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!)