Sukin's Everyday Shampoo and Condtioner

First and foremost - I am a terrible blogger. I have not posted anything in over a month! Don't worry I haven't died - I have an excuse. I am in my last few months of my degree and have so much work to do, that adding a blog post on top actually terrified me. I just feel like I don't have the time. Don't worry though, this summer I am dedicating myself to writing, and you should (emphasis on the should) see much more of me.

My Sukin 500ml bottles, feat.
Seascape Island Apothecary Unwind Body Wash 
from my March Lovelula Beauty Box

Anyway, back to the real reason I'm posting.

Let's fade back to February time. I went to TKMaxx, as is a regular jaunt for me, and decided to walk to my favourite part - the makeup section. I love going there, it always has cruelty free and vegan brands for the cheap. No idea about you, but I love cheap makeup! Not only do they have makeup, but they also have vegan hair products!

One of the brands that they always stock is Sukin, one of my favourite brands for affordable vegan cosmetics. They're an Aussie brand, of which I am currently also using their Super Greens Nutrient Rich Facial Moisturiser - I'll be honest, it used to sting when my face was really dry but now, it actually feels amazing and my skin feels amazing.

Mid-Shower pictures! Left is the Shampoo
Right is the Conditioner. 

The Shampoo and Conditioner are part of their everyday set, because I do wash my hair every day. The Clarifying Shampoo and Nourishing Conditioner are exactly that. My hair feels amazing. It was a bit of  a struggle to figure out how much of each to use, and for a few days I did have slightly greasier hair.
It's still aloe vera based, like the one I was using before, but Sukin is a 100% vegan brand which I feel much happier using. Aloe Vera is really good for my hair, if I don't use aloe in it my hair becomes quite dry and frizzy at the bottom - now it curls properly and feels very soft. Not only that but my scalp doesn't itch as much as it did - I am unfortunately a person with dry skin and greasy hair.

As someone who has dyed hair, this shampoo is glorious and I will be buying more the next time I venture into TKMaxx (it's thankfully a product that is ALWAYS there).

Have you tried any Sukin? What's your favourite shampoo/conditioner - natural or your trusty drug store brand? Have you ever thought of switching it up before? Leave a comment below! 

February's Dr Organic Empties

I've recently (within the past few months) fallen in love with Dr Organics. I'm not an advocating the purely vegetarian products, I'm not sure who would want to put snail-gel on their faces. However, I love their aloe and tea-tree products, which have done wonders for my ezcema and folliculitis prone skin. I get all my products from Holland and Barrett, which is where I have linked you all.

Dr Organic Aloe Vera Shampoo and Dr Organic Aloe Vera Conditoner

Jamie Lannister and a large porcelain cat
protecting the products

Before I went cruelty-free I used to use Aussie's Mega Shampoo and Conditioner. This is because I wash my hair everyday; if I don't it feels greasy and lank, my head feels hot and bothered. I needed a cheap-ish shampoo and conditioner that didn't weigh my hair down and made it feel cleansed and refreshed. Not only does it feel clean, it also helps add some moisture back to my dyed hair - especially if I've just dyed it. I am naturally a dark blonde, but I like being lighter. This combo makes my hair feel normal, and not ratty and dry like it would do normally.
It's also very good at making my hair lie flat. When I was younger I had very curly hair, which fell out to just waves (and some curls around my face). This shampoo and conditioner combo makes those curls turn to gorgeous waves, and I really like the way my hair looks with it.

Dr Organic Tea Tree Skin Lotion

This lotion has been a life saver for my whole body. Yes, it may smell to high heaven - I didn't expect it to smell that tea-tree-y - it's helped to reduce the ingrown hairs and nasty red lumps I have. Tea-tree is antibacterial, and this stuff works much better than the stuff my doctor prescribed. It also leaves my skin feeling moisturised, which keeps my ezcema happy. Though I still do have some dry patches on my collar bones, the rest of my body feels pretty darn good. I'm not sure what else to say about this product, other than if you also suffer with dry skin and the occasional infection in that or otherwise, I really suggest picking up a bottle of this. In Holland and Barrett, they tend to be buy one get one free.

My next shampoo and conditioner buy are the Sukin Purifying Shampoo and the Nourishing Conditioner. I got mine from TK Maxx, but they sell them in Holland and Barrett too. Once I've used them, I'll give you my first impressions.

Have you tried any Dr Organic products? Which is your favourite? If not - why? Leave a comment down below! 

My Winter Holiday Reads 2017

My mother treated me to a holiday away in Fuerteventura earlier this month (Jan 2017) and I thought I would let you all in on the books that I read!
As an aside, the books I read were slightly varying in themes but were very easy to read. No one wants a tough pool-side read, and I didn't feel like testing myself while trying to relax.

Tracey Chevalier, The Lady and the Unicorn,
Harper Collins Publishing, 2003

 Book one for the holiday was The Lady and The Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier. I took this on holiday as a loan from my Creative Writing tutor, Jennifer. She gave me this because it related to my project for this year.
It's a multi-person narrative, which is based around the tapestries of the same name, which are created by the ambitious artist Nicolas des Innocents for Jean le Viste (who is the only man that history can place these tapestries in the hands of first). The book openly talks about sex and relationships, with lines such as 'That night I dreamt of a strip of tapestry with Claude's face on it and woke sticky. That had not happened in some time' (p. 149) or 'And there was Marie-Céleste - I might have to plough her just to be rid of her' (p. 154).
I give this book a solid 4/5 kittens. The changing narrative could be a little jarring, and I wanted to see more from the other characters. However, I absolutely loved it! Highly recommend.

Book numbers two and three were the original diary-form romance of Bridget Jones' Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, by Helen Fielding. I obviously have nothing bad to say about these books. They're tried and tested romances, and I liked them. I found it hard to not see Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, so was very much routing for him throughout. They were hard to put down. I'm not looking forward to reading the next two, as I know they aren't as good. 4/5 kittens - come on, it's Colin Firth!

Book number four was Consequences, by Aleatha Romig. I'm honestly not sure where to start with this book. If someone, the real life Claire, actually went through this I hope that they get a huge amount of counselling and that if Tony were a real man he would be in jail. Although I was shaking my head for a lot of the novel, I still found myself feeling happy with Tony showed his love for Claire. I think I'm just a hopeless romantic. I've had to download the rest of the books (all four of them) onto my kindle, because I have to finish this series and see where it actually goes. 2.5/5 kittens.

What books do you read on holiday? What did you think of the books I read? Have you read any of them before? Leave a comment down below! 

The Year in Review - 2016

2016...what a year, 'ey? Countless celebrities have died, my degree ran into it's final year and I started to lose weight, (for real this time).
In the second half of 2016, I decided to; lose some weight, begin to use vegan friendly / green beauty products and to begin to feel happy with my body.
An extra gift for me was to become an Aunty to a gorgeous little girl called Poppy.

Losing weight was the hardest - I just couldn't work out how to shed the pounds. Without the help of my dear mother, I wouldn't have decided that the best way for either of us to try and lose our tummies was Slimming World - this is no means a sponsor for them, just me telling you all that it worked for me. I can proudly say that since the end of November, I have lost nearly a stone in weight. For me, that's an amazing amount of weight, and I am now lighter than I have been in a good few years.
On the 7th of Jan 2017 (4 days from this post) I am going on holiday for the first time in 3 or 4 years. And I am excited to show off my trimmer tummy in the bathing costumes I have. I am very excited.

I feel so much happier with my makeup choices. My face may have broken out currently (damn the weather), but the makeup I have has made my sensitive and angry skin pretty healthy. I hope that my breakouts and dry skin issues fix themselves a bit more when it gets warmer.
My fave products to date are Ooh! Cosmetics: Organic Baobab Rejuvenating Face Oil*, Dr Organic: Organic Aloe Vera Skin Lotion and Lush: Daddy-O. Review of my new favourite products is to come, don't worry - I can't wait to let you all know my faves!

This year I finish my undergrad, hopefully move onto a masters and attempt to keep dropping the pounds!
And I would love to take you to the next step of my journey.

This picture was taken during the Summer of '16, when my boyfriend
(@SilverMountMan) and I went to my family farm

How has your 2016 gone? Feeling optimistic for 2017? I'd love to know. Leave a comment in the box below!