Mini Cruelty Free Haul.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've decided to go vegetarian and to try and only buy cruelty free cosmetics. So, I visited Lush, and bought a couple of essential items from iHerb to try.

1. Tom's of Maine natural, alcohol free children's anti-cavity juicy mint mouthwash. 

If I remember correctly, this was the only mouthwash available with fluoride on iHerb. I'm a big fan of oral hygiene and fluoride for me, is a super important component to toothpastes and mouthwashes. We don't have fluoride in our water in Christchurch, because it's ~controversial~ so I need to make sure the products I'm using to clean my teeth, have it in them. The first time I tried this mouthwash, I was a little taken back, as it tastes like nothing I'd tried before, but it wasn't unpleasant, and it's something I'll get used to soon enough.

2. Jason Natural's sea fresh, anti-plaque & strengthening toothpaste in deep sea peppermint.

Unfortunately this toothpaste is fluoride free, hence the mouthwash above, but other than that I think it's fine. The minty flavour is perfectly subtle, and the paste foams really well. I don't really know what else to review in a toothpaste, but so far I'm happy with it.

3. Lush's H'Suan wen hua hair treatment.

This hair treatment contains lots of fresh, organic ingredients to bring out the shine in yo' hair. Including eggs, balsamic vinegar, avocado and olive oil. I haven't tried it yet, but if you read my first blog post, you'll know I haven't had much luck with Lush's hair products, so I'm hoping this one doesn't disappoint.

4.  Lush's honey I washed the kids shower gel.

I'm a huge fan of Lush's shower gels and honey I washed the kids smells like it's going to be heavenly.

5. Tom's of Maine's long lasting deodorant stick.

The fact that so many deodorants you buy in NZ  supermarkets are filled with things such as aluminum, freaks me out. I certainly don't want that on my underarms every single day! This stuff is natural, aluminum free and claims to give 24hr protection. I put it on this morning and so far it's doing a great job at keeping me dry and odor-free. 

Do you shop at Lush and iHerb? If so, let me know some of your favourite products in the comments below. Especially iHerb, because I think I'll be buying and trying out a lot more of their products in the future!

Playlist: Late June and Early July Favourites

I made an 8tracks playlist of some of my favourite songs from the past week or two but of course, blogger doesn't want to embed the playlist, so you can pop on over and have a listen by clicking here.

What's My Age Again / blink-182

Don't / Ed Sheeran

Figure 8 / Ellie Goulding

On Top of the World / Imagine Dragons

Tennis Court / Lorde

Boom Clap / Charlie XCX

Homewrecker / Marina and the Diamonds

Search Your Heart / Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson

Let me know in the comments below what songs you've been enjoying, I'm always after new music to listen to. I think I'll make playlists like this every so often, to share with the world! 

Making Important Changes.

I've been meaning to continue with this blog for a while, but up until recently I've just had no motivation to. However, recently I've been thinking about some changes I want to make in my life. I've been watching documentaries and YouTube videos, and doing research into animal testing and animal farming and with the knowledge I've gained, I can no longer go about the things I do in the same way. So, I've made the conscious effort to stop buying cosmetic and household products that are tested on animals, and gradually remove meat from my diet.

A particular documentary that sparked this decision was Earthlings, which I've tried (and still failed) to watch all the way through several times. I just end up in a sobbing mess, feeling ever so guilty. The above quote, "we must not refuse with our eyes that which they must ensure with their bodies", really got me thinking recently, about how I've reacted to what I know about the meat industry. I've even said the words, "I don't like to think where my meat comes from", and looking back that's not ignorance, that's just stupid and unfair. Not thinking about how my meat is killed, doesn't lessen the amount of animals killed. So, in order to show my compassion for animals, and to reduce my carbon footprint, I've decided to make some changes.

I think the easiest one is going to be changing the products I buy. I always shrugged it off, thinking it was near impossible to find cruelty free cosmetic and household products, but after only an hour's research, I've found it's quiet easy to get the products I love or need to use, that haven't been tested on animals.

I was pleased to find out that a couple of my favourite cosmetic brands, such as Natio, Wet 'n' Wild and E.l.f. don't use animal testing, but was shocked to find that other things, such as every single major brand that sells tampons, pads, deodorants and toothpastes in New Zealand are tested on animals. However, lucky I'm able to buy cruelty free brands from overseas, for not too much more than what I'd pay for them here. It isn't 100% ideal to be shipping things that I will need to buy on a regular basis, from the United States, but unfortunately I haven't found a cruelty free New Zealand brand that sells these sorts of essential items.

As for becoming vegetarian, I've done it before cold turkey (no pun intended) and it didn't work out so well. I didn't research what supplements I'd need, I couldn't get rid of cravings for meat, and I felt incredibly tired all the time. This time round, I've decided to gradually remove meat from my diet, starting with red meat and only eating chicken and fish for about a month or two (depending on how well I'm feeling), before eventually removing all meat completely from my diet. I'll also be making the effort to largely drink only organic milk and eat organic eggs and dairy products.

So, if you have any tips for me in regards to buying cruelty free and making the transition to a vegetarian diet, please leave them in the comments below.

(Disclaimer: everything I've said in this blog post is from my own research, if I've made any mistakes, please inform me in a polite manner, I'm still learning and researching! And everything I've expressed is mine opinion, if you don't agree, then we cool!)

Hair Favourites and Regrets

Introductions later, for now I'm jumping right into my first blog post. About hair products. I want to share with you some of my current and old favourite hair products and a couple that I regret buying and wouldn't recommend.

Organic Care Shampoo and Conditioner - I've had people ask me what shampoo and conditioner I use because of how it smells. They often seem to think it's some expensive salon product, but I actually use a pretty inexpensive brand that you can get in supermarkets. It's only a few dollars more than the other brands you'll find in your local Pak 'n' Save (Sunsilk, Loreal, Dove, etc.) and that's because it's organic, vegan, free of parabens and the bottles are made from 100% recycled plastic. It always leaves my hair smelling lovely, and feeling soft and nourished, which is exactly what I need because I'm terrible at remembering to get my hair trimmed as often as I should.

Batiste Dry Shampoo - One of my favourite dry shampoos that I've tried so far, because of it's delicious fruit and floral scents, and it doesn't seem to leave a nasty residue (if used correctly). I usually use this on days 2 and 3 after washing my hair, by spraying it on my roots before brushing through. I find it works best if  I divide my hair into random sections, to ensure a good coverage. I recommend watching Essiebutton's tutorial on how to use dry shampoo. 

Schwarzkopf Extra Care Hedei Heat Styles Heat Protection Spray - I picked this up as it was an improvement to an old product. It now protects hair up to 220°C, so I use it whenever I blow-dry or straighten, or even on days where I let my hair naturally dry - just to protect it from the sun's rays or the heat of working in a hot kitchen all day!

Mita Hair Accessories - All their hairbrushes, combs and hair accessories are really inexpensive and very good quality. My favourite is my big, new brush which gives awesome coverage when brushing and leaves my hair super soft!

I hate to say anything bad about Lush, because I am a Lush junkie and they do so many good things for animal rights! I use their cleansers, bath bombs, face masks, moisturizers, body lotions, shower gels, shower jellies, toners and hand creams on a daily basis but I just can't learn to love their hair products. The three above, Daddy-O Shampoo, New Shampoo Bar (which smells of cinnamon and clove!) and Veganese Conditioner are the only three hair products from Lush I've tried. Now maybe I should be trying a few more before I start to dismiss them completely, but Lush is pretty expensive and I can't really afford to be experimenting with $20 shampoos. My reason for not liking these was because they left my hair feeling very dry and stringy. Usually when I'm lathering shampoo or applying conditioner in the shower, my hair has a softness to it, but with these my hair felt like straw! I also found that they just didn't remove as much dirt as my trusty Organic Care shampoo and conditioner does. Sorry, Lush. I still love you and I'll keep trying your products, just ones that don't go anywhere near my hair!

I'm interested in knowing what hair products you enjoy, or ones you regret buying. Have you tried any that I've mentioned in this post? Have you tried the Lush hair products and thought differently to me about them? Let me know in the comments below.