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Hello!

I have been sporadically blogging for about a year and probably been on an unofficial break for over a month now so I thought I would make it official and take a step back from my blog without feeling bad about it.

My aim is to give it a makeover - it's been the same since I started blogging years ago! - and come back in February and hopefully get myself into a better routine, I would even be happy with posting once a week!

So I will leave it here for now, but if you've got any questions or PR queries do feel free to get in touch as I'll still be on my emails.

Merry Christmas and all the best for 2016!

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Bunny Friendly Beauty Tag

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I was tagged by Morag from mo'adore and you can read her post here; the tag was first created by Victoria - you can read hers here.

How long have you been on your cruelty free journey?

I think it was around 2010, so nearly 6 years!

What made you decide to go cruelty free?

I'm not sure of the pivotal moment however I think I just thought about it one day and realised I didn't know enough about it, then after looking into it I discovered how common it still was.  This led me to do my own research on brands and find out which ones were cruelty free and which to avoid.

What has been the hardest product to find a cruelty free dupe for?

A good anti-perspirant/deodorant! I have found ones which are okay, but nothing as good as the ones I used pre-cruelty free unfortunately.

What's the best cruelty free dupe you've found?

I have been cruelty free for so long that this is a hard question for me!  I don't really go for dupes intentionally, I tend to just buy things because I like them anyway.

What product or brand do you wish was cruelty free?

Not one in particular but it would be great if high street brands such as the likes of Maybelline or L'Oreal were cruelty free as they are such huge, powerful companies it would make a big difference, as well as the fact they are so affordable and attainable!

What's your holy grail cruelty free brand?

Probably Superdrug as it's great for getting the essentials like toothpaste then things like suncream.  However I do my food shop shop in Morrisons which is also cruelty free for beauty products, I am hoping their cleaning/household items will soon be BUAV approved soon as well.

Name one cruelty free brand we might not have heard of?

White Rabbit Skincare - an independent Scottish skincare brand which are lovely, also vegan!

Are you a vegan? If so, for how long and have you had any struggles? If not, why not?

Not currently vegan but I have been pescatarian since 2012 and vegetarian since moving out in 2014 and there is no way I would go back to meat, I don't miss it at all!

I am slowly making vegan swaps to things in my own cooking - butter, for example.  I think realistically I will end up being vegan at home and be vegetarian when eating out but I'll see, it might all just fall into place the way it did going veggy! 

What's your favourite local vegan friendly venue?

I live just outside Manchester which is a brilliant city for veggy/vegan places.  A particularly good one is VRevolution which is a totally unhealthy vegan junk/fast food selling the most amazing burger and hot dog concoctions!  They also have a little mini shop selling lots of vegan goodies such as chocolates, and meat and cheese substitutes.

You have 30 seconds to convert someone to a cruelty free lifestyle - what would you say to them?

I would say that although one person doesn't seem like they are making a difference, it is amazing to know yourself that you are not causing harm to animals by your lifestyle and that just by mentioning your views to others can make them rethink their choices.

<3

Empties #20

Hello!  I am back with 5 new mini reviews to share with you from my empties bucket:

Lush Figs and Leaves Soap

I was absolutely gutted to find out that my favourite bubble bar, Dorothy, has been discontinued when Lush had a product revamp recently!  However I knew that their soap Figs and Leaves was supposed to be of the same fragrance so all is not lost!

Louise Loves #12

Aldi Choceur Belgium Chocolate Waves

Do you remember those amazing Cadbury Snaps which were out a few years ago and discontinued?  Well I have rediscovered them in the form of Aldi's Chocolate Waves!  I bought these a few months ago and then forgot about them until I was in Aldi recently where I saw them again.  They are so tasty!!  I have had the milk chocolate, caramel and mint (which are dark chocolate) and I think they also do hazelnut.  My favourite is probably caramel but they are all so good.  Warning - highly addictive!

Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing

A farm shop and cafe local to me in Scotland uses Brianna's salad dressings which are all quite unusual and unique favours.  My favourite is the Poppy Seed and I decided to splash out and buy it for myself from the shop, but I have seen them in Asda before as well.  It wasn't cheap at nearly £4 but I decided it would be worth it because it keeps in the fridge unlike the ones I normally buy from Morrisons so even though they are only about £1, I use them twice then need to bin them after 5 days.  It has a really usually flavour, quite sweet and creamy but then the poppy seeds give it a kick.  Despite the creaminess it is actually vegan!

Orange is the New Black

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I am definitely late to the party with this one!  OITNB wasn't something that really appealed to me but eventually so many people were talking about how good it was I thought I'd give it a try (after unexpectedly finishing OUAT on Netflix!).  It wasn't what I expected at all and am loving it, it's different from anything I have watched before.  I have just started season 3, oh my god, that season 2 finale!!

Public Desire Summer Boots

I only discovered Public Desire recently through girls at work and they have some amazing shoes at decent prices!  I am usually in a pair of chelsea boots so I thought I would try out something similar but more summery.  I went for Amira Ankle Boots in Beige and Priscilla Heeled Boots in Black which are £29.99 each but I got 10% off for signing up to their newsletter.  The higher heel was a bit of shock for me, and driving was a bit of a struggle (got some flats in my car now!) but they are pretty comfy in general, the black pair slightly more so.  I do find it quite amusing that although they both have zips on the outside, the actually functioning zip is on the inside ha!  I just hope the beige ones don't get too messed up, I have used Crep Protect on them so fingers crossed.

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Charlotte Tilbury Bronzed Garnet Colour Chameleon

I have been really intrigued by the Charlotte Tilbury make up for a while now -  it's refreshing having a new cruelty free high end brand to try!  My work buds from my previous job were kind enough to get me a Selfridges voucher (they said I am hard to buy for, hrmmph, haha!) which I decided to use on something from Charlotte Tilbury.  It took me a good few months to decide what to get an finally after numerous Selfridges trips and make up swatches I went for one of the colour chameleon eye pencils.

The Scottish Tag

I found this tag on Hayley's blog but it was originally created by Scottish Youtuber, BeautyCreep  (original video link) who I weirdly know from school and work, small world!!

Whereabouts in Scotland are you from?

I am from a town in West Dunbartonshire which is about 30 minutes north-west of Glasgow.  My mum is from this area but my dad comes from Glasgow, I have lived here since I was born until I moved to Manchester last year.

However my gran is English and I believe one of my great-grandparents is Irish so I am a bit of a mixture!  I'd love to look into our family tree more, I think it would be so interesting! 

Where is your favourite place that you've been to in Scotland?

I am going to go for Loch Lomond which is where I was brought up so I am a bit biased!  It is a stunning area and it's privilege to have lived so close (and hopefully will again soon!) to such a place.  I definitely recommend it for anyone wanting to visit Scotland, it's really scenic but less than an hour away from Glasgow by car/train. 

Where would you like to visit in Scotland?

There's loads of places I want to visit including, Arran, Inverness, Arisaig, The Fairy Pools (Skye) and Fingal's Cave on Staffa.

What is your favourite Scottish film?

Erm... *Googles Scottish films* Okay so I have only actually seen a couple of these!  Filth is probably my favourite out of the list but not overall...  Trainspotting is certainly worth a watch but it's rather gritty.  I do love Brave actually but it's not technically Scottish is it...

On a similar note, I have never seen Braveheart, I'm a terrible Scot!

Do you match up to any Scottish stereotypes?

I LOVE Irn Bru, to point where it is actually a bit of an addiction... 

I also swear quite a lot around my friends but tone it way down for family and in public!

What is your favourite Scottish food?

Pizza Crunch Supper?  I think this is Scottish... it's basically deep-fried battered pizza which you get from the chippy.  Pretty much a heart attack on a plate but SO GOOD!  I also like the traditional (vegetarian) haggis, neeps and tatties but I don't have it very often. 

Do you follow any Scottish traditions?

I do enjoy a good Ceilidh (which is traditional Scottish dancing) and also follow the tradition of 'first-footing' at Hogmanay (new year).  If you are the first person into a house (be it your own or someone else's) after midnight on NYE then you should always be carrying something as a gift, even if it is just a bottle of juice and some biscuits, which bring good luck for the coming year.  The first person bringing it in should also be a tall, dark and handsome male, but we can't have everything, eh?

What is your favourite Scottish word?

So many!  Living in England I am continually discovering words/phrases which I use all the time that I didn't even realise were Scottish until I get some blank, bemused looks from my colleagues...  As for my favourite, well, here are a few:

Fanny, dour, fusty, mink, boggin, mingin, clatty, gubbed...

What is your favourite Scottish song?

I used to study classical singing and a lot of the songs I sang were traditional Scottish songs which I maybe wouldn't have come across otherwise.  Obviously O Flower of Scotland is up there which is basically Scotland's unofficial national anthem, along which Highland Cathedral which is really nice.  

Wild Mountain Thyme is lovely, also Ye Banks and Braes and My Love is like a Red, Red Rose - ahh there are so many!

There are also loads of hilarious ones like Ye Canny Shove Yer Granny Aff a Bus and The Jeely Piece Song (ye canny fling pieces oot a 20 storey flat), hahah... please do google these if you're unfamiliar!

Can you recommend any Scottish bloggers/vloggers?

My fave Scottish bloggers would obviously be Water Painted Dreams, Colours and Carousels and Mo'adore! Also love BeautyCreep's youtube channel.

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I tag anyone who wants to do this, even if you're not actually Scottish but just love the place!  Let me know in the comments if you have done it so I can go and have a read :)

<3

Marks & Spencer Nature's Extract Anti-Perspirant Roll-On

It's no secret that the bane of my cruelty free life has been finding a decent anti-perspirant deodorant!  A lot of the cruelty free options tend to be 'green' which in itself is great, but this means that they are usually only deodorants and not anti-perspirants.  I'm not a particularly sweaty person (mmm!) but I'd rather just avoid it if I'm honest rather than stopping it from smelling which is what plain deos are made to do.