Recent Cruelty-Free Beauty Favourites

Lately, I've been rejuvenating my skin and hair care routines; focusing on natural, cruelty-free products, and picking up bits that have helped me reshape and properly tailor my regimen to my needs. In recent months I've been far too lazy with it all, and my skin and hair really paid the price. I went to bed wearing my makeup too many times, and had gotten to a point where washing my face in the morning felt like a chore, not a ritual. When it wasn't full up with temporary colour, my hair was dry from bleaching. I'd grown out nearly six inches of fresh roots, but I still needed to give my lengths a bit more TLC. I had fallen totally out of love with beauty, and knew it was time for a spring clean.

First, I started with my combination skin. I decided to take a Korean-inspired approach, and build a more specialized routine. Instead of going back to a brisk cleanse, tone, and moisturise, I gradually introduced more steps and built a skincare ritual that aims to clean and tighten my pores, balance redness, and help with hormonal breakouts. I picked up two serums, LUSH Full Of Grace and Tropic Super Greens. The latter is about as close as I've found to a holy grail product; it leaves my skin feeling smoother, calmer, and healthier, like a literal green smoothie for your face. It fades any blemishes whilst not clogging up pores with oil. I love how I look in the morning now, thanks to this serum. Full Of Grace has had less of a trial as I'm keeping it at my boyfriend's house, but I'm still loving it. It's packed with calamine powder, Portobello mushrooms, and chamomile blue oil, and it sinks beautifully into the skin without any greasiness.

When it comes to my hair, I need to be careful to provide enough moisture without over-saturating my mop with heavy products. Regardless of the colour I'm sporting, the Hempz Blushing Grapefruit And Raspberry shampoo and conditioner have been treating me really well; they smell sweet and fruity, and not at all like hemp. I even use the conditioner as a mask or a pastel-iser for my hair dye, and it works a treat.

On my body, I've been trying out the new The Body Shop Almond Milk And Honey range. For me, the standout is the body butter. I've always been a big fan of Body Shop body butters; the formula is pretty perfect for dry or thirsty skin, and they have a cult following for a good reason. The cleansing bar was a nice surprise, a product I wouldn't try but ended up loving. Instead of using it on my face I use it to gently cleanse my neck, decolletage and chest, where regular soaps or shower gels can be a bit too harsh for me. All of the products seem to go a long way as well, which is a huge plus if you're slathering yourself daily, trying to be rid of the scaly hide you've grown over winter and emerge, dolphin-like, into spring. As I am.

One last thing I really want to mention is the Body Shop BB Cream. I fell in love with this product in Morocco, after picking it up in Stansted airport for a tenner. Since I bought it, I haven't worn regular foundation, only this and a bit of concealer. My skin is thanking me for the change, and I'll definitely be re-purchasing soon. It does a great job of adapting to my pale yellow-toned skin, and not aggravating any breakouts. I get so many more "your skin looks lovely" kinda compliments now that I use this, which is not the most important thing in the world, but sure is pleasant.

Some of the products here were sent for review/as pr samples, but as always my review is completely honest, see my pr page for more details