The Vegan Kind Box #TVK17

The Vegan Kind Box - Feb 2015 #TVK17

Every month I receive a box full of vegan goodies from The Vegan Kind. They are a subscription service which costs £10 + £3.15 P+P, and each month 5-8 vegan products arrive on my doorstep. 

These range from food,drink, beauty and household.

Each month TVK donates 10p from each box to a charity of OUR choice - you can vote via their Facebook page.

In addition to the products in the box, every month they said a vegan recipe from a blogger. After 6 months you als receive a TVK recipe binder to keep them all in.

So lets dive into this months box of goodies:

• This months recipe is from Vegan Lass who teaches us how to make a Tofu Pad Thai. Which looks really yummy.

• The charity of the month is The Trusty Paw Clinic helping homeless dogs in Glasgow.

Ananda Round Up - RRP £2.50

A gelatine and dairy free wagon wheel cake, using the finest dark Belgian chocolate. Of all the items in this months box, I was most excited to try this. As mentioned in my previous blog for TVK16, I have not had marshmallows in 15 years, so this was a treat.

Whilst I loved the concept, and the chocolate taste, unfortunately for me, the marshmallow was not as good as the vegetarian Freedom marshmallow. However still super yummy and it reminded me of childhood!

Emily Fruit Crisps Crunchy Banana - RRP £1.99

I had never heard of this brand before opening TVK17. There are no preservatives, additives, added sugar, e numbers and no gluten. The all only full of fruity deliciousness. I am really into dried fruit at the moment, and these banana crisps are a great idea. I happily ate the pack on its own although great to top cereal or yoghurt  (vegan of course!)

Rebel Kitchen Chai Mylk - RRP £1.89

A dairy free coconut drink with only natural ingredients. Rebel Kitchen is fighting against refined sugars to bring back freshly made food.

I personally am not a tea drinker, so this drink didn't go down to well with me. However the packaging is wonderful and the brands ethics really stand out. I will be looking at trying other products from them.

Angelic Gluten Free Sea Salt Biscuits - RRP £2.59

These sea salt biscuits are created using only the finest natural ingredients.

Again another brand I hadn't tried, and the biscuits are melt in your mouth gorgeous. I have had them on their own, but they are perfect to be dipped in hummus or cream cheese(vegan!)

The VeganKind Tote Bag - RRP £3.00

I only use reusable shopping bags these days, so another to add to the collection is welcomed. They are made from 100% cotton in the UK and have a vibrant print on each side of the bag. 

Another success - a good mix of items and brands the I have now become aware of. Looking forward to March's box.

Check out The Vegan Kind and see what little treats you could get......

Lily Lolo - New Customer Review

I have a never ending list of problems when it comes to buying foundation, and with my recent change in lifestyle I decided now was the time to see if "natural" makeup could help my skin.

I suffer from adult acne, oily skin, and have quite large pores on my nose and chin in particular. The first problem I have with foundation is that even when using a primer, after a few hours the foundation disappears leaving only very noticeable orange dots over my nose and chin, where the foundation has soaked into my pores.
I had previously gone to all the big makeup counters - Clinque, Elizabeth Arden etc, explained my problem, and of course they all had the miracle foundation for me. £30 later, and a week into using them I was always back to square one.
The second problem I have is that without fail you can always see the foundation line, even after blending upon blending.
The third issue is that I dislike the consistency of the liquid foundations, they feel heavy and clog up pores and makeup brushes.

I had noticed that mineral makeup was featuring quite heavily in blogs/YouTube videos and decided to investigate what the best brand for me would be.
After researching Lily Lolo, I found that their ethics were the same as what I am trying to achieve.

Lily Lolo is a British brand launched in 2005 which produces and sells high quality mineral makeup ranging from foundations, eye shadows, blush, and concealers. All of their products are free from parabens, synthetic perfumes and dyes. They are a vegan brand with sustainable ethics.
They claim to "give you a light, flawless and seamless finish without clogging or irritating".

Unsure of the shade I required, I decided to start with their Mineral Starter Collection in Light - £13.49. This came with 3 samples of foundation - China Doll, Barley Buff and Blondie, and also a sample of their flawless silk finishing powder. The collection also boasts a baby buki brush which was perfect as I didn't have any kabuki brushes in my collection.
I also opted for a full size concealer in Barley Beige at £7.99.

Lily Lolo does offer the option of purchasing just single foundation samples at £1.49, but the starter collection was the way to go for me.

Two days later my box arrived and the packaging really stood out (see top picture). Maybe this is just me, but when you open a package and it has beautiful packaging, it instantly makes me feel excited and happy with my purchase.

I started using my Starter Collection the next day. I could tell that China Doll was going to be too light for my skin, so I started testing Blondie and Barley Buff.

As mentioned, I have never used a kabuki brush before, so I watched the Lily Lolo tutorials on YouTube to start.

You tap a small amount of mineral into the lid of the pot, swirl the brush around and then tap off the excess (back into the lid).

I was initially concerned that this would be no where near enough coverage for my skin type however I was surprised at how far a little went. I built the foundation up by a couple of layers and was impressed by the results. My face looked covered but you really couldn't tell I was wearing foundation, it looked like the perfect version of my natural skin tone. I topped it off with the finishing powder as staying power has been an issue in the past with liquid foundations.

On the first couple of days I used the mineral foundation with my old liquid concealer. However you could clearly see that the concealer did not match and it had started to feel heavy compared to the lightness of the minerals.
I was unsure about how to apply the concealer but I have found that a soft eyeshadow brush works well for me. Again like the foundation you can build up layers, however it is highly pigmented so it really doesn't need more than one layer I would suggest.

I am now a month into my new makeup and I have already purchased a full size foundation in Barely Buff and a full size finishing powder. I decided to buy Flawless Matte in the finishing powder just to ensure any extra shine is kept at bay. I also dust my face with the flawless matte to start with as well as after applying makeup, just to ensure everything stays put! In addition I have purchased a Lily Lolo lipstick which has a beautiful creamy texture and stays put for quite a few hours.

Since using this makeup I have had comments about how clear my skin looks, and how fresh faced I appeared. I think these comments are better than any review!

From my own point of view, I am amazed with the results. I feel confident in my new foundation, it doesn't clog my pores, it stays put for the day (I have tested in all weathers!), and most importantly it looks natural and feels like I am not wearing any makeup at all.

Lily Lolo has won me over!

Check out their website at lilylolo.co.uk