What are Parabens?

There is lots of debate about whether we should be worried about using products that have Parabens as part of their formulation. And there are lots of products out there now that boast to be Paraben free. So I decided to do a little research on the subject and to find out what they are and we don't want them!

What are the used for?

Parabens are used by cosmetic companies as a preservative, to make a products shelf life longer. They have been widely used since the 1950's and are relatively inexpensive and effective which makes them so popular with cosmetics companies. There are other natural preservatives such as grapefruit seed oil and vitamin E but they are not as effective over the long term.
There are four chemical parabens that all have a similar molecular structure that are commonly found in our products:

• Butylparaben 
• Ethylparaben
• Methylparaben*
• Propylparaben*

*These two are the most commonly used.

You will most likely find Parabens in pretty much any personal care product you use such as shampoo's, conditioner's, moisturiser's, makeup, cleansers (both facial and body) and scrubs, the list goes on. All these hold a significant amount of water or aqua and the Parabens are put in place to discourage the growth of microbes or bacteria. (Microbes are little single celled organisms that are extremely adaptable to any condition and believe it or not, are essential in our survival!) Any product with a paraben included will be listed in with the ingredients on the back of your product and sometimes they may even be two of them! 

So why all the debate?

Parabens can be absorbed through the skin and have been known to interfere with hormones. 

In the 1990's parabens were deemed xenoestrogens, agents that mimic estrogen in the body. This increase and disruption of estrogen is something that has been linked to breast cancer and reproductive problems. A British researcher found parabens present in malignant breast tumors but there is currently no scientific link to parabens causing cancer, so please don't panic yet!

Parabens have also been found to be skin irritants.

So at the end of the day there's currently no need to panic and stop using your products that have parabens as part of their formulation. But if you are concerned you can find many paraben free products out there on the market today. But make sure you read the ingredient list as some times it may say paraben free* or as I have found with sulfate free* (be mindful of the asterisk*!) that some times they lie! (more on that in another post!) 
You may find that some paraben products will be a little more pricey but that could be because using a more natural ingredient to preserve a product is a little more pricey than using the cheaper paraben chemicals. THE BODY SHOP is a good place to start looking for paraben free products.

There are also a list of oils that you can use as moisturisers that will be 100% natural and completely chemical free! My top picks are Coconut oil (body & hair), Avacado oil (face) and Almond oil (hair). But you may want to experiment with them as some may cause break outs. From experience I personally cannot use Olive oil or Coconut oil on my face for long periods of time with out an out right attack from Spot Nation.

I hope that this post has been informative and that you have a better understanding of what parabens are

Have a great day!

Jen x

Review | Yes To Tomatoes Daily Balancing Moisturiser

I first heard about the Yes To range while watching a SLOABN (SecretLifeOfABioNerd) video on YouTube, and when I saw that Boots had started carrying some of the range I had to give it a try.

Information |

Brand | Yes To (tomatoes)

Product | Daily Balancing Moisturiser for Combination Skin

Size | 50ml / 1.7 fl oz

Price | £11.99

Purchased at | Boots

Made in | USA

Would I re-purchase | Yes, maybe

Yes To claim to be a brand with products that are as close to natural as the can get. This particular product has 97% of its ingredients listed as natural. Its key natural ingredients are Tomatoes and Watermelon.

Ingredients

Aqua, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil, Glyceryl Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice*, Glycer in, Cetyl Alcohol, Theobroma Cacao Seed But ter, Glyceryl Laurate, Capsicum Frutescens Fruit Extract, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides, Phenoxyethanol, Olea Europaea Fruit Oil*, Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil, Potassium Sorbate, Tocopherol, Xanthan Gum, Aspalathus Linearis Extract*, Chomilla Recutita Flower Extract*, Solanum Lycopersicum Fruit Extract*, Maris Sal, Cucurbita Pepo Fruit Extract*, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract*, Alcohol, Citrullus Vulgaris Fruit Extract, Parfum, Coumarin, Limonene, Butylphenyl Methylpropional, Linaolol.

*Certified Organic Ingredient 

Its also free from Parabens, Patroleum and SLS. 

Product Discription

"We know you juggle many aspects of life on a daily basis, hydrating and balancing your skin shouldn't be one of them.

Let us tend to your needs with Yes to Tomatoes Daily Balancing Moisturiser.

Rich in antioxidants and powerful sebum (acne-causing oil) absorbers, it both moisturises and balances, keeping your complexion carefree.

So, go on, give up the balancing act and try something more fun, like the trapeze"

Yes To also have a charitable foundation called the Yes To Seed Fund, that plants gardens for children. 

The moisturiser uses a pump mechanisum rather than a tube pump, make sense? So each time you pump a level rises up inside pushing the product out of the container, making it easy to get all of the product out with no wastage at the end.

So what to I think?!

I like it. I bought this on my Birthday back in June and have been using it every day since then, so I've had it for a little over 2 months and I have what I estimate to be about a week and a half to two weeks left of product.

I use this right after I wash my face morning and night, and smooth it in, then pat in any excess product. It has a very mild, clean, fresh and natural scent, which you just about pick up. The moisturiser its self is quite light but does have a thick consistency and does feel a little oily, but it absorbs into the skin easily enough and leaves a soft matte, but dewy look.  

My skin feels well moisturised and clean directly after use, and its a nice base for makeup. My skin has been pretty clear since using this, but currently as I right this I'm in the midst of bit of a break out, which I think has something to do with upping my water intake and all the toxins being flushed out of my system. Well I hope that's what is happening! (I do plan on writing about it soonish! So stay tuned if your interested!)

As for its daily balancing act, with skin as oily as mine, I think any product labeled as balancing or mattifying or what ever, is truly going to have bit of a hard time really sticking to its claims. It does do well for about an hour then Mr. Shiny starts to appear on my forehead and cheeks. Soon enough I'm Lady of the Oil Slick. So if you have oily skin don't expect not to get oily! I think any other skin type will be fine with this. Like I said its nice and light and nourishing.

Just to quickly clarify, I'm not blaming the moisturiser for my oil laden face, just nature! I also thing in part the other products I use afterwards i.e: my BB Creams or my foundation contribute to the overall oilyness of my face.

I think all in all, the Yes To Tomatoes moisturiser does a good job, and I would be willing to re-purchase it again.

I have the clearing facial mask in the Yes To Tomatoes range and the Yes To Grapefruit Dark Circle corrector as well in my arsenal of things to review!

Have a great day guys!

Jen x

Heatless Hair Adventures | Straw Curls / Waves #2

Ready for another Heatless Hair Adventure? We are still on straws, but this time I promise the result will be less poodlerific!

Here's what you will need!

What we are going to be doing is making our straws thicker to create more of a substantial curl/wave effect.

Start buy gathering 4 straws together, if you want bigger fuller curls use more. (I'll try that out at a later date and post the results)

Secure with masking tape, you can also use little hair ties but I find this works better for me.

You want to make enough straw rollers to cover your head, I've made 8 in total.

And then once your ready, your hairs all combed through, spray a section damp with water and wrap your hair around the straws from top to bottom, I find this the easiest way to do it.

I then repeated this all over my head, using 7 of my 8 straw rollers and left them in for approximately 3 and a half hours.

The result...

Pretty, tight waves. I'm also wearing the red lip gloss I made from my last post! 

Give this a go and let me know how you get on!

Have a great day!

Jen x

DIY | Lip Gloss

I'm sure you all know by now that I love a DIY. And today I'm sharing with you this super quick and easy DIY for lip glosses.

Here's what you will need:

~ Eye shadow's or Blushers

~ Containers

~ Castor Oil

First up what you want to do is scrape in to your containers an decent amount of your eye shadow or blush.

The first two are MUA blushers in Shade1 and Bubblegum. Then I have a magenta eye shadow, a pale pink and a coral. And finally a cream bush I  thought I would try by Natural Collection in Rosy Pink.

Then simply add in your Castor oil, I just eyeballed it to get the amount I wanted, then simply mix together to combine, make sure you get those little bits.

And here we have all six. What I noticed was that once the shadow or blush was combined with the castor oil the colouring would change, so each lip gloss ended up different to how it had look in powder form. So this is a really important thing to consider.

These are our swatches. The second from the top was the MUA blusher in Bubblegum and this is my favourite shade. The magenta pink shadow turned purple! And is extra sparkly on, would be great if you were creating a scifi or halloween look!

The cream blush is the one second from the bottom and didn't mix overly well with the castor oil. All the other colours came out very nude, which is perfect if your a fan of nudes. Sadly I don't have the lips or skin tone to carry nudes, so I doubt I'll use those.

I did take some photos of the swatches on my lips, but in photo's my lips are really wonky looking so I decided against that! Sorry!

This little DIY was really easy to do and I hope you give it a go!

Credit for the idea goes to beautyklove.

Have a great day!

Jen

How To: Top Knot

Here is my quick and easy how to for the classic top knot. 

Here's what you will need:

A scrunchie, preferably one close to your hair colour, a smoothing brush, a clear hair tye, this one is by Scunci and bobby pins.

1. Start off by brushing your hair up and back in to a high pony using the smoothing brush.

2. Then tie you pony using your scrunchie.

3. Next simply wrap your hair around the scrunchie and pull your clear hair tye over the top of your top knot.

4. Secure any sticky outtie bits with bobby pins.

5. The your good to go!

This hairstyle is great for second or third day hair as the grease in your hair keeps the fly away's at bay and its great for summer! It can look really sleek and fashionable with all hair including your fringe slicked back.

Hope you try out these tips the scrunchie makes the top knot nice and bulky as apposed to flat or tight.

Have a great day guys! 

Oh and happy 100th post!

Jen x

My Top 5 Tips for Healthy, Happy Hair

Hi guys! Today I'm going to share with you my top 5 tips for keeping your hair looking its best.

1. DO NOT WASH YOUR HAIR EVERY DAY

I know that for a lot of people this is something that seems impossible or gross, but forgoing a wash can really help your hair's health in the long run. On your scalp you have thousands of sebaceous glands, which produce an oil that helps to protect the hair and keep it soft, supple and shiny. And if you wash your hair every day, you strip away those natural oils before they have been able to do there job. So try going for every other day and use a dry shampoo like Batiste to get rid of the grease between washes.

2. TURN DOWN THE HEAT

Try to limit the amount of heat you put on your hair through. Let your hair air dry as often as possible, or if your in a rush use the coolest heat setting on your hair dryer. If your not going anywhere don't worry about straightening/curling your hair, let it have a rest, try to do it for 'special' occasions or when your really need too. And when you do, make sure you liberally spray on heat protector to help minimise the damage left by hot tools. Too much heat can leave your hair feeling really dry and brittle. I'm not saying don't ever use them, just use heat in moderation.

3. NEVER BRUSH YOUR HAIR WHEN IT IS WET

Or even comb it. Your hair is its most fragile when it is wet, so pulling a brush or comb through it is a bit like hair torture. Ever hear that horrible rip or snap of the strands? Ouch! It leaves breakage and split ends behind. Instead, what I like to do is find my parting with my fingers and part my hair, if like me and you have a fringe, I do comb this in to position, simply so it doesn't dry in a wacky way. Then let your hair completely dry before combing it through. And believe it or not your hair will untangle its self as it relaxes and dries making it easier to brush out, resulting in less snagging.

4. DEEP CONDITIONING/HAIR OILING

For super soft locks its always great to deep condition on a regular basis. Find a deep conditioning hair mask that works for you and use it at least once a week. Alternatively and some times more cheaply, picking a natural oil that does good for your hair and deep conditioning your hair with it is just as good, if not even better! Try coconut oil, its one of the few that really penetrates the hair shaft. I like to leave it on over night and wash it out in the morning. It leaves your hair super soft and shiny. Read my post HERE.

5. REGULAR TRIMS

Whether it be by a salon or do it your self at home, regular trims can help maintain the overall appearance and health of your hair. Ever noticed how ratty your hair can look if you go a while between hair cuts? And then how gorgeous and healthy it looks afterwards?
But if your growing out your hair, like me you may think that cutting your hair is a no go. The simple fact is, it doesn't have to be. I haven't actually been to the hairdressers this year but my hair doesn't look like its been abandoned either. Instead I've been trimming my hair at home which is really easy to do. The general way that I do it, for example is, if you lift a section of hair up and look at it, how straight/level are the ends? Are they all varying lengths making it look a little bit messy? I simply find the best level and cut straight across. If you want I'll do a hair trimming post next time I'm due a trim. (btw, I'm not a trained hairdresser it will be just me showing you how I do it) But in general keeping up with hair cuts is a great way too keep your hair looking its best.

*Images have been googled and some edited*

Hope you have liked my tips and found some of it of use!
I'll be back with more hair tips later on!

Have a great day!

Jen x

Elf's Kitchen | Chicken Katsu Curry

Hi guys! Welcome back to Elf's Kitchen! Today I'm going to be sharing with you this CHANNEL 4 recipe for Chicken Katsu Curry. You of course can just click on the link and go straight to the website from here, but I have pictures :) pictures make everything better!

This yummy curry has been made super popular by restaurants such as Wasabi and Wagamama's. With its fried chickeny goodness and mild curry sauce its an ever popular dish here in the UK. And better yet its so easy to make at home!

If you can't read my scrawl here is what your are going to need:

• 1 TBSP of Vegetable Oil
• 1 Onion, peeled and chopped
• 5 whole Garlic gloves, peeled
• 2 Carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 TBSP of Plain Flour
• 1 TBSP of Medium Curry Powder
• 600ml of Chicken Stock
• 2 TSP of Honey
• 1 TBSP of Soy Sauce
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 1/2 TSP of Garam Masala
• Salt and Pepper
• 4 Chicken Breasts
• 100g of Flour seasoned well
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 120g of Cornflakes, crushed
• Vegetable Oil to shallow fry

Start by peeling and chopping up your onion. Then peel your garlic. Heat your oil in a pan, then add in your onions and garlic, and saute for a few minutes. 

Then peel and chop up your carrots and add them in. Place the lid on top of your pan and allow to sweat for 10 minutes. You want your vegetables to begin to soften.

Measure out your flour and curry powder then add those in to the vegetables and stir in, allowing to cook for a minute.

Slowly add in your chicken stock, be sure to stir as you go to combine it with the flour and curry powder. Next add in your honey, soy and bay leaf and give it a little stir. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer and thicken for about 20 minutes.

Now you want to add in your salt & pepper and Garam Masala powder. Give it a good stir.

Then take it off the heat, remove the bay leaf and using a stick blender if you have one, blend everything together to get rid of all of the lumps. You'll end up with a nice soup like consistency. Place it back on a low heat just to keep warm .

Next up, preparing the chicken. You want to lay out on a plate, your seasoned flour, then in separate bowls the crushed cornflakes and whisked egg.

Start by rolling around your chicken breasts in the flour until well coated. Then dip them in to your bowl of egg making sure it is all well covered. Finally you want to place them in to your corn flakes and cover up the chicken as much as you can with the cornflakes.

Then in a frying pan you want to heat up your vegetable oil. I put in enough to completely cover the bottom and then a little extra.

What I like to do, as this helps to cook the chicken through thoroughly, is slice through it, but not all the way through, so that as it is cooking you can see whether it is still pink or not. Through out cooking you want to flip your chicken to cook both sides.

Once cooked slice all the way through and serve on a bed of sticky rice and cover with your curry sauce.

Bon Appetite!

Hope you enjoy this recipe and definitely give it ago. The cornflakes give the chicken a really nice crunch but if you prefer you can use bread crumbs instead!

Have a great day guys!

Jen x