Sunday 18 September 2016

Vegan Home | Cruelty-Free Scents For Autumn

Vegan Candle & Pacifica Reed Diffuser Review

At the moment I'm in the stressful process of moving house, and I'm really looking forward to getting settled into the new place. It's always the small details that make a new house feel like home, like a squishy blanket and a familiar scent. I adore Pacifica's Island Vanilla perfume, which has been a favourite in my handbag this summer and last, so I was very happy to try out their natural reed diffusers to have some comforting scents at home too.

The Tuscan Blood Orange* diffuser is very fresh and citrus smelling, perfect for a kitchen or living room. The strong orange notes are delicious, like an enticing cocktail. It's my favourite of the two scents and the bottle looks very cute nestled in next to my plants. I have it next to the kitchen sink and it even helps to lift my mood when I'm doing the washing up. Live the little things and all that!

Hawaiian Ruby Guavais more sweetly perfumed and suits a bedroom. It's a fruity scent, like raspberries with just a little bit of coconut. Neither scent travels far, so I can't really smell the diffusers through the whole room. However they both smell strongly when you're close to them, so I'd recommend putting them wherever you spend a lot of time to enjoy them the most.

As the nights get longer, I can't think of a better way to spend an Autumn evening than by cosying up on the sofa with a good book and a favourite candle burning. Harper's Bizarre soy candles have always impressed me with their strong scents and longevity. This raspberry one has a lovely warm scent that makes me imagine a berry pie baking in the oven. It's an exclusive from a recent Vegan Kind box but I really wish I could get my hands on another! The candles always fill the room with their aroma and last for hours and hours, plus they make great little presents.

What are your favourite candles or home treats? Any Autumn recommendations?


Gemima

Saturday 3 September 2016

Cruelty-Free & Vegan Resources | August

Cruelty-Free & Vegan Resources | August

Introducing a brand new series, I wanted to put together a round up of recent posts for all things cruelty-free and vegan. I'm hoping to make it a monthly thing, so if you write a cruelty-free blog yourself then do send me your posts if you'd like the chance to be featured. 

There's been a lot happening in the cruelty-free community this year and although some brands have sold to testing parent companies or even begun testing on animals themselves, mostly events have been encouraging - such as Australia introducing a ban on cosmetics animal testing. So I wanted to begin a series to keep up with cruelty-free news, as well as share interesting posts about veganism and maybe some cruelty-free beauty too.

Cruelty-Free News

Household brand Method revealed that they are now testing on daphnia. The brand along with parent company Ecover (who also test on daphnia), retain their Leaping Bunny certification. Unfortunately Leaping Bunny do not consider daphnia, invertebrates, to be animals so this doesn't look set to change. If you're looking for cruelty-free alternatives for cleaning and household products I'd recommend Astonish and Co-op.

It Cosmetics sold to L'oreal, but have stated they will remain cruelty-free. If you're confused about what this means, you can read more in my post Animal Testing & Parent Companies. Whether you decide to buy from these brands or not is completely up to you.

In good news, China are considering using alternatives to animal testing. Currently Chinese law requires that all cosmetics be tested on animals, so this could be a huge step forward for animal rights. Hundreds of cosmetic companies like L'oreal, Benefit and MAC would no longer be required to test on animals to sell to the Chinese market, so hopefully it goes ahead!

Resources & Events

Why you should never rely on a company's website (or social media) to tell you if they test on animals.

I will always support the message of Adopt Don't Shop and absolutely agree that there's no such thing as a dangerous dog.

Mica has been continuing to raise awareness for the plight of orcas in captivity, and recently collaborated with Lush to hold a Blackfish event at their Oxford Street store. They hosted a Q&A with former Seaworld trainer Jeffrey Ventre.

Farplace Animal Rescue are holding the first Welsh Vegan Festival in Cardiff on September 25th.

Vegan Food

Adding to Cardiff's many vegan options is recently opened juice bar The Moos who serve lots of vegan snacks and a very delicious chai latte. It's really exciting to see the vegan community in Wales grow!

If you're planning a day trip, check out Sarah's discoveries of vegan eats in Cambridge and Brighton.

I love vegan 'What I Eat In A Day' posts as they always give me new ideas for quick and easy meals to make.

And if you fancy going on a sunny holiday before Autumn arrives, take your pick of Vegan Friendly Mediterranean Destinations.

Gemima

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