Festival Hair + Makeup Inspiration - Cultural Appropriation

In a few weeks I'm heading off to Latitude Festival and despite it not being my first festival, it's the first time I feel I can fully unleash my OTT festival goer look.
I doubt rocking up to Reading last year with glittered eyebrows would've gone down too well...

If you're not 100% sure what meant by the term "cultural appropriation", put simply, it's when a person adopts a different cultures practises and/or costume disrespectfully, purely for aesthetic purposes.  It carries strong connotations of western cultures exercising their privilege to completely disregard the sacred elements of cultures that have been around for thousands of years. 

Festivals are renowned for being pretty appalling when it comes to cultural appropriation. The first images I saw when looking up "festival outfits" or "festival makeup" on Pinterest were of people wearing bindis and elaborate, red-Indian head dresses. 

Luckily, there are hundreds of other ways to jazz up your festival look whilst still being a perfectly respectful and party ready punter... 

Metallic Winged liner / Shimmery eyeshadow or coloured mascara - some of the easiest and most subtle ways to experiment with you festival look if you not such a fan of the full on glitter brow or confetti inspired eye makeup.

Glitter Hair - This looks amazing but I'm not going to lie, the idea of covering my hair in shimmer freaks me out just a tad... If, like me, you're a bit of a glitter wimp you could just paint a couple of strands with glitter paint or get some colourful hair clip ins. 

Gems and Sequins - When In doubt put a bit of Vaseline on your cheeks (acts as adhesive) and whack on some stars or other multi-coloured sequins! 

What festivals are you heading off to this summer? 

(also, don't underestimate Claire's Accessories... They've got your glitter, gem and clip in needs covered... Unleash you're inner 6 year old.)

- Lola -

Brand Focus: Soap & Glory

Soap & Glory are pretty much brand royalty when it comes to the world of affordable pampering products. 
Originating in the UK, Soap & Glory offer a whole range of products from bath and body to makeup and skincare that are all 100% cruelty free. With their good enough to eat scents, quirky packaging and affordable price tags it's no wonder that Soap & Glory are easily up there in my list of the best cruelty free companies.

Since Marcia Kilgore, the serial entrepreneur and general business superwoman, started it up in 2006 the brand has consistently managed to develop and offer a vast array of quality products, wining S&G countless awards and a very loyal customer base.

Not only did they win me over with their morals and unique branding but they’re also really concerned with the environmentally strenuous effects of their industry. They are campaigning to get us Brits to reduce our water consumption by taking shorter showers, with their 2-Minute Rinse mission.

On their website I found this scary statistic: “The average 5-minute shower uses 35 litres of water; 70% of our recommended daily water use.” No wonder they are so keen to promote more mindful washing!

Although they are arguably best known for their bath and shower products, I tend to use items from their makeup range far more than any other bits they offer. Probably due to the fact that I, ashamedly, tend to neglect my poor body and am far more inclined to experiment when it comes to makeup. Luckily, their beauty range doesn’t disappoint and of my all time favourite products include:

Make Up:

Brow Archery - Double ended brow felt tip and pencil

Eye shadows - Great pigmentation and amazing colour pay off.

Solar Powder Bronzer - Perfect for pale skinned girls

Skin Care and Body:

No Clogs Allowed - Self heating Face Mask; Feels a bit bazaar when it starts to heat up but also strangely satisfying...

Scrub Your Nose in it - Gentle but effective pore refining exfoliator

Flake Away Body Scrub - Just Smell it.

Although I'm sure most of you have at least one S&G item sitting on your shelf, hopefully now you know a little more about the brand itself!

- Lola -

Brand Focus: Haeckels

Haeckels are an all-natural and hand crafted skincare and fragrance brand. They harness all their products goodness from the underestimated power of the humble seaweed...

Yes, you heard right, seaweed. Mad but genius. As it turns out seaweed contains a staggering amount of anti-oxidant properties that can help protect against cell damage.
All their products are 100% cruelty free and the vast majority are vegan, with only a few containing bees wax.

Haeckles own one of the only two licences to harvest seaweed from the English coast, something which they take great pride in, aiming to source all their seaweed as locally as possible.
So far I've tried out three different products from their range: The exfoliating seaweed block, Bog Mrytle incense and seaweed tea. All of which granted, sound a little bazaar but have defiantly not disappointed when it comes to quality, longevity, sent or taste.

Even their packaging is carefully crafted. Made from glass rather plastic which enables the bottles to be re-used and recycled, consequently limiting the environmental impact of their products. The tinted, amber glass was chosen for its ability to block out any potentially damaging effects of the sun, meaning the product inside remains as fresh as it was when first made.

Due to being an all-natural and hand-crafted brand their prices are a little more on the luxurious side, but you're not just paying for a quality product when you support a brand like Haeckles, your supporting creativity, craftsmanship and the uniqueness of the British coastline.

Haeckels have a stunning shop in Margate (see pictures above), which I'd highly recommend visiting if you are ever in the area. Their products are also currently stocked in Selfridges.

haeckels.co.uk

- Lola - 

Super Simple: GF, Oil Free Granola

Ingredients: 

2 cups Rolled Oats

1 tbsp Cinnamon

1/2 cup Sun Flower seeds

1 cup almonds - chopped into small pieces

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup pure maple syrup

The seeds, nuts and dried fruit are 100% customisable and can be changed depending on your personal preferences or just what you've got in your cupboards!

Some really good alternatives are: Coconut Flakes, Chia seeds, Pumpkin seeds, Hemp hearts, sea salt, Cranberries, pecans walnuts, sesame seeds, ground ginger, orange zest, flax seeds and dates.

Instructions
1. Preheat your oven to 160 degrees Celsius or 330 Fahrenheit.  Combine all your dry ingredients, except any dried fruit and the Cinnamon, in a bowl and set aside.

2. In a pan heat your water, vanilla extract, cinnamon and maple syrup for around 2 minutes.
Pour your wet mix into your dry and stir until all the dry ingredients are fully coated.

3. Now evenly spread your granola on dish prepared with a sheet of greaseproof paper and pop it in your preheated oven for 20 minutes; making sure to flip your granola over and break it up into smaller chunks after about 10 minuets.

4. Once the granolas been in for 20 minuets add any chopped fruit and put it back in for a further 5-10 minuets.

5. When the granola is cooked take it out the oven and leave too cool for around 1 hour. When it comes out the oven it might seem a little soft still but that's completely normal, it'll crisp up and form clusters as it cools.

Store in an air-tight container and it'll keep for up to 4 weeks.

Let me know if you try this and what your favourite granola ingredients are

- Lola -