Blueberry Banana Nice-Cream

Ingredients

2 frozen bananas
1 cup frozen blueberries
Seeds and dried fruit for topping (optional)


Method

1. Place frozen bananas and blueberries in food processor. Blend until smooth 'ice-cream' consistency. Add a few table spoons of water if struggling to blend.
2. Serve and eat straight away in bowl.


Notes

Guilt free 'ice cream'
Eat once blended



Vanessa X ( @vanessagoesvegan )

Hummus

Ingredients

2 cans chickpeas

5 tbsp water (add extra water to make creamier)

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (add extra oil to make creamier)

2 tsp tahini paste

juice 1 lemon

salt to taste

1 tsp ground cumin

1 sprig parsley

2 sprigs basil

1 clove garlic

Method

1.     Put all ingredients in food processor

2.      Blend until smooth

Notes

Lasts up to a week in the fridge

Enjoy as a dip, on bread/crackers or as a dressing

Vanessa X ( @vanessagoesvegan )

It's A Crime Not To Prime! - All About Primers

Hi everyone,

Today I am going to talk to you about primers! I absolutely love primers and believe that they are an essential part of anyone's makeup routine or any makeup look. I only have three primers (two for my face and one for my eyes) and I love them all.

The three primers that I own are:


Too Faced Primed and Poreless Oil-free (face primer)

This is definitely my favorite face primer out of the two! This primer makes your skin so soft and smooth and assists in keeping your makeup on all day. It is also oil free and good for sensitive skin. Also, as this primer is the cheaper one out of the two, I use this for special occasions, when I want my makeup to look flawless or when I need to where makeup for a long period of time.

L'Oreal Base Magique Transforming Smoothing Primer (face primer)

Like all my primers, I like to apply this one with my fingers. I find that by doing this it warms up the product and therefore applies more evenly. This primer does a great job at giving your skin a matte finish and eliminating any shine. However I wouldn't recommend this primer for extremely oily skin.

Urban Decay Eye Shadow Primer Potion- Original (eye shadow primer)

This eyeshadow primer is as good as everyone says it is! It makes my eyeshadow stay on all day and not crease at all. I would definitely recommend the original formula as it comes out skin colour and dries transparent, so it won't effect the true colour of your eyeshadows.

The Benefits of Face Primers:

• Fill in pores
• Fill in fine lines
• Even out your skin tone
• Helps foundation to glide on smoothly
• Helps your foundation to last all day

The Benefits of Eye Primers:

• Makes your eye shadow look more vibrant
• Helps your eye shadow to last all day
• Stops your eye shadow from creasing

Other primers that I would recommend:

FACE
Innoxa Skin Perfect Pore Vanishing Cream
Benefit the POREfessional
Face of Australia Base Primer
Stila Onestep Correct
L'Oreal Lumi Magique Base Pure Light Primer

EYES
Maybelline Colour Tattoos (cream eyeshadow base)
Mac Paint Pot
Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base (good for oily eyelids)


Let me know what your favorite face and eyeshadow primers are in the comments below!

How to: Wash Your Hair Effectively

Hey everyone,

Washing our hair is something that we have done so often that many people don't really think about various techniques to get the most out of your shampoo and conditioner, so today I will tell you how!

Shampoo and Conditioner that I use: Click here for review!

Firstly, I like to wash my hair at the start of my shower routine.

Applying the Shampoo: As the shampoo that I use does not have any 'bad' sulphates (which make the shampoo lather up and essentially multiply the quantity), I like to apply a bit more shampoo than what is normally recommended with other shampoos. I firstly tip my head upside down and apply a 20 cent size amount to the hair at the nape of my neck (this is where a lot of oil builds up). Then I apply the same amount to the crown of my head and my hairline. A mistake that a lot of people make when applying shampoo is that they concentrate it too much on the ends of the hair (which are not as dirty). Shampoo is meant to be used to clean your scalp, so just let the remaining shampoo wash down the lengths of your hair. I use my finger tips to massage the shampoo into may scalp for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, then gently rinse it out using the same massaging technique.

Applying the Conditioner: You can estimate how much conditioner you need to apply depending on the length of your hair. I only apply the conditioner to the 'pony tail of my hair' by massaging it in as conditioner is not essentially made for your scalp. By washing my hair at the start of my shower routine, I am able to leave the conditioner in for as long as possible (so it really works its magic), rinsing it out is the last thing I do before stepping out of the shower.

How often do I wash my hair? I like to wash my hair with shampoo 2-3 times a week and one other time with just conditioner alone. When I don't use shampoo I wash my hair with just water by rinsing it (using the same massaging technique that I would when using shampoo). Even though I have oily hair, using this technique actually reduces the amount of oil your hair produces while still keeping it moisturised, nourished and healthy!

Tip: Cleanse your face after you shampoo and condition your hair because the shampoo and conditioner can get into your pores on your face. Your pores are also wide open at this point so you will get a much thorough cleanse.

I hope these tips are useful for you as they have been for me!

About My Hair + Review: Natures Organics - Organic Care Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi all,

I recently got asked the question on my instagram,

"What is the best shampoo and conditioner"?
So, today I am going to talk to you about my hair and what shampoo and conditioner I have used in the past, what I am currently using and what I personally like in a shampoo.

About My Hair:
My hair is dark brown, straight and medium-long in length, with a slight wave, thick and dense, quite oily but healthy.

I have tried many, many shampoos and conditioners throughout my 18 years of life. I've, tried Sunsilk, Palmolive, Pantene, Garnier, Head and Shoulders, Schwarzkopf and Herbal Essences (just to name a few). Before using my current shampoo and conditioner I used the Pantene Aqualight shampoo and conditioner. As I have oily hair the name and advertisements for this shampoo drew my attention. This shampoo did make my hair feel 'auqualight' as it stripped all the oils out of my hair. However, our hair needs these natural oils to keep it healthy and nourished. 

So, after much research and educating myself on the health of our hair, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to move away from using products like these that have harsh chemicals. These chemical shampoos weren't doing any visible damage/benefit to my hair, but changing my shampoo and conditioner would allow my hair to become even healthier then it was before! As my interest in healthy eating grew so did my interest in chemical free/natural products.

When looking for my new shampoo and conditioner, I wanted one that was cost effective, organic, natural and with as little chemicals as possible. When going into my supermarket I found Natures Organics Organic Care Normal Balance Shampoo and Conditioner. Unbelievably this was the cheapest shampoo and conditioner there at $3.71 for a 400ml bottle (or 93 cents per 100ml), BARGAIN!

Luckily the Organic Care brand have a range of certain shampoos and conditioners to choose from for different types of hair.

Normal Hair: Normal Balance Shampoo and Conditioner (what I use)
Dry Hair: Dry Nourish Shampoo and Conditioner (moisturizing shampoo)
Coloured/Dyed Hair: Colour Shield Shampoo and Conditioner
Heat Damaged Hair (from styling appliances): Heat Protect Shampoo and Conditioner 
Dandruff: Scalp Care Anti-Dandruff Conditioning Shampoo

Packaging: The packaging of these products is made from a naturally derived material, corn, opposed to crude oil which significantly reduces CO2 emissions. As well as being environmentally friendly, the products are also made locally in Australia!

Accessibility: These shampoos and conditioners are only available in Australia, mainly from Coles and Woolworths and independent stores.

Ingredients: The ingredients are sourced from plants and free from harsh chemicals.

Shampoo

Conditioner 

I would definitely recommend checking out these amazing shampoos and conditioners! I hope this has answered your question. Thank-you.

Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival

I am very excited this month as it is almost fashion week here in Melbourne! I just wanted to inform you that as apart of the lead up to fashion week, 17th-23rd of March, (activities are also running throughout the whole month) I am using the hash-tag, #31daysoffashion on my instagram page, (@innerhealthandstyle) to post a fashion related photograph each day in March. Feel free to join in with me by using the hash-tag as well as tagging me and @vamff. This is a great way for everyone to share their style inspiration throughout the fashion festival month. 

Here are the pictures that I have already posted

#31daysoffashion

    

Day 1

 Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

I am definitely going to head into the city to take advantage of the workshops, popup stores, runway shows and exhibitions. For more information on this years Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival click here.

Review: L'Oréal Paris True Match Liquid Foundation

Hi everyone!

Sorry that I haven't posted for a while now, I have just started my final year of school and have been very busy. Today I'm back with a review of the L'Oréal Paris True Match Liquid Foundation!

After seeing Lauren Curtis rave about this foundation for a while now, I was tempted to buy it my self and see what all the fuss is about. I have been doing my research and made the decision that this was the best quality drugstore foundation for the cheapest price.

I have heard that this foundation is a dupe for many high end foundations including; Giorgio Armani Luminous Silk, MAC Studio Fix Fluid and Benefit Hello Flawless Oxygen Wow Foundation. This is promising!

 The description from the L'Oréal Paris Australia website,

In 11 true-to-skin shades across warm, cool and neutral tones, True Match super-blendable liquid foundation perfectly matches the colour and texture of your skin, hiding imperfections with its fine, creamy texture. The result: Flawless coverage

The silky texture of True Match blends seamlessly with the skin. It automatically adjusts to the texture of the skin to create a flawless finish. Oil-free and non-comedogenic.


Now onto the review!

Firstly, the colour range of this foundation is perfect as there are eleven shades in total. There are three categories based on your skins undertone; warm (W), neutral (N) and cool (C). Then in each category there are different numbers depending on how light or dark your skin tone is, 1 (lightest shade) and 6 (darkest shade). As my skin has a warm, yellow undertone and I am very pale, I chose the shade W1 (Golden Ivory).

The finish of this foundation is of a high quality and is leaning more towards the matte side, however it still allows your natural shine peak through. I would say that this foundation is of a medium coverage but as this foundation is not 'cakey' you could definitely add an extra layer to make it full coverage. When applying the foundation it goes on very thin. Also, when set with a setting powder this foundation could last up to ten hours on the face.

I purchased my foundation from Priceline, an Australian drugstore and I bought it when it was on sale at, $24.95. However the RRP for this foundation in Australia is $29.95.

I love the packaging, it has a glass pump bottle and a lid so it is sanitary. The pump also allows you to dispense as much or as little product that you would like. The bottle holds 30ml of product.

To apply this foundation I dispense two pumps onto a plastic lid. I use my Real Techniques Buffing Brush to
apply . I start by stippling the foundation onto my face and then buffing it into my skin. If I am going to be wearing the foundation for a long time I like to firstly apply an oil-free primer then after application set with a powder.

Now to the Cons of this foundation:

• Higher price range for a drugstore foundation
• Accentuates dry areas and enlarged pores
• Very runny
•  No shades for very, very pale (porcelain) skin or very very dark skin.

Overall I will continue to repurchase this foundation and will continue to recommend it! 

9/10 L'Oreal!