Swansea Vegan Mini Market (May 2019)

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Last Saturday (4th May 2019), the Brontosaurus Vegan Lifestyle Store held the Swansea Vegan Mini Market in Swansea Indoor Market.

Tom, myself and my lovely friend Emily made the trip to Swansea to stock up on some wares.

The mini market was held right in the centre of the indoor market so it was easily located. It ran from 10am – 3pm and there were various stalls there, which this time round included:

  • Babitas Spice Deli
  • Sustainibbles Ltd
  • Ahh Lovely
  • Bohemian Chic Minerals Vegan Cosmetics
  • Mr Nice Pie
  • Dark Matters
  • The Brontosaurus Tuck Shop
  • The Vegan Box Limited

I picked up a beautiful, and funny, hand-stitched tote bag from Ahh Lovely. Really, I only picked this up because I forgot to bring a reusable bag but it was only £5 and I really love it! Ahh Lovely sell beautiful ceramics and frames that you can also by on Etsy. I recommend looking at their online shop!

Next, I reached The Vegan Box Limited, a hot food company normally based in Caerphilly Market. They actually featured on an episode of BBC’s Dirty Vegan, showing Matt Pritchard how to make seitan! They have an extensive menu in Caerphilly Market, and they brought with them a reduced menu to Swansea. I treated myself with a Doner Kebap with garlic mayo and it really hit the spot. The perfect junk food!

This was followed immediately by Babita’s Spice Deli. We love these guys. As Tom works up and down the country doing vegan events himself, he sees these guys a lot and has built a good rapport with them. They’re lovely people but more importantly, the food is outstanding! The food is fresh and non-greasy and filled with so much flavour. We took some home with us which we had for dinner and it was delicious!

My final mention is for Dark Matters and their indulgent brownies! I wish I took a photo of the entire table because I struggled so much to decide which flavours of brownies I wanted. I personally decided on ‘Maple, Hazelnut and Pecan‘ and ‘Peanut Butter Swirl‘. Tom chose ‘Raspberry Double Chocolate‘.

Keep an eye out on future vegan mini market events. I believe they happen once a month. It’s a good opportunity to load up on treats and snacks and possibly try something you’ve never tried before!

Vegan Afternoon Tea at The Angel Hotel, Abergavenny

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In September 2018, I went to The Angel Hotel for afternoon to celebrate my best friend Leah’s baby shower.

The girls did a fantastic job organising and the hotel did a great job of catering for different dietary needs. Apologies in advance if there are any details I’ve missed. I had the pleasure of visiting this establishment quite a few months ago so my memory may fail me but you guys should know about the options available out there! To note, we booked in advance so I’m assuming notice is required to cater for vegans. This is not an exclusively vegan venue, there are plenty of options for omnis!

I thought the afternoon tea itself was very reasonably priced. It was around £30 per person. It started with a little pot of fruit, then with 3 tiers of sandwiches and cakes, finished with a scone and of course, unlimited tea/coffee! I, of course, was provided with the vegan option.

As you can see from some of the pictures above, the quality of the food provided was fantastic. The top tier had some lovely savouries, including a curry style tart and a bruschetta filled leaf.

Top tier of savouries

The second tier had some lovely cakes including a poppy seed and raspberry cake, a chocolate brownie, carrot cake and a lemon cupcake. All of them were delicious.

Second tier of cakes

The bottom tier consisted of little wraps, the fillings of which I don’t remember, but they were fine. Fairly standard, but nothing special. It was the top 2 tiers that were the best for me.

It was finished with a warmed vegan scone covered in icing sugar with a side of strawberry jam, and was really delicious.

I didn’t finish everything as I had the 3 tiers to myself, but I was able to take what I didn’t eat back with me in a little box.

The service provided by the staff that afternoon was brilliant. Tea and coffee were topped up regularly and the ‘courses’ came out swiftly with no problems.

It was a fantastic afternoon and if you’re looking for somewhere in the area for a vegan afternoon tea, I highly recommend The Angel Hotel.

My Daily Make-Up Routine

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So, I’ve been blogging to you guys for a few weeks now so I’m ready to share more selfies with you and my daily vegan and cruelty free make up routine (lucky you!).

To give you a quick overview of my general skin and colouring, I’m Chinese with fairly neutral undertones (cooler, rather than warmer if I had to choose one or the other). Naturally, I think my skin tone is quite uneven. I have combination/oily skin, with a particularly oily T-zone, like so oily! Most colours suit me but in general I stick to nude colour tones, unless its a special occasion.

  • Make up free
  • Freshly applied make up under the lights of my dressing room
  • My every day look, in natural light

I’ve tried to pick a range of photos so I can show off the products that I use. On average, it takes me about 15 – 20 minutes to put my make up on in the morning. I’ll leave it to you to judge whether that’s a long time or not!

At this point, I’d also like to warn you that I am a heavy Kat Von D Beauty user. I know she’s been under scrutiny recently due to her personal choices, but this post is not to debate that. The products are vegan and excellent quality.

Starting with my face…

  1. On a clean face, I start with Kat Von D Lock-It Hydrating Primer. This might seem counter intuitive on oily skin, but I much prefer it to silicone based primers as it’s so much more absorbent.
  2. Using the KVD no 20 brush, I apply KVD Lock-It Powder Foundation in Medium 145 (For those interested, I wore Light 48 in the old formula).
  3. With the Hourglass Ambient Light Unlocked Palette, I use the KVD no 2 brush to apply Golden Bronze Light across the bottom of my cheek muscle as a light contour.
  4. I also use the Body Shop Contouring Brush to apply the same colour vertically on the sides of my nose.
  5. Then using a generic blusher brush that I got from Superdrug, I apply Nude Glow across the my cheeks, up towards my eyes.
  6. Finally from this palette, using the Real Techniques Contour Brush, I apply Champagne Strobe Light on the tops of my cheeks (underneath the eye) and straight down the middle of my nose to highlight those areas.

Moving onto my eyes…

  1. Using a Real Techniques Eyeshadow Brush, I apply e.l.f Baked Eyeshadow in Toasted across my eye lids, to just over where the crease is.
  2. To open my eyes up, I use KVD Lash Liner on my upper eye lids waterline.
  3. Currently, I’m using BareMinerals Lashtopia mascara which is lovely.

The final steps…

  1. As we all know, eyebrows can completely change the look of someones face. I use the KVD Signature Brow Precision Pencil in Dark Brown.
  2. I will also apply Hurraw Lip Balm on my lips, which is more of a necessity during winter compared to the rest of the year. I own many of them in a range of flavours.
  3. And to finish off, I use the KVD Lock-It Make Up Setting Mist to make my make up last all day.

I hope this post wasn’t too long and gave you a good play by play of my make up routine! It does seem like quite a lot of products, but everything is simple and quick to apply. I could cut out some steps to save time, but would I look as glorious without it?!

Bonus! My go-to blog for vegan and cruelty free beauty is Cruelty Free Kitty. It’s kept up to date and has so much information so I highly recommend it for any new vegans looking to convert their beauty bags to vegan.

Thanks for reading!

Maria Nila Stockholm

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My best friend, Emily, is a serial subscriber to beauty boxes. She often gets cruelty free and vegan samples which she gives to me (because she really is the best). One day, she gave me a little gift bag full of goodies which included mini travel sized vegan shampoo and conditioner. Little did I know that this brand would change my haircare routine forever…

When browsing in my local Sally Beauty store, I came across Maria Nila again and I thought the branding looked familiar. It took me a while to register, but I took the plunge and treated myself to a shampoo, conditioner and hair oil.

Before turning vegan, I was a loyal user of TIGI Bed Head Urban Antidotes in Resurrection. It revived my hair after colour damage and smelt amazing. I thought I would never find anything to replace it, and along came Maria Nila. I purchased the Heal Shampoo and Conditioner to help with my itchy scalp.

The product was great quality and it smelt incredible. My scalp felt amazing afterwards and the dryness was removed after only a few uses.

Shortly afterwards, I started using the True Soft Argan Oil. It was bought to replace the Moroccan Oil that I always used to use. I use the Maria Nila oil it in the exact same way that I used Moroccan Oil and it’s a perfect replacement. Again, the product smells amazing and the ends of my hair remain frizz free for the foreseeable future!

After all this experimenting with shampoos and oils, I decided to venture further out and I purchased the Autumn Red Colour Refresh. It even came with a set of free gloves to protect my hands!

The photos above are of the product itself and a little selfie of me with my freshly dyed hair the next day (no filter!).

Colour Refresh is not a permanent hair colouring solution. It is semi-permanent and I used it purely as a top-up on my faded hair colour as it needed a bit of pop. It was easy to use and quick to apply (only 10 minutes). I washed off my hair and dried it and it was like I had a fresh new dye. The colour didn’t fade anywhere near as quickly as I anticipated and it’s in a nice easy to use pump bottle.

If you’re looking for a vegan haircare replacement, I highly recommend Maria Nila. Although on the pricier end of haircare, it is most certainly worth it. As I keep mentioning, the products really smell amazing, they’re highly moisturising and they’re honestly really worth it.

Slab: Artisan Fudge

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I’m very much a consumer and when we accepted a neighbours delivery of fudge (identified by the Slab artisan fudge tape), I was incredibly jealous. When I popped round to drop off her parcel, she informed me very casually that they also did vegan fudge… This was the beginning.

I very shortly after went to the Slab website and was greeted by a lovely homepage that listed items in their shop, which included the 4 Slab Surprise Gift Box – Vegan.

Delivery was a bit slower than I anticipated but nothing that I couldn’t live with and it did arrive well packaged. I lifted the lid and was informed by a sticker on the inside of the packaging telling me how the packaging was eco-friendly and compostable!

Inside the outer cardboard box was a beautifully packaged green box filled with delicious, delicious fudge…

From left to right: Choc Toffee, Raspberry & Coconut, Classic, Tiger Butter.

Each slab is labelled and marked with best before dates. They also have a QR code that you can scan for a full ingredients list which I thought was quite cool. Not ideal for those who aren’t tech savvy though.

I tried the Tiger Butter slab first which intrigued me as I wasn’t sure what flavour it would be. It was my favourite. It was chocolate and peanut butter flavoured, and as a big fan of peanut butter, I was surprised and delighted.

Coming in at a very close second was the Chocolate Toffee slab.

The fudge was great. I don’t have a benchmark with other vegan fudge, but comparatively against non-vegan fudge, it was exactly the same. The texture was the same and the flavours they sent were amazing.

You can browse and buy the full range of vegan fudge at this link. They’ll make the perfect gifts for any fudge lovers.

Amsterdam: Deer Mama

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Toward the South of Amsterdam is the little gem that is Deer Mama. Famous for their vegan shakes and burgers, we made the walk out there (a short tram/metro ride is probably more preferable!) and we were definitely not disappointed.

We arrived quite early and got ourselves a table towards the back of the restaurant. The menu isn’t crazy extensive but they had a good range of burgers and a mixture of sides.

  • Burger
  • All of the sides!

Tom, my partner, ordered a burger and I ordered us a lot of sides! From what I remember, I ordered: Mushroom Croquettes, Fried Curry Spiced Cauliflower and Broccoli, Fried Boneless No-Chicken and French Fries. The food was good. I thought the fried boneless chicken and the mushroom croquettes were delicious. Some of the dips were questionable but luckily they were all on the side so I could pass up on them.

As I mentioned as the start, Deer Mama are known for their burgers and shakes and oh boy, their peanut butter and banana milkshake did not disappoint! Covered in delicious whipped cream and sprinkles, topped with a cherry. And most importantly, all vegan!

Peanut Butter and Banana Mylkshake

The service was great, the staff were friendly and the food was great. The look and feel of the restaurant was cosy and cute, and a very instagammable neon sign!

We were so full afterwards that we made the executive decision to take the metro back to the hotel instead of walking. I ordered so much food that I took a box of leftovers back with me, which I consumed as a little midnight snack.

I definitely recommend a visit to Deer Mama if you’re in Amsterdam. It’s further out of central Amsterdam but it’s definitely worth a visit.

Kat Von D: Go Big Or Go Home Mascara

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So the moment I’ve been waiting for has finally arrived… Kat Von D Beauty have released a vegan and cruelty free mascara! Released in the UK on Monday (and due to be released tomorrow everywhere else!), I ordered Go Big Or Go Home online at Debenhams and it arrived a few days later.

Naturally, I had to do an impromptu blog post to let you guys know how it is.

I absolutely love Kat Von D Beauty (you’ll learn this soon enough about me through more of my blog posts!). I couldn’t wait to open the delivery when it arrived. It came in the usual beautifully designed packaging and I couldn’t wait to try it.

The mascara tube itself is quite big, and the brush on the wand is long. It didn’t clump my eyelashes together and was easy to apply. I’ve always found it quite difficult to find a mascara wand that doesn’t always brush across my eyelid as my eyes do bulge a bit.

GBOGH applied to my left eye, nothing applied on the right

At £20, it is quite expensive for a mascara, but the price point is in line with other high end cosmetics brands such as Tarte Cosmetics or Urban Decay which aren’t completely vegan.

Today, I got a full days wear with a completed eye look and I’m pleased with it’s longevity. It lasted all day with absolutely no smudging, and it’s not even a waterproof formula!

All day wear: Lash Liner, Tattoo Liner, Shade and Light Eyeshadow in Rust and of course, the new Go Big Or Go Home mascara.

I’m a big fan and I really love the finished look with all products applied. Admittedly, I wouldn’t normally wear so much on for a day at work, but I’m so pleased that KVD Beauty have at long last come out with a mascara to sit alongside the other amazing eye products they provide. It looks great with their Tattoo Liner and produces a great, bold, impactful look.

Iuvo Skincare

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I received a lovely Iuvo Skincare gift box for my birthday from my partner’s mum and dad which I was pleasantly surprised by! I highly recommend a visit to their website for a full range of their products.

The smell from the box was gorgeous and it contained 5 full sized items: an activated charcoal soap, a rose geranium soap, a lemongrass deodorant bar, a sweet orange bath bomb, a rose geranium body butter cream and a vanilla lip balm. The box was beautifully presented, and had a little flyer informing me that the product has been recommended by Vogue magazine.

I’ve used almost everything in box at least once, and I can honestly say that I’ve loved everything that I’ve used so far.

My favourite product in the box was the Activated Charcoal Soap which I have been using as a facial cleansing bar every day. I lather it in my hands before rubbing it over my face and wiping it down with my Face Halo. It pulls off all of my make up and combined with my Face Halo, I’m left fresh faced every night.

The Rose Geranium Soap smells absolutely amazing and I used this over my body in the shower. The soap wasn’t too tightening on the skin like most soaps are, but I did need to moisturise afterwards but that’s to be expected. There were also little dried rose pieces in the soap which was a nice little bit.

The Rose Geranium Body Butter Cream is thick and creamy. I’ve been using it as a facial moisturiser and although it is quite thick and heavy, it is also highly absorbent and feels amazing on my skin. My natural skin is combination/oily, and admittedly I haven’t seen any sort of improvement on this (although I wasn’t expecting any), it also hasn’t made it worse which I find very common with rich creams.

My second favourite item in the box was the Vanilla Lip Balm! Again, another item that smells amazing. The pot it comes in is quite small, and for those with long nails, I do not recommend using your fingers to apply! (Get some sort of small applicant object if you can!). It feels lovely on the lips and as with the butter cream, very absorbent.

I can’t wait to use the bath bomb and the lemongrass deodorant bar, and if you’re lucky I’ll add to the post when I’ve finally used them to let you know my thoughts.

All the links for the products that I’ve written about are hyperlinked so click for each one. But honestly, if you’re looking for some new skincare, I do recommend Iuvo. It smells incredible and feels so rich but absorbent on the skin.

Amsterdam: Vegan Junk Food Bar

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In the city centre of Amsterdam is the Vegan Junk Food Bar, and as their name suggests, they are the epitome of all that’s amazing about junk food. As you may be aware from my previous blog post, we went to Amsterdam last month and sampled their wares, twice!

We visited the Downtown restaurant as it was the one closest to our hotel, and also the one within the city centre. The restaurant has stylish graffittied walls and the classic neon sign that all cool and hip restaurants have these days.

To be completely honest with you guys, I can’t even remember what we ordered exactly, but the food was amazing and the menu was so extensive. I was most excited about the fish options as they’re so uncommon and to be completely honest with you, I miss salmon.

  • Burger, Scallop balls and Shrimp
  • Salmon Sashimi

As you can see from the images above, the food comes out looking great. The scallop balls were exactly what I was expecting them to be and were so nostalgic to me. They had the exact same texture as the ‘fish balls’ that we have within the asian community. The burger was delicious and smoky, and the lemon shrimp were lovely and crispy. The sashimi was on another level, like life changing level. It was so much like real salmon and the fact such a vegan replacement exists made me want to cry. We finished our meals with pudding and a refreshing mint tea.

The food was quite expensive, but not particularly unusual for vegan restaurants these days. But not only was the food fantastic, the service was great too. The staff were friendly, spoke perfect English and were attentive.

I highly recommend a visit to the Vegan Junk Food Bar. I’m sure the other branches are just as good as the one we visited but the food is so good that you just can’t pass it up. Whether you’re vegan or not, you will love the food there so for those of you who are in the area, just take a walk by and grab yourself some loaded fries. It’ll be worth it

The Pip Box: Cruelty Free International Kit

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I absolutely love a beauty box. It’s a great way to expose yourself to new cosmetics and new brands, and with veganism on the rise the choice of cruelty free and vegan beauty boxes is wide and varied.

This Pip x CFI one off box by The Pip Box was an off the cuff purchase at £40. I’ve noticed that they occasionally run promo codes for this box so it’s worth looking for a code first. It’s filled with plenty of goodies which I’ll try and walk you through now! It’s free delivery within the UK as well.

And just to emphasise, I have not been sent this box to review. I bought this box myself and everything I write is my own opinion.

As you can see from the box above, there were plenty of items sent through which include: Lacura shower gel, iGlow lash serum, The Natural Deodorant Co balm and so many more. I’ve had the box for a few weeks now and I still haven’t used all of it, but what I have has been great.

The iGlow lash serum has been showing improvement in my lashes in quite a short space of time so I have high hopes over the next few weeks! My lashes do appear to be a bit thicker and slightly longer.

I haven’t used the PS.. Amber Passion eyeshadow palette yet but the colours look fantastic. This brand is available in Primark and I believe the range is completely cruelty free. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the products, but generally the eyeshadows seem to be quite good.

I’ve used plenty of Urban Veda samples before from other beauty boxes I’ve subscribed to and the facial wash in this box was just as lovely as their other products.

My personal favourite is The Natural Deodorant Co balm. Just a reminder to users out there, these products are not anti-perspirants, they are deodorants. Fortunately for me, I am an incredibly inactive person so perspiration is not an issue for me. It’s so easy to use and smells lovely. I’ll definitely be buying it after I finish this one.

If you’d like to purchase this box, click here which will take you to the website.