to China. So there you have it!” – Popsugar

Fenty Beauty seems to be a truly bold and revolutionary brand – much like Rihanna herself! (I can’t wait to try out her products.) From addressing the need to fund education across the world, to making makeup more inclusive Rihanna is a true inspiration. ♥

The Fenty Beauty range is available to buy here in the U.K exclusively at Harvey Nichols.

 

Arbonne International Review

Bath & Body, Beauty, General, Makeup, Reviews, Skincare

Arbonne International Review

Today I’m very excited to share some quick product reviews of a few Arbonne Cosmetics samples that I received a little while back.

A little about Arbonne International…

Arbonne International are an all vegan brand that have been around for almost 40 years, and their products are based on the philosophy of using pure, botanically based ingredients in scientifically tested products. Arbonne create a variety of products ranging from skincare, personal care, nutrition, makeup as well as hair care. They formulate their products without parabens, artificial sweetners, gluten, synthetic dyes, petrolatum, artificial flavours – and best of all they are strictly cruelty-free!

One thing that I personally love about their brand is their ‘Arbonne Ever Green Commitment’ to being as clean and green as possible by creating products with recyclable packaging, using recycled and recyclable shipping boxes, reducing their carbon emissions and conserving water.

My verdict

So moving on to the samples that I received…

RE9 Advanced Collection – The Day Cream was definitely my favourite out of these, the cream was lightweight and moisterised my skin without feeling oily it has a nice light citrus smell to it that lasted quite a while.

 

FC5 Collection – The Hydrating Eye Cream was another product that I liked the most. It has a combination of lime, ginger & cucumber extracts which keeps the cream smelling very refreshing, it’s perfect to use as a base cream before applying eyeshadow.

 

 

It’s A Long Story Mascara – I was very impressed with the way that the mascara separates and lifts the lashes in one go. It generally gives the lashes a natural looking boost with out clumping which is perfect for every day makeup.

 

Lastly, I’d like to thank Maggie Goleniak for sending the lovely samples! ☺

To learn more about the Arbonne products and Arbonne in general you can contact Maggie Goleniak (Independent Health & Beauty Consultant) by emailing her at madzior79@yahoo.co.uk. You can also check out the full range of products that Arbonne offer by clicking here. I hope you all enjoyed my Arbonne International Review.

Read more beauty posts here. 

The Body Shop Vegan Makeup Review

Beauty, General, Makeup, Reviews

This week I am so excited to share a new vegan range from an awesome cruelty-free brand with you all – The Body Shop Vegan Makeup range.

From vegetarian to vegan

As most of you cruelty-free lovers know The Body Shop is 100% vegetarian, and as of earlier this year the company have created a vegan make up range. I received the vegan goodie bag a little while back and wanted to share my thoughts on it with you all, so here it goes…

Review

Instaglow CC Cream SPF 20 – I’ve been using the InstaGlow CC Cream in ‘Bright Glow’. It’s generally quite a lightweight tinted CC cream which is actually perfect to wear on a warm sunny day as it is has UVA/UVB protection. The cream works well as both a moisturiser and primer, it also has quite a clean smell to it. Overall I would say that I’m quite impressed with the way that the tinted cream blends into my skin as it gives my skin quite a natural glow, especially when I wear foundation and a highlighter.

 

Shimmer Waves – The Shimmer Waves set that I’ve been using is in ’02 Blush’. All of these colours are very pigmented shimmers. I’ve been using the shimmer waves as both an eyeshadow and as a highlighter – not only are they versatile but they have a nice pop to it. I would definitely recommend you use the InstaGlow CC Cream and the All-in-One InstaBlur Eye to set the base before using the shimmer.

Baked-To-Last-Bronzer – The Baked-To-Last-Bronzer is in the shade ’01 Golden Bronze’ and is yet another highly pigmented product. My skin tone is  yellow based,  so the bronzer adds warmth and gives more depth to my face as a whole. I particularly love the flecks of gold shimmer in the bronzer as it adds to the overall glow of the finish.

 

All-In-One InstaBlur for Eyes – Is a tinted nude-peach, almost foam-like cream that acts as a concealer and primer. The InstaBlur blends in quite quickly, it gives my skin a matte base which helps set the eyes for a long-lasting look. The matte finish of the InstaBlur has helped prolong the look of the eyeshadow.

 

Super Volume Mascara – I’ve got the Super Volume Mascara in ‘Black’. This mascara is definitely my new favourite! Every time that I’ve tried it out, I’m amazed by the way that the mascara never clumps – even when I do my makeup before rushing off to work. The mascara brush works well in terms of lengthening and coating every lash, plus it smells a little like coffee. *NOTE: This is not vegan*

 

Down To Earth Quad Eye Shadow – The quad shadow set that I’ve got here is ’04’. The neutral eyeshadows are great for creating both soft and bold looks, depending on your mood or the occasion. Again this is another highly pigmented product, I didn’t have to use a lot of eyeshadow for it to show up on my eyelids. When using the eyeshadows I paired it with the Super Volume Mascara and Instablur for Eyes as the base which lasted the whole day for me.

As a whole, I would say that The Body Shop vegan makeup range is without doubt worth buying, hopefully The Body Shop will start making the rest of their makeup range vegan.

Thank you to the lovely people from The Body Shop PR team for sending me the awesome vegan makeup goodie bag. ♥

I hope you enjoyed my review, to view and buy The Body Shop vegan makeup range click here.

Don’t forget to comment, share and follow.

 

– Sonam x

P.S: Read more makeup reviews here. 

Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy Review

Beauty, General, Hair Care, Reviews

Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy Review

I’d like to share another Alchemy Oils product with you all today. Those of you that read my blog regularly will know that I did a review on the Grapfruit Hair Remedy earlier this year and I was so pleased with the hair oil, in fact I still use it. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Alchemy Oils, they are an all natural cruelty-free and vegan brand that make their products based on the practices of Ayurveda and Western hair styling sensibilities.

About the product

With a blend of 5 different oils; Coconut, Argan, Avocado, Rosehip and of course Peppermint Essential oil, the Peppermint Brow Remedy helps stimulate growth and thicken your brows.  It’s best to use the remedy overnight by just placing your index finger over the bottle top of the bottle, tipping it upside down and rubbing the oil that’s on your finger into your brows. When you’re doing this please do make sure that you don’t put too much oil on your brows as the peppermint oil can be quite strong for your eyes.

Review

My first thoughts when using the remedy were mainly about how refreshing the oil smells, it smells pretty much like Polo Mints. After using it overnight for the first time, I was quite surprised at how quickly the look of my brows had thickened. Since then, I’ve been using the Brow remedy for every night for a week and I can see a difference in the growth of my eyebrows.

Before I started using the remedy, I had gaps and uneven hairs in between my eyebrows. The main problem that I had with my eyebrows were the lack of growth of hairs on the right arch of my brow, which were so thin that they were hardly visible. (In the main picture it looks like the problem is with my left arch, but I had to flip the image so that you can read the bottle, so it’s actually the right arch 🙂 )

Honestly, I tend to shy away from using makeup on my eyebrows as I can never get the look right – I either put on too much makeup or my brows look uneven. Within the space of a week, the thinner hairs have become thicker and overall my brows look fuller without having to use makeup – so in short I would without doubt recommend the Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy.

Thank you to RebKan PR for sending me the Peppermint Brow Remedy. I hope you all enjoyed my Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy review.

To read my review on the Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Hair Remedy, click here. Buy the Alchemy Oils Peppermint Brow Remedy here.

5 Tips for a Natural Spring Glow

Beauty, General, Skincare

5 Tips for a Natural Spring Glow

As spring is finally here, most people will generally focus on spring cleaning by getting rid of their clutter, but there’s hardly any focus on how we can cleanse ourselves and get rid of all the damage that the winter can do to our skin (and bodies). I thought it would be great to encourage you all to with 5 tips to help your skin get a natural spring glow without the need of too much makeup. So here it goes…

 

Tip #1 | For those of you that aren’t vegan – cut down on the diary products. There are plenty of growth hormones, which are actually meant for little calves, that stimulate our oil glands and can clog our pores.

 

Tip #2 | Clean your make up brushes! A lot of people forget about it, but our makeup brushes can retain the bacteria that’s been on our faces. The same principle applies for our phones, most people don’t even think to clean their phones which is unfortunate because we use them all the time (and pretty much everywhere) – so don’t forget to keep your phones clean too!

 

Tip #3 | Invest in a good sunscreen! I cannot stress the importance of using the best possible sun screen that you can find. In the past, I never gave much thought into using sun screens and whenever I did I would just pick the first one that I would see which would end up leaving my skin all oily. I did a review on this ERiiS for Sun sunscreen which is perfect for spring – click here to read about it.

 

Tip #4 | Detox – This again is one of those tips that everyone knows that they could use, but end up forgetting about. Detox yourself inside out by eating and drinking clean. Cut out the alcohol, sugar and salty foods – our skin is like a weird sponge that not only glows when it’s getting the right foods and is cleaned properly but also starts getting dull when we neglect ourselves.

Tip #5 | Following on from what I said in the tip before – don’t be lazy with your skincare routine! Having a regular skincare routine and using a moisturiser that works well for you can do wonders for your skin. You know your skin and face better than anyone else so make sure that you stick to what you know works well with your skin.

Let me know what tips you all use to get your skin glowing naturally. ☺

I hope you enjoyed this post on 5 Tips for a Natural Spring Glow, click here for more skincare posts.

Where to get Cruelty-Free Manicures in London

Beauty, General, London

Where to get Cruelty-Free Manicures in London

Hi everyone, how have you all been? I’ve been a little poorly, hence the lack of posts and slow responses to emails (*sorry*) but I hope that all of you are well. ☺

The search…

A little over a year ago I did a post on cruelty-free salons in London (5 Cruelty-free Salons in London), which is pretty self-explanatory. This time round I thought it would great to add to that list by showing you all places where you can get cruelty-free manicures in London.
Unfortuantely, most of the nail salons based here in London didn’t seem to mention much about the cruelty-free and vegan status of the products they use  – so it’s hard to tell whether they actually are cruelty-free or not just by looking at their websites.
 
​Just to give you all a quick heads up for those of you that think Shellac products are cruelty-free, their parent company, CND, have not responded to any emails regarding their cruelty-free status and they also haven’t responded to many other fellow bloggers (they seem a bit dodgy if you ask me).

Cruelty-free mani-pedis in London

1 | Nail Berry – Based in the Chelsea, Nail Berry are both a nail salon and brand dedicated to providing high-end quality manicures that are not only certified as cruelty-free, but are also free of chemicals and vegan.  I’ll definitely love to try out the Nail Berry nail polish some time soon. You can now get 10% off your first order when you subscribe to their newsletter.

 

2 | Nails Inc. – Are another brand that provide products and have their own salon based across the U.K.  In London you can find them at Bond Street Fenwick, Canary Wharf, City London House of Fraser, Oxford St Debenhams, Oxford Street House of Fraser and Victoria House of Fraser. They provide a small vegan and halal manicure and pedicure range called Pure. I’m not sure about all the other treatments that they provide as they didn’t explicitly write vegan on anything else. When you subscribe to Nails Inc. online you get a 15% off discount code on their products and you can get 25% off when you purchase a course of treatments in store.

 

“I don’t like plain nails, I get sad”- Zooey Deschanel, saying exactly what we’re thinking! #manicure #nailart #manipedi #pedicure #pamper #natural #organic #relaxation

A post shared by Natural Beauty Urban Retreat (@nbur01) on

3 | Natural Urban Beauty Retreat – NUBR are based in North Finchley and have a number of SpaRitual vegan manicure and pedicure treatment​s ranging from £10-£45. You can book an appointment directly on their website or you can book an appointment via Treatwell and get up to 21%​ off​ the Spa Ritual Manicure and Pedicure​ treatment.

 

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4 | Organic Beauty Salon – Is based in Brixton and also provide Spa Ritual treatments. I couldn’t find much information about the products that they use on their website, but I managed to find out via Treatwell that they use Spa Rituals for their normal manicure and pedicure treatments, please be aware that they do provide treatments using Shellac so make sure you’re doubling checking when booking or visiting.

If there are any that I’ve missed out then please do let me know! I hope you all enjoyed this guide on ‘Where to get Cruelty-Free Manicures in London’

Himalaya Herbals Neem Scrub + Wash Review

Beauty, General, Reviews, Skincare

Today I wanted to share another Neem post with you all, since I know that you all love my posts on Ayurveda.

What is Ayurveda?

For those of you that are new to my blog (welcome!), you can check out my previous Ayurvedic posts by clicking on the images below:

  

To quickly define what Ayurveda is; it is a traditional medical science that was created by the Vedas in India which covers a broad spectrum of health and well being (from beauty to yoga and so on). Today the remedies that are provided by Ayurveda are well established in the field of beauty and alternative medicine​, in fact, a lot of the foundations of modern-day mindfulness and holistic lifestyles are influenced by Ayurveda. Those of you that have been following my blog will be more than aware of my love of Ayurvedic Beauty products and how passionate I am to show you all​ brands that are ​both cruelty free and ​well established in the field of Ayurveda.

Are Himalaya Herbals cruelty free?

Himalaya Herbals are a cruelty free brand based in India that are committed to creating natural herbal products based on the ancient traditions of Ayurveda. The company create a variety of products from haircare, beauty, bath and body products to toiletries – they even have a baby care range.

To check the cruelty free status of Himalaya Herbals you can check by typing out ‘Organique by Himalaya’ on the Leaping Bunny product search by Cruelty free International. You can also check the back of the Himalaya Herbals products for the No Animal Testing/Cruelty Free logo.

Purifying Neem Scrub Review

The Purifying Neem Scrub is made with a blend of Neem as well as Apricot which has quite a cool and gentle touch to it. The Apricot is used to scrub away blackheads and dead skin while the Neem is used for its natural anti-bacterial properties, leaving the skin clean and smooth. When using the scrub I noticed that the little scrub granules are not at all harsh on the skin, so it generally works well for someone that has quite soft skin.

Purifying Neem Face Wash Review


The Neem Face Wash is a gel that’s made using Neem & Tumeric and I must say it was surprisingly gentle on my skin, considering how strong both the main ingredients can be (also, it looks like Flubber to me haha). The Tumeric works to naturally control acne and pimple outbreaks and again the Neem is used for its natural anti-bacterial properties. After using the face wash the skin is left with a natural glow and the skin stays quite soft during the day.
Overall, both products work well for my sensitive skin, but I would recommend those with extremely sensitive skin to consult a dermatologist before trying Neem products.​ Whenever I use these products, I end up using them together – but you can use them individually.
Good news for all of my readers based in U.K, most of the Himalaya Herbals range is available to buy at Beauty Base. The Purifying Neem Scrub costs £2.59 and the Purifying Neem Face Wash costs £2.99 at Beauty Base.
I hope you all enjoyed my Himalaya Herbals Neem Scrub + Wash review.
Don’t forget to comment, share & follow.
– Sonam x

Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Hair Remedy Review

Bath & Body, Beauty, General, Hair Care, Reviews

Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Hair Remedy Review

Hi guys! ♥

How has your week been going so far?

Today I’d like to share something that’s perfect for everyone during this harsh winter weather – Grapefruit Hair Remedy by Alchemy Oils.

About Alchemy Oils

The Grapefruit Hair Remedy is made with a blend of 5 oils to improve the condition of your hair by strengthening your hair with coconut, avocado, almond and castor oils. These oils are combined to promote growth, thicken hair and impart a lustrous shine as well as work in harmony with the grapefruit oil, which is used to fight dandruff and keep your scalp healthy.

Alchemy Oils have made it very clear on their FAQ page of their website that they have pledged not to sell products in China until the mandatory law is lifted, they are also PETA Certified and Vegan. A quick tip for any of you that are new to the world of the cruelty free and vegan way of life, you can always verify the cruelty free and vegan status of products via the PETA cruelty free brand checker, Beauty without Bunnies (they also have an app), as well as The Vegan Society Trademark search.

On the side of the label on the bottle (see below), it says that for dry hair you can begin by massaging the oil into your scalp and then apply to your roots. For people that are using the hair remedy with damp hair it says to only use a few drops on your hair all round and to apply to your roots. The recommended amount of time that you can leave it on for is a minimum of 20 minutes, if you’re not used to using hair oil then I would suggest that you stick to the recommendation because of the amount of oils already blended in with the hair remedy. If your hair is generally quite dry and damaged, then it would be best to leave it on for longer depending on how long you can have it on for – some people leave oil on for 1 to 2 hours, others leave it on overnight so it’s really up to you!

Review

As someone who constantly uses different types of natural hair oil, I couldn’t recommend this more! I’ve never used hair oil that’s been blended with 5 other oils, so I was quite surprised at how quickly it nourished my hair and it had a fresh, lush citrus smell of grapefruit. The only thing that I would personally say that I was disappointed by is the fact that there is no grapefruit shampoo and conditioner to go with the oil, because it would work amazingly together. 🙁

So far Alchemy Oils only sell hair oils, but I would love to see them expand their hair care range to go with the oils.

Where to get the Grapefruit Hair Remedy

The Grapefruit Hair Remedy is currently priced at £24 for 100ml on the Alchemy Oils website or, alternatively, you could buy a travel size bottle with 30ml for £8 if you’d like to test it out or take it with you on the go. Not to forget you can get a 10% discount code when you subscribe to their newsletter!

Thank you to RebKan PR for sending me the lovely Grapefruit Hair Remedy. ☺

I hope you guys liked this review!

You can now buy the Alchemy Oils Grapefruit Hair Remedy from Amazon Prime.

Read more hair care reviews here. 

Too Faced: Cruelty-Free status

Beauty, Makeup

Hi guys,

How are you all doing today? I’ve been stuck inside with the cold all day.

Have Too Faced sold out?

Yesterday, I found out that the Estée Lauder group, the cosmetics chain that owns companies like MAC and Bobbie Brown, bought Too Faced for approximately $1.45 billion (£1.16 billion), which is one of the largest acquisitions that Estée Lauder has made so far. However the main problem with Too Faced’s, (does that sound grammatically correct?), new parent company is their willingness to test on animals for the sake of making profit in China.

Now I won’t discuss China in-depth, but for those of you who are new to the world of all things cruelty free, China legally requires cosmetics to be tested on animals ergo any cosmetic company that sells in China is not cruelty free. There are some companies that insist that their products remain cruelty free across other nations and continents, for example here in the U.K, some companies claim that the products that are sold here are in no way subject to testing but their policies seem to be quite shady.

Too Faced: Cruelty-free status

As far as Too Faced is concerned, co-founder Jerrod Blandino, spoke out about the acquisition via his Instagram to confirm (and possibly to convince) their followers and customers that they will continue to be “a champion for animals”. Generally, I’m hoping that Too Faced can influence other companies to stand firm on their anti-animal testing stance and that people will continue to support them as well as other companies that are cruelty free, but are owned by companies that do test, to show that cruelty free products are not just a trend or phase.

#regram @jerrodblandino My values, morals and heart will never change. I have built my life and my company with love, kindness, positivity and compassion for animals and all of God’s creatures. That will NEVER change. This is way bigger than business for me, it’s my life and my heart at the deepest level. It means everything to me. We have been a champion for animals since our beginning in 1998 and that has only grown stronger and more powerful with every passing day. Rest assured we continue to have iron-clad rules in place that will ensure we will NEVER test on animals and we will NOT sell in China. I’m truly honored that we continue to be supported and acknowledged by @peta (link in bio). Thank you for your passion and support for animals, I’m grateful you’ve used your voices to ensure animals are protected and treated with kindness and love. I’m right there with you and always will be. XOXO, J

A photo posted by Too Faced Cosmetics (@toofaced) on

Too Faced Vegan makeup

One thing that I didn’t notice until now was the fact that Too Faced actually have a list of which products are specifically vegan on the FAQ page of their website, which is a pretty handy thing to use if you’re unsure of what is vegan or if you just can’t remember.

 

My favourite Too Face products 🙂

I love buying new makeup, it’s like an all year round Christmas! Are you guys loyal to any particular cruelty free and/or vegan brand? Let me know which brands you love!

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