The toiletries that are coming on my trip

My parents are coming up to Scotland and we are going to take a trip on the west coast.  Normally I would take the least amount of toiletries possible, but, as I'm using up and testing different products, I taking quite a bit more than usual.  In the future this should get less and less as I use up my products and start finding more multi use items.

So, starting with the teeth.  I'm bringing my Lush Atomic Tooth Powder to carry on testing while I'm away, which should give me long enough to see if it's going to have any negative impact on my sensitive teeth.  My toothbrush is a Monte Blanco (which I think is now called Yaweco).  I've used this toothbrush for many years and I love the fact that you only need to change the head of the toothbrush and not the whole brush.  You can get natural bristles, but this one is nylon as I'm trying to remove animal products the items I use.  The last item is just common old dental floss.  At the moment I'm just using this up , but will start looking for a more natural products later.

I'm taking the usual sun block with me, especially as I always put an spf on my face.  Jason is one of my favourite companies and I really like this face suncream.  It sinks in well, isn't too white, and not that oily.  The body suncream is the Green People sunblock that I got free with a The Vegan Kind subscription.  I've liked it so far, but have only had the chance to test it a couple of times.  I might get a bit more of a chance to use this this holiday.

Obviously I would normally only bring one deodorant with me, but I want to carry on testing the Native Unearthed natural deodorant (also from The Vegan Kind subscription box) which has been working well so far on an opposite day basis with my normal deodorant.  This holiday I'm going to try and use it a few days in a row to see.

I was going to bring one of my shampoo bars with me, but I'm still getting used to using them along with trying to find the right apple cider vinegar to water ratio for my hair type.  Because of that I decided it would be easier to just bring some testers with me and, as I have enjoyed other products from John Masters Organic, I thought I would try these shampoos.  I only have to wash my hair twice a week so only 2 samples are needed and, as my hair has been doing fine without conditioner, I didn't bother getting any.  I did umm and ahh about taking the Wella product from my project pan with me, but as I'm so close to finishing this I thought I would put it in.  While it is unlikely I could finish this over the holiday, I can put a good dent in it.

I am, of course, taking my usual face products.  These are my home made face oil (I've already written a blog about this here), my toner of witch hazel and nothing else, and my new Jason Vitamin E cream face moisturiser.  You really don't need a lot of the last one so I've just decanted a small amount into a glass jar to take with me.  I won't even use all of this, but the amount is just in case other areas of my body get dry.

For lips I using up my Korres lip butter in Mango, which is nice but not as moisturising as I would like for a night lip treatment (it's also tinted), and a lip balm by Sweet Snuggles which smells of vanilla.  I'd never heard of this brand before, but brought a pack of these from Superdrug when I had really chapped lips and nothing to moisturise them with.  It does the job and smells lovely, there's not much else I can say about it.

I didn't want to bring a big tub of body moisturiser with me on this trip as I already had so much other stuff with me.  So I did a big moisturising section before I set off and, instead, brought just the tiny pot of Lush Charity Pot moisturiser (small but very effective) and the Lavera Intensive Care Hand Cream.  While this cream is labelled for the hands I have found it to also be effective for my elbows, feet, and other dry patches - so a nice all rounder.

The last of the general toiletries are my Travalo containing the Jean Paul Gaultier perfume I am trying to use up, my favourite Aloe Vera soap by Friendly Soap (I have quite literally brought about 10 of these) and a razor.  This is one of the last disposable razors I have and I am looking to either use the No! No! I've had for years but never really used or to buy a safety razor and use this instead.

Lastly, the only cosmetics I am bringing with me is the nail varnish (with the usual required base coat, top coat and nail varnish remover) that I am concentrating on using up in this section of project pan.  The polish is the Max Factor Glossfinity varnish in Raspberry Blush and it's already starting to thicken up so I don't think I'll get many more applications out of it.  The camera on my phone seems to have washed the nail varnish remover out, but it is the Zoya 3 in 1 varnish remover.  Pretty effective, though I have heard that it causes peeling on your nails and I have noticed a little peeling on mine.

Next time I travel I hope to have a lot less than this, but it will all depend, of course, on how much I've been able to go through for my project pans.

Mini Film Review: Chemerical

I found this film while I was researching possible substances that could be aggravating / intensifying my allergies.  I had been aware that research into some of the chemicals found in our everyday products had been shown to make some breathing and skin issues worse and as I have dust mite allergies and sometimes get eczema I decided it would probably be a good idea to make sure I wasn't making things worse.

This was a good alround movie which not only covered the products we use in our homes and on our bodies, but also the issues with industries being allowed to release chemicals into our environment and the negative impact this is having on our general health.  I had already been making my own cleaning products at this point but, after watching the Goode family who have been convinced by the director and producer (Andrew Nisker) to try going toxic free by making their own product, I decided take the plunge and make my own laundry powder.  It also made me look even more into what products I actually using on myself and to research more what products I could actually make myself.

Despite the serious subject matter and the stories of the individuals which are being seriously effective by these chemicals, this film does have a humorous side which makes watching this a lot easier.  My favourite bit, though, wasn't the watching the Goode family really take to make their own less toxic products or the humorous side to the film, but was the interest Andrew Nisker had with the microbiologist Dr. Donald Low.  Despite his profession he doesn't fill his home with antibacterial everything, but instead cleans everything with good old fashioned soap and water.  In fact, he points out that the use of antibacterial products actually increases the chances of the bacteria become resistant. 

So what's recommended as cleaning products:

• soap - tick
• water - tick
• vinegar - tick
• baking soda - tick
• essential oils - tick

I have definitely found that, since changing over, I've had less issues with my breathing, eyes, and skin, and I really notice the synthetic scents of products that I really didn't notice before.  It's also good on the purse strings and have saved me a fair amount of money.

This film is definitely worth a watch if you're wanting to know more about the man made chemicals we find all around us and possible ways of reducing what you find in your home.

You can get this movie from their own website or off amazon.

Natural Facial Oils

The oil stage of the nightly face regime isn't something that everyone needs to do, but I have found that adding oil to my face (before the moisturiser) has done a good job at helping to keep my face soft and moisturised.

I've tried a number of tester face oils in the past and have really enjoyed the way they felt and the effect they had on my skin, but the Dr Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Facial Oil is the first oil that was brought and tried in full.  My Mum actually got it for me for Christmas and then I brought it again from Holland and Barrett when it ran out.  This oil smelt amazing and it was really nice rubbing it into my skin.  It sank in pretty well, though it did sometimes feel like some residue was left on my face.  However, it don't mind this feeling so it didn't bother me too much.  The packaging says that it's suitable for vegetarians, but a look at the ingredients show that it's actually vegan and Dr Organic is cruelty free (though pending it's status on Logical Harmony).  If I was going to buy a premade face oil again this would definitely be on my list, but I decided to give mixing my own a go.  In fact, the oil in the picture is actually my own concoction in the Dr Organic bottle which I reused to not only reduce waste but also because it works so well. 

These are the oils I now use to make my own facial oil.  They are based on the fact that my skin tends to be dry and scars easily, usually after the rare times I do get a spot and in connection to one of my treatments connected to having PCOS.  The two main oils I use are Jojoba and Avocado.  This is usually in a 50 / 50 consistency but I will change that depending on what my skin is going, using more Avocado oil when my skin is particularly dry.  Jojoba oil is a good allrounder, good for both hair and skin, and used by Native American tribes for years.  Jojoba oil is unique to other oils as it closely resembles our own waxy sebum which conditions our skin.  I do sometimes use it on it's own and, because it's a wax, it doesn't feel oily or greasy on the skin and always feels like it's absorbed completely into the skin.  I use it because it acts to replace our own sebum which gets stripped off every time we wash and the Jojoba oil acts as a protective layer on my skin which moisturises my skin and helps prevent my mild eczema from flaring up.  Avocado oil is one of the thickest, most nourishing of the oils as it contains large quantities of palmitoleic acid (a fatty acid found naturally in human adipose or fat tissues.  The idea is that as the body recognises this as a fatty acid as something familiar it absorbs into the skin's lower layers providing nourishment.  It is usually recommended for more mature skin, but I love it for the fact that it is so moisturising and is a natural inflammatory, helping with any allergies or eczema.  It also helps with any scarring I have.

The other oils I probably don't need to add, but I like putting them in.  The first is Rosehip oil (which usually makes up 10% of my oil mixture) which contains Vitamin A and high concentration of alpha-linolenic acid, which are good for reducing irritation and fading scars.  You almost always need to mix this with other carrier oils.  The last is an essential oil, Frankincense in fact.  This is the only essential oil I use in my face oil, but it's a great essential oil.  For me it's the regenerative properties that makes this a great oil which helps with any scarring I have, but I also use it to help with the pigmentation around my mouth that started when I fit 30 and I have to say that it's been very effective on that front.  If I was to add another essential oil then it would probably be Clay Sage, which is meant to be good at regulating the production of sebum helping with dry skin, but I'm happy with what I have at the moment.

So the makeup of my homemade facial oil at the moment is:

• 45% Jojoba oil (may vary)
• 45% Avocado oil (may vary)
• 10% Rosehip oil
• 5 - 10 drops of Frankincense

I love this combination but, if my research into oils has taught me anything, it's that all the oils have some benefit for almost all skin types (whether oily or dry) and it's just about finding a combination that suits you or just that you like.

Dr Organic Moroccan Argan Oil Facial Oil can be found at Holland & Barrett.

I brought the oils from Mystic Moments (you can get other things for making soaps etc).

A good resource I've found for information regarding oils is Natural Living Ideas.

Project Pan 17 Update #2 and Other Products

I have to admit that I really thought that this month was going to be one of those months where I didn't finish anything.  So I'm very happy that I have managed to get rid of one product as least.

And that product is the Bourjois Color Boost in Orange Punch.  I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this product.  The colour was lovely and very vibrant, but it was a little too glossy for me and didn't have a very long staying power (even when drinking through a straw).  I also had to wear my Urban Decay lip liner in Ozone to make sure that it didn't migrate into the very fine lines I have around my mouth.  But it you like glossy, lip balm like products I think you would like this.  I actually didn't use the NYX Butter Gloss this month at all as I didn't notice any further change in the products smell.  It will be what I'm using in March though.  While I've been trying to up date my information on products that are cruelty free I have found that, while Bourjois is meant to still be cruelty free itself, it does sell products in China.  So I won't buy anymore products from them.

As with the eyeshadows before, I have been concentrating on using up the pink / purple shadow from the H&M palette, the purple Body Shop shadow I can't remember the name of and the Body Shop shadow in Coconut About Me, with the Natural Collection shadow in Sea Shell as a highlighter.  The progress has been steady and I will keep using all of them except the purple H&M shadow throughout March as I start wearing a more smokey look to go with the NYX Butter Gloss.  I've stopped working on the Natural Collection shadow in Sable for now as I've been using the H&M shadow as a base shadow.

There's not much I can say about the Barbara Day eye primer, the MUA powder foundation in Shade 4, and the Bourjois blush in Ceidre 48 as, despite wearing all these products on a daily basis, there is no evident progress.  I'm hoping at some point one of these will suprise, but for now I'll just keep plodding along.  I'm not sure about Barbara Day and can't really find much information about it, but MUA is cruelty free (though it is in the grey area section in Logical Harmony so I will keep an eye on that).

The progress on the Soap & Glory Smoulder Kohl Waterproof Eyeliner in Superblack has been very similar to that during January.  At this rate it will definitely be finished by the end of the year, but I'm hoping to see more progress during March as I change my make up look to that with a smokey eye.  Soap & Glory is cruelty free according to their website, but is in the grey area on Logical Harmony's cruelty free page. Will keep looking on this as well.

My progress on the Wella System Professional Polish Cream has been much better this year than lasts and carrying it in my bag to apply whenever I remember is probably what has been helping.  It is an old product and does help at reducing the amount of frizzy, but other than that I don't notice a huge difference in my hair and the oils I would normally use are much more effective.  It is so close to being finished though, so I will keep going.  Wella is not cruelty free and I won't buy their products again.

As last month I've been just wearing the Max Factor Glossfinity nail polish in Raspberry Blush.  I usually have to reapply this every three days as it doesn't seem to last the admin work much longer.  Theoretically I should have been further down than this, but, as before, I don't always want to wear polish.  Must do better this month.  The colour is nice, but I won't buy this again as Max Factor is not cruelty free.

The Jean Paul Gaultier Eau De Parfum is also a product I've been using on a daily basis, but as the scent is such a strong, long lasting one I don't have to reapply at any point so the progress is slow.  I am hoping to get this finished by the end of the year, but I won't hold my breath.  I still can't find if Jean Paul Gaultier is cruelty free but will keep searching.

The last products aren't in any specific project, but are items that I've been working on as a general downsizing of all my products.  The first is one of my favourite moisturisers, The Body Shop's Body Butter in Smoky Poppy.  I succumbed last year and brought another two when they went on sale, and this is the last one.  The body butter is great for my dry skin and I love the smelly, just the right amount of lightness and sweetness.  Unfortunately they don't make this anymore or I probably would have continued buying this and part of me wished I'd brought even more.  I am now just down to using my shea butter as a body moisturiser.  It's very oily, but is exactly what my dry skin needs and that's now just one body moisturiser.  I also used up the last of my Dr Organic Organic Virgin Coconut Oil lip balm.  This was one that I used during the day as it had SPF.  It was very effective at keeping my lips soft and doesn't seem to have any ingredients that actually dry out my skin.  The only thing that I didn't like about this was the slightly odd taste it left in my mouth.  According to their packaging Dr Organic does not test on animals and is in the pending section on Logical Harmony.

It seems to be the month of using up the back ups of the same products.  A little while ago I wanted to try Bioderma Micellar Water that everyone is talking about and brought a double pack off Amazon.  This is the last one and while it did a very good job at removing my make up without hurting my eyes I won't be buying this again as Bioderma is not cruelty free.  Lastly is the Desert Essence Tropical Breeze Deodorant.  This was one of the deodorant's that a friend of mine sent to me from Canada to help me try and find a more natural deodorant.  Unfortunately this wasn't very effective, I usually had to reapply it at around lunch time and, as before, the tea tree smells too similar to my natural smell, which I find disconcerting.  I couldn't use it on a daily basis as it became less effective after each day and I had a reaction to it.  There isn't any biocarb in it so it must have been the corn starch.  So, back to looking for another natural deodorant.

To see my previous posts on my 2017 Project Pan:

• Introduction
• Project Pan Update #1