Going Green-ish

Unfortunately, I never cared much for my diet or health in the past but lately, I've noticed that my choices have slowly started catching up with me, so I decided that it's probably time I took better care of my body and skin. I'm going natural! Well, as natural as I can get. There are several reasons, but the most important is the long term effect of using oh so many chemicals in all the millions of products in our daily regimen for the rest of my life. (hopefully 60-70 plus years) It might not seem like a big deal on a daily basis but in the long run, it just really doesn't sound healthy. It might be a psychological thing, but I don't want to take the risk so I'm going with my gut.

I don't think it's possible to go 100% natural these days because most things have something nasty in it, but as I said above as close as I can get is better than nothing. In this post I'll be sharing with you my new almost 100% natural skin regimen. There are a lot of hidden gems out there and first on the list is my favourite surprise. 

1. Oliva soap - This soap is completely 100% natural! It only has 3 ingredients: Olive oil, water and mineral salts. It lathers well enough for me and has a very mild but nice scent. It really does the job! 

I get mine here

2. Lavera face milk

3. Lavera toner

Read about why you should use organic products here.

Browse the Lavera Range here

4. Vitamin E oil - Of all the products I started using, I noticed the difference this made the quickest. I've used it every night since friday and I have to say that the glow that I have so longed for (think Eva Marcille) is finally here! I've googled and youtube'd 'How to get a natural glow' countless times and everyone says water, sleep and diet, but no one ever mentions this easy cheat called 'Vitamin E oil'! Why? Keeping their secrets on lockdown perhaps. 

I get mine off ebay here, but if you can't trust that then this is a more expensive but also 100% natural alternative. (always read ingredient lists before buying) 

Aspirin Face mask - I do this bi-weekly by lightly crushing soluble and uncoated aspirin and mixing it in with olive oil, honey, natural yoghurt (no flavours or sugar). It makes for a great home made scrub/mask and I've never seen a bad review about this apart from the fact that it's drying which is why I added the olive oil and it does the trick. Everyone loves it and a packet of Boots branded aspirin literally costs 55p! 

5. Body shop body butter - I just cant part ways with this yet. Body shop is not as natural and as ethical as they claim but who can resist their body butters. I make up for this by only using a tiny portion and mixing it with...

6. My own mix of essential oils - Unrefined coconut oil, unrefined Shea butter, rosehip oil, castor oil, macadamia oil, Vitamin E oil, and black castor oil. 

I've always been a sucker for oils. Coconut oil and Shea butter have been part of my regimen for years, and I don't have a bad thing so say about either. 

This seller on eBay has every oil under the sun and more.

See here

7. I also use a few drops of olive oil on simples face wipes to take my makeup off.

8. Lastly, this wooden face brush is the latest addition to my regimen.

Another great thing about this transition is that it's cheaper than you would expect and most definitely cheaper than using high street cosmetic products. Everything I've mentioned so far won't come to anything more than £50 every 3 months. Also, the less processed your toiletries are, the less carbon footprint (I do care about that stuff a little bit. lol) 

Oh and I drink water now. Anyone who knows me know's that I find water disgusting but gone are the strict coke and pineapple juice days.  I'm now on a mission to find other toiletries (e.g. deodorant, Toothpastes, e.t.c) 

For those of you who managed to get to the end of this post, well done! I'll be updating you guys.

         *Disclaimer - this post is NOT sponsored and none of the links provided are affiliates* 

Love,

Me

xxx

Dido

Painting of Dido Belle with her cousin Elizabeth, attributed to Johann Zoffany

While doing research last year, I came across Dido Belle, the black female aristocrat born in the 1700's. 

She has come to inspire me greatly not only because of her immense beauty and bravery, but also her intriguing story.  Her mere existence changed the world more than we know.

Below is an extract from The Evening Standard:

'In 1772, when Belle was around 11, her great-uncle made a ruling that would change history and eventually lead to abolition in 1833. In the Somerset slavery case, he declared that slavery was unsupported by existing law in England and a master could not export British slaves. Then in 1781 he presided over the Zong Massacre case — when 142 African slaves were hurled from a ship and drowned so that their owners could claim insurance for “damaged cargo”. In a major blow to slave traders, Mansfield ruled that the slave owners could not claim money.'

Painted by Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702-1789)

My sister told me a couple of days ago that my obsession with slavery movies disturbs her. Name it, I've watched it. She then went on to chant slave songs in jest.  I'm not an activist in any way, I'm just really trying to understand what went on. Movies like '12 years a slave' might seem deep but I'm sure they don't even depict a fraction of what happened. It's more of an interest to me but it also makes me appreciate freedom that little bit more.

This ain't no human rights blog though! 

Love,

Me

xxx

Banke Kuku

As I make my return to the blogosphere, textile designer Banke Kuku is most worthy of a first mention. How unconventional are her furniture prints. 

Hope you like!

Love, me

xxx

Why I've been away for so long

Hey guys,
This is for the few who care...

I'm sure I'm probably hated by most of you and I won't write any excuses for not posting in so long because quite frankly, there are too many. I haven't checked this blog since my last post, so it's literally been months, but today, I accidentally stumbled upon my blogger dashboard and saw that people were still visiting which is why I'm writing this. I honestly was very touched. Most of you guys have given up, which is understandable, but some of you still check back even when I haven't put in the slightest bit of effort and it's honestly one of the nicest feelings.

A few months ago, I came to that point in my life where I needed to start SERIOUSLY thinking about my life, my goals, my career and aspirations. I'm a very indecisive person, and for years, I couldn't make up my mind on what career path to take, and I've never been one to want to make a career out of blogging. But now, I've finally decided, I'm finally on my way to setting myself up (The real deal; grown up shiz) See, I'm not really into the idea of living off people after a certain age. I won't say I'm independent quite yet, but I'd like to be by this time next year! I'm going to be  fricking 21 in June! (Fact - I can't physically say "I'm 20 years old" by mouth. It just won't come out.)

This isn't to say that I'm coming back to stay in the personal style blogging world because frankly, It doesn't excite me anymore. I started doing this when I was much younger and I've definitely grown out of it, but with the path I've chosen to take, I need to be very very much in touch with the cyber world. I'm going to blog again! The prodigal daughter has returned but this time, she isn't vain, or narcissistic, she just want to document her creative journey. You will mainly be seeing pictures of my work, loooots of art, and loooots of prints and lots of trend forecasting! My face might pop in occasionally unfortunately, but you'll just have to deal with that. ha...
Within the next week, this blog will be absolutely different and that's sorta exciting.

Today, I will leave you with a painting that has inspired me greatly.

Unfinished portrait of Vijayalakshmi Pandit by Laura Knight. 

Thanks for reading. It means the world to me!
x