Cat & the Cream Vegan Cupcakes

Today I just wanted to do a quick followup on the blogpost I did a week or so ago about cake, go and read that first here. In that blog I mentioned about lots of different vegan cakes but in this post I want to specifically talk about the company 'Cat & the Cream'. One of the main reasons I am re-mentioning them is due to the fact that my Mum was very enthusiastic on the 'Ocado' order and brought 4 different flavours of their cupcakes!

The first one was a beautiful and refreshing combination of 'Lemon, Lime Grapefruit & Coconut' which tasted pretty exotic and I loved that there were so many fresh flavours in one cupcake, including 'coconut' which is one of my favourite ingredients ever!  

This was the one I'd already had before, which I'd teamed with vegan squirty cream and strawberries for a complete pudding, which is 'Chocolate, Coconut & Raspberry with Chocolate Icing'. This is of course the perfect cupcake for all you chocolate addicts!

I found this one a bit more unusual as it's 'Chocolate, Fresh Mint Ganache & Raspberry Icing'. The mint flavours just gave it a very different and exciting element which I don't think you find too often in cupcakes and with the raspberry icing it really just lifted the chocolate. 

The final one was a cupcake that I would never have had down as my first choice but it was so delicious, it was 'Pear, Hazelnut & Chocolate Chip with Hazelnut Icing'. Now, I have only recently really gotten into nuts and I'm putting them with everything so what better then having them in a cupcake!

So, as I said we got ours from 'Ocado', but may I add that I didn't eat all of them in one go and I did of course share them ;) They're very reasonably sized and a perfect treat so I like to take them every other week or so to college with me. I love all of the different available flavours and they last for quite a long time too which is really useful. And of course the best thing about them is that they're vegan, dairy free, wheat free & soya free whilst tasting absolutely delicious! 

Let me know if you've tried them before and what flavour you would like to try!

love, bean xx

LUSH 'Volcano' & 'Catastrophe' Review

Today I'd like to do two reviews of a couple of lush products I brought recently. Now, if you've seen my YouTube videos (link up above) then you'll probably know that I have a bit of a thing for the company 'LUSH'. There are quite a few lengthy reasons for this, a few of which I'll just quickly run through:

1. They're very reasonably priced
2. They have a big 'cruelty free' campaign
3. Around 80% of their products are vegan
4. All their products are vegetarian
5. They only used preservatives when they need to
6. They use fresh ingredients
7. They're convenient because they have a lot of shops

Now these are only a few reasons from the top of my head but they really are a wonderful company for all their ethics and their ethos, hence why I seem to spend half a fortune every time I even step near one of their shops. The two products I'm going to be talking about today are both vegan, both of which seem to have rather dramatic names!

The first of the two is a face mask called 'catastrophe'. I'd never tried one of their face-masks before and to be honest I thought I'd rather spend my money on one of their more long lasting products, oh what a fool I was to think this! Some may say that the downside to some of their products are their longevity, this one being 3-4 weeks depending on which day you purchase it in the week. But to be honest for me, the 'best before' date just reflects that the ingredients they use are fresh which is fabulous. Now what this mask is designed to do, with the aid of ingredients such as blueberries that are over-flowing with anti-oxidants, is to help with those days when you see a couple of spots creeping up or if you generally have quite problem prone skin. Afterward using it I found my skin was feeling really squeaky clean and fresh, and the smell of the mask was well, quite simply lush! 

The next product is a footmask which I thought was a fairly bizarre idea at first, I realise I'd been living under a fairly big rock as this is a pretty standard beauty product. It's called 'Volcano' and it's perfect for a quick fix to freshen and soften your feet. It took me a couple of goes to get used to the best way to apply it and I think you have to be careful in terms of application because if you don't have things like your water to wash off with afterwards and your cling film handy then it can get a bit messy. But it's now definitely going to be a standard pamper evening essential for me as I'd been struggling to find the best way to keep my feet in good condition. I think it smells just like a 'Soy Chai Tea Late' which is a pretty gorgeous smell if you're into that type of thing like me. If you go on the Lush website here it tells you each of their products' 'backstories' which I personally think is really interesting.



Let me know if you've got any favourite lush products at the moment!

love, bean xx

Latest Video...

Just a quickie to let you know about my latest YouTube video about going to starbucks as a vegan. Starbucks is one of my favourite places to go to when I'm out and about, take a look at the video where I go into more detail about some of my favourite things to order. Just to let you know when buying the caramel drink the sauce that you can have on the top contains egg whites so be sure to just ask for it without that!

love, bean xx

Urban Decay Naked Palette (for vegans!)

In my last post I spoke about the brand 'Urban Decay' and as a follow up to that I am going to do a quick review on a fully vegan eye-shadow palette that I put together from their range. It was really in replacement for their naked palette which sadly doesn't have enough vegan shades to make it worth buying. Now, finding pigmented eye-shadows in general is pretty difficult but add onto that requirement list being vegan as well; you can near enough forget it. This was my opinion until I came across these little wonders:

I wanted a fairly neutral palette because I like having the option to range from simple day-to-day to a fairly glamorous evening look. I have found these colours to be perfect for that range, they are easily built up but regardless of which look you're going for you can guarantee that they will stay nicely without smudging or drifting throughout the day. The four colours I went with (from lightest to darkest) were 'Space Cowboy', 'Virgin', 'Buck' & 'Darkhorse'. 

Urban Decay do much more adventurous colours then the ones I chose but I thought these four were a good place to start. The most unique I think is the sparkly one because it is ridiculously pigmented without being too overwhelming and it really stays, this is quite nice in the inner corners of the eye or patted on-top of the other shades. They all blend wonderfully together but without turning a murky colour which is very easy with a lot of eyeshadows nowadays. I really do recommend that you have a look at the full range of what Urban Decay has to offer so that you can find colours that suit you and your preferences! 

love, bean xx

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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.



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

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