"You Smell LUSH Today!"

Lush Cosmetics now have their own perfume range and all of them, bar one, are vegan!

I've never been a fragrance kinda girl in the past, I absolutely detest most perfumes on the market and having to walk through the perfume section of a large department store is one of my worst nightmares! I feel like I'm suffocating! Even Lush shops are rather overbearing for me, with all the smells mingling into one another it can be very overpowering and makes me sneeze and my eyes start watering... although, of course, I love their products and individually they smell divine.
























While I was in town with my friend Katie the other day, she pulled out a Lush solid perfume from her bag and I could not stop sniffing my wrists all day after I tried some on! I just had to research them when I got home, and spent ages on their website reading all the descriptions of the various fragrances and the customers' reviews. I came to the conclusion that I simply HAD to go and buy the Vanillary and Love perfumes as they sounded really "me" - and I certainly wasn't wrong!

I am now particularly obsessed with the Love fragrance. I adore its rich, warm apple and cinnamon scents and subtle hints of citrus. Vanillary is gorgeous as well, and is much stronger and sweeter than Love. My friend's boyfriend says she smells like a cake shop when he picks her up after work, and that's hours after she's applied it! It does seem to stay on the skin for a long time, much longer than Love, which only seemed to last me half a day before I had to reapply. Gerry also seems to agree that Vanillary is like a cake shop in stick-format, as he keeps trying to lick it off my wrists whenever I'm wearing it!

What I like about these fragrances, is that they are quite unique in the fact that they can smell different at various stages of the day. For example, when I first applied Love, the smell of flowers and apples was quite apparent. Later on, the warmth of the cinnamon began to come through, then the citrus became stronger, before finally just a slight flowery scent before it vanished. From reading all the reviews online it seems most of these perfumes react differently on each individual person, which I think is quite unusual and also another favourable point seeing as it makes it more unique.

Both fragrances I purchased cost €8.00 each, which is quite a bargain because the solid perfumes have many advantages over the sprays. They are not as strong, not alcohol based so do not irritate your skin, and will not cause a lot of mess like bottles do when they spill in your bag.

Go HERE to view their full range of solid perfumes, and also their limited edition perfumes which are available in the Dublin stores for a select amount of time. Some of the fragrances (Dirty and Ladyboy in particular) apparently also appeal to men, so beware...... they may be stolen by male occupants of your household! Next time I get around to trying another perfume I think I'll go for the Ginger one :)

Another new Lush product that I have tried which is totally vegan is their Toothy Tabs. These are solid tablets of toothpaste that you crush between your teeth then as it begins to foam you brush your teeth with a wet toothbrush. I tried Ultrablast, and I can definitely say that due to the slight abrasive nature it really made my teeth feel cleaner than ever before! They cost €3.45 for a packet of 40 tablets, but the cheapest comes in at €2.50 for 40. They come in an array of different flavours and one that even helps whiten your smile :) I'm really not going to go back to tubes of toothpaste after trying these. I just love them, and also the fact that there's less packaging and they are also fluoride, SLS and preservative free! WIN!

Weekend Wanderings

I've had a fantastic weekend! On Saturday I met up with a very good friend and we went to the Hugh Lane Gallery. On the way we picked up a soya latte from Insomnia and some sushi and a curry from Kokoro, to eat in the Gardens of Rememberance opposite the Gallery. Kokoro didn't seem to have all its veggie and vegan sushi on the shelves, so all I got was the avocado, cucumber and sweet tofu rolls with a ginger soy sauce dip. My vegetarian friend got their tofu curry and we totally forgot to ask if it was vegan for the purpose of the blog! She said it didn't taste like it had any dairy in it though. The sauce tasted like a much better version of chip shop curry sauce, and the squash, cauliflower, peppers, onion and courgette were tenderly cooked. At just over €6.00 she was really impressed as it was a very decent, filling portion. My sushi cost €5.95 for 10 pieces and the dip, although when all the vegan sushi is available it usually comes to around €8.00 for a fuller bento with more pieces. I would have been so much happier if they'd had the oshinko and kampyo rolls available, as I find cucumber sushi quite boring...

We passed by the Nutz stall in the Ilac shopping centre. I am not sure how I managed to resist buying bags and bags of their treats, but I did! I love their dark chocolate brazils, peanuts and pieces of ginger. They also sell Japanese rice crackers, dried fruit and roasted / coated nuts.

After visiting the Hugh Lane - having a good nose around Sir Francis Bacon's studio and having fun deciphering the strange artwork of Ronnie Hughes - we went to the Live Food Market in Temple Bar. I love this place! My friend got a raw vegan cocoa & coconut energy bar from Natasha's Living Food stall to take home with her - I'll have to find out how she liked it. I remember getting it when my father was over and I really liked it, although I must admit that I can make nicer and cheaper ones at home from my Rawvolution book, and at the time I was really jealous of the blueberry cashew raw "cheese" cake that my father got! The fake cheesecakes and tarts were melting in the sun, which is why my friend opted for the more solid looking bar - but I guess that's not usually a problem in Dublin! I had to content myself with trying a few samples of their raw vegan flaxseed crackers and kale crispies, as I'm not rich enough to justify buying such decadent treats. Their salads and burgers always look so appealing though, so I'm determined to try these in the near future.

I decided to get some Indian snacks from the vegetarian Indian stall at the market, but as we were there quite late in the day most of their food had gone, which demonstrates just how good it is! I managed to nab the last Spicy Kofta, which they confirmed was vegan, as well as a vegan potato savoury. I think their samosas are also vegan (as most samosas are), and all their ingredients are listed on the labels. My friend bought a block of traditional Indian fudge, made from condensed milk. I used to love fudge and find vegan fudge rather expensive, so I just have it as a birthday or Christmas treat... I'm sure my teeth thank me for that!

We went for dinner at the famous Dublin vegetarian and vegan restaurant Cornucopia. I cannot emphasise enough how amazing this place is! If you ever come to Dublin, this is the place to go. I was still quite full from lunch (and my breakfast of BBQ baked beans on toast) so I asked for a small salad. I wasn't really expecting much for €4.50, but I ended up with a HUGE bowl of sprouted bean salad and a rice salad with tofu and mixed vegetables! The dressing on the sprouted bean salad was heavenly (lemon and ginger from what my tastebuds could determine?) but I wish I'd chosen a different salad to the rice one as it was nowhere near as nice as the sprouted beans and was rather heavy. My friend got the Lentil Dhal (for around €12.00), which came with brown rice and a choice of two salads. She struggled to finish it, so luckily for her I was on hand to help! We were both busting at the seams after this so we didn't get a chance to try dessert this time. I love their tofu cheesecakes. In fact I love ALL their vegan cakes! I think next time I go there I'll just go for a coffee and a cake :)

We visited the Secret Book and Record Store, a very well hidden little shop just down the road from Cornucopia which also houses Freebird Records, and I managed to pick up a virtually brand new copy of How it All Vegan for €6.00. I love this book and can't wait to try it out! Not only does it have the usual food recipes, but it also tells you how to make vegan toothpaste, lip balm, cleansers, cleaning products, face masks, scrubs, baby oil, sunburn lotion, perfume, bug repellant, mouthwash and treats for your pets, amongst loads of other really cool things! We stopped into Lush as well and my friend bought some of their solid Karma perfume and some Vanilla soap. We love Lush, there are so many vegan friendly products there that it's impossible to choose what to get!

Sunday was another good day. I had the Marks & Spencers Vegetable Curry  for lunch, that I purchased last week, along with the Kofta I got in the market the day before. It was really good! The Kofta was really crispy on the outside and tasted quite like an onion bhaji, but the inside was soft and full of mashed carrots, sweet potato and laden with the usual lovely Indian spices.

 
I was going to cycle out to Ikea this afternoon, but when I met the boy from work I was already dripping in sweat from the mostly downhill cycle, so we decided it was WAAAY too hot to cycle all the way out there. Instead we moseyed into town to do a bit of clothes shopping. Look at the lovely stuff I got below, from H&M, Top Shop, Pull'n'Bear and Awear - and it was all vegan, even the knitted hat (made from acrylic fibres).   We grabbed a quick bite to eat from M&S and had a picnic in the sun - I had falafels with a hummus dip, some oven baked crisps, and an orange and raspberry smoothie. The boyfriend had a brie, cranberry and grape salad sandwich (a vegetarian option - I'm so impressed with him!!), some of their vegan onion bhaji crisps, and a vanilla yoghurt drink (booooo!). I liked the falafels, I've had them before, but I was NOT impressed at all with their baked crisps. They tasted like cardboard, no lie! They also didn't taste very vinegary, so I was very disappointed. I hijacked the boyfriend's onion bhaji crisps instead and they were really good, I wish I'd got those instead!

I'm spending this evening sitting in the garden with a couple of cold Scotch whiskeys and some coke... this weather is just too damn good to be true! I wish we could have predicted it and had a barbecue! :) Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend.

Lush Foundation & Blemish Control

Lush have recently brought out vegan Colour Supplements for the face. They come in very small pots and can be blended with your favourite moisturiser to give your skin a nice glow and even-coverage, or can be used on their own to hide blemishes. If you have trouble choosing which colour is most suited to your skin tone you can blend different colours together until you find the right shade. The pots are quite expensive but go a long way. I don't use much make up on my face at all as I prefer the natural look, but if I'm going out I'll apply some of this and one application lasts the whole night. I've been avoiding using it lately though, as I'm a bit wary of how it affects dermatitis, but I'm sure the occasional application won't do any harm!

Breakfast of Champions

After my Café Bar Deli dessert experience (well, not so much my own experience, but the stealing-off-my-friends experience!) I decided to concoct my own breakfast recipe. I went to the doctor's this morning, so feeling sorry for myself I went to the supermarket and bought myself two tantilising punnets of fresh Irish strawberries with the intention of marinading them in balsamic vinegar. I looked up a few recipes online and saw them served with such things as yoghurt, cream cheese, jelly, chocolate mousse, etc. so decided to make my own variation and serve it with Alpro raspberry and vanilla soya yoghurt and mixed pumpkin & sunflower seeds.

I marinaded 6 halved strawberries in 2 dessert spoons of balsamic, drained the excess vinegar off and then sprinkled a heaped teaspoon of xylitol (healthy and all-natural sugar substitute) over the top of the strawberries and stirred it in. I then put the yoghurt and seeds in a glass and garnished it with the strawberries. Admittedly I was lacking a decent glass for serving, so the strawberries ended up poking out of the top, but it was still out-of-this-world delicious and worked very well together. It would be even nicer with a few shavings of dark chocolate, or a sprinkling of some dessicated coconut and a sprig of mint..... feel free to experiment! This is definitely going to be my breakfast for the next 3 days, and my hamster LOVES the taste of Alpro soya so I always scoop a small amount onto my finger after I've finished and let him lick it off! ^_^

In other news, I have been suffering from dermatitis recently. My face has become dry, itchy and bumpy. It's not very noticeable but at times it has really been bothering me. I'm not sure why this is, as I've never had a problem with it before, although my mother did suffer from ecsema and skin allergies so I know I have to be extremely careful. I am currently on antibiotics for this condition for 3 months, and I am relieved that I am able to do something about it, but also not sure if my medication is vegan. I hate the thought that my meds may have been tested on animals. Seeing animals suffering for humans breaks my heart. I have chosen not to Google the companies' names in fear that I discover something I don't like. I know this is literally turning a blind eye, but what am I to do? I either have to put up with this infuriating and irritating condition on my face in hope that one day it will magically disappear, or I have to do something about it. I have been using Dream Cream from Lush which is vegan and really helps to moisturise my skin, as well as Calamine Lotion to stop it itching, but they can only soothe the dermatitis, not completely cure it. I wonder what other vegans do in my situation? This is a totally new aspect of veganism that I have come across, something like this really hasn't been an issue for me in the past but now I'm beginning to realise how difficult things can be.

Cosmetics you want to Eat!

I love love LOVE Lush Costmetics! Many of the things they sell are vegan - there are crazy bath bombs, natural deodorant sticks, gorgeous-smelling moisturisers, pretty soaps that look totally edible, fresh face masks, scrubs that really do eliminate spots and are kind to your face, tasty lip balms and all sorts of hair care products. They are a very environmentally conscious company, who believe in minimal packaging and do not test on animals or buy from any suppliers who have tested on animals. If you've never been to Lush, check it out - you'll be able to locate your nearest branch a mile off, the smell is unmistakable!!

Another company I am a big fan of is Ren Cosmetics. I don't normally buy many of their products though as I am too broke, but they are definitely worth the money and most of them are vegan. Ren are against animal testing and their policy can be read here. The product pictured below is a cooling eye gel. I remember buying it once in a panic because upon waking one morning my eyes were SO puffy and dry - I'd never experienced anything like that before and was in a bit of a panic as they were so sore! This gel sorted them out in a jiffy and was worth every cent - it was amazing and I still have it in my make up bag, for emergencies.

I also thought it was worth mentioning in this blog that Superdrug (a shop in the UK and Ireland) have a fantastic range of products suitable for vegans. As far as I am aware most of the products they sell from their own range are vegan - certainly most of their shampoos, conditioners and shower gels are, as well as a lot of their skincare products like moisturiser, cleanser, toner and eyecare products that I have come across. The bottles all state their suitability and say that Superdrug is also against animal testing. HURRAH! I have always loved Superdrug, they are excellent value and now I can shop there guilt free!