English Mineral Make Up review

Hi There My Lovely Readers,


The day I got this package in the mail, was a good mail day, let me tell you that :) But let's go back to the beginning. I found out about English Mineral Make Up company via Instagram and intrigued by their fabulous blush I enquired if they do samples. They said they do and I can request some via their website. So off I went to do so, and when my samples never arrived I contacted them again (when you will see the blush shade, you will understand) and some time later this is what I got! I was simply speechless, because not only they sent me the samples that I wanted, but full size foundation and fabulous baby kabuki brush as well! How is that for a surprise? Pretty good, right?

So let's start with the review part, shall we?

Foundation
Foundation comes in a white box with a mirror in a lid, and it's packaged into this fabulous cardboard box that is so nice inside out, and it would make a gorgeous present (gentlemen, take note). The first thing I noticed about the amazing coverage, it is so pigmented and I love it! One layer of this foundation will give you great coverage without looking cakey and it feels so light on the skin, like you have nothing at all. When the day goes by it only gets better, because mineral powders tend to stay put unlike like conventional make up. I have dermatitis on the face, and this powder did not irritate my skin at all, so all my ladies out there with sensitive or problematic skin do not be afraid of using this. Try the samples and you will be pleased you did. The powders are suitable for vegans and formulated with mineral ingredients, and they do not contain Bismuth oxychloride (BiOCI), talc, synthetic fragrances, parabens, or mineral oils. It's also SPF15 which will give you some protection from the sun.
The kabuki brush is so soft yet dense, I love using it, despite me never being a fan of kabuki brushes, the size is perfect for getting in all the nooks and crannies of the face, and the density of it gives great coverage. I would compare it to Real Techniques Expert face brush, only softer.
The only thing I didn't like is the packaging, it lacks some sort of removable insert that you could tip your powder in, as the lid houses the mirror and it's not removable, and the application gets messy. I ended up using the lid of another foundation to swirl the powder in.

Blush
Bubblegum blush was the reason I asked for the samples, as blush is my happy place when it comes to make up, and let me tell you it's gorgeous! I am definitely going to purchase a full size of it. Both blushes I tried are so pigmented and nice, you need only a tiny bit for a nice pop of colour, so the pot will last you for ages. They currently have eight shades to choose from. I asked them about carmine, something I don't want on my face and they confirmed all their products are carmine free and vegan friendly. Cruelty fee too.

Fairy Godmother
It's their name for the veil powder, which will give you that perfect airbrushed look, and what's more it can be used as a primer or a night time skin treatment, which is definitely intriguing to me! Even though it's a powder, it's filled with antioxidants and jojoba oil to nurture your skin. Unique product indeed.
 

My verdict?
 I am so glad to discover this company as their products truly stand out from the rest of the mineral make up I've tried so far. They are not cheap, but in my mind they are worth the money. I am going to purchase the mineral foundation and the blush. The pigmentation and the clean ingredients sold me, plus they are natural, clean, vegan and cruelty free. What more could you ask for? :)

*The products were sent to me, but the review is from my experience and I speak my own mind. I am not on their payrol in any kind of way.





That is all for now :)
Take care!
Lots of Love,
Renata.

100% Pure Cosmetics First Impression Review

Hi my green sistas and brothers,


You simply don't know how happy I felt once my first 100%Pure order came! Like go through the roof happy, or giddy kid in a candy shop happy! You see, I wanted to get my hands on these products for a good few years now, since my switch to natural beauty, and I always held off because of the high prices (my wish list is well over a hundred euro long). So when an email popped into my inbox offering amazing deal I just simply couldn't miss it, I jumped at a chance, because other than this kinda once-in-a-lifetime kinda deal, they never have any sales or deals. The deal was a great gift with purchase if you spend over €40 or $45 or £30, they had this deal both on EU and US sites. I bought a foundation in white peach (37€) and just a recycled bath sponge (4€) to bump up to forty euros. Shipping was further €8. (wanted so much more than this, but my budget is shall we say non existent? I'll count this as my early Birthday present to myself. Like six months early :) )
So here we go, shall we have a look at what I got and what I think of it?

100% Pure first impressions review

How amazing does this look? All this for 48€ I think this is an awesome deal! I also got three tiny samples of shampoo and a cotton make up bag with 100%Pure printed all over it, I didn't care much for that and gifted it to my overjoyed toddler.

100% Pure review

Foundation.
On the closer inspection I noticed that there is something wrong with the foundation, it has those tiny slits all over it, clearly visible from this photo below.

100% Pure foundation review

I posted this picture on my Instagram page, and a lot of people said it is not normal for foundation to look like this, it is possible that it is old/separated or from a bad batch and I should contact their customer service, which I did, and five days later the answer came back saying "In regards to the Foundation this is completely normal. Being that the products are fully natural they do separate due to various circumstances. All that needs to be done is a bit of shaking to re-mix the formula just as most natural products". So at least I was able to use the foundation in confidence, but do I actually like it? Hard to tell at this point and I hope I will warm up to it, as I really wanted to like this product, I really did, but I just don't think it performs very well. Let me make myself clear, there are some things I like about it and some of the things not so much.
Pros: it looks natural from afar, it doesn't not feel like a mask or heavy layer of make up on your skin, you can build the coverage to your preference, and it actually can last all day providing you will set it with powder.
Cons: it is very hard to blend due to the lack of silicones, you get very little time to work it into the skin as it sets fast, so don't make my mistake and don't dot the foundation all over your face and then start blending. you will end up with streaky face this way, it's best to work in small areas. Also all that blending and layering takes a lot of time, so it's not exactly ideal for those morning before work or school run. Second thing l didn't like is that l needed tons of product to get a decent coverage - about 6-7 full pumps, which for me is unheard of, I use one or two at most with other foundations. It also emphasised every single fine line I have, even the ones I didn't know I had! My eye area looked like a cobweb of fine lines with this product on, and dare I say that made me look older than I actually am? Number four is that the foundation does not last well on it's own, it needs a helping hand of powder to help it stay, which is not ideal for dry skin gals like me! After a while the foundation settles into dry areas of your face and rubs off in other areas, revealing the redness underneath. So it is fair to say you will have to adjust your make up in the middle of the day, which is something I have never ever done before. Once I leave the house, that's it for me, l don't lug around make up bag with me. One of the first times I wore this was out for the day running errands and when I checked my reflection in the mirror at about midday, l was like "Oh, looks like we have a problem here". Now I sort of understand why so many of us ladies carry make up bags full of stuff everywhere, but for me, I would rather change the offender product, rather than start carrying around tons of other products to fix one's downfalls. Maybe I am expecting too much of this product, but then again, in my thinking the product not only has to be natural, but to actually perform as well, or is that too much to ask?
I also got the shade that is too light for me (this is in no way their fault) and it makes me look too white and ghost like, so l definitely have to bronze up to wear it, and from what l have seen green youtubers talk about the next shade is way darker and they often get two shades and mix them together to make it just right. But this only adds to my doubts to whether I will repurchase this product, I mean do I want to spend almost €80 for two foundations and start playing mixologist every morning, when none of them is quite right? 
*Update many weeks later - I found out since that if you prep your face really well by using emollient moisturiser or balm and/or using a primer helps a lot with these problems and the foundation does not move and lasts all day. I have gotten their Luminous face primer since (I have a review on it too, please check it out) was a total game changer for me! It totally fixes all the problems I just mentioned.

Lip butter
The most surprising thing about this was that it is not moisturising, and that's a surprise given the ingredients, it has shea and other butters, but I find I need a lip balm underneath. The colour is perfect for winter and autumn, and I really like this product, it looks fabulous on the lips and cheeks (trust me to try it this way too) as it does last a long time and leaves a very nice stain. It takes a very little product,  so I can see this product lasting a very long time!

100% Pure palette review

Palette
Now for the palette. This was the freebie I was the most excited about, l mean you don't get deals like this often, right? it comes with Pink Champagne Luminescent Powder (works well for me, has nice shimmer and it's more on the golden side), Pretty Naked Powder Blush (looked super light once swatched and l have doubts if it will work for me, haven't used it on the cheeks yet due to my dermatitis on most part on my face.. Say no more, check natural fails post for more info). The eyes haddows look pigmented and last very well.. I will insert a few more swatch pictures later on.

100% Pure Mascara review

The mascara was another problem which I noticed straight away, it came broken, something rolls inside of it and if I shake it slightly, it rattles. I could be wrong, but I think that the colour deposit fell down the tube? The customer service weren't exactly helpful, they said unless I will provide a clear proof of what's wrong with it, there's not much they can do. Now, how can I provide proof without completely smashing and destroying the mascara tube I don't know..
The mascara itself didn't blew me away, and I knew it will do very little for my lashes as l have watched enough Youtube review videos over time. A lot of people said it's good everyday mascara, and I have to agree, it won't give you amazing results, and if you are like me who needs a lot of help from mascara, this is not the product for you. It won't give you volume no matter how many layers you will try to apply, and that is exactly what l am looking for. Yes, it will give length but not much, and my first impressions of it aren't great, it just pretty much will colour your lashes and that's about it. It won't be a repurchase for me I can tell you that much. Let's face it, if I am going to spend that much on a mascara (€20) it has to do way more than that. Also many people say it runs very easily and don't even think going into the rain with this mascara on, because you will end up with racoon eyes.
I really like the liner on the other hand, it really compensates for a bad mascara in my eyes! I is super black, creamy to apply, gives you nice smudged Kate Moss look eyes that last all day. Super :)
*Update many weeks later - their Maracuja mascara s a million times better in my opinion, and that is due mainly to the better brush in my humble opinion. I am so glad I gave their mascara a second chance, because the maracuja mascara went on to be my favourite ever mascara, green or not! Truly Holy Grail status if you will.



So that is all for now :) Let me know if you tried any of 100% Pure products and did you like them? Please share with me!

Get 100% Pure from

Amazon

Detox Market

Safe & Chic

 & other places :)

Kindest Regards,
Lots of love,
Renata.

How To Have Healthy Hair Again The Natural Way

Welcome back :)

I was posting a hair and scalp mask DIY picture on Instagram and suddenly the idea hit me, I ought to make a blog post about healthy hair, or rather how to have healthy hair again. Rather I should explain I lost 50% of my hair once i stopped breastfeeding, and my doctor brushed it off as "it will grow back".. So as the months passed and it didn't grow back, I decided to take matters into my own hands and do it natural way.
By the way, are you following me on Instagram? If not, you should :) here's the link :)

 https://instagram.com/green_life_in_dublin/

Back to business! Do you have frizzy hair and endless dandruff that is not going away no matter what you do or what expensive medical shampoo you buy? Guess what? You weren't born that way honey! It is the products you use that is the source of your problems. Yes, you read that right, your eyes aren't deceiving you. It took me a long time time to realise this and get to where I am today, so if you want to make a shortcut and save yourself ten years or experimenting and research and just jump straight to the good stuff and my two cents on it, aka advice :)

Switch to natural shampoos (no sls)

That is non negotiable! Let me tell you what conditions cured themselves almost overnight what i ditched sls (aka sodium laureth sulfate or sodium lauryl sulfate) - frizzy hair, dandruff, itchy and sensitive scalp AND backne! If that doesn't convince you, just go on and check the ingredients label on your dish washing soap or washing powder. Yes, there is a method to my madness - these products AND your shampoo have the same ingredients in them, yes, you guessed that right, SLS. What is it? Cheap harsh detergent that washes everything right off, so you are left with scalp that is squeaky clean, with no natural oils left on it. Yes, you will have clean hair, but at what cost? And especially if you do that every day? You can't expect your hair and scalp to be in their best condition if you take away all the natural oils that are there for a reason, can you? And what's worse, your scalp is one of the most absorbent places of your skin, so all the "lovely" bunch of chemicals get absorbed into your head every day.

Cut down on heat
It damages the hair big time, and gives you brittle hair and split ends! If you can't give up it all together, please just promise me don't do it two days in the row, as the second time you do it, the moisture is pulled out of your hair and it will become straw like. Nobody wants that, right? also I recently learned from Whitney or Eco-Vegan Gal from youtube (check out her youtube channel and a video on haircare) that the hair dryers and styling products emit the same high level of radio active waves as the microwave, so basically we ladies are successfully microwaving our heads every day! How scary is that?

Supplements
There are lots of unnatural supplements to choose from, but I wanted something natural, so I will tell you what I used and you can pick and choose what you want to try.. I tried amla (same powder as I used for hair masks can be taken internally, since it's food grade.) it's sour-ish powder that you take a teaspoon or so per day, try to bump it up as it's packed full of natural vitamin C. I just mixed it with water and drank quickly but you can add it to your smoothies or yogurt. Next is MSM, I got mine in raw form from Nourish, and it definitely made a difference, just it tastes quite nasty sour and to be honest l never repurchased it after my course. Biotin is a form of vitamin B and it is also fabulous for the hair, makes it grow so fast! One of my recent discoveries is baobab powder, which has more vitamin C than oranges, more iron than red meat and is a source of alkalising minerals including calcium, potassium (gram for gram, five time more bananas) and magnesium. But as I mentioned, it's new to me so l want to give myself time to see if I recommend it or not, in theory it should be good.
And let's not forget, to have healthy hair you need protein, so consume your fair share of proteins, preferably in food form, not those powdered ones. I like to eat nuts and seeds too, as they have lots of proteins (one tablespoon of sunflower seeds will have your daily quota). Eat them as a snack or sprinkle on yogurt or salads.

 Hair masks
 Here is my usual arsenal of hair loving ingredients, and you can pick and choose what do you want to use and off you go to mix your own concoctions ;)
Rosemary (fresh or dried), egg, yogurt, honey, banana, avocado, amla (none other than gooseberry), neem powder, coconut oil, water and milk, castor oil.
There are no specific measurements here, but if you want recipes, l will tell you a couple of one I am using, but to be honest here I am using whatever I do have on hand at the time. 
All these masks should be kept on for at least 20 mins, with oil masks the longer the better!
Coconut water and milk mask. Take some coconut milk from a can - scoop the thick part from the top and mix it with coconut water, and apply to the scalp and the hair. Keep it on for at least 20 mins, the longer the better. You can totally use coconut milk by itself, next time you are making your family curry, save a spoon or two for your mask. I usually have those two ingredients frozen in the ice cubes in my freezer and defrost only the amount I need.
Coconut oil and amla mask. You may want to add a few drop of rosemary essential oil too, as this ingredients is amazing for your hair! For a mask you will need a couple of tablespoons of coconut oil and about a teaspoon of amla (or neem, esp if you are trying to regrow your hair). 
Egg, honey and oil mask. Take an egg, and equal amounts of honey and egg and after mixing everything together apply to your hair. When washing this out, make sure to use lukewarm water if you don't want scrambled eggs in your hair!
Avocado or banana mask. Take a very ripe banana (or avocado), mash it up and apply to the hair. I have to tell you I haven't done these in a while, because these masks are a pain-in-you-know-what to wash out! But your hair will be happy, believe me!!

Scalp masks
 All the mentioned above masks are good for the scalp, so don't forget to rub it into the scalp too! I am a big fan of oiling the scalp and try to do a coconut scalp & hair mask at least once a week. Think of your scalp and hair as a soil and the flowers, to have beautiful flowers you need healthy soil, and for some reason or another we tend to overlook the scalp more often than not.

Herbal Rinses
Nettle is a fabulous hair friend, and it makes a perfect a perfect rinse. Take a handful of dried nettle (a few handfuls if using fresh) and steep in the boiling water for 30 mins. When cooled to the room temperature, use as a final rinse for your hair. You can rinse it out, but I usually don't.
Rosemary or sage rinse. Use the same way as a nettle rinse.
Rosewater rinse or spray. I recently found out that Indian beauties spray rosewater on their hair to make it shiny and beautiful, but i need to research a bit more about it. Inspired by this fact I made this little spray I try to use everyday if I remember  - equal parts of rosewater, rosemary and nettle. I spray it on my scalp and massage it in to lock the goodness in :)

Scalp massage
Let's just agree that is important to give the hair follicle the oxygen, so let's massage the scalp from time to time, or lay on the bed with your head hanging down from the side of your bed for two minutes each day (the flow of blood surely will benefit your hair) or even do like your grandma used to do and "brush your hair 100 times a day" with natural bristles brush. (speaking of brushes, l noticed tremendouss difference in my hair health and shine levels once l swapped my plastic brush to boar bristles brush. Choose wooden brush if you don't want animal products)


*Disclaimer: consult with your doctor before using supplements first. I am only telling you what worked for me and can not be held responsible for what you will do with this information. 

That is all my friends :)

Take care, 

Lots of Love,

Renata.

Buddhas Teas Review

Hello hello my lovely gals (and guys too), welcome back!This post is all about organic (certified) and good for you teas and my two cents about this tea and the brand in general, so let's jump right in, shall we?
A while ago I was offered some tea for a review via Instagram, and seeing that their teas are organic and good for you I said yes. When I checked their website I was surprised by the large variety of teas, you can shop by type (black teas, green teas, tea blends, chackra teas, etc) or by ailment (detox, energy, immune support, memory, liver function, etc) and they use unbleached tea bags and only natural ingredients.

They say:

Our Mission

Buddha Teas believes that a good cup of tea is not simply a beverage, but an experience designed to nourish the body and satisfy the soul. We strive to offer this experience to everyone through our vast collection of fresh, naturally grown herbal teas. Our mission is to provide high quality herbal teas at an affordable price, which everyone from the casual tea drinker to the seasoned tea connoisseur can enjoy.

Our Teas

Buddha Teas understands the importance of purity. While most consumer products today are processed and packaged beyond recognition, our goal is to get back to the natural. We offer 100% unaltered, organic and wildcraft teas made from the freshest herbs, carefully packaged in only bleach free tea bags. Our customers take comfort in knowing that they can enjoy a cup of tea without any harmful additives or toxins, and with our ever-growing collection of natural teas, each customer can choose a tea that perfectly matches their needs.

The Buddha Tea Promise

Buddha Teas promises not only a quality tea, but a rewarding experience with every purchase. We work to match each customer with the perfect tea through knowledgeable staff and customer education resources found throughout our site. We know that our customers are the backbone of our business, so we encourage any feedback to help us grow into a stronger business and insure every customer leaves satisfied. Our promise is that you will never find better quality, reliability or service than you will at Buddha Teas.


I say:
I was asked to choose one box of tea, and I asked for Zenergy (organic ginkgo biloba, green tea, ginger root, maca Root, ashwagandha)  or Genmaicha (green tea with toasted rice) and I got Genmaicha. Delivery was very quick, considering it came from US. The box that houses a tea is really nice, and sturdy, not your average flimsy box. Whoever designed the layout did a very good job. It also has a caffeine rating on the side of the box, I assume all their teas do, and that is very good idea, and so helpful if you are trying to avoid or limit it. The teas aren't cheap (you knew I will say this, didn't you?) and the box had a postage stamp of 12 dollars, which in total would make this tea a treat rather an everyday occurrence. Did I like the tea? Well, the taste was not what I expected, it's more toasted rice (nutty flavour) than green tea, so it's safe to say it is not my cup of tea :) (sorry, couldn't help myself) My friends and loved ones declared it "burned tea" and refused to drink it, so I will use up the rest in some other ways, for example will make a scrub out of it! That's right, nothing goes to waste in our house.  The fact I didn't like the tea is rather unfortunate and it makes me wonder if i liked the other tea better, but I do appreciate them sending me the product, it is in no way their fault, don't let this dissuade you from checking them out or buying from them. Just if I placed an order from them I would go for my favourites, rather than getting something new to me? I think they are doing a good job in bringing us organic products, and we need more of organic everything! If you want a good quality tea without cheap fillers or pesticides by all means, go for it!

Check Buddha Teas & more on my Amazon page here

Green Cleaning Products

Hi My Lovely Ladies (and Gents of course)

Today I am coming at you with some ideas on how to start your green cleaning routine, hopefully you will get inspired to switch your cleaning products too :)
I posted this photo on Instagram, and instantly got asked for a blog post about my cleaning routine, so here I am doing this for you guys!
Btw, do you follow me on instagram? if not, please feel free to do so:
https://instagram.com/green_life_in_dublin/
Back to cleaning :) If you didn't start to greenify (is that a word? well, it is now, lol) your cleaning routine, don't worry, you do not need anything fancy or expensive, the basic products you need, you probably have in your kitchen cupboards already. I am talking about a simple lemon, white vinegar and sodium bicarbonate, or baking soda in other words. Simple, I told you so :)
So why switch? Not only the regular cleaning products are chock full of chemicals, they are off-gassing for long time after you finished scrubbing surfaces with them. Not only that, they react with each other, creating toxic fumes in your house, and who wants that? and that "fresh" scent? another truckload of chemicals - fragrance - to mask the real smell of these horrible products. I used to get itchy eyes and skin after my cleaning days, not only that, but my skin was reacting in red rashes that took days and even weeks to subside, and yet l never put two and two together for years! As for many moms, road to all things natural starts with having your own baby, suddenly you realise you don't want any chemicals near your precious bundle of joy, so the ban of all ajaxdomestosfairyariel things started there. 
so there are things that I use for cleaning:

Vinegar - buy cheapest white vinegar, don't waste your good apple cider vinegar for this! Pour into spray bottle 50/50 with water, add your favourite essential oil for nice smell (I use lemon or orange essential oils, these are particularly good for cleaning). Good for any kind of surface, esp for glass and windows. If cleaning windows or mirrors with this finish by scrubbing them with scrunched up newspaper. Seriously. You will see shine like no other. Vinegar disinfects as well as cleans. For washing floors, take a bucket of water and a half a cup of vinegar, plus some essential oil (lemon or tea tree) and that is all you need.

Sodium Bicarbonate (or baking soda in other words) - just sprinkle and scrub away :) i use it mainly in the kitchen an the bathroom, it lifts any kind of dirt, esp good when cleaning bathtub, l use nothing else in the bathtub, and my hubby commented it works better than any shop bought stuff we used before! that is big coming from him :) For toilet bowl and greasy oven l sprinkle soda all around, and after a min or two spray my trusty vinegar mixture, it creates foamy reaction and cleans beautifully! This mixture will clean ANYTHING, trust me! Just let it foam up and sit there for a few mins and do the hard work for you. You don't need those toxic oven cleaners that cost a fortune. Speaking of oven cleaners, l have a friend who owns a professional cleaning company, he told me he wouldn't use that stuff in his own owen at any cost, and that speaks volumes to me. Clogged sink? pour a cup of baking soda and a cup of white vinegar, followed by kettle (or two) of boiling water. Repeat if necessary, but 9 times out of 10 you will have unclogged sink! all natural, and you will save yourself big bucks by not calling a professional in.

Lemon - don't overlook simple lemon for cleaning, it is brilliant for that! Nobody throws a lemon away in my house, even after squeezing the juices for your lemonade etc, you can use leftovers to clean! Brilliant for disinfecting wooden chopping boards, etc. Just take a lemon, cut it in half and start rubbing things, simple as that.. You can sprinkle some baking soda for double whammy, but lemon on it's own is good too. I chuckled to other day when my toddler shouted - "Hey, this kitchen counter is not clean, give me a lemon!"

Salt - if some scrubbing action is needed (tiles in the kitchen or bathroom, you can add some salt for more scrubbing power.

I encourage you to browse Pinterest for more DIY recipes if you wan to, there's plenty in there, I use very simple products, because it works for me. I fully understand that not everyone is inclined or has time to make DIYs, but these are very simple things I am recommending you, try it once and you will be happy with the results, you will see! If you still want to buy ready made products, keep your eyes peeled, I got the green glass cleaner (the bottle on the right in this photo) in 2euro shop for all the places, plus I've seen very good ones in TKMaxx, as well as in health food shops. So check around. 
Phew, that was a mouthful :) If you are still with me, comment "LEMON" in the comments below :) And of course please feel free to ask any questions!


Thanks for stopping by!
Lots of love,
Renee.

DIY Body Oil, DIY Lip Balm, DIY Deodorant

Hi My Lovely Natural Sistas and Brothers,

Today I am coming at you with three super simple DIYs that are in heavy rotation in my house. All super simple to make, work the same if not better than shop bought ones, and you are saving yourself so much money :) Plus you will know what goes into your skincare, I always say, check the ingredients! No matter what the front of the package claims, ALWAYS flip the bottle and scan the ingredient list! There were so many times I was greenwashed, when "natural" and "organic" and "award winning" shampoo or face wash contained SLS. Or natural cosmetics had dimethicone and other nasty chemicals in them. It may seem you have to have a chemists degree to decripter the labes these days, but adopt my common sense approach to things - if you don't understand the ingredients, your body won't either. If the label has more than 10 ingredients, put it back and run away from it! When in doubt, you can always double check EWG Skin Deep for doubtful ingredients or products.

Anyways, back to my DIYs!
First one is body oil, the yellow looking one in the top left glass jar. The ingredients are super simple, coconut oil, Weleda body oil and orange essential oil to give amazing fragrance. (Seriously how did I live without it for so long?). Coconut oil is the base of this butter or oil, you can use it on it's own as I did for so many years, but now I started to experiment with it a bit, hence where the Weleda body oil comes in. (basically to make it strech it for as long as possible, because at 20€ a bottle it's not cheap and used on it's own it runs out quite fast, making it an expensive habit) With this method I can make a bottle last for a year or so. Yes, I am cheap, I know. But I like to think I am canny saving money and I prefer to spend my hard earned cash somewhere else. On average, ladies go through 8 bottles of body lotion/butter a year, and it's scary to think how many chemicals they are putting on their bodies not to mention the cost of it all. Switch to this simple DIY and your wallet and your body will thank you. Not only you will save, but you will put only good ingredients on yourself, and your skin will show it very soon, I promise.

Second is the lip butter. 
Again, the ingredients are super simple, coconut oil, beeswax and honey. In the double boiler melt a tablespoon of oil with a teaspoon of grated beeswax, stir until it's melted and quickly take off the heat taking care not to burn yourself. when cooled and begginging to set, stir in half a teaspoon of honey and pour into a little jar, here I am using an old recycled metal tin.

Third is the deodorant, I saved the best for the last - this simple DIY will save your life! That is kinda exaggerating things, but I am sooo soo happy to have found this recipe online a while back. Natural deodorants don't work, full stop! This is one area I struggled the most since going green, because nobody wants to smell, right? And after wasting so much money on natural deodorants that wouldn't do anything I said enough is enough and made this simple concoction and haven't looked back! I used to bike 6km for my morning commute (and the same back) and I didn't smell at all! I gave it for my non-natural friend to try, and sceptical as she was, she confirmed the same, after moving furniture around the house by herself all day she noticed she didn't reek at all at the end of the day! So that only confirmed I am onto a good thing for me :)
Now, I bet you are expecting some complicated procedures and hard to find or unheard of ingredients, right? Wrong! I bet you have all the ingredients in the house already, and the whole process will set you back no more than 2 minutes.
So, grab a spoonful of baking soda (aluminnium free, please) a spoonful of cornflour and just enough of coconut oil to make it into a paste and mix it all together! Simple, I told you so!
Now, I have to mention the original recipe called for arrowroot powder instead of cornflour, so if you happen to have that ingredients, use that instead, it has deodorising properties on it's own, l would love to use it, but haven't located it in Dublin yet. Of course you can add your fave essential oil into it, just to couple of drops, and be mindful that citrus EO's are photosensitive, just telling you.. Also test first for sensitivity to baking soda, as some people cannot use it at all.

Disclaimer - I am not a doctor, nor I am telling you to do the recipes outlined here. I am sharing what works for me, and you can try it or not at your own peril. You can be allergic to any ingredient under the sun, whether natural or not.

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Much love,
Renata.

My Floral Waters

 

Hi my lovelies, 

These are my floral waters :) I refuse to shell out 6-20€ for toners or fancy micellar waters when these are the same if not better! And it doubles up as a face setting spray, so you can skip those nasty paraben filled skin finishing sprays too.

What are floral waters?

Rose and other floral waters are a byproduct of essential oil production. When rose petals are steam distilled, the water that’s left behind after the oil is separated out has a rich rose fragrance and contains the hydrophilic (water loving) components of the plant material, giving the water therapeutic qualities. In skincare, we often refer to this water as a hydrosol, and it is one of the most gentle and refreshing things you can put on your skin. In the case of rose, the water is infused with soothing, moisturizing and regenerative properties. As long as it’s pure and not cut with artificial fragrance, flavors or additives, the rose water in your kitchen doubles as a skincare ingredient.
 They are commonly found at middle eastern grocers, Whole Foods - if you're lucky enough to have one nearby, and other gourmet markets. They are affordable (a little goes a long way) and pure distilled floral waters — no extra ingredients.

 So how do I use it?

 I remove make up and tone face with these, as well as spray the face and hair to refresh it throuhout the day! Also, you can set make up with them, and you will get that glow effect as well as hydrated skin. So many reasons to use them :) And these floral waters are edible kind, no nasty additives in them for sure. Your skin will thank you, trust me! All of them cost less than 1.5€ per bottle and take aaages to finish, cos you get 200 to 300ml, way more than in the fancy shops.I got mine in Indian shop and I highly suggest you do the same :)

So tell me if you've tried them already? If yes, what did you like/dislike about it? If no, will you buy it? Please share below, I would love to hear from you :)

Have a lovely day!

Renee.