Cruelty-Free Beauty Favorites This Autumn (AD)

It's that time of the year again — the rain has arrived, and so has the wind and 4:30pm sunsets. I love the autumn and winter but despise the way it affects my skin and hair. Everything dries out and I end up having to moisturize my face three times a day. Here are a few of my favorite beauty/haircare products that I have been loving as the weather cools down.

Maple Holistics Tea Tree Shampoo
I'm not going to lie, I was hesitant about a Tea Tree shampoo purely because it reminds me of the Tea Tree solution that my mum used to lather all over my hair when I came home with head lice as a kid. But the lovely folks at Maple Holistics offered to send me their Tea Tree shampoo and oh my! It's so great. The smell doesn't conjure up my head lice days at all. It's spicy and invigorating and works up such a good lather. I've been trying it out for a couple of weeks and love the way my hair has looked. It's kept its volume but is much softer and more manageable. Big thumbs up, I'll be repurchasing!

Mario Badescu Facial Spray
I picked this up on a whim at Urban Outfitters this summer, and boy am I glad that I did. I use it morning and night, just a light spritz all over my face/neck/chest. It wakes me up in the morning and soothes at night. It's also great under or over makeup, and smells so herbal and fresh. Plus, it's a bargain at only $7 for the travel size (I have the full size, which is still only $12)!

Liz Earle Signature Foundation
I bought this when I was living in Scotland, and now it's almost empty and I'm really sad because I don't think they ship it outside of the UK. I must find a way! I've never actually enjoyed wearing foundation but did it just because my face was red and spotty. After trying this, though, I love wearing it most days! I only use the tiniest bit on my nose and chin, and it is super buildable so on any given day I can step it up if I'm feeling extra red. It's not matte but feels really hydrating without looking like I'm wearing anything. Ahhh I just can't explain my love for it enough. Need more. ASAP.

Formula 10.0.6 Pores Be Pure Mask
I have grown up seeing this brand in most drugstores, but I never tried it out. Last month, though, I was having a really bad breakout and saw this bad boy at the drugstore for only $5, so I picked it up. It's vegan/cruelty-free and uses natural ingredients. It smells amazing, and helped zap away a lot of my spots. I've been using it 2-3 times a week for about a month, and I have to say it has really evened out the redness and splotchiness on my face. It's highly-rated everywhere so definitely worth giving it a try!

Lush Rub Rub Rub Shower Scrub
My beautiful friends bought me a Lush package for my birthday in August, and when I opened it up and saw it included Rub Rub Rub, I was overjoyed. I have loved this product ever since I tried it out a few years ago. It's bright blue, smells AMAZING, and really works at scrubbing away dead skin. I feel like a fruity cocktail every time I use it, and am already dreading the day I finish this tub.

If you've tried any of these products, what did you think? What are your go-to items to make the winter weather more bearable?

x B

A Few Easy & Tasty Winter Weekday Meal Ideas

As I'm spending most of my summer break at home, I started cooking a ton and have found a few new favorite recipes that I wanted to share! I'm not super great at writing up recipes, so I'll just give an overview of ingredients and basic steps: these are all super simple and very hard to mess up! I hope you love them!

Porridge with banana, coconut, and super seeds

• Rolled oats
• Plant-based milk (I like a mix of almond & coconut)
• Tinned coconut milk
• Coconut oil
• Banana, sliced
• Optional: chia seeds, flax seeds, fresh berries, almonds

I've gone a week with this for breakfast every single day, and never get sick of it! I put 1/2 cup of oats, 1 cup of milk, a splash of tinned coconut milk and half the sliced banana in a saucepan and heat it over medium flame for about 5 minutes (add chia/flax if you want here). Then add a tablespoon of coconut oil, and cook for a further 5 minutes. Once it's your ideal consistency, serve it up with the rest of the banana, and any other fruit or nuts on top!

Italian seasoned sweet potato chips

• Sweet potato (I can happily eat one sweet potato, so maybe one per person)
• Olive oil
• Italian herbs (Moroccan herbs are also great)

This one is definitely the easiest of the bunch, it takes literally 3 minutes to get started. Preheat the oven to about 170 celsius. Peel and chop up the potatoes. I like wedges but also enjoy round slices. Then just pop them in a lined pan with olive oil and herbs, make sure everything's evenly coated, and pop in the oven. Turn halfway through cooking, and when they're a little bit crispy, they're ready to enjoy!

Brown rice burrito bowl with fresh guacamole

• Rice (I like brown rice)
• Black beans
• Garlic
• Avocado
• Fresh coriander/cilantro
• Fresh tomato
• Lime juice

I was super hungry last week and threw this together to satisfy all my cravings. It's so great! Start by putting the rice on to cook, it will be ready when it's nice and fluffy! To make the guac, just mash the avocado in a bowl, add as much chopped tomato as you want, some lime juice, and about one clove of crushed garlic. Combine the black beans with 2 cloves of crushed garlic, and put it in a pan to heat up for about five minutes, stirring frequently. When everything's ready just pop it all in a bowl and you're good to go! (Pictured with some homemade tortilla chips: super easy too! Just chop up tortillas and drizzle with olive oil, bake in the oven until crisp!)

Cozy pesto pasta

• One serve of pasta (I love brown rice or quinoa spirals)
• About 1/2 cup of basil
• About 1 cup of fresh spinach
• Small handful of pine nuts or cashews
• Olive oil
• Lemon juice
• More fresh spinach (or rocket/arugula, for serving)
• Fresh tomatoes
• Optional: cheese (vegan or regular, whatever you prefer)

Definitely my go-to comfort food, I love this so much! Pop your pasta on to cook with a pinch of salt. While it cooks, combine the basil, spinach and nuts in a food processor with approx. 1/2 cup olive oil and about 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Add less/more olive oil depending on the consistency you're after. Then just stir the pesto into the cooked pasta, add some fresh spinach leaves and fresh tomato and it's all done! Top with cheese if you like. Perfect for a night in front of the TV.

Recipe: Super Easy Vegan & GF Salted Caramel Slice

A few months ago I began slowly changing my diet to cut out refined sugar, dairy, and gluten. I've been a vegetarian for many years and to me this seemed like a very doable and rewarding next step. The one challenge I kept facing was that my obsessive sweet tooth meant I was constantly craving a chocolate bar or bag of sweets, and I knew I needed to figure out how to make some healthier alternatives. I began reading some amazing blogs and recipe books (post on some of these coming soon), and now my pantry is stocked with ingredients that I can throw together to create some sweet deliciousness. Admittedly this is a little dangerous, but so far I am loving creating new and exciting treats.

This week I experimented a little bit and created something absolutely incredible: vegan, gluten free and refined sugar free salted caramel slice. Caramel slice has been a favourite of mine since I was a little kid, so this made me so so happy! This recipe is super duper easy, and you only need a handful of ingredients.

Salted Caramel Slice (Vegan, GF, Refined Sugar Free)

Makes approx. 16 bars

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook/cool time: approx. 2 hours

Ingredients:

• For the crust
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1 cup brown rice flour
• 1/3 cup coconut oil (melted)
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
• For the caramel filling
• 5 medjool dates, pitted and halved
• 1/2 cup almond butter (homemade works best here)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1 small tin full-fat coconut milk
• For the chocolate top layer
• 100g vegan chocolate chips
• 1 tbsp coconut oil

Method:

1. Start by preheating the oven to 180°C or 160°C fan-forced. While the oven is heating up, mix the crust ingredients together in a bowl until it is a dough-like consistency. Line a tray with baking paper or grease with coconut oil, and evenly spread the crust mixture out in the tray.
2. Place the crust in the oven for about 20-25 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. While it is baking, place all the caramel filling ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat, and keep stirring until it forms a slightly runny, mostly goeey consistency. If you want it totally smooth (the dates will add some texture), then just blend it for a few seconds once it's mostly smooth.
3. Once the crust is done and cooled, pour the caramel filling over it and place it in the fridge for about an hour, until it is nearly solid. 
4. Melt the vegan chocolate with the tablespoon of coconut oil either over the stove or in the microwave, and pour over the other layers. Place it in the fridge again for another hour.
5. Once the chocolate layer has solidified, remove it from the pan and slice into pieces. Enjoy the caramel and chocolatey goodness!

If you try this recipe, let me know in the comments below how they turned out, or tag me on Instagram with @rebeccasather!

x B

Today's the Day

Note: today's post is on a slightly different note. Not 'serious' but related to something that is very important to me. 

I've been a vegetarian for six years now, and don't miss meat one bit. I've been wanting to commit to veganism for about a year now, but haven't for two reasons: cheese (honestly, I eat way too much of it); and the fact that my school dining hall doesn't have a lot of vegan options.

This week I watched the film Cowspiracy and I can honestly say that it has changed how I think about food in general, and particularly about animal agriculture. This morning I had cereal with milk, and couldn't bring myself to finish the milk. That's when I knew it was about time for me to fully commit to veganism. 

I'm not one to tell people how to live their lives, but it is frustrating when meat eaters don't know the facts about animal agriculture. So I would encourage you to do some reading, watch Cowspiracy, and see if you still feel like eating a steak for dinner. Just learn the facts and then decide for yourself. 

x B

An Introduction

I have a vivid memory of being four years old, returned from a friend's birthday party. I arrived home with a painted face and a wand in hand, and danced around my bedroom all afternoon because I felt beautiful and powerful and like nobody could hold me down. I was four years old and I had the most wonderful sense of self-worth (which has slowly but surely fluctuated over the last decade or so). This year I decided that I wanted to feel as beautiful, powerful and independent as that four year old did, so I set myself a list of five goals to achieve by the time I reach twenty (next year, what???) years old. 

1. Not give a shit what strangers think of you. Sure, I care what my friends think of me. This doesn't mean I'm going to change who I am or what I look like based on their opinions. I respect them but I don't always agree with them. So if my friends don't control my perception of myself, why should strangers? With this comes two 'sub-goals' to help increase my confidence: a) increased fitness; and b) increased hydration for lovely skin.
2. Read a book (for pleasure) every month. It might not seem like a challenge, but on top of all my assigned reading for school, I think I'll be busy.
3. Smile more! Smile at strangers, at cute boys, at professors, at lovely old couples walking their dogs around campus. Life's too short, spread joy wherever possible.
4. Declutter! I'll never be a minimalist (too attached to my books), but I do want to sort through my belongings before I hit the big 2-0.
5. Go vegan! I've been vegan off-and-on for the last six months, and vegetarian for six years, so this is something I hope to become more committed to.

So, anyways. That was a pretty hopeless introduction. I tried.

Basically, I'm Bec, I'm currently a sophomore at a little west-coast college and I'm originally from Melbourne, Australia.

Until next time,

B