MÁDARA Nourish & Repair Shampoo & Conditioner - Review*

The especially effective plant ingredients in MADARA products are nurtured in the rough climate of northern Europe by the Baltic Sea. With severe winters and short Summers, unique plants have evolved with high concentrations of bioactive molecules which protect them from these climatic extremes. MADARA is entirely natural and ecological cosmetics certified by ECOCERT.

Shampoo

Rich and silky shampoo with Northern Nettle and Quince. Gently cleanses and repairs dry, damaged hair. Fights fatigue and helps to prevent breakage and split ends. Hair becomes reinforced and naturally smooth.

Conditioner

Rich and creamy conditioner with Northern Nettle and Quince deeply nourishes and repairs dry, damaged hair. Helps prevent breakage and split ends. Hair becomes silkier and easier to style.

I was running low on both my shampoo and conditioner, so this month I decided to try out the vegan and cruelty-free MÁDARA Nourish and Repair shampoo and conditioner from MyPure. Both products are nut-free which is great if you're sensitive or allergic to nuts, and both the shampoo and the conditioner bottles are packaged in 100% post-consumer recycled bottles which are super! I haven't tried out many shampoo and conditioners since becoming vegan so I thought I'd go for this lovely-looking duo. To me, my hair looks (but doesn't feel), dry and damaged and I have quite a few split ends due to heat damage over the years. My hair also tends to come out quite a lot after I've washed it so I'm always looking for both a repairing shampoo and conditioner that works.  The first thing I noticed when using these two products was that they both have an unusual smell, it's not overly strong or overpowering but it does remind me of a damp earthy smell. The shampoo seemed to lather up well, which is what I like from a shampoo as it feels like I'm getting a good thorough hair wash. And the conditioner coated the ends of my hair evenly avoiding that heavy slimy conditioner feeling that you can get sometimes. When drying my hair I felt that my hair felt really clean and untangled, it was a lot easier to brush and style once dry and my hair seemed to be less wavy and thick looking like other shampoo and conditioners leave my hair once dried, this then meant I didn't have to straighten my hair as much as usual afterward. My hair felt really nice after using these two products on it together so I will most probably be buying these again.

Shampoo £12.95 from MyPure
Conditioner £12.95 from MyPure

This product was sent to me to review, all views are my own.

LUSH Cosmetics Big Blue Bath Bomb - Review

LUSH Cosmetics is highly against animal testing and uses only ethical ingredients. All of their products are handmade and are 100% vegetarian-friendly, not all are vegan-friendly, so make sure you lookout for the Vegan Society Approved stamp!

This calming bath bomb evokes a summer’s day at the seaside: perfect for drifting off. Big Blue’s key ingredient is a type of kelp called arame seaweed, which softens in your hot bathwater. Arame is rich in vitamins and minerals including iodine, which helps to regulate metabolism. Sea salt softens the skin, helping to remove dead skin cells, while lemon oil clears the mind and, like lavender oil, is antiseptic and cleansing.

When I visited my first vegan festival back in August at the Kensington Town Hall in London, I excitingly ended up making my very own Big Blue bath bomb with a LUSH demonstrator! The experience was really fun and I recommend making your own at a store if possible. Luckily this is one of my favorite LUSH bath bombs, so when the bath bomb we were going to be making was announced as this one I was happy. I used the bomb not long after placing it into my LUSH goodie box as I was excited to find out what it had turned out like. It turned out to be just like a store-made Big Blue Bath Bomb and I really enjoyed using it. As you can see from my photo above this bath bomb turns your bath water a lovely deep blue ocean colour whilst also filling your bath with soft seaweed! The bomb takes a nice amount of time to completely disappear leaving you with a lovely salty smell in the air. I love this bomb as the seaweed leaves your skin feeling really soft, even when you're finally out of the bath. I really recommend this bath bomb to you if you enjoy salty seaside swims.

£3.95 each from LUSH Cosmetics

LUSH Cosmetics Solid Dirty Toothy Tabs Toothpaste - Review

LUSH Cosmetics are highly against animal testing and use only ethical ingredients. All of their products are handmade and are 100% vegetarian-friendly, not all are vegan-friendly, so make sure you lookout for the Vegan Society Approved stamp!

Squeaky clean teeth and spearmint fresh breath are a brush away. Wherever you go, these solid alternatives to toothpaste will keep you feeling cool, with kaolin powder, neroli and spearmint oils. If you're feeling dirty, keep it clean by nibbling a tab between your teeth and brushing all over. The boxes are also great for the environment, stopping the need for aluminium tubes that end up in a landfill. All you have to do is simply nibble one between your front teeth to break up the tab and start brushing.

I honestly think that this could be one of LUSH's best product yet. I was quite excited when I first got around to trying these 'Dirty' vegan Toothy Tabs out. The flavour 'Dirty' for me is just the perfect spearminty taste and smell which leaves my teeth feeling clean and my breath smelling fresh. I haven't tried any of the other flavours yet but I am curious to try out the 'Chou Chou I Love You' flavour as I love Turkish delight! At first, I found the method of crunching the tab quite strange but I quickly got used to it and I've been using them ever since instead of toothpaste for around two months now. Even after a couple of months of using these Toothy Tabs I still haven't gotten used to how much they actually froth up in my mouth when water is added, they're so much better than normal toothpaste and especially the non-frothing vegan ones I've tried before. I also really like that these are so easy to take away with you when travelling, they're so light you won't even know that you're carrying them with you! Simply crush, wet and brush away. And at only £2 for forty tabs which lasts me just over one month, I've most definitely converted over to these Toothy Tabs instead of tubed toothpaste.

Edit (August 2015): I've stopped using Toothy Tabs as they made my teeth become very sensitive.

£6.50 from LUSH Cosmetics

Alva's Organic Deep Black Mascara - Review*

Alva is the first European natural cosmetics brand to launch a range of makeup products all of which are certified organic and vegan; Alva is the first European cosmetics brand to use research-proven patented beta-glucan in makeup products, making it suitable for anti-aging skincare regimes as well as for those with sensitive skin. And there are more innovations to come as we continue to develop what we believe to be one of the most comprehensive, environmentally-friendly, organic, natural & ethical cosmetic ranges on the market today.

This certified organic and vegan mascara gives more volume to eyelashes and exceptional radiance to the eyes. Vibrant and durable thanks to gum Arabic (Acacia), this mascara is fortified by patented beta-glucan, wild rose oil, natural vitamin E, and candelilla wax. Our extensive testing, as well as the responses from people that have already bought this mascara, provide testament to its staying power, ease of use, and functionality. The phrase: "at last, a natural mascara that works, doesn't run and doesn't need almost constant re-application for normal daily wear", is now commonplace from first-time users of Colour Deep Black Mascara. Although this mascara isn't waterproof, under normal conditions, which include light exercise, it will last throughout the day. The inclusion of beta-glucans makes them suitable for those with sensitive eyes. 

This is my first product of two that was sent to me this month from the lovely people at MyPure. I decided to go for mascara this time as I haven't found a good cruelty-free vegan one so far, but that was until now! I ended up choosing the Alva 'Organic Deep Black' Mascara as I had seen quite a lot of good reviews on it and I wanted to try it out for myself. Now bearing in mind that I haven't worn any make-up for the past four months due to not feeling the need to, as soon as I received the products I really wanted to try out my new mascara. So I curled my lashes with my eyelash curler and got to work with the new mascara. This is the only mascara I have ever smelt and thought 'yum!' after smelling it, I would describe the smell like a strong but non-lingering sweet marzipan and almond scent. I found the brush to be just the right size for me and it was comfortable to hold and easy to use which is always a good thing for mascara. I also found that you don't need many coats of this mascara to give your eyelashes definition and extra length. Like previous mascaras I've used in the past this one doesn't seem to clump my eyelashes together and it doesn't go dry and flakey, like other vegan and cruelty-free mascaras I have read about do. And when It came to taking the mascara off I found it so easy when removing it as it all came off in a just few wipes when just using water on a cotton pad. So as you can see I found this mascara so good that I don't think I'll be searching around for another one.

This product was sent to me to review, all views are my own.