Hey everyone, hope you're all having a lovely and relaxing weekend!

As a vegan who is very much into health and beauty products, I'm always on the lookout for new cruelty-free skincare and make up to try. I know from personal experience that when you first go vegan it can be quite difficult (and can get kind of expensive!) to find products that are not only kind to animals but also kind to your skin, which is why I love sharing my finds with you guys - if I can help you cut down on the time and expense of trying products that don't work then that's brilliant!

One of my favourite companies which I've recently discovered is definitely Arbonne; Arbonne is a 100% vegan skincare. make up and nutrition company (certified by the Vegan Society in the UK, yay!) which uses natural and nourishing ingredients and has a huge focus on wellness. 

As I'm an avid make up and skincare fan, when I was contacted and asked to participate in a campaign for Arbonne I was obviously super excited and said yes straight away! Some of the products weren't very suitable for my skin (I look about 12 so I don't think I need to use anti-aging products!) so I recruited my lovely mum to help me try them out; we had a fabulous pampering session in my living room which was only marred by my boyfriend laughing at us whilst I vigorously dabbed my mother's face with a beauty blender covered in CC cream. The cheek of him!

When I first went vegan, my only priority when it came to beauty products was that they had to be cruelty-free (i.e. not tested on animals) and made without any animal products. While these are still two of the main criteria I look for when it comes to what I put on my skin I'm now a lot more interested in 'natural' and organic skincare and make up. Now, I know the word 'natural' is extremely subjective and no two people will have the same definition of it so it's hard to know what it means when a product is marketed as being that - especially since companies can slap the all-natural label on any product they want because there aren't really any rules or regulations surrounding it. Also, nettles are natural but I'm not going to rub them all over my skin! So when I use the word 'natural' I mean free from 'nasties' with the majority of the ingredients being derived from plants to create a product that is, without a doubt, safe for your skin. There are a lot of companies out there who are 'greenwashing' so all I can say is do your research before you buy.

Buying Christmas presents can be tough, especially when you're trying to find something to give to someone with dietary restrictions or who follows a cruelty-free lifestyle. You can't just pick up the first box of chocolates or toiletries you see because unfortunately the recipient either wouldn't be able to eat or use them, or simply wouldn't want to. Even though I've lived a vegan lifestyle for just over a year now I still find it difficult to buy toiletries that are cruelty-free and don't contain any animal products, so for someone who has no idea about this way of living it could be quite daunting to come up with something to give to a vegan friend or relative. Luckily I love buying presents for people so I've put together this guide to help you pick some amazing gifts to give this year; this guide could also be helpful if you're already vegan or living a cruelty-free lifestyle and want to introduce people to it gently, or you could even just treat yourself to a few things! I know everyone has different budgets so I've tried to include a range of prices - have fun!