Green Beauty: LoveLula Beauty Box - February 2021 review

Treat yourself to a LoveLula Beauty Box subscription, and every month you'll receive a box full of natural, organic and cruelty-free products from a wide range of exciting brands. Curious to find out more? Here's what's inside this month's box.

Bass Brushes Bio-Flex Style & Detangle Brush (RRP £15.99)

Made with low carbon production, this clever patented Bass hairbrush has been created using sustainable materials so that it's kinder to the environment. The handle is crafted from Bio-Flex, a unique combination of corn, potato and cassava starch which is strong and durable, but when it comes to the end of its life, it will biodegrade into carbon dioxide and water making it an ideal fertilizer. The bristles are made from 100% wood pins which can withstand the heat of hairdryers, unlike nylon pins that melt over time, so this brush will offer excellent styling and detangling properties for a long time!

Sukin Natural Balance Shampoo & Conditioner Travel Duo

Free from sulphates, silicones and harsh chemicals, this haircare duo from Sukin promises to be gentle for your hair and scalp, and keeps everything nicely balanced for healthy-looking hair. I'm always interested in trying out new shampoos and conditioners as my hair is notoriously fussy, so I'm looking forward to testing these out shortly.

Woobamboo Toothbrush (RRP £4.99)

It's never been easier to swap your single-use plastic toothbrush for a more sustainable alternative thanks to brands such as Woobamboo. Made with natural and biodegradable, fast-growing bamboo, this toothbrush works as well as a mainstream toothbrush, just with 95% less plastic. LoveLula has also included a mini Bubble Berry Toothpaste that kids and adults can try out with it.

Naturtint Strengthening Shampoo & Conditioner Bar (RRP £12.99)

Finally, that last product in this month's LoveLula box is a zero-waste Shampoo & Conditioner Bar from Naturtint.  Each bar delivers around 75-90 washes which is the equivalent of three bottles of 300ml liquid shampoo so that's saving a lot of plastic waste in your bathroom! This solid strengthening formula is 99% natural and is perfect for weak and damaged hair types.

LoveLula Beauty Box* is a monthly subscription box priced at £13.95 with free postage in the UK. Visit lovelula.com to find out more.

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Health & Lifestyle: Get Glowing Skin with HUM Nutrition Mighty Night & Glow Sweet Glow Supplements

Achieving healthy-looking, glowy skin isn't easy during a pandemic, but these goals can become more achievable with some help from HUM Nutrition supplements.

Whilst supplements are no substitute for a healthy and varied diet, they can definitely help during busy or stressful times when you want to make sure that you're getting everything that your skin and body needs to look and feel its best. With this in mind, I was excited to try out some supplements from HUM Nutrition, a high-end, Los Angeles based brand that you can find stocked in the UK via Cult Beauty. 

HUM has a huge range of supplements that are vegan-friendly, GMO-free, have no artificial colours or preservatives, and use only sustainably sourced ingredients.

Let's check out two of their bestsellers; Mighty Night and Glow Sweet Glow.

HUM Nutrition Mighty Night* (60 capsules, £44, link)

We've all heard that getting a good night's sleep is essential for our physical and mental health, and the term 'beauty sleep' reminds us that it's important for our skin as well. Mighty Night is a specialised dietary supplement that helps to boost overnight cell renewal for the skin and body. You know how your evening face serum or overnight sleeping mask helps your skin whilst you sleep? Well, this does the same, but from within, so it works well alongside your existing skincare routine.

Mighty Night's key superstar is Ubiquinol which is the most absorbable and bio-available form of CoQ10 that helps to repair the skin's natural barrier, strengthening and smoothing it over time. Other skincare friendly ingredients include Ceramides to support the lipid barrier (a must if you have dry skin issues) and a dose of Ferulic Acid, an anti-ageing antioxidant that protects against free radicals.

That's not all though as Mighty Night also includes a triple blend of natural herb extracts, Passionflower, Hops and Valerian Root, all of which have been proven in clinical trials to promote a good night's sleep. 

How to: take two easy to swallow, vegan-friendly soft gel capsules with a glass of water before going to bed. I find that you need to take these every night for at least two weeks before you start to see the benefits, but it is different for everyone.

HUM Nutrition Glow Sweet Glow* (60 gummies, £27.25, link)

If you don't need the added sleep benefits of Mighty Night but are still looking for a daily supplement to help boost your skin's health, I'd recommend trying HUM Glow Sweet Glow instead. These vegan-friendly, heart-shaped gummies are packed with 120mg of low-molecular Hyaluronic Acid to keep your skin hydrated and plumped up for longer, as well as 15mg (100%) of Vitamin E to ramp up healthy collagen production. To help your skin to glow, there's also 90mg (100%) of Vitamin C (as Ascorbic Acid) derived from Amla Fruit, known for its brightening and skin-shielding properties. 

How to: take two gummies a day at any time, with or without food. As before, I'd recommend choosing a supplement that you can afford to stick with on a regular basis as the best results for your skin will be seen the longer you take them, but you should see a difference within 30 days to begin with.

Shop the full range at CultBeauty.co.uk

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The Weekend Post: Personalised Cute Animals Socks from The Sock Butler

There's a lot to be excited about when your life seems to now revolve around waiting for the postie to deliver your subscription boxes! From DIY burger kits, new books, Gin deliveries and of course, the monthly beauty boxes, opening up a subscription box really does instantly brighten up my mediocre day!

The most exciting package I've received recently which has made me smile so much has been these adorable personalised socks from The Sock Butler.

I mean, have you ever seen anything so damn cute?!

The Sock Butler is a monthly subscription box that delivers new socks straight to your door. Not only does it make an awesome gift for the person who has everything, but I feel it's a really fun and practical treat for yourself as well.

When you sign up to The Sock Butler, you can choose how many pairs of socks you'd like to receive each month and you can select your favourite sock style (men's and women's are available). These include a wide variety of options such as Classic, Fun, Sport and Trainer styles to pick from, or if you can't choose, you can let The Sock Butler select for you with a Surprise option.

Prices start from £6.49 for one pair per month and you can save extra money with 6 and 12-month subscription lengths, with the option to cancel at any time. There's free UK delivery too.

I was very kindly gifted a sample box to show you all and I couldn't be happier with the designs that The Sock Butler chose for me! I requested something cute with animals and these socks really do tick all of those boxes. As an extra bonus, I opted for their personalised service which has embroidered EVE onto each pair - I love them all!

I'm also impressed with the high quality of these socks. The Sock Butler work with a range of luxury brands such as Pringle, SockShop Wild Feet, Glenmuir and Jeff Banks so you're guaranteed to receive a high-end product every time. My socks are from SockShop Wild Feet and they are ultra-soft and comfortable.

 

Subscribe at TheSockButler.co.uk

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Foodie Friday: The Ultimate Lockdown Banana Bread Recipe - Vegan Chocolate & Caramelized Pecan Banana Bread #LoveFoodHateWaste

Adapted from one of my favourite vegan cookbooks, the original BOSH!, I've perfected the ultimate homemade Banana Bread recipe. It's rich, indulgent and is truly the best way to use up any leftover bananas that are going brown in your fruit bowl!

As it's been almost a whole year of on and off lockdowns since the pandemic began, it's safe to say that I have experimented with a LOT of banana bread recipes over that time. Banana bread is really easy to make which perhaps explains why it caused a baking sensation when the first lockdown happened last year, and to be honest, it's difficult to go wrong with any recipe that you try.

However, I am a bit of a perfectionist and after testing out over 40 different banana bread recipes, I've discovered 'the one' from BOSH! The original recipe is near damn perfect in my opinion, especially if you're looking for a vegan version, but part of the fun of cooking and baking for me is to adapt recipes, so here it is - my take on the famous BOSH! Banana Bread recipe with a seriously indulgent twist that amplifies it to the next level!

The key difference is that I've opted to use half the amount of sugar because I've added in more chocolate, and I've used caramelized pecans instead of just regular pecans for an extra sweet hit. My version also uses less non-dairy butter and a bit more non-dairy milk to make the bread softer and more cake-like, so the final product is the perfect afternoon (or let's face it, anytime) treat. 

Ingredients (makes 1 Banana Bread loaf)

• 250g Self-Raising Flour
• 75g Coconut or Light Brown Sugar
• 2 tbsp Cacao Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 50g non-dairy Butter
• 3 large & very ripe Bananas (the browner/blacker, the sweeter they will be)
• 75ml non-dairy Milk (I used Almond Milk)
• 1 tbsp Maple Syrup
• 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 100g vegan Dark Chocolate
• 50g Caramelized Pecans (or you can use regular pecans)

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 170C / Gas Mark 3 and line a loaf tin with baking paper, set aside.
• Pour all the ingredients except the Dark Chocolate and Pecans into a food processor and blend into a thick mixture. You may need to take the blade out and scrape down the sides once or twice during this process to ensure everything is nicely mixed together.
• Break the Dark Chocolate and Pecans into small pieces and with a wooden spoon. Gently stir them into the mixture.
• Pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin and bake in the oven for 1 hour. Check that it's cooked in the middle by inserting a skewer into the middle of the loaf - it should come out clean. If not, bake for a further 5 minutes and try again. 
• Once baked, carefully remove the loaf from the tin and allow it to cool before slicing and serving. Try a slice with ice cream, custard, cream or simply with a cup of tea or hot chocolate. Enjoy!

What's your favourite banana bread recipe?

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