Plastic-Free Haircare: Biovène Barcelona Moisture Volume Solid Shampoo & Conditioner review #ZeroWaste

You may be well aware of solid bars of shampoo, which are fast becoming the norm in eco-conscious households, but did you know that solid hair conditioners are a thing too?! Meet Biovéne Barcelona - the easy way to become completely plastic-free for all your daily hair care needs.

There's rarely a week that goes by when I don't come across a new plastic-free beauty brand, and my latest find is Biovène Barcelona. This award-winning, socially conscious company hails from Barcelona, Spain which is one of my favourite cities in the whole world thanks to its diversity, architecture, and the countless amazing restaurants where you can find a gourmet veggie burger at 4am! 

Biovène Barcelona embraces this unique inclusivity from its homeland, and has created a range of completely plastic-free haircare which feels premium, yet is accessible and affordable - everything is priced at just £5.99. They also readily champion the Clean Beauty movement with transparent formulas which are free from a long list of 'nasties' such as Sulfates, SLS, SLES, Parabens, Formaldehyde, Phthalates, Mineral Oil, Retinyl Palmitate, Palm Oil, Oxybenzone, Hydroquinone, Triclosan and Triclocarban, and there's less than 1% synthetic fragrance in their products. 

I love these clear statements on the side of their packaging (see above) - it makes it so much easier for consumers to shop for proper green beauty when a brand is so proud of what they make!

Biovène Barcelona currently has five different sets of pH balanced Solid Shampoos and Conditioners available to suit all hair types and concerns, and I have recently been testing out the Moisture Volume duo which is formulated for normal, fine and oily hair types.

Biovène Barcelona Moisture Volume Solid Shampoo* (40g, £5.99)

I find that many solid shampoos I've tried in the past have a tendency to weigh down my fine hair, so I was curious to try this Moisture Volume Solid Shampoo to see if it would buck the trend. With key natural ingredients such as Apple Cider Vinegar, Biotin, Shea Butter, Beeswax, Macadamia Oil and Vitamin E, this light green coloured solid bar promises to volumise fine hair, giving it extra strength and resilience, whilst keeping it hydrated and preventing product build-up. To use it, I simply added water to the bar to create a light lather and then massaged the lather into wet hair. It smells really fresh and left my hair thoroughly clean without feeling 'squeaky' or dry afterwards. I didn't notice any extra volume though.

Biovène Barcelona Moisture Volume Solid Conditioner* (40g, £5.99)

After enjoying a positive experience with the shampoo, I followed up with the matching Solid Conditioner with high hopes but sadly, I was left disappointed. The Conditioner has similar ingredients to the shampoo - there's Biotin, Apple Cider Vinegar, Shea Butter, Beeswax and Macadamia Oil etc, however, it just felt a bit waxy and sticky in consistency. I followed the instructions and applied the bar directly to my hair, smoothing it over and leaving it on for 5 minutes before rinsing. After rinsing, my hair unfortunately felt very tangled and sticky, which didn't improve after I got out of the shower and left it to air dry. I tried a couple of different methods after that, including wetting the bar between my hands and then smoothing the conditioner onto my hair, but the results proved to be much the same with my hair feeling dry with a waxy residue left on it, despite numerous rinses.

Overall thoughts?

I can definitely recommend the Moisture Volume Solid Shampoo, but my hair just didn't like the Solid Conditioner sadly! I may be tempted to try some of the other conditioners in the future to see how different the formulas are though - fingers crossed.

Shop the full range of Biovène Barcelona plastic-free haircare at LoveLula.com

Have you tried plastic-free haircare?

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Foodie Friday: Fried Padrón Peppers AKA Spanish Tapas Roulette #SummerBBQ

Whether it's gloriously sunny or pours it down this Bank Holiday weekend, you can still make these tasty Fried Padrón Peppers on a BBQ or in your frying pan, whatever the weather!

Padrón Peppers traditionally come from the region of the same name in northwestern Spain, and they are a popular tapas side throughout much of the country. Although they're now available all year round due to being grown in greenhouses, they are best eaten when they're at their freshest in the peak season from the end of May to October, so now's a great time to try them if you've yet to experience them.

The most common way to enjoy padróns is to simply fry them up with a little Olive Oil and Garlic, and allow their skins to blister which makes the peppers almost melt in your mouth when you eat them. A liberal sprinkling of Salt finishes them off beautifully and you'll soon see why they're such popular snacks in bars as they go down very well with a cold drink or two ;)

Watch out though, whilst most padrón peppers are relatively mild heat-wise, it's estimated that 1 in 10 may be pretty damn hot (hence the nickname Spanish Tapas Roulette) and there's no way to tell which ones they'll be, so fry up a batch and live a little dangerously!

Ingredients:-

• Padrón Peppers - 5 or 6 per person as a starter/side
• 1 Garlic Clove - per person
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea Salt

Method:-

• Drizzle Olive Oil into a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the Garlic Clove whole.
• Wash your Padrón Peppers and pat them dry, before adding them to the pan whole. Depending on the size of your pan, you should be able to cook two portions at the same time.
• Allow them to sizzle in the pan for a few minutes and start to blister on one side, before turning them over. Fry for another few minutes until they start to go brown.
• Remove from the pan, plate them up and sprinkle a generous amount of Salt all over. You can use a good quality Sea Salt or an infused Chilli Salt depending on your personal tastes. Enjoy!

Have you tried Padrón Peppers?

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Luxury Skincare: Dafna's Eye Care & Revival Bio-Active Beauty Mask review

If you haven't heard of Dafna's before, they are Spain's most exciting luxury and organic skincare brand, and they recently won the Best International Skincare Brand 2018 at the Beauty Shortlist Awards. Dafna's have been making waves across the green beauty world for some time now, and I imagine that they're going to be catching the eye of many beauty editors and skincare gurus fairly soon. 

The overall concept behind Dafna's is to marry luxury organic ingredients with the newest advances in pioneering biotechnology, and they also take inspiration from the Slow Beauty movement too. Couple those ethics with a hefty dose of Ayurvedic philosophy, and you have a natural skincare brand that's going to appeal to a wide consumer base of people who enjoy taking the very best care of their skin. Slick, minimalistic, black glass packaging houses their innovative clean formulas, which are all free of parabens, unnatural preservatives, silicones and other petroleum derivatives, artificial fragrances and unnecessary additives. 

I've had the pleasure of trying out two products from Dafna's recently; their Eye Care, which I've been trialling for about six weeks now, and their popular Revival Bio-Active Beauty Mask, that arrived on my doorstep at the start of the month.

Dafna's Eye Care* (20ml, £50, link)

The skin around your eyes is the thinnest of the whole body, so it's no wonder that the first signs of ageing show up here, and if your under eye area is anything like mine, they may be super dry too, which makes fine lines appear even more visible. Needless to say, splashing out on a high-quality eye cream is a worthy investment, and Dafna's Eye Care is certainly one to try if you're concerned with puffiness, dark circles and fine lines. 

The convenient inbuilt pump dispenses a small amount of product which is loaded with 16 potent natural actives, which all work in synergy to create a powerful anti-ageing treatment for the delicate eye area. There's Chicory Root and Hydrolyzed Soy Protein to enhance healthy collagen production, whilst Rosehip Oil tackles the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Aloe Vera and Calendula extract are also included to reduce puffiness which is something that I struggle with in the mornings (I'm certainly not an early bird!). 

I was expecting this Eye Care to be on the heavy side, as most anti-ageing targeted formulas typically are, but I was pleasantly surprised by its incredibly light and gel-like texture which makes it feel more like a silky lotion. This absorbs into the skin beautifully without any stickiness, so it's great to use in the AM and/or PM as part of your regular skincare routine. Within just a week of using it daily, my under eyes were much smoother with all the visible morning puffiness gone, and in a month later, the skin felt much tighter and lifted overall, with my fine lines looking almost non-existent. No wonder this is a staple amongst the A-list Spanish actresses! 

Dafna's Revival Bio-Active Beauty Mask* (50ml, £78, link)

Coming in at an eye-watering £78, Dafna's Revival Bio-Active Beauty Mask is one of the most expensive face masks that has ever graced the surface of my complexion. It's not surprising then to learn that this mask has been specially formulated for regular jet-setters and busy city dwellers because this isn't something that you would use on skin that doesn't have any issues!

Instead, the Revival Bio-Active Beauty Mask is an intensive facial treatment that works on a two-phase basis. Firstly, it gives the skin an intensive shot of hydration with low-weight molecules of Hyaluronic Acid, whilst Ginseng and Reishi are included to energize and 'wake up' tired skin. The second phase then incorporates those tiny black particles that you can see in the mask below. These are pieces of encapsulated Charcoal which effectively draw out any free radicals on your skin, which in turn inhibits their oxidation impact, and gives your overall complexion a more balanced look (so it's brilliant for assisting with an uneven skin tone for example).  

To use it, you scoop out a small amount with the included spatula and gently 'tap' it onto a dry, clean face, making sure that you don't rub it in. Leave it on to do its thing for 5-10 minutes and then with damp fingers, massage the mask into the skin. This breaks up and activates the encapsulated Charcoal, and you need to allow it to work for a further 5 minutes before rinsing it off.

This is an incredible face mask to use if you've recently been travelling (especially if you've been flying and are suffering from jet lag), have spent a lot of time in a polluted city, and/or have had a  particularly busy and stressful week. It'll make you look like you've just had an expensive facial with the skin feeling fully hydrated and plumped up, whilst looking brighter, younger and simply more 'alive'. At this price point though, that's what I was expecting and it thankfully didn't disappoint.

Have you tried anything from Dafna's?

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