Cruelty Free Skincare Routine

I have been cruelty free for 4 years now and more recently I have been trying to reduce my plastic usage, especially in my day to day skincare routine. Products I would usually buy that are in plastic packaging I have invested time into looking for alternatives in glass or reusable containers. I keep my routine simple and natural trying to steer clear of harsh chemicals on my skin. I use a lot of Lush and always make sure to return my black pots for the store to reuse for future products to save throwing them away.

Morning 
1. I first splash my face with cold water when I wake up and then use the Aqua Marina cleanser from Lush on my face, an all natural cleanser with extracts of seaweed and calamine which helps to reduce excess oil build up meaning it is perfect for oily skin. I then wash this off with a warm face cloth or reusable cotton round.
2. I then follow this up with a facial oil and the one I am currently using is Boots Botanics Organic Facial Oil that does not leave me feeling greasy but hydrated.

Nightime
1. If I have been wearing makeup that day I tend to remove it using plain old coconut oil that you can buy from regular supermarkets. I grab a bit and rub it on my face, then take a reusable cotton round to rub off the excess makeup.
2. I then go in with a gentle scrub, my favourite for years now has been the Ocean Salt by Lush. This again is great for oily skin, with sea salt, seaweed and avocado extracts helping to buff away the dead skin whilst still leaving your skin feeling nourished.
3. Sometimes (if I remember) I will do a face-mask, this is usually once or twice a week. I tend to go for a Lush one, like Cup O' Coffee mainly because I love the smell. But I also love how it leaves my skin feeling and looking rejuvenated.
4. I will finish up with some form of a night moisturiser to make sure my skin is kept hydrated overnight. I again tend to go for a more natural one that is not to harsh on my skin, and often find myself using the Sukin Moisture Restoring Night Cream that I can find in TKMaxx a lot of the time.

An Eating Disorder 7 Years On

When I first developed my eating disorder I was around the age of 13. My body was going through many changes and me having a perfectionist attitude towards most things, including the way I look, I found myself wanting control how I looked. I was consumed by my anorexia to the point where I wasn't sure of my identity without it, food was controlling me.

I am now 20. Back when I was in the depths of my recovery I didn't think I would ever gain weight and be happy. Now 7 years on I am a healthy weight, I enjoy working out for my health and I enjoy food. I can go out for food and I can miss a day of working out without feeling guilty, most of the time. Yes, I still have bad days, there are times when I feel my self going for the lower calorie option, giving into the voice residing in my head. This happens even though I am recovered, but I do not see it as a failure, I move on and try to do better next time. I still sometimes feel guilty about what I have eaten. I sometimes still look in the mirror and not like what I see, but that is ok.  I do not believe I will fully get over my past with an eating disorder. I accept it is probably something I am going to have to live with for the rest of my life, but the difference is I am no longer consumed by those negative thoughts. Now I fight those thoughts daily and keep winning, every time you do something against what the voice in your head is telling you, it is a win. I refuse to go back to the shell of a person I once was. Back when I was 13 I used to think the way a person looked was everything, I wanted to look the way models looked, even though for my body that was not a healthy ideal. I have learned what was healthy for my body and for me. Even three years ago, years after I was 'weight restored', I still had fear foods, I hated eating out and stuck to healthy foods. As time went on I grew as a person and now I can eat out multiple times a week and feel comfortable with my curvier figure, I enjoy treating myself now, I am less harsh on myself for having a treat.

What helped me throughout the years was seeing the variety of body shapes seen across the media today that are seen as beautiful. There is not only one perfect body, it should be healthy and make you happy, screw the outdated stereotypes, every shape is beautiful. Back in 2013 there was few if any curvier girls in magazines or on social media, all of them were stick thin. Though yes that figure may be attainable, beautiful and healthy to some people, a 13 year old girl seeing exclusively thin girls online at such an impressionably age can deem harmful and for me it did, that along with other reasons led me to be taken into the darkness of an eating disorder. It is not the way you look that is important, it is the way you act and treat people that truly matters, if you are a good person you are truly beautiful.

Today the world is changing and adapting, it is accepting eating disorders more widely as a serious condition. I hope that in the future less people will find themselves in the position I once was.

Plastic Swaps

By 2050 there will be more plastic in our oceans than marine life. As more organisms die due to our own plastic pollution in their oceans something needs to be done. Plastic needs to be gone from our oceans, it does not degrade, it stays there, for years on end being carried from continent to continent withheld in the currents and in the forms of micro plastics. Marine organisms end up consuming it or becoming entangled, leading to death. Species of turtles and whales are facing extinction because of us. In the very near future there may be no more sea creatures left, simply due to the effects of plastic and we will lose a beautiful and essential part of our ecosystem.

Reducing your plastic usage is simple.

Simple Swaps 

• Bagged produce - for unpackaged produce with reusable produce bags 
• Toothbrush - for a bamboo toothbrush (completely compostable)
• Floss - for bamboo toothpicks
• Plastic bottle - for stainless steel water bottle
• Single use coffee cup - for stainless steel or bamboo coffee cup
• Stop with the single use straws and stirrers - use a plain old metal spoon to stir your drinks and invest in some metal or bamboo straws
• Sanitary products - invest in a moon cup or washable pads, yes they are still sanitary and hygenic (Bloom&Nora)
• Use flannels and reusable cotton rounds made from fabric (Cheeky Wipes)
• Cleaning products - look for refillable or glass bottled cleaning products (Plastic Freedom), there is often a shop offering this in your local area (Chester one - (Just Footprints)
• Beauty products - try to look for things packaged in glass, wood or even packaging free items, Lush has some amazing minimal packaging makeup items such as concealer (Lush)
• Pasta/rice/flour etc - go to your local bulk buy store and take your own containers (Chester one - Just Footprints)
• Notebooks - avoid leather and plastic covered notebooks and opt for recycled paper ones (Ethical Market)

These are just a few swaps you can make to make a difference. Yes there is a lot of mention of bamboo here, but the reason for that is it is a great resource to replace plastic. Bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants on the planet and so large amounts of it can be used in a short space of time as the regrowth is amazing. Also, with increasing funding being put into the plastic issue, more biodegradable alternatives are being tried and tested in the hopes to be used in the manufacturing industry. Here is a link to a post showing just a few (Packaging Alternatives). If this postive approach is to continue we can see our oceans and eradicate plastics for good.You do not have to go and do every single one of these steps to make an impact. Just one of these swaps will help reduce your plastic consumption by a considerable amount, more than you realise. The time is now to save our oceans or otherwise they will be past repair.

What You Should Know Starting Uni

Starting university is a daunting prospect, especially if you haven't ever really lived from home. It is stepping into the unknown, being thrown into a flat with people you most likely do not know and into a routine that is unfamiliar to you. But everyone is in the same boat as you. Freshers week is the perfect chance to mingle and make new friends, especially if you are a fan of going out. Take part in the themed nights out, no doubt you will make fast friends (which always happens when you are drunk, whether you remember them or not the next day is another story). However if you are more like me and not the biggest fan of going out to clubs then do not worry, you can still enjoy your university experience. You do not have to drink to enjoy uni.Take the time finding people who enjoy what you enjoy, go to serendipity, join a society, talk to people on your course. Eventually you will find your 'click'. And if you already know people at your university, great! you will become even closer as you all go through the whirlwind if university together.

There is a big culture behind university, mostly partying and drinking.

With studying and your workload be prepared to be left to your own devices, here it is much more important to be reliant on yourself and  to actually be dedicated to your own work. No teacher is going to be chasing after you if you do not do the work so making sure you can step up and be more mature about the whole process is important. If you do not complete the essay you were given chances are your overall grade at the end of the year will not be quite what you wanted. Invest in a planner, a pin board where you can jot down all of your deadlines to keep on top of everything. The best thing I learnt in first year? Do not leave it till last minute, the stress really is not worth it.

As for living on your own, that for me was the scariest part. I would have liked to have thought that before uni I was quite self sufficient but boy was I wrong when I got to uni. Simple tasks like washing the dishes, doing the washing and cleaning became a lot of effort but something that unfortunately needed doing. I somehow actually learnt to cook (kind of) in first year. Bearing in mind my 'cooking' is mostly throwing whatever I have in the cupboard and fridge into a pan, cooking it and then calling it a meal, but it worked I guess. Looking for cheaper finds to what you may have been used to at home will help your student loan go that little bit further, for example buying supermarkets own brand beans instead of Heinz (they taste the same anyway)

Before you know it first year will be over and you will be starting second year (like me) and you will soon realise that the first time around you were lucky with your workload, as trust me it gets heavier. First year may have felt like a breeze but second time around it all counts, so make the most of it.