Top tips to reduce waste and shop sustainably this Christmas

 Everyone knows that Christmas is a very commercially busy time of year. Shops online and offline are bustling with people trying to buy gifts for their loved ones. This year is a lot stranger than most due to Corona virus and a lot of businesses in various parts of the world have lost a lot of business due to the fact they may have had to close due to lockdowns. A lot of small and independent companies will be looking at this busy period to help keep their business growing so it's up to everyone as a consumer to help support local and small businesses for Christmas. A lot of people may not know how to support local as we often shop in big conglomerate companies as they are very easily accessible. I'd like to share my top tips for having a more sustainable Christmas for the economy and for the environment.

- Shop Locally: This seems pretty simple, but I think when it comes to Christmas people tend to veer towards bigger shops and buy more extravagant things. The truth is that smaller shops sell just as good stock as the big companies that we all know and love. I'm sure everyone has a local area full of some independent shops that probably sell some of the stuff that you would otherwise buy online, yet buying the products local helps boost your own local economy and the people that you surround yourself with. Plus you never know what gems you'll find!

- Shop on more independent online businesses - As well as shopping locally, you could shop independently - shopping from some smaller businesses, ones who create their own items. There are some great online shops that help smaller creators, and allow an easy platform to search for products you may like. Ones I use frequently are Etsy, and Redbubble. These sites allow creators to sell their creations online and there are some wonderful products. Obviously this is not the only way to find smaller businesses as many have their own sites but I think it's an easy way to find something you're specifically looking for and compare items in one place.

- Support a creator you like - If you really like watching a certain streamer, or youtuber, or even an artists work, it's a great idea to buy some merch from the creator that you enjoy. This would help support the creator that you like and help fund more content from them so it's a win win.

- Shop vintage - There's a lot of really cute shops that sell a lot of vintage items. I've tried to only buy vintage and second hand recently in terms of clothing in particular so that I can cut down on my consumption and save some items from landfill. I'm planning on buying some vintage pieces for my friends as I think you can find some really unique pieces that I think are individual and really show you put a lot of thought into what you gift someone.

- Look for sustainable products - By this I mean products that come in recyclable packaging, more natural products, and items that will get a lot of usage. Rather than gifts that are made cheaply and will be easily disposed of. Think of gifts that you know the person will use like perfume, or makeup or books, rather than something that is cheap and cheerful. 

- Look for sustainable packaging - I mentioned this in the last point but wrapping paper sales are crazy at this time of year, I don't know many people that don't wrap their gifts. An alternative to wasting all this paper is to but recyclable wrapping paper as not all are - a lot a coated in was or other substances that can't be recycled! Another alternative would be to not wrap the gifts but put them in a reusable gift bag instead that won't go to waste! Or you could reuse newspapers or magazines you've had during the year! It looks pretty cool too! 

I'm considering making a gift guide to help small businesses so let me know if that's something you'd be interested in. Let me know if you have any tips for reducing our consumption and being more sustainable this Christmas period!

C.Y.O. Haul

Just before lockdown I wanted to restock on some make-up. I often use the C.Y.O. foundation as it's pretty affordable and cruelty free. Yet on this trip the whole section had been cleared and I couldn't find any. I was told by staff in Boots that they were discontinuing the whole collection which I found very sad to see. I thought it may have just been that Boots were stopping selling them but after a quick google I found out that everything is discontinued and the site has put up an announcement. I hate to see a good brand go and it will be annoying to read considering the products are now unavailable but I thought I'd share anyway incase there's still some places with stock! I bought a good few things and a few things I wouldn't normally buy as everything was more than half price to clear stock.

What I got: 

• C.Y.O. long lasting foundation - this is something I've used many times before and love the lightweight consistency. I go for the lighter shades and even at that they can come out quite dark but do look nice when properly blended. It's very watery and smooth and lets other products sit on top nicely.
• Triple Fix prime, glow and mist - honestly the look of this really intrigued me. Its a very pale pink which has a shimmer flowing throughout which you shake around and honestly it just looks pretty. I haven't tried it yet but it's meant to prep the skin and also leave a nice glow so I'm not sure how shimmery it is on the skin but is very interesting.
• Plumping Lip gloss in the shade Act Up - this is very nice lip gloss material which is kinda sticky but also very shimmery with little specks of glitter throughout, it's also pretty light on.
• Kohl gel eyeliner in the shade highflier - this is just your basic eyeliner but I really liked this as its a very electric blue which is not something I can say I've ever tried before. I won't get a lot of use out of it but it'll definitely make an eye look pop.

• Take the Threeway shadow, liner and mascara - this is interesting too as it's very skinny and small for something that has a few things incapsulated inside. On one side theres a liner and underneath that is and eyeshadow that you can blend. On the opposite end there's a mascara. I think this is such a good idea and perfect for short trips or something to throw in your bag for everyday use.
• Brow Sculpting pencil - this is your standard pencil with one end being the pencil shade, and the other being a brush. I feel like you can't go wrong with a pencil that has a brush with it it's always a bonus to help get the perfect blend.
• Two clever by half lipstick and liner in the shade Free Pass - I think you could tell if you've read this far that I love duo products or things which have more than one function and this is no different. One side is a liner and the other is the lipstick, which again is perfect for having in your bag and carrying around.

Has anyone tried any products before? What would you try if you could?

 

Body Shop Carrot Wash Energising Face Cleanser | Review

 This cleanser was not something that I went into the Body Shop to purchase. I actually had never heard of this collection before but when I saw it I knew it was something I'm interested in. This product is the Body Shop Carrot Energising Face Cleanser. This product is vegan and comes in 100% recyclable packaging, which is something I love in a product. The packaging also has a really nice feel to it. This cleanser is made from what they describe as 'ugly' or 'wonky' carrots, ones that aren't commercially sellable in the super market that people don't want to eat as they look unpleasing. I appreciate that these carrots aren't going to waste and will actually be used for something. I also really love when you look up this product on the website there is a really clear 'how to use' section. 

I can't say that I've ever used carrots in any of my skincare routines before. I feel like in general skin care products, usually fruits are used rather than vegetables. I was excited to try this as carrots are one of my favourite vegetables. This face wash does smell like carrots and it's very subtle, it doesn't have a strong smell but it is pleasant. This scrub is meant for daily use and although it is a cleanser I would not use it as a cleanser in terms of taking makeup off but more as an energising morning face wash. This makes your skin feel super soft and the carrot feels really nice for your skin. I don't know what properties carrot would have for doing good things for your skin but it does feel really cleansed. It feels similar to using a citrus scrub. This is definitely a product I would re-buy and will probably have in my skin care routine in the future.

Has anyone tried this before what do you think?