Fairypants Vegan Cosmetics: September 2015

Tuesday, 29 September 2015

Hello, saucy!

Another of our recipe instalments here- this time for mint sauce. I’d never made it before, but we currently have a glut of wild mint growing in our garden, and I wanted to make use of it!

This recipe is really cheap to make – if you’re not as lucky to have mint growing for free, you can buy it fresh, fairly cheaply in the supermarkets. You could try buying a ‘living’ plant (where you have to water it) – that would last you longer and would mean you could make more batches, or even make more mojitos. Alternatively, you can also buy mint by the bunch – one bunch will be enough to make a couple of jars of mint sauce.

This recipe is super easy too – my mum remembers her granddad making mint sauce to this recipe when she was little, so it’s served the test of time!

You will need half a cup of chopped mint leaves, one cup of malt vinegar and some granulated sugar. This is exactly how my great granddad used to make it!

I whizz the mint leaves up in the blender so they’re nice and small. It’s nice to leave some hand chopped though, as it gives a more homemade feel to it.

Simmer the malt vinegar and a couple of tablespoons of sugar on a medium heat. Once bubbles start to form, add the mint leaves, and simmer for around 20 minutes. Keep tasting it towards the end, and add more sugar or even water to taste.

This mint sauce is by far the best I’ve ever tasted – and mum said it was just as she remembered it. One thing to remember though, we’re used to mint sauce being quite thick – when I put it on a roast dinner, it kind of sits on the top in a little blob. This mint sauce is not like that!

It looks more like mint floating in vinegar (which indeed, is what is is), but I swear to you, you won’t look back. I even added some to my gravy, and it was absolutely lovely. This mint sauce will keep for 8-10 months in the fridge. xox

Friday, 25 September 2015

Make the most of the last days of sunshine...

By adorning your talons with our super fresh Matte nail varnish collection!

These beauties are all perfect for this time of year- the pastel shades keep them light and summery, but the matte finish makes them just that bit different, so they've got a bit of a trans-seasonal thing going on.

My favourite is probably Parma Violet.

I REALLY like the shade, it's a cool, almost powdery lilac- it looks like an outfit the Queen might wear. I also love the name - and the fact that it's available as a gift set with out other Parma Violet products! If you're mad for the scent, then it's worth adding this to your collection.

Next up it's Sherbet Lemon.

This one is so zingy, it's unreal! It's a wonderfully sunny yellow that's really toned down with the matte finish - it really suits this shade.

Bubblegum is another fave -

This blue is really gorgeous, it looks like the sky on a sunny spring day. Again, it really suits the matte finish, it makes the blue really pop!

Chocolate Lime is one of our best sellers...

It's the kind of green you see used for grass in a watercolour, or a Ladybird story book. This is all kinds of nostalgic, and that can only be a good thing!

And finally, Strawberry Bon Bon is last but not least.

This pink is a lot... fuller than you might expect. Pastel pinks can feel really washed out, but not this bad boy. Strawberry Bon Bon packs a bit of a punch, despite still being all demure and coy. It's the perfect choice if you want to make a slightly quiet statement.

Fashion tells us to stock up on pastels every spring, but lately the lines have been blurred, with things like baby blue winter coats on the runway. This is proof that you should just do you- if you want to wear baby pink in winter then go for it! Especially if it's one of ours ;-)

xox

Tuesday, 22 September 2015

All kitted out!

Today we want to show you a brand new gift set - and as with all our sets, if you want to keep this bad boy for yourself, we're really not going to judge you for it.

So we all know how popular our Parma Violet fragrances are, right? We thought it was about time we let you have all our Parma Violet products in a super cute gift set! Just in time to add it to your Christmas shopping, or keep it as an Autumn treat. Cause that's a thing.

Here it is!

Parma Violet Gift Set

How lush is that? You get all three items pictured for just £16, which is a saving of over £4 - you basically get the lipbalm free, which is a pretty good deal. Your gift set will be lovingly tied up in a cute little box. It looks very pretty, but all of our packaging is completely recyclable, so although it's all lilac, you'll be green.

So let's round up these products -

First up you have the 30ml Perfume, RRP £12.50 - and it smells ace. It's a soft, powdery floral scent. This fragrance opens with green violet leaf and violet flower, followed by a heart of parma violets, warm rose and freesia all descending onto base notes of powdery violet and iris. The blue glass pipette bottle will look gorgeous on your dressing table, and will keep the fragrance at its best for longer.

Then there's the beautiful Nail Varnish - no scent on this one, but the matte shade is definitely reminiscent of a roll of Parma Violets, it's the perfect lilac, and the matte effect is a bit like the chalky finish of the sweets themselves.

Finally, you get the amazing lipbalm - it definitely matches the perfume, it tastes exactly as the perfume smells - which is amazing.

If you or a friend are into the Parma Violet scent, then this is the kit for you - indulge your senses, and get your beauty routine all matchy matchy. You know you want to. Get your mitts on it here.

xox

Friday, 18 September 2015

Focus on - Us!

So we quite often share with you the details of one of our lovely stockists - and we'll keep doing that as we keep reaching more cities! But for now, we wanted you to get in on OUR social media action too!

So you're probably already liking us on Facebook (so thank you for that!) but if you're not, please do check us out on there - we can tell you more about our products, and share lots of photos with you. It's also where we'll share info if we're looking for new beauty bloggers to help us out, so if you're one of them, then keep an eye on our page!

Earth nail varnish £3.99

We're also on Twitter - we'll always retweet anything you guys tag us in, so get involved! We can't share so much on there, but we'll always give it a good go!

Apple Crumble perfume £12.50 for 30ml

And lastly, we're on Instagram. We were a bit late to the party with this one, but we're trying to make up for it! We're loving sharing photos, and we're loving seeing yours too, so if you're snapping your latest order, be sure to tag us in it too.

xox

Tuesday, 15 September 2015

DIY-ing to be cool!

So we're definitely not the first to try some upcycling, and we certainly won't be the last. We've got a few blog posts coming up on this subject, because we spent the summer getting ready to move house - so we made lots of cute new things to go in our new abode.

Firstly, we're going to show you how we showed some love to an old rocking chair.

Here it is in it's original state. It was the chair my mum used to rock me as a baby, and although there are no mini fairypants on the horizon just yet, I wanted to keep it in the family.

I'd heard a lot of buzz about Annie Sloan chalk based paints, but when I saw how much they were, I wasn't to keen any more! So I researched some alternatives, and came up with Rustoleum. I bought mine on Ebay, if you search for Rustoleum chalk paint, you'll find a variety of colours.

I went for a duck egg blue. It wasn't the easiest to apply, but that's probably my fault for choosing an awkward piece for my first try. If I was painting a table or a cupboard, I'd probably have found it easier. For a piece like this I'd probably forego the coveted chalk finish, and just get a spray paint.

So here it is finished- it took two coats of the paint to get the finish I wanted, but by the time I'd finished one coat, it was ready for the second. I did the whole thing in an afternoon.

I decided to finish it with a coat of Rustoleum's furniture wax, just to help it last. This was the hardest part! I'd never waxed furniture in my life, so wasn't prepared for the achy wrists. It was worth it though, all in all, this project probably took a day out of my life, and £25 out of my bank account. Well worth it, I'd say.

It's now part of our spare bedroom, and I think it looks lovely! Parrot cushion and bed throw can be found at Asda home, the cushions on the bed are from Primark home, and the bed itself is from Ikea.

If you've had a go at something similar, share your photos!

xox

Friday, 11 September 2015

I mustard ask you a question!

Have you ever made mustard before? If not, why not? We’ve shared a couple of recipes with you before, and we thought you might love to try this – it’s a super easy condiment that doesn’t take long to make, is vegan and will keep for a good while!

If like us, you love a bit of mustard, and would like the chance to make it completely to suit yourself, then give this recipe a go –it’s so easy!

All you need is a cup of mixed mustard seeds, a cup of white vinegar and some seasoning of some kind. We bought our mustard seeds from a really cool Asian supermarket – they were very good value. If you have to buy them from a British supermarket you’ll probably end up paying lots more, so be careful.

The vinegar we used was a white wine vinegar, but you can use any pale coloured vinegar of your choice.

Soak your cup of seeds in the cup of vinegar overnight. After 24 hours, they should have sucked up all if not most of the liquid, and they’ll be squidgy to the touch.

Tip your squidgy seeds into the blender, and whizz them up until it’s the consistency you want. Whizz it quickly if you want more of a wholegrain look, or whizz it for a while longer if you like your mustard smoother.

This is the part when you can add in seasoning – we just added some dried dill to ours. If you want to add liquid, like beer – try using it to soak the seeds along with the vinegar. If you add it at the end, your mustard will be too runny.

Here’s the finished product – we wanted whole grains, so we didn’t whizz it too much! It will keep for a good few months in the fridge, just keep an eye on it in case it’s on the turn. xox

Tuesday, 8 September 2015

Rudey dudey in the nudey!

If you’ve spent the last however long desperately hunting for the perfect nude nail varnish – then search no longer. We’ve made it, and we’ve brought it to you, perfectly packaged, and gorgeously glossy!

We thought we’d better make a collection of nudes, since they’re so highly sought after. We still hadn’t found our perfect nude until we pulled our socks up – but now we’ve got 5 to choose from. We wanted to name them after different kinds of coffee, so it made sense that we made them smell like coffee too! If you’re anything like us, you’ll be inhaling the scent.

We wanted to create a range of suits-all shades, and we’re quietly confident we’ve done just that. The shades range from gorgeously pale Cappucino – perfect for pale English roses, or if you still want to make a bit of a statement with your nude nail.