Top five shampoo chemicals to avoid

Hi everyone, been a long time since I blogged. But I am back again and still as passionate as ever to continue spreading the word =)

So this is going to be short and useful (hopefully). Top five shampoo chemicals to avoid! I will merely state the chemicals and the possible side effects.

Methylisothiazoline (MIT) - Could cause neurological damage, onset of Alzheimers. I have found this chemicals in brands like, Head & Shoulders Pantene and Clairol.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) - This stuff makes your shampoo/soap foam up. However, it is known to be carcinogenic, could also cause skin irritations and allergy

Parabens (chemical preservative) - Could cause increased oestrogen levels 

Phthalates (perfume) - May be related to reproductive and hormonal problems

Formaldehyde -  Weirdly enough this chemical has been used for preserving the deceased before burial. So yes they use that stuff in a lot of shampoo's which usually causes allergic reaction and it may cause damage to the nervous system. Other names they use for this chemicals are; doazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea, and quarternium-15.


So yea just cut this shit out of your life, by trying not to apply it directly to your skin ( I am aware of the fact that we must drink a lot of this stuff from tap water, so try to filter your water before drinking). And keep an eye out for these five chemicals (these seem to be the most harmful ones) 

Methylisothiazoline (MIT)
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
Parabens (chemical preservative)
Phthalates (perfume)
Formaldehyde 

Thanks for reading & leave a comment =) 

Dirty Thrifty Shopper

I realised that I should blog about charity/thrift/vintage shopping. Considering that I do a lot of that. So here is my new blog, it's all about everything old and pre-owned. http://dirtythrifty.blogspot.co.uk/

http://dirtythrifty.blogspot.co.uk/

Dr Organic's Rose Otto Face Scrub Review 2013

Well hello... again! I have been trying to get my hands on some decent natural face scrub and in my hunt I came across Dr Organic's Rose Otto face scrub. I chose this product because I find Dr Organic's products very efficient and reasonably cheap (unlike other natural/organic beauty products, which are rather expensive).

Apparently Rose Otto has anti ageing properties and tones skin really well. That being said, I only bought this product because I absolutely adored the smell and I needed a quality face scrub to give my skin a good clean.

All in all, this product is great, it does the job really well. My skin felt clean and fresh after using this face scrub for a few days straight. Also, a tiny bit goes a long way, basically the scrub is saturated with tiny grains of volcanic lava (fancy!), so you don't really need a lot of it for a good ol' clean. And most importantly it's all Paraben, SLS and harsh preservative free, so it is very gentle to your skin.

A 125ml tube costs £7.19 and you can buy it here: http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=2580&prodid=2858

Enjoy! 

Ps. I think I might start blogging about my second hand/vintage shopping experiences too... so keep reading =) 

Vapour Organic's Siren Lipstick range (wish list)

Vapour Organic:  Dare 415 Siren Lipstick (top left) 

Vapour Organic: Torrid 413 Siren Lipstick (top right)

Vapour Organic: Naïve 421 Siren Lipstick (bottom left)
Vapour Organic:  Bold 420 Siren Lipstick (bottom right

Mineral make up has come a long way, you can go to any mainstream shopping complex and find mineral eye shadows and foundations (in most colours). However, I find it difficult to get my hands on fashion forward naturally made lipstick colours! 

So...I did some research on google and stumbled upon Vapour Organic's Siren lipstick range http://www.vapourbeauty.com/lips/Vapour-Organic-Beauty-Siren-Lipstick.asp 

I really do love the colours I have picked to show you guys! The top two colours are dark ( I tend to wear dark colours in the winter). I particularly like Torrid 413 (top right) it has a plum undertone, for such a daring colour it is surprisingly flattering on most skin tones ( from what I have observed anyway).

The bottom two colours are very different from each other, but both serve a purpose. Naive 421 (bottom left) is a perfect colour for daytime wear, it blends in with your skin really well and gives you a natural look. Bold 420 (bottom right) is a classic deep red lipstick, dark and perfect for the winter months. 

I would like to do a 'winter look' make up post soon, so keep your eyes peeled =)

Thanks for reading and please leave a comment

Love <3 

Sweet Almond Oil beauty benefits

And the award for laziest blogger of 2013 goes to ME! 
Sorry guys, I have had a hectic couple of months. Never had the chance to sit down and indulge in beauty research and writing. However this Friday evening as my boyfriend makes me samosas for dinner, I will take the opportunity to write about one of my favourite beauty essentials, Almond Oil. 


This particular bottle of almond oil (along with a handful of other things) was given to me on my birthday by some of my best friends (they really know what I like). So, I would like to thank them again for such a wonderful (super useful!) present. 

This is my list of Sweet Almond Oil benefits - (I have been using almond oil for a few months and have definitely seen an improvement in my skin and hair)

• Almond oil hydrates and enlivens your skin (without leaving the skin feeling sticky) 
• Promotes the cell-renewal process and helps in eliminating dead skin (good anti ageing product)
• Brightens skin tone
• Diminishes dark circles
• Best massage oil ! Really does help get rid of knots on your back
• Helps to get rid of chapped lips 
• Fantastic hair oil (promotes hair growth) 

This morning I had a bit of a beauty mishap, I put on a potent face mask and my skin reacted pretty badly to it, as you can see here... My face became as red as a baboons butt!! 

So I applied quite a bit of almond oil and gently massaged it into my skin. After about 2 hours the redness and irritation of my skin went away completely!! 

Almond oil is generally quite cheap. You can buy a 200ml bottle of almond oil( it should last you a couple of months) for £6.99 here 

 http://www.hollandandbarrett.com/pages/product_detail.asp?pid=4935&prodid=687&searchterm=almond%20oil&rdcnt=1

Indulge in some essential oils

And leave a comment! <3 

Dr Organic Royal Jelly skincare products ( a review )

For christmas my boyfriend surprised me with some fabulous presents. Out of many presents he gave me, my favorite present was the Dr Organic's gift set. Dr Organic skin care products are exclusive to Holland and Barrett, this is their very own in-house skin care line. They have a huge range of products available, check out http://www.drorganic.co.uk/range.asp for more information on the ranges. I have products from the Royal Jelly skin care collection.

Before I carry on rambling about how amazing these products are I would like to say that the packaging can be a little misleading. Even though most of the ingredients are natural and some are organic, a lot of the products do contain preservatives. I found sodium benzoate in the body lotion and some other preservatives in the other products. But I would like to focus on sodium benzoate, sodium benzoate is a widely used food preservative, it is NOT a natural ingredient, it is synthesised in a lab. More interestingly there is a natural alternative to this ingredient called Natamax, however it is not widely used because it costs significantly higher than sodium benzoate. Take a moment and think about what a messed up world we live in... companies choose an artificial synthesised product over an all natural ingredient to put in food? Why is this happening? Is it because people are completely unaware of the healthy alternatives. Are we completely conditioned to blindly trust companies? Have we become stupid? Or is this evolution gone wrong...? 

Rant over.

However I would like to say I am still happy to use these products because they are far more healthier than other chemical based high street beauty products. All these products are paraben free, SLS free, uses no artificial colours or fragrances and claims to use no harsh preservatives (this is debatable). They are also vegan and animal friendly. 

With all that said, this is the pretty gift set =) I have been using these products for just under a month and I have to say I have fallen in love with them all!

Inside my gift set: Royal jelly body cream, Royal Jelly night cream, Royal Jelly shampoo, Royal Jelly conditioner, Royal jelly body wash and a Manuka honey foot & heel cream.  Let me tell you a little about the benefits of Royal Jelly. Royal jelly is a hunny bee secretion (ewww I know) which is used to feed the larve and the queen bee. Royal jelly has amazing health benefits such as: aiding fertility, relieving symptoms of PMS, it has anti carcinogenic properties, it also works as an anti inflammatory and heals wounds. But most importantly Royal Jelly has anti ageing properties (yey)!! 

This is my Royal Jelly skin lotion. It is a rich moisturising non sticky body lotion and smells of honeeyyyyyy just like the rest of the range. I would highly recommend this product for the winter months. I alternate between body oil and Dr Organic body lotion when I moisturise. Don't worry I still love my all natural oils =)

I love my Royal Jelly night cream!! I think I will be buying this product again. I put the night cream on at night. In the morning I use my all natural Argan oil to moisturise my face. Check out my post on Argan oil. http://lovenaturalbeautyjunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/winter-all-natural-hair-care-supply.html 

The shampoo and conditioner do what they are supposed to do. Gently cleanses and moisturises my hair. The natural fragrance is really strong, my hair smells of honey after every wash for the rest of the day =)

The body wash has the same lovely honey smell. It cleans and hydrates my body really well. Leaving my skin feeling really nice and fresh. The body wash is almost chemical free, therefore I feel safe to use this all over my body without feeling that the Ph balance in my lady bits could be disrupted.

And finally let's talk about the odd one out of the box. The Manuka honey foot and heal cream. I get really dry heels in the winter and I find it difficult to moisturise my feet with oil because it's just too greasy and it spreads all over the floor and creates a mess. Before using this foot cream my heels were quite hard but ever since using this foot cream I have seen a significant difference in the texture of my foot. It is considerably smoother than before.

So this works eh =)

Overall I am quite happy Dr Organic's skin care collection. None of the products cost more than £10 so it is easy on your pocket. Check out the individual prices here: http://www.drorganic.co.uk/jelly-products.asp

Enjoy =) 

Natural DIY Turmeric and milk face mask

It's early January and we are all feeling the cold. The cold winter weather can be harsh to your skin, leaving it dry and lifeless. So I decided to experiment with home made face masks and came up with the perfect solution for dry and dull skin! I also didn't want to spend any extra money to make a face mask or to buy a new product, so I experimented with what I had in my kitchen. Here is my recipe for the perfect face mask (at least for my skin)


You need: milk, olive oil, flour, honey and turmeric. If you have one or two less ingredients don't worry about it mix what you have.

First you can add the flour, I put in a large tablespoon of flour. Flour helps to thicken the face mask so it isn't too runny when you are applying it to your face. 

Then you can add literally a pinch of turmeric (an indian spice used in most curries), this is probably the most important ingredient. Turmeric gives you a natural  healthy glow and it also has anti septic properties, turmeric can heal skin burns or any other skin irritation. But be very sparing with this ingredient because if you use to much of it, it can actually stain your skin yellow for a day or two. So use very little to give you that perfect glow. 

After the Turmeric add a tablespoon of olive oil. Olive oil is an all natural wonderful moisturiser. The use of olive oil to moisturise and purify your skin has been dated back to the ancient Egyptians. If they have been at it for so long then why shouldn't we give it a go? 

Now add two tablespoons of milk. Milk is one of the most nourishing food you can consume.It is full of nutrients and not only is it beneficial for your health it is also a great nutritional beauty aid.

And the final ingredient Honey. Honey also works as a mild anti septic and reduced free radicals in your skin. Honey is known to promote growth of new skin (this is a great ingredient for ageing skin). 

Finally mix it up well to make the paste. The paste is sightly runny but not runny enough so it drips off your face. If you feel like it is too thin then just add a bit more flour to the paste. This should be enough for 2-3 applications. Make sure you use it within a week otherwise it may go off because all the ingredients are natural so they can rot.

And apply, leave it on for 15-20 minutes and wash it off with luke warm water.

Enjoy =)