|| Naked Body Care || Company Review ||

Naked. What is it? Well not only is it one of the most wonderful body care ranges I have very come across, but it is also an astonishing 97% natural, and one of the most environmentally friendly, ethical, and animal friendly one I have encountered.

 To say I love this company would be an understatement in all honestly. I have been using Naked products fro around 6-7 years now, and I have to be honest with you readers, I’ve never found anything I like more. They use as many natural ingredients as possible and use no chemicals like parabens, SLS and petrochemicals.

“You may also ask why only 97% natural? Well, the remaining 3% is made up of things like the preservative system (stops the product going bad after opening) plus things like emulsifying agents which are necessary to stop ingredients from separating (we don’t like divorce). However some of our products are actually 99.5% natural as they didn’t need as much help to behave.” - Naked Team

Spoilt Rotten Coco de Mer Collection

As a person who tries to be as ‘eco-friendly’ and ethical as I can, this company couldn’t be closer to what I look for. I personally am a vegetarian, and have been for quite a few years now, and I briefly dabbled in veganism but found it that little bit to challenging. I also don’t wear leather when possible, and am against all animal-testing and the use of animals in fashion.

Naked is rare in that it doesn’t contain any ingredients derived from animals, with the exception of some products containing animal by-products such as milk, honey and beeswax. They are also against the testing of their products on animals, and as their products state: “We don’t believe in testing on Bambi, Lassie and Skippy.” (And of course any other animal.) From 2000 they have also operated a ‘Fixed Cut Off’ policy.

All of Naked’s packaging, from their bottles, to their webshop deliveries and company stationary is all derived from environmentally friendly materials and are all recyclable and many are produced from recycled materials: “We believe that recycling is a bit like karma – what goes around comes around.”

“The appearance of these bottles is slightly flawed – they have a greenish/brown tinge and the odd black fleck and may look poor quality. The truth is quite contrary as recycled materials are a more expensive option and great time and care is taken in sourcing them.  We haven’t passed on the cost to you though, as Naked has never increased its retail price since launch in 2005. We do believe that, with beauty, it’s what’s inside that counts and our fabulous lotions and potions look and smell as good, if not better, than they ever did.” Naked Team

Their products range from shampoos and conditioners, to bubble bath and shower gel, to hair styling products, to body and face creams. Anything you want from a body care company, they have, and with prices ranging from about £1.29, up to around £8.00. My personal favourite is the Bounce Curl Defining range, which if you read my blog, will know I have very curly hair and this particular product is wonderful for me. It tames my hair, but still keeping my signature curls intact. If its hair products you’re particularly interested in, I guarantee they’ll have one suited for your particular preference and hair type (so sorry if I’m wrong…)

Bounce Curl Defining Shampoo

Bounce Curl Defining Shampoo

"The Naked Story

The Naked story began when a mum of two was looking for affordable products to use on her children who had very sensitive skin. Scanning the list of ingredients she was not happy with what she read, considering all the other messages she was reading were about ‘nasties’ and ‘baddies’ in food and drink. At that point no one was questioning ingredients in branded toiletries so she decided to do something about it.

So Naked was born with a clear and simple concept – a brand that is safe, natural and free from harmful chemicals but is priced for everyday use. It can be used by women, men, babies, children and even the odd pampered pooch! We use the best natural ingredients with specific actions and real benefits, which still smell and feels like a special treat. But we don’t take ourselves too seriously despite our strict criteria!

Frizz Fighter Smoothing Serum
(Must be great - it's won awards!)

From the beginning, we wanted Naked to use only ethically sourced ingredients and we pride ourselves on using the best environmentally friendly packaging available, currently 50% PCR (Post Consumer Recycled) in all our bottles. We are also proud to support initiatives like the Oxfam Shinyanga project which brings clean water to children in Tanzania, something we take for granted every time we jump into the shower.Naked is not expensive and exclusive, yet it’s still desirable, ethical and environmentally friendly, but manages to look cool (and hopefully it will make you smile)! Above we want to give you fabulous products which feel and smell good despite what we leave out of the ingredient list..... We believe this is goodness in a bottle!"

The Naked Team

http://www.nakedbodycare.co.uk

I highly recommend all my readers to try Naked's wonderful products - if you don't you're missing out!

For any information on Naked and their products or story head to their website, Facebook page or their Twitter.

(All pictures are taken from the Naked website or Facebook page, and all quotes are direct from the Naked website.)

|| New Segment || What's In My Makeup Bag ||

Every woman (and occasionally some men) have one. Whether yours only contains 'the essentials': lip-gloss and concealer, or whether it is full of the beauty secrets behind your look. The Makeup Bag. Some are plain, while others are exciting. Some are full, while some others are barely even used. But we all have one.

My makeup bag is definitely something I couldn’t live without, (sounds undoubtedly shallow I know) but in all honestly I really don’t think I could. I have been prone to ‘Teenage Acne’ for as long as I can remember and concealer has coincided with being my best friend in those years. So in a sense I have always had a ‘makeup bag’. I suppose a makeup bag doesn’t have to be your typical run of the mill mini soap bag, which only holds makeup, it can in a sense be your soap-bag. I feel a makeup bag is literally whatever you hold your day-to-day makeup in, be that a standard ‘makeup bag’, or just scattered around your handbag.

Whilst applying my makeup for a day at college the other day, I thought; why not do a post of what’s in this small bag containing all my beauty secrets? So that’s what I’m doing.

This is the 'sacred' makeup bag. It was a gift my mum's best friend in New Zealand. I love it. It's the perfect size to hold all my makeup and I just think it's so pretty.

First item in the bag: my foundation. I've really struggled with foundation over the years, I've struggled with finding one that is the right colour for my complexion, doesn't make my skin flaky and actually does the job of covering my face and creating an even skin-tone. I actually got this particular one after my Grandma recommended it to me. It just makes my skin feel really smooth, and does the job it's supposed to without looking 'cakey'.

Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse - 010 Ivory 

(yes it's the palest colour...)

|| Mermaid Nails ||

Badgley Mischka; J. Mendel; Monique Lhuillier; Christian Siriano; Naeem Khan
Source

The mermaid look seems to be floating around everywhere at the moment. I think it's something to do with summer being finally here and a combination of the various hair styles that have been swamping the fashion world; such things as long beachy waves, and pastel coloured hair - a mermaid's dream.

I've seen so many references to the beautiful underwater sea-creatures through clothing, hair, jewellery and makeup, it seems that the fashion world can't get enough of it right now.

Mermaid inspired hair.
Source

Kate Hudson sporting the more
natural mermaid hair.

I personally am a massive fan of this look. I've always loved mermaids ever since I was a little girl, so now that fashion is incorporating the mythical creature into their looks I couldn't be more excited. I've always loved the 'beach-wave' and as I naturally have extremely curly hair I've always loved what it looks like when I come out the sea - all mermaid-esque.
On the left is more the more striking of mermaid hair, but the on the right Kate Hudson shows how you can get mermaid style hair without dying your hair blue. A simple way of getting these beachy waves (without making a trip to the beach) is using salt spray. There are many brands out there essentially selling the same sort of thing. They all give you effortlessly wavy hair that makes you look like you just stepped off the beach.

Another way of incorporating the 'mermaid-look' into you wardrobe without going all out and sprouting a tale and wearing a shell-bra, is with your nails. I'm absolutely loving this look at the moment, it's fresh and summery yet also girly and sophisticated.
Here is my own mermaid-style nails:

|| Demi Lovato - au natural ||

Many of you may have ready seen this picture, but I would just like to share this with those of you that haven't seen it.
Demi Lovato, as many of you know, has become as true inspiration to young men and women around the world, and particularly young girls and teenagers. She's helped changes the lives of many of them, and also helped to save lives.
This photo shows her being an even more inspirational young woman as she faces the world bare faced and beautiful as she tells all women that "WE are beautiful" and we don't need makeup to be.
She looks so beautiful in this picture and she inspires me to be brave and go natural!
An absolute inspiration to girls and women all around the world.

|| Review || Witch Anit-Blemish Tinted Moisturiser ||

Hello hello!
So this is my first ever post and review and it's quite exciting! So here goes: so I got this tinted moisturiser for my birthday from my mum. I love it, so I thought I'd say what I love about it.

Personally I am quite a spotty person and have tried hundreds of skin care products and have finally found the right routine (with some help from the doctor), but being prone to spots its been hard to find a foundation or concealer that is one: in my price range, two: the right colour, and three: doesn't make my spots worse. I haven't been very productive, but I'm sure the more expensive ones are great and work well but I obviously cannot afford them... But then my mum got me this. I have quite a dry face, and without enough moisturiser my skin becomes tight and dry so I do need a lot, and for me this doesn't have enough moisture in it to satisfy my face so I use my normal Simple everyday moisturiser and then the tinted. But it may be okay for you, so I recommend trying it before you jump right in.
They have an okay range of colours, but for my funny skin they have a great colour. I use 01 Light and it seems to work well for me. I have quite a pale, but slightly pinky complexion so this works well at giving me a more matte look. I find that if you have an area that you really want covered (a large blemish, or bags etc), add a dab of foundation or concealer with your finger to the area works well just as long as the colour is right!

WARNING: remember it isn't foundation so it isn't going to cover your face, and all the pimples - what it does is give you a more matte look, control shine and provide medium coverage and moisturisation.

Why Buy:
- It has witch hazel as a main ingredient. Witch hazel is a well known ingredient used for helping treat spots and blemishes.
-  The colour is good. It gives good coverage without being cake like and orange.
- Controls shine. Gives a more matte look, controlling the shine on your face.
- Has antibacterial activities. Great!
- It's only £5.99 (In Boots)

Why Not Buy:

- It isn't very moisturising. I need to use moisturiser as well as it.

- Doesn't last that long. It does fade after a while.

In conclusion I would recommend buying this product. It's great! If your young, or if you don't like wearing foundation this will be great for you. It's a really good price, but make sure you get the right colour for you skin other wise it wont be good and you could end up looking quite orange...

Libby

xoxo