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peppermint brow remedy and brows

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.

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. 

Where to get a Vegan Christmas dinner in London

General, London

Hi guys,

I hope you’re all well! I’ve been so busy with Christmas planning, so this post will be a quick one for you guys!

As Christmas is approaching and everyone is busy getting prepared for the holidays I thought it would be great to put together a list of the best places to get a proper vegan christmas dinner in London.  Since being vegan doesn’t exactly fit in with most of the traditional Christmas foods, I thought it made sense to help you guys find the perfect vegan Christmas dinner, so here are 10 places to help you with your Christmas cravings…

Where to get a vegan Christmas dinner in London:

1 | Pret-a-mangers – Okay so it’s not technically a Vegan Christmas dinner, but it is a Vegan Christmas themed baguette, plus you can pretty much find a Pret-a-manger’s almost everywhere across Central London. So it’s not exactly dinner, but I guess that’s your Christmas style lunch sorted.

 

2 | Amico Bio – An Italian restaurant, close to Barbican Station, that offers a range of vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options. Right now they have a Christmas lunch and Christmas dinner set menu with plenty of options for you all to choose from that will be served throughout December.

 

3 | Manna – Is a well established 100% vegan restaurant based in Primrose Hill. They currently have a menu exclusively for Christmas with plenty of traditional options that will only be available up until Christmas day, so you better start making reservations fast!

 

4 | Tibits – A vegan and vegetarian restaurant chain that was initally based in Switzerland and now have a restaurant in Central London (off of Regent Street). Right now they have a special Winter Menu as well as a special Christmas package available.

 

5 | Mildreds – Based in Soho, Camden and Kings Cross, Mildreds is a vegan and vegetarian restaurant that prides itself in making internationally inspired cuisine. Their Christmas menu has a bit of a twist on the traditional Christmas dinner and is available across all three of the sites in London.

 

6 | The Gate – Is a vegatarian restaurant chain influenced by French and Italian cuisine based across Central London, with a site in Islington, Hammersmith and Marylebone. It took a little while to find their Christmas menu, at first I wasn’t sure if they had one, but I managed to find it! They also have a Sunday Roast section on their regular menu.

 

7 | 222 Veggie Vegan –  This particular restaurant is based in Kensington and if you can’t already tell from the name it’s a vegan and vegetarian restaurant. There doesn’t seem to be a Christmas special on the website, so I’m not sure whether there is one going or not, but there does seem to be a Vegan Roast option on their menu.

 

8 | Farmacy – Based in Notting Hill, Farmacy has a range of vegan and vegetarian dishes inspired from world cuisine for you to choose from. The Christmas menu has options for those of you that are vegan, vegetarian, eat gluten-free and even have nut-free options.

 

9 | Carnevale – If you don’t feel like having the traditional Christmas dinner then you can try the Mediterranean vegetarian and vegan food at Carnevale , near the Barbican Centre. Again I’m not sure if they have a christmas menu, but they have plenty of vegan options.

 

10 | NAMA Foods – Is a vegan restaurant based in Notting Hill that specialises in making raw vegan dishes. For Christmas they currently have a luxury 5 set menu.

Let me know if you guys liked this post on where to get a vegan christmas dinner in London! ☺

Geobar

General, Reviews

Hi guys,

I hope you all have been well, I’ve been juggling so much lately but I’m glad to say that I am back on track. Today I’m quite excited because I get the opportunity to blog about something that I haven’t touched upon so far – food!

About Traidcraft’s Geobar

Traidcraft is one of the leading fair trade organizations in the U.K and they produce a number of products using the raw materials supplied and made by poor farmers, growers and artisans in order to help them have a better lifestyle. Currently, Traidcraft have released their new and improved Geobar cereal snack bars. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Geobar, it’s pretty much in the name itself, they are a cereal bar range that are made with a global mix of fair trade ingredients using mother natures goods to provide a healthy snack whilst supporting the people that work hard to make the produce. Geobars are available to buy at Sainsburys, Waitrose, Oxfam as well as other independent Traidcrafts stockists and cost £2 for a pack of 5 bars.

What really sets these Geobars a part from the previous range is the fact that for the first time there will be use of fair trade marked rice from Myanmar. The taste of the bars has also been improved by Traidcraft so that it is less sweet and has a source of fibre in it, which was based on the feedback provided by customers. Personally, I think the bars give a good energy boost during the day and they taste great with smoothies. It’s definitely a healthier, and ethical, alternative to have in comparison to most snack bars on the market, although it does contain raisins – so you have been warned.

Review

The chocolate flavour uses cocoa made from South America and generally has quite a wholesome taste to it and surprisingly wasn’t as sweet as most chocolate cereal bars that I’ve had in the past, which is perfect because I didn’t feel guilty for having a second helping (haha).

 The mixed berries flavour uses ingredients that are from South America and they have quite a sharp taste to it, as expected with berries. I could also taste the grains and oats more in this flavour for some particular reason, might just be me though.

This particular flavour was by far the sweetest that I had, I definitely think it was because of natural sugars in the wild apricots which come from Pakistan. I would definitely say that this one gave me a real energy boost.

There’s also a competition to win a £400 Marin bike on the Geobar boxes which ends on the 30th September 2016; you will have to enter via http://www.lovegeobar.com/competitions/win-marin-bike-geobar/

Lastly, I would like to thank the people from Gardiner Richardson for sending me the lovely Geobar range. I would love to know what your thoughts are on this!

Patanjali Amla Hair Oil Review

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

Patanjali Amla Hair Oil Review

Generally speaking, Ayurveda is widely regarded as a traditional medical science which originated from the Vedas in India but it covers a much broader 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. It is definitely something that I have been quite keen in learning more about, those of you that have been following my blog for quite some time will be aware of my interest in Ayurveda, I’ve even blogged about an Ayurvedic beauty product before (Ayurvedic Beauty: Neem Mask ).

Amla Hair Oil Review

The Amla hair oil is produced by the company Patanjali, which specialise in Ayurvedic products and also sell food that are produced by people in the rural areas of India. Amla, also known as Indian gooseberry, are typically used in hair care products and is used specifically for the purpose of strengthening the roots and thus preventing hair fall. On the packaging it also states that it can also be used to prevent split ends and the inevitable graying of hair; I assume that for you to actually see the results you would have to use it over a long period like most herbal products.

 

From my experience the best way to actually put the oil on is by taking a little bit of oil at a time, massage it on your scalp and then gradually work on the rest of your hair. It is recommended to keep the oil on for at least half an hour before washing it out, but this could depend on your hair length and type, I have left the oil in my hair for roughly 2 hours but it’s entirely up to you! I particularly like the texture of the Amla hair oil as it doesn’t seem to stick to your hands, but I must admit that it has quite a strong smell, so it’s definitely best to use on a day off.

The only real problem that I would say that I have with the product is the flimsy cap, I had to put quite a lot of cello tape around the cap just to secure it when I was travelling back from India to the U.K. In India, I had bought the 100ml bottle of the hair oil for 40 rupees, which works out to be just over 40p. Unfortunately, on Amazon it is sold for a little bit more than what it is in India but I guess that is expected, online it is sold for £4.60. Although that may seem to be quite a bit for a 100ml bottle of hair oil, it is actually worth buying as the oil itself works quite well in small quantities, so I would definitely recommend it to you all!

It would be great to know what your thoughts are on this post, and whether any of you have tried Amla hair oil before. I hope you all enjoyed my Patanjali Amla Hair Oil Review. 🙂

Click here to read my hair care review. 

5 Cruelty-free Salons in London

Beauty, General, Hair Care, London

5 Cruelty-free salons in London

I haven’t been posting as much due to the fact that I am in my final year of university and I’ve been juggling many different projects in one go. Whilst I have been on my quest to find all things cruelty free there is one particular thing that stood out to me the most – it is extremely rare to find a high end cruelty free salon in London! There are many different types of salons in London that use organic products but I found out from one of my followers that the products used have misleading animal testing policies. So I decided to do some more research into the nature of different salons and present to you 5 cruelty free, and vegan, salons across London! I hope this is useful for all my Londoners, and to anyone visiting London.

Cruelty-free haircuts in London

1.THE RABBIT HOLE – Is probably the most famous vegan salon in London. The Rabbit Hole is based in Shepherds Bush, West London and all of the products used are vegan. The website looks as though it may be under construction, but you can check out the Facebook and Twitter accounts to find out more about the salon. I wonder if they like to throw Tea Parties…

2. GLASSHOUSE SALON – Is based in Hackney, near the famous Broadway Market and a bus journey away from Stratford. This salon are well known for their specialist organic colour treatments using the cruelty free Organic Colour Systems range. The Glasshouse Salon really do incorporate their value of sustainability in every aspect of their company and one thing I do admit that I love is that they have explicitly made clear that one of their hair waxes contain bee wax – so honest!

3. MUKU HAIR – Based in one of my favourite parts of London, Shoreditch; for those of you that are not familiar with Shoreditch it is the historic East End of London that is full of art pretty much everywhere you walk. The Philosophy of Muku Hair is grounded in the Japanese meaning of the word Muku, pure and natural, which they definitely live up to by using Pureology’s 100% vegan products.

4. ENA SALON – Is another salon that values both cruelty free products and sustainability. Ena Salon is based in Covent Garden, in the heart of London and literally a walk away from the Thames. They use and distribute an eco salon Italian hair care product range called Davines, which does not test on animals as per the EU ban on animal testing made in 2009.

5. ROCOCO ORGANIC SALON – Has been certified both vegan and cruelty free by PETA. Is based in Clapham and is a walk away from Battersea Rise (A3), which has plenty of places to shop and eat. They pride themselves in their use of organic products and currently have 20% off of their services for first time customers.

It’s a shame that I’ve only found 5 so far, it seems as though many of the salons that boast about using organic hair care ranges hide the fact that their seemingly eco-friendly products are not so animal friendly (*cough Redken and Aveda cough*). I hope you all enjoyed my guide on 5 Cruelty-free Salons in London.

If you are a cruelty-free salon that would like to advertise on here, get in touch. 

For more London posts, click here. 

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