REVIEW: JĀSÖN Calming Lavender Deoderant Stick

On my quest to eradicate all unnatural, chemical laden products from my life, I have discovered a new deodorant, by the Californian brand JĀSÖN.

Founded in 1959, JĀSÖN's products are clinically tested, free from aluminium, parabens & other nasty chemicals & thankfully not in any way tested on animals.  Which makes them perfect for me, now that I'm back to shopping more consciously.

Having always been a fan of aerosol spray deodorants, after a disappointing experience or two with roll-ons, I was surprised by how much I liked their calming lavender deodorant stick.

The minute you pop off the cap, the intense smell of lavender hits your senses.  I like this stick because, unlike many other roll-ons, this one is not in any way sticky & doesn't leave you feeling like you need to dry out before getting dressed.  It's more like a moisturiser.  Goes on light & sinks in fast.

Having used this stick for over four months now, I've been really happy with it.  It's kept me feeling fresh & odour free.  There are five other scents in the range & I'm quite keen to try the apricot one next.

Now that I have been suitably impressed with their deodorant, I'm quite keen to try out the rest of their product range, which includes body lotions, dental care, hair care & more.

What's your favourite natural deodorant?

REVIEW: Vademecum Organic Whitening Toothpaste

Hurrah, the supermarché has come up trumps again!  This time, with an organic whitening toothpaste by Vademecum.

You see, I have a bit of an aversion to chemical laden toothpastes.  In the few years that I fell off the organic wagon, I ended up just buying any old tube of paste, whatever was the cheapest whitening one to be honest.  But then I started to notice my enamel was turning translucent & I was convinced my gums were receding, which was all quite concerning, considering my teeth had always been in quite good condition (not one filling I'm proud to report).  Hence I thought it best to return to using something a little more natural.

I've used plenty of natural toothpastes before but, I've found it quite difficult to get one that actively helps to whiten my teeth.  I don't smoke or drink tea or coffee, but I have spent a large number of years consuming high amounts of chocolate, especially dark & unfortunately, I think this has contributed to some staining.  My teeth are not the pearlescent white I would like them to be.  That is until I began to use this toothpaste.

I have to say, brushing with this paste morning & night, has made a noticeable difference to the colour of my teeth, they now seem far lighter.  I'm also impressed that you can buy this in the supermarché too, especially in France!  It makes me happy to see more organic & natural alternatives available.

REVIEW: Biopha Nature Range

I've been greatly surprised by the large range of organic produce on offer in the supermarkets, out here in France.  Not only do they now provide a huge variety of organic food, but they are also now stretching out into the toiletries aisle too.

Taking a peruse in SuperU, I came across Biopha Nature & decided to give some of their products a try.

After my disastrous experience with Dr Organic, I thought I would try out a new shampoo & conditioner.  I picked a shampoo for dry hair, as my locks are lacking all kinds of lustre at present.  Unfortunately, as seems to be the case in France, there was only one option of conditioner, which was a shea butter one, for all hair types.

I quite liked the shampoo, it had a lovely smell & it left my hair feeling squeaky clean, the conditioner on the other hand...You see, I have very difficult hair, it's fine, but there's a lot of it & it tangles ridiculously easily!  Such a pain!  I find the best solution, is to brush it with a tangle teaser when it's smothered in conditioner, then rinse it out & leave it the hell alone.  Unfortunately, this conditioner, which lacks any real scent, doesn't spread throughout my hair very easily & simply isn't rich enough, leaving it impossible to get my brush through it!  Resulting in tangle central!

I have to admit, I have a lifelong love affair with Palmer's Cocoa Butter.  It's thick, creamy & keeps my skin smooth, toned & happy.  Unfortunately, it's not the most natural of products & so, I have been attempting to find an alternative, since my 400ml bottle ran out.  This body milk by Biopha isn't bad, but I'm not quite used to using a milk, instead of a thick butter.  It goes on nicely & has a really pleasant smell, but I don't find my skin as hydrated as with a butter.  I think I'll carry on my search.

Now, these eye wipes, which I have been using to take all my makeup off with, are my new favourites!  Firstly, they smell like almond macaroons!  So sweet & delicious, I have to stop myself from nibbling on them.  Most importantly, they remove all my face paint & don't leave my skin dried out & blotchy.  Hoorah!  Biopha Nature have succeeded in getting something right!

All in all, not a bad range, especially for something available in the supermarché!

REVIEW: Saponi & Saponi Mediterranean Scrub

Last October, I had the great fortune of meeting, Polish born, Aga & the Sicilian Mazotta brothers.  Tucked away in the countryside of Sciacca, on the west coast of Sicily, the three of them were living on an olive grove, they'd inherited.

Passionate about sustainability, the environment & living as naturally as possible, they had invested in turning the ground floor of their house into a laboratory, in order to experiment ways of turning their organic extra virgin olive oil into something more than just a salad dressing.

What they ended up creating, is a rather impressive range of organic, chemical free skincare, which not only smells sumptuous, but delivers on its promises too.  Whilst I was there, I not only abused their hospitality (they're exceptional hosts), but their products as well & if I had to pick a favourite, I think it would be their Mediterranean Scrub with sea salt, extra virgin olive oil & lemon peel.

The aroma of lemon this scrub emits, is quite divine & it's gentle granules are just rough enough to slough off dull dead skin, without being too abrasive.  Because it's made with olive oil, it doesn't dry out your skin, like some chemical laden scrubs do & instead, it leaves your skin smooth, soft & dewy.

Saponi & Saponi also offer as part of their range; body oils, soaps, lip balms & even an ingenious, locally made, ceramic potted candle, which, when lit, melts into a massage oil.  I quite honestly love their products, their ethos & the guys themselves & could not recommend their range enough!

If you are ever in the Sciacca area, pop by & see the guys at work, they'd be most happy to show you around & take you for a cocktail & a spot of salsa dancing afterwards.

REVIEW: Chia Seeds

I can't deny my relationship with food over the years, has been a strained one.  I gain weight terribly easily & loathe the feeling when I'm carting about those extra few pounds, with my jeans cutting off the blood supply to my lower half & oh how I hate the site of my face when it fills out.  Nothing worse than feeling uncomfortable in your own skin.  

Thankfully, I have always been able to lose weight very easily, I simply pack my diet with protein; poached egg on toast for breakfast, sushi for lunch & either mackerel or chicken thighs with salad for dinner.  Boom, those pesky pounds drop off within weeks.

Unfortunately, since returning to veganism, consuming high amounts of fat burning protein hasn't been so easy.  Although tofu may have, gram for gram, the same amount of protein as red meat, I sadly, am inconveniently intolerant, which means, my body absorbs none of the protein & instead, just bloats out.

So, the horrendous amount of weight I put on in Italy, through excessive pasta/gelato/formaggio/pane eating, was not shifting quite as quickly as I'd hoped, when I came back to England at Christmas for a break.  I started to feel a slight wave of despair at my rotund middle & hugging thighs.  I had cut out all processed products, cut my sugar consumption down to almost nothing, was eating plenty of raw food, gallons of water & yet, not much was changing.

Attempting not to land myself another eating disorder, I persevered, then one day, mère told me to try Chia Seeds.  Sceptical at first, I didn't bother.  Then, just before I flew back to Italy, mère bought me a pack.  Within a week of consuming them daily, the weight just started to drop off & my energy levels increased tenfold.

Packed full of protein, carbohydrates, dietary fiber, vitamins & minerals, these tiny little seeds from South America, are nothing short of being a superfood!  They have six times the amount of calcium than milk, provide more omega-3 fatty acids than any fish out there, thrice the iron content of spinach, nine times the phosphorous content of whole milk, double the potassium of bananas, fifteen times the magnesium of broccoli, two times the dietary fiber of bran flakes & nine times more selenium than flax seeds!  Phew.

That's not all!  When added to water, its complex structure of dietary fiber, absorbs the water & turns into a gel.  When this gel gets into your digestive system, it essentially scours & cleans your intestinal tract, improving your body's nutritional absorption & then coats the walls of your intestine, acting as a barrier for any carbohydrates you consume, therefore, slowing down & stabilizing the absorption of sugar into your blood stream.  This results in the energy from this sugar lasting longer & being used more efficiently by your body, making it great for people with diabetes.  The added benefit of this gel, is that its ability to hold water, makes you feel fuller for longer.  Which is great for cutting down on excessive snacking, of which I am eternally guilty of.

I make sure to have two tablespoons a day, which I sprinkle over salads, or mix into my soup.  They don't have much taste, just a crunch, so you can pretty much mix them into anything, yoghurts, porridge, even bake with them.  Mexicans pour them into their water bottles & drink it down for an energy boost.  I tried this method, but have to say, it tasted like frogspawn & so, I wouldn't recommend it.

Available to buy from most health food stores or online through amazon, they are sold by various brands & at differing prices.  Mère bought me a 250g bag of organic Chia Seeds from Infinity Foods & as I only have two tablespoons a day, I still have half a bag left after nearly a month.  It's best to shop around & get the right size & price.

I am happy to say, that since taking Chia Seeds, my Italian weight & I have parted ways & I can actually breath in my black skinny jeans once again.  For an unnoticeable addition to my meals each day, I am now packed to the rafters with all my nutritional needs, which means that I no longer suffer from cravings & go off on snackathons.  It has most certainly been a change for the better.  Maybe I'll start listening to mère more often.

REVIEW: Little Soap Company - English Peppermint with Poppy Seeds

Finding a soap that smells good, doesn't disintegrate into mush upon first use & doesn't dry out your skin to the degree it resembles a desert, can be hard to find.  Especially if you add organic, natural & vegan friendly to the requirements list.  However, it appears I have found something...

This delightful English peppermint with poppyseeds soap made by the Little Soap Company is perfect.  The smell is delicious, it's 100% organic, vegan friendly & doesn't leave my skin demanding a moisturiser.  Each bar is handmade & free from chemicals, which is what we like, considering how much our skin absorbs what we're putting onto it!

Currently available at Waitrose & some branches of Tesco, I would highly recommend giving this one a try.  They have a vast range of delightful variations.  Although it's a little bit pricey, it's worth shelling out the extra, knowing you have something that's going to be kind for both your skin & the environment.

I made sure to stock up before my travels & am currently taking a bar around with me, in a tiny tupperware box.  Proof that you can do organic skincare on the move!

REVIEW: Dr Organic Manuka Honey Shampoo & Conditioner

After bleaching & dying my hair, over & over again, for countless years, I finally put down the corrosive products & left my hair to breath.  One long year later, in a further bid to save my locks, I cut ten inches off the length, just before leaving on my travels last summer.

Although my hair is now in much better condition, I wanted to continue the good work, by investing in a natural & enriching shampoo & conditioner.  Perusing the options available, I decided to try out Dr Organic Manuka Honey Shampoo & Conditioner.

Claiming to be 'restoring', 'regenerating' & 'nourishing', they seemed perfect for me at the moment & the rich smell of honey was divine!  For once, I was actually looking forward to washing my hair!  But, oh how I was disappointed by the results.

Once fully rinsed out, my hair felt dry, like straw & not silky smooth, like I was hoping.  After naturally drying, even argan oil couldn't tame the frizz & so, up it went into a bun, where it stayed until requiring a wash again.

Downhearted, I emailed Dr Organic, to pass on my experience of their products & explain my disappointment & a few days later, I received a less than welcome response.  Their customer services department, essentially tried to tell me that, it was not their products that were the issue, but in fact my hair.  I had supposedly picked the wrong range for my hair type & that it would take time for my hair to adapt to chemical free products.

Less than impressed, I thought I would give them the benefit of the doubt & so kept using the products, in the hope that things would improve, but alas, the results remained the same.  To further prove my point, mère, who has strictly used organic, chemical free products for over twenty years, decided to try them out & she too found the results to be the same; dried out, straw like hair.

I'm afraid, on this occasion, Dr Organic have not only failed at providing products that work, but they have also failed at good customer service as well.

REVIEW: Booja Booja Hunky Punky Chocolate 'ice cream'

Hallelujah!  At long last, a dairy free ice cream has come along, that is so good, so delicious & so surprisingly guilt free, that I could happily eat the entire tub, in one sitting & not feel in the slightest bit naughty.

Booja Booja's Hunky Punky Chocolate dairy free alternative to ice cream, has only four, yes FOUR, ingredients.  Water, agave syrup, cashew nuts & cocoa powder.  That's it.  All natural, all organic & completely soy & gluten free!

Having always loved their truffle range, which by the by, are melt-in-the-mouth delicious, I was overwhelmed with excitement when I discovered they had produced a range of ice cream!

There are currently five flavours to choose from; Keep Smiling Vanilla M'Gorilla, Feisty Rollercoastery Ginger, Coconut Hullabaloo, Pompompous Maple Pecan & Hunky Punky Chocolate, which is my first to devour.

After letting the tub sit for a few minutes, so as to let the ice cream gently soften, I grazed the edge of the tub with a spoon & took a mouthful.  Having never been a big fan of chocolate ice cream, I can now say I am fully converted.  A taste of almost mousse like consistently when fully softened, with a pure chocolate flavour.  Booja Booja have ticked all the right boxes when delivering this culinary masterpiece & with only four natural, organic ingredients, this sweet treat is one that comes entirely guilt free.

This pot didn't last two days in my greedy paws & now I am eager to try all of the other flavours on offer!