Unboxing The Vegan Kind #TVK29

This month's The Vegan Kind* lifestyle box had a lot to live up to. It's March. March means Easter. and Easter means treats. Luckily, vegan and cruelty free treats are what TVK do best. Somehow I've managed to keep the lid on this box for almost an entire month, and finally broke the seal on it on Easter Sunday to check out what was inside (and apply it to my face)... 

Considerit Chocolate Cream Egg

No Easter is complete without at least one creme egg, and vegan/dairy-free folks no longer have to miss out. This version by ConsiderIt is ever-so-slightly more luxurious than it's Cadburys counterpart, made from hand-tempered Belgian dark chocolate with a fondant filling. It's also not as sickly as the original, which is a bonus for me. Also, excuse my fake-tan-stained nails in this pic (because it appears that 6 years of beauty blogging has taught me nothing)

Wheaty Red Hot Chilli Pepper Spacebar

I'm familiar with Wheaty products. One of the best things about my digital marketing internship with PETA was that their offices are just around the corner from Vx in King's Cross and I could exploit their Wheaty gyro kebab wraps every day. The Spacebar is a first for me, and I found it most like a Pepperami/Frankfurter hotdog hybrid. I wouldn't say it was *red* hot, but then again I have a high tolerance for spice. 

Vegan For The Animals Magnet/Choose Compassion Sticker

These really are delightful. The Vegan Kind have thrown these into the box themselves, as an added extra. The magnet is now proudly stuck on the side of my filing unit in my office. I'm looking at it right now as I type this. I'm still looking for a home for the sticker. You can also buy these separately from the TVK website.

Hectares Red Onion & Black Pepper Sweet Potato Crisps

Always happy to find a bag of Hectares in my box. Hectares are a regular feature with TVK and they always manage to come up with great flavours that pack a punch. These have the moreish-ness of the red onion favour along with the bite of black pepper. Winner!

The Foods of Athenry Cookie Shots Brownie Biscuits

I love The Foods of Athenry. I devoured an entire box of their vegan, gluten-free mince pies over the festive period. They are a gorgeous family business hailing from Ireland, and these Cookie Shots are a cross between a biscuit and a mini brownie. I devoured them straight from the bag, but I must get my hands on some more because I feel like they'd be perfect for decorating a huge chocolate cake, which now obviously has to happen. 

Soypresso

Vegan, organic, fairtrade, recyclable packaging.. Soypresso is one seriously ethical iced coffee! I'm an absolute sucker for iced coffee and I'm drinking this as I write. Soypresso is the first cold coffee drink to be made from a soya base. 

So, once again, TVK can do no wrong. It shouldn't really be a surprise to me by now, to be honest. They're the most consistent subscription box service I've ever known (and I've tried a few and had my fair share of disappointing boxes). Their quarterly beauty boxes are also very special. Note to self - must order one of those soon. 

TVK monthly lifestyle boxes are £10 each (plus £3 P&P)
For more information about The Vegan Kind, visit their website at
www.thevegankind.com

You can also find them on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Lush Easter Haul 2014

Well HELLOOOO world!

May I just say a big, massive, whopping SORRY for over a month's absence from my blog! I've been working so hard on University projects and revision that any time I had set aside for blogging and photography has been thwarted. I thought I'd attempt a comeback today and sneak this little Lush haul post in seen as I didn't get to post any of my other Easter shenanigans, although if anybody would still be interested in an Easter post I may still post it. 

Since I've been Vegan I've been driving myself bonkers with the cosmetics and other beauty products I've been using, trying to decipher ingredients and sending countless emails to check animal testing policies. There are so many products and brands that I used to adore that I have had to foresake. I just can't believe the amount of animal ingredients that go into products these days. Some of them are downright GROSS! One brand that I know I can always rely on, however, is Lush. The majority of their products are Vegan and the ones that aren't are very clearly labelled. Seen as though I'm going without my Cadburys for the first time this Easter, I decided to make a sneaky order. Ironically, it didn't arrive until Tuesday but the joy I experienced whilst unpacking it more than made up for that...

Bunch of Carrots

It's going to be a shame to see these melt away. I guess you'd expect these to smell like carrots but they're actually infused with a gorgeous mix of buchu, lemon and grapefuit oils for a more tropical scent. I believe Lush did a carrot bubble bar last year so these may have evolved from that. The idea here is that you run these under the tap and swirl them in the water so they are extremely reusable. You're likely to get several bubbly baths out of these badboys!

Fluffy Egg Bath Bomb

I had to get an egg really, didn't I? And this one has the coveted Snow Fairy scent to it so I was immediately sold. Who doesn't want to take a sweetie-scented bath?? I'm kicking myself for not getting more than one of these because, at just £2.95, they're super affordable. 

Brightside Bubble Bar

Usually I'd go for The Comforter when purchasing a Lush Bubble Bar but the colour of this new version just gave me the biggest HAPPY. This may have something to do with the fact that it was inspired by the Monty Python song. I'm glad I chose it too. It has the most gorgeous, juicy, sherbet-like citrus fragrance I've ever come across with bergamot, mandarin and tangerine. I'm slightly concerned what colour my bath water might turn with this one though. Yellowy-orange isn't exactly an inviting hue when it comes to bathing haha. 

The Olive Branch Shower Gel

As much as I love my Original Source and Superdrug shower gels for everyday, I really fancied something a bit special and I've always fancied The Olive Branch so I decided to pick it up in a small size to see what it's like. Lush shower gels aren't exactly cheap and I need to know that I like it if I'm going to pay top dollar for the large size. It smells wonderfully fresh with olive oil, bergamot and mandarin. Can't wait!

Jungle Conditioner Bar

My first foray into solid conditioner. I'm not entirely convinced that it will be able to penetrate my ultra-thick mane. I have so much HAIR! I've been struggling a bit lately to find a shampoo and conditioner that really suit me and my hair can get extremely tangled so I just thought I'd try something completely different and see if it works better. Plus, to be honest, it's just a relief to find haircare without the words 'cetyl alcohol' in the ingredients list. That stuff has become my nemesis. 

Some products from the special edition Lush Easter range for 2014 are still available via their website (I haven't been into a store recently so not sure what the stock situation is like there). Obviously not all of my purchases were from this range and so those products should be readily available. Check out what's left of Easter at

lush.co.uk 

Do you go mad for Lush?? What are your favourite Easter products?? Any other recommendations??

NEW Models Own Speckled Eggs Collection SS14

How excited am I about this post?!?! I am super super lucky to know a lovely lady called Nara who just happens to work at the Models Own Bottleshop at Westfield White City. Unless you've been hiding under a rock for the last month, you'll probably be aware that the Models Own Speckled Eggs collection went on sale this week. As soon as I spotted them on Instagram I just knew I had to have them and i begged Nara to pick up a set for me. THANK YOU NARA!! I've been playing with them all afternoon and I thought I'd pop up a post IMMEDIATELY and share them with you. 

This collection is made up of 5 adorable pastel polishes containing miniscule black confettis that give the look of a Cadbury Mini Egg when applied. As a Vegan, the chocolate variety is off limits to me so I'm glad I can still appreciate the effect whilst remaining dairy free haha. These polishes are totally animal friendly! 

The Shades are as Follows...

Swan - Dreamy Lilac

Magpie - Mint Green

Goose - Mellow Yellow

Dove - Cheeky Pink

Duck - Cornflower Blue

It's easy to immediately draw a comparison between these and the Illamasqua speckled polishes from their 2013 Im-perfection collection. Yes, the concept is the same, but the Models Own versions are definitely more affordable and the formula really does hold up against its higher end contenders. 

These polishes really were a pleasure to swatch! I'd thought they might be a little bit wishy washy but two coats worked a treat. The speckles are really generously distributed through the polish so I didn't have to fiddle around 'arranging' them like you have to with some confetti/glitter polishes. I'm not the tidiest nail painter by any means but I didn't make much of a mess at all with these. All round thumbs up from me! Favourite shade?? It's a toss up between Swan and Dove at the moment but I also love Duck... and Goose... and Magpie... Oh, okay I can't choose. I love them all!

The Models Own Speckled Egg polishes retail at £5 each for 14ml. They're currently running a 6 for £20 mix'n'match offer online and from the Bottleshops so you can pick up all of these shades and them some! Well worth investing in. These colours really are perfect for Easter and for Spring. 

Shop now at

 modelsownit.com 

Do you love Models Own polishes?? What are your favourite shades?? What nail colours do you love for Easter??