2015 is over and here are my organic beauty favourites of 2015. It's been an incredible year as I started both my blog and YouTube channel. I've discovered so many wonderful products along the way and here are all my favourites.

Suti  honour face cream

http://www.suti.co.uk/

Botanicals - revitalising mask*

http://www.botanicals.co.uk/

http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/09/review-botanicals-revitalising-mask.html?m=1

Neal's Yard - beauty sleep body butter

Maria åkerberg - liquid mineral foundation - cold

Maria Åkerberg - mineral powder pure beige 

http://www.dermanord.se/content/

Ilia concealer

http://iliabeauty.com/

Living nature - summer bronze pressed powder*

http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/11/review-living-nature-summer-bronze.html?m=1

Lavera blusher -velvet plum

Maria åkerberg eyeliner - black

Maria åkerberg eyeshadows - golden grey & soft velvet

Zao mascara 

Zao lipstick - old pink

http://www.zaomakeup.co.uk

Zoya nailpolish - Payton

http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/10/why-you-should-choose-natural-nail.html?m=1

O'right Recoffee shampoo

Saach organics conditioner*

http://saachorganics.com/

http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/12/review-saach-organics.html?m=1

c/o Gerd B2 serum 

All my products I talk about are natural, organic and cruelty free. 

Check out my blog at http://www.sarasteele.co.uk

You can also follow me on 

http://www.twitter.com/sarasteeletweet

http://www.instagram.com/sarasteelesnaps

http://www.facebook.com/sarasteelehair

For business enquiries please email me on saraharstilist@gmail.com 

This video is NOT sponsored by any brands mentioned or showed in this video. All opinions are my own. All products were purchased with my own money, unless marked with a *, which means they were gifted to me from the brand for general PR reason of which I'm very grateful for. 

Thank you so much for watching.

Please give me a thumbs up if you liked it and subscribe if you haven't already. 

Sara 

❤️

2015 in pictures

We have just moved in to 2016. I want to share a little bit from my 2015. I'm sure we all have had our ups and downs. But as usual I like to focus on the positive in life. 2015 was an exciting year especially for my blog as I started my blog in February and my YouTube channel in March. It's been an incredible journey and I've learned so much. I've also traveled to amazing places like Thailand, Cambodia and finished the year in Iceland. 

Enjoyed some beautiful visits home to Sweden. 

I made a video on how to do a Swedish Midsummer crown with my friend Jess.

Loved doing hair tutorials among other things on my YouTube channel.

       Went to see Blur in Hyde Park

    Took my mum to Paris in the summer.

Ran my first half marathon. Here I am with my friend Tor after the finishing line. 

Had a great time in Thailand and Cambodia celebrating our 4 year wedding anniversary. 

Discovered some new exciting organic beauty brands.

As always I had some good times as work creating some beautiful hairstyles.

      Attended my first blogging event. 

      Ended the year in Iceland. 

      

What was your highlights of 2015? 

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a Merry Christmas! 

Thank you so much for your support and for following my blog this year. Looking forward to share it with you in 2016. 

Önskar dig en God Jul! 

Tack så mycket för allt stöd och att du har följt min blogg detta året. Ser fram emot att dela den med dig i 2016.

What's in my goodie bag

I recently went to the glowgetter gathering and received the most amazing goodie bag full of organic green beauty goodies. Here is my haul video on my goodie bag.

Magic Organic Apothecary (MOA)
http://www.moa.london
 - green bath potion
Angela Langford http://www.angelalangford.com
- bloom & glow radiance restoring face oil
- angel eyes  nourishing eye oil
- Scrub up
- Clean sweep
Neal's yard http://www.nealsyardremedies.com/
 - superfood
Chuckling goat https://www.chucklinggoat.co.uk
- refresh Kefir lotion
Herbfarmacy http://www.herbfarmacy..uk
- lip conditioner with marshmallow and vanilla
Organic balm company
http://www.theorganicbalm.com/
- r.a.h. face serum
Therapi
http://therapi.com
- Rose Otto propolis ultra radiance cream
Aurelia
https://www.aureliaskincare.com
- miracle cleanser
- cell repair night oil
- firm & revitalise dry body oil

Make sure you check out The Glowgetter http://theglowgetter.co.uk

Check out my blog at http://www.sarasteele.co.uk
You can also follow me on
http://www.twitter.com/sarasteeletweet
http://www.instagram.com/sarasteelesnaps
http://www.facebook.com/sarasteelehair

Thank you so much for watching.
Please give me a thumbs up if you liked it and subscribe if you haven't already.

Sara
❤️

Review | Saach organics

Strengthening haircare using Ayurveda with Indian herbs, made in the UK. The last couple of months or so I've been using Saach organics basil, hibiscus & peppermint shampoo, for hair strengthening, and hibiscus, henna and primrose hair nourishment conditioner. I've also used the herbal hair oil. 

Saach organics contain 100% natural actives and are free from 

• parabens

• formaldehyde 

• sulphates 

• petrochemicals 

They are cruelty free and suitable for vegans. 

When I first started to use Saach I wasn't too sure about them. As many natural shampoos they don't lather that much and can sometime not feel like it cleans the hair as good. It can also weigh down the hair, leaving it feeling greasy. I tried a few different shampoos and in the end the one that worked best on my hair is the Basil, hibiscus & peppermint strengthening shampoo.

I then shampooed twice and rinsed it well. It worked and hair felt clean. 

After a while I started to notice how it improved the condition of my hair. It felt soft, smooth and stronger. It's the best condition my hair been in for a long time. 

The longer I used the products the more I like them. Because I see the benefit and how much better my hair feels. I keep getting compliments on my hair and all I've done is washing it. 

The conditioner I liked right away. It feels great to apply it to the hair, easy to comb through and makes my hair smooth. I love the smell of the conditioner. Part from the hibiscus, henna and primrose, it also has almond and cinnamon. It's rather spicy and I love it. 

The use of henna in their products is new to me. It also made me slightly nervous using them as I didn't want it to  change my colour. The henna Saach is using is a colourless henna so it won't make any difference to your hair colour and is fine to use on coloured hair. 

I've also been using the herbal hair oil. Made from Indian gooseberry cotton seed oil and almond oil. Some of the other ingredients are henna, rose, coconut oil and red sandalwood. I apply oil on my scalp and throughout the hair and leave it over night. It sinks in to the hair so doesn't feel too greasy like many oils can do. 

The herbal hair oil claims to open up blocked capillaries, improving the blood circulation on the scalp and brings back moisture to your hair. 

My scalp often get dry and itchy and this oil has helped with that. My hair feels smooth and healthy. 

Price is £10.95 a good value for a good and natural shampoo. The herbal hair oil is £12.90. You can buy them from LoveLula www.lovelula.com

I would definitely buy these again. 

Have you ever tried Saachs organics products? Which natural hair products do you use? 

What are Parabens and should you avoid them

We often hear Parabens are bad for us and we should choose Paraben free products. But why are they bad and why should we avoid them? Today I'm looking in to Parabens with a magnifying glass and hopefully make things a bit clearer. 

What are Parabens?

Parabens are cheap and effective preservatives. Parabens are used to make products last longer. They kill mold and fungus for longer and that way dramatically extend the shelf life of many beauty and health care items and stops them going bad too quickly. 

Why are Parabens bad?

Many studies have been done on the most common Paraben chemicals like

• methylparaben

• ethylparaben

• propylparaben 

• butylparaben 

• isobutylparaben

According to the studies parabens may be bad to your harm health. By contributing to the development of cancerous tumours. There are differing views on this subject from a range of medical researchers.  There is the question that these chemicals are found in some cancerous tumour tissue. The links between Parabens and cancer (specifically breast cancer) are of concern to people.

There is a worry that Parabens can be stored in the body and over time they could have a cumulative effect and damage health over time.

While there is currently no scientific evidence to confirm that Parabens directly causes cancer. It's right to be mindful. Do you want to take the risk? I know I don't. 

Where do I find Parabens?

Parabens are found in over three-quarters of beauty and health care products. Almost any typical beauty or health care aide. May contain these chemicals, unless it's specifically labelled "Paraben-free".

Parabens are found in most haircare and skincare products like 

• Shampoos & conditioners

• Moisturisers

• Sunscreens

• Toothpaste

• Mascara 

And many other cosmetics. 

 

Alternatives to Parabens

Paraben-free products may contain ingredients, such as organic-acids, that help to preserve formulas without harmful side effects. Examples of organic acids used in the place of Parabens include

• diazolidinyl urea

• sodium benzoate

• potassium sorbate

Always read the labels on products. But safest is always to go for products that are labelled Paraben-free. 

If you want to play it extremely safe, use a few oil-based organic products that don't contain water (which calls for a preservative). They often come in dark containers with a pump so that light and air don't degrade them quickly. Just make sure you use them within their use-by date. 

Conclusion

While the evidence is not completely satisfactory regarding the safety of Parabens in cosmetics. I think it's important to be aware and make choices of avoiding these toxins for your own health. Choose Paraben-free products. 

My favourite Paraben free brands

• John Masters organics

•Green People 

• Botanicals

• Suti

• Ilia

• ZAO makeup

• Maria Åkerberg

• C/o Gerd

Are you concerned about Parabens? Or do you believe it's nothing to be concerned about? What are your favourite Paraben-free products?

How many beauty products I use in a day and the importance of choosing organic and natural

Today is a short post to just remind you of how important it is to choose organic beauty products. 

Yesterday I counted how many products I put on my body in one day. So everything from shampoo, cleansers, lotions, serums etc.

Guess how many? 

21 products. In one day I put 21 products on my hair and skin. I was surprised myself. I don't even see myself as a product junkie. I know some days I use less and some days more depending on the day. When I realised I was so happy I only use natural and organic products.

Our skin is our biggest organ and it absorbs everything we put on it. This is why it's so important to use natural and organic ingredients. Avoid all toxic products. Your skin absorbing all these harmful ingredients that's not good for your health or the environment. If you want to read more about why choosing organic beauty products read my post about it here http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/03/why-should-i-use-organic-beauty-products.html?m=1

This is the products I used in one day! 

Shampoo

Conditioner

Hair serum

Body scrub

Shower gel

Cleanser

Toner 

Moisturiser

Deodorant

Toothpaste

Lip balm

Eyeliner

Foundation

Highlighter

Powder

Rouge 

Mascara

Lipstick

Cleanser

Face mask

Argan oil

How many products do you use in one day?

31 facts about me

As today is my birthday I thought I'll be selfish and talk about myself. Here is 31 facts about me, one fact for each year.

1) My biggest wish every year growing up was that is would snow on my birthday. Most times it did. 

2) I've moved house 13 times.

3) I'm the youngest out of 4 siblings.

4) I was born in Sweden 

5) I moved to London when I was 19. 

6) I'm 163 cm (5.4 ft) 

7) Growing up my biggest dream was to become a journalist or a writer. 

8) My favourite animal are cats. 

9) I became an aunt age 12.

10) I met my husband when we both worked in a record shop together. That was a long time ago.

11) We've been married for 4 years.

12) I love tea and my favourite tea is the Swedish Söderblandning.

13) I'm slightly obsessive with big jumpers and cardigans. Unfortunately I'm always really hot so can hardly ever wear them. 

14) I love Care Bears.

15) My favourite Swedish place in London is Scandi kitchen. 

16) My favourite sweet is salt liquorice as the true swede that I am. 

17) I became a vegetarian when I was 13. 

18) My shoe size 5.5 or 6 (39)

19) My left foot is slightly bigger than my right. A reason to why I always prefer to wear comfy trainers. 

20) My favourite tv show as a teenager was "My So-Called Life" 

21) My favourite fruit in the summer is watermelon and in the winter it's satsuma. 

22) I photograph everything. 

23) I did work experience at greenpeace when I was 15.

24) Part from my family and friends the thing I missed the most from Sweden is probably snow. 

25) I went to Santa school (more than once).

26) The lead up to Christmas is my favourite time of the year. 

27) I'm really rubbish at deciding on my favourite thing is (film, song, book) because it always changes.

28) My favourite activity is to relax. I like to have a massage. 

29) My next holiday is Iceland and I'm so excited.

30) I always read a book that's based in the country of where I'm on holiday. 

31) I love having clean bedsheets. 

That was 31 facts about me. If there's anything else you ever wanted to know about me feel free to ask me in a comment below. 

I'm off to enjoy my birthday! 

❤️

October Favourites Organic & Natural Products | Sara Steele

Where did October go? Oh well here is my favourite things in the month of October.

Ultra balm - Lush
Dark red lipstick - ZAO Makeup
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/10/my-favourite-vegan-organic-lipsticks.html?

Revitalising mask - Botanicals
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/09/review-botanicals-revitalising-mask.html?

Nail Polish - Zoya in shades Autumn and Payton.
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/10/why-you-should-choose-natural-nail.html?

Deep moist conditioner - C/o Gerd
Cinnamon for my cinnamon buns

Check out my blog on http://www.sarasteele.co.uk
You can also follow me on
http://www.twitter.com/sarasteeletweet
http://www.instagram.com/sarasteelesnaps
http://www.facebook.com/sarasteelehair

Thank you so much for watching.
Please give me a thumbs up if you liked it and subscribe if you haven't already.

Love Sara

Review | Handmade Naturals

Beautiful natural and vegan skincare products that are handmade in the UK. 

It was all by a coincidence I walked by a cute little shop in Hampstead called bubbles & light. It was the sign saying  "vegan and natural" that made me stop. So I had to go inside and explore. 

Immediately I was drawn to the Handmade Naturals products. 

Handmade Naturals products are handmade in the UK with only natural and pure ingredients. All their products are cruelty free and vegan. 

 

All their products are free from

- SLS, SLES

- parabens 

- artificial fragrance (perfume)

- alcohol

- colours 

- chemical ingredients

- synthetic additives or petrolatum

So what did I buy? 

I bought Balancing face cream for normal & combination skin. I just ran out of face cream so perfect timing. I also bought a shower & bath gel called exotic with Ylang-ylang and orange. 

Balancing face cream

The face cream contains:

- chamomile 

- Shea butter

- rose hip

- rose geranium 

- mandarin

It has a pleasant smell. The cream feels light to apply. It has a pump so it's easy to get the right amount with only one pump. You can use the balancing face cream as both day and night cream.

My skin is normal with some dry patches on my cheeks. I found that the cream helped balance out my dry areas and it felt hydrating on my skin. 

Shower & bath gel - exotic

The shower gel is gentle on the skin and has a lovely exotic smell but not very strong. Which is normally a sign that there's no synthetic perfumes, which is what we like. 

It's made with coco glucose, which is the mildest sugar detergent available.  

Ylang-Ylang is believed to relieve high blood pressure and normalise sebum secretion for skin problems.

Sweet orange is an uplifting oil that works as an antidepressant and improves concentration. It is also highly effective at cleansing  and detoxifying the body.

The exotic shower gel is the winner of  Janey loves platinum award 2014. 

How long does it last? 

What I like about Handmade Naturals is that they have best before dates. It also tells you to use within 3 months of opening. It shows that it's a truly natural product. 

I find that Handmade Naturals are affordable. The shower gel is £6.25 and face cream is £11.50. 

Have you ever tried Handmade Naturals? What did you think? 

My birthday beauty wish list

Today is exactly one week until my birthday. So I thought I'll share my organic beauty wish list with you. 

On turning 31 this year. When I was younger, I used to hate it when my parents said they didn't want anything for their birthday. How could someone not want everything. I could go into any shop and pick out at least 10 things I wanted. As I've grown older I'm finding myself becoming more like my parents. When friends and family asks me what I want for my birthday, I can't really think of anything I want. The only thing I always want is organic beauty and makeup products. So here is my wish list for my 31st birthday. 

1) Kjaer Weis - the essential trio

To be honest if, I get anything from Kjaer Weis I'll be happy. I'm yet to try her stylish and amazing (so I heard) products. 

2) ZAO organic makeup - lipstick

You might have noticed me ramble on about ZAO lipsticks on various social media. I love them so much I want more. I also would like to try more of their products. So I've added to my wish list the compact foundation as well. 

3) Olympus pen - camera

It might not pass as a beauty product. But I will be able to take beautiful pictures of all my makeup.

4) Kerstin Tillberg - mug

Ok, another non beauty related product. But it's so pretty and how cool would I look if I was sipping my tea from this in my videos. It's a perfect beauty prop for my blog. 

5) Suti - face cream

This is my favourite face cream of all times and I would love a new bottle as I've recently finished one. 

6) Couleur Caramel - blusher 

I keep hearing about this brand and would love to try some of their products. I need a new blusher and how cute is this packaging? 

7) Maria Åkerberg - eyeshadows

There's no secret I love Maria Åkerberg's products. And I want some new eye shadows. To be honest I want them all. 

That's my wish list. 

Do you have your birthday soon? Or have you started your wish list for Christmas yet? What do you wish for? 

EMPTIES | PRODUCTS I'VE USED UP!

Today I'm showing you my used products. Meaning I'm giving mini reviews of things I've recently used up. Giving my honest opinion if I liked it, didn't like it or would I buy it again.

Below are the products I've used and I've also listed any reviews of the products.

O'right Recoffee shampoo and conditioner
Review: http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/03/product-review-recoffee.html?m=1

Kevin Murphy - fresh hair spray
Favourite dry shampoo

Skin blossom - Body wash
orange & aloe

Faith in Nature - Shower gel -raspberry & cranberry

Sukin - body lotion
Review:
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/06/review-sukin-hydrating-body-lotion-aloe.html?m=1

Jåsön - cocoa butter

Skin blossom - body lotion

Maria åkerberg - Foundation
Review:
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/05/review-maria-akerberg-foundation.html

Salt of the earth - deodorant spray - Lavender & vanilla

Neals yard
- Vitamin E & avocado night team
- Rose & Mallow moisturiser
Review: http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/07/review-neal-yard-remedies-rose-and.html?m=1

Suti - honour - face cream
Review:
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/03/review-suti-honour-coconut-roses-face.html?m=1

Vita coco - coconut oil

You can also follow me on
http://www.twitter.com/sarasteeletweet
http://www.instagram.com/sarasteelesnaps
http://www.facebook.com/sarasteelehair

Thank you so much for watching.

Please give me a thumbs up if you liked it and subscribe if you haven't already.

Love Sara

I'm getting my hair done with natural colours

Today I've decided to bring you to my salon where I work whilst I get my hair done.

I want to share a little bit more about what I do and also about our hair colours.

I work as a senior stylist in Natural colour works in Soho. Which is an organic salon using natural hair colours.

I have my highlights done by the amazing Jess.  Today she's  doing a full head of highlights on my hair and also a haircut. It's been too long since I had either done.

Jess working her magic

Colour

Earlier this year I had red hair and you can see that from my early blog days.
I've since then decided to go back blonde. But my hair got pretty damaged after going red. I kept colouring it every 2-3 weeks because it didn't want to stay in. So I didn't want to do a big job and change it all in one go. I decided to just add a few more blonde highlights each time. And we are more or less all there now. You can only see a little bit of red in my hair now.

Today I will have 3 different blondes in there to give it a nice, natural blonde colour. 

My colours (from left watercolour, soya and seaweed)

The first colour I use is the seaweed lightener that works like bleach. But doesn't dry your hair out as much and more gentle. This is the blondest highlight.

I then have a soya based colour. A golden honey colour. It contain no ammonia or ppd.

Finally a few low lights with the water colour that's a medium blonde. Watercolour is our most gentle colour as it's not mixed with a peroxide or contain any ammonia. But you can't lighten the hair with it so perfect for low lights.

A good look or what do you think?

All together this will make a nice blonde colour that blends in well and looks natural. Most of the red will finally be gone. 

Haircut

For my haircut I know I need to cut a good amount off. I also like the length at the moment. But healthy hair wins and I chop about 3 inches off because it needs it. Jess cut in a few layers as well do make it a more textured look. 

It now feels nice and healthy and I do like the length as well. 

Before and after

 And a selfie of course

What do you guys think? Have you done anything different to your hair lately?