Tag Archives: bathtime

Cruelty-Free Bathtimes | Introducing Stvdio 5

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“There must be quite a few things that a hot bath won’t cure, but I don’t know many of them.”

- Sylvia Plath

For me baths are one of those magic cures for almost everything, be it the beginnings of an illness, the stress of a bad day or any sort of aches and pains. When I lived in South Korea, it was like a dream come true that going out for a bath was a perfectly sociably acceptable thing to do with my friends and that is firmly on the list of things I will never stop missing about Korea. The bath is also one of my favourite places to read, knowing I’ll be undisturbed and can completely immerse myself in it (I’m currently reading The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe and am hoping to sneak off into the bathroom and finish it this coming week during a long soak).Cruelty-free BathtimesIn a recent blog post, I shared some of my favourite cruelty-free beauty blogs and mentioned how much I would love to share more on this topic, including introducing and sharing my support for the lovely companies who, well, make bathtime better! And on that note, today I’d like to introduce Stvdio 5. Stvdio 5 - Vegan CosmeticsBased in East London, Stvdio 5 are a small company who specialise in natural vegan products. Designed and produced in Britain with locally sourced ingredients, the products are handmade, making each one unique. As well as 100% vegan products, Stvdio 5 are cruelty-free and ensure their suppliers are too. By using natural ingredients that have been used for generations, they can also be sure these were not developed through animal testing.

To make sure their products are kind in all respects, Stvdio 5 do not use sodium laureth sulfate (SLS) in any of their range. SLS is often used as a foaming agent in bath, shower and hair products, and a known skin irritant and questionable long-term safety.Stvdio 5 - Vegan Cosmetics Stvdio 5 kindly sent me a ‘pamper kit’ and it really lived up to its name. Their bath truffles and shower soaps are delicately scented with essential oils and left my skin feeling well and truly loved. I would probably call the bath truffles more of a bath bomb as they fizz when you drop them in but they do leave the water feeling richer as you would expect from the name. The lavender bath truffle was perfect for a relaxing pre-bedtime bath with the lavender oil having been blended with myrrh and amber for a luxurious scent. Stvdio 5 - Vegan CosmeticsThese beautiful little chocolate shower soaps and English rose soap are made with cold-pressed oils and cleansing kaolin clay. To make their soaps even more skin-friendly, Stvdio 5 have used tea-tree oil; a natural antibacterial and antiseptic that supports the skin in preventing and combating a whole array of conditions.Stvdio 5 - Vegan CosmeticsI also love the fact that they all arrive wrapped in recycled packaging – although one of my bath truffles did crumble in transit so maybe they could do with something a little more robust or maybe a more tightly packed box.

It’s always great to find new, independent companies who are starting out with firm principles and fantastic items, and I’m looking forward to trying more from Stvdio 5!

What bath products have tried lately? Share your cruelty-free recommendations in the comments!

Iceland Diary: The Blue Lagoon

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If I had to describe the Blue Lagoon in one word, it would probably be ‘heaven.’ Soft blue water, delicate steam rising, endless hours (well, about three) of soaking, the cool breeze above the water, rocky mountains in the backdrop; I couldn’t ask for more from a place.Blue Lagoon 3

Visiting early in the day, arriving before the crowds build up too much, is ideal. We arrived as it was opening (10am September-May, 9am in summer) and the lagoon was almost empty. There was however quite a queue so I would recommend looking into booking online as you get to queue-jump – something we neglected to do.Blue Lagoon 2

Situated just under forty kilometres outside of Reykjavik and only thirteen kilometres away from Keflavík International Airport, the Blue Lagoon is easily accessible by bus. There is the option to visit en route to or from the airport, with a stop-off and onwards transfers. depending on your flights times this could be a really good idea. It didn’t quite fit in with our schedule so we chose to travel to and from Reykjavik, via bus.

We found Bustravel Iceland to be the cheapest at 300ISK return – they also offer a discount for booking online here. You are picked up directly from your hotel then dropped off at the Blue Lagoon, with the option to return on any of their later buses.Blue Lagoon 6

It is not essential to bring your own towels but as there is a charge to rent them (5EUR), if you have your own you may as well take them to avoid an unnecessary spend. Bathrobes are also available to hire for ten Euros; though they would be lovely for the walk between the changing rooms and the pool, it is a very short walk! The only thing I wish I had brought along is a pair of flip-flops for walking around in but it wasn’t a disaster without.The Blue Lagoon, Iceland

At various “stations” within the lagoon, you can find fresh silica mud to use as a face mask. We coated our faces and let it dry for about fifteen minutes. It did make our faces lovely and soft but the best part about this was probably seeing so many people in face masks (they look comical on anyone!) The water itself is rich in minerals, which give it the gorgeous light blue colour, believed to be good for skin ailments.

There is also a bar in the lagoon itself where you can get various drinks, including beer or wine, but we felt so cleansed that it would have felt wrong to have any alcohol so we went for smoothies. You are given a wristband which acts both as your locker key and also as a means to charge any extras ready to pay on the way out – this is a nice touch as it means you don’t have to worry about taking money into the water.Blue Lagoon 4

The lagoon is man-made – the water comes from the next-door power plant, Svartsengi. Calling it “run off” doesn’t sound especially glamorous, but once the geothermal water is brought up from the ground and run around the turbines it then makes its way to the lagoon. Apparently the lagoon formed unintentionally as the station operated leading people to take advantage and start to bathe in it – this turned out to be such a good idea that the lagoon became what it is today!Blue Lagoon 5

Though sometimes written off as a tourist trap or criticised for not being an entirely naturally occurring phenomenon, the Blue Lagoon is 100% worth visiting in my opinion and I wouldn’t have missed it for anything! Not cheap at 5600ISK (35EUR) per person, but unmissable.

What’s the most memorable place you’ve ever bathed?

More in my Iceland Diary:

Iceland Diary

Ways to Explore Reykjavik

Vegetarian Reykjavik

Reykjavik’s Street Art

The Golden Circle

Little Vegetarian Treats

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You know, these first few weeks of my blog have been pretty wonderful – I never dreamed anyone would already have read my blog, let alone have commented or followed it. You’ve all made me feel very welcome indeed and I appreciate that so much.

In my mind like I’m slowly building up a semblance of a blogging calendar and recipes & travel tales are firmly on the agenda and I’ll definitely be incorporating more restaurant reviews as well. As a personal space, it seems only right that it be not only about what I create but what inspires me or other little bits and bobs I’ve found here and there, so I’m working out how to include things like that and it may require a little experimentation… Right now I’d like to share a couple of little vegetarian treats I’ve enjoyed recently.

GoodyGoodStuff Strawberry & Cream Gummies

Strawberries and cream gummiesI often get the question, as I’m sure many vegetarians do, of ‘don’t you miss bacon?’ Well as it goes, I don’t in the slightest (and find the smell totally off-putting!) In fact, the only thing I do miss as a veggie is gummy sweets. Depending on where you live it’s not always easy finding gelatine-free ones and, whilst missing out on sugary sweets isn’t the worst thing in the world, it’s quite a treat to find some.

During an impromtu trip to York at the weekend I stumbled across Alligator Wholefoods (they have a website here) which was full to the brim of veggie and vegan goodies and I picked up some yummy yummy mini strawberry & cream gummies. Using gellan and carrageen in place of gelatine the texture of these was perfect and they weren’t overly sugary. If you’re still not convinced, these are gluten free, dairy free, soy free, nut free and only use natural flavourings. The flavour I opted for isn’t vegan (it contains beeswax) but some of their varieties are. Highly recommended!

Lush Fun

Lush funA few weeks ago there was a mystery parcel outside of my door. I honestly had no idea what it was. The package sported a ‘Lush’ logo on the label and I knew I hadn’t ordered anything from there. I’m pretty sure my boyfriend thought I was losing my mind and forgetting what I’d bought. As it turned out, I’d won a competition and inside the package was a Lush giftbox! That’s right, I’d actually won a competition and the prize had been directly posted to me (I didn’t even remember entering but it was from Vegetarian Living who always have competitions running here).

One of the items was a bar of ‘Fun,’ kind of a bathtime play dough with lime oil and lemon oil providing a refreshing citrus scent. I tested out a small chunk by moulding it into a penguin and popping it into the bath. The best way to use it is to crumble it under the tap… a lesson I learned after dropping it into the bath and finding a sloppy lump later on. Presumably crumbling it would also result in more bubbles – I still got a few though alongside minty green bath water and lemony steam. Certified vegan, apparently it can also be used in the shower and as shampoo but that sounds a bit messy to me. I’ll definitely be making more cute animals (what else!?) and using it in my bath again!

What little treats have you found lately? Have you tried either of these?