Save Some Green - Bamboo Toothbrush

I have been reading a lot of zero waste blogs lately and decided that I would like to reduce the amount of waste I produce and eventually become zero waste. The blogs I was reading inspired me so much to really take a look and the amount of waste I produce and it was socking to me. Have you ever really looked at the waste you produce? Probably not. When you do you realise how much you through to the land field aka in your bin. If you really look you can actually recycle 80% of your rubbish, compost 10% and the rest can be reduced by the way you buy products.

The first thing I replaced was my plastic toothbrush, to be honest I was due a new toothbrush anyway so I thought it would be a great opportunity to buy a Bamboo one. The toothbrush handle and bristles are both made from Bamboo, it comes in a recycled packing too.  

At first I wasn't sure about the toothbrush as I found the bristles to be quite hard but after a few times using it , the bristles become softer and nicer to use. One of my favourite blogs to read is http://www.trashisfortossers.com/2015/04/why-i-make-my-own-toothpaste.html this is where I found the recipe for making your own toothpaste. Now it isn't for everyone and I was very wary of using the recipe because toothpaste is an important part of your day to day. After Google-ing baking soda toothpaste and finding out it still includes nasty chemicals, I decided to make my own using this recipe and it works great if not better but it doesn't taste the same that's the only issue I have with it. 

I purchased my Bamboo tooth brush from http://savesomegreen.co.uk/ this website sells other products which can help you to reduce your waste. 





All images above were taken by myself.
This product was purchased by myself and wasn't gifted to me.

Cornish Soap Company Review

Last month I was invited to my bosses beautiful wedding in Mevagissey, Cornwall. I have never been to that part of Cornwall before and I have no idea why as it was absolutely amazing! The views from the house we were staying in were incredible and I now understand why my boss chose to have her wedding in such a wonderful setting. While I was there I went wondering to the local shops, only a two minute walk down a rather steep hill. As I was enjoying the lovely scenery, I stumbled across The Bath House & Soapery.

It looks a little bit like Lush but doesn't smell as strong which I loved, as I find Lush too over powering while trying to shop. While I was in there I had a lovely chat with the young lady working there on Sunday and she gave me some great insight to their products. She made me aware that Lush use's around triple the amount of ingredients in their bath bombs but the Bath House & Soapery use only five and then it hit me, maybe that's why it doesn't smell as strong in here! 

After asking the poor girl working there a million questions, my main one being 'can you advice me on a product I use when shaving my legs , as they are very sensitive and come out in a rash after shaving'. She advised me to use  http://www.bathhousesoapery.co.uk/#!product/prd2/3367874671/just-for-him-shaving-gel-150ml as a shaving gel, even though it says its for men I thought I would give it a go. 

Having used this for a month now, it has definitely helped with my rashes and they have gone down significantly since I have been using this shaving gel. As I am very fussy with smells another thing I really liked about the gel is that it smells incredible, it's like a light tea tree smell. 

As well as the shaving gel I was also advised to buy a sensitive body lotion http://www.bathhousesoapery.co.uk/#!product/prd2/3367874691/wellbeing-sensitive-skin-cream-150ml this has done wonders cooling my legs down after I have shaved. It has contributed to my shaving rash going down, now I am getting less spots and irritation. I am starting to feel more comfortable about wearing skirts without tights or leggings, as my legs have seem to made an improvement.

While I was there I also stumbled across their natural and chemical free deodorant http://www.bathhousesoapery.co.uk/#!product/prd2/3367876361/wellbeing-natural-deodorant-(aluminium-free)-50gm  which my auntie has been suggesting I use for years but I have never found one I particularly like. I have now found one!!! It comes in a plastic twist bottle but I like to put some on my fingers and then put on my under arms as I feel I get better coverage this way - each to their own though. 

I highly recommend all of the products above and they are made without chemicals and with as little ingredients as possible because lets be honest why would you need 16 ingredients when you can use five!! 

Since I have bought these products I have been trying to reduce the amount of waste I use, this means that I only recycle, reuse or compost items. As these come in plastic bottles they can be recycled here in the UK however it would be great if there was a glass bottle option for the people who are trying to cut back on the amount of plastic they use. 

To purchase these products or to view more of their range, visit the website below.
http://www.bathhousesoapery.co.uk/

All images used in this post have been taken by myself. 
I also purchased the above products, these were not gifted. 






  

*Elly Prizeman - Shirtstorm Clothing Review*

Now I'm sure you are all aware of the sh*t storm created in the media over a shirt made by Elly Prizemen. The shirt was made for her dear friend Dr Matt Taylor, the scientist of the Rosetta mission. This shirt made a surprising stir in the media, with a lot of people thinking the shirt was offensive to women. I completely disagree with this!! Women have looked up to pin-ups throughout many ears and this shouldn't be any different now.


I now have my very own Elly Prizeman and its absolutely gorgeous!

The high wasted 'Mirage Vintage Tea' pencil skirt is hand made by Elly herself, she puts lots of time and care into every garment she sews. Elly has been very busy since Dr Taylor's shirt hit the media, creating shirts and skirts for the world and most recently Joe Rogan.

I have worn this at a northern soul night and for my leaving do where I went to 'normal' clubs. While wearing the skirt out at both occasions I received so many lovely compliments from people, asking where I got the skirt and how wonderful it looks! The fit of the actual skirt fits perfectly, it's not too type or too baggy which is usually what I suffer from with high waisted items. 

I really love the fact that the skirt is a little longer than I would normally wear, as I feel very elegantly 1950s in this style of skirt. I would definitely look into other items from the website as I also love the women's shirts, which are a new edition to the website.

This lovely pencil skirt is available in a size 8-18(UK). The high waisted pencil skirt's are £45 and well worth it!! Each garment has been made by hand and every fabric which is used has been chosen using a lot of thought. Elly chooses fabric which you would never find on the high street and that is what's great about these products.

By wearing an Elly Prizeman shirt or skirt it will make you feel like an individual and you will want to show it off at every occasion! Elly also takes on commissions for other items and can source other fabrics as well. 

If you end up purchasing an item from the website below then send Elly a picture of you wearing it and it will be uploaded on to the client gallery page - which is a great place to see how happy her clients are with the products they receive.


http://www.ellyprizeman.com/










Above is an image of Elly Prizeman's logo this was not designed by myself, the image is from her website.

*Mod Shoes - LaBelles Loafers Review*

On Easter Sunday I attended Crossfire at Venue 229 in London, which is always a great night out! I always feel like I have to look the part when I am there and spend weeks planning my outfit before the actual event. As part of my very well thought through outfit I decided to wear loafers, I do love a good pair of loafers, that's the 60's Mod in me coming out. 

Above are the LaBelle loafers from Mod Shoes, I regularly mention this brand on here as I just love their products - I think any shoe lovers would! 

What I noticed when I first tried the shoes on as they fit perfectly, now I sometimes have a problem when it comes to the size of slip on shoes. I've bought pairs from other shops before in a size 6 and they have been miles too big, then I've had to buy a size smaller which meant they were a bit too tight. I didn't have that problem with this pair of loafers. It was a Cinderella moment, the perfect fit.

Another problem I sometimes have with slip on shoes is that the back can sometimes be a bit too hard. As the LaBelle's are leather there was no problem with them being too hard, I didn't even need to break them in before Crossfire. This is fantastic as I am someone who is so use to doing this and always worried about wearing new shoes out to events but I was dancing in these shoes for about 4 hours. 

I was wondering what the shoes would be like to dance in, as I don't like my shoes to have too much grip on them for dancing. Mod Shoes LaBelle Loafers were perfect for dancing in as they have leather sole's and gripped heels, which I find is the best combination for Northern Soul dancing. 

These style of loafers are available in two colours, Oxblood (the colour of mine) or Chestnut, which is a lovely shade of brown and are priced at £85. I would highly recommend Mod Shoes to anyone as well as selling loafers they also sell brogues, boots and retro style trainers. 

http://www.modshoes.co.uk/

All the above images were taken by myself.

Never too old to Rock!

After reading a few newspaper reviews of The Who's performance on the 23rd March, I have become angry and upset with the feedback from this gig. As I am a massive fan of this band this review may read as very one sided but so did the newspaper articles I read. 

I will start with the complete truth of how I felt the gig went.

The Who are touring their 50th anniversary, the two original London dates were cancelled last year after Roger Daltrey became ill and was advised by his doctors to rest his voice. Now every Who fan knows that Roger gives it 110% when he sings, to bring across the brilliantly written Pete Townshend songs - Love, Reign O'er Me was in the middle of the set and it did not disappoint. Daltrey sang it like he would have done in the 70's, with sheer passion - the scream bellowed through the O2. 

Now I must admit I noticed that Daltrey did forget a few lyrics and missed a few song queue's but his only human!! I mean bloody hell, if you were still rocking at the age of 71 I think the whole stadium would let you off if you had a few slip ups a long the way. I remember being told that Richard Ashcroft had once forgot the words to Bittersweet Symphony and Liam Gallagher had to save the day by singing the rest of the song as Ashcroft's mind had just gone blank. I am sure it's every singers fear to forget the words....but it happens. 

The band is still full of energy, Pete is bouncing around and windmilling, his playing was fantastic as it always is. It made my night that A Quick One While His Away was still on the set list and that Townshend also introduced the song by mentioning their fabulous performance on The Rolling Stones Rock & Roll Circus. I felt like not a lot of the crowd knew what that song was. Why not?! Although its one of The Who's more light hearted songs, it doesn't make it any less better than some of their other hits. Daltrey cracked out the harmonica for a few songs including Magic Bus and it was on point! His one of the artists who made the harmonica popular in the 60's and man is he good at it - he has that blues sound perfect. 

I now associate Zak Starkey as a member of The Who, so I get just excited to see him as I do about seeing Townshend and Daltrey. Last time I saw The Who it was the Quadrophenia tour and to my dismay Zak wasn't drumming on that tour! So seeing him this time round was great, his a fantastic replacement for Keith Moon. Zak has great energy when he plays and OK he doesn't fill in every gap in a song but he does bring the same power house to each song which Keith originally brought to the band. 

Without going through every song on the set list and telling you what was great about it because I shouldn't have to - The Who have been around for 50 years and this tour proves that they have some of the greatest songs in the history of British music. 

Townshend made a comment while introducing the first song of the night I Can't Explain, saying that 'This song was written before most of you were fucking born' and his right there was a lot of young people there celebrating The Who's 50th anniversary. It proves that The Who's music still makes an impact on youngsters today and that's why for me The Who will live on in music for another 50 years and longer. 

The camera on my phone was broken when I went to the gig so all the images and videos used are not my images.

Welcoming Holly Ringsell Owner of Dark Side Comics UK

I'm sure most of you by now are aware of my geeky side, I'm a reader of comic books, a watcher of superhero films and I will be attending my first comic convention this weekend. 

Holly helps me with my comic obsessions as she owns Dark Side Comics UK which is based in Essex  http://www.darksidecomics.co.uk/

Luckily Holly agreed to have a little chat with me to share our passion for everything geeky. 

What gave you the idea to open your own comic book shop?
It has been a lifelong passion, for me to be able to do something I really love!

What attracts you to comic books?
I've been reading them since I was little, partly due to my dad introducing them to me. I've always loved reading anyway, so the combination of that with the wonderful artwork and amazing characters is a no-brainer.

Do you have any recommendations of the best comics and novels to read at the moment?
Comic-wise, Lady Killer, Bitch Planet, Feathers, Goners, Operation SIN, Thor, Secret Six, The Unbeatable & Squirrel Girl.
Graphic-wise, Deadly Class, Chew, Saga, Sex Criminals, Legendary Star Lord, All-New Ghost Rider, The Legend of Luther Strode, Black Widow, Ms Marvel, Rat Queens, Captain America, Winter Soldier & The Wild's End which should be due out in graphic novel soon too. I could probably list billion.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I don't get much spare time! But if I do find any, it's usually spent playing video games, drawing, reading, watching movies or at the Zoo.

As a cosplayer what has been your favourite costume so far?
Hmm that favourite costumes that I've done, probably Batwoman or my custom Sith.

Do you have an idea of what other characters you would like to cosplay in the future?
I have plenty of ideas but never enough time! Star Lord, Winter Solider, Captain America, Silk or Spider-Woman, Josie from Lady Killer, Peggy Carter...There's probably a new character I want to cosplay every week! 

Is there anything you can suggest to my readers which will help them with starting up their own business?
Research, research, research! 

The above images were not taken by myself, these have been sourced from Holly.

Valentine's Day Gift Guide

Here is my Valentine's Day gift guide of the things I think you need to buy your other half this year.

For the Geek - Dark Side Comics:

Pop! Breaking Bad Jesse Pinkman £11.99
http://www.darksidecomics.co.uk/


For the Mod - Calle Modista:

Paisley Turquoise Delight Scarf £25
http://www.callemodista.com/


For the Biker - SWS of London

1951 Mexican Skull Ring £55
http://www.swsoflondon.com/


For the Trendy - RAP

All Seeing Eye Baseball Tee £10.99
http://rubiesandpoison.co.uk/