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MAC Rodarte - The Petition! Sign It! Help Save Lives!

I'm not a make-up enthusiast, but follow a few on Twitter. I was alerted to the MAC Rodarte controversy by @wandesworld and read about it here on @vexinthecity website.

You can also check out this feature on Colour Lines where Vex In The City is mentioned among other bloggers who did their online activist part to raise awareness to their readers.

On Colour Lines it stated: "MAC announced it plans to change the names of the offending products and send $100,000 to a still-unnamed charity that benefits Juarez" 

To a lot of people this just isn't good enough and on Vex In The City's site she states the purpose of the petition:

"The petition calls for MAC to donate 100% of the profits from this the Rodarte collection and names three reputable charities recommended by  Amigos de las Mujeres de Juarez and Casa Amiga - two reputable non profit agencies working with families who have been affected by the Juarez femicides." 

If you have time to come on my site and catch up on my rants, then take some time to sign the petition and make a difference. I'm not even asking you. In this instance I'm telling you to. Get your priorities straight. Doesn't take more than 2 minutes. I actually timed myself and it took approximately 38 seconds!

Go here to do your part!

Please & Thank You!

Many Thanks to Olivia from Healing Beauty for setting the peition up and for Vex In The City for spreading the word via Olivia.

Lush Review: CoalFace

What they at Lush say:

Soothing liquorice and charcoal cleansing bar. Ground up charcoal is very good for your skin. It helps to absorb excess sebum from the skin's surface and acts as a mild exfoliator. We put it into CoalFace with skin softening liquorice root with rosewood and sandalwood essential oils, both rumoured to help cells regenerate and to slow the arrival of wrinkles. Although coal and diamond are both made of the carbon molecule, in this case, charcoal is a girl's (or boy's) best friend.

Lush Review

Liquorice Root Decoction (Glycyrrhiza glabra), Propylene Glycol, Rapeseed Oil; Coconut Oil (Brassica napus; Cocos nucifera), Water (Aqua), Perfume, Sodium Stearate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Powdered Charcoal, Sandalwood Oil (Santalum austro-caledonicum vieill and Fusanus spicatus), Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora), Glycerine, Sodium Chloride, EDTA, Tetrasodium Editronate, *Geraniol, *Linalool, Silver Edible Lustre

*Occurs naturally in essential oils

I'd liken CoalFace to Dark Angels sister product. It's the soap version of the Rhassoul Mud and charcoal exfoliating scrub. When you've had enough of scrubbing your skin with Dark Angels, you switch to CoalFace which does the same job of absorbing the oil in your skin. It leaves your skin feeling rather dry and tight after a wash, so if that's a problem for you, leave it well and truly alone. If you're using a moisturiser that shouldn't be a problem anyway. I don't know who washes their face in 2010 and doesn't slap a lick of moisture on their face. Once I wash with CoalFace, I then spray my face with Tea Tree Toner, remove it with a cotton wool pad and this seems to combat that initial dry feeling post CoalFace.

I find this product very messy, and it leaves an awful soap scum in the sink. The sink tidy up post CoalFace is a pain in the arse, especially if you're in a hurry in the morning or tired last thing at night. I'm currently flitting between CoalFace and Dark Angels to see how they fair on the skin. It's a little to early to tell, but at the moment Dark Angels is winning, so much so I went back and purchased the black tub. I'm using a sample of CoalFace which looks like it will last me quite a long while. If you have problem areas on your chest or back which maybe overly oily or problematic, it maybe an idea if it doesn't work on your face to try it out on those areas in the shower.

I will definitely give it a fair go. No breakouts as of yet, and it gets my face extremely clean and zaps the oil right away.I'm not a fan of the post taught feeling though.

Don't commit to purchasing CoalFace as it may not be for you. I always recommend to go into your local Lush store and ask for a sample. It's what they do best, they'd be more than happy to.

CoalFace is best for oily/combination skin types.

Lush Review: Dark Angels Cleanser

Rhassoul Mud, Organic Cold-Pressed Avocado Oil (Persea gratissima), Glycerine, Powdered Charcoal, Black Sugar, Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate, Perfume, *Linalool, Sandalwood Oil (Santalum austro-caledonicum vieill and Fusanus spicatus), Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeodora)

I love this cleanser which is also exfoliates. So much so I used it twice in a row the first time I used it 2 days ago. I used my Lush Tea Tree Water toner afterwards and noticed some black from the powdered charcoal came off of my face. I used it once yesterday morning and then the toner again. Nothing in the form of charcoal residue came off this time; it must have been due to me overdoing it the previous day. I just couldn’t help it my skin felt lush [no pun intended], like it had been dusted with a fine powder once patted dry.

My skin is combination, dry in parts, oily in others. Oil control throughout the day is my problem so I will be looking into finding a great oil control lotion to compliment my skin. I need to get a handle on it; I’m beginning to look like Meagan Good…constantly shiny! Oil on my skin at 30 is great though, so I won’t knock it too much. It’s keep the black from cracking and I’m wrinkle free.

Now back to Dark Angels! I have a sample pot [about half a tablespoon]. It’s soft yet gritty and you can easily clump it together to get the size that you need. You do NOT need a lot. Lush is great for a little being able to go a long way. For a full face a pea size amount is ALL you need. Break a piece off, put it in your palm, add a little water and mix with your two fingers and apply in a circular motion all over your face and get to work on scrubbing. Rhassoul Mud and charcoal are the key ingredients to this product which get a handle on controlling the oil.

Don’t let it sit, just keep on rubbing and if it gets a little dry add a little more water. I like to scrub for a good minute paying close attention to the nose and chin area [larger pore areas for me]. Simply wash it off, pat dry then use a toner to remove any traces of charcoal and Rhassoul Mud.

I liken Dark Angels to a fine microdermabrasion scrub. I’m currently using Avon Anew Clinical Micro Exfoliant [discontinued but found it on eBay] as a fine microdermabrasion scrub. Dark Angels surpasses the Avon product for me now. I have some left, but don’t even want to go back to it to finish it. I’m going to Lush in my lunch hour to purchase the full pot. This is coming home to live with me, travel with me and remain in my life forever! Lush better never discontinue this product!

I’ve heard Dark Angels and a soap called Coal Face has been good for acne prone skin as well. Some people have come off of Proactiv, turned to these products and it has cleared up their skin. If you want to try the products always ask for a small sample and tell them that you want to test it before spending any money. Lush are very good in giving out samples for you to try, just don’t go overboard asking for a ton, they aren’t silly. Talk to them about your needs and get some advice on what they recommend, tell them you simply want to try it to see if it agrees with you before committing to a purchase.

How did my skin feel? Smoother, clear it had a great texture to it and not as dry as it usually feels after washing with anything else. I hope it’s one of those products that continue to work for me over time and not give up on me on day 7.

The downsides to it? It can get a little messy in the sink. You will definitely need to follow up with a toner to remove any fine traces of charcoal on your face and scrub your nails after using it; some bits of charcoal got stuck under there. Not a good look. Those downsides are nothing to me compared to the benefit it has on my skin. After using it this morning my skin really did feel rejuvenated, I’m having trouble keeping my hands off of my face, I really am.

Lush Review: 9 to 5 Cleanser

I received a small sample of this cleanser as I did not want to shell out any money on something that didn’t work for me.

I am not a fan of cleansers, especially ones with oil in them. Whether I have make-up on or not, I just like to get the face wash on my face, and get to lathering and washing until it’s all gone. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I don’t feel like I’m doing my skin any good with that daily heavy swiping of cotton wool on my face in trying to get that my make-up off. That’s why I like the face wash, toner, and occasional microdermabrasion scrub option instead.

Review:

Water (Aqua), Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Stearic Acid, Fresh Dove Orchid Extract (Dendrobium), Everlasting Flower Absolute (Helichrysum italicum), Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Triethanolamine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben

9 to 5 Cleaner has no real smell to it, it’s very plain and I liken the fragrance to Vaseline Intensive Care lotion. It is very light, and like most Lush products a little goes a long way as they are heavily concentrated with lots of good ingredients. Any synthetics that are in Lush products are naturally derived synthetics.

My skin is combination and I am not prone to breakouts. After a face wash my skin is dry especially around the mouth area, all that I require is a light lotion or serum on my face and neck. Throughout the day I get very shiny on the nose and forehead from excess oil produced.

When I tried this product I had worn no make up for the day. It was about 80 degrees in London and I only had a light serum on my face which I had applied in the morning. I dabbed a little 9 to 5 Cleanser on my finger and applied in a light circular motion all over my face. The aim was not to rub it in. I used a cotton wool pad [eeek] and wiped the cleanser off.

My skin felt pretty good and surprisingly clean. It looked matte and didn’t feel like I had a layer of oil left on my face. I was actually thinking I could use this product in reverse by washing my face, applying and wiping away the excess with a cotton wool pad. I just may try that and see how my skin holds up throughout the day and see if I notice any difference over the course of a week.

I didn’t wash my face after I tried it out. When I woke up my skin felt fine. There were no bad reactions or changes in my skin texture. In fact it felt and looked pretty good. I am not used to going most of the day without washing my face I don’t think I would personally use this on it’s own as a daily cleanser, but just may try it throughout the week at night and see how my skin feels.

The small sample pot is enough for a few days use, maybe even a week. If you really want to try a Lush product always ask for a sample, buying even the smallest bottle will last a long time, and if you don’t like it you’ll be stuck with it [or you can sell it on eBay. Lush products do VERY well on there]. The verdict is a good one; it worked a lot better than I originally anticipated. I’m going to give it a few more days and see how my skin takes to it, and give it a fair go incorporating it into my skin regimen.

It gets thumbs up from me based on the texture, ingredients and ease of use. The price in my opinion is justified based on how much you’ll need to get the job done and the quality of the product. The prices are 95g for £3.95 and 240g for £7.95

I’m going to use cleanse with this and tone with my Lush Tea Tree Water and see how my skin feels over the next few days.

I will keep you posted.

Lush Review: Ultrabalm

Lush make up a good 90% of what I use to bathe, shower, tone and moisturise with. The other night after going through 'The Lush Times' at home, I made a mental note of everything I wanted to stock up on again, or try for the first time. So yesterday I did a mini Lush haul during my lunch hour, knowing full well I’d go in for one thing and leave with more. Today I'm going back to get my free fresh face mask as I have a TON of empty black pots that I need to take back.

For every 5 empty black pots that you bring back to Lush [you must wash them out thoroughly] you get a free fresh face mask.

I came out with:

Dream Cream [body lotion]

Sultana Soap [moisturising soap]

Dark Angels Cleanser [sample]

Ultrabalm [Lip Balm]

A Ring of Roses [moisturising soap]

Glorious Mud [rhassoul mud body mask]

Jungle [solid hair conditioner]

9-5 Cleanser [sample – face cleanser]

Total £ 33.88

I also had a quick spray of Karma [try it you just may love it] and had my hands sampled on with different products about 3 times.

I will be reviewing the other Lush products in my mini-haul over the coming days.

A typical Lush day begins for me in the shower with Rub Rub Rub, followed by my feet moisturised with Pied Di Pepper (I add some Pure Australian Emu Oil to this as I found it a little less moisturising than I had done in previous years when I had bought it). To the body I apply Coco Lotion [I alternate between this and my faithful favourite Charity Pot]. Hands are assisted with Helping Hands and my face is washed with a soap I can’t remember the name of and toned with Tea Tree Water. I haven’t found a Lush moisturiser that I like so I don’t use one of theirs. I have tested a few, none of them gave me the results that I was looking for.

My bathroom consists of Lush body scrubs, solid bubble baths, a hair mask, a conditioner, a shampoo, soaps, some of which I’ve forgotten what they’re called.

Ultrabalm Review:

Ingredients: Organic Cold-Pressed Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis), Candelilla Wax (Euphorbia cerifera), Rose Wax (Rosa damascena)

How much can you actually say about a lip balm in a review?

I’m using a real crappy one at the moment, ‘Boots Essentials Tinted Lipsalve’ Absolute CRAP! I usually wear a layer of lip balm under lip gloss and always use lip balm on its own, but this is just pure rubbish to me.

The Ultrabalm was a last minute buy. Just as I was ready to type my PIN I spotted some dinky little ‘done in 2 weeks’ sized lip balms for £4.95….Errrr no! The girl behind the counter recommended a new lip balm for £7.50

I thought “WHAAAA? SEVEN POUND FIFTY FIYAH LICCLE RAASIN SIN TING FI PUT PON MI MOUT….”

Now before you skin up about the price…read on.

It’s £7.50 but think about how much some of you spend on lip gloss. The balm is a necessity in my opinion. Whether at home or out, awake or asleep lips need that extra TLC as they are one part of the body that produces no oil to keep them moisturised. Lips need all the help they can get, and you don't want to end up looking like Tyrone Biggums that's for sure!

Ultrabalm comes in a 45g tin, and let me tell you a tiny dab of this on your finger will go a very long way. Looking at the contents of the tin I can honestly say with about 10 applications a day [with all the eating and drinking throughout the day], this could last me close to a year or maybe even more than that, so the £7.50 is already a justified spend. It’s HEAVILY concentrated and the after effect doesn’t leave a horrible film on your lips. You definitely won't feel the need to re-apply time and time again.

Now for the downside. Oh you thought the price was the downside. The Ultrabalm is rather gritty on the lips. Ever so minuscule are the wax particles to the human eye, but the feeling on the lips can be annoying and leave you feeling paranoid that you have sand stuck to your mouth. I did have to check my mouth in the mirror just to see what this annoying feeling actually looked like. After a while the wax particles go away, but the initial feeling is annoying. Maybe I’ll get used it I don’t know. It’s the only thing I do NOT like about the product.

I opted for Ultrabalm over the others simply because you get more balm for your buck. Aside from the wax particles on the lips I’ll give it a thumbs up. Ask to try it in store before you decide on purchasing it. Never been a fan of Vaseline, but this I can deal with especially if it means I don’t have to buy another one until mid way through 2011 (which is when it actually expires).

So Fake To The Point Your REAL Hair Makes The News!

"Tyra Banks has given fans a sneak peak of her new haircut. The model-turned-presenter has now posted a picture of herself on Twitter - but blurred the photograph to avoid her new look being properly unveiled before the return of her talk show, 'The Tyra Banks Show', next month. Alongside the picture, she wrote: 'Here's me rockin my REAL hair, had 2 blur it so its still a surprise on Sept 8! Who else is sportin their real hair that day? (sic)' Tyra has previously declared September 8 'National Real Hair Day' in honour of her new look. Speaking about the show, she vowed: 'No fake hair at all! Will be the hair coming out of my scalp! 4 all 2 C! No ponytails, no ballet un head. Hair will be out and free"

Oh Lord Ty Ty Baby Banks, give me strength sweetie. I really wish her rich banker boyfriend would just wife her and she goes and has some babies somewhere. The general consensus about Tyra is that she's not all that nice, personable, self involved and her show hinders rather than helps black women and issues. Seems like a lot of the topics she does on her show pisses a lot of people off. And here's another one....

So to remain even more relevant Tyra is revealing her natural lace front free hair for the whole season of her new show.

Who actually cares? What is the world coming to when a woman takes off her wig and it causes this much controversy. Is this the best that Tyra can do? She gets a doctor to come on to her show to prove her breasts are real and now she's got to show us she has hair too.

....waiting for the surgeon to confirm the rhinoplasty surgery. That's nose job..... From the look of it she's had the bridge narrowed and nostrils made smaller. And probably had more than one surgery over the years as well. If there are pictures from yesteryear, why do these celebs continue to deny it. And no that's not a make up contouring job, there's only so much make-up can do.

Good surgeon though!

My take on the whole story...."Whatever Tyra! Although I respect your hustle and your futile attempts to remain relevant."

"So Fine From Head To Toe...? I Don't Think So!"

Do I really need to write a lot on this one? I think the pictures speak for themselves. I hear a lot of fellas fawning over these women like they are LITERALLY fine from head to toe., and that by someone keep carrying on about this dime piece fineness they exude in our presence we're going to be jealous or somewhat envious.

Nope

&

Next

But like I tell the ladies, don't be so quick to envy another woman because she herself isn't perfect and may just desire something that YOU YOURSELF have. I love me enough to NEVER want Nicole or Keri's feet that's for sure. Yes it's OK to admire someone who isn't 100% perfect but even Lela Rochon's feet was enough to make Eddie Murphy climb out of the bed in Boomergang. And even the oh so adored Halle Belly has stretch marks on her breasts n booty [if you're TV is big enough and you've seen Monster's Ball...enough said] I even remember seeing this at the movies and all you heard in the crowd were whispers that just echoed "stretch marks" from the sistahs. Like it was so hard to believe Halle 'Perfect' Berry was capable of having stretch marks. Don't even ask me what Deelishus was doing wearing that.

So when these guys go on about being so fine, so fly from head to toe and perfect dimes, yadda, yadda, yadda their focus is usually on what isn't real [especially with celebs]. Make-up, airbrushed images, cosmetic surgery, lace front wigs/weaves, false eyelashes, false nails, padded bras, Spanx, panties with padding to make your butt bigger.

They're being fed a false image and all the while I'm sitting there to myself thinking if you saw half of these women in their 100% natural state you wouldn't be so excited nor tripping the way that you are. We as women know what it takes to get there. And we also know what it took them to get their. That's why our responses may sound like the dumb 'hate' term, but I'm not gonna praise a woman on her beauty if it's enhanced by MAC or Bobbie Brown cosmetics and a lace front wig when my response is "She's aiight"

And please ladies I don't care how far your confidence stretches, if your feet look like that. Keep them covered!!!

Not even a peep toe shoe.
Not even with all that fineness can you get away with this. Brothas on blogs were disgusted.

Naomi Campbell not so fine from head to toe. Gorgeous physique and skin tone, beautiful face and lips, receding hairline and jacked up feet.

Yes these belong to the African beauty that is Iman. With a face so beautiful it really does leave you with a WTF happened thought going on.



Beyonce's crusty heel back. All that money not even a pumice stone in sight.

SO FOLKS....Moral of the blog today. Don't envy so hard on the celeb folks. Pretty much everyone adored and admired has flaws of their own. They aren't perfect and when it comes to the exterior are pretty much NOT even real to begin with anyway in some capacity.

Lush Recommendation - Charity Pot

Charity Pot
Our hand and body lotion is made with fairly traded, skin-softening cocoa butter and almond oil to make your skin feel lovely and has a scent you’ll want to sniff all day long.

Every penny that you pay for it (including the VAT which goes to run public services in the UK) will go into our Lush Charity Pot Fund. Each time you buy a pot it’ll have a label on it telling you a little story about one of the charities, good causes, and hand-picked groups that we have supported. (Choosing a particular pot doesn’t direct the money to that particular group; that would be an administrative horror; you’ll just have to trust us to pick good ones.) Projects include the Sumatra Orang Utan Society, the Kipungani Schools Trust in Kenya, the Dorset Wildlife Trust, Beirut for The Ethical Treatment of Animals (BETA), the Gordon Charitable Trust, Transport 2000 and Plane Stupid. If you’d like to find out more about the projects that this money is currently supporting, visit our Charity Support page. To tell us about interesting charities or projects which you’d like to nominate for our support in future please email charitypot@lush.co.uk This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Ingredients
Click on highlighted ingredients to learn more.
Water (Aqua), Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Geranium Oil (Pelargonium graveolens), Tagetes Oil (Tagetes minuta), Triethanolamine, Cetearyl Alcohol, Geraniol, Citronellol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Methylparaben, Propylparaben
* Occurs naturally in Essential Oils

I've used, Karma Kream, Dream Cream, Sympathy for the Skin, but nothing compares to Charity Pot. The first time I used it it went on very light and I thought, great this is NOT what my skin needs, some thing water based lotion to promise to be everything great but is not. By the time you've lotioned up everywhere you'll soon feel just how hydrated your skin is. And until your next shower/bath it will continue to be hydrated. I have never had a lotion make my skin feel so good before. NEVER and I've tried everything. I thought the Palmers Cocoa Butter [the alpha/beta hydroxy] was good on the more commercial of lotions and even Jergen's Ultra Healing, but this leaves them in the dust. Yes it's pricy and at two all over body uses daily can see this lasting approx 2 weeks. You don't need a lot a little definitely goes a long way and like most Lush products this smells good. Whatever room you lotion up in, go back in and it will smell of Charity Pot so it gives you an indication of just how good you are going to smell. I don't use this on the hands or the feet. I use separate lotions for that. Pied De Pepper and Helping Hands [which I'll review tomorrow]

Love it, Love it Love it. This is one of those "If you could take anything to a desert island what would it be…." Charity Pot would be on that list.

Did I say I loved it???

240g priced at £9.74

Lush Recommendation - Pied De Pepper & Fair Trade Foot Lotion

If you want to pamper yourself Lush has it.

I only buy Lush now and will continue to do so, as I love it sooooo much I decided to EACH DAY share with you a firm Lush favourite of mine that I'm currently using.

Lush are one of those ethical companies. They'll source natural ingredients from all over the world and make sure only the best goes into every product.

They're into recycling and encourage customers to bring back 5 black pots in return for a FREE fresh face mask.

Lush are global, so you can either go to the UK site or the dot com site which will point you in the right direction for your particular country.

Pied De Pepper
Soothing, spicy foot cream.
Pied de Pepper smells like a spicy sauce for a hot dessert, but it's a spicy cream for your feet and it would definitely come in handy after a long walk in a hot desert. Clove bud, cinnamon leaf and ginger essential oils soothe your muscles, stimulate your circulation and ease aches all at the same time. It's also excellent in cold weather for people who have cold extremities and like to warm their feet up on yours.

Ingredients
Click on highlighted ingredients to learn more.
Vanilla Pod Decoction (Vanilla planifolia), Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Stearic Acid, Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Triethanolamine, Clove Bud Oil (Eugenia caryophyllus), Cetearyl Alcohol, Cinnamon Leaf Oil (Cinnamomum cassia), Ginger Oil (Zingiber officinale), Lemon Oil (Citrus limonum), *Cinnamyl Alcohol, *Cinnamal, *Citral, *Eugenol, *Geraniol, *Isoeugenol, *Benzyl Benzoate, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Methylparaben, Propylparaben
* Occurs naturally in Essential Oils

This is my favourite out of the two foot lotions. The reason I have both is I bought Fair Trade first. As you get a bigger size for less money. I would love for Lush to do a big size of Pied De Pepper. It smells great and is so moisturising. Don't let the 100g size be an issue, If you use this twice a day after a bath/shower I can see this pot lasting 2-3 months. Maybe even a little bit longer. A little really does go a long way.

Use the Ocean Salt as a foot scrub after a foot spa and then use Pied De Pepper. If your feet aren't soft after this then….go see a chiropodist because whatever is on your foot bottom that can't slough away needs some serious help.

100g priced at £6.12

Fair Trade Foot Lotion
Minty revitalisation for feet with fairly traded cocoa butter.

Pink and perky, one very very minty cream for your feet which helps to ease the abuse they get, jammed into shoes and stood on all day. We use both spearmint and peppermint essential oils which relieve aches and make hot feet feel cool again. Arnica and marigold herbs take away the weariness and get your feet ready to wear your highest heels or to be seen naked and proud of it.
Ingredients
Click on highlighted ingredients to learn more.
Arnica Infusion (Arnica Montana), Almond Oil (Prunus dulcis), Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao), Glycerine, Stearic Acid, Triethanolamine, Spearmint Oil (Mentha viridis), Peppermint Oil (Mentha piperita), Tagetes Oil (Tagetes minuta), Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 18050, Methylparaben, Propylparaben
* Occurs naturally in Essential Oils

This is also moisturising, however when my tub runs out. I'll be sticking solely with Pied De Pepper. This is great if you have tired feet as it contains spearmint and peppermint oil. You can feel the tingles after a good foot massage. In fact it's perfect for a foot massage. Whether price or product size or quality is your thing you can choose between two great Lush Foot lotions. For me Pied De Pepper has the advantage over Fair Trade Foot Lotion.

225g priced at £7.59

Check out some other reviews of Pied De Pepper & Fair Trade Foot Lotion. Try it and let me know what you think. Even if you stumble on this blog post months down the line I see all comments no matter when they are left on my Blackberry. So like I said whether you've used it, like it, love it or loathe it let me know.

Review 1 - Pied De Pepper
Review 2 - Fair Trade Foot Lotion

Lush Recommendation - Ocean Salt

I have thrown out all of my products, I had so many I needed a black bin bag to put them all in.
My love for Lush products has returned with a vengeance and will no longer need Boots, Superdrug or the toiletries aisle in my local supermarket because I get lots of love and attention from Lush. If you want to know what products they do here is a brief rundown…well kinda brief…[and yes they do ship].

Cleansers
Toners
Bath Bombs
Solid Bubble Baths
Face & Body Scrubs
Shower Gels & Jellies
Henna
Fragrance
Foot Lotion
Body Lotion
Face Cream
Neck Cream
Eye Cream
Shaving Cream
Massage Bars
Shampoos
Conditioners
Lip Balms
Solid Perfumes
Face Masks
Deodorants

If you want to pamper yourself Lush has it.

I only buy Lush now and will continue to do so, as I love it sooooo much I decided to EACH DAY share with you a firm Lush favourite of mine that I'm currently using.

Lush are one of those ethical companies. They'll source natural ingredients from all over the world and make sure only the best goes into every product.

They're into recycling and encourage customers to bring back 5 black pots in return for a FREE fresh face mask.

Lush are global, so you can either go to the UK site or the dot com site which will point you in the right direction for your particular country.

Ocean Salt.
Cleansing lime, coconut & sea salt scrub.
Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside. We also love putting sea salt and seaweed in our products because of all the lovely minerals in them. Ocean Salt is like taking your face on a trip to the seaside for an invigorating splash in the water, then cleansing and refreshing it with lemon, grapefruit and lime juices, moisturising and softening it with fresh avocado and calming it with violet leaf absolute. Use it on oily skin every day and use it to refresh and remineralise dry skin once a week. (Also, it tastes pretty good if you accidentally get it on your lips).

Ingredients
Fine Sea Salt, Fresh Grapefruit Infusion (Citrus grandis), Coarse Sea Salt, Stearic Acid, Fresh Organic Lime Extracted in Vodka (Citrus aurantifolia), Sodium Cocoamphoacetate, Glycol Cetearate, Triethanolamine, Fresh Avocado Butter (Persea gratissima), Extra Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera), Lime Oil (Citrus aurantifolia), Seaweed Absolute (Fucus vesiculosus), Violet Leaf Absolute (Viola odorata), Glycerine, Lanolin, Cetearyl Alcohol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume, Colour 42090, Methylparaben, Propylparaben
* Occurs naturally in Essential Oils

Why did I ever stop using this? If you're a product junky like me you always hope to move onto something that you feel will work better. There isn't anything in my opinion. I have combinations skin, dry, normal and oily in parts, large pores and pretty much spot free. Breakouts aren't common with me. But if you have breakouts I wouldn't recommend to use Ocean Salt as it's…well salt, and will sting like a mutha.

It's rough as hell I will not lie, but you don't need any vigorous scrubbing for this to be effective, just light circular motions will do. It literally polishes the skin. I have never used a product that gets my skin glowing and looks pretty much baby smooth…SERIOUSLY I kid you not. I used this as a foot scrub the other day and with minimal effort my feet felt baby soft after a foot spa. [I'll be recommending 2 foot lotions tomorrow *smile*]. I've used Ocean Salt on my face, neck and feet. I may try it on my hands tonight as well.

When you use it you do feel like you may want to stop as the grains are just too big. I think Lush should take the big salt grains out and leave the little ones in there personally. Whilst scrubbing I just get rid of those and focus on the smaller grains and creamy texture of avocado butter and coconut oil mixed in. Don't worry you're not left with a feeling of grease and grime the salt, lime, and vodka [yes vodka] infusion make sure you're evenly balanced and cleanse your skin beautifully. My skin looked so good after using it last night and this morning I cannot wait to wash my face again. Yes I love it that much!!

There are 2 sizes, 120g and 250g priced at £5.82 and £10.72 respectively.

Check out some other reviews of Ocean Salt. Try it and let me know what you think. Even if you stumble on this blog post months down the line I see all comments no matter when they are left on my Blackberry. So like I said whether you've used it, like it, love it or loathe it let me know.

Review 1
Review 2

Health & Beauty Tip - Humidifier

Health - for better breathing.

Beauty - for better skin.

Living in a constantly cold and summer absent climate, we are used to central heating in the home nearly it seems all year round.

To combat the artificial dryness, try putting some moisture back into the air for only £29.35

I just purchased a humidifier for my room. When I stayed with my friend in Maryland in the home they slept with the heating on. As much as I love to be warm the heating has to be shut off at night because I wake up in the morning dry from what it feels the inside out. I turn the heat off right before I jump into bed so the house is still warm and set the timer to come on an hour before I wake up. Any longer than this and I feel awful.

If you happen to sleep with the heat on or feel dry in the morning, try sleeping with a humidifier on in your room next to the bed, putting cold or warm mist back into the air. My friend bought one and I definitely noticed the difference waking up in the morning after sleeping through with the heat on.

I purchased mine from Dry It Out for £29.35 with FREE UK Next working day delivery.

Before I've even finished writing this I got an e-mail confirmation to say it will be delivered tomorrow between 9am and 4pm. That's great considering I placed the order at 13:30.

Warm mist humidifier
Output up to 480ml/hr
Suitable for rooms up to 65m2
Removable medication cup to add aromatherapy oils or act as an inhalant
Built in night light
Auto safety cut-off
Dimensions 34cm wide x 14.5cm deep x 31.4cm high
Weight 1.8Kg
Power 220-240V 50Hz 400W

Did You Know? - MAC Cosmetics

I've known about this since becoming a MAC customer for the first time back in 2004. If you take back 6 empty MAC product containers you can get a FREE lipstick.

I have hoarded all of mine in a big bag. I think I am honestly due around 7-8 lipsticks with the amount I have, but I won't suffer myself the embarrasment and take them back one at a time. So if you're a MAC girl like me then save all of those eyeshadow, foundation and lipgloss containers and treat yourself to a FREE lipstick. You need all the freeness you can get in 2009. Trust me!!

Cheap Beauty Tip - [Milk] Bath Time

Lord have mercy, it's cold!! With temperatures estimated to drop to -10 degrees in London town over the coming week, the artificial heat has to be turned up and showers and baths maybe just a little hotter than usual to combat the New Year cold. Living in London we are at a disadvantage with the bad weather and the VERY hard water.

I've resorted to taking baths in the evening as well as a morning shower, rather than showering twice a day, it gives me time to do my multi-tasking, relaxing and reading in peace away from the cell phones on the train journey home. To combat the dry skin, bubble baths are not enough in my opinion and need a multitude of things added to the bath water to cut that hardness right out so it doesn't affect my skin until I invest in an installed water softener for the whole system in my house.

These run in the region of £350-1000+ and benefit everything used by water in your home from your washing machine, limescale the kettle, better heating, to skin and hair improving with the constant use of much softer water. Always wonder why when you go overseas your skin feels better? It's most probably and usually the water. I'm so pissed countries like Thailand have better quality water, and ours is laced with so much crap. Click here for an explanation on how effective hard water softeners actually are.

A pipe full of scale. I can see how the heating in a home can definitely be affected.

I picked up some extra virgin olive oil [EVOO] from Tesco this evening for £1.28 and had some Organic whole milk a few days past due left in the fridge. If you have any milk which is not fit for consuming, don't throw it away [unless it's got stuff growing on it] add it to the bath under running water along with a capful or two of the EVOO. That was my particular bath mix this evening a long with a few squirts of Johnson's PH 5.5 running under the tap for a few bubbles. And it was simply fabulous! I'm going to never bath with just bubbles alone again!! You can be creative with it and add a few essential oils like Lavender for night-time relaxation.

Don't worry if the bath water is too oily just use your soap/shower creme and the suds will break the oil down so it's not glued to your skin.

You can add other oils or substitute olive oil for coconut oil or avocado oil. I have some coconut oil that could do with some using up that I will use eventually. Honey is another natural product you can also add to the bathwater as well as:

• Oatmeal
• Seaweed [I take a seaweed bath about once a week]*
• Dead Sea Salt
• Bergamont essential oil
• Butters such as cocoa and Shea butter [unrefined]
• Emu Oil
  

The list is endless to the different types of baths you can conjure up with natural products lying around your home.

*I purchase my 100% natural seaweed powder from this seller on eBay for £6.99, the product is called Marine Gold.

TIP: Unless it's a salt scrub refrain from doing a body scrub in an oil based bath. All of the particles will stick to your skin.

Taken from Wikipedia
Milk baths are said to utilise lactic acid an alpha hydroxy acid, to dissolve the proteins which hold together dead skin cells.

Proponents say that the natural properties of milk help to:

• Soften/Smooth
• Exfoliate
• Make visible new, fresh cells
• Accelerate skin cell renewal
• Moisturize
• Relieve stress

Read here about eczema and the benefits of softened water

Cheap Beauty Tip: Eyelashes

My eyelashes are uber curly. So much so, no matter how careful I am I'll always get mascara on my eyelids. [Some women actually leave the house looking like this] It's not cute, nor a substitute for eyeliner.

Tip #1. Coat both sides of your lashes for a more enhanced colour. Just using it from base to tip on one side usually isn't enough, paying attention to the ends of your lashes where you use the brush to curl the ends [think a curling tong motion] is best.

Tip #2. If you do happen to get any mascara on your eyelids, simply get a cotton bud [Q tip] wet both ends under the tap, squeeze out the excess water and use one side of the bud for each eyelid gently wiping away the excess mascara. A tissue is too bulky and can mess up your wet lashes.

Tip #3. Never be CHEAP and dilute your mascara toward the end of it's use. There are tiny little bacteria in tap water that can give you an eye infection. I learnt the hard way many many years ago from doing this. If it's drying out, buy a new one. I always buy 2 at time so I always have one on standby when I run out and get mine from either Walgreens or CVS when I'm in the US and buy a ton of them because at $6.99 compared to £9.99 it's worth it, plus they are lightweight enough to carry back. Ebay is another play to get your mascara from for Max Factor I have bought 2 for 1 for what it would have cost me in the shops. And always buy package sealed mascara. If you don't then grab the mascara from the back, not the front where it's probably been opened 101 times already.

Tip #4. Like Tip #3 NEVER share your mascara with ANYBODY I don't care if they have they share the same DNA as you. I don't share my make-up or tools from Vaseline to blusher blush with anybody. The most I can do is tell you the make and colour and you'll have to get your own. You'll not get a powder speck from me.

I personally never bother with waterproof mascara. What am I doing that's going to make my mascara run so frequently? If it's more of a tearful situation than a swimming one then it seem that therapy may be an option than your choice of mascara.

I never bother with eye make up remover either, the cream or oil based ones always get in my eyes. The eye area is the most delicate area on the face [prone to wrinkles] and excess rubbing with cotton wool and lotion is a no no for me in the eye area. I wash my face as normal and pay extra attention with my fingers, soap and water in removing my mascara when my face is wet. I have it down to a fine art now where no soap gets in my eyes and after two attempts at this removes it completely. 29 and no eye wrinkles.

I use Max Factor Masterpiece Mascara. Easy brush application, it's very rigid and stiff which makes a better application, and washes off easily. Compared to Maybelline it's excellent.

Cheap Beauty Tip: Lips

I NEVER apply my lip gloss on bare lips. The colour and the application always is a little lacklustre in my opinion. A simple smearing of Vaseline on smooth lips prior to the gloss adds in a glossier finish, longer lasting and a better colour all round. You'll end up using less gloss in the process too!

ALSO Take off your gloss when re-applying with a tissue, then start over. A fresh application looks better than a touched up one. Plus a quick exfoliating with the tissue to remove dead and glossed up skin never hurt either.

Cheap Beauty Tip: Hands

Before a manicure or as part of a weekly routine I like to exfoliate my hands. I use lotion probably about 10 times a day [always after washing them] on my hands and soap alone isn't going to remove the potential build up on the skin over time. I find this can lead to the lotion not working as well and my hands seem more dry, especially in the winter months.

Here's a quick and cheap fix:

• Squirt a few pumps of your favourite hand wash into your hand.
• Add some table salt or dead sea salt if you have it. [Half to three quarters of a teaspoon will do]
  
• Rub hands together, paying close attention to in between the fingers where it can get particularly dry.
  
• Continue this for 1-2 minutes and then rinse off.
  
• Dry hands and apply lotion.

You'll notice your lotion application will be much smoother and your hands feel much softer.
You can do this for the feet too [It works better wearing plastic/latex gloves when scrubbing and using dead sea salt where the grains are larger] and add a drop of oil to it also if you like for extra moisture. I recommend olive oil for both hands and feet.

If you try it, let me know what you think.

Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

Pressures to look good to compete with other women and look good for the opposite sex keep women shelling out money on make-up, treatments and surgery to keep them looking young and carefree for longer.

I read a story about a Korean woman called Hang Mioku woman who since the age of 28 has become addicted to treatments to improve her looks. She took drastic attempts and started injecting her own face with silicone and then went onto COOKING OIL. She was a beautiful woman to begin with and will now remain hideous for the rest of her life. She alone should be enough to say it's just not worth it.

I have spent so many years focusing on my own imperfections that when I decided to actually take a step back I realised there was not a damn thing wrong with me. I don't need that nose job I've wanted since I was 11 years old, and even if I went ahead and got the bridge narrowed and nostrils cut just a little smaller, who's to say I wouldn't be satisfied and want something else done.

NOPE **shakes head** I am not getting anything done. I'll do something which is a lot harder for most women to do in this day and age and that's love themselves to the fullest, appreciate that everything works, I'm not disfigured, and I'm totally healthy.

Now the only reason I may have surgery would be if [God forbid] I had to have a mastectomy following breast cancer or say broke my nose and it was all bent out of shape, but for vanity's sake just for the hell of it I'm leaving it alone.

Baz Lurhman said on his infamous spoken word hit song 'Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen', "Don't read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly" Never a truer word spoken. It is so easy to be sucked into the airbrushed world of celebrities and models. Perfect skin, perfect teeth, perfect breasts, perfect hair. My goodness have you seen before and after airbrushed images? Hair, teeth, eye colour, skin, nail polish, it's all bloody airbrushed to perfection. Right down to the gleam on the fingernails and shine on the hair and the blunt cut on Laetitia Casta on those L'Oreal hair ads. I'm not going to be a slave to the false enhanced images that I see before my eyes. It's like being a lamb led to the slaughter. Are women even aware that breast implants have to be redone every few years [I mean that may have changed but if not, be prepared to go under the knife every few years have about £5,000 on standby and endure the recovery process, that's if you wake up from the anaesthetic that is as that's not even a guarantee either]. Not every man like big boobs, [I'll take one of those fellas thank you], because close to 30 I'm still perky unlike singer Kelis, and will take that over a pair of fake breasts any day.

I gave up the beauty magazines a long while ago. I save money and I saved trying to live up to what wasn't real. Now I just do me and I'm happier than I've ever been. I can honestly say I love myself both inside and out, there was a time that I didn't. I only now subscribe to Sophisticate's Black Hair magazine every month without fail and occasionally Hype Hair magazine. I'm older and wiser to not be suckered to the overly airbrushed sistahs in these publications and focus on the hair styles alone.

I am not even slightly intimidated by any celebrity because I look perfectly fine sans make-up and I look great as they do when applied. As a woman I know what goes into a finely polished Halle Berry, Eva Longoria or Cameron Diaz and it involves a great stylist, hairdresser and make-up artists, all things I could get/do for myself or pay somebody to hook me up. The difference between them and me is their pay check, aside from that they are human and too have blocked pores, cellulite, stretch marks and uneven skin tones.

Celebrities aren't born beautiful, they are made to look beautiful. On their off days a lot of them look a hell of a lot worse than the average woman in my office. Lip injections, breast implants, butt implants, hair extensions, false eyelashes, false nails, spray on abs I'll take and love the real me over these glamorous editorials on a daily basis. I know better to not act the fool and get depressed over the fake L'Oreal hair and airbrushed skin [yes even commercials can be airbrushed] and red carpet divas. Shoot give me the best of the best and I'm sure I'll look stunning too. On my own I'm sure I can do a pretty good job.


I just wish women would love and accept themselves as they are and stop using surgery as the new tonic for a temporary self esteem boost.

The True Cost Of Beauty is... £8112.00 [$12,150.09]

Every year that's how much it would cost me to do what I already do at home and that would consist of:

Eyebrow threading £3 every fortnight
Manicure £20 every week
Pedicure £20 every week
Facial £24 every week
Full body exfoliating body scrub twice weekly £58 [£29 each treatment]
Three relaxers a year a total of £240
Braids three time a year £225
Weekly wash and deep condition £1040
Annual precision cut with a top stylist £185

I'm am a perfectionist and am just extra when I choose to do my at home treatments. I won't give myself a regular paint n polish manicure or pedicure or any other treatment for that matter. I'm all out there with the cuticle removing, the salt and olive oil scrubs, foot spa, lotions, base coat, top coat, seaweed baths, microdermabraision scrubs, deep pore cleansing, alpha hydroxy masks I could go on and on.

I have too many products to mention and reserving a Saturday or Sunday for the once over that will consist of doing my hair, a manicure, a pedicure, a seaweed bath, full body exfoliation, a facial and an eyebrow shape I find quite rewarding. I can do a better job than those who have done my treatments before and on top of that I'm saving a ton of money. £8112 to be exact.

Granted I may take 45 minutes to thread my eyebrows compared to the women that take 3 minutes, but like I stated I'm extra. I'll thread, tweeze and trim to get the perfect shape. I care about my appearance and will do my best to look as good as possible, I have to remember as a client I'm about the £'s and on most occasions my time in the chair is limited.

I'm tired of spending money and leaving these place dissatisfied and thinking I could have done a better job. I've had compliments on my manicures, eyebrows, make-up, hair whether relaxed or braided. I must be doing something right.

In these times eight grand is ludicrous to be spend looking halfway decent when I can do everything myself and feel a 10. I know every woman isn't capable of doing everything from head to foot, but to save some money substituting one or two treatments and doing them at home can save enough for a vacation somewhere or go toward a new car or down payment for a property.

I'm disgusted at that figure but glad I have enough sense to not spend that much when it could be put to better use. I'll reserve paying for massages and reflexology as that's something I cannot do myself.

LondonDiva's Beauty Tip - A 'Lush' Cleanser fit for an 'Angel'

I LOVE this product, it may have been close to 10 years ago since I first discovered it at Lush, which was then only available to a few UK locations before it went rapidly global.

It seems to be a favourite and a staple product of the natural-as-can-be global chain which has a product it seems for every body part, from head to toe.

This is a soft yet solid facial cleanser aptly named 'Angels on Bare Skin', you wet your face pinch a pit of and get to rubbing, it's a very mild exfoliant and not harsh on the skin, and just like everything Lush, smells good too.

At £4.50 for 100g it may seem a little steep but it's not much different and lasts just as long or even longer as the big name brands on the supermarket shelves, pumped with a list full of ingredients you can hardly pronounce.

If you don't want to shell out £4.50 or your currency equivalent, pop in and ask for a small sample and see if it works for you. The Lush I've found whether it be London or New York have always been more than friendly to me, I swear the smells in that store are happy fumes, the staff and customer service is always the best.

Lush is available from the Far East, Turkey to the USA.

Ingredients: Ground Almonds (Prunus dulcis), Glycerine, Kaolin, Water (Aqua), Lavender Oil (Lavandula hybrida), Rose Absolute (Rosa centifolia), Lavender Flowers (Lavandula hybrida), *Limonene, *Linalool, Perfume.

http://www.lush.com