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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

♥ 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

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A little while ago I did a callout on Facebook to rustle up the names of some of your favourite yoga dvds, as I’ve long been yearning for a home practice for those days that I don’t feel like venturing back out of the house after work.

One recommendation really caught my eye and since receiving the DVD’s I’ve been unashamedly having a bit of a love affair with them. Meet the first two members of my yoga video library (which I hope will grow with time!) – Yoga Easy and Yoga 2 Easy by the lovely Yolanda Pettinato.

Yolanda is truly inspirational, having overcome obstacles in her life that would defeat most people, she is the glowing example of everything that yoga represents – tranquility, wisdom, inner peace and honouring your body.

What you will need:

♥ Yoga Mat – I use my Mukha mat (which I wrote about here)
♥ The desire to stretch and strengthen your body, calm your mind and feel fantastic! (And who doesn’t want that?!)

That is ALL you need, and the DVD of course. If you want to ramp the relaxing factor up a notch you can also throw in:

♥ Oil burner with bergamot oil, my favourite
♥ A dark room

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Yolanda has a gentle, soothing voice and she comes across as a real sweetheart. For a woman in her late 50’s, she has a body that most women would in their 20’s would envy. I can feel her encouraging kindness traveling through the screen and into my living room when she softly says “good, that’s good” after many of the sequences, and I find it a comforting and reassuring addition to the practice.

The practice on both of the DVD’s is quite short – 30 minutes – but is enough to wind me down after a stressful or tiring day, it can also be used in the mornings to set you up for the day ahead and is a great way to ground yourself. In fact the length of the session is one of the best things about it, if you’re anything like me it can be hard to find an hour / hour and a half to head out to a yoga class, and that doesn’t include driving there and back! 30 minutes is just enough to be easily manageable, but also gain real results.

While this is by no means a cardio workout, there are some sections focusing on strength that are challenging, and the great thing about yoga is that because you’re working with your own strength and flexibility, there is always room for improvement as you begin to get stronger.

As Yolanda says “just do your best, and your best will get better” – I love that phrase!

Doing either of these yoga DVD’s leaves my whole body feeling stretched and relaxed, with a sense of peace and stillness of mind that I really look forward to. The class flies by and before you know it you’re lying in Savasana thinking how lucky you are to have this wonderful experience in your life.

She also has some meditation CD’s which are no doubt great (she has the perfect voice for it) and even her dogs have been convinced by her to try meditating 😉

Cost: $24.95 each, free shipping if you purchase more than one item
Suitable for: Beginners – experienced who are looking for a relaxation based yoga class with strength elements
Where to buy: http://www.yolandapettinato.com

If you have any questions about the DVD’s please let me know, I would be only too happy to answer them as I think I’m Yolanda’s new biggest fan!!

Be well,

Annette

xoxo