Native Unearthed Deodorant

Probably my favourite item that I received in The Vegan Kind August box was definitely the natural deodorant from Native Unearthed.  I’ve always been sceptical of natural deodorants as I have an irrational fear of smelling bad.  I’m the kind of person that will put some on in the morning, then before I leave for work, then when I get to work, then on every break etc... So you get the picture.  I don’t want to stink.  I’ve tried going natural before using one from Lush, which unfortunately did not work in the slightest for me and left me feeling really self-conscious going about my day.  I stuck it out for about 2 weeks before packing it in, so although I was excited to find this in my box, I was also a little skeptical and rather uncertain about giving another one a try. 

The Native Unearthed stick deodorant needs to be wet before you apply it to your underarms.  There is no fragrance to this particular one, which worried me slightly as what if I do start to stink and there is no pretty smells to try and combat it?  Of course I was being ridiculous, but hey, that’s just me.  As you rub it on, a clear wet paste like solution glides over the skin – it’s hard to tell if you’re putting on too much or not enough.  I will admit that it does not give me the same clean feeling as using a spray on does when applied, however you can’t really compare a spray and solid.  I love that it doesn’t flake off as you move your arms, nor does it stain you clothing as your pulling it over your head, like most spay on deodorants do!  After applied, it’s a waiting game to see how it preforms…

I played it safe for the first few wears, applying it in the morning and only using it on days when I knew I wasn’t going to be getting up to much other than blogging and a dog walk.  When these days passed without any problems, I started applying it in the mornings before going to work – but would always use the spray on stuff when I was at work to keep me topped up.  However this last week or so, I’ve put it to the real test and have been only wearing this for all day, be it a lazy day at home, a trip to town for some shopping or an evening work out at the gym – and it’s been great!  Not once have I found myself feeling sweaty or uncomfortable as my day as gone on - nor have I began to develop a bad odour either – which of course is my main concern here!  Of course I do still sweat, however it doesn’t smell at all and it doesn’t leave me feeling damp or sticky either.  It really is a great product, and I’m so happy that I got this in with the August box.  Priced at just £6.49 RRP – it’s a total bargain or the quantity and quality of the goods, and I will definitely be repurchasing again when this one runs out.  I’ve been convinced that natural deodorants are the way forward for ethical reasons thanks to Native Unearthed, it’s by far the best natural deodorant that I’ve come across to date, and would highly recommend that you give it a try too!

What’s your favourite natural deodorant? 

Until the next one,

August Lust List

So July was a pretty busy and rather expensive month.  Hulk needed a vet check that ended up costing a small fortune, it was brought to my attention that I was driving around with an illegal tyre – goodbye fitty dollars – and then I had three birthdays to fund.  That being said, I decided that my vegan subscription box could wait till this month (I can’t wait for it to come now though!) and decided to skip the Nakd delivery too.  It’s hard to believe that we are now in August – where had this year gone?” – and now that most of the birthdays are done for the year (there is still two to go for me) it’s time to start thinking about Christmas as I’ve lots of people to get for.  This month I have a few bits that I’ve had my eyes on for a while now, which I’ll hopefully be able to pick up throughout the month.

Beauty Box

I’ve been fancying treating myself to a beauty box for quite some time now, however over these last few months I’ve noticed lot a beauty bloggers posting about how they’ve not been overly impressed by some of the more popular boxes.  After doing my own research, I discovered You Beauty and Love Me Beauty – both reasonably priced boxed with a difference – if you’re quick enough, you get to choose what items you receive in your boxes.  Since going cruelty free though, it’s been a tough one trying to find a month when the boxes contain a good selection of suitable brands.  August looks like it could be the one though for both – so now I’ve just the decision to decide on what one I want.  Watch this space…

Multipurpose Balm

You’ve heard me whine and whine again about my dry lips and sore skin around my mouth – so this month I’m determined to find something that is going to solve the problem once and for all!  It popped up on my Facebook ads that Dr Pawpaw were on special offer in Superdrug, so naturally this is one I’m considering as I’ve heard great things about this cruelty free balm.  It’s also been suggested to me several times that I give the Lush Ultrbalm a go, as again they say it works wonders on dry skin, sore lips and simply just tired skin.  This is another strong contender as let’s face it, I do enjoy a Lush trip.  The final one I’ve seen throughout this last month was actually one featured in the Love Me Beauty Box, is the Dr Lipp balm.  Although I’ve not heard so much about this particular one, the website suggests that it does exactly what I’m looking for.  Stay tuned, as I’m going to make sure that this is the month that my lips stop hurting once and for all!

Bakedin

After one of my favourite bloggers posted online several weeks back that they had received a lovely selection of mug cakes from a company called Bakedin, I was very much interested to see what it was all about.  I thought it would make a lovely and quirky present for a couple of people, but didn’t have much hope in finding anything that would be gluten and dairy free.  I was pleasantly surprised though when I came across a gluten free brownie cake mix and mug cakes!  After an email questioning if the recipes could be adapted to dairy free alternatives – they got back to me very promptly confirming that it should work with no real problems.  I think I’m going to try out the mug cakes first, so fingers crossed everything turns out fabulously!

What are you treating yourself too this month?

Until the next one,

Cruelty Free Makeup

So if you read my June Lust List post from a couple of weeks past, you’ll know that I was starting to look into ensuring that all of my cosmetics and beauty purchases are cruelty free.  I’ve been a vegetarian for 8 months now, and I recently discovered that the majority of the brands that I use on a day to day basis are far from being suitable for vegetarians.  I have no idea why, but it had honestly never crossed my mind to look into this sooner.  I had assumed that testing on animals didn’t happen anymore – however that couldn’t be further from the truth.  So with this new information, I took it upon myself to do some research and went ahead and made all of the relevant changes.

The majority of my new make-up buys took the form of the Superdrug B. range – as this is a brand that I have used in the past and very much enjoyed!  Not only is this brand cruelty free, but they also pride themselves in being 100% suitable for vegans, which is pretty impressive for a relatively new brand.  Covering everything from nail polish to foundation to pallets – they legit have something for everyone regardless of their skin tone, type and preferred finish!

There was four items that I needed and two items I wanted: foundation, mascara, blusher and press powder being the needs and highlighter and concealer being the wants.  I picked a great time to decide to update my cosmetics too – as the B. make-up was marked down by 50%!  My first stop was the mascara – as I saw they only had the two varieties to choose from – waterproof or not.  As I had selected the non water proof and was scanning through the range – I spied an eye make-up palette that contained four eye shadows, a brow kit and a full size mascara for just £4.99.  The mascara I had in my hand cost £4.99 alone – so of course I wasn’t going to say no to that!  I’m not a eye shadow gal myself, and I’m not really in any need for a new brow kit – but this will keep until I run out making it a win-win situation! 

Next was the press powder – which is one of the items I’ve used in the past and have been very pleased with.   Packaged in a little compact format with a mirror for application, I picked this gem up for just £3.99 – which pleases me greatly as it is so big that I know this will do me for a solid month at least.

Blush was my next go to, however I became slightly distracted by another one of the face palette.  £4.99 for a reasonable sizing of press powder, foundation, concealer and highlighter – I got so excited by this that I actually forgot to pick up my blush and had to do another trip the next day.

As my closest store was all out of the foundations of the B. range – which is not surprising as these giant bottles were only £4.99 during this promotion (!) – I took a quick trip into the Superdrug in town the next day to see if I could get lucky.  Unfortunately it was the same story in this store too, however I did find myself a few gems that I could have missed out on had I not made the visit!

After a quick Google search when I was in store, I was delighted to find that Barry M are a cruelty free brand.  The packaging on the Flawless Matte Finish really appealed to me, and they had the most perfect shade for me too, so I just had to pick it up for the £5.99.  Back to the B. range and I was able to pick up their Whipped Blush for £3.99 as well as a Prepared Blemish Control Primer (£4.99) and a Beauty Blender (£4.99) – making my whole make up bag transformation a total of just £34.99 – which is really impressive considering that these are all high quality products that do not promote animal testing!

I’ll get round to telling you all a little but more about the products at some point in the near future, but for now I just wanted to show you all how easy it is to make the change when you do just a little bit of research – and that by making the change it doesn’t have to break the bank!  Some companies will charge up to £30 for one singular product – so the fact that I got my entire make up bag for just an extra £4.99 is something to brag about!

Have you tried out any of the B. range yet?  What’s your favourite?

Until the next one,

Soap and Glory 3 in 1 Daily Vitamin C Facial Wash

After finally coming to an end of my Dark Angels face cleanser (you can read my thoughts on it below!), I thought it was time to try out the Soap and Glory Clarity facial wash that I received back in January after subscribing for a free sample.  I’d never tried any of the Soap and Glory face care products before – I’ve only ever ventured as far as the body sprays (AMAZING) and the Sugar Crush body scrub and body butter… one of the most delicious scents I have come across to date!  So after having read only good things about their face care range online and through other bloggers sites, I was really keen to try it out for myself.

I was instantly attracted to the product when I first took it out of the envelope because of the colour.  It’s a gorgeous aqua blue with pink beads – making it stand out visually in comparison to the facial washes that I’ve used recently. The texture of this face wash is what really stood out for me in use – as it feels more like a gel before you rub it in.  Then when you begin to wash it onto your face, it becomes a really thick and foamy consistency all over – which I really liked.  When you’re rubbing it into the skin, it gives a tingly sensation over the areas of use – which again was a quality I enjoyed because I like to be able to tell that my skincare products are actually doing something when I use them.

Clarity doesn’t take much effort to wash off either, which I think is due to the lack of beads, and the consistency of the product.  Although this wash doesn’t give me the same “fresh skin” feeling as my usual preferences (anything that gives a major scrub) – this wash actually leaves my skin feeling a really natural type of clean, as well as giving me a nice and soft face which makes applying my make up in the morning that little bit easier.

I’ll be completely honest, had I not been sent the free sample in the post – this wouldn’t have been a product that I would be interested in.  Simply because before now I: 

1. Had never used any of the Soap and Glory face care range before

2. I like my facial care products to be really exfoliating.  

However, after having been given the opportunity to try before I buy, and the fact that I currently have loads of vouchers for Soap and Glory products for Boots – I reckon that this little number may make a permanent feature in my toiletry bag!

What’s your favourite Soap and Glory product?

Until the next one,

Lauren x 

Here's to trying something new

   So having been a media student for near 3 years now, setting up my own blog is something that I’ve wanted to do for some time.  I was never really sure what the purpose of a blog was before I started college, I had always kind of thought they were used like an online diary or for publishing stories for people to read at their own free leisure.  Now I see that blogs used for absolutely everything: fashion, food, book reviews & make up tutorials.  I’m excited to do a little bit of everything here, be it reviews of products I adore or places I go to visit.  I enjoy so many different things that I would find it hard to narrow my blog down to one specific area of my interests.

I l o v e Instagram, it’s my favourite social media platform.  I like to take pictures and I love to scroll through thousands of pictures of scenery, food, fashion, make-up and even peoples bedrooms.  Instagram has always made me feel as though I can share a little bit more of who I am as a person when I’m online, opposed to the likes of Facebook and Twitter.  Facebook and Twitter don’t like to know what you’re doing, Facebook and Twitter don’t understand. 

Follow me on Instagram @laurenashleymcghee

I’ve always felt as though Instagram was in some way, my own kind of blog.  I like to make my pictures look pretty before I post them, and I enjoy making maximum use of hashtags to allow people to see my photos.  This may not be fun to some, but I really enjoy this aspect of social media, and have no shame admitting to it!  I hope to be able to expand on things I post on Instagram from here, as a picture is sometimes just not enough.

I’m looking forward to sharing my favourite health and beauty products, my love of different coffees, the projects that I’m involved in and my sad obsession with freebies and vouchers that I have developed.  But most of all, I’m excited to be sharing my thoughts and writing online for the first time besides my course work.  I’m really keen to progress into media related work when I’m finished my studies, and I feel that this will be an appropriate first step in allowing me to do just that.

Please feel free to share any feedback or give me any suggestions, it would be much appreciated!

Until the next one,

Lauren x