In My Make Up Bag - Cruelty free and Vegan

Thanks to YouTube, my favourite blogs, and the internet overall, I have a new addiction. Make-up videos, make-up posts and a good snoop into someone's beauty bag. I've got to make it clear though that I'm really not a very big make-up person - at all - but there's just something magical about them.

More often than not, though, the majority of products have been tested on animals. So, no matter how much I want to follow these beauty goddesses glowing recommendations  they don't follow my beliefs. I thought it would be lovely to share my little make-up collection to show that you can get really good, low cost make-up that hasn't been tested on animals.

You might not be particularly interested in animal rights but I still think it's really important to buy cruelty-free! It means so much just be aware of the effects that your purchases have and always consider the consequences of your actions. These products are completely readily available and you might find that a lot of your favourite brand don't test on animals without you even knowing!

If you're interested in checking out which brands are cruelty-free there are tons of sites and I highly recommend looking on the brands website because that will be the best source!

SKIN

♡ Australis Paparazzi Perfect foundation SPF 15 – Nude

♡  The Body Shop foundation SPF 15 – 04

♡  Benefit Lemon Aid

♡  The Body Shop concealer stick – 02

♡  BYS Minerals Naturale compact foundation – Natural Beige

♡  Barry M translucent powder – 2

♡ Benefit Coralista

♡  MAC Cruella De Ville powder blush – 05

EYES

♡  NYX Doll Eye Mascara

♡  NYX Super Fat Eye Marker – Carbon Black

LIPS

♡  The Body Shop lip and cheek stain – 01

♡  The Body Shop Born Lippy – Passionberry

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When PIXIE goes to South Africa

I thought I'd share some photos from my travels around South Africa over the past few months. I took hundreds and hundreds but most of them are just close ups of elephants or of me and my sister playing Air Hockey and pulling weird faces.  See that mountain, though? I freaking climbed that! Table Mountain is a real biatch but the views are amazing and there's also a cable car if you don't feel like trekking at a ridiculous incline for hours on end!

As always, I went with an almost empty case and on the return ending up with a hefty excess baggage fee but, I swear, I barely even bought anything. There is an amazing shop in SA called Mr Price. It is hella amaze. I may or may not have filled my case with a bounty of brightly coloured clothes from there. 





Bo Kaap has to be my favourite part of Cape Town. Sure, there is nothing to actually do there but if, like me, you enjoy taking photos in front of people's brightly coloured homes then you'll love it. 


Packing for holidays for me tends to involve throwing a few tees and shorts in a bag and making it work (Tim Gunn would be proud). I ended up just wearing variations of these (and the Mr Price hoards) for almost 2 months.



We travelled to Kruger National Park and spent a couple of days driving around. I can't even explain how amazing it is to see such beautiful animals up close and in the wild, where they belong. Elephants crossed the road meters away from us and zebras, giraffes, springboks, gazelles, hippos and water buffalos roamed the fields. But the most amazing thing was, when we were almost giving up on a sweltering day creeping around the park, seeing a leopard slink out of the grass heading straight towards us just a couple of metres away then jump into a nearby tree. It was the single most amazing thing I've seen and might just be my 'witness something majestic.' We sat watch s/he for about half an hour and I could just feel my cat lady status grow. A freaking leopard! 



The Apartheid museum in Johannesburg was really informative and well laid out. It's a great stop to learn more about South Africa's history. I also visited Robben Island which I would recommend, but just make sure you take a travel sickness pill and sit on the top deck unless you want to lay in fetal position the whole way there. Ahh, I'm pathetic.




Also, because I'm vegan I make sure to check HappyCow before I go anywhere to find the best places to eat. Masala Dosa, down Long Street in Cape Town, was amazing! Literally the BEST masala dosa I've ever had. Oh God. I think we ate there maybe five times and I'm being scarily serious. Check out Eastern Food Bazaar too. Possibly the best food I've ever eaten and so much of it! Neither of these places are actually vegan restaurants they just have alot of veg options on the menu and are just downright amazing.



Ahh. I miss South Africa already.