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?

Aussie Women that Rock our World

So, as promised I am paying tribute to some of the finest musicians from our fine talent ridden country

Adalita Srsen

Lead singer and guitarist for Magic Dirt, Adalita would have to be one of the hardest working female musicians around, seeing her band release 11 studio albums in the last 17 years, and they still continue to tour throughout the country these days. Adalita is said to be influenced by female greats Kate Bush and Chrissy Hynde and her first guitar was one she made herself out of cardboard and wool, what a hero!

Patience Hodgson

Anyone who has ever seen Brissie band The Grates live would have instantly fallen in love with lead singer Patience. Wearing outrageous and whimsical outfits such as a pink and white cowgirl outfit or giant fluffy hoop skirt, Patience bounds and leaps across the stage like a 5 years old on fairy floss. Her energy and stage presence is intoxicating. Patience learnt of her own talent for singing in a karaoke bar and formed a band with her high school chums. The Grates currently have two rocking studio albums and a very awesome live DVD

Beck Darwon

Keyboardist and bass guitarist for The Cops, Beck may not have been centre stage a lot of the time but she sure did know how to rock. Coming up with the band’s name and getting lead singer Simon Carter’s demos out of the basement and onto EP are just a couple of her achievements, she also won the Jack award in 2005 for best bass player. Beck has since left The Cops, but only after one of the best albums I have ever heard was released, Drop It In Their Laps (2007)

Clare Bowditch

With four studio albums and many more EPs, Clare is one of the most versatile and talented female artists this side of the southern hemisphere. She has an amazing vocal range, incorporates a lot of different instruments and sounds into her music and writes beautiful songs about everything from office romances to grief. Her most recent studio album with new band ‘Clare Bowditch and The New Slang’ is Modern Day Addiction which will see her tour the country in a couple months (and yes, I am super excited about it!)

Patricia Amplett aka Little Pattie

Rising to fame with her adorably named single ‘He’s my Blonde headed, stompie wompie, real gone surfer boy’ (1963) and gee wiz it’s super cute! She also received various awards and honors for performing for the troops in Vietnam. She may not be a gen-y favorite, but she is certainly part of history!

Chrissy Amplett (Little Pattie's more famous cousin)

The lead singer of rock group the Divynls, Chrissy is best known for her sexually charged and explicitly feminine ‘I Touch myself’ which many of us sang along to loud and proud (and behind closed doors) when we were 14. She has an amazing and unique voice and is sadly living in New York currently, battling MS. Thumbs up to you Chrissy, a true rock legend!

Katy Steele

Lead singer of Little Birdy and proving to have an enormous voice, Katy Steele is definitely a favorite in the Australian rock/alternative scene. The latest album from Little Birdy ‘Confetti’ is a refined blend of folk, rock and pop with Katy’s haunting and adorable voice stringing it together. Katy is an amazing artist and most definitely rocks my world.

Janet English

Janet English- Sometimes lead vocalist for Spiderbait and best known for songs such as Calypso and F&%ken awesome, Janet has a sweet voice by an acid tongue. Don’t be fooled by her sugary sound, Janet is all rock and a hard working, long standing woman in rock.

Taasha Coates

Lead singer and instrumental all-rounder for Adelaide band The Audrey’s, Taasha is as talented as she is beautiful. Her sultry sounds and moves on stage are a match made in heaven with the indie country folk sound of the band. Their awesomeness has been recognized, the band picking up an ARIA for Best Blues and Roots album for 2008 for their last album ‘When The Flood Comes’ Rumor has it there is a new album due in late 2010

Bree Leslie Pucilowski aka Brody Dalle

Born in Fitzroy Melbourne, Brody now resides in LA and has every finger in every punk rock and rock pie that is legendary. She is most famous for being the lead singer and guitarist for The Distillers but now fronts Spinnerette and has had appearances in The Eagles of Death Metal, Queens of the Stone Age and Transplants just to name a few. This chick can really wail

Stuff to do on a sick day

So today I took a sick day. I have been feeling really off this past couple days and a quiet day at home was really needed to get myself charged again for the rest of the week. I got to thinking about sick days and how incredibly boring they can get. By lunchtime, you start to get a little sick of watching the same TV sitcom DVD boxset and being in your pajamas. So here are some suggestions for an enjoyable and relaxing sick day that doesn't require too much effort and will take your mind off feeling like poo.

1. Let the animals in

Our pets are our best mates so if you are home for the day, let your pooch in to veg out with you, they also have a profound ability to make us feel better when we are down and sick

2. Give yourself a facial

I know I am stating the obvious here but when we are sick we tend to let ourselves go and feel quite grotty. I face mask followed by a good scrub in the shower makes the world of difference. I picked up this 10.0.6 Be Pure one today and will be trying it out tonight, it cost me $1.99 from Priceline

3. Concoct your own tea

Using a tea strainer, or a teapot with one built in, grab your favorite teas, open the bags and mix them up! then add your own yummies to it. I like to mix camomile with green tea and add lemon zest and grated ginger to the mix. I make a huge pot and take it to bed with me so I have an ample supply

4. Read a Novella

A novella usually consists of no more than a 100 pages or so, therefore they only take a couple hours to read, but in doing so you feel like you have accomplished a hell of a lot by reading the whole darn thing! My favorite sick day novella is Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's, it is much better than the movie and will only take you the morning to get through!

5. Try a crazy color

Try a crazy nail polish color you have always wanted to, but maybe have been reluctant because you feel like it's a bit too out there. The same can go for lipstick and eye shadow. Put it on, wear it around, get used to it. It's not like you're going anywhere. Today I bought BYS Pretty Pastel Mint and I am in love!

6. Email your friends

These days my friends are all around the place, on all four corners of our glorious globe we call planet earth. With modern technology and the fact that I have 4 email accounts, a facebook, a tumblr and a blogspot, there really is no excuse to not keep in touch with those you love, but we just get so darn busy. Therefore a sick day is a really good day to play ketchup with your buddies you haven't spoken to in a while, find out where they are and what they are up to. Emailing them also gives you an excellent outlet to whinge about how shit you feel however don't go into too much detail (people generally don't like being told what color your mucus is...)

7. Youtube old music videos you used to love

Music videos such as TLC (above) The Corrs, Janet Jackson, pre-diva Mariah Carey and that awesome movie length Celine Dion film clip where her husband dies and she is all alone in that big mansion. Don't deny it people, I know you secretly still love this stuff! Don't even get me started on The Backstreet Boys and Take That!

8. Gather Recipes

You don't have to cook anything and you sure as hell may not feel too hungry but when else are you going to have time to hunt new recipes online, go through your old magazines/newspapers and dig up recipes written down for you from friends and relatives and gather them all into one handy location? I could spend hours on www.taste.com.au finding new recipes and making them vegan and wheat free, also vegweb.com is a great site for vegan user submitted recipes

9. Learn to Knit

Or crochet if you don't know how. Knitting and Crocheting is one of those mindless relaxing activities that many of us wish we could do. So do it! grab yourself a basic pattern (or just learn basic stitches to start a scarf) some yarn and some needles. There are some amazing instructional videos on youtube so that's a great place to start

10. Have a nanna nap

The all important afternoon nanna nap is mandatory for any sick day. It's unnatural, it's lazy, it's a bit naughty and sometimes it can mess with your sleeping patterns a little, but my goodness they're amazing!

The cosmetics I simply can't live without...

So, I really love reading blogs about people's favorite make up products, you know, sharing the love and all. So here are the things I can't live without.

MAC mineralize skin finish

This is my absolute everyday can't live without product. If MAC ever discontinued this I would probably curl into a ball and rock in the corner! I have been through many of these, I use it for everything, all over coverage (over some tinted moisturizer) and lately as the weather is getting cooler and I get more pasty, as a contour. This comes everywhere with me and is the greatest little compact in the world (if it had a mirror it would be even better!)

Napoleon Perdis China Doll foundation stick

Admittedly, I don't use this everyday as it is quite a heavy foundation. But the coverage is just so darn good it is the best bad skin day must ever! The best coverage and the silkiest feeling foundation I have ever tried!

Orly Bonder

I wear nail polish every day of my life. I feel naked without it. However, I have a serious problem of oily nails which means even the most expensive nail polish starts peeling and chipping in a couple hours. Orly bonder keeps my nails looking nice for a couple days, which is still quite a short period of time, but I change the color after a day or so anyway

Stila Smudge Pot in Kitten

Such a gorgeous, gorgeous product! I use this as a base for my eyeshadow as I think it is too sheer as a gel eyeliner, but this stuff is magic and so creamy and pigmented

Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-on Eye Pencil in Zero

The best eye pencil I have ever used! so creamy and sits in my waterline with no smudgy dramas. However, I have found a good dupe in the prestige waterproof liners, which I have in brown for work and subtle makeup occasions

Palmer's Dark Chocolate and Peppermint Lip Butter

What can I say? I. AM. OBSESSED.

Lush Karma Perfume

Smells like what I imagine the 70s would have felt like... if that makes sense... or maybe I'm actually high off this stuff....

Prestige Skin Loving Minerals Sunbaked in Pure Shimmer

Most beautiful highlighter which gives a lovely glow. Warning! you NEED to exfoliate, tone and prime before this, it is so shimmery it can accentuate pores quite drastically! Otherwise an amazing product

Bourjois Clubbing mascara

This is my everyday mascara, it gives a really good fake lash effect which I need considering I wear glasses a lot. There is a specific way to use this mascara, most reviewers have hated it because it seems cluggy and messy. The trick is to wipe excess product off the brush, then start with the shorter side facing you and roll the brush as you apply... got that? no? just email me if you need help!

Ecotools retractable Kabuki brush

Oh Kabuki, where would I be without you? This brush is great for all the regular kabuki brush uses such as smoothing out lines, however I manage to have a great applications of my MAC studio fix powder foundation, my mineralize skinfinish and blush with this brush on the go. Comes with me everywhere!

So I hope that was useful on some level for you, feel free to hit me up with your favorite products too, I am always on the hunt for new exciting products!