Landlocked Mermaid

I have said it before and I will no doubt say it again: I am not the biggest girl-girl that ever did girly-girl. That said, I do - on occasion - like to wear make up or paint my nails. I'm actually sporting a garish mix of orange and blue nails as we type. While I am not exactly in the market for any new make-up right now, my box is over flowing and I don't rightly have the money to spend on it presently, there is absolutely no harm in doing some research into some more eco-friendly options. This way, I'll be ready to spring straight into shopping when I am looking to replenish and revive my make-up collection. I think the last time I bought a lot of make-up was for my sister's wedding three years ago. I'm sure there are make-up experts balking at the fact that some of my make-up is three years old and still in circulation. I won't tell them about the items I have had since university... I've bought a couple bits and pieces since then - largely dark lipstic...

I am not the biggest girly-girl out there. I would rather sit in my jammies and play Final Fantasy than go for a mani-pedi. You know, that construct of femininity that society shoves down our throats. No thank you. Having said that, I do enjoy glamming up every now and then. I have some lovely make-up I've collected over the years. (I'm sure anyone who knows anything about make shelf life just cringed then!) At University, part of the going out ritual was getting glam; doing my hair, putting on my make-up, picking out a pair of ridiculous heels. Nowadays, I get glammed up for weddings and meals out. Because I don't do it that often, I have not owned a make-up remover since the last one ran out and I do not even remember when that was! However, in doing research for making my own beauty products I found out that aloe vera can be used in make-up removers. Praise be the holy, multi-purpose aloe! Mama Aloe before she got floppy Looking into it, there are make-u...

A couple years back, I pilfered one of my mum's aloe vera plants. I'd seen somewhere that they promote good sleep because of the amount of oxygen they kick out, or something of the like. Since taking on the aloe, it has spawned many a baby plant to the point where I have gone from keeping it in one pot to at least three. With bare minimum gardening too. Imagine how much more I would have if I actually looked after it and watered it more than when it goes brown! I still keep one plant in our bedroom, to help with the sleep thing. But the mama plant, Mama Aloe*, lives downstairs in the kitchen and looks a little like this: One floppy Aloe Mama. I decided it was high time to do something with her. Maybe lighten the load. As I have mentioned before, I am a pale kid. I get sun burnt inside. Next to an open window, of course, but still indoors. If we get anything remotely close to a summer this year, I am sure to go a little pink. I use sun screen, but even factor ...

We all know that I am not a massive girly-girl. I do not spend hours doing my hair and make up every day; sometimes I don't even brush it. But, I do like to take care of my hair and do a little to aid the natural curl. I have a few sprays, serums, and mousses but in the interest of reducing plastic and not purchasing unnecessary bottles I decided to have a go at making some. So I turned to my DIY Plastic board on Pinterest and picked this spray from PullingCurls.com for curly hair. The ingredients were simple and contained the same moisturising component as my conditioner: coconut oil. Got to take care of the hair. And it was nice and simple to make. The longest part was waiting for the water to cool. All you need. THE METHOD WHAT YOU WILL NEED: 1 cup water, preferably distilled. 1 tbsp sea salt 1-2 tsp coconut oil 10-20 drops of essential oil Empty spray bottle  Ideally, the spray bottle would not be an empty Febreeze bottle but it was all I could ...

In case you missed it, I love my hair. It is a mad curly mane, but it is my mad curly mane. Since ditching the traditional shampoo and conditioner bottles, I have been working out a haircare routine that is both good for my hair and my environment. For the most part, coconut oil and shampoo bars have been working for me. But sometimes it just needs that extra bit of TLC.   Relatively tame, post-shower mane.   When my hair was longer, I genuinely took twenty minutes to brush it. I'd get the knots out of the bottom but brush more into it when I tackled the top. To combat this, I invested in some leave-in conditioner spray. But my bottle ran out quite some time ago. I have been looking for one I can make myself, but a lot of recipes on google use gylcerin. I have no idea where to buy that from. So I took to my new favourite website. You guessed it, Pinterest. I found plenty of recipes which did not involve gylcerin, and more coconut based products. I decided to...