12·10·15

Is it weird to be excited about soap? I've recently seen a lot of people using Dr. Bronner's soaps for cleaning their makeup brushes, and I thought I'd try it because I've only been using washing up liquid to clean mine. It's been a bit of a hassle...

Dr. Bronner's soaps are Fairtrade certified, organic, 100% vegan and cruelty free. They come in liquid or bar form and many different scents. I bought the Eucalyptus Bar Soap.

I literally just swivelled my brushes around on the soap, and lathered it up in my hand, and it was done. No nasty rubbing and scrubbing of the poor brushes, just some swirling. And did I mention is smells amazing minty eucalyptusy?

After this major success I'm quite curious to try more of Dr. Bronner's products aswell. We'll see. :)

27·09·15

On the side of my large fairy cross stitching, I've been working on a little Nyan Cat picture for Tyler! It was his own request, because he had a phase when he was obsessed with watching the video on YouTube.

I found this pattern, and thought it looked kinda easy and cute, so I ordered some threads and aida weave (I chose 14 count).

I also decided to add some sparkles on the rainbow, inspired by this picture. I'm very pleased with my work!

The frame is custom ordered from EzeFrame.co.uk, because I couldn't find one small enough.

I really fancy some more geeky cute cross stitch projects. Wonder what's next? :P

12·09·15

This is going to be a continuously growing list where I add the names of companies and brands that I use, like and support. It's not in any way going to be a list of all cruelty free brands, just my personal favourites.

To find out if a brand is truly cruelty free and doesn't test on animals directly or third party, I've got a few methods that I like to use. The first thing is checking with PETA. I've noticed that not all approved companies are listed though, so I also visit Logical Harmony's Cruelty Free & Vegan Brand List. I trust this list and always refer to it even if a company is listed as cruelty free on the PETA page, because it also lets you know if the questionable brand's parent company is acceptable. I think this is just as important.

Let's get started!

Currently the brands on my favourite list are:

• Dr. Bronner
• Zoya

To be continued...

11·09·15

And my journey to cruelty free beauty products begins with this - a nail polish remover! I found Zoya when I was researching alternative nail polish brands that are cruelty free, and the Zoya products are also non toxic and vegan!

This particular nail polish remover I had actually hear of before, when Nicole from "Young Wild and Polished" on YouTube mentioned it and gave it very good reviews in this video. I never thought I'd be buying it, because I never heard of the brand before, and buying from an American website (almost) always gets pricey...

But after a bit of research I found a UK website called Nail Polish Direct that stocks Zoya products. So when I ran out of my old nail polish remover, I decided to take the plunge and buy it.

It's kinda pricey for a nail polish remover, but after using it, I think it's worth every penny. I paid £9.95 for it, but it's a pretty big bottle (237 ml), and it comes with a very handy pump, where you just put your cotton pad and press down to soak in nail polish remover. It means you don't have to tip your bottle upside down to get too much out and waste lots of product.

The nail polish remover is also used as a prep for nail polish, and on the bottle it says "extended polish wear guaranteed". The nails definitely feels clean after using the remover, and it doesn't leave a strange stain.

Another plus is that it smells nice too! At least that's my opinion. :P I will definitely keep this nail polish remover in my collection. It's an amazing product, and you get such a good feeling using a beauty product you know is completely cruelty free!

03·09·15

I've found a new life mission. To make my skincare and makeup stash completely cruelty free! I don't know, I think I've just woke up to things that I've previously chose to ignore. Obviously I've been aware of the cruelty occurring, but I don't think I've understood the true extent of it. Most companies are corrupted in some way - even if they don't test their products on animals, they test their ingredients on animals, or buy products from third party companies who test on animals. And if they pass all those tests, they're selling their products in China, which by Chinese law requires the products to be animal tested.

I've decided I'm not very happy to support this. Animals shouldn't suffer because humans want to wear lipstick. Getting all my makeup and skincare products cruelty free will be a long process, and a lot of research is going to be required. I'm not going to throw any of my makeup away - I can't afford that. But when I run out, I will do my best to buy something cruelty free.

I think I will also make a list to post here of which brands I'm using that are cruelty free!

24·08·15

I think I'm going through a mid life crisis or something on the lines of that. I've just realised I'm nearly 30 and I can't even drive. And I don't have a career. Not even a proper education.

I've also realised life is pretty... pointless. Think how meaningless one single human is in the whole of universe? But still we have all these emotions and all this energy that is capable of so much. And what do we do with it? We use our energy and waste our lives to go to work, do laundry, clean, sleep and whine about how displeased with everything we are.

I'm bored of having it like that. I've definitely mastered talking about all the things I want to experience in life, but that's about the end of it. I never take any direction in my actions to make it reality. But at the end of the day, if I'm unhappy with any aspect of my life, why not change it? After all it's my life and it's at the end of the day only me that can make it more enjoyable.

15·08·15

It's exactly one week since me and the family came back from our holiday to Croatia. I've had time to land and reflect properly over the trip, and get back into boring everyday life. :P

All I have to say about it all is really, it was amazing.

I was a little anxious about it at first because I haven't been on holiday for so long, but once we got there, there wasn't a single minute I felt stressed. Just the whole atmosphere of the island Brač we stayed on was like paradise. I really hope we will go back one day.

29·07·15

Is it a good idea to make your hobby your job? I seem to be swapping hobbies here and there, but right now I've got two passions that I don't think are gonna wither away anytime soon - gaming and makeup.

When it comes to makeup, I would love to do a professional makeup course, maybe get a freelance thing going on at the side of another job.

With gaming, it's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. Even playing on my dad's computer when I was probably like 5 years old.

And if you're good, and know what you're doing, you can make money from it. There's Twitch and YouTube for example.

The question is, can I be bothered? And risking that my hobby turns into a chore?

27·07·15

On Saturday I'm going on holiday to Croatia! Eek! I can't say I'm prepared. There are lots of things I need to sort out this week.

I've not been on a holiday for a very long time. I'm both stressed and excited about it. Lots of mixed feelings. I'm most stressed about the travelling actually. I don't like travelling. I like relaxing. :P Fortunately I got some calming pills from my doctor. He's nice to me. He knows I'm suffering from anxiety and he said that even though I'm making lots of progress on my own to get through stressful situations, there's no point that I suffer so my holiday gets ruined. How very kind.

I'm also not too disappointed in the progress I've made in my mini holiday diet. It's working quite well! I think I will keep doing what I'm doing now after holiday too. It makes me feel good, have enough energy for the workouts, and let's me eat ice cream once a week and still lose weight, lol. What more can a girl want? :D

I don't know how I will be doing in Croatia though. I don't know anything about what kind of foods there will be. Hopefully something buttery! :P

13·07·15

Last week went pretty well when it came to fitness! I reached my goal of getting four workouts in for the first time in months. I was pretty sore for the whole week though... I don't know if I can do something different to recover better. I've ran out of BCAAs now though, so I don't know what effect that will have.

Eating went well too. I love LCHF because I can eat two to three meals and not be hungry. My weekly plan right now is to stick to a strict LCHF diet in the week with no nuts and no dairy apart from butter, have a carb nite (read carb binge) on Friday night, and then fat fast on Saturday and Sunday to "detox". It's working really well. We'll see for how long. :P

11·07·15

Is it just me or does the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer pump way too much product out? I always try to do like half a pump, but too much seem to come out anyway. I have to wipe some off. It seems like a waste. I like the concealer a lot, but I might have to invest in another one when this runs out because I'm not happy about wasting so much product. Whaa! Or find a way to get less out...

I also think I need to get a Beautyblender. Blending concealer with my fingers always makes a mess.

07·07·15

Whaaa! Where is this year going?! I can't believe it's July already. It's less than a month until we go on holiday -  the first one since forever. It's well overdue. Obviously I feel a little stressed about it though, just because it was such a long time ago, and it's the first holiday together for me and Tom. If you don't count going to Sweden. And you don't count going to Sweden.

I decided I'll "try" to do a mini weight loss boost now before holiday. A kind of 30 day cut lol. I started this Saturday with a fat fast, that I also did on Sunday. It felt really good actually. Almost like a detox. And now I'm eating a pretty strict keto diet, trying to cut out all dairy (apart from butter) for example.
Also gonna try my best to get my arse to the gym at least four days a week, Seriously. Time to stop being lazy. That sounds just like last minute me - "Holiday in less than a month! Aaaaah, need to lose weight!"

I've also been on a sort of creative craze lately. I've been doing cross stitching, crocheting and also colouring in. I found a really creative mandala grown up colouring book. Sounds lame but it's cool! Promise!

15·06·15

I just ended up having a really bad day today. I lost my watch! I was in a hurry for work and I put it in my pocket to put it on my wrist when I had more time. It was probably a bad idea, yes. And it doesn't take long to put on a watch anyway...

When I got to put the watch on it wasn't in my pocket anymore. I looked everywhere in both my pockets, and I emptied my bag to see if I had accidentally put it there, but it was gone.

After I got home I looked everywhere at home just to be sure, but I didn't find it. I probably lost it on the bus.

It's gone. And I'm upset. I got it from Tyler last Christmas, and I really love(d) it. Sometimes life just sucks balls.

14·06·15

So I've had a long blog break. Lots of things in life happened.

We moved house. There were lot to do in the house before it became habitable, and I had my dad and sister coming over for a visit, so that added to the stress and things to be busy with. Now we're all settled in, although there are still some things to be done in the house. But I think there will always be stuff to be done in a house, always things to improve. It's fun! :) I've been really into looking at home deco recently. There is too much nice stuff!

Next event is that I've really re-discovered cross stitching! I've been cross stitching back and forth since I was really young, and the interest for it comes and goes in waves over my life. And now I'm definitely embracing my inner granny and cross stitch all day long. I'm currently working on a piece I've had for years. I've decided I'm finally gonna finish it. And I love working on it! It's very relaxing.

I've also found this UK website called Cross Stitch Heaven that sells threads and other cross stitch supplies you might need. They provide really good service and fast delivery. Win!

21·03·15

Ow! I've been busy! And tired.

We just decided the other week that we're moving! We have for some time wanted to move because the area we live in is not ideal. Especially not our neighbours. Enough of that.

We had booked a house viewing when we found out that a relative owned a house that was empty that he was looking to rent out. We went to have a look.
And we went for it! It's got one more room than we have now. It's warmer, got a bigger garden, and the whole layout is very charming in my opinion. It's an old but sturdy house. It's got no cellar and double glazed windows, so it's warmer than our current one. It's also got wooden or laminate floors in the majority of the rooms! This is a huge thing for me being Swedish, because I hate the traditional English carpets. :P
But most importantly, the street is kind of short and it's like an off-street, so you won't be getting no traffic. You don't go down there unless you live there, so it will be quiet. And the neighbours don't seem like morons, not that we will really know until we move in. But I keep my hopes up!

So this has basically consumed my energy the last week. This together with struggling with diet again and doubting keto. I've been feeling tired physically, and I don't know why. Maybe stress. Maybe a deficiency of some sort. I had some bloods done yesterday to check mineral balance.

I'm also starting new hours at work on Monday. This is a positive thing. I will work from 12:00-16:00. This is starting and finishing two hours earlier than before, and I'm hoping it will make a huge difference in the way I stress about with Tyler in the evening. And I will be on a till. That's boring but oh so not stressy and easy. But seriously, I need a new job. I feel I need something more creative...

There are more things going on aswell, but we'll leave that for now. :P

08·03·15

Origins GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer Part I

One of my current beauty projects is to find a moisturiser that I love. I was saying previously that I like the Lush moisturisers, but I'm not sure about the value because they cost a chunk and doesn't last very long.

My mum was then amazing and got me Origins GinZing Energy-Boosting Moisturizer as an early birthday present! I read a lot of good reviews about this moisturiser, and my mum swears by a night cream by Origins, and she said it's lasted her for an eternity. So I ended up picking this moisturiser to try.

I used it for a few days, although I still had some left of my old Lush Enzymion Moisturiser. I just couldn't wait until it ran out, excited as I am about stuff like this.
The smell is delicious and fresh, and the texture is perfect. You don't need a lot, and it glides onto your face and disappears in seconds leaving your face moisturised without leaving it oily or dry.

But then, I noticed spots.

I haven't had any breakouts for ages, but something upset my skin. It might have been something else, or it might have been this moisturiser. And I really hope it isn't, because I love it. :(

Anyway, I kept using it for a while, but my skin didn't get better, so I stopped using the moisturiser and decided to use my Enzymion up first, and to see if that would clear my skin a little.

Enzymion is now gone, and my spots are too. This morning I started using the GinZing moisturiser again, with no spots on my face.
If I end up getting spots this time around I know for sure it's the moisturiser that breaks me out, because I haven't changed anything else in my skincare routine, and I'm not using any new products.

Keep your fingers crossed that it was just a one time thing!

To be continued...

01·03·15

Sometimes you just need to focus on the positive things when bad things happen. I watched a video by Amelia Liana on YouTube about How To Be Happy a few days ago, and it's brilliant. Even though some of these tips are simple, it's something I know I don't do on a regular basis.

The first thing she brings up is to have an "Attitude of Gratitude" and to focus on the positive things and even finding positive impacts of bad situations. This is amazing! I really want to start doing this.
I know I've been talking about wanting to keep a positive mindset, but it's very hard. So I might also start writing a Gratitude Journal where I at least write down one thing I'm grateful for at the end of every day. It's a very good idea. Then you have all the positive thoughts written down and you can go back and look on really gloomy days. :P

What brought this whole post on was my eating pattern this weekend. I'm been struggling for close to a year to not binge out on Saturdays, and lately it's even started Friday night. I know many people are struggling with this, but being like I am, I take everything to an extreme. xD

But now I'm sat here being grateful and happy with myself, because although I ate way too much food yesterday, I've took the first step towards taking control of it by not starting already on Friday. And I also didn't eat any nuts, which is a major binge trigger for me.
I know it's ridiculous, but this is a huge thing for me. And I think that instead of just expecting everything to be under control with perfect macros every Saturday, I need to take one step at a time. I'm on a journey. It might be a long one... But I don't mind, because every step in the right direction is making me grateful and happy. :)

24·02·15

I think I've just found my favourite clothing brand of life.

I've heard of this brand before and thought their clothing were cool, but I've just had a more thorough look through their stuff, and I'm in love! These clothes are just so me! It's just everything I want from clothes - different, colourful, fashionable and a little bit...psychedelic?

We don't have a store anywhere near where I live though, so I can't try the clothes on. And I suppose that's just as well, because it's way out of my price range anyway. But a girl can dream...

17·02·15

My Favourite Lush Products

I don't even know how many years I've been searching for skincare products that I like and want to stick with. The things I'm mainly talking about is a good facial cleanser and a moisturiser. Those two things are as important to me as a deodorant or toothpaste!

I've always bought different products every single time I run out, because I haven't found something that I really like. They are either leaving my face too greasy, too dry or they're breaking me out. I suppose that's one of the issues you get with sensitive-ish combination skin?

Until I recently discovered Lush and their facial care products! I've not even thought about the fact that Lush has got products like this until I went into the local store just before Christmas. I thought they were just about bath bombs and stuff. But no, they do a lot of skincare,shampoos and stuff like that. Everything natural, preservative free and cruelty free. Loooove.

The two products from Lush I now can't live without is their Herbalism cleanser, and the Eau Roma Toner Water.

I've not really been using a toner on a regular basis before, but the Eau Roma Water is really lovely. I spray it straight onto my face in the morning after cleansing, and at night I spray it on a cotton pad to remove every trace of makeup after cleansing. It smells lovely and is refreshing and makes my skin feel extra moisturised.

The cleanser is amazing too. To some people the routine of using a Lush cleanser might feel awkward. Because it doesn't contain any preservatives, you need to mix it into a paste in your hand yourself with a little water before you can rub it on your face. Personally, I like this. It's like a little routine for me every time I wash my face.
The Herbalism cleanser is bright green and smells (to me) fresh like...herbs and nature? I read some reviews that people don't like the smell, but I do.
It's slightly gritty and exfoliating, which is great, because I don't feel the need to separately exfoliate too.

Before Herbalism I tried the Angels on Bare Skin cleanser. I loved the smell of it, but I felt like it was a little too gritty, because of some lavender flower pieces in it, so I went for Herbalism instead.

I also have been trying some of the Lush moisturisers. I purchased Enzymion after trying it out with a sample. I found that some of the other ones left my skin a little greasy, but Enzymion was matte yet moisturising.
The reason I don't want to re-purchase Enzymion is that after using it for a while, I think I experienced my cheeks getting a bit dry. My awkward face. And a great downfall is that it's expensive! It lasted me probably four weeks with me using is every morning and night, and for £14.50 I don't feel like that's sustainable. Just being honest!

I will definitely buy more Lush products in the future! I've got a long wish list, haha... I'm actually also thinking about getting a more rich Lush moisturiser to use only as a night cream. I think they would be great for that!

12·02·15

I gave myself a smaller epiphany the other day when replying to a post on a forum. It wasn't a huge enlightenment, but since then I've actually been more relaxed about way choice of way of eating and life in general.

Basically, I don't lose weight right now on keto, and I've been going back and forth with same weight +/- 4 lbs for around 6 months. It's very frustrating at times.

But then again, I didn't lose any weight on a non ketogenic diet either, and I felt so much worse back then. I sleep better now, my stomach feels better now, I think I got more energy now seen as though the induction is over. And these are the things I need to remember when I want to quit, give up and jump on next diet.

I can either feel like shit and not lose weight, or feel kinda good and not lose any. I'm sure that will come in time, but it's not what's most important right now. Feeling OK and being healthy is. I know that sounds like an excuse to someone, but I feel like this is a very good start for me.

Seriously, keto/LCHF is more of a lifestyle than a diet. And that's what's going to work in the long run.

07·02·15

Pantone Color of the Year 2015

So I went on a bit of a browse to check out the Pantone Color of the Year 2015, which is beautiful Marsala!

I absolutely love this colour! I've always been a fan of burgundy, wine reddish colours, although I've never really wore any. This year I've got the chance to change that!

And then I just remember this little eyeshadow palette I got from a friend for Christmas.

What does the top right colour look like?! I'm so excited. I know. It's weird getting excited about makeup, but it is what it is. We've all got problems. :P

Now, the little shadows in this palette are very small (see, I've already hit pan in one of them, and I only use that one for browbone highlight), so I'm in the near future gonna need another shadow like this, that can pass for a Marsala themed shadow.
There are probably a lot of good options out there, so it's just to start looking. MAC probably has one. In fact, I'm gonna head over to the website right now to have a peak...

I've also decided to give my blog an appropriate makeover so it can be nice and fashionable!

Looooove this colour.

05·02·15

Primer Review & My Mission to Find the Perfect Primer

Recently I've been on the hunt for a makeup primer. I've never really used a primer before, because I don't really need it. But as I've started wearing more makeup and experimenting with contouring etc, I think using a primer will make a difference - making my makeup looking better, lasting longer and make blending easier. At least a good primer...

I'm sure you can get a good primer for a reasonable price somewhere. I just haven't found one yet. I've not tried that many to be honest, but the ones I have tried I didn't like.

I got a sample from a Boots' No7 primer (can't remember which one), and it just felt a bit too...siliconey? And it didn't really improve the look or durability of my makeup. I'm sure some people would like this super silky feeling, but it's not my cup of tea. I'd love to try all of the No7 ones though, because they have more than one kind.

I bought the new Drops Of Youth Wonderblur from The Body Shop, and it didn't work for me at all. The product sounded really good, and it felt nice when I swatched it, but it made my makeup cake up in places on my skin, and it didn't seem to do any blurring either. It is probably much nicer without makeup on. It's also got a really nice scent to it, and is moisturising.
I gave it to a friend, and she says she liked it. So maybe it just wasn't for me.

My friend gave me a primer from MUA Professional. I liked the feel of it, as it was more of a cream texture than silicone, and it felt very light and moisturising. I wore it for two days, but I instantly got breakouts. I think I had like three spots in two days. And that's a lot for me! That's a shame, because I like it. And although I didn't really notice any reduced pore appearance, it did make my makeup glide on very nicely.

My next "trial" is kind of a high end one. I tried not to go there, because I don't fancy spending that amount of money on a primer, or anything else for that matter. But I got a sample, and who can say no to samples. xD
It's Benefit's POREfessional Primer. And it's great. It glides on without feeling too siliconey (my new favourite word), reduces the appearance of pores, smells nice, makes a lovely base for makeup and makes the makeup look "fresh" for much longer. I've used it for two days in a row (got a huge sample!), and still haven't had any spots from it.
This can either be good new or bad depending on how you look at it. Good news that it's so good, but bad new because I might have to purchase it when my sample runs out. Bye bye money...

There are obviously plenty more primers out there, but trying them all might become an expensive task, and for a few cheaper ones that I don't like, I could just as well buy one that I know works for the same price. We'll see what happens!

27·01·15

NYC Liquid Eyeliner & Problem Solving

So eventually I managed to get a hold of the NYC Liquid Eyeliner in Black that I wanted! I've got both Black and Pearlized Black now, and I'm sure they both will come to use. I'm very satisfied with these. Who knew the best liquid eyeliner in the work is one of the cheapest?

The packaging look exactly the same for Black and Pealized Black though, and even though it does state on them in a tiny little text what colour it is, I thought I'd be creative and mark them. Pearlized Black now has silver top! How a little nail polish can make life so much easier. :P First world problems...

19·01·15

New Eyeliner Favourite?

Wow, this little thing. It's NYC Liquid Eyeliner, and I've been wanting to try it for so long. I've heard it's great, and with a price of £2.49 you can't go wrong. I'm kind of a liquid liner girl. I've tried gel, but I can't get it right. Possible due to lack of practice. But yeah.

I've only used it a few times, but so far I love it! The formula is great. It's so much less runny than other liquid liners I've tried, and the brush is easy to use.

Only bad thing is that I got the wrong colour, lol. :P I wanted Black but I got so excited when I saw they were in stock that I picked up Pearlized Black instead... Fail. It's still nice, but looks more gray than black. Suppose I have to wait another 6 months for them to get back in stock... Fail Superdrug.

07·01·15

Tomorrow I will will post first update for the challenge I mentioned in this post. I've had a good week so far -  been eating according to my meal plan that I got from a personal trainer a while back, and I've even been back to the gym first time since my what seems like forever long break. It felt good! I've booked Body Balance for Saturday too. Starting slowly to not wreck myself again...

I've encountered some issues with the food though. Not been eating grains for a while and now eating oats for example has really upset my stomach. I thought that my body would get used to it and settle, but it's more gone the opposite way and got worse. I even had to stay home from work today it was so bad. It's not even worth weight loss if I have to feel like this... I'll have to compromise on the meal plan.

I've actually heard that the personal trainer I was seeing has quit personal training. Which sucks because he was good. Guess I'll have to find someone else... Maybe I'll do Jamie Eason's LiveFit Trainer again. It was a while since last time. Or just do some strength basic stuff, like squats and deadlifts. I like that shit.