Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes: Being The Change And Changing This Blog

Changes are coming...

Every time I thought I'd got it made
It seemed the taste was not so sweet
So I turned myself to face me
But I've never caught a glimpse
How the others must see the faker
I'm much too fast to take that test

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
Don't want to be a richer (wo)man
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes
Turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes
There's gonna have to be a different (wo)man

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Shortly after my last post on here, reports on the state of the planet came out and I had pause to really stop and properly look at myself. I was busy with Bean Magazine, that much is true, but my absence was largely because when I did look at myself, my whole axis shifted and I realised I couldn't go on the same way anymore. Which was probably for the best, anyway, as I had long-since lost my passion for blogging as I was doing it. So, what happened? I faced facts.  The cold, hard facts I had been furiously running to avoid for so long. See, I often consoled myself and said that I was doing enough for the world, that I wasn't as bad as others, wasn't consuming as mindlessly, wasn't creating as much waste, wasn't making as many unethical choices, wasn't blah, blah, blah...

Rewearing and shopping vintage have become cornerstones of my attempts to do better for Mother Earth

It was all excuses and, in some cases, blatant lies to myself. I was living a life that is far, far from sustainable and my main vice was clothing and beauty products. 

But, because of social media, because of blogging, I always had someone to compare it to, others to normalise it, and a whole world of press samples and freebies that made me lose all touch with reality. Micro-bloggers of the world, we really do have a lot to answer for because the gal (or endless gals and guys and other folks) you follow on Insta being no different to you blurs boundaries. You think, "Well, if she's doing that, so can I. If she can afford it...If that's the norm...." and so on. Or you don't actually think that outright, not in so many words, but the endless stream of products and things and clothes being pushed on socials numbs you to what is reasonable. You lose your mind. You want a taste of the nice things you see in lives that seem no different to yours. 

However, there are two things to bear in mind: 1. With gifting, rather than sponsoring, it is hard to know how much someone online can actually afford on a financial level and how much they are receiving. So, from a practical point of view, allowing a perceived standard of lifestyle of others online to set your bar for living is dangerous and not very realistic. 2. Even if you can afford/access this lifestyle of endless consumption: should you? The rampant procuring and tossing aside of things, a mindless pursuit of new shiny things, turning a blind eye to the mark you are making on the environment and lives of workers...are these things glamorous? Are these the lives and standards we should aim for? From my point of view; no, they're not. Because the momentary fix that a bauble offers was hurting my soul. Ignoring what I know is right in favour of what looks pretty in a picture felt good for a second but lingered on my conscience.

So, I changed. 

Vintage loungewear from Space Out Sister, one of my new vintage obsessions...

I rarely buy from the high street now and avoid buying first-hand altogether as much as I can manage. I don't accept nearly as many PR packages as I did before, though they had already calmed down after the madness of the height of Irish blogging that was a few years ago anyway. I shop carefully for groceries, necessities, etc, day-to-day to avoid unnecessary waste and barely generate any anymore. Most importantly, I consider things more. I don't look at things the same way. I treat objects with respect and don't purchase them willy-nilly to be later tossed aside in favour of something else. But I do, of course, acknowledge in all of this the immense privilege in my being able to make these choices financially and practically as I have no dependents to think of and am relatively comfortable in life. 

All of this, of course, put my whole blog into question as it had been. How to blog about beauty if you aren't trying anything new? How to blog about style if you're rarely buying clothes? How to blog full-stop if you aren't focused on things and consumption? 

And these questions, in of themselves, showed how far gone I was because blogging doesn't have to be any of these things. Growing your presence, trying to keep up, trying to be someone, proving you're worthwhile, it all got really tied up with numbers and money and social media. Most bloggers I know have long since abandoned their actual blogs in favour of Instagram. Everything has become a hashtag and homogenous and the same. A race. A game. The picture of a perfect life and person. Commodifying ourselves. And for whom? Brands and companies, using us to make money by churning up this endless need to seem like we're doing okay, to present the world with a smiling, perfectly contoured, spot-free face.

Makeup is not bad, in of itself. Fashion is not innately evil. I still love these things. I still love and admire plenty of other bloggers but I'm done with the rat race and the chaos. I'm done with the soullessness and the craziness. I'm done with being numb and not pausing to think for myself. I also still love blogging and Instagram, for all their flaws, but these things can be used to be creative and unique, not just to sell. I started my blog to showcase my own voice and point of view. I talked about shows I was never going to be invited to just because I loved fashion so much and I had thoughts about them, even if no one else cared or read it. I studied design history so I wanted to apply my knowledge to styling in shows I nerded over. I was simply passionate about the topic, not trying to impress anyone else. I never expected anything. I didn't think I'd be given things or get paid. Of course, my day-job is as a writer, too, now and people doing this as a job need to be able to live but blogging is tied to oneself in an intimate way and all transactions in and out, therefore, should be carefully considered. 

So, after thinking about it for a while, I realised my mistake. I had let that go; that innocent passion, that unique point of view. Which is why I'm returning to my roots and also looking to share my newly renewed passion for being better and more sustainable and more ethical. 

I'm now lucky enough that I do get to go to those shows I once dreamed of and I'll still cover fashion weeks (London Fashion Week is in a fortnight, y'all, and I'll be there as per!) and I do still find personal style fascinating so I'll share outfits and vintage, secondhand, ethical, and sustainable clothing exploits from time to time. Ethical and sustainable beauty is hugely important to me and something I'm always learning more about, so I'll cover that process too, for sure. Mostly, I want to get back into more long-form writing and thematic articles on fashion, culture, society, self-image, and how all of these things intersect. In the coming weeks, you can expect articles on refillable beauty brands, fashion week, getting the most wear of pieces through clever styling, social media and my self-esteem, and much more besides. 

Pieces like high street powder-blue suits won't be among my purchases going forward...

I'm actually really looking forward to WE&B 2.0. I think it will be refreshing for myself, if no one else, more fun to create, and more engaging for you (if anyone is still coming back to this wee blog of mine). 

If you want to see me attempt to remember myself and past convictions, try and get a bit more grounded, and break from the hamster wheel that blogging has become for many, please do come back and check it out. And let me know what you think about all this, too. I'd love to hear from others and if I'm not alone in these frustrations. I've heard it talked about in general but not from anyone directly.

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Skinfull Affairs - Affordable, Vegan, Cruelty Free Beauty In Dublin

Well, this has been a long time coming. Shit's been rather real lately and I just couldn't bring myself to sit down at the computer and blog once I got home every day. Apologies for the hiatus but it was kind of needed. I am sad that I didn't share today's post any sooner, though, as I'm stoked about the content. See, near the start of this year, a new shop and salon opened up in Dublin's city centre that I was dying to try out and I finally got around to it a couple of weeks back.

Skinfull Affairs, on Exchequer Street (right next to the standalone Ladurée store) is a store and beauty parlour that sells products and offers treatments that are cruelty free, natural and, in many cases, vegan. There are few places of this kind in the city and none that I can think of offer both beauty treatments and products. There are also few places to get ethical beauty treatments in Dublin that don't cost an arm and a leg. As ethical beauty is something that is really important to me, you can imagine how intrigued I was, once I heard about the store.

So, one evening after work, I finally wandered in for a goo. First of all, I was super into the aesthetic of the store from the neon logo sign to the metal details and the green and neutral colour scheme to the wood and marble effect furniture. Housed in the sleek and funky interior, however, was the main event: the treasure trove of cruelty free beauty and treatment. You can get everything in the store from natural sex products to basic skincare, henna tattooes to manicures with seven free polishes (nail polishes minus seven of the most harmful chemicals often found in the stuff), threading and tinting to facial treatments and massage.

Once I'd had my wander and a nose, I decided to make an appointment and came back the next week to try one of their facials. I went for their basic facial which costs an extremely competitive and affordable €25, which is then redeemable against product on the day (*Edit: The cost of the facial is no longer redeemable against product. Though I was told the offer may return at some stage. I suggest asking when you book an appointment.).

When I arrived, I filled out the standard forms and had a lengthy discussion with the facialist about my concerns and skin type. I got a refreshing lack of bullshit and good advice, if not delivered a little bluntly at times, and once we went over my routine, we realised I had somehow skipped over exfoliation. I'm constantly trialling new products and, admittedly, rarely buy much of my skincare, so sometimes things fall through the cracks. We picked out an exfoliating product from the in-house Yonka line called Gommage 305 (I'll probably review it separately some time) that cost €36.50 so, in the end, I only that amount for the facial and product - a serious steal.

The treatment room for the threading and quicker facials is on the ground floor at the back of the shop and doesn't have a door so I had some reservations about being in such an open and bright space but the lights were turned down and my chair was flattened out and it was easy enough to get relaxed and tune out the street noises in the distance. For longer treatments (more complex, targeted facials, microdermabrasion, massages etc) there is a more private room downstairs. But the upstairs room is perfect for such a quick facial and pick-me-up during the week. You get plenty relaxed with the aromatherapy elements of Yonka's products and the elements of massage involved in the facial and when you're done (in around twenty minutes) you can get up, pay and float out the door for a good night's sleep.

Even when I have a good experience somewhere, I tend to be a bit of a commitment phobe but I was so impressed by Skinfull Affair's venue, customer care, service and price that I made a follow-up appointment on the spot and plan to head back next month! If you care about ethical beauty, like Instagram worthy locations or are in need of a quick and affordable pick-me-up for your skin, this spot is bound to please.

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Easilocks Homecare Range Launch - High-quality Extensions and Haircare with a Conscience

There are certain things that I always get behind and like to support here on this blog. Anyone who knows me or has been a long-time reader will be familiar with these things that I am so passionate about and it really is important to me that beauty and fashion have a conscience.

Easilocks ticks a lot of boxes and has a lot of conscience. The brand is Irish, started by a young entrepreneur who worked his way up, cruelty-free, vegan friendly and all the hair extensions in the line are made from ethically-sourced human hair from around the world (largely Russia and Mongolia).

The company was started by Irish award winning hair stylist Shane O'Sullivan, who started out in the industry at age thirteen in his family owned salon (also named Easilocks) in Dublin. Having worked in the industry and with extensions, in particular, for years, he noticed that they could be better and spent five years designing a line of high-quality extensions that could be used at home.

Since then, the brand has gone from strength to strength and can boast Gigi Hadid, Margot Robbie and a whole host of other celebrities as fans.

The range of extensions is large with lots of pieces that can be added to instantly change a look and are available in a wide selection of shades and tones. In addition to this, Easilocks has also now launched a range of products and tools to help take care of your extensions and your own hair at home.

I attended the exceptionally packed launch a couple of weeks ago and, though I could only stay briefly, was amazed by the crowd and buzz of excitement. Bloggers and press were getting extensions put in to try them out first-hand, drinks were being had and Shane was on hand to answer questions personally.

Admittedly, I didn't get a chance to personally try out any of the extensions but I have been using the press samples I received on the evening on a daily basis since then: a rather impressive-looking copper styling brush and their Rose Gold Oil.

The brush is nice enough but a little big considering how short my hair is now and how bad I am at hair styling. However, the Rose Gold Oil is an absolute star product for me. I've been using hair oils for around 6 months now to help maintain the softness and smoothness of my hair and tame fly-aways and there have been a few I've really liked. This one, however, smells like an absolute dream, as well as performing well, which is why it has become my go-to. Seriously, it smells so good. I love me a spicy rose scent.

If you're interested in extensions or haircare but can't afford to entirely break the bank, check Easilocks out.

(The items briefly reviewed here were given as press samples. However, I was not paid to write this post and all opinions are my own.)


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Steamcream

I had seen Steamcream on Asos in the past. Orignally, I was intrigued by the fact that they had a range of their creams with astrological themed packaging. I'm not one for astrology but I like things being customised and I'm a terrible sucker for packaging gimmicks. When the opportunity arose to try this bizarre little product, I took it. The packaging was constantly changing but not what was inside. Why? Why only make this product and nothing else? What is so special about it?

Made in the UK and Japan, from natural ingredients and by hand, the brand attempts to work as ethically as possible and never tests on animals. The cream is a moisturiser but it's more than that. It's meant to be a hard-working product that can be used on all areas of the body - not just face or body or hands but all three.

The moisturisers from VOYA and Surya Brasil that I was already using have similar values and ideas behind them - both are organic and place high importance on ethical production. I didn't really need a new one. And, if I'm honest, I find the scent of Steamcream a tiny bit off-putting; kind of a fancy-smelling Sudocrem. Not so luxurious or lovely. However, when you apply it, it feels like it's actively working. It's kind of cooling and this is soothing. The sensation reminds me a little of lip balms in minty flavours. There's a slight tingling sensation upon application but it's not painful or unpleasant. It's just there, doing it's thing. So far, I've seen no magic, overnight results but Steamcream is definitely pulling its weight and keeping up with my old favourites. My skin is as soft as it is normally and my few dry patches are still refusing to be as baby-soft as the rest of my face.

What this has over the others, however, is that it's wonderfully compact and it was super-easy to throw in my bag and bring home for the weekend. The other thing is the packaging. It just looks so damn darling on my vanity table. And there are so many designs to choose from. Which I guess, all things considered, is nice. Your skin gets consistency and your makeup bag gets variety.

Would recommend to anyone looking for a new, natural moisturiser. And at €18ish, it's a bit of a steal!

Get the exact same one here. Or choose from a variety here.