Taiji Dolphin Slaughter

By the title of this blog you will know that this isn't a beauty blog but about something that shouldn't be happening in this day and age. I decided to write this blog as the slaughter season started on the 1st September and will last until May next year, so far there has only been blue cove days (no slaughtering) but the boats still head out every morning.

I know that there are a lot of people out there that know about this but there are still people that don't even know that this is happening and it needs to stop. There are some people that argue that it is the same as killing cows, sheep, pigs and other animals for meat but it isn't as these animals are bred for their meat and dolphins aren't, also the meat off of these animals aren't toxic and dolphin meat contains high levels of mercury so they are willingly poisoning their own people by selling dolphin meant.

Also they are killed in the most inhumane way as the fisherman round them up by using sound barriers, they create these by lowering poles into the water once they have spotted a pod of dolphins and strategically bang the pole, this is done strategically around the pod so that they become disorientated and are then driven in land and into the bay where this is then sealed off with nets and the dolphins are usually left to calm down usually overnight.
Once the dolphins or porpoises have calmed down the fisherman the enter the bay in small boats and select the dolphins that can then be sold onto marine parks around the world. Once these dolphins have been selected the rest of the pod are inhumanely killed and the meat is the sold to sell across Japan. From the slaughter last year there are still dolphins being held in the sea pens in the harbour of Taiji.

During the last slaughter on the 17th January this year a baby albino dolphin was rounded up with it's mother and the rest of the pod into the cove in Taiji, this pod was then netted up in the cove for over 20hrs. As albino bottlenose dolphins are extremely rare and are worth more than other bottlenose dolphins the baby was the first to be selected and taken for his mother. As she was being handled her mother was frantically calling out for her. After 30 minutes the mother swam to the bottom of the cove and never resurfaced, the albino dolphin that has been named Angel is now living in the Taiji Whale Museum where she is seen swimming in circles and she is also bullied by the some of the other dolphins that she is now living with.
The captive dolphin industry is the driving economic force behind the dolphin slaughter in Japan, as this is a big industry all over the world.

There is no international law that provides protection against the killing of dolphins, the International Whaling Commission offers no protection for the majority of cetacean species including dolphins and porpoises this is why japan can legally kill them by the thousands.

There are ways that you can help to stop the slaughtering of these amazing and clever animals, you can donate, sign petitions and get involved in other ways.
http://dolphinproject.org/
http://www.savejapandolphins.org/
http://www.takepart.com/thecove

This is a link to the 'The Cove PSA' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8JC_239vnc

You can also follow the dolphin project on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for updates on what is happening in Taiji.
https://twitter.com/Dolphin_Project
http://instagram.com/dolphin_project
https://www.facebook.com/ricobarrysdolphinproject

Thank you for taking time out to read this. We are their only hope.

Lou

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Sorry!!

Sorry I haven't posted a new blog lately things have just seemed to get on top of me, my laptop broke and I just got it fixed and as it's been the summer holidays here in the UK I've been spending time with my cousins, went to see my dad and also got my first tattoo.

Good news is that I have blogs written to be uploaded each week and my beauty series will be continuing and I will also write a blog post on my experience of getting a new tattoo and the aftercare that worked well for me as I have eczema.

Then when it gets closer to Christmas I will be doing a gift guide as I have already started my Christmas shopping because I hate shopping at Christmas there's just too many people and I will be ordering most of mine online and I want there to be enough time for shipping and if there are any problems I have time to send it back, some of you may think it's early but I find these next few months fly by and I couldn't deal with how much I had to get last year still in December.

That's it for now the next blog will be up tomorrow.

Lou

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Beauty on a Budget: Primers

Sorry I haven't posted in a while I've been ill and been quite busy, but things should go back to normal now.

So I will get to it, I will start with a primer that I received a sample size of and need to go and purchase this still, it is the MaxFactor Facefinity Primer this is £10.99 at Boots.

I only had a small sample of this but it lasted me three days and made my foundation look amazing, my makeup lasted for about 10 hours with this until I needed to touch up,  it also didn't bother my eczema as at the time I had a bad eczema patch on my forehead and applying this over it, it then held my foundation in place and stopped it from clinging to the dry skin as much. So I will most likely be purchasing this soon and using it when my eczema flares up.

Nivea Express Hydration Primer £4.99 at Boots

I used to love this primer when my skin was really dry and I have recently rekindled my love for it as it's a primer and moisturiser in one. I love this product as it absorbs fast so your not having to wait around to apply the rest of your make up. It hydrates my skin great when my skin is really dry the only problem I have with it is with my eczema patches when they flare up it makes them a bit red so I can't always apply my foundation to that area straight away. It makes my foundation last about 6-8 hours without a touch up depending on the type of day.

 George Face Primer £5.00 at Asda

I picked this primer up when I was wanting to find a new primer so I decided to give this a go as it says it hydrating, there are a few pros and cons to this product. I tried applying it all over my face but it did dry my skin out a bit on my forehead, so I decided to just apply it to my cheeks to see if it helped hide my pores it does a better job just on my cheeks than on the rest of my face, another con to this is that it has to be shaken vigorously before using it or the oil that is in it doesn't mix properly. So it's not the best primer but it's good enough when your on a budget.

Bourjois Paris Happy Light Luminous Serum Primer £10.99 at Boots

Out of all the primers I use I like this the most, this makes my foundation application so flawless whether I'm using a beauty blender or a brush, it has such amazing lasting power and is light weight that it sinks into the skin fast leaving it soft and an even colour, this is my go to primer especially on a night out, it gives a nice luminous finish and I like this best paired with the Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum. I definitely recommend this if you have normal to dry skin but there is also a matte one for combination skin.

Thanks for reading

Lou

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Beauty on a Budget: Skincare

This is the first out of ten beauty on a budget blogs in this series, I hope this will be helpful for you. But, I will say now the products I use work best for me and may not work for you.

There are two scrubs that I use but I have run put of one and need to repurchase it, the one I use twice a week is the St. Ives Sensitive Skin Apricot Scrub which is £4.29 at Boots. I've used a few different scrubs in the past and I have found that this works best for me. I get really stubborn dry patches sometimes and once I've used this it keeps them at bay for a few days as long as I moisturise after. The other scrub I use is the Neutrogena Spot Stress Control which is £4.79 at Boots, I only use this one I have a bad breakout though it's the only thing I have found has worked since I started getting bad breakouts at about 13. I also find this a quite calming face scrub as it has cucumber in.

 After I have exfoliated I moisturise using the NSPA Ultra-Hydrate Cream this as far as I'm aware is only available at Asda, this is great after using the scrub or just as a daily moisturiser I use it for both sometimes but feel it works better after the scrubs. It soaks into the skin great and quite fast, it can be focused mainly on dry patches and I tend to put more on them and just let my skin soak it in.

There probably isn't many people that think that the Boots essentials brand isn't very good but I love the Cucumber Eye Gel which is £1.50, for the price you can't really go wrong there are probably better eye creams/gels that are pricier and better but this is extremely purse friendly and it's lovely and cooling around the eyes, I could tell a difference a few days after I started using it. It's for reducing the puffiness and to hydrate and it has certainly done that for me.

Then last but by no means least there's the Garnier Moisture Match in Dry to Very Dry Skin which is £5.99 from Boots but I always seem to get it when it's on offer. I use this as a daily moisturiser before my make up and on a night after I take my make up off, it definitely leaves my skin feeling soft and hydrated. When I'm having a difficult skin day I also mix a bit into my foundation just to add that extra bit of hydration. I would definitely recommend this moisturiser and if you don't have dry skin check the others out as I'm sure you will find a Moisture Match suitable for you.

Lou

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Beauty on a Budget Series

I have decided to do this series as I can't afford high end products and I know there are a lot of other people out there that can't. As much as I would love to be able to buy high end products and try them. I have to stick to budget brands.

The series will consist of all my favourite affordable skin care, primers, foundations & tinted moisturisers, eye products, lip products, blushers and bronzers, haircare, make up brushes and nail products.

I will be uploading them every friday, starting this week and if you have any ideas for my next series let me know.

Lou

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Elf Haul Part 2

Sorry it's taken me a while to get this post up I've had a few problems with my laptop lately so lets get into the second part of this haul.

So the next thing I added to my basket was this Lipstick in Sociable, it applies really nice and has gorgeous pigmentation but isn't long lasting I had to reapply throughout the day. But, for only £1.95 I would recommend it.

I then decided I wanted to try one of the Moisturising Lipstick in Coral Cutie, I have been wanting a nice coral lipstick for a while and this is a gorgeous colour its not as moisturising as some of the other moisturing lipsticks, but it is good. This lipstick lasts longer than the lipstick above but I did have to reapply it during the day.

Nail Polish in Mango Madness

Nail Polish in Mint Cream

Nail Polish was next as I can never have too much, so I got Mango Madness and Mint Cream, I got these as I don't have any colours similar to these because for some reason I always stayed away from them. I'm glad I got these colours as they are great for this time of year. I applied 2 coats to get it nice and opaque, I also applied a top coat to some and left the other nails without it to see how long it lasted without the top coat, after 2 days there was a bit of chipping but not much so if you're wanting some nail polish to try then you can't go wrong for £2.50.

Mineral Loose Eyeshadow in Outdoorsy

Super Glossy Lip Shine in Mauve luxe

I got two free products with my order I don't really use green eyeshadow so that's going to my sister and the glossy tube I will give to my cousin to use if she wants it as the only glossy tubes I like are the Barry M ones but I don't mind giving these away as they were free.

Thanks for reading

Lou

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Elf Haul Part 1

Last week I did a bit of online shopping and after ordering a set of new make-up brushes, I decided to see if elf had an offer on and there was an offer for 2 free gifts if you spent over a certain amount, so I decided to order some make-up as I've heard lots of mixed reviews about elf.

From just opening the products and swatching them I am quite impressed with the pigmentation, I will do reviews on a few of these products, but I have a feeling I will like them all.

So first off I had a look at the brushes, I just stuck to the basics though as I get fed up of always having to wash my brushes and make sure they are dry by the next day so I ordered a Total Face Brush, Bronzing Brush and a Blending Eye Brush. I did use the eye brush today and it blended my eyeshadow nicely and is soft, the other 2 brushes do feel quite soft as well but I notice a bit of fall out from the Total Face Brush, but it wasn't much so I'm not too bothered.

 I then looked at blushers as I have gone a bit blusher crazy at the moment and whenever I go to town I buy a new one, I was looking for a new bronzer as well so I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and get a Contouring Blush & Bronzing Powder in St Lucia, the blusher is quite light so I may just use it as a highlighter instead and when I swatched the bronzer it is quite shimmery but I don't mind that, it also doesn't seem to orangey like most cheaper bronzers.

An All Over Colour Stick in Pink Lemonade was next to be added to my basket, let me just say it smells so good but I can't think of what it reminds me of, I don't like the idea of using this on cheeks, eyes and lips so I will just be using it as a blusher, I love the colour of this, it's a rosy light pink and very shimmery, it will be lovely in spring and summer to add a healthy looking colour to the cheeks.

Next is an Eyelid Primer in sheer, I'm always wanting to try different eye primers as I hate it when my eyeshadow creases, lately though I haven't been using a primer I've just been using one of my Calvin Klein cream eyeshadows as a base which works quite well but I don't have that many colours, so I thought I would give this primer a go. It's not very thick and is nice and creamy so I'm looking forward to using this.

I love eyeshadow pencils as a quick, in a rush wash of colour over the eyelid, also being able to blend them easily is always a plus, I wanted a nice everyday colour so I got the Jumbo Eyeshadow Stick in French Lace, it's like a light rose gold colour, I also use these as bases for eyeshadow aswell so they are always handy to have in my make up collection.

The final thing in this part of my elf haul I ordered was a Single Eyeshadow in saddle although I have a lot of brown eyeshadows I always want more, I thought that this colour would be great to great a smokey eye with, I also think it will be a nice colour to wear alone, it's a medium brown with a nice shimmer to it.

Part 2 will me up later this week.

Lou
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