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Cruelty free skincare for hyperpigmentation and acne-prone skin.

Since making the switch to a vegan lifestyle I've been researhing more and more about cruelty free cosmetics so that I don't support any form of cruel practices. Luckily I didn't own many brands that tested on animals before the switch anyway!

That said, I also wanted to make my skincare more natural with as little 'un-pronouncable' ingredients possible. As a rule of thumb I try to stick to ingredients that I've at least heard of before...except for when it comes to scarring! I've got my fair share of hyperpigmentation left over from when I had severe acne. So to combat that I've got a few glycolic products as (apparently) that's what works best at getting rid of scars.

As someones suffered from various forms of skin conditions, mild to severe acne, eczema, dryness , oiliness- the lot! I'm not going to say that this is the answer to all your skin issues or that this is the perfect routine but at the moment it's doing a pretty good job of helping me clear my skin- something that, so far, no other product 
or routine has been doing.

Now I've been using these Nip+Fab products for over a month now and definietly see subtle changes. The exfoliator is a must if you have dull, dry skin or if you've got any acne scarring like myself.
Ingredients like almond oil, shea butter and aloe vera make it the perfect consistancy for it to do it's job without being too abrassive!
I usually exfoliate about 2 a week.


Every other day I actually do very little to my skin. Depending on what it's like each morning I might not wash it at all! If I do, I'll splash some water on my face and then I'll put of my diy astringent on it. I mix 2 parts water with 1 part Apple cider vinegar and 1 part Rosewater. I find that once this drys in to my skin is super soft and it helps keep the oil at bay. 
Each night then, I'll generally do the same thing and once the toner has done its thing I put some coconut oil on to add extra moisture.

As for price point, this is possibly one of the cheapest and simplest skin routines I've followed. 
I got my Nip+Fab products off of Cloud10 Beauty, who have free international shipping on orders over €15 ! 
The serum was €15 while the exfloiator was €10, not bad compared to in store prices!
A litre bottle of Apple cider vinegar can be found at any health food  store for about € 15 euro too which is pretty good too considering it lasts ages! 
And I got the coconut oil from Tesco for € 2.50! Bargain!

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Vegan Junk Food!

Now, sometimes we just need a bit of a feast. Whether it's PMS, exam stress or birthday celebrations, we all like a bit of junk food now and again. So here's a list of my top 10 favourite vegan junk! Albeit a lot are accidently vegan, its still a win-win!  (I'm also going to include a full list of random vegan junk outside of this top ten too!) Ps, some ingredients may be different in different countries and some contain palm oil so always check the pack!

1. Veggie Percy Pigs;
If you're outside the UK or Irelandthen you might not be formiliar with these but they're ...actually quite hard to explain.. They're just sweet, chewy jellies that I've always LOVED. Beyond delighted that there's a no gelatin version! You can get them form any Marks & Spencers for about €2.50.

2. Skittles/ Starburst;
A cinema staple in my books! These have been childhood favourites of mine that I still buy from time to time!

3. Clif / Trek / Nakd Bars:
A vegans or gym freaks fave, these are awesome sources of good protein and nutrients. Definietly more on the healthy side but they're still yum and great snacks to bring to work or college.

4. Doritos-Lightly Salted, Chili Heatwave;
More on the smelly side, these make for great movie night snacks. I'd also recommend trying these Doritos with salted popcorn-sounds a little weird if youve never tried it before but honestly, it's the best thing just try it!

5. Aldi's Dark Chocolate Digestives;
I was buzzing to see that these were vegan and if you're thinking "ew, no I hate dark chocolate"-don't.  The chocolate hasn't got a high percentage of cocao so it isn't too rich.

6. Betty Crocker Chocolate Cake:
Replace the added eggs with flax or chia seeds that have been mixed in water and set aside until gloopy and use almond/coconut/hazelnut/soy/oat/rice/hemp or any other plant milk you can find.

7. Lotus Biscuit spread:
A great alternative to Nutella!

8. Oreos:
A standard one for most. A must try with hazelnut or almond milk!

9. Aldi Mango/ Raspberry Sorbet;
Perfect coming up to Summer! Don't forget you can also blend frozen bananas with any fruit to make a more creamy ice cream.

10. Tesco Jelly Beans;
Awesome alternative to the gelatin filled jellies that are everywhere but be warned, I often feel sick after eating too many of them! Probably all the artificial sugar!

A few reasons why you should make a conscious effort to switch to veggie jellys and biscuits...
* You really don't need the nastiness of beef/pig or bovine gelatin in your sweets.

* Not only is cows milk unhealthy for you (thanks to the pus, hormones etc), it's not natural. Our bodies stopped producing the enzyme lactose after infancy so drinking milk isn't essential and drinking the milk of another species definitely isn't. Not to mention the artificial insemination of the cow to begin with and the seperation of mother and calf so we can use her milk. Definitely one to leave out of any recipe!

More Veg Junk...
-Jelly Tots
-Cadbury Bournville Plain Chocolate
-Fry's Chocolate Cream
-Walkers: Salt& Vinegar, Ready Salted, Prawn Cocktail, Worcester Sauce.
-Skips
Pringles: Original, BBQ, Paprika, Smokey Bacon
-Bourbon biscuits
- McVitie's: Ginger Nuts, Fig Rolls, Hobnobs, Chocolate Chip Hobnobs
-Aldi cola bottles
-Aldi Mint Creme chocolate bar

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What I eat in a day. #5 -College edition.

Hiiii,

So I thought it would be a good idea to do a bit of a college/uni edition of how I stay full and satisfied On a plant based diet during the college semester. Some days I find that I don't need to bring meals with me because I'm not in for that long but rather snacks, which I may do a separate post on!
On this day, I was in from 11 until 6 and considering I commute to and from college, that pretty much means I need to have dinner with me or at least half of it!

I seem to always opt for cereal/ porridge for breakfast probably because it can be cold in the mornings so it warms me up a bit plus it's super quick!

• Aldi "Special K" 
•  raisins 
• wheat biscuit (I had some left over oats underneath this too.)
•  All with soya milk and coconut sugar.

Next was a burrito that I had prepared the night before. I usually 

bring 2 or 3 depending on what I fill them with. This day I had 2.

1. Wholewheat wrap with:

• rice 
• spinach
• lettuce
•  falafel
• hummus 
• kidney beans.

I also had Siracha and a curry sauce from Aldi on the rice- I may do another post on the best/cheapest vegan sauces and condiments!

Once I got home I had a favourite of mine at the moment. A 

homemade bean burger with chips! So good when you've spent the whole day walking from lecture to lecture.

Mix in a bowl;

• Kidney beans
• Oats 
• Spices (chili, garlic,onion,paprika,turmeric,oregano)

Simples! Then you're done! Place them in the oven until they're as cooked as you want them. I generally leave them in for 15 minutes or so.

Obvious none of this included snacks this is just the main meals of the day but hopefully it gave you some ideas!

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