Going Green with environmentally friendly!

Recently I have been replacing my cosmetics bit by bit with ones that don't contain parabens, SLS or any other harsh chemicals. While I have been looking into this transition it has made me very keen to not only replace my cosmetics but my household cleaning products too. So therefore I have finally made the change and replaced all of my current household cleaning products with safer non-toxic products. I only wish I had done it sooner! I feel so guilty for all of the crap I have poured down our drains in the past, not to mention all of the fumes me and my family have inhaled over the years, so I am most definitely ready for this, and I feel good! I purchased Ecover and Method (a subsidiary of Ecover) products from my local hardware shop, so I'm also supporting a local business (check me out!). I bought the following: 

Method Spearmint Toilet cleaner

Method hand wash

Method Clementine kitchen cleaner

Ecover washing up liquid 

Ecover laundry liquid 

Ecover laundry fabric softener 

...and they are all brilliant! I'm really happy with everything. I've even changed to using Natracare Sanitary products! I've also recently stopped using all the toxic face washes that I've used for years and started using a natural organic Rose Geranium soap made by Handmade Norfolk Soaps which is fantastic! It's so nice to use, my face has never felt so clean and that bar of soap will last me a lot longer than any bottle or tube of face wash I buy, so another little purchase I'm extremely happy with! I will definitely replace my usual shower gel with some soap from Handmade Norfolk Soaps, it's definitely the way forward. Because I care!

Day/Work Make Up including paraben free e.l.f Cosmetics

My recent quest has been to find cosmetics which don't contain parabens or any other harsh chemicals. I'm one of many working class mums and I like to wear a little make up when I go to work, therefore I want products free from harmful 'stuff' if I'm going to be wearing it everyday.

I emailed some of my favourite cosmetic brands to find out whether they added parabens or any other harsh chemicals to their products, some replied some did not, but one company I have had success from is e.l.f Cosmetics. I have bought a few things from them in the past and been very happy with them. I decided to purchase some everyday make up from their mineral range which is completely paraben free with no chemical additives and no chemical dyes, perfect for everyday use. An even bigger bonus is that e.l.f products are much cheaper than other products I have used in the past but still great quality.

So, I decided I would do an everyday make up look for you all to see (including some products which DO contain 'harshies' as I haven't got round to getting a whole collection together yet, but I'm still on the lookout!), describing what I used and a picture of the end result. To follow is a list of all the products I used along with the brushes I used:

PARABEN FREE PRODUCTS:

• e.l.f Mineral Eyeshadow in Earthy - A lovely moss green colour £3.00
• e.l.f Pressed Mineral Eyeshadow in Heartbreaker - A beautiful natural brown £3.50
• e.l.f Mineral Eye Brightener in Buff - £3.95
• e.l.f Mineral Foundation in Fair - £5.95
• e.l.f Mineral Lip Gloss in Au Naturale - £5.00

NON PARABEN FREE PRODUCTS:

• e.l.f Baked Bronzer in St. Lucia - £3.95
• MAC Select MoistureCover Concealer in NW20 - £15.50
• e.l.f Waterproof Lengthening & Volumising Mascara in black/brown - £3.95
• Soap & Glory Cheekmate - £8.00
• Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector in Light - sample from a magazine (yet to find a good paraben free BB cream, I don't like foundation)
• MAC Paint Pot in Painterly - an excellent primer £15.50

BRUSHES USED:

•  e.l.f Stipple Brush for base - £3.95
• Real Techniques Blush Brush for powder - £9.99
• Real Techniques Contour Brush for bronzer - from a set costing £21.99
• Real Techniques Shading Brush for eyeshadow - £7.99
• e.l.f Professional Eyelash & Brow Wand just to tidy up my brows - £1.95

I like a nice natural look for work and I was very happy with these colours from e.l.f. I love the texture of the mineral range, it's amazing quality for the price which is always a winner! It's also really blendible and you don't need much of it. The lip gloss is perfect for work and stays on for ages too, it also looks great over the top of other lipsticks for the evening to add a bit of shimmer and shine to your favourite colour.

The e.l.f bronzer is fab too and gives a really nice coverage (as I like to apply that lightly all over my face as well as contour). Cheekmate is something I always use and have done for a while now, it's a great stain for cheeks, and lips, and lasts all day too however I'm now on the lookout for one with no harsh chemicals of course.

I have just placed another order from the mineral range at e.l.f Cosmetics so WATCH THIS SPACE!

Thanks for reading & please leave a comment!

In the bin products!

I'm starting my cull of the products I own which contain parabens or TALC. 

Pictured are:

Nivea hand nourishing cream which contains Methylparaben & Propylparaben

Olay eye make up remover which contains the same as above.

Pantene smooth & sleek shampoo 

Maybelline 720 Iced Fudge eyeshadow which contains TALC, Ethylparaben, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben & Butylparaben!

BeautyUK high brow eyebrow kit which contains Methylparaben, Propylparaben, TALC.

Maybelline eyeliner matic, Model Co eyeliner, Collection Cream Puff lip cream in Fairy Cake, L'oreal Infallible eyeliner (I'm not using L'oreal products again until they sort it out!) & finally NYX jumbo eye pencil in Sparkle Green. 

I'm amazed at how bad the eye make up is, to think of what go in our eyes! Eye make up is definitely something I'll be checking before buying....

Budget makeup, films, Degusta box, antiageing products, Norwich &parabens free beauty!!

 Hi I've decided to come back to my blog after a few months away because I have actually missed it! I've been inspired by other bloggers to start up again & I'm thinking maybe doing a couple of budget makeup looks, for instance Emma Stones look at the Golden Globes which I love, but done with much cheaper products than Chanel products! I'm thinking about doing film reviews too as I subscribe to Lovefilm so it would be good to let people know what I think about what I've seen. Also I get a Degusta box every month so maybe I'll let you know what I think about the contents of those once in a while. Another thing is now I'm 38 I'm really finding the need to use antiageing products, so again I shall review anything I've found to actually work! Also I absolutely love where I live, which is Norwich, & would like to write about the places I've been here. Finally another idea is to write about my mission to find good cosmetics & beauty products which are parabens free. I've recently been using Palmers Olive Oil formula shampoo & conditioner which is great for my frizzy hair & I'd recommend it to anyone. So I have a lot of ideas for my blog & really want to make it successful so if after reading this you'd like to throw some suggestions my way, please feel free & I'll endeavour to cover those too 😊

Sorry Batiste...I prefer another dry shampoo

This is just a quick post before I go to work.

When you haven't got time to wash your hair in the mornings before work because you have a little one to get ready too, like me some of you may have to use a dry shampoo.

Recently I've been using Batiste Original but I just can't get on with it so I feel the need to recommend my favourite which is made by Tresemme. They have a few in the range and are probably more expensive but I think it's worth it. 

Tresemme dry shampoo has a better texture, works really well without leaving that white powdery residue and it also has a much nicer fragrance.

Just thought I'd let you know especially all you busy mums!

New fitness leggings!!

I'm loving my new fitness leggings. I bought them from H&M, they were £14.99. 

They are very comfortable especially around the waistband which makes them a pleasure to wear. Oh and yes they do their job of soaking up the sweat very well!

I would definitely recommend these leggings! H&M have a great range of fitness clothing so have a look :0) 

I love H&M! Lol! 

Yay! My first Love Me Beauty box has arrived!!

I was very happy with what the postman brought me this morning! My first box from the Love Me Beauty boutique! 

The contents are:

Model Co eye define eye pencil in black. Apparently the must have tool for intense long lasting colour. I've tried it on and it's good so far, although I wouldn't say no-smudge as the description claims!!!!

NYX cosmetics nail polish. I am very disappointed that they sent me purple glitter as the picture on the website showed a lovely pastel blue/green, however they do state that colours vary! There couldn't really have been a worse colour choice to send me! I tried this on too. It's really not for me, it's basically just glitter and also it takes a while to dry and even though it feels dry now it's still soft enough to smudge. Sorry NYX cosmetics.

Montagne Jeunesse hot spring sauna masque. I love these masques they've been around for years! Haven't tried this yet but can't wait to do so!

Urban Veda purifying daily facial wash. Lovely packaging, I would be attracted to this in a shop! This is a 20ml tube not sure what the size is on the shelf but it's £7.99 rrp. Looking forward to using this too so watch out for future posts with reviews on the products I haven't tried yet.

Beauty UK high brow kit. I'm not usually one for making up my eyebrows, I never owned any brow products until recently. I'm willing to give this a go though. the colourless wax should be useful for keeping my brows in place. This cute kit also comes with tweezers :0) rrp only £3.99.

What a lovely treat to get in the post! Can't wait to choose the next box now!