by Annette @ Wellness WA | Nov 4, 2011 | At Home, Products, Reviews
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This week marks the start of World Vegan Month (November!), and what better time to share some of my favourite vegan beauty products with you?!
For a product to be vegan it has to be be free from any animal ingredients, including things such as honey, beeswax and cochineal (a common additive in lipsticks and blushes which comes from crushed, bright red beetles), and the product must have undergone no animal testing. It’s something that most people don’t think about in relation to beauty and body products, so it’s good to bring our focus back now and then to realise that yes, animal prods are often used in the beauty and wellness industry, but that there are some companies who are reversing the trend and going animal free!
Lets start with one of the pioneers of mainstream vegan beauty and body products… a long time favourite: LUSH!
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Take a stroll into your local Lush, or a squiz at the online store and their commitment to veganism is evident. While not all of their products are vegan (80% vegan, 20% vegetarian), the ones that are can easily be found by the green “Vegan” stamp – doesn’t get much easier than that!
The Comforter by Lush – one of my all time fave animal free bathing products!
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♥ Wotnot Vegan Makeup Brushes
You may or may not know that most makeup brushes are made from animal hair, think horses, goats, calves etc. Apparently products stick to this type of hair better than synthetic versions, but we say that the hair should stay on those who it’s intended for – our animal friends – and that we should get by with synthetic versions!
One such company that has taken this approach is Wotnot. Their vegan makeup brushes had me very excited when I first found out about them, and upon trialling them I think everyone should consider making the swap from animal hair to these! Made from bamboo and cruelty free synthetic fibres, the brushes also boast that they are strong and waterproof, individually handmade, eco friendly AND Australian owned.
The kit is $79.95 contains the following brushes: powder/bronzer, foundation, blush, 3 x eye shadows brushes, eyebrow & lip!
Their natural facial wipes are pretty damn special too!
“Don’t steal ma hair plz!”
♥ Echolife
The Echolife online store is one of my faves and they have L.O.A.D.S of vegan products! It’s my first stop if I’m looking for something natural and organic, too.
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♥ Be Genki
We’re already huge fans of Be Genki at Wellness WA, and it helps that their products are also vegan, yay!
The latest product to be inhabiting my world is the Tranquility Bath & Shower Oil. While it’s an ‘oil’, when it is added to water it disperses into a milky consistency and fills the bathroom with the dreamiest, relaxing scent that completely embodies ‘tranquility’ in the purest sense of the word!
It’s a cruelty free bathing treat that I indulge in on a very frequent basis (at least once a fortnight!)
That’s it from me for now, although I know there are PLENTY more amazing vegan beauty products around.
Do you know of any? What are your favourites? Do share with us 🙂
Happy World Vegan Month!
Be well,
Annette
xoxo
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Nov 3, 2011 | Products, Reviews
I’ve been a big fan of the Clinique Lip Chubby Stick Moisturising Lip Balm ($35) since they first came out and regularly sport the watermelon colour. When I spotted a similar product produced by mineral brand Morgan Annie, I jumped at the opportunity to combine my mineral make up passion with my lip gloss addiction.
One of the best things for me about Morgan Annie is that it’s a local brand. Albany mum-of-two Kylie Apostoles created the brand after years of experience in the hair and beauty industry. It started with the lip products and has grown to include a full mineral make up range.
The Mineral Chubbi Lippy ($42) is a combination of a moisturising lipstick in a pencil packaging. Unlike a pencil product, they are far more like a lipstick in application and texture but have the pencil-like bonus of long-lasting wear. I tried two colours, soft pink and nude pink, and loved both. I’m already starting to sharpen the soft pink to get more out of it.
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I also tried the Perfect Pink Mineral Lipstick ($39.95) and yet again, it suits my complexion perfectly. It’s so rare for me to find “that” shade of pink as they’re either too harsh, too pale or too mumsy. I think the difference here is that the Morgan Annie range enhances your natural colours rather than dominating them with an entirely new shade.
The more opportunities I have to try mineral products, the more I’m sold. I’m addicted to my Inika and Youngblood products already, but I’m making space in my bathroom cabinet for local star Morgan Annie if these luscious lippies are anything to go by.
Morgan Annie products are available at the following places:
♥ Morgan Annie online store
♥ Other retail stockists
Are you into mineral products? What brand and product have converted you?
Review by Lisa O’neill, Freelance Journalist & mineral makeup convert.
Be well,
xoxo
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Nov 2, 2011 | Food, Reviews, South of River, Wellness Tips
Being on my version of the Earth Diet Challenge: 365 days sugar free, preservative free, MSG free, artificial anything free, I’ve been looking at different ways of preparing food.
About two years ago I was at my diet was 100% raw and I felt absolutely amazing. I had recently been diagnosed with Graves Disease and the medication wasn’t working fast enough and so my specialist recommended removing my thyroid.
Things go a little out of control without a thyroid as I soon discovered. I was tired, foggy and if that wasn’t enough I gained 10 kilos in 8 weeks! I ‘discovered’ the raw food diet on a google search and I seriously never felt better.
However as with most things, as I started feeling better the motivation to stay 100% raw diminished, as did my feeling great. Funny that.
I eat fairly well these days, and as I said earlier I committed to the Earth Diet Challenge 56 days ago now and was looking for new ways to prepare my food when along came a 2 for 1 offer to attend a raw food class so how could I say no to that?
Food in the Nude – A Vibrant Start!
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I arrived to Michelle’s class and joined the other 10 ladies that were there, her classes are held at the back of her home in a gorgeous room with plenty of natural light.
Michelle started off by telling us about her story, her past health problems and where she gets her passion for raw foods. The best thing was she was totally upfront with all of us and admitted that she wasn’t perfect, not only was she not perfect but she had eaten a Krispy Kreme doughnut recently! Talk about making people feel at ease.
The other great thing about Michelle is there was no “all or nothing” approach. I’ve found that a lot of people who say they’re interested in your health have a belief that their way is the only way and they can be quite painful to deal with.
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She went through a dazzling array of equipment that she uses, but was quick to point out that we could start with just the basics of a blender and food processor, knife and cutting board.
♥ Michelle making a green smoothie, check out that glowing skin!
We then progressed to the food, and oh my goodness what a great way to convert people while educating them.
We started off with two different green smoothies, followed by Buckwheat Crispies, Cacao Crispies, Almond Museli, cinnamon gRAWnola and Walnut and Goji Crumble. And just in case there was a chance that we might be able to walk out the door rather than be rolled she then gave us Almond and Chia Porridge followed by my favourite, The Big Brekky! Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Guacamole on Sprouted Toast.
♥ Ingredients for the Buckwheat Crispies
♥ Some various raw food products
♥ The yummy looking tomatoes and mushrooms!
All this was made in front of us showing us just how easy it is to add more raw into your diet and how simple it can actually be to put it all together with no experience at all.
The price ($135) included all the above plus handouts with information on where you can get your nutrients on a high raw diet as well as equipment, methods, kitchen cupboard staples as well as resources to find all the above.
Best of all she gave us the recipes to all the food we sampled as well as a few more smoothie ideas.
Where: Hamilton Hill
What: Raw Food Classes
How much: Generally around $135 for 3 hours learning to prepare (and be filled up on!) fabulous raw foods
Website: www.foodinthenude.com.au
Email: michelle@foodinthenude.com.au
Reviewed by Chizelle S Salter, writer, extreme self-love expert and hostess of Chizelle TV.
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Oct 31, 2011 | At Home, Products, Reviews
♥ Clarisonic Mia, what a cutie!
After hearing about this mythical, magical, dream skincare appliance by the name of Clarisonic for many years, I finally got the opportunity to road test it’s baby sister, Clarisonic Mia, and the results have me seriously impressed after just one use!
Clari-what now? Sonic skin cleansing?
Clarisonic is the unique sonic skin cleansing system that has taken the beauty world by storm, their website states:
“The Sonic Skin Cleansing System uses a patented sonic frequency of more than 300 movements per second to clean, soften and smooth your skin. In just 60 seconds a day, the micro-massage action cleans more than twice as effectively as manual cleansing.”
Claimed benefits:
♥ Removes 6x more makeup than manual cleansing
♥ Leaves skin feeling and looking smoother
♥ Cleanses so well that products absorb better
♥ Gentle enough for twice daily use
♥ Helps reduce oily areas, dry skin patches and blemishes
♥ Helps reduce the appearance of visible pores
After one use my skin (which is normal-dry-acne prone, better known as extremely difficult) feels smoother than it has in a long, long time and also quickly absorbed my favourite natural serum, rosehip oil, which always makes my skin glow. So far that’s 2/6!
I will post a thorough review in one month, but for now… I’m a convert!
The Clarisonic Mia comes in this gorgeous range of colours… unfortunately it’s only available in white in Australia at the moment. Hopefully the other colours start filtering through, I’m quite fond of the pastel purple myself!
Clarisonic Mia + sample cleanser is available for $179
Clarisonic Classic Skincare System is available for $249
Clarisonic is available in Australia from David Jones, Myer, Priceline and selected pharmacies as well as Adorebeauty.com.au
Have you got a Clarisonic, or ever wanted to try it out? Which colour is your favourite?
Be well,
Annette
xoxo
by Annette @ Wellness WA | Oct 27, 2011 | Products, Reviews
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One of my absolute favourite things about make-up is the fact that you can use it to express yourself creatively. It’s your face and quite frankly you can do anything you want to it…and then wash it off later. For me, this includes the nails. If it were practical, I would get those super long nails that you can paint all kinds of nail art on to- sunsets, space scapes, mountains, animals- but I would be rendered pretty much useless like that so I have to look for another option for my much shorter nails.
What about the b nail polish collection by Bloom? Aside from having every colour under the rainbow designed to help celebrate your bold spirit (ahhhhh right after my own heart!) they now have a Crackle top coat in Black.
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The possibilities here are endless. Paint your nails any colour you so desire (you need some polish on your nails for it to work even a clear base coat would be fine as long as there’s something there), I painted mine green on one hand and half purple/half pink on the other hand, and then you paint the Crackle top coat over it and watch the magic. As the black coat dries it quite literally cracks revealing the colour you painted underneath. Over the green it leaves my nails looking like lizard skin and over the pink and purple my nails look like delicious little Easter eggs. I had to try more! Over red my nails look like volcanic lava, over yellow it looks like graffiti, over silver it looks like the moon !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe I can achieve that space scape after all? The best part is you don’t have to be super neat in your application of the Crackle top coat because it’s going to crack when it dries anyway leaving a pretty rustic kind of look. My only tip would be that after you apply the Crackle top coat you should apply a clear top coat because the black does look a little bit dry and can be a bit rough after it cracks. This just makes sure that your lava graffiti moon manicure lasts a bit longer!
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I cant wait for this Crackle top coat to come out in more colours (I hope you do this Bloom), especially pink so then I can paint it over red to wear my favourite colour combination around on my nails all the time. And then I can’t wait for white. And then neon orange. And then EVERY colour. Imagine the possibilities then! AND, Halloween is coming up, maybe to get in the spirit you could paint some of the black Crackle top coat over orange, maybe then your nails will look like pumpkins!
It’s such a fun way to do something a bit different with your nails, try some over your favourite nail polish shade to give your manicure a new lease on life.
I’ve really only skimmed the surface here…what other colour combinations can you guys think of that I’ve missed?
b Collection by Bloom – Black Crackle
Price: $12.95
Where: Exclusive to Target
Review by Adriane Daff, colour enthusiast, nail polish lover, excitable human being.
Be well,
xoxo
