Showing posts with label london. Show all posts
Showing posts with label london. Show all posts

Thursday, 19 September 2013

Did somebody say Cake?

Audrey Hepburn once said, ‘Lets face it, a nice creamy chocolate cake does a lot for a lot of people; it does for me.’ Now if you were to extract the word ‘creamy’ and replace it with ‘vegan’ then I’d say she was just about right. Now cake is one thing us vegans are in no shortage of, whether it be going out and buying one or using the copious recipes available. In this post I'm going to go through a few different options to make sure you've never got a shortage of cake in your life, heaven forbid!

I’m going to begin with an Artisan Cakery in London called ‘Cat and the Cream’. They make both cupcakes and cakes that are wheat free, soya free and dairy free, and let me tell you that flavour is not sacrificed in the process. Their two main stock lists are ‘Whole foods’ and the brilliant food delivery service called ‘Ocado’ (which is really worth looking into by the way). The flavour of the cake that, pictured below, is an incredible concoction of ‘Chocolate, Coconut & Raspberry with Chocolate Icing’. Holy moly it's good.




If you do happen to live in the Manchester area and you haven’t yet heard of the grocery store haven called ‘Unicorn’ then you are living under an incredibly deprived and big rock. Anywho, from their deli I tried a delicious ‘Black Cat Cakery’ chocolate cake. ‘Black Cat Cakery’ is another vegan cake business offering a variety of cakes which can be found at their various suppliers- Unicorn Grocery, Z-Art’s Café, Oklahoma Café and the Eighth Day Café.




In my London for Vegan’s video on YouTube I mentioned a small Vegan and Gluten Free Bakery in Camden called ‘Cookies and Scream’. It’s in a fairly central location and I found it really easy to find so if you’re in that area check them out. They predominately do varying treats but they also offer excellent cakes. So, have a look at my video for more details which can be found here: (link will be added asap)

Finally, if you’re a lot lazy then I am then you may well be interested in getting out your pinny and mixing bowl and make your own cakes. If so then a book which I highly recommend is the ‘Ms Cupcake’ Cookbook. I met Ms Cupcake at her gorgeous bakery in Brixton, South West London, at a book signing for Chloe Coscarelli, whilst there I felt it only polite to try 4 of her cupcakes. Again, my lord, her and her team have a true gift! Her cookbook is a bible full of her vegan cake recipes (kind of in the name really), so this would be a wonderful place to start if you’re looking at making your own. She also offers some classes, so if you’re a complete novice then this may possibly be a good thing to look into.


Again, talking of Chloe Coscarelli, her book also has some great cake recipes – including the recipe which made her famous in the cooking word with which she won the competition ‘Cupcake Wars’. She’s also got a new book, which I haven’t managed to find the time to look at in too much detail, which is a book full of her vegan puddings and deserts, etc.



So, I hope that you have found this useful giving you some ideas about how you can go about getting a cake fix whilst feeling relatively guilt free! 


Love, bean xx

Wednesday, 24 July 2013

Urban Decay Makeup


My most recent purchase has to be one of my favourite vegan finds in a long while, and that's saying something considering the luck I've had in finding some incredible brands and products. It was my first visit not so long ago to the beauty range 'Urban Decay', I was intrigued by their ethos and aims when I was having a good old browse on the Internet and following a quick visit on their American website I knew my only choice was to try and find a store and see the makeup in person. Luckily both 'House of Fraser' and 'Debenhams' stock them so it was pretty easy in the UK (and from what I can tell in most countries) to find a store near me.



Perhaps I got lucky but the shop assistant who served me was just so lovely! She does a lot of work in the middle east for Urban Decay and had a good history with the company so was able to readily give me some more detailed information about the brand. In each store they have a handbook type thing which for a vegan is absolutely golden, it is filled with all sorts of factual wonders such as a list of all their products with ticks stating which of their products are vegan, gluten free, etc.


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They do absolutely no animal testing and the majority of their products are vegan. For example not all of their mascaras are vegan but they do have one which is, however all of their foundations are vegan. Not only is Urban Decay perfect for accessibility purposes due to there being stores located everywhere but their makeup is genuinely incredible! I think their range of colours and products is impeccable, it means that it is totally down to your own individual style and preferences, there are no limited choices just because you don't want to harm any animals in the process of putting on your makeup! Their 'Naked Eyeshadow Palette' is the biggest selling eyeshadow palette worldwide which is partly due to how pigmented their eye shadows are and the fact that they last all day long.


''Beauty with an Edge''

Another thing I love about this brand is that it has always been their aim to be free from cruelty and they are constantly developing their products to be vegan while maintaining their quality. Of course few things in life are perfect so it isn't altogether surprising that even this wonder brand has faults for example, their parent company isn't cruelty free. However, there are so many positives about this company that I don't really want to get too picky and let some of these details detract from what I love about this brand. Another slight downfall is their prices too, however I think they are definitely worth investing in due to the reviews I've read on how long the products last as well as their amazing results. After all, I believe it's all about quality not quantity.




I am going to do a review on the Vegan eyeshadows that I brought in the very near future and I shall also incorporate them into a makeup look on my YouTube Channel. I think Urban Decay is well worth a look into, it is getting so easy to make the transitions over to vegan makeup but I just don't think this company promotes what they have to offer for the vegan community well enough for people to be aware. However, have a look online for a store near you and just check them out; even if nothing takes your fancy (which I highly doubt!) you may end up, like me, having a riveting conversation for ages with the lovely shop assistants they have!

Love, bean xx