Dr Organic Lavender Range - Review

I own nearly the entire lavender Dr. Organic range, minus the lavender essential oil and their moisturising socks/gloves. I've purchased some of these products and others have been sent to me as PR samples or gifts. As you can see, 4 of the products are empty and the other 3 I'm in the process of using. 

All of these products are vegan, contain organic ingredients and are free from SLS and parabens.

Dr Organic Lavender Handwash - £5.59

My whole family loved this handwash and we all agreed that while it is expensive, it's worth the money. It cleans the hands thoroughly without drying them out, leaving them feeling lovely and soft! It of course smells amazing as well. I feel that it is worth investing in a more natural and chemical free handwash because of the amount of times it's used throughout the day. The £1.00 handwashes in Tescos are probably tempting, but they may do more harm than good. 

Dr Organic Lavender Deodorant - £5.79

This is probably one of the best natural deodorants that I've ever used. Again it's definitely worth spending the extra money on. It's gentle on the skin and smells really nice, but more importantly, it doesn't contain any nasty chemicals. This deodorant dries quickly and as it's a roll on, it'll last a lot longer than an aerosol for example. 

Dr Organic Lavender Soap - £2.99

I'm currently using this soap instead of a liquid soap and I love it! It smells absolutely wonderful and unlike other bars of soap, it doesn't leave your hands feeling dry. For an organic product it actually lathers up really nicely and is very good value for money. 

Dr Organic Lavender Skin Lotion - £6.59

If the colder weather is making your skin dry out, then I would definitely recommend investing in this body lotion. Not only does it smell amazing, it leaves the skin feeling so soft and smooth. I use this after I've had a bath and I always feel very relaxed and calm afterwards. 

Dr Organic Lavender Body Wash - £5.59

This is actually my second bottle of this body wash and I really like it. It is quite expensive and using the bar of soap to wash with is definitely more efficient. However it lathers up really well and is quite thick so you don't need to use much. The lavender smell isn't as strong as the other products which is slightly disappointing.

Dr Organic Lavender Shampoo - £5.59

Both me and my mum have used this shampoo and we agree that whilst it does smell nice and lathers well, it really dried our hair out. 

Dr Organic Lavender Conditioner - £5.59

I definitely prefer the conditioner to the shampoo! This left my hair feeling soft and conditioned but not too soft... if you get what I mean! 

LoveLula October 2016 Beauty Box

The October LoveLula Beauty Box arrived yesterday and I have to say that this months box has been the best so far! 

This box is a fantastic way to try out new products that are cruelty free and natural. At just £12.50 a month, it's extremely good value, especially as the overall value of this box is over £40! There are 5 products included this month and I know I will use and love every product in this box. 

You can sign up here for November's box. 

Barefoot Botanicals SOS Repair & Renew Nourishing Cleansing Cream - £20

I'm really excited to try this cleansing cream out! It claims to target fine lines and wrinkles, as well as blemishes and uneven skin tone. It's also vegan and the ingredients are 98% natural. The packaging also feels very luxurious which is a bonus! 

John Masters Organics Lip Calm - £6

This best selling lip balm will be perfect to use as the days get colder and inevitably ours lips get dryer! 

BON Natural Pure Tissue Oil - sample

This is a face and body oil which apparently improves the appearance of scars, stretch marks, wrinkles, ageing and dehydrated skin. I actually have a scar I can test this on so I will of course report back and see if it actually works! 

PHB Ethical Beauty Ethical Palm Oil Free Lavender Soap - £3.95

If you read my blog or follow me on social media then you will know that I'm obsessed with anything that has lavender in it! I'm so happy that this soap was in this months box. It's vegan, free from palm oil and other chemicals, and it's 100% natural! 

REN Flash Hydro-Boost Instant Plumping Emulsion - 10ml Sample

Another skincare product aimed to prevent ageing and dehydration. It's also just come out so it'll be interesting to see how what it's like. The 40ml version retails at £34, so I have very high hopes for this product! 

Head over to LoveLula to sign up! 

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My Fitness Journey | Week 1

I'm kinda scared to actually post this, but I thought I would bite the bullet and start a blog series documenting my fitness journey. I also figured that this would be great for me to look back on. 

I've only been working out for a week and I'm not really noticing any drastic physical changes, but I feel a lot more positive, healthier and happier in general. 

A lot of people say how good exercising is for depression and anxiety, and as I've just come off my medication completely, I thought now would be a great time to test out this theory! So far so good.

I've been exercising for half an hour everyday during the week, and then at the weekend I go to work and have a break. I'm also doing yoga which of course is proven to help with depression and anxiety. I don't have the confidence or the money to go to the gym, so all this is happening within the comfort of my own home, which is totally fine. 

Obviously I'm already slim, so my main reason for working out is to improve my health and fitness, and build muscle/tone up.

Taylor Momsen Inspired Make Up

The Pretty Reckless are one of my favourite bands, and to celebrate the release of their new album on the 21st, I thought I would share my Taylor Momsen inspired make up look! 

For this look I used Living Nature's eyeshadows in the shades Pebble and Slate, along with their Midnight eyeliner. On my lips is NYX's liquid lipstick in the shade Copenhagen and Cherry Skies. Below are some pictures of the gorgeous Taylor Momsen and my make up inspired by her!

The eyeshadows and eyeliner I used were lovely to work with and have incredible pigmentation. Surprisingly there was also very little fall out with the black eyeshadow. All of these products are vegan and cruelty free of course. Now who said natural and organic make up is boring?! 

Green People Special Edition Gift Sets

I actually received these goodies from Green People on my birthday a couple of weeks ago which was really nice! They sent me two of their special edition gift sets in partnership with the Butterfly Conservation to try out. They are organic, vegan and most importantly, support a very worthy cause (more info below).  

So I was sent the Joyful Body Wash and Lotion set and their Indulge Night Treat stocking filler. These would be great presents to buy your loved ones at christmas and I know I'll be purchasing some for my family!  Prices vary from £19.95 down to £5.50, so there are sets that would suit lots of different budgets! 

INDULGE – NIGHT TREAT £8.50

 

I've been using this night cream for the past couple of weeks and so far I love it! My skin has been looking very bright and almost glowing ever since I started using this. It's not too thick like some night creams and feels very luxurious when applying it to the skin. Also how pretty is the packaging?!


JOYFUL – BODY WASH & BODY LOTION £19.95

These smell absolutely amazing! If you're into a citrus scent then I would definitely recommend getting this gift set. They're quite expensive for a body wash and lotion but they are very luxurious which makes them perfect for a pamper evening! 

 

Autumn Inspired Make Up & First Impressions

Today's post is all about my first impressions of the products above! I'm slowly switching my make up over to organic and natural products, and of course will be sharing my journey on my blog. 

All of these products are available at LoveLula, my favourite website for all things natural and good! 

PHB Ethical Beauty Pure Skin Organic Liquid Foundation +SPF 30 - Cream - £19.95

So I got this foundation in the lightest shade, which is suitable for neutral undertones and is very fair. It's actually slightly too light for me but that's easily fixed with either adding a darker foundation or simply warming up the skin with bronzer. 

The foundation itself is very high coverage and thick, but amazingly it doesn't cake and blends beautifully into the skin. It clung to some of my dry patches but that only happened when I used a brush rather than a sponge. Which brings me onto my next point. 

I used the eco tools foundation brush below to apply it but I found this just didn't work with blending it in evenly. However, using a damp beauty sponge made it look flawless and natural, so I would recommend using a sponge. Also a little goes a long way!

The ingredients are natural, organic and vegan, with the added bonus of SPF 30.

Overall I absolutely love this foundation so far, and it may just be my new holy grail foundation! 

PHB Ethical Beauty 100% Pure Liquid Eyeliner - £12.95

Another amazing product from PHB Ethical Beauty. This eyeliner can be seen in the autumn make up look I created below and it's honestly a dream to work with. The applicator is small enough to really get a precise and clean line. The colour also doesn't fade throughout the day or transfer off. 

This eyeliner is free from parabens, palm oil, mineral oils and GM ingredients, which is great as no one wants to be putting a load of nasty ingredients so close to their eye! 

EcoTools Brushes

EcoTools Eye Enhancing Duo Brush Set - £5.99

I did like this duo, although the brushes are quite dense and I prefer something that's slightly more fluffy. The one brush that I particularly liked was the define side, it's perfect using a cream eyeliner and it creates a really precise line. 

EcoTools Bamboo Airbrush Concealer Brush - £4.99

I actually used this as an eyeshadow blending brush! Surprisingly it did actually work really well for blending out eyeshadow in the crease. 

EcoTools Bamboo Flat Foundation Brush - £6.99

Honestly, this brush didn't work for me or it might have just not worked with the above foundation. I think I'll always prefer a damp beauty sponge!

Here's an autumn inspired make up look I created whilst testing out these products for the first time! I also used all of the brushes in this post when creating this look. 

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Botanicals Balancing Detox Mask

When I received this product, I was so excited to try it out and tell you all what I think of it! I've been on the hunt for a decent, organic face mask for a while now, and this product may just be my new holy grail face mask.

So Botanicals are a Soil Associated organic, vegan and cruelty free skincare company that specialise in creating products that are not only natural, but are also environmentally friendly. 

The product itself contains 70% organic ingredients and of course contains no parabens, SLS or any other nasties. I have combination skin, and found that after using this mask my skin would feel incredibly soft, clean and smooth. It doesn't dry the skin out or cause it to go red like some face masks do, yet it still manages to deep clean the skin. 

As it's a clay mask, I was expecting it to be really thick and heavy on the skin, but actually it melts and doesn't dry, which I really like.

You can buy this face mask here! 

Simplifying Your Beauty Products

In today's society, we are exposed to companies advertising their beauty products on TV, in magazines and of course all over social media. We're given a false advert that buying all of these products will make us happy and we'll get so many benefits from them. 

But in reality, are these companies actually thinking about our well being or is it all about numbers and profit? Are we essentially poisoning ourselves with all these products that we buy that contain a whole list of ingredients that we can't even pronounce? It's time to step back and really look at what we're consuming. 

For me, the first step was to simplify the actual amount of products that I put on my skin. You really don't need 20 different facial moisturisers that contain a whole list of dodgy ingredients. Instead, cut it down to the bare essentials. 

Ditch your toner that contains 30 different ingredients, and consider using a floral water instead. I use the Balm Balm Rose Floral Water as a toner, which contains ONE ingredient. It's incredibly gentle on the skin and of course smells amazing. It's simple, organic and isn't over priced.

When it comes to moisturising my face, I personally think you can't beat using facial oils. I've seen some moisturisers contain parabens and a load of other harmful ingredients. The whole point of using a moisturiser is to sink into the skin and hydrate it. I personally use a combination of the Balm Balm Rose Geranium Organic Face Balm and Ooh! - Oils of Heaven Natural Cacay Anti-Aging Face Oil. They are 100% organic and natural, and starting early with the whole anti-aging thing never hurt anyone!! My skin is left feeling hydrated, smooth and loved! 

Another important part of your skincare routine is what you remove your make up with. Before, both me and my mum were using make up remover that contained parabens, but now we've switched over to these Yes To Coconut Cleansing Wipes. They're free from parabens and SLS and they're also compostable! 

Last but not least, using an organic, fragrance free lip balm with minimal ingredients is very important. Your lip balm is most likely going to end up in your mouth, so think of all the chemicals you could be swallowing! The Balm Balm Fragrance Free Lip Balm is one of my favorites at the moment as the days get colder and my lips become drier. 

Oh and one more thing, I read this article about non-vegan perfumes the other day, and it will put you off mainstream perfumes for life. I've switched over to this organic lavender perfume, which contains lavender oil and alcohol, and that's literally it! 

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Zero Waste Starter Kit

I've been trying to reduce the amount of waste I produce and attempt to live a zero waste lifestyle! One of the most important things for me is reducing the amount of plastic I throw away, which all starts with buying plastic alternatives.

So far I've switched over to using stainless steel straws, bamboo toothbrushes, replaced disposable cotton pads with reusable ones, started using a shampoo and soap bar, and switched from tampons to a menstrual cup!

Buying in bulk and making my own products has also reduced the amount of waste I produce, and of course getting a sturdy reusable shopping bag is a must!