Power in your pocket- 10 awesome ethical beauty buys

I thought I would share with you some of my favorite products that are both cheap and effective. I also try my hardest to be a conscious consumer and shop ethically. I feel like as a consumer the power is in my pocket and I make a point of buying things I know are not tested on animals, have less harmful and yucky ingredients and are guaranteed to get you squeaky clean and/or moisturized

Natures Organics Fruits Hair Spa in Mango and Coconut

This stuff smells amazing, retails for about $4 a bottle at your local supermarket, is Australian made, vegan, not tested on animals, plant based, and even the bottle is made from corn! It is a great everyday shampoo that makes my hair super yummy, there is a whole range of 'flavors' and it is a definite win for the price!

Natures Organics Spa Fruit Sensations Refreshing Body Wash

While we are on the Natures Organics plug (and no, I don't work for them) Their body wash is also sublime- and smells like lime! It makes me smell good, has all the perks of the shampoo and conditioner above, and at $3 or thereabouts a bottle you can have one of each flavor in your shower!

OK Tea Tree Deodorant

Speaking of smelling lovely, you would be hard pressed these days to find an effective deodorant that isn't tested on animals and doesn't have yuckies like aluminum in them. The Lush ones are great, but a bit pricey. I love OK's tea tree deodorant because tea tree is a miracle for soaking up nasties and neutralizing smell so this stuff is effective. I do find on a hot day I need to apply it once more throughout the day and I go through a bottle every 2 weeks (I can be sweaty especially, and I mean dripping, when I exercise) but for around $3 a bottle at the supermarket, I really can't complain.

Lush Buffy Bar

I can't tell you exactly what is in this, the Lush website would tell you, all I know is that my skin is fucking amazing after using it in the shower, unfortunately this doesn't last long at my house, which makes it so much more exciting that they now sell one twice it's size. The Big Buffy bar retails for $25.95 but it lasts a lot longer (well, if you call a couple weeks a lot longer) the trick is to not get carried away with it, smother it over everywhere, then get it away from the moisture!

Lush Angels on Bare Skin facial scrub

Amazing stuff! my skin is never clearer as when I use this stuff, the texture and smell reminds me of Jurlique but for a quarter of the price. Still a little on the expensive side, retailing for $15.95 but it is totally worth it. St Ives is also an affordable option and good quality and I have recently encountered a press release from their parent company stating that they have put a ban on all animal testing, so that could be an option for those of you not close to a Lush or not willing to pay that much

Palmers Olive Butter

Made from "Certified Organic Olives" (um... ok) and admittedly with some er... questionable ingredients, I am still an addict for this stuff. I lather it on thick every day and have tried many many moisturizers in my time, some expensive, some miracle making, but I have always come back to this stuff. I am also excited to say that Palmers are on PETA's 'do not test' list which is great considering how cheap and available their products are (this one comes from the supermarket at about $12 a bottle)

Ecotools Bamboo Sleep Mask

My theory on wrinkles= they happen quicker when you scrunch your face. What makes you scrunch your face? trying to go to sleep or stay asleep without absolute darkness. I know this is a strange theory but I have taken to wearing a sleep mask to try and delay my inevitable aging. Does it work? Maybe. Is the mask good? Most definitely! and at $6.95, made from sustainable materials and designed by an amazing company that makes great beauty accessories, it's a great buy

Ecotools Recycled Steel Nail File

This little gem is $6.95 (or thereabouts) made from recycled steel and sustainable bamboo and works better than any nail file I have previously used. There is no reason not to own one. Seriously.

Vicco Herbal Tothpaste

Like deodorant, you would be hard pressed to find a toothpaste that isn't tested on animals and isn't produced by a major corporate player (hello colgate palmolive!) This stuff is vegan, all natural and makes for a great toothpaste (it really cleans your teeth!) the taste is a bit herbal but you get used to it pretty quick and you will never go back! I find this baby in health food stores and it is on the pricey side (about $8) but it is a small price to pay for actual toothpaste you know isn't evil (an it won't stain your teeth like fluoride toothpastes can)

Premium Spa Australia SOS Hand Cream

This hand cream is shockingly good and shockingly cheap. Here is the thing, I have disastrously dry hands and feet, to the point where the skin on my hands can peel and I get very untidy and painfully dry cuticles. I bought the best hand cream money could buy- it didn't help. This stuff at $5.95 for a standard tube and $12.95 for a giant tube is a life saver. I found it in Big W (but look here for more stockists) The great thing about this product is it is Australian made with organic (and in Australia 'organic' usually means organic) macadamia nut oil, cocoa butter and licorice extract to help with 'hand aging'. It is all natural ingredients and absolutely no animal testing. They tick all the boxes with me and it smells amazing, plus it really truly makes my hands soft as soft can be. Premium Spa also carry a wide range of other beauty products which I am just dying to try

So there you have it, great, cheap beauty products that are good for you, good for the planet and from ethical companies... who would have thought most of these come from the supermarket!

Fat Girls on your television

I don't think fat girls are visable enough, but when we get a lovable character whos is a fat girl on TV, it always gets me a little excited. Here are some of my favourites

Sookie St James (Melissa McCarthy) from Gilmore Girls

TV's favorite protagonist's sidekick and an adorably funny character, Sookie is a top chef and wonderful friend, who doesn't want a friend like Sookie? Portrayed as beautiful, smart and compassionate this favorite character warms all of our hearts

Rosanne (of the same name) of the same titled television show

What's not to love here? big hair, big personality and big humor, Rosanne was a positive image for the average wife and mother who could relate to her witty insights and hysterical responses to the everyday challenges of life and her children and husband's antics, plus her 90s fashion is all back in vogue at the moment, Rosanne invented tights and boyfriend shirts!

Geraldine Granger (Dawn French) from The Vicar of Dibley

The funniest spiritual leader I have ever seen, Dawn French is an absolute comedic genius and is able to make even the biggest fatophobe crack a smile

Ellenor Frutt (Camryn Manheim) from The Practice

A smart, high profile lawyer who is fat... yes! they do actual exist!

Penelope Garcia (Kirsten Vangness) from Criminal Minds

Another quirky, funny smarty pants who is beautiful and chubby. She shows us how hot chubby nerds can be

Bettina (Kathy Bates) Six Feet Under

Becoming Ruth's best friend towards the last seasons, Bettina is wild and unpredictable, bringing Ruth right out of her shell, teaching her to shoplift (from a large department store...), getting her drunk and crossing the border to Mexico on a whim. Bettina is hilarious and compassionate and is my favorite character on Six Feet Under

Dr Stephanie Barnette (Sara Rue) from Big Bang Theory

Although she was not on Big Bang theory long and she did turn out a little er... clingy, Dr Stephanie is gorgeous and makes being bigger look glamourous even next to Penny. Plus, she is a doctor and smart, and rumor has it, we have not seen the last of her on the show

Isabelle Hodes (Allie Grant) from Weeds

Although Isabelle may have lost some of her chub now, she is amazing in earlier episodes. She defies her mother's obvious resentment of her fatness in the most hilarious and awesome ways, such as modeling for a plus size children's clothing label and claiming to her mother that she is a lesbian, not to mention locking her out of the house.

Mercedes Jones (Amber Riley) from Glee

Ok, so there is a lot of mixed arguments about this character, some people claiming that she enhances stereotypes about being a fat African-American women in a partially homogenous setting. But it's her visibility that pleases me, she is gorgeous, talented, energetic and fat. Yeah! take that, world!

Berta (Conchata Ferrell) Two and a Half Men

Even though she is the hired help in a predominantly misogynist setting, Berta is incredibly funny, incredibly blunt and you just wouldn't want to fuck with her. Not to mention, she is the longest standing and most featured female character in the show and Charlie loves her and best of all, she loves herself.

So tell me, what are your favorite fat girls on TV? is there anyone you think I have missed?

It's Meeeeeeeeeee!

Sitting up at 2am feeling some serious ebuyers remorse (my credit card company loves me and I hate myself) and watching old Buffy episodes (don't judge me!) I decided I am going to take some photos of myself in my silly hat (yes I have one and I wear it frequently) and post them because up until now, I have been the faceless blogger. Well here I am in all my no frills glory! Featuring of course, the best hat in the world

By the way, said hat is bear ears I bought from some random stall at this years royal show

I have this obsession with wearing crazy things around the house, such as my Princess Sparkle boots, which make me feel like I'm five years old

I also need to show you my new awesome stationary! Being a perpetual student, my motto has always been pens= motivation in other words, new stationary makes my want to study! anyhoo, I usually don't get over excited about mass produced cheapy cheap stuff but when Typo came to my neighborhood I bought up the place

The desk notepad that my boy and I have taken to leaving notes to each other on

My new pencil case with the dog I can't have printed on it (heart!)

I always take a notepad with me, have one by the bed, pretty much one in every room because ideas come whenever they darn well feel like it and if I don't write it down more often than not it's gone before I can say 'Pulitzer Prize' so these ought to keep me going for a while (I have an adorable red and white polka dot one also but it's already on my bedside table)

Finally I can't wait to use these for taking messages at work. I know what you're thinking, highly inappropriate (that is if you can read the dodgy out of focus iphone picture) luckily I work for my mum and she has a sense of humor (most of the time)

Stuff Boys Like

Behold my father. He is 25 in this picture and appears to be ruining his tyres. 25 years on and not much has changed. My 26 year old boyfriend likes to ruin his tyres, he and his friends like to watch youtube videos of other boys ruining their tyres. The boy next door ruins his tyres every time he takes off in his ute. Boys like to ruin their tyres. Boys are weird.

Quitting the Hate Game

Last night I had a dream that every thought in my head was loud and clear for everyone around me to hear, beyond my control. Actually, it was a fucking nightmare. For some one who considers herself oppressed and hated because of hegemonic value-based assumptions, I sure have a lot of them myself. Driving to the doctors this morning I encountered a couple of young girls crossing the street with a baby. They looked at me, I looked at them. I instantly judged them for having a young child, for being so young, I assumed they were of lower socio-economic standing and uneducated.

I. AM. A. HATER.

It made me sick to my stomach. I am so damn quick to jump to the conclusion that people are judging me for my fatness, my tattoos, my nose ring and my whole damn life that I straight away, without being aware of it most of the time, judge the person in front of me and compose my possible rebuttal should they say something rude or hurtful. There have been times, plenty of times where complete strangers have said hateful things to me and it hurts, and for the most part it makes me angry that people are so fucking stupid that they think that they are better than some one else and they have a right to judge and make others feel belittled. But I do it myself. In my own oppression, I have also become a hater.

One of my most favourite quotes from the Dharma is;

"May I be gladdened when someone belittles me, and may I not take pleasure when someone praises me. If I do take pleasure in praise then it immediately increases my arrogance, pride, and conceit; whereas if I take pleasure in criticism, then at least it will open my eyes to my own shortcomings"

Now I don’t think the message here is that we should internalise and embrace the hate that is thrown at us, but rather we should find the humility in it. When some one insults me I should take pleasure in the criticism because it does not affect my own self respect, it does not deflate or inflate my pride and it does not instigate hate but rather instigates love.

Fundamentally I need to stop assuming that everyone hates on me and when they do, respond with love and humility rather than further hate. As an intelligent, compassionate person I know I have the ability to do this and at the end of the day it starts with me. This is my pledge. I am quitting the hate game. As some one who can give hate as quickly and viciously as one receives it, I know the buck stops here and it is me who needs to make the change.

My Drunken Quote of the Year

"You will eventually get to where you want to be if you simply head in that direction... It's just plain physics!"

My new wallpaper and reprogramming

Isn't she beautiful? this piccie came from Ne Plus Ultras blog which is one of the many incredible fatosphere blogs I have had the pleasure of discovering recently (more on this later, I am just dying to rave rave rave!) I am blown away by this, she is FAT and BEAUTIFUL... at the same time! not only that but she is NUDE in a FASHION MAGAZINE for THE WORLD TO SEE. Did I mention I am blown away?

if only some one had shown me these type of images when I was a young adolescent I may have avoided some serious mental illnesses but that's a story for another day. THIS is what there should be more of in magazines and the media, THIS is what should be considered 'common' (after all, 'normal' is relative and thin do people exist too) THIS is what I want my children to grow up knowing and accepting.

After 24 hours of having this as my desktop picture, I feel like I am being reprogrammed, like I am starting to realise that body diversity is about as real as the glands on my chest. I looked in the mirror this morning and felt normal, I looked at photos of myself and instead of cringing and looking away, I accepted that it was me and didn't think anything of it. My mind is changing, I am reprogramming, I am accepting reality, I am becoming more critical of what I am told is right and real and I am speaking out for myself and the 99.99999% of other people in this world who are pathologised, shunned and made to feel like something is wrong with them because they don't have a socially and patriarchally constructed ideal body shape. I am ready to believe. I am FAT and I AM FUCKING AWESOME.

How does your garden grow?

Up until getting my Star Cloud for Christmas 5 years ago (happy birthday for the 29th Baby!) I was drastically unable to keep anything alive, plants, fish, even cactus died in my care. Cats are relatively easy but recently we have been considering a new addition to the family and after spending an hour in the aquarium shop watching the baby turtles I know what I am asking Santa to bring me for christmas. Turtles, however are a lot of work and I need to be prepared for this, so recently I decided to try the plant thing again to see if I had the skill to maintain and care for more living things. So far this has been a great success, and I am particularly proud of my herbs and salads so I thought I would give you a looksie at some of my horticultural efforts

Here we have some lettuce, baby spinach, basil, mint and parsley. The herbs are out of control and the lettuce and baby spinach is growing at a steady pace miraculously in partial shade, I'm hoping to get a nice yield out of those before they go to seed again

My happy little lettuces and spinach get a lot of love and care :)

Star Cloud enjoying the daisies I potted for her

So this is my garden and I must say I am very proud of myself, since quitting smoking it's nice to have a balcony that can be used for living things and growing food rather than discretely poisoning myself. When it's finished and in full bloom I will update :)

Clare Bowditch and The New Slang play The Gov October 15

There is something so amazing and organic about Clare. Perhaps it’s my own womanly instinct or my emotional sensitivity to the issue but you can always tell a mum. They really do wear their heart outside of themselves in a way that is anything but vulnerable. It’s like some sort of mystical revelation, they know the secret to the universe and they have in fact experienced true happiness. When you put that into a musician it is the most amazing thing. They are, quite clearly not the centre of the universe, they play and perform for a different purpose, for a higher meaning, they are raw and uncompromised.

Clare for the most part has been seldom in the Adelaide live scene, and I for one was desperate to see her for the first time ever. When Modern Day Addiction came out I jumped for joy, knowing it could only mean one thing, dearest Clare was coming to town. After having picked up a copy of Modern Day Addiction, and eagerly anticipating the new sound that could only be inevitable with her new band set up, admittedly I was a little unmoved by the album. I guess I don’t like change.

Seeing her and The New Slang play live changed this, as a live show usually does for me, it’s like seeing the meaning to the sound, the artist carefully and expressly showing you their reasons, taking you on that journey, and what a journey it was.

A medley of odd instruments are strewed across the stage, an apple shaker, assortment of Vietnamese gongs, keyboards both medium and miniature, guitars, drums, all the necessities for a purely messy and outrageous musical jam. Out come Warren Bloomer and Tim Harvey sporting adorable matching outfits which can best be described as whimsical 1800s school boy attire, followed by the rest of the group, Marty Brown, keyboardist Mattie Vehl and the lovely back up girls Sally, Rachel and Annabelle. They get the music rolling while Clare stands out of sight in the wing, humbly barefoot and nervous. She is greeted with cheers and excitement, it’s been a long time coming. Here she stands in her high waist cotton dress, scarce make up and no-big-deal hairdo ready to begin with the album’s title song, Modern Day Addiction. Undoubtedly, Clare means business, she is here to get down and dirty with her Adelaide crowd and have some chaotic and loud fun. Next, she gives us an oldie to please us and take us back, blending the old with the new as her back up girls provide the depth and harmonies that make her music so layered and heart warming. After another oldie, Clare takes us into new territory but it’s not what I expect. It’s fun, it’s lively and it’s bold. Lucky Life move’s the audience and tells Clare’s story, shows us exactly where she is. Deeply personal and incredibly relatable she lays it out on the stage; “I’ll help you build your armour, but you’ll have to wear it for yourself. Of course I worry too much, how can I not, you’re my walking hearts” she sings her truth in such a raw and connected way it touches the heart of every parent, son and daughter in the room.

Next the party begins, AEIO You provides an opportunity for the girls to get their synchronised moves on, but not in a way that appears rehearsed and robotic. They move in a way that makes you want to move with them. Having toured for some time already there is absolutely no sign of anyone being over it in fact they appear to love this more than life itself. The girls harmonise and clap and twist while Mattie on keyboards sporting the most adorable mullet known to this side of the millennium bops and sings in a quirky awkwardness that makes me want to kiss him. Tim then runs off and changes into his running gear for the song titled Running to get into the spirit of things. This is followed by another oldie (God) to slow the heart rate down before we all die of overexcitement.

The next couple songs (Prinz Willy, The Start of War) calls for the full utilisation of the mish mash of instruments on the floor, the girls tip toeing around the stage like fairies to play and assist with the gongs, rattlers and shakers, Sally even takes over a drum while running back and forth to her shaking and singing duties. They are creating a mess of noise that comes together so sophisticatedly, you would think they were pretending to be making all that music. Let’s not forget also the brief intermission for Clare to sing Shania Twain to her husband and give him a big pash over the drum kit. So very cute. We have the pleasure of hearing her very well delivered impression of Julia, followed by the ever popular and energetic ‘You Looked So Good’ just in time for my third glass of wine. The cover of David Bowie’s Fashion gets the whole venue clapping and shaking while tying into the theme that is Modern Day Addiction. Clare and the band do their pretend finish with one of my favourites on the album, Bigger Than The Money, again with a whirl of synchronised clapping and a fanciful energy that compliments the ironic satire that the song engages with. They walk off stage to get their desperate applause from the audience but are eager to come back and give us more of their love.

Finally, Lips Like Oranges begins, evoking the inevitable sing along that comes with it (at this point everyone is liquored up and enthused for a good old sing song) followed by the grand finale, the emotionally charged Stars, the last song off Modern Day Addiction, not to kill the mood but to mellow it. It is our lullaby for the evening, Clare’s final gift to us and a reminder that she is not just fun and games but sentiment and depth of thought. She leaves us with poetry after the party, just a little bit of feeling and warmth to take home with us. And the night is done. There is nothing more I could have asked of their performance, nothing I wish had been played or done differently, it was fun, messy, raw and uplifting. Clare and The New Slang have come to new territory with this album and the show was nothing short of a glorious and ecstatic adventure.

(Photo courtesy of ABC, not taken at the gig because unfortunately I'm not multi-skilled like that :-) )