Let me tell you something about vegan leather…

Vegan leather in other words is artificial leather. So how many clothing do you own that is animal free? Nowadays you can buy leather insoles in shoes or leather lined shoes. As disappointing and how unobvious it makes it seem leather does mean it came  from an animal. In a world where cheap leather can be bought for a lot cheaper and guilt free, we are constantly thrown into belief that anything labelled as “leather” is actually PU or “artificial leather”. But in fact, when something says its leather, it’s as real as it gets.

So why is buying leather bad? Many of these large companies have factories and manufacturers based in other countries where animal laws are entirely different, this allows companies produce their clothing for cheaper and avoid all legal “malpractice”. Animals are necessary for food but in the context of clothing and our booming age of technology and science, killing animals for their skin and fur is hardly advantageous given both the price and its consequences. (Think bunnies having their fur ripped out of them – ALIVE!). Yes, that is where mohair come from… bunnies. Now you heard it, do you still really want that overly ostentatious Alexander McQueen ballet flats or a Calf skin Chanel bag?

Despite the obvious morbidity involved in creating these clothing. We are still very unaware of the larger picture. With the common assumption that designer bags are just too affluent and beautiful looking to be tied with all these nasty and cruel intentions for animals. But infact it is 100% bad intentioned but due to their fan base of young, wealthy and unaware buyers and admirers, these multibillion dollar companies won’t stop due to their demanding and unknowing customers.

If you have a certain apatheticness towards animal being killed for their fur due to the view that we’re just the almighty beings that happened to be on top of the food chain. You are so incredibly wrong! And infact that is a very morbid and dark idea to be carrying around with you, especially when you don’t need to view it in that way.

Recently i’ve come across a budding new vegan leather trend. Meaning it’s artificial leather, and the bag I found by Karu  look very high quality but it certainly isn’t everybody’s cup of tea in terms of the style and to be quite honest, it isn’t something I would’ve chosen to buy at first glance. But I love it for its versatility. It’s waterproof, spacey, has a separate divided pocket in the centre of the bag and has several pockets. Ideal for everyday wear.

Winter skincare regimen, and tips (Part 1)

If you did not know, I am a naturopath, I try to incorporate as many organic brands as I can and I try to use as little products as possible. I have a personal belief that wearing skincare that includes nasties like “alcohol”, “fragrance”, sodium laureth sulfate” defeats the whole point of “skin care”. The staple items I use for facial skincare are moisturiser, cleanser, suncream and serum. My skin philosophy is that if I am not going outside I avoid putting anything on my skin besides water and I allow my skin’s natural oil do the moisturising, and your skin’s natural oil is the best moisturiser that caters to your skin pH and type.

I should first tell you that I have combination/oily skin before I start recommending you products, just so you can have a good idea what skincare is best suited for your skin type. During the colder months my skin is a mixture between oily and dry, it’s mostly dry when it has been exposed to windy weather. (Tip: UV rays are particularly stronger during rainy days, so apply suncream!).

No matter what the weather or how lazy I am I make sure I apply suncream at all cost when going outside! I think cancer in my family is a genetic trait so I am absolutely afraid of the sun especially living in a country where the risk of skin cancer is especially high, therefore I lather my self with suncream and reapply every few hours. I use two types of suncream and I interchange for some variation. I use the Essential-C Day Moisture Broad Spectrum 30+ and its infused with vitamin C and the second is to help prevent wrinkling and ageing, I use anti-ageing formulas because I find them to be a lot more gentle than the formulas for teenage skin, Total effects Anti-Aging Daily moisturizer SPF 15 with SolaSheer Technology.

For cleanser, i’m currently loving Skin Resurfacing cleanser by Dermalogica, the only downside is that it has alcohol ingredients disguised as words like Citronellol and Benzyl PCA. But on the contrary it does have a list of appealing and very natural ingredients such as Capric Triglycerides which is a fatty acid a factor that could restore skin’s youthfulness and plumpness and Aniba Rosaeodora, Rosewood Oil and Perlagonium Graveolens that are all plant derivatives.

 

(part 2 is coming soon…)

 

 

Aveda’s Rosemary Mint

I’ve nearly finished the bottle and want to buy a second one. I’m absolutely in love with Aveda’s skin care range especially with their Rosemary Mint body lotion. It has a refreshing sensation which leaves a cooling effect on the skin and it’s very revitalising and relaxing. It’s ideal for days where you just want to rewind on a hot summers day.

It has an acquired scent but the cooling effect on the skin is so overpowering and lush it could even put a baby to sleep! As for the hydrating effect it does its job fairly well. I get really dry itchy skin on windy days and usually wearing Aveda’s body lotion once would keep me hydrated for a week. My skin literally drinks it up.

Do I recommend this? Heck yes!

Quest to becoming more active with FitBit

Incase if you didn’t know, FitBit is a fitness device which is worn on your wrist either during the day or while sleeping. What it can do is track your steps and check your sleeping patterns. I’ve been wearing mine for only two weeks and so far it has given me the motivation to keep more active. I’m quite stubborn to try anything that requires a lot of effort especially knowing that it isn’t productive but after realising the average person should take 10,000 steps each day,  I decided to get an estimate of how many steps I take on any given day and to my surprise it was barely half of the amount of steps an “average” person take. I felt very embarrassed and weary about the prospect of me being very inactive and what it could mean for my health. I try to walk as much as I can now and whenever I can. Whether if it is waiting for a friend or waiting for an appointment.

Ignoring the price tag of the FitBit, it is a fairly useful product and i’ve never felt so motivated about walking or exercising. It has light indicators on the wrist band which indicates what progress are you making and it gives you the extra morale to wanting to fulfil that goal. But knowing the price tag it is an average fitness device which could  do with some improvements. Just in case you’re interested – I got my FitBit in the ‘Slate’ colour.

Tom Ford reds

I’ve recently being loving Tom Ford’s lipsticks. I’ve tried the True Coral, Wild Ginger, Cherry Lush, Scarlet Rouge and Crimson Noir. My verdict is that all the shades are absolutely beautiful and depending on your skin tone it colour matches perfectly. I have a friend who tried the True Coral and has a more paler skin tone and it looked so luxurious on her! I tried the Scarlet Rouge since I have a much warmer skin tone and had a yellow undertone and it was the perfect match for my skin colour.

Wild Ginger is a vibrant orange red shade and it looked fabulous in the tube and I wished I was able to pull off a colour like that… But I digress, my verdict on the quality of the lipstick is that although it is extremely rich and creamy it isn’t very long lasting. I recommend using a lip primer or blotting away the moisture and leaving only the pigment if you’d like it to stay on for a very long time.

It is very pricey for a lipstick even as a designer lipstick. But the exterior of the lipstick tube is very durable and very classy. I am the type of person who prefers to invest in good quality things and I don’t buy makeup often either (perhaps, twice a year) so when I do buy makeup I make sure the shade and quality is good enough to splurge on.

 

 

 

 

 

Healthy eating and raw Pana chocolate

I’ve always being a fan of dark chocolate mainly because i’m a savoury fanatic and don’t enjoy eating things that are too sweet. So I decided to treat myself with something on the more pricier side and went for “Pana raw chocolate”. On the packet it reads that it is raw, organic, handmade and contains no dairy, soy, gluten or refined sugar.

The ingredients contained coconut nectar, coconut oil, figs, carob?, cinnamon, wild orange essential oil and himalayan crystal salt. Although, it was very tasteless, bland and the texture was almost creamy spotted with a few dried oranges here and there, it tasted strongly of Earl Grey the tea. The flavour I chose was “Fig + Wild Orange” mainly because it had a higher cacao content than the other flavours like the Goji berry, Mint and Nuts. It tasted nothing like Fig and Wild Orange, even the fruit bits was stripped of its natural sweetness.

I was expecting a little bit more for an overpriced 45g worth of chocolate. But it also made me realise that if the usual chocolate I eat (85% dark chocolate by Lindt) tastes more sweeter and flavourful than 70% raw organic chocolate, I wonder what type of nasty preservatives/additives do Lindt put in their chocolate?

If you choose health over taste when buying chocolates, I strongly recommend Pana chocolate. It definitely has an acquired taste but I wouldn’t recommend it to those who prefers their chocolate sweet!

In love with Kjaer Weis

I’ve always been a fanatic about clean and organic skincare and makeup and recently i’ve come across this brand which really helped with giving a dewy and healthy complexion while being completely natural. I have very sensitive skin towards makeup but this definitely allowed my skin to breathe and it does not feel too heavy on the skin either.

I haven’t tried the foundation yet but i’ve been loving the lip tint and blush. It’s in a cream formula and the consistency is to die for and it’s nothing compared to the dried patchy consistency of Bobbie Brown’s cream based makeup.

I’ve currently being using the lip tint in ‘passionate’ which is a warm raspberry red and it diffuses perfectly with my natural lip colour but it also gives it the extra depth in colour which I love!

kw_lip-tint_passionate

 

And the blush in ‘sun touched’. My skin has a yellow undertone so I was weary about buying this type of shade because it’s a bronze colour but it shows more as a peachy brown on the skin.

kw_cream-blush_sun-touched_1

Valentino Couture| Fall 2014

Valentino’s show transported us back into ancient times. Think Roman Empire, sun kissed skin and lush hair. The quaint setting of tall green hedges almost made it seem dreamy and raw. I’ve never felt so impressed by a designers ability to allude a certain era in their clothing and synchronise it so well with the makeup and hair. The leather paired with wool gave a very striking stoic appeal to the dresses. There were hues of nude, and warmer tones of yellow and teal. The colours all appeared very organic and it is very characteristic of Pre-Raphaelite paintings. But the shape of the dresses were distinctively of ancient Rome. The leather strapping of the shoes were thin allowing the dresses to appear delicate and romantic.

Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino
Images courtesy of Valentino

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Elie Saab Couture| Fall 2014

Elie Saab couture fall 2014 was a cleverly executed show, the first gown was a pristine almost snow flake like dress, simple but delicate. Slowly each dress that flooded out onto the runway was reminiscent of the previous one. To my surprise… I realised Elie Saab was trying to imitate the Ombre trend. The gist of the show was something along the lines of from dawn to evening. The dresses went from a  snow flake white dress to a blue, pink, red, deep purple then finally black. It was not much different from Elie Saab’s Spring 2013 show but the closing bridal gown was absolutely breathtaking! The dress was embellished with pearls and it looked so grande with the bridal train giving it the extra volume.

Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture
Images courtesy of Elie Saab couture

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… and the bridal gown that closed the show

Christian Dior | Fall 2014

Dior’s latest Paris show was absolutely delightful. It was organza galore and the colour palette was definitely eye catching. Blush pinks, cream whites, grey, khaki peppered with pops of orange and red conceptualised the Dior woman in all its glory. The intricate floral design which seems to portray porcelain while the pannier silhouettes and silk jacquard inspired by the French aristocratic styles of the 18th century was literally infused with modern designs which created a personified character of grace and timelessness in its dresses. This fall 2014 collection definitely carried a lot of historical weight to each and every one of its designs. And each of the styles was executed so well and it was all done in accordance to Dior’s natural inclination towards the Belle Epoch and audaciously volumptuous gowns.

Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior
Images courtesy of Christian Dior