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Farewell 2020! Farewell PTB!

Farewell 2020! Farewell PTB!

Well this year has been a rollercoaster, to say the least. I’ll be glad to see the back of 2020, much like everyone else. So many things just seemed to fall apart (humanity, being one of them), and I found myself stuck in a loop of staying inside, walking the dog, and staying inside; which I actually really loved, but the monotony of life did a number on my creative stamina. I honestly thought,…

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Want to write a book?

Want to write a book?

Hi all,

It’s officially only a few days from November and, as you all know, that means I’ll be mostly radio silent (what’s new?) as I’ll be writing 50,000!

This year will be my 10th year of completing the challenge and I’m very much looking forward to writing the book I have in mind. Usually I write without a plan but this year I actually planned what I’m going to be doing and I created…

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Let me help you write a novel!

I'm going to be doing novel planning in October - if you want to take part...Read this blog post! Let me help you write a novel!

Have you ever wanted to write a novel? Are you a NaNoWriMo virgin or are you a seasoned pro?I talk about NaNoWriMo every single year, because it’s the most fun part of my year, and this will be my 10th year in completing it. 

Whilst I could harp on about what it’s all about I’ll refrain and, instead, tell you about what I’m doing in October – Planning my novel. So I’ve called it…

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Bedroom Makeover Wishlist

Creating frivolous wish lists of items I want is something of an obsession of mine.

Along with Pinterest and all the home-design instagram accounts I follow (which I’ll link at the bottom) I’ve recently discovered www.iamfy.co/and downloaded their app. This is in no way an affiliated post (and none of my links are afiiliate), by the way, this is just an admittance of guilt that I spend way too…

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Video killed the blog post

Hi all!

I’m just jumping on here to say hello, really! 

This weekend I decided to totally procrastinate from writing and instead I played hours of playstation and filmed a YouTube video!

Fun fact, back in my earlyish 20’s I made Youtube videos for fun. Mostly just chatty things that were video-format emails to my Youtube friends (YT used to be a great social platform back in the day)…

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I’m coming at you with a little bit of something different today.

First off, the obligatory ‘this is not a sponsored post’ warning. Second off… this is a very womxn-centric post.

Today I wanted to talk about reusable period pads! Huzzah, I know! It’s a ‘taboo’ topic for many, which just goes to show what kind of sexist world we live in (why, oh why, do UK supermarkets place period products in a section they call ‘female hygiene’??), but I’m hoping that this post is helpful to anyone looking to make their monthly period more sustainable and, hey, even more comfortable!!

It wouldn’t be a blog post without a personal story so let me tell you about MY period, so that you have a heads up before I get into the actual thang.

When it comes to looking into new period products it’s obvious you have to take into consideration your own monthly cycle – how heavy is it? How long does it last? How do you feel?!

That last one, for me, is the most important. I don’t know if it’s getting older or just being more aware of myself, but over the last few years my emotions have been more trackable than ever. And with emotions comes feelings about my body and also comfort levels of what is on my body.

I generally have very varying cycle. I can have totally light months and months where it’s like a horror movie down there… tmi? Whatever! And I tend to be ‘on’ my period for 5-7 days (with my heavy day being day 2 and 3).

My usual go-to for period products is pads, because tampons make my body literally convulse. I can’t even think about it… *shudder* and despite my desire to reduce waste and try to be more sustainable it was only recently that I really thought about how awful regular period products are for the environment. I have seen diva/moon cups on the market for a while and I’ve mulled it over and realised if I can’t even think about tampons putting anything else up there is probably not a good idea!

I have also seen period pants like Thinx on the market but they’re expensive. Very expensive, if you ask me.

There’s the argument that, after a while, the cost would even out but I would need to spend hundreds on pants to cover my 7 day cycle… which is crazy.

So the magic that is social media must have known I was in the market for a change and served me some ads for reusable period pads.

A lot of the ones I saw were based in other countries, which I tend to avoid unless I am supporting friends businesses because of shipping costs and carbon footprint issues, but knowing that pads were an option gave me a good base for some Googling and I found a UK brand called Floating Lotus and they sell the pads (see the pics) that you just snap into your pants.

Now, I’ve only had to use them once since I bought them but I can honestly say they are amazing!

The first point is: comfort

I was a little bit worried that I would feel like I was wearing something very visible and very uncomfortable at a time when that’s the last thing I want but it wasn’t the case. Feeling a different type of material down there was strange for about 2 minutes and then I totally forgot.

Depending on the underwear I’m wearing the pads can move a bit so maybe twice I had to slid the pad one way or the other ever so slightly but it was no big deal.

Secondly, how much they hold?

In short; SO. MUCH.

I used to have to switch out a sanitary pad at least 4-5 times a day on a heavy day and on a regular to light flow day around 3 times. I used to think that my heavy days were really bad and let’s not even talk about the night on the 2nd day.

They’re the most absorbent thing in the world and there’s nothing messy about them. I don’t know about you but with regular pads and I’m sure tampons, the switch over can be messy and unsightly but the material of these pads means you never really see the blood? It’s like magic and I’m 99% sure that disposable products are actually designed to not hold a lot so you have to use more of them!

I would never go back.

Lastly, how easy they are to clean.

If you’ve been grossed out at any point of this post you’re not going to enjoy the next part! They’re easy to clean but you have to get ‘involved’. Because I’m gross I actually found this part pretty satisfying to be honest – before popping them into the wash (which is just a normal wash at about 40 degrees with similar colours (or if you’re like me, when you wash everything you own in one batch)), you have to give them a rinse under the tap with cold water. This is where you’ll see how much liquid they hold because you can hold these bad boys under the water and watch how it disappeared into the pad like it’s no big deal… like I said before, it’s like magic. You then get to give them a good squeeze and… well you can imagine the next part. Even better, once washed they dry incredibly quickly so you don’t have to wait long to reuse them if needed.

To cap it all off, they fold up nicely in a little water proof wash bag that comes with them, which is handy. All in all I am so impressed and so annoyed it took me this long to make the switch. Using disposable pads seems so awful and wasteful and gross compared to these so if you’re on the fence about it I’d suggest just going for it. These cost me £25 – as I went for the 6 pack with medium and large option – and so it will only take me about 3 months to break even based on how much I spent each month previously.

Let me know your thoughts and if you’ve made the switch over to sustainable period products.

Until next time!

– Sam

Talking about women things today - reusable period products! If you were thinking about making a sustainable switch give this blog post a read! I’m coming at you with a little bit of something different today. First off, the obligatory ‘this is not a sponsored post’ warning.

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My 2020 goals: Checking in

My 2020 goals: Checking in on how well... or not well... I've been doing with the goals I set at the start of this hell-scape of a year!

Wow everyone, did you ever think 2020 would hit this hard? *sweats in the key of anxiety*

I’ve really been missing blogging regularly but I think, with everything going on, there wasn’t any point me talking about my own crap when so much other important stuff was happening! That being said, I’m now at the point in quarantine where I need to resume regular things and try to have a little bit of…

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Tea+ Vitamin Infused Teas!

Note: This post contains affiliate links*

Hi all!

It might not come as a shock to you that I LOVE tea. I’m from the UK so tea is a big part of life and I, for one, have a cupboard dedicated to my tea collection.

I was incredibly happy to be approached by Tea+, a tea company who sell vitamin-infused blends which deliver up to 100% of your RDA essential vitamins like B12, Biotin, Vitamin…

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1 Month in Quarantine - Silver linings

1 Month in Quarantine - I'm trying to find the silver linings!

Hello world!

In a bid to reach out to all my friends and readers I figured why not resurrect the blog for a hot minute!

Hopefully everyone is doing as well as to be expected? With the world in a tailspin it’s hard to keep days straight and the mind in a positive space. As an introvert by nature, staying inside is pretty much my ideal scenario and I’m at least able to live in a positive atmosphere…

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Building my capsule wardrobe

I've written a little post about how I've finally managed to settle on my capsule wardrobe and what's included! Check it out!

Hi all!

I hope everyone had a great January and you’re feeling revitalised for this month and our slow approach towards Spring! Now that my Veganuary posts are over I’m back to talking about my regular old life stuff and this post is one that I’ve had in draft for a while because… well, it’s taken me a while to do the work! Once you read the rest you’ll understand what I mean!

It feels like a…

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We’re well into the month of January now and for some Veganuary is coming to an end. For others, Veganuary might be stretching out for a bit longer, for a lifetime perhaps? (Let me know in the comments if you’ve decided to stick with it).

Either way, there are super easy ways for you to change up some of your home habits to become a little bit more ‘vegan’ in your day-to-day, or, what I’ll actually call sustainable.

There are many small things I have implemented in my life since becoming vegan, that I never thought about before so let me give you a quick run down of the changes per room in my house!

The Kitchen

Coffee making at home instead of take out coffee – honestly so much more fun to make coffee at home. You can fork out some money for a machine or else get a cheaper alternative such as a pour-over, an Aero Press or an Espresso Pot. I love coffee a lot. I’ll be writing a blog post about it very soon! 

Using a Keepcup or other variation instead of take out cup – If you do enjoy a take out coffee and you get them on the reg try using a reusable cup instead! You often get a discount from the coffee shop as well, which is a plus!

cleaning recycling items – Ah, something not a lot of people seem to realise (if you live in my apartment building that is), is that you can’t just throw EVERYTHING in the recycling. A lot of items you might think can be recycled can’t (see this list for some great tips) and anything containing food has to be cleaned out before it’s popped in the bin. 

Try to reduce your waste – Another topic I’ll be covering later this year as I embark on reducing my waste but if you’re a newbie to the concept try avoiding things in plastic that don’t need to be in plastic! Fruit and veg doesn’t need to be shrink wrapped and it adds up if you buy a lot of it – use reusable bags if you want to bag loose veg in the shop or, if you realise that that’s pointless, like me, you can just bung veg into your basket or trolley sans wrapping. It’s FINE. 

non-chemical cleaners – This is something I’m just getting into. I use essential oils for as much as I can but supermarkets have started selling cleaning products that aren’t jam packed with chemicals. How does this help, you ask? Well the chemicals in cleaning products are carcinogenic and can lead to really bad healthy, I know that when I use them my asthma gets REALLY bad. Now I use a natural spray and it’s so much better and, guess what, even cleans stuff! Plus most of the household names test on animals which is horrendous. 

composting – 2020 is my year for composting. I live in a very small flat and we don’t have space for a compost bin but our local council are actually giving us some bins specifically for food waste – which is mostly what I throw away (not food I haven’t eaten because I’m not a left-overs person); vegetable cuttings! So many it hurts my soul! I am also getting an allotment (a patch of land in a community garden) so I might start a little bit of composting there as well. If you don’t have space why not contact your local allotment or a farm and see if they want your veg cuttings! You might even have a neighbour who could use it!

lunch box – I think we all know the years of plastic are over but how many people still buy lunch or use plastic lunchboxes on a regular basis? Yikes! One of my favourite purchases of last year was a metal lunchbox with a bamboo lid which doubles as a chopping board! Things like bento boxes and the like are becoming a lot more popular but watch out for the plastic ones. Yes, they’re going to last longer but they’ll still end up in a landfill more than likely so try picking sustainable materials and go forth! 

The Living Room

Picking a sustainable energy provider – I’m popping this in living room because this is where we blast our heating the most but MOST energy providers are still burning those fossil fuels and it’s time we moved to renewable energy so do your research and pick a provider who is backing sustainable energy. I personally use Ecotricity who are the worlds first green energy supplier and they use their profits to build windmills and the like – investing in the future is A OK in my book and they might not be the cheapest provider but I’ll take the financial hit if it means I’m putting money into something good. 

The Bathroom

Banning plastic shampoo – I made a decision a while ago to stop buying shampoo in bottles and I’m glad I did. Buying shampoo was starting to be one of those boring purchases, like buying toilet paper. When you start buying shampoo bars it starts to be a bit like buying makeup and other fun things! There are so many new products out there these days so you can shop around and find something you love without having the throw plastic into a landfill every month or so. I have two shampoo bars at the moment; one Lush bar which is nice and foamy and one LJ Natural bar which is less soapy and more clarifying. You might worry that a shampoo bar won’t last but they really do, trust me! 

Soap bars – Much like shampoo how many of us buy shower gel? Or even soap pump bottles for besides the sink? The easiest switch is buying soap bars – they last and at the end you’re left with… nothing. Except maybe a bit of paper to pop into recycling! 

Bamboo toothbrush – How many toothbrushes do you think you go through a year? Now times that by your age, then think about how long you’ve still got left to live (a while, hopefully!). Now think about how many people there are in your town… your city… the world! From what I’ve gleaned from my research just chucking your toothbrush into your recycling bin doesn’t do anything. You need to POST your toothbrushes to a specific company to do the job. Um.. What? That’s insanity! The easiest thing to do is switch to a bamboo toothbrush if you like the manual method. I’m not sure about electric toothbrushes so you might wanna look into that if you’re interested in switching up. 

The Bedroom

Not having ‘down’ pillows an quilts – Are you a fan of feather pillows? Erm… maybe try not to be! Feathers are plucked from LIVE animals a lot of the time so it might not be a good idea to support that industry. If you do some research and you’re happy using companies who ‘gather’ (pick up feathers naturally shed) then do some research and find out which companies do that but definitely do the research! 

  These small changes are easy ways to implement vegan sustainability in your daily life!

Let me know if you happen to do any of these already or if this has given you any ideas of other changes you can make!

Sam

I've written a new #veganuary blog post covering a few easy ways to be more sustainable at home - check it out! We're well into the month of January now and for some Veganuary is coming to an end.

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Veganuary - Wardrobe Habits

Ever wanted to veganise your shopping habits? Today's #Veganuary post is all about how to start clothes shopping ethically! Check it out!

Continuing on for the #Veganuary theme (if you didn’t see my last post about skin care have a look) and thought I’d tackle the idea of how your shopping habits can really help make a difference in this burning world!

I’ll hit you up with some fun facts first and then I’ll be dropping some fun pictures and stuff further on so don’t worry too much if it all seems too heavy. I promise you, once you…

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Yes, it’s Veganuary! I’ve been a vegan for around 5 years now (I have a terrible memory which I’m sure non-vegans would attest to my diet but really it’s a desire to never live in the past), and whilst veganism is very much focused on diet… it’s also not!

Veganism isn’t just not eating animals, it’s living in a way that does as little harm as possible which encompasses diet AND lifestyle! I love that Veganuary is getting bigger and bigger each year but I didn’t want to add to the already-covered FOOD elements of eating a vegan diet. In my opinion it’s the easiest part! FOOD IS GOOD. You can get it everywhere, it’s always in your face and in the year of our lord Keanu Reeves, 2020 has already started with a bunch of big companies launching new vegan ranges. It’s great! No more side salad’s and fries no matter where you go to eat!

So, instead of adding to the noise of food (which is very difficult for me. I’m an eater), I wanted to talk about skincare.

(Some of these links are affiliate links which just means, if you happen to click and purchase, I get a tiiiinny kickback from it 😉 )

If you want to adopt a vegan lifestyle this month or, hey, maybe go vegan full time or at least veganise your life in a REALLY easy way, you can start with your skin care products. Quick caveat: I’m not going to be talking about plastic reduction today but that’s something I can hit up on another day. 

Did you know that SO many big brand skin care ranges out there STILL test on animals? Either directly or indirectly, it’s still going on and a great way to implement veganism into your life is by going CRUELTY FREE*.

Want to know a list of some well known brands who still test?

Aussie Hair care, Avon, Benefit, Biore, Bobbi Brown, Chanel, Clairol, Clarins, Clearasil, Clinque, Estee Lauder, Garnier, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Lancome, Mac, Maybelline, Neutrogena, Origins, YSL. See full list here.

It’s shocking, isn’t it? And these are the people who openly test on animals**.

If you’ve read this far – thank you! I promise, it will be worth it, because I’m going to tell you about a few of my favourite skincare items (cleansers, toners, masks, moisturisers) so you can take a look and maybe even make a switch!

Cleansers 

When it comes to cleansers I’m a bit of a newbie. I used to always use face washes growing up but when I went vegan I just starting using (avocado) oil to take my makeup off because it’s obviously not tested on animals, it’s organic and comes in a glass bottle so no worry about plastic. I generally don’t have an issue with my skin but I do get blackheads on my chin -always have- and it wasn’t really until I was bought a soapy cleanser as a gift that I realised how lazy and silly I was being! These are the cleansers I use at the moment and what I think of them (please note; this post isn’t in any way affiliated – these are my honest opinions!!).

my CLARINS Re-move 

You might have noticed I said that Clarins wasn’t cruelty free and so I’ll quickly let you know that the my CLARINS range is their first CF range. The rest of their products aren’t suitable for vegans. I was bought this as a gift but I am the type of vegan who supports vegan ranges from non-vegan companies because I believe that buying them will let the company know that there is a market!

Now for the actual info; this cleaner is a gel formula which I’m not particularly fond of in general but I do feel like it does a good job! Clarins is a brand that likes to add overpowering scents to their products, this is no different. The smell is very perfume-y and reminds me of Clearasil. I wouldn’t say it was good for overly sensitive skin but if you like to feel really clean, this will do the job!

e.l.f Superclarify 

I love e.l.f products so if I wanted to cut this blog post short I’d say just buy their entire range because they do great makeup too but I want to give you options! I was bought this as a gift for Christmas so I’ve not been using it for a long time but I have used it every single night since I got it because I love it so much! There’s a sort of pearlescent look to it, for some reason, which I think is unnecessary and it’s also a gel formula like the Clarins cleanser but this one gets a good foam going with only a little bit of product. It smells a little bit floral but like essential oils instead of chemicals. After using it your skin feels really refreshed. Totally recommend it!

Toners

I have always used witch hazel as a toner, which I recommend because it smells lovely and doesn’t strip moisture from your skin, but I also go a new toner for Christmas and, again, I’ve been using it every night and loving it.

e.l.f Supertone 

There’s a bit of a misconception that toner ‘resets’ your skin, but that’s a myth. Toner shouldn’t remove makeup, your cleansing should do this, but it should remove dead skin cells and help your pores and, thus, the overall tone of your skin – go figure!

This e.l.f toner is citrus-scented and you can feel it has an acidic reaction with your skin, so instead of just removing dead skin cells I feel like you can really feel it going a bit deeper and helping clear out deeper set dirt in the pores. I swear since I started using this my skin feels more even and my blackheads feel like they’re clearing up.

Moisturisers

I’m a big fan of moisturiser! I feel like more people need to get into them so I really hope this post sways you if you don’t use them already. I’m not even just talking about reducing wrinkles or looking younger because I couldn’t care less about that, I just think they make you feel better by either helping with dryness (which can make you feel horrible) or helping you look more awake or else just making you feel a little bit decadent because you’ve smooshed your face a little bit. Facial massage is just the best and this really encourages it!

I’m going to run through my moisturisers in order of when I use them in the day so…

Morning moisturisers:

Body Shop Vitamin C Skin Reviver, Instant Smoother

I use this as my first step moisturiser every single morning, before I put makeup on etc. It’s very light like a serum and smells so good with it’s orange/grapefruit-y scent. It adds a little bit of luminescence to your skin and adds an instant boost of moisture to your skin, making it look super smooth and even.

Body Shop Vitamin E 48h Moisture Cream 

I always do a double moisturise in the morning because I’m fancy like that! Once my vitamin C soaks in I pop a dollop of vitamin E on top. This formula is thick and delicious. It’s scent is a little bit like Nivea – I don’t know what it is but it’s so good and just reminds me of being a kid and smothering myself in Nivea all day every day but sadly they aren’t CF so this is the closest I can get to that wonderfulness! Standing on it’s own legs, though, this is a fabulous moisturiser which makes your skin feel like its best self and you don’t need a lot of it to get results.

Evening moisturisers:

e.l.f Superhydrate 

After I’ve cleansed and toned my face I’ve started using this moisturiser and rolling it in with my rose quartz face roller – are you noticing how much I love massaging my face yet? Again, I got this for Christmas in an e.l.f set and it’s really a lovely product. It’s the strangest moisturiser I’ve ever used because it’s like jelly – totally wibbly-wobbly and when you scoop a little bit out the next time you look at the pot its just back to it’s jelly-like self. Hard to explain but I like it! Once on your skin it melts in easily. You can use your hands to rub this in but I really like the way it rolls on so I do that every night! Afterwards your skin feels bouncy and a little bit sticky for a few minutes but I really think I look, dare I say, like a kid just out of the bath afterwards. You know, that totally clean totally refreshed look? Adore!

LJ Natural Overnight Organic Skin Drink

I like to support small and local businesses and was so excited to stumble upon LJ Natural. If you’re local to me in Wilmslow, Cheshire you can nip in to grab home-made, organic and natural skin care products but you can also shop via the website no matter where you are! I use this moisturiser if I’ve had the heating on a lot during the day which really saps the moisture out of my whole body, let alone my skin. Adding a little bit of this before beds resets all of that and I love the texture of it; a little bit gritty, if that’s a good way to put it. The grains dissolve as you rub it in and you’re left with a covering of oil but in a good way – it slowly sinks in overnight and helps to overcome dryness. The product is for dry, mature or sensitive skin which I don’t really have but over the winter months it’s been a lifesaver!

Feeling Fancy moisturiser: 

my CLARINS Re-Boost

Unlike the way I don’t really like the strong scent of the Clarins cleanser, I can honestly say the moisturiser is totally different! If I have a bath I use this afterwards to add to that feeling of ahhhh. The formula is light but incredibly powerful. It sinks in immediately leaving your skin really soft and smelling a bit fruity which lulls me right to sleep!

Masks

I love a face mask and will do one every few weeks. I wish I could do them every week but I forget. That being said I do like to save them for when I’m going to have a really long shower or hot bath which I only do every few weeks! (Relax, I do wash! I just usually have short showers!)

e.l.f Supermask

Made like a moisturiser this mask is a bit confusing and you have to really remember you put it on! It’s very light and doesn’t sit on top of your skin, like every other mask I’ve used, but sinks in immediately so the only way to remember to rinse your face is to set a reminder! Well, I suppose that’s not the only way, but it is for me! I got this one recently and have only used it once but it was a nice experience and my skin felt refreshed and unprovoked. You know what I mean? It washed off easily might be the best way to put it!

Body Shop Matcha Tea Pollution Clearing Mask

One of my fave masks every this green concoction is light and smells like matcha so you feel like you’re doing something really good for your skin! I really love the glass jars that Body Shop use for their masks and it kind of adds to the experience of doing something a bit decadent but also something good. It really leaves you feeling clean and calm.

Body Shop British Rose Fresh Plumping Mask

Another beautiful glass pot with another beautiful mask inside. I LOVE rose scented stuff; give me all the rose flavours. I could wear this whilst eating Turkish Delight and be in heaven. Oh that gave me an idea for tonight… anywho, the formula is like jelly and it’s flecked with rose and aloe vera (hence the consistency) and it’s so cool on your skin you feel instantly relieved. Once washed off – which can take a few attempts – your skin is glossy and smells so good you want to do it again. The pot does say to use daily or a few times a week but you don’t get that much in the pot. I like to treat myself but I also like to save money so…

I really hope you liked this, it’s a bit of a different post from me but I’m trying to lean towards easy ways to add veganism into your life – in my opinion, after food, skin care is the next easy way because all you have to do is Google cruelty free brands and away you go! Enjoy and maybe the next time you go to buy something for your skin you think about making a cruelty free choice!

Sam

  *I could rant a little about CF here… maybe I will.

Ok, so if you see a product that says VEGAN on it, it might not actually be vegan. A lot of companies are using the term as a sneaky sales pitch but what they mean is that the product in question is made from plants with no animal derivatives. In order for a product to be vegan it needs to be labelled cruelty free. This means that it’s not made of animals and it also hasn’t been tested on them either! Cruelty free is what a product is, vegan is what we are – I hope that makes sense!

** There’s a grey area out there as well, though. Some companies will state they don’t test on animals but if they sell their products in China the company isn’t technically vegan. China test all incoming products on animals so whilst the parent brand might not do the testing, by selling in China they sign a contract to say they’re happy for it to be done! There’s an ongoing argument regarding whether or not vegan’s can still use the items that are sold in the UK, knowing that the parent brand tests elsewhere, as well as an argument regarding whether or not vegans should buy from companies that sell both cruelty free AND non-cruelty free products but honestly, the choice is yours. There’s no such thing as a perfect vegan, all we can do is our best!

It's here! My first #Veganuary blog post all about S K I N C A R E. Check it out if you're thinking of going cruelty free this year! Yes, it's Veganuary! I've been a vegan for around 5 years now (I have a terrible memory which I'm sure non-vegans would attest to my diet but really it's a desire to never live in the past), and whilst veganism is very much focused on diet...

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My favourite posts of 2019

I decided I'd share MY fave posts from 2019 before I start blogging regularly again so head on over and see which ones I picked :)

I decided to take a leaf out of my favourite blogger’s book – Kaylah from The Dainty Squid– and do a quick run down of my favourite blog posts in 2019!

Not only is it a good thing to do to remind me of the enjoyment I get from blogging but it’s also probably a good idea for my new followers (hello, if you’ve recently joined the gang!) because I don’t think people generally like reading through…

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A whole new decade - let's talk goals!

A whole new decade – let’s talk goals!

PTB has been on a hiatus for a while because… well, life got hectic. I was writing a lot, both getting a book ready to send to agents, getting a book ready for self-publishing as a paperback and writing a new novel for NaNoWriMo.

You might see how writing a blog might have been the straw that broke this camel’s back. Of course, I also launched a dream project of mine; my second hand book shop!…

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BIG projects, all the time!!!

BIG projects, all the time!!! Read my latest blog post for some fun and exciting news!!!

I didn’t plan on posting to this account until January and that’s probably going to remain the case after this post, but as I have a good little following over here I wanted to give you all the details on WHY this blog is going to go quiet and, if you want to keep up with me elsewhere, tell you where you can find me online!

As you know, I’m a writer and I released a new bookat the end of…

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NEW BOOK ALERT!

NEW BOOK ALERT! Did you know I have a new book coming out? It's dark, it's violent and it's waiting for you to pre-order it! Click the link to learn more!

Hi friends!

I have some very exciting news for you if you’re a reader and you enjoy urban fantasy books with lots of swearing and violence! I mean… who doesn’t?

My latest book title has been announced:

Seven Princes of Hell – Saul

And I’m very excited to let you know that it will be released on 31st October 2019!

If you’re signed up to my author mailing list you would have received the full…