MooGoo Natural Fresh Cream (Vegan!) Deodorant review

Despite it's unlikely branding and packaging, I can assure you this MooGoo Fresh Cream Deodorant IS vegan and cruelty free! The brand name comes from Head of the Herd (Craig Jones) noticing that his mother was using a white paste intended for use on cows to help with her psoriasis. The cream was intended to keep cow's udders soft and supple, in good condition for milking, but the paste was thick and hard to apply. Craig reformulated the cream, creating a lighter and non-greasy version, and that's how the term MooGoo (as in, goo for cows) came around. The product became popular and that's how this skincare business was born...

Breaking the cheese addiction

I'm now approaching three and a half years of veganism. It's flown by and I can't imagine life before now. So I wanted to resume my vegan mini series, and today I want to tackle cheese - the weakness for so many people! I remember before I was vegan we would have phases where it felt like everything tasted better with cheese on top, so today I'm going to explain why you might feel that way and to provide some alternatives.

Lyonsleaf Beauty Balm Review + Discount Code!

If you read the Green Parent magazine, you may have seen that Lyonsleaf Beauty Balm won a gold award for Best Buy in their Natural Beauty Bible. I've been testing this balm thoroughly for several months now, using it to double cleanse at night as well as exploring its other uses, and I feel able to give an honest and thorough review of this wonderful product (I wholeheartedly believe skincare needs time to review, as first impressions can be so deceiving.)

Veganism: the "grey areas"

It's World Vegan Month and I've not posted much at all - apologies about that! Today, though, I actually want to talk about some difficult grey areas which can happen when you're passionate about veganism as well as the environment. On the whole, veganism is a HUGELY environmentally friendly thing, but I'd love to chat about these points with you all and see where you stand on them. These are three divisive topics amongst the plant based community so please keep it judgment free!

Why I Love Cloth Nappies (Green Parent Magazine Writing Competition Runner Up)

I'm so excited to say that I wrote an article for the Green Parent Magazine Writing Competition and was awarded Runner Up! Click here to read the article on why I love cloth nappies. Thank you to all of those at Green Parent Magazine for reading my entry!

Jolie Beauty "Sorceress" Gothic Eyeshadow Palette Review

Since becoming vegan nearly four years ago, it's become apparent to me that some of my makeup is not! I've bought cruelty free for many years now but there's a catch - cruelty free doesn't necessarily mean vegan, and a product being labelled as vegan only refers to its ingredients and not whether it's been tested on animals.

This can be confusing and doesn't make a lot of sense, so there are definitely some products I own, mainly eyeshadow palettes, that could contain nasty ingredients like carmine. Personally I feel it's wasteful to throw these products out, especially as many of them were high end purchases, so I'm using them up but it has left me hunting high and low for cruelty free beauty brands that are clear about whether their products are vegan.

Enter Jolie Beauty. With their vast range of vegan  products, they've been a very welcome new find. There's so much I'd love to try from their range, but as somebody drawn to witchy vibes, crystals and intentions all year (not just Halloween!) their new Sorceress eyeshadow palette couldn't be more up my street.

The packaging is beautiful - the deep purple palette and it's protective sleeve are decorated with the most beautiful illustration by Em Eato. The palette itself has a good sized mirror and is surrounded by gold detailing including the words "you look simply bewitching" for a really magical  finish.

Designed to make you feel empowered and beautiful, the Sorceress palette is aptly named. It has a few neutrals which are useful for transitions but really the 28 shade colour palette is designed to create a fully transformative experience (that's half the fun of makeup, for me!) Unlike their other warm toned palettes (and let's be honest, the market has become saturated with those) this Gothic palette is predominantly cool toned - including some beautiful smoky greys, purples and greens. There are also some really unique transformer shades including Transform and Shapeshifter (both of which have a 3 way colour shift which is truly magical) Luna Eclipse, a duochrome, and Dreamcatcher which is an amazing pure black shimmer. There are also several pressed glitters which are perfect for finishing a look. There's a great selection of mattes, shimmers, glitters and duochromes creating a really versatile colour story.

The pressed glitters are particularly unusual to me - in the past I've had next to no luck with glitter in this form but these are very pigmented and striking when applied using a finger (glitter and brushes never seem to mix well in my experience!) I'll be using these on the lash line from now until January when I need a pick me up - tis the season, after all! For more tips with these I'd recommend checking out the Jolie Beauty pressed glitter tips video. The other shades are lovely to work with - they feel pigmented, blend well, and I haven't had issued with fallout (although I don't listen to my own advice, I would generally still recommend applying foundation AFTER a smoky eye to avoid potential fallout ruining base application. But I didn't, and it was ok!) I'm obsessed with the transformer shades too, being a bit of a magpie, I love pressing these into the centre of the eye for a really interesting shift. The shadows don't seem prone to staining either, which is always a welcome relief.

My favourite thing so far to do with this palette has been to create a deep green smoky eye, à la Yennefer from The Witcher. The beauty of this being it can be quick and a little imperfect (after all I have a 17 month old!) but is still striking. Pressing Shapeshifter into the middle of the eye adds a little bit of magic to my everyday. To be honest, that's why I love makeup - it's not just about the way it looks, it can really transform the way you feel and for me the Sorceress palette is a perfect example of that.

For you, would this palette be for Halloween or for every day?

*ad - Sorceress palette gifted for review, all opinions my own.

Lyonsleaf Balms for Nappy Rash + discount code!

If you read the Green Parent magazine, you may have seen that Lyonsleaf won a gold award in the Natural Beauty Bible for their Calendula and Marshmallow Balm. I've been testing this out for a couple of months now, along with their Zinc and Calendula nappy cream (a different variety also perfect to be used as a nappy cream) so I could give them a thorough performance review. I've struggled to find it hard an ethical, natural baby balm that we get along with so I was very excited to have the opportunity to test these products out!

Christmas Charity Offer at the Nappy Den

 

I'm so proud to be an ambassador for The Nappy Den with the fantastic Christmas charity offer Lorna has come up with. There are 50 Mama Koala designs onsite now - the nappies cost £12 including the inserts and £1 from each nappy will be going to a charity chosen at checkout, either NSPCC, CLIC Sargent or Tommys.

Mama Koala are a generously sized birth to potty pocket nappy. Actually, these were the first printed pocket nappy I purchased. This time last year we had a perfectly reasonable stash of Little Lamb and Miosolo nappies but I guess these were my gateway into trying different styles - something I'm glad I did as we now have found options that work better for our Eden (actually, we still love little lambs, but Miosolos never fit her well due to their shape - all babies are different!) These days Mama Koalas tend to be a great reliable nappy to grab quickly, they're good for an extra quick change due to only having two poppers (J appreciates this, as does wriggly Eden) making them a good option for those new to cloth or even childcare. The pocket is generous and comes with two bamboo inserts that dry quickly, but pockets are particularly useful at this time of year as the shells dry so quickly they can be stuffed with any absorbent booster for a fast turnover. Mama Koala nappies come in a minky or PUL finish - this is Eden's first minky nappy and it's so soft and lovely.

Christmas Gift Charity nappies are now up on the site available for immediate dispatch - naturally given the charitable nature of the item discount codes won't be applicable on these, but you can use LittlePackDen10 to get 10% off on other items onsite.

Have you tried Mama Koala nappies?

*Nappy kindly gifted for review, all opinions are my own.

Who Gives A Crap Toilet paper

 

It's an awkward time to chat about bulk buying toilet paper considering the baffling reaction to lockdown earlier in the year... BUT, we've been meaning to switch to Who Gives A Crap toilet paper for a long time to reduce our plastic consumption.

Lyonsleaf Skincare

Recently I received the most beautiful skincare package from Lyonsleaf - a brand I'm incredibly excited to be showcasing here as I have so much genuine admiration for their ethos.

Lyonsleaf use waterless formulas which means no emulsifiers or preservatives are required to stabilise them. They grow their own herbs on their farm in Somerset, soon to be certified organic, and infuse them with natural plant oils in small batches. The parcel was totally recyclable and biodegradable with minimal plastic used in product packaging - in fact, their manifesto is "Our mission in life is to provide 100% natural, safe, effective, cruelty free skincare, suitable for the whole family and all skin types (even very sensitive skin), at a price affordable to ordinary people, with the least environmental impact as possible." They've won multiple Green Parent beauty awards this year, including for their Zinc and Calendula Cream and Marshmallow Facial Oil, and with such good values and fantastic customer reviews it's clear as to why.

Eden Wax Melts

I love a hygge home so I tend to use candles and wax melts year round, but it always feels particularly special to use them in autumn as the evenings draw in and we naturally spend more time cosied up indoors. I was sent four fragrances to try from Eden Wax Melts including elderflower which is sweet and gentle, lemongrass and lime which is very zesty, aloe and cucumber which is a lovely clean fragrance, and rhubarb and rose - my personal favourite. These soy wax melts are handmade and made to order using vegan soya wax and are sent in plastic free packaging - what a lovely small UK business to support. Naturally I adore that they're called Eden, too.

Bra & Bebe nursing bra

 

It occurred to me recently that I've barely worn a "proper" bra for nearly two years. During pregnancy underwired bras can dig into sensitive breast tissue (not to mention I found them extremely uncomfortable) and postpartum I've been nursing for 16 months and counting! I've found this quite limiting to my wardrobe - although some breastfeeding mums are quite happy to work around their regular wardrobe, I've never quite got the hang of it. I hate having to practically undress if Eden wants some milk, so even now 16 months on I'm still living in nursing bras. This isn't necessarily a problem - the main thing is they're very comfortable! - but they tend to be very plain. That's fine most of the time but sometimes it's nice to wear something that feels a bit special, a bit pretty. The high street seems to be extremely limited when it comes to nursing wear in general, so I was thrilled to discover Bra and Bebe. They sell some beautiful designs that are perfect for pregnancy and nursing, and I'm so thankful that the lovely Daria gifted me a grey lace nursing bra for review. It's by far the most beautiful nursing bra that I own.

Going vegan: getting started

 

Continuing with my vegan series, I want to focus less on the "why" (you can scroll back for plenty of reasons!) and more on the "how". I know lots of people support the idea and intention of a compassionate lifestyle but don't know where to start. So today I'm going to post a few tips to think about when getting started.

Good habits

I've mentioned recently on Instagram that I've been working on practicing better self-care (particularly the next-week next-month, next-year, type of self-care, although a long bath is never something I'd turn down for that hit of instant gratification). This means I'm really trying to get into good habits, the goal being to boost health and reduce stress. There's various things I'm trying to change or add in, but more yoga and a daily green smoothie are my favourite habits that I'm really trying to keep up because they make me feel infinitely better.

Flats, terries, prefolds

Something really cool about using cloth nappies is that there are so many options to play around with - different fabrics, different shapes and styles. Our current battle is teething: a lot of cloth mamas have said they like to use terries when their babies have particularly strong teething wee. Terry and flat nappies can be folded to be quite loose and breathable and, around the house, can be worn without a wrap for extra air flow if no nappy time isn't practical.

Enter The Nappy Gurus flats and prefolds trial kit. This contains a Bright Bots white terry, a Muslinz prefold in White, a Buttons flat, a Little Lamb nappy fastener and mesh nappy bag. It's a good opportunity to try different styles individually and find out what works well.

Folding the terries and flats isn't nearly as complex as I expected (thanks, YouTube!) So far I've found these are a good little trick to try when babies are getting sore from their teething wee (bearing in mind that no nappies can fully stop this, and other babies don't seem to get it at all, lucky things!)

It's also worth mentioning, as it's #zerowasteweek, that the beauty of flats is that they can be reused as cleaning cloths long after babies are out of nappies. Plus the mesh nappy bag is something I regularly use for delicate clothes as well as nappies - I find you can never have enough of these!

So now, cloth mamas, as a flats novice I'd love to hear all about how you use these - what are favourite folds? Do you boost them and what with? I've so much to catch up on!

Homemade bath salts

 

For J's birthday, I wanted to make a gift that Eden could help with. I settled on some homemade bath salts - Epsom salts are a fantastic traditional remedy for relieving aches in muscles, aiding sleep, reducing pain and swelling, and various other purposes. J has a physically demanding job involving lifting and walking in all weathers for long hours so I thought these would be perfect for him. Eden and I had great fun mixing different blends together using food grade colouring, essential oils, and using various blends and ingredients to create different properties, in the hope that they'd help his muscles at the end of a long day.

I'm considering selling some of these (without Eden's help, haha) as they make such cute gifts - let me know if you'd be interested in this kind of thing.

Have you tried Epsom salts before?

Giveaway! + Chalkola Acrylic Paint (32 Colour) Set Review

Painting is something I'm passionate about but really struggle to find time for, particularly with a 15 month old running around! So when Chalkola very kindly gifted me their 32 colour acrylic paint set for review it was both an exciting opportunity and excuse to get creative.

Five things I learned while breastfeeding

It's World Breastfeeding Week! There are lots of reasons why I think talking about this topic is important - one of which is because even as a breastfeeding mama myself, I still find there's so much I don't know and I still feel self conscious about what others might think. It's a taboo topic I'd love to try and help normalise. I've written various posts about our feeding journey in the past, so today I want to share five things I have learned while breastfeeding.

Milestones

Inspired by Mamalina's beautiful blog post, I wanted to share this photo taken a month ago - at the time I was convinced Eden was about to start walking independently, but even now she manages a couple of tiny, teetering steps on her own.

Plastic Free Shopping

Honestly speaking, plastic free shopping is literally near impossible for us. Particularly being on a low budget, J and I have had a conversation more than once that to be as low waste as possible we feel stuck between between a well balanced, healthful diet and a low waste shop with next to no variety.

Secondhand Sunday: Upcycling

I've been excited about this week's #secondhandsunday because it's the first time I've upcycled clothing in forever! And my first time ever dyeing clothes.

Breastfeeding a toddler

Today's prompt for #setmeplasticfree is "homemade" and it got me thinking I actually want to talk about breastfeeding today - and about breastfeeding a toddler.

Skinsence Coconut Milk Shampoo Bar

Ad - gifted|Perfect for #plasticfreeJuly, I was recently sent a shampoo bar to try from Skinsence. This is a coconut milk shampoo bar designed to restore the pH of the hair. Skinsence are a new discovery for me but I'm so glad to have found them - the shampoos are handmade in small batches and free of SLS, synthetic fragrances, animal fats, detergents, harsh chemicals and plastic packaging (I love when a delivery doesn't come in plastic so this had me at hello!)

Plastic Free Fashion

Today's prompt for #setmeplasticfree is "fashion" and I have a lot of thoughts on the fashion industry (explained much more in my #slowfashionseason post here from July 3rd) but basically the TLDR is we all need to buy less, make conscientious choices, and think about how ethical our wardrobes really are. For those of us (🙋🏼‍♀️) who don't always have the money to buy from responsible, organic and ethical brands who pay workers a fair wage and are responsible to the environment, buying second hand is a great option. This way we aren't voting with our money for companies that don't care about their workers or the planet.

Staying hydrated (Plastic free!)

Today's prompt for #setmeplasticfree is "staying hydrated" - I'm a thirsty breastfeeding mama so hydration is very important! I've already seen some scary statistics this morning regarding disposable bottles (if you haven't already, switch to a reusable water bottle, coffee cup or both depending on your lifestyle habits) Currently we use BPA free litre water bottles that I expect to last for a very long time, after which we will switch to stainless steel replacement (any recommendations on brands that have a litre option would be welcome!)

Washable Wipes for #plasticfreeJuly

We're packing a bag... We're going out for the day! And that means a couple of nappies and some washable wipes.

Self Care (Plastic Free July Edition)

There's a saying "busy hands, quiet mind" and I find this is really important when it comes to self care. My go-to self care habits include baking, yoga, drawing or painting - they're habits that I enjoy, they're good for the soul and allow me to be in the moment and recharge. Self care is today's prompt for #setmeplasticfree and to me a clear link is that my love of cooking and baking means that we hugely reduce the amount of plastic food packaging in our house by buying very little prepackaged snacks. I bake almost all of the bread that we consume (hands up who still has their lockdown sourdough starter going?), as well as breakfast bars, snacks and treats for us all. I use silicone moulds and reusable liners too which means there's next to no material waste. My next mission is oat milk to reduce the amount of cartons we consume. Nutritionally it also means I'm in complete control of what goes into our food and I can make much healthier snacks knowing exactly how much salt, sugar, oil etc has been used. This act in itself has a mindful effect for me as there is a definite comfort in knowing I'm making nourishing food while causing far less waste that is detrimental to the planet.

Eco Bathroom Swaps

Today's prompt for #setmeplasticfree is "bathroom" - this is one area I still have a lot of changes to make. On the one hand I use reusable bamboo makeup wipes, a moon cup, a shampoo bar. But I still have too much plastic for my liking in the form of product packaging within our bathroom. We don't have any single use plastic in our bathroom exactly, but some tubes aren't easily reusable or recyclable. With products including conditioner, deodorant, shower gel and toothpaste I sometimes struggle to find something effective, vegan and cruelty free that doesn't come in plastic, that is affordable enough to regularly purchase. I also found that during lockdown many hygiene products were harder to get hold of because of panic buying, so I know I ended up buying a few things during that time out of necessity that I wouldn't normally purchase. So any recommendations for brands or products you love that fit this criteria would be great!

Plastic Free July: Cloth Nappies

When I found out I was pregnant with Eden I knew I wanted to use cloth nappies. A friend had used them and I remember being super curious about this at the time and knowing that's the path I'd choose when the time came, even though Eden wasn't even thought of then! Cloth nappies are today's prompt for #setmeplasticfree - and of course there are huge environmental benefits of cloth nappies and wipes. Getting away from single use anything is an excellent mindset for a start, and the frankly terrifying statistics on disposable nappies and baby wipes speak for themselves.

Five Reasons I'm Vegan (Compassion)

Today I'm continuing my mini series about why we are a vegan family! We choose to be vegan due to three factors: health, compassion and the environment. I'm not here to be militant or scary, but I hope everybody can learn from some of these facts! Today's focus is on veganism for the animals. This is a hard subject to speak about but it's a very worthy one as many of the facts aren't common knowledge.

Slow Fashion Season

So it turns out #slowfashionseason has begun! As ever I'm the last to know about such things but I think it's so important to chat about slow fashion. I'm a former charity shop manager and that's hugely influenced my buying choices (why buy new when you can reduce, reuse and recycle am I right?!) but until I watched The True Cost and started to get educated I didn't realise the true impact of my former impulse buying.

Plastic Free Kitchen

Today's #setmeplasticfree prompt is "kitchen" - possibly the worst room in the house for single use plastic. With a kitchen I think it's really important not to fall into the trap of buying extra, unnecessary things just because they're eco (Little Mindful Life made a great point about reusable straws - far better than single use, yes, but how many of us were using straws much in the first place?!) Repurposing what we already have is better for the environment than single use anything  - some examples include:

💚 Reusing old tupperware or even takeaway containers rather than using cling film.
💚 Microfibre reusable cloths rather than anti bac wipes (we use 11 billion each year, they're responsible for 93% of blockages in UK sewers, and the vast majority contain non-biodegradable plastic. If you cannot bear to wash a cloth, switch to plastic free kitchen roll and anti bac spray)
💚 I bought some reusable silicone lids for covering bowls as an alternative to cling film (there's always a half eaten bowl of baby oats in our fridge)
💚 Cooking from scratch more inevitably means less packaging, even though the supermarkets still have huge issues with unnecessary packaging. Where possible, veg boxes, pick your owns and veg markets are a good way to consume less plastic.

As for us - our biggest consumption of single use plastic by FAR is the fruit and veg we buy at the supermarket. However, we're lucky enough to have a garden big enough to grow vegetables in, and everything is thriving following the changeable weather we've had - hopefully harvesting our own will make a big impact on reducing the amount of veg wrapped in plastic that we need to buy in the shops.

What are your favourite kitchen eco swaps?

Plastic Free Toys

Today's prompt for #setmeplasticfree is parenting, so I want to talk more specifically about plastic free toys. Last week I ordered this absolutely beautiful Lanka Kade mushroom and minibeast shape sorter from Babipur. Lanka Kade are an ethical, fair trade company and this is a handcrafted, versatile wooden toy as the beautiful bugs are painted on both sides and can be stacked and played with individually as well as for problem solving with the shape sorter. We both love playing with this one!

Plastic Free July

This month, for Plastic Free July, I am joining in with the #setmeplasticfree challenge by @rainbeauadventures and @earth_punk_mama on Instagram. You can find me at @littlepackofvegans.

Five reasons I'm vegan (health)

Today I'm continuing my mini series about why we are a vegan family! We choose to be vegan due to three factors: health, compassion and the environment. I want to start speaking a little more about some of these factors in greater detail. I'm not here to be militant or scary, but I hope everybody can learn from some of these facts! Today's focus is on veganism for health. A balanced, whole foods plant based diet is one of the healthiest diets you can have so I have a multitude of facts to choose from for today's post, but I'll stick to just five!

Upcycling: a new hobby?

When I was pregnant I bought this plain wooden mirror from a charity shop with the intention of painting it. Last week I finally got around to it. I wanted to create a magical woodland scene on it, and for it to go in Eden's room.

Five reasons I'm vegan (environmental)

I wanted to start a new mini series chatting about some reasons why we are a vegan family! We choose to be vegan due to three factors: health, compassion and the environment. I want to start speaking a little more about some of these factors in greater detail - I'm not here to be militant or scary, but I hope everybody can learn from some of these facts! Today's focus is on veganism for the environment.

Confessions of a cloth addict

A rainy day means catching up with the laundry that needs putting away. With the assistance of some toys and books, Eden's always pretty content to hang out and help me with this job. Of course one of the things that is in a constant turnover of washing and drying are cloth nappies - it's always satisfying tidying these away nicely because ah, the designs are just so pretty.

Vegan chocolate sandwich muffins

Yesterday we had the pleasure of having Eden's best pal come over for a little garden visit - Everleigh turned one on Monday and birthday girls need birthday cake. I tried a new recipe for the first time which I'm actually really pleased with - it wasn't the healthiest of bakes I've made as I was low on ingredients but it was certainly a worthy treat. It's super easy too!

Apple strudel breakfast bars

 Recently my cousin told me a recipe for apple strudel cocktails (raspberry gin or vodka, prosecco and cloudy apple juice, FYI.) Somehow I've not gotten around to making those (a rookie mistake!) but I DID make apple strudel breakfast bars instead! We get through a lot of oats in our house - they're cheap, nutritious and Eden absolutely loves them. This is a new combination - inspired by @littlemindfulvegan who uses applesauce to bind her oat bars. Because we get through lots of these I like to play with the recipe, so these consist of a few layers: a soft oat and fruit bar, layered with applesauce, and topped with crunchy cinnamon oats.

Vegan Vitamins for Toddlers: What We Supplement & Why

Something I'm asked often about raising Eden on a plant based diet is whether we have to supplement her diet - the short answer is yes, we do! But in fact, I'd give her vitamins regardless of veganism.

Witch Cake X Lace and Whimsy "Divine Feminine" Vegan Candles

In a feat of perfect timing, today some candles arrived in the post from Witch Cake's "Divine Feminine" collection. I have shopped Holly's beautiful creations before and love them: everything is vegan and cruelty free and handmade in small batches.

Cloth Nappy Hacks

Using cloth nappies is actually incredibly simple (see previous posts for reasons to make the switch, how to wash them easily, etc) but there are a few things I like to do that help make it even easier and integrate seamlessly into our day to day living. Ready for some cloth nappy hacks?

Vegan Raspberry and Cacao Rice Pudding

I've had one of those elusive, very productive mornings: I baked sourdough and put out the nappy wash I prepped last night. I've made Eden some oat bars and put dinner in the slow cooker. I've done the dishwasher, put on more laundry, but most excitingly, I made this raspberry and cacao rice pudding.

Purflo Maxi Nest Review

I really stand by the fact that you don't NEED loads of "stuff" for a baby, their needs are simple and they are not materialistic as much as you naturally want to give them the world. But something I really didn't expect to become indispensable for us was a baby nest! (I'm going to chat about our sleep journey today, please remember to follow all safe sleep guidelines, this is our own personal experience.)