it's beginning to look a lot like sustainable christmas

Despite never having been a fan of Christmas - which basically has become a holiday that celebrates consumerism and gluttony in dead animals and alcohol. - I do enjoy the lights, indoor snuggles, endless cups of tea, time for quiet reflection, doing kind deeds and giving thoughtful gifts. So in this post I'll give some tips on that. I know, it's to late to order something to get in time for Christmas, but a gift is a gift and giving/getting it as a New Year's is just as fun in my book.



Talking about books, that's always a great gift. I quite enjoyed "The woman in the window" by AJ Finn. Similar to "The girl on the train". A well written suspense story, partly predictable, partly not. Don't forget, there are plenty of great (many newly published) books to be find in thrift stores too!



By the way, The Christmas Gift of the Year 2018 in Sweden is the recycled garment. Which is heartwarming of course, but more a trendy sign of the times naming than something that will have a real impact unfortunately.

And no, I'm not giving away the perfect blingy Christmas sweater for the ultimate not so crazy cat lady. We have spent a lot of time together one month per year, for four years now, and hopefully will for many more.



Of course you can adopt an orangutang, plant a tree or many, give to a good cause, volunteer at the local shelter, adopt a cat or dog or someone else in need of a loving home or give something handmade or homebaked. But that doesn't have to exclude giving a kind, bought gift to someone you care for.



Vegan, palmoil free handcreams Xmas edition from Body Shop. Even if one says Candy Cane, the smell is nothing like the amazing seasonal candy cane scent from Bath & Body Works though (lucky you who has it available in your country...). I'm sure they'll go on sale after Xmas. Good stuff and great for the handbag. Might stock up on them myself...



Cute christmassy earrings from Clay My Day (I got mine at the vegan Christmas fair, but she does other things too). But hey, lussebulle earrings, a must!



I've finally landed in some sort of skincare regime that suits my dry and sensitive skin, mostly Dermalogica products, which are pricey but great, cruelty free and long-lasting. Got the Dr Botanical Moroccan rose superfood facial oil from a friend last year and I was sceptical (as sceptical as I am about serums in general). But it does not only smells absolutely amazing, it does something great with the skin. On the very pricey side but also very long lasting.



I've now tried a couple of cruelty free products from The Inkey List, as a comparison, that people seem to rave about. Good quality budget brand. But I'm not impressed at all with the acclaimed Rosehip facial oil, a cheap bottle with no pimpette thus really difficult to dose a tiny amount of. Plus it leaves the skin surface oily.

The Turmeric facial cream on the other hand is quite lovely. Smells a lot of turmeric - which a real superfood plant - and leaves skin supple and rehydrated. As the bottle is 66,66% smaller than the Dermalogica I use, the price is pretty similar to it.



The wonderful, handmade vegan candles and scented candles with a message are from thehappywhale.se, them I bought at the fair too. They burn bright, steady, slowly and don't drip at all. And the pink grapefruit sent is wonderful. The future is vegan.



The delightful vegan pralines in many flavours, from vegandelights.se, which I wrote about in the previous post.



These El Naturalista red boots aren't vegan, thus I wouldn't buy them today but some other from their vegan range - so far less colourful alas, but they do have the Iggdrasil model too and I'm very happy with my new vegan oxfords - but this is their 9th winter season and they are still going strong. How amazing is that? The soles are from recycled rubber and the leather vegetably tanned. This is simply great quality to last. And if I didn't say no to new animal leather products and were in need of great, comfortable, durable boots I'd get a pair or two asap. (Yes you can gift things to yourself too.)

Their made to last for many years, and that's reflected in the price, but nothing good will come from buying cheap, That will only be costly for your wallet, comfort and the environment in the long run. Buy less but buy better. Buy more good quality.



These fluffy socks are from Thought Clothing. A sustainable brand which has some lovely bamboo socks I adore. Browsing their website for those these came up when I searched bamboo socks, so I ordered a couple for those cold cold winter nights, without looking carefully at the description. (Stupid me.)



Unfortunately it turned out they were not made from bamboo, but from a plastic bottle turned into yarn. Ie fleece. And fleece isn't a sustainable material since it when washed the microfibers sheds and enters the waste water and thus seriously pollutes the environment.

The socks are really fluffy, cosy and warming on cold winter nights, but truly sustainable they are far from. It surprises me that a company such as Thought make them. Buy their fantastic bamboo socks instead!

Or if you like the idea of recycled plastic bottles, a Fjällräven Re-Kånken backpack which you don't have to wash.



Last (and least) on my list of kind gifts is this bottle of organic vegan nail oil from meanima.se. I met her at the Christmas fair and she has oils for face, hair, body, baby and tattoo care too. Handmade and aromatherapeutic.

The wonderful ceramic Christmas ornaments with vegan quotes are from Kinga Kremer, the fantastic ceramic artist who made my silver Vegan ring.



A subscription on tea or coffee, gift card for the movies, massage, pedicure, season tickets to a concert hall or museums, plantbased cooking classes (or why not an organic vegan food box?) are other great gifts.

Happy Giving 2018!

bare minerals complexion rescue

As much as I love the transformation of my prone to redness, sensitive skin - 

for which I totally blame my dear grandmother who most likely froze certain bits of my face when she used to take me for long pram walks in what was then pre-climate change Scandinavian winters. Of course I never complained then, it takes years for such things to develop. But still, blaming you granny - 

brought by bareMinerals original foundation, but during cold, dry winter days it doesn't work as much magic anymore. In fact I find that it dries the skin, despite the Dermalogica moisture boost.

So when my last jar of the mineral powder was empty the other week and I had to get a new one I asked if they could recommend something better for winter use. 'Our fabulous BB cream of course!' So home I came with a tube of complexion rescue. Which you apparently should use over the day cream, but under the mineral powder.

I'm not sure my patience with the daily beauty regime is quite that embodying, in fact I know I loath having to layer different stuff on my face like this. But. But after trying a few drops of the complexion rescue I find that it actually covers that redness on my cheeks pretty well on its own. So perhaps I'll use it without the powder (over the day cream of course) the rest of this winter.

All in all, given the unabashed enthusiasm for the product from snoopervisor Ågot, it must be a fabulous product, right? Right.

facial peel-off cucumber mask and other winter hydrators

I've always been fascinated by peel-off face masks, but I rarely use them. But this one I picked up in Budapest. 2013. And just used for the first time - thank you personal bonus goals of 2016 - it has a nice fresh scent and makes skin feels pretty good too. I've only used it once so far, every other week I use Kiehl's ultra facial overnight hydrating masque. My skin feels softer, which granted also might have something to do with the fact that I only use Dermalogica face cream and serum these days.

The Freeman products are very affordable stuff, cruelty-free and as far as I can decipher with okey ingredients. Probably not the type of products I would rely on in the long run, but it's nice to pick up something different to try when travelling. 

Haven't begun using the Dermalogica recovery masque yet, but I will asap. I'm curious about their charcoal masque too. 

Have you tried it? 

Or do you have any other favourite facial masks
(for dry skin) perfect for winter?

the maypole soap from lush

A beautiful soap in my favourite colour combo pink and green, obviously screamed my name. It smells wonderful in a bubblegum way too. A happy soap named Maypole from Lush.

diy foot or bath salt

Seven years ago (!) I attended a December event at Rosendal's Garden to learn about how to make your own natural skincare products. It was lovely, but admittedly I have not practised a lot of the things we learnt. Apart from a few foot and bath salts I've given as gifts.

It had been a long long time since I last made one when I suddenly realised I had every ingredient home already to make a jar of it - it's basically, as I remembered it, the same ingredients in both foot and bath salt depending on what you want them to achieve and which herbs and essential oils you use.

I gave this jar as a little homemade, sweet-scented birthday gift to my friend over our brunch and this is what ingredients I used:

:: sea salt
:: dried mint
:: dried rose petals
:: drops of organic essential oils - orange, ginger, cardamom

Mix in a pleasing to the eye way in a clear jar (glass or plastic) with a secure lid. It smells wonderful, and with these essential oils very Christmassy. 

Happy pottering!

whisky coffee lip balm

I think this wee jar of lip balm might be one of the funniest little useful gifts I've ever recieved - Glen Moray distillery's coffee whisky lip balm. 

M has spent a week in Speyside with friends visiting 19 (!) distilleries - I could definitely do without the whisky part, but oh how I miss Scotland... - and this is one of the things he brought home. It only has a faint scent of whisky, which is good as far as I'm concerned. I like the quirky idea lots. And I'm sure a coffee and whisky lover would see this as the ultimate skin care product.

dermalogica ultracalming skincare update

It's been almost a year since I first began using Dermalogica skincare. I know I've gotten a few recommendations of the brand before and I think it's a great company, with mostly vegan products and all cruelty free. Plus their foundation and social projects. I just haven't gotten around to buying any products.

Apart from the small sized bottles I got last year I've continued to use Kiehl's facial products, even though they do lack all the moisture my skin craves they've been "good enough". Until now, now I've invested in a few bottles and jars from Dermalogica instead. And hopefully this winter will be easier to cope with skinwise.

On the street in Berlin where dear Cafe im Literaturhaus is situated and the hotel we stayed in last summer there is also a Dermalogica flagship store. I went past it pretty much every day but I never had the guts to go in, it looked so big and clinical and somehow that is a bit off-putting to be honest, not inviting. Plus I thought that the brand prices probably doesn't differ all that much within Europe.

That said, not the bottles are bought. I'm *slightly* poorer from a monetary point of view, but richer when it comes to compassionate products and skincare. The skin does feel a bit softer and supple so far, not sure that will last when the weather will get colder. But at least it won't be worse than it has been these last few years. I use the ultracaling cleanser, serum and intensive moisture balance cream.

The small bottles are from a special gift you got when you bought two normal sized products, with microfoliant and recovery masque that will come perfect for the season.

Mmm, looking forward to a good skin winter.

three lipsticks

I've been feeling rather winter blah lately. Listless, sallow and frumpy. I do realise that's likely not how others would describe me, but still that's how I feel. 

So in order to perk myself up, to feel less grey, I thought a bit of make up would help. Which I, apart from the essential bare minerals foundation, rarely can be bothered to wear (and nailpolish doesn't really count). It's just too time consuming and it smudges. 

I've got a new elaborate mascara that, like all others, promise miracles. Haven't worn it yet. The miracle will have to wait for my right mood.

I have however searched for a decent sheer lipstick. To use instead of my regular, favourite Hurraw lip balm. I've come to terms with the fact I will never be comfortable with bright red lips (although it looks good in photos), thus I look for other hues. That gives a more natural result but still adds a bit of colour omph. With a sheer feel and not lots of colour pigments, which I find plain inconvenient when you eat and drink.

The one I really would enjoy isn't available in Sweden, so these three I've decided on after recommendations. It's still a jungle out there if you want to find decent cruelty free make up. Which is of course crazy in this day and age.

If these three brands aren't complete liars they are all cruelty free. And the one I got today, une, is organic too. Looking forward trying it out. It's a lovely dark pink  sheer colour.

The other two are one autumn brown/pink (more brown than is visible in pic) from Finnish brand Lumene and a paler pink from Swedish brand Make Up Store. The Lumene one smells lovely too and is very enjoyable to wear. I feel at least a little bit less frumpy with it.

What's your favourite lipstick brand? 

Or do you prefer lipgloss?

microdots manicure

Say hello to one of the Christmas nail polishes from Models Own - Microdots. 

Combined with an old Opi Dulce de Leche I think the result is rather cute. 

A bit tricky to paint since there's a lot less dots than clear polish thus the Microdots layers are really thick. Even if you shake the bottle really well. And a close look at right hand's nails is not a pretty sight. Really.

But all and all, a cute new experience. That will get better with practise I'm sure.

kiehl's moisture serum

Or as it's fancy name says: Hydro-Plumping Re-Texturizing Serum Concentrate. Yes I'm *rather* sceptical when it comes to serum-products, but with the battle of dry and sad winter skin being a seemingly neverending story I am willing to give it a go. And someone blueeyed is certainly excited about the product!

Because neither Kiehl's Skin rescuer nor Centella recovery skin-salve in combination with Ultra facial overnight hydrating masque are able to make a decent positive difference for my skin this time of the year. And in combination with the bare minerals foundation - which has worked wonders for my sensitive, flushed skin ie it's a must when I'm out and about - my seasonal skin is even drier. So I'm looking for that missing hydrating piece in the winter skin puzzle and this was my choice. Or rather I simply said yes to the Kiehl's lady when she suggested this one.

I will update this post with my views when I've used the serum more regularly.

I've recently also gotten the tip that organic jojoba or coconut oil is good for really dry skin. Sounds great and it could certainly be a good overnight thing.

What's your best tip for sad winter skin?

the bath & body works holiday traditions body creams of 2014

I have now had the uttermost pleasure of using all three of the winter scented body creams from Bath & Body Works I got last month. They are all very nice indeed. But my favourite is still Twisted Peppermint, it's simply brilliant, fresh and sweet at the same time. Just like our Swedish polkagris candy. I wish I had the fragrance mist too, so I could touch up on the awesome scent during the day. But I treasure every creamy dreamy moment spent with that Peppermint tube. Which isn't as Twisted as it may sound. Really.



The purple Sugar Plum Dream is a very much Pia-scent. A lovely creamy, warm, flowery, vanilla-ish scent. It's adorable and if I hadn't met Twisted Peppermint I would adore it even more. Now it comes a close second.



The Winter Candy Apple is a nice one, but the scent is very faint and fleeting. So it's not a memorable one. The name is so promising, so it's rather disappointing that they didn't make more of it.

Do you have a favourite winter scent in body lotion or perfume?

christmassy nails

Remember the fantastic speckled egg nailpolish from Models Own I got for Easter? With one broken bottle. I've been meaning to replace that bottle ever since, but the expensive postage has been off-putting. But now I went for it and made sure they packed it extra well. In fact they packed it so well it was quite a job to unpack it. Many thumbs up for that! And of course no bottle was broken upon arrival.

The delivery was also, just like last time, super-quick. Picked up late evening in the UK, delivered by FedEx 2 pm the next day at my door. Haven't used any of them yet - because I've just painted my nails a bit glittery christmassy, so I might as well enjoy that for the rest of the week


Opi Do You Think I'm Tex-y? + Gettin' Miss Piggy With It and China Glaze Running in circles

Seems like I have to deny the "to be honest (really) I pretty much use the ones I already have rather than oogling and buying new ones" thing from only a few week backs - oh dear, seems like there's a little politician living inside me trying to show her face... - but apart from that slightly embarassing bit I enjoy the purchase very much. Hopefully they'll look nice worn too, it was a 6 bottles deal so I'm not at sure about all the colours.

Two things you can always rely on though -
1) There is always a bobbaloo that colour match,
2) there is always a feline inspector aka snooperviser nearby.

'tis the season of the lush fairytale soap

Another reason to adore the season (in parts!) is that the limited edition of Lush's delicious Snowfairy products are available in stores. I snatched myself a bottle of swoonworthy candy-scented shower gel and a big lump of fabulous soap.

I also got a little fine Charity pot with body lotion where 100% of the price (minus taxes) goes to worthy causes and organizations which align with Lush's ethics (environmental conservation, animal welfare and human rights). In my shop the money went to Doctors Without Borders. Every little sum helps.

Obviously my Fluffy Lens-louse and skincare inspector extraordinaire aka Little Snow (also known as Santa's Little Toppler) would be the perfect addition to a Snowfairy capture. Though by the looks of it she thinks I'm a bit tiresome with the "pose, pretty please".

mac rebel nailpolish

Using nailpolish is a very regular thing for me since a few years. And since then my nailpolish wardrobe has grown - the pink office nailpolish shelf is a wee bit more filled than back in 2012... - but to be honest (really) I pretty much use the ones I already have rather than oogling and buying new ones.

Although, when you're looking for a quick and affordable treat with colour oomf a good nailpolish is the perfect thing. This is my first nailpolish from M.A.C - and possibly my only since the information I had that their products are not subject to animal testing seems to be so-so. How quickly things change... - and it's in a lovely unusual shade of winered meets purple. And its name is Rebel. Which of course is an awesome name. The quality seems good, too bad about the animal-testing-part. As that so very clearly is in no way necessary for any beauty-product to be subjected too.

What are your favourite vegan nailpolish of good quality?

little miss lens louse presenting ~ the november 2014 bath & body works batch

There's something about Ztina. Whatever one's doing she's there within seconds taking it for granted she's a natural part of everything, everywhere in this residence. I strongly suspect she's a cat version of Little Loaf. Just more agile.

I will from now on call her Little Miss Lens Louse, as Little White, Sister Snow and such doesn't really capture her essence somehow.

She even, apparently, has a way of capturing a whole blog post which was suppose to be about the content of the special scent delivery the other day. Typical lens louse behaviour!



That said. I adore every single scent I got. Of which all was new to me and I had just hoped they'd be great given the descriptions on the Bath & Body Works website. And they were. I've only tried one so far, the one I had most looked forward to; Twisted peppermint. So much fabulousness in one bottle! If there was ever such a thing as heaven around Christmas this would surely be the smell of it. A body cream with strong and distinct scent of peppermint rocks (or polkagris as we call them in Sweden). Heart.

Of the six bottles two more are winter season / holiday traditions scents; Winter candy apple (body cream) and Sugar plum dream (body lotion) and the other three are summerish; Oahu coconut sunset (body lotion, similar to the Maui hibiscus beach one I adored last time), Pure paradise (fragrance mist, very Pia in scent as M puts it) and Endless weekend (body lotion). I have been saving on the Maui body lotion, but now I see, if not endless but many months of being swept in delicious fragrances before me.

And even if the weekend may not be endless, it is very welcome. Never mind I will spend some time working during it this time around too - because oh how I'm looking forward to the upcoming invoicing! And who knows how long this particular flow will last, even if I'm very much looking forward to working with stuff that makes my creative, compassionate heart truly sing I'm also immensely grateful for opportunities to pay bills/have fun and do something I do very well namely writing and copywriting. Now I'm just looking for that extra fullfillment and joy in my work.

So it's going to be a good weekend I'm sure. And above all, a very sweet-scented one.

Happy weekend one and all ~

a bag of happiness

This is the special delivery of my day - a true bag of happiness. In the shape of the most deliciously scented lotions and potions from one of my favourite skincare brands Bath & Body Works. Which sadly still isn't available in Sweden. So I have to rely on kind souls from overseas bringing the bottles of goodness.

Every single bottle is of a different scent. And they all smell absolutely fantastic. I will reveal the content another day.

The special delivery person, who happens to be vegan, and I also had lunch at Falafelbaren as well as fabulous rawfood fika at little organic shop/cafe 8T8 - I think you can tell how delicious these chocolate treats were from the picture alone...



And she got the beanie. Despite the continous lack of sun it was a day of a very fine sort. It was a day to be grateful for.

Even if there's no hedgehog around to endorse the bottles of sweet scented things, like past summer.

dermalogica ultracalming skincare

Better late than never, I've just begun using Dermalogica skincare. Hopefully it'll be the perfect companion for dry, dull winter skin.

When I had a facial last week - and got told I had a really great skin that didn't need such facials. Oh dear, I had to mention that again, didn't I? - I was, as usual, curious about the products used. And since my Kiehl's Skin rescuer bottle is nearly empty (and it wasn't a successful match for me during the colder time of the year. Neither was the Kiehl's centella recovery skin salve. Time for a new brand) I was open to new suggestions to try.

The beauty therapist used this Dermalogica kit of four on me during the facial and it felt like a good option with natural ingredients only. So far I've only used the serum under the above mentioned skin rescuer. And only a couple of times so I can't really tell if I find it good or not. I'm also crap at keeping strict and regular skin regimes, some days I do that, other days I do this and some days neither this nor that.

The skin did feel lovely after the facial though. And I haven't experienced the usual dry patches this time of the year recently. I will update this post when I've used the products more thoroughly. It would be lovely if I could then say it's one great product (or two, three, four).

But for now, but favourite facial product is still bareMinerals original foundation. It has been very very kind to my skin for five months now. I hope it'll be good during the harsher, cold months too.

Dermalogica seems like a company with strong ethics when it comes to animal testing and most of their products are suitable for vegans. I also really appreciate that they have a foundation that supports and empowers women and communities all over the world. Like all the best companies have (best as in the ones that produce/sell ethical products, not the ones that use philantropy as an alibi for their unethical or unhealthy product).

For now, I'm pretty certain my head won't fall off from using the ultracalming range. And if it does at least I can join the bobbaloo deity and spread the word of kindness while soaring.

organic hand cream etc

I, or rather my hands, enjoy a good hand lotion. But admittedly most likely I don't use it as often as I should for best caring soft result. On the other hand, equally likely, I probably use it more often than people in general.

These two bottles of hand cream and hand & nail cream with arnica I got as a gift a while back. Used it a couple of times, it's quite enjoyable and the scent is lovely. Organic ingredients and paraben free. I'm sure it'll be a good hand companion come the cold, dry winter months. Never been a fan of Yves Rocher in general, which I suspect has not so much to do with the quality of the products but more of what I've felt over the years is the brand's frumpiness. Would you agree or disagree on that opinion?

Talking about skincare and winter skin I've come to realise during the summer months that the Kiehl's skin rescuer (updated blog post now) that really didn't work for my dry winter face has been really wonderful to my summer face. And perfect as a base to the bare minerals original foundation which has been such a hit. Different seasons and different weathers apparently call for different skin regimes, something that hasn't been obvious to me, until now.

How's your relationship with hand creams?
Do you have a favourite?
And do your skin calls for different skin regimes depending on season/weather?
If so, what's your favourite summer resp winter product?

express pedi

Taking good care of your feet is essential, but to be honest, the scrubbing and foot filing isn't the most fun of things to do. And even if it's lovely to go have a pedicure at a salon regularly the taking care of feet business is something you need to do at home too.

So when I saw the TV campaign for this electric hard skin remover from Scholl it was admittedly one of very few commercials that enticed me to buy. And finally I did so today.

Haven't used it yet. I'm still contemplating whether I'll have any feet left to walk on after using it. Perhaps I get so excited I will just continue to buzz it over the feet and hey presto the bone will be visible and I bet that will take ages to grow back into walk mode.

Or not. I'm sure it'll be fine. I will update this post after usage. Feet or no feet.

Have you used this device?
Is it a good gadget?
Pros and cons?

bare minerals original foundation

Remember my quest for the perfect face cream for my sensitive skin, from skin rescuer to recovery salve (and more)? Alas nothing did the trick for me.

I do prefer to solve (skin) issues via healthy choices and good skincare products before covering it up with make-up. It was a very long time since I enjoyed a lot of make-up. Now I most always feel that, when it comes to a lot of things in life, less is more - but not when it comes to cats, books, carrots or colours of course - and that certainly applies to make-up.

But after a friend kept telling me I really should try mineral powders (specifically bareMinerals original foundation/powder) to both cover the redness and soothe the skin I finally succumbed to the idea and popped by the big department store to see if it was something for me.

I have to say that the difference was dramatic when the make-up cashier applied the product on my cheeks. Obviously a no brainer to get a jar.

I got a synthetic brush and it works great. The primer sample I haven't tried yet. But the original powder foundation me and my face are really happy about after one week's use. Easy to apply and looks natural not at all make-upey. Ie it gets a whole lotta thumbs up.