It's that time again. Today I'm going to be sharing some of my all time favourite vegan beauty products that I use every single day. This isn't even makeup, this is more skincare, haircare, tooth-care - basically all the necessities I use for taking care of myself and my body! It's also kind of a guide for if you're switching out all your products to be vegan. This is a great way to start and maybe be inspired by some of the products I use, so let's get right on into it!

Cruelty Free Make-up Wishlist

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9

I have majorly fallen out of love with makeup. UNTIL RECENTLY! Honestly, it's scaring me - all of a sudden I'm lusting over so many beautiful products, and I finally understand the hype. I've been doing my eyebrows and applying powder, only, for about a year. Now that I only use cruelty free and vegan beauty products, I initially thought it'd be hard to shop for new makeup. It's basically only Benefit and Mac, in terms of high end makeup, that test on animals. Don't take my word, of course loads of brands still, sadly, use animal testing. 

Turning Sylvie Into A Fairy Princess

This post is such an accurate representation of my relationship with my six year old sister. I get sent a box of beautiful items which I would look an idiot in, so I dress Sylvie up and she owns it. 

Favourite Makeup Picks

real techniques deluxe crease brush / real techniques detailer brush / mac paint pot in 'chilled on ice' / revlon lip butter in 'peach parfait' / rimmel stay matte powder / rimmel glameyes eyeliner / maybelline brow drama / bare minerals flawless definition mascara / bare minerals 'golden gate' blush / collection lasting perfect concealer / revlon lacquer balm in 'demure'

I try my best to stray away from typical beauty blogger posts, but sometimes I can't help it! Aaah, copper plates and mac lipsticks come to meeeee. Even though I go to school, where a full face of makeup isn't welcomed, it's nice to look presentable. So, this post is a mix of products that I've been using for weeks, months, and some even for years. It's nice to change it up a bit but to be honest, this 'routine' has stayed the same since before Christmas.

november favourites

Yes, yes I know. It's November and I'm already using Christmas products and I already have a Christmas background, but what can you do. I've always been one of those people who think 'Christmas doesn't start until December 1st, but now, after watching all the YouTube videos and the reading all the blogposts, I'm thinking, 'Christmas starts NOW'.

Lush Santa's Belly shower jelly 

My favourite scent, possibly ever, from Lush is So White, but of course the beautiful bath bomb is only released at Christmas. I popped into the King's Road Lush and asked if they had any in stock and they said no, but then they showed me this little miracle. A cherry red, sparkly shower jelly with the exact same scent. Life complete. I've always loved Lush shower jellies, especially Whoosh which my sister loves too, so I've affectionately added this to the collection. The scent - apples. Super fresh, uplifting, and I love everything about it.

Nākd bars

I snack a lot, that's a given. It's hard to find things to eat in-between meals that are healthy but don't taste like cardboard. When the lovely Fran from Total Media contacted me and asked me if I'd like to try these out, I was a little hesitant. For me, there's a stigma surrounding 'health' bars, meaning that they don't taste too good. Still, I accepted. A box of about 25 arrived at my door, and as soon as I saw that there were coffee flavoured ones, I was sold. These. Taste. Insane. The ginger bread one especially, it's so fitting for the season! Thank you Fran for these, they're delicious!!

Lush The Sun perfume

Ironic, seeing as I live in England so never even see the sun, so perhaps the wrong timing to be realising what a lovely perfume this is. This literally smells of oranges. I don't have anything else to say. Beautiful.

 Origins GinZing Energy Boosting-Moisturiser

Very late to the parade on this one. It seems like every blogger and their cat have this moisturiser, and I hear so many good things about it. Aside from it smelling identical to chocolate oranges, an obvious bonus, it's actually a miraculous product. I have very oily skin, and for a long time I followed the false rumour that you shouldn't use moisturiser if you have this skin type. Of course, you shouldn't do that. If you have oily skin and don't use moisturiser, your skin will only produce more oil. This is a great product to stop me getting too shiny thorough the day, and keep my skin all lovely and soft.

Yankee Candle in Christmas Cookie

We've all heard of this one. The queen of christmas candles. Christmas cookie. It smells so lovely, basically just Christmas in a jar, and it's an essential for this time of year!

nude dude

I'm not really that big on makeup if I'm honest. I kind of tried to pretend I was until a few months ago until I gave up because it just doesn't interest me. Don't get me wrong, I like makeup, you know, your standard concealer, powder, eyebrow gel and eyeliner. But anything from TheBalm? I'M IN. I own the naked basics palette which is my absolute favourite, and I turn to it if I ever want to wear eyeshadow or fill my eyebrows in. With open arms, I've added Nude Dude to my eyeshadow 'collection'. It's very natural, but also has lovely shimmery shades and darker shades for a smoky look. I love the shade Fit, a gorgeous copper glittery colour. This palette is a dream, from TheBalm and ideal for autumn, and even Christmas presents if you've started thinking about it yet..

although I was sent this product to review, it does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

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now playing: i know there's gonna be good times jamie xx/someday the strokes/cause i'm a man tame impala/naive!!!

a handy duo

lush big shampoo + lush american cream conditioner

Feeling like a mermaid is good enough for me. Add smelling like a strawberry milkshake, and it can't get any better.

Lush's Big shampoo is the only thing that will add volume to my hair without leaving it a dry, damaged mess. With seaweed and coconut to give softness, and lemon and lime to give shiiiiiine, it's the ultimate sea salt shampoo. On the tub, the fragrance is described as 'a lovely bright and uplifting fragrance of neroli, mandarin, orange flower absolute and vanilla', so it doesn't smell of salt, at all. Trust me on this one, it's a good shout.

American Cream conditioner - aka liquid gold. Ooooh so creamy, and one of the best smelling hair products I've tried. It's a very thick and heavy conditioner but doesn't weigh my hair down, and the scent lasts for hours! Also has the best description I've seen - 'Bring all the boys to the yard with this strawberry vanilla milkshake conditioner. Double strength and extra creamy to leave your hair gorgeously soft and smelling sweetly'.

These two products are a match made in heaven. They work together perfectly, and give you whiffs of a beautiful smell during the day. To be honest, I don't know why I haven't seen more people using these together! 

now playing: fever the black keys/turn it around lucius/higher than the sun peace

bits and bobs

satsuma body spray the body shop/handy gurugu hand cream lush/pomegranate lip butter korres/expert face brush real techniques/defining eye pencil beauty without cruelty/spf 60 sunscreen la roche-posay

It feels good to sit down and do a proper beauty post. The only two makeup products in here are an eyeliner pencil and a tinted lip butter ( if that even counts ). Here are some things that I always use, like constantly, and some of them I don't hear enough about so heeere.

I won't go on any more about the Lush Handy Gurugu hand cream because I've done a more in-depth review here if you scroll a bit. What I will say is it's the best hand cream I've ever tried.. yes, really. And everyone has their lip balms and this one is my favourite. Oliver Bonas never lets me down, but I never really think of it as somewhere to buy beauty bits. Welllll, think again. This subtly tints your lips, but is also super moisturising and smells divine. I've been smelling like a fruit basket with my satsuma body spray - the actual scent of the body shop. When you walk in and you smell that smell? This.

Everyone at some point has had an obsession with real techniques, but that's because the brushes are just. so. good. The expert face brush is an essential for me because I use it for powder and concealer, and if you really wanted to it could work for blush as well. And finally, a sunscreen. Before you all say SPF 60 ARE YOU CRAZY WOMAN??, no I'm not and let me explain. I always get sun burnt on my face the most, so I need a really strong spf. This works well for me, but it's run out. I got a tiny sample of this whilst in America because, let's be honest, who can afford to spend £23 on a sunscreen?

now playing: what you don't do lianne la havas/teeth white the staves/this feeling alabama shakes

lush sympathy for the skin

Lush 'Sympathy for the Skin' hand and body lotion, to say it's changed my life would be an understatement. I was bought it for my birthday by my 2 lovely cousins and my aunt and uncle living in America. How they read my mind? Don't know. On this beautiful moisturiser pot, it says 'banana and cocoa butter on the skin - what more could be wanted? oh, a gorgeous vanilla, lemon oil, labdanum and sandalwood perfume? alright then.' I use this ( mostly ) every morning and evening, but after using over half the pot in the first couple of days, I've decided to 'ration' it out. It absorbs so quickly compared to all the other body lotions I've tried, and it's not overly perfumed either, meaning it feels so fresh on the skin. For the price, £5.95, it's more than worth it, though it is running out very quickly. I'll definitely be back in Lush after this runs out. Beautiful.

review - buxom gloss in 'yow'

When I was in America, I went into Sephora for the second time. I had heard quite a few YouTubers talk about the Buxom lip glosses, so when I saw the whole range sitting there, waiting for me to buy, I immediately started scanning the different shades. The one I decided on is called 'Yow'. I love that name!

Let's start with the packaging. I was drawn to the mirrored lettering when I first saw it, I think it's really quirky and unique. The ( also mirrored, and too bulky! ) lid twists off, and there's the applicator. My initial thoughts were 'whah, there's way too much product on this'. And there is! The product itself is VERY sticky, and it's a pain when the applicator pulls out a whole dollop of it when you're in the mood for a light splash of colour. 

Within the packaging, the gloss is a dark, old/dusty rose colour, with a slight shimmer to it. Confusingly, on the lips it's a lot brighter, and way pinker! It's a lovely colour, but I wish it hadn't been so misleading.. As for durability, this stuff wears off within about 3 hours for me.

Overall, for $19 ( £12 ) I don't think this is quite worth the money. It's a gorgeous colour, and I do wear it quite a lot, but I think a reasonable price for this would be £8-£10.

Have you ever tried this product? What did you think of it?

Natural Beauty

On a regular basis, I tend to not wear all that much makeup. For school, I like to fill my eyebrows in a little, maybe some concealer if my crazy under-eye circles are super dark, and powder to get rid of any oiliness. But I don't feel the need to wear makeup if I go out to the corner shop to pick up some bread at 8am or nip out to superdrug quickly to stock up on soap. What really scares me is that some girls do. They feel so uncomfortable in their own skin, they want to cover up every single flaw they can find.

I'm not saying if you have a big blemish on your face you should leave it, but it's fine to go out without makeup every once in a while - it won't kill you! Here's what I like to do when I want to feel a bit more 'glammed up', or if I'm going out somewhere special and want to look my best. It doesn't have the winged eyeliner I love to do, but this post is called 'natural beauty'.

I cover up any spots or red patches on my face with Rimmel's Wake Me Up concealer, and then powder with the all famous Rimmel Stay Matte powder. I fill in my brows with the shade 'Naked 2' in the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette, and I use an angled Real Techniques eyeshadow brush. If I feel like it, I'll line my eyes with the shade 'Crave'. It gives a lovely, natural and defined look. My new love is the Cowshed lip balm - it smells like a meadow you'd dream of walking through in a white flowy dress with a flower crown in you hair, but throw a bit of the Jo Malone rose scent in there. This all makes sense in my head..

 Finally, here's me, without any makeup or touch-ups. This is my hair, one day after washing without any extra product in it, and my weird smile up close. Kind of scary?

(This post is part of a little blogger series I'm taking part in called the "secret blogger project 2015" run by teen bloggers Emily , Rebekka and Charlotte. About 30 of us will be writing twice a week on selected little lifestyle topics and you can also go onto the twitter and Instagram hash tag "#secretbp2015" to have a little chat and view everyone's posts. If you would like to join or know more (we'd love to have you!)  Instagram dm @theperks0fbeingemily or if you don't have Instagram, send a quick email to  rebekkarosebeautyxo@gmail.com!)

The Perfect Pick-Me Ups

I think everyone will agree that we all have days when we're feeling a bit *insert very angry word here*. They're horrible, and you never want to do anything with your life at that specific point in time. Here are some things I like to do when I'm having days like this - they're simple, but fail-proof.

1. Do some light exercise. I know this is out of some peoples' comfort zones, and was out of mine until a few months ago, but I promise, if you haul yourself out of bed, you will feel 50 times better after you've exercised. There's a beautiful park near my house and I absolutely love putting on my workout clothes ( that's another thing, invest in some exercise gear that makes you feel confident ) and going for a 20-30 minute run once around the park first thing in the morning. Not first thing, usually around 9am. If you're going to try to build up some sweat or get your heart pumping, it is SO important to eat a healthy, energising breakfast and bring some water with you. I'm not claiming to do hours of exercise every day I feel sad, but it is something I try to do, and I know it'll make me feel better when I come back from it.

2. Have a bath/shower. I don't like having baths when I'm moody, as the hot water tends to get me really hot and bothered. A shower always leaves me feeling refreshed and clean, especially if I wash my hair. I love to use a shower gel or soap that I wouldn't normally use - something that's a little fancier. We all have those products that we ration out over months, or even years.. If you're feeling particularly groggy, turn on the cold water for the last 10 seconds or so. It's not pleasant as you do it, but you'll come out feeling awake and ready to do something with your day.

3. Recently, I decided to try the diy fruity drink thing that Starbucks sell - and I LOVE it. I'll get out of the shower, put a towel around my head to dry my hair and sit with my fancy 'beverage', maybe watching some YouTube videos. Or Netflix - I recently finished ALL of Pretty Little Liars, and finished Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt in 3 days.. So I'm re-watching 90210. Yep, re-watching as in I've seen all 5 series before.

4. Fooood. I'd love to say that I eat a big bowl of fruit or an avocado sandwich or something on these days, but the harsh reality is that I comfort eat. I'll reach for a chocolate mousse, a packet of crisps, or a cup of lemonade. On some days, I won't want to put bad foods into my body, as it will most likely make me feel worse, so lettuce and a copious amount of Caesar dressing is my saviour. I'm also obsessed with strawberries, I consume boxes at a time.

5. I love giving my skin a little pamper. It makes me feel so fresh, and kind of like a goddess to be honest. Although that's never the reality haha. I wash, cleanse and tone my face, probably with my Simple Triple Action Spotless Face Wash, First Aid Face Cleanser and Garnier Refreshing Toner, and then pop on a face mask. One of my new favourites is the Love Lettuce face mask by Lush. It has the perfect fresh scent, with hints of cucumber and mint. I feel GLOWING when I take it off. I then put on a teeny bit of my Garnier Moisture Matte.

6. Next, when my hair is dry, I've washed my face mask off and changed into something that makes me feel like a queeeen, I'll light a fresh smelling candle. One of my favourite fresh scents is Bath and Body Works's 'Eucalyptus Mint', although I love Jo Malone's 'Green Tomato Leaf', which is my 'fancy grown up' candle. I also love spritzing myself with some perfume or body spray. My two favourite body sprays are 'Aqua Kiss' by Victoria's Secret and the Satsuma Body Spray by the Body Shop.

7. Now that I'm feeling all fresh and lovely, the one thing I desperately try not to do is stay in my room. Call up your friends, go out to somewhere you've never been and have an adventure.

This post is part of a little blogger series I'm taking part in called the "secret blogger project 2015" run by teen bloggers Emily , Rebekka and Charlotte. About 30 of us will be writing twice a month on selected little lifestyle topics and you can also go onto the twitter and instagram hashtag "#secretbp2015" to have a little chat and view everyone's posts. If you would like to join or know more (we'd love to have you!)  Instagram dm @theperks0fbeingemily or if you don't have instagram, email rebekkarosebeautyxo@gmail.com! xxx

simple rope braid

 To all the girls out there with hair that's at an awkward length and it doesn't grow and it's thin and gross and you can't wear it down because it's too frizzy - I feel you. Sometimes it feels great, I don't need to be like everyone else with thick and luscious long hair. But it gets a bit of a pain. Since I can't find any decent tutorials for my type of hair, here's one that should help out any of you in the same position!

All you need to do is have two sections of your hair twisted around each other, but on the section closest to the middle of your head, pick up little sections of hair each time you twist it ( that was an awful explanation, I hope you know what I mean ). You can do this as many times as you want down the side of your head, but I think it looks nicest with just two. I love how this looks with messy, wavy hair, but you could opt for curly or straight hair, which I'm sure would look nice too!

What's your go-to hairstyle?

Too Faced Lipstick in 'Melted Peony'

Seeing as I'm in California at the moment, obviously one of the places on my list to visit was Sephora. I came out with a nail polish, another lip gloss and a face cleanser ( more on that to come.. ), and this beautiful product. I was super excited to try this, after having heard pretty much every beauty blogger and YouTuber rave about it. When I tested it on my hand, I was shocked by how pigmented and creamy it was! I was expecting the product to be a lot drier, and the applicator is something new to me.

The packaging, like any other Too Faced product, is stunning. I really liked how the tube is the exact same colour as the product. The shade itself is gorgeous - a subtle baby pink. It's perfect for every day looks but could buildable for a 'going out' look, as it's such a versatile colour.

Overall, I love this product and will definitely be buying more colours to see if they live up to this one!

first aid beauty ultra repair cream

I've been meaning to try something from First Aid Beauty for a while. It's an American brand, so is only available on Amazon and eBay etc, but Amazon were having a huge sale on this. Finish the story yourself.

Their ultra repair cream is aimed at people with 'dry, parched skin'. I don't have this problem, my skin is actually a bit oily. However, of course I have days where the cold gets to me, and on those days I always reach for this. The formula is really thick and creamy, meaning you only need the tiniest bit. You just dab some on your face, and massage it in. The effects usually last all day, and it disappears into your skin very fast! On amazon it retails at around £9, and I would definitely recommend trying this out if you're looking for a new moisturiser.

W7 'Lightly Toasted' palette

 

W7 were kind enough to send me one of their gorgeous eye palettes in 'Lightly Toasted', a lip bomb in 'Raspberry', and their black liquid eyeliner. W7 are a London based cosmetics company, and their aim is to allow people to have access to a wide range of high quality makeup at affordable prices. Personally, I've been a fan of this particular company for as long as I can remember, so I'm delighted to be reviewing some of their pieces!

The quality of these eyeshadows are so high, they're super easy to blend together and the colours are stunning. The pigmentation is incredible, easily build-able and can create some stunning looks. Only 2 of the 12 shades are matte, and the rest are shimmery. As you can clearly see, it is a very versatile palette and can be used to create a smoky look, or an every day look with some of the shimmery pinks and browns. My favourite shades are 'Teddy Bear', 'Wonderland' ( both shimmery pinks ) and 'Lady Luck', which is a beautiful dark matte brown. This retails at £9.99.

When I opened the package W7 sent, I originally thought this was an EOS lip balm, which is one of my favourite brands. In my opinion, this is just as good, and it's very very similar to EOS's 'Pomegranate Raspberry' lip balm. If you're looking for a cheaper alternative, this lip bomb in 'Raspberry' is the way to go. I can't find this on the website, but there's a set of 3 here for £6.

I've recently run out of my favourite liquid eyeliner, which was Collection's 'Fast Stroke', and yes, you guessed it, the quality is the same, if not better. This has surprisingly long staying power, around 5-6 hours before you need to re-apply it. It retails at around £5.

Overall, I'd really recommend all of the products I've mentioned. The eyeshadow palette is so versatile, and the extra bits are excellent dupes for some other of my favourite makeup pieces.

although I was sent these items to review, it does not influence my opinion and I have been 100% honest as always

winter party grwm

dress - ark

shoes - topshop

Hiiii. Today's post is very long-awaited on my time-table, and it's been put off for weeks. It's a winter party get ready with me - yaaaaay.

This is a collab post with one of my best bloggy friends, Rebekka. She's so gorgeous and kind and her blog is so pretty and engaging. I really suggest having a read through, she's very talented at writing!

The first thing I need to do is have a shower using really lovely smelling products, and shave my legs. I always feel so much more confident and clean after this. I've also been recently using the Body Shop's tea tree range, I'm obsessed. My favourite two products are the Squeaky Clean Scrub and Toner Water.

And here's a picture of me trying to be hipster when I was getting ready.

I'm aware this picture turned out really blurry but I think it looks nice! The perfume I used was Taylor Swift's 'Wonderstruck'. I didn't just buy this because of her ( I'm not her biggest fan ), but the smell is so sophisticated.

For the makeup I decided to keep it pretty natural, and used pale shimmery shades from my Sleek 'The Storm' palette. Of course I had to use Soap and Glory's 'Supercat' eyeliner to make a winged effect, and on my lips I'm wearing a berry pink, glittery lip gloss from the Natural Collection, which is kind of old so I don't know the shade.

My dress is from Ark and I really love it. The lace detailing at the top is just stunning and I love the fit!

Thank you for reading, I hope you found this post interesting and it maybe inspired you to get out of bed and stop eating nutella with a spoon. You, yes you, get off netflix for a while.

Don't forget to read Rebekka's blog!