#cheap vegan skin care products

[jorichingsuk]

TheBossGlamtz

Our cosmetics store has grown to become the most unique beauty destination in the UK.We’re dedicated to providing you the best service with a focus on dependability on Make up, Skincare & Accessorize. We’re working to turn our passion for diverse products into a booming online boutique.

[franchisesales]

Details Presentation TheBossGlamtz

Our cosmetics store has grown to become the most unique beauty destination in the UK.We’re dedicated to providing you the best service with a focus on dependability on Make up, Skincare & Accessorize. We’re working to turn our passion for diverse products into a booming online boutique.

info@thebossglamtz.com

[ovaruling]

last night, during the street outreach, we had a woman come up to us, incredibly agitated that the undercover footage we were showing of slaughterhouses and dairy, egg, and fishing industries was visible to children.

two of the activists had brought their healthy, intelligent, wonderfully well-adjusted vegan children, who have both previously seen the footage with their parents and asked questions and received honest answers.

and i approached her to ask her—if she cared so much about the welfare of children, as she claimed, why was she not boycotting these industries?

if you are against child labor in any real way, you WOULD boycott industries that require labor in slaughterhouses, meat-packing facilities, fisheries, egg farms, dairy farms, fur and wool farms.

because guess who makes up a significant portion of that labor? CHILDREN. illegally and legally both, depending on the state or regional laws.

i’ve seen it with my own eyes at slaughterhouses, up close—i’ve seen children no older than 12 made to haul the dead bodies of pigs, still bleeding. i’ve seen them working in those farms.

there are innumerable minors “employed”—or enslaved—to animal agriculture and the resultant slaughterhouses and meat-packing and chick-grinding and animal skinning. PTSD doesn’t even begin to cover what these children come home with. to say nothing of how unsafe these jobs are—would anyone like to look into how many injuries and outright limb amputations are caused by slaughterhouse work each year? cuz it sure isn’t zero.

do you think Big Meat insures their workers and pays for medical bills and a pension when these incidents occur? how much do you think they care about safety code violations? the USDA and ASPCA approved slaughterhouses i’ve seen in person are in violation of at least 40 codes, minimum.

and let’s talk about the field farming of the immense amount of food required to sustain the animals imprisoned within these industries—lest we forget, most of the world’s food and calories go to feed these animals, not us.

and guess who they rely on most to farm that animal feed.

these industries will ALWAYS find a way to use children for their labor, because it’s cheap and it’s easy. they will NEVER stop using child labor. ever. it doesn’t matter how many laws are “in place”—these places will always get away with it bc they literally cannot exist without extensive and wildly cheap labor. you cannot invent an animal agriculture that won’t find a way to silently exploit minors for cheap labor.

these businesses are at the top of the capitalist heap—it’s a business that, once again, cannot exist without human slavery on a large scale, with much of that burden resting on children and immigrants (particularly women, btw).

if you actually care even a little bit about child labor, really, one of the most effective things you can do is to boycott animal product industries.

[iwillgodownwiththissite]

Okay, lads. Essay incoming...

So, studies have definitively claimed that a vegan diet is less harmful to our environment than one that contains meat and dairy.

The adoption of Veganuary in the UK alone is expected to have saved the earth’s atmosphere from the equivalent production of CO2 as 450,000 flights from London to Berlin, as well as 2. million of litres of water, according to a study by a professor at the University of Oxford.

But is this the same for our clothing and shoes, well no.

Vegan leather may sound more sustainable than its animal-based counterpart, but that's not always the case.

Synthetic leather is made from with PVC and polyurethane. These materials are plastic and petroleum-based, so not they are not an eco-friendly alternative. This is particularly common within fast fashion. This material will not last as long as leather making it both bad for the environment and for your pocket.

The material is easier to make and cheaper than genuine leather because genuine leather requires finding the right animals with the right skin and multiple stages of artisan processes. 

They are forms of vegan leather and can are derived from more natural materials such as cork, cactus leaves, paper, apples and bananas.

There’s also the option of regenerated leather, which is animal leather that’s been used before. It's the remix, baby.  

Now whether or not vegan leather can be considered “sustainable” depends on how it was made. For instance, plastic-based leather alternatives, while not directly harming animals in the production process, can still take years to degrade, which is harmful to the environment.

So is plastic pollution more detrimental than the environmental impacts of traditional leather? Well, here is where it where gets tricky. It's hard for one person to make an impact, and personal choices are is a stressful minefield to walk.

The most sustainable thing anyone can do is simply buy less and with the advantaged person unable to drop big bucks on mushroom leather, your best bet is leather. And to try and get it second-hand.

Long-lasting materials are better than cheap vegan leathers that will sit around in a landfill for centuries. 

Leather shoes can be repaired at cobblers, I have a pair of doc martens that have lasted 6 years with help from my local cobbles!

Support your local cobblers or Timpson cobblers. Timpsons is now one of the largest employers of ex-offenders in the UK, so please do support them! They also sell great and affordable kits that help to look after your leather shoes, you can keep them looking great and give them a long lifespan.

With over a billion animals getting slaughtered each year for their skins and hide, it's hard not to want to buy fake leather if chose to buy vegan leather, try to go down the non-plastic route and buy vegan leather that is sustainably made.

But if you can't afford that, it's best to buy leather. To avoid waste, try and buy it and take care of it.

The best one person can do is to make their clothing work for their budget and avoid fast fashion.

"Vegan Leather"

Plastic. just say plastic.

[maisonamelie]

Dubai's Nail Care Experts Reveal Top Tips for Maintaining Healthy Nails

Dubai’s nail care industry is known for its luxury, innovation, and attention to detail. Beyond stunning nail art and spa treatments, many salons prioritize nail health. Leading nail care experts in Dubai have shared their top tips for keeping nails healthy and ensuring they remain strong, beautiful, and naturally elegant.

Hydrate for Healthy Nails

Just as hydration benefits your skin and hair, it’s essential for nails, too. Nail technicians in Dubai emphasize drinking enough water daily and using cuticle oils rich in Vitamin E to nourish and moisturize the nail bed. Salons often recommend hydrating treatments like paraffin wax dips to lock in moisture.

Opt for Quality Nail Products

Many Dubai-based salons advocate avoiding low-quality nail products. Cheap nail polishes and removers often contain harsh chemicals that weaken nails. Instead, salons suggest investing in products free from toxins like formaldehyde and toluene. Brands offering non-toxic or vegan nail products are increasingly becoming popular choices.

Give Your Nails a Break

Regularly applying nail polish or acrylic extensions without breaks can weaken nails over time. Dubai’s nail experts recommend taking “nail detox” days, during which your nails are free of polish, allowing them to breathe and recover.

Mind Your Diet

The secret to healthy nails isn’t just external care—it’s internal, too. Nail care professionals stress the importance of a diet rich in biotin, zinc, and omega-3 fatty acids. Foods like eggs, nuts, spinach, and salmon contribute significantly to stronger nails.

File and Trim Properly

Improper filing and trimming techniques can lead to splitting or breaking. Nail specialists in Dubai highlight the importance of using high-quality files and maintaining a consistent filing direction. Regular trimming helps prevent snags and promotes even growth.

Protect Your Nails

Daily tasks like cleaning or washing dishes can damage nails. Experts suggest wearing gloves during chores to shield nails from harsh chemicals and prolonged water exposure, which can cause brittleness.

Visit Professional Salons Regularly

Routine visits to a professional nail salon can make all the difference. In Dubai, salons offer tailored treatments for nail strengthening, such as keratin nail infusions or hot oil treatments. Professionals can also detect early signs of nail issues and provide timely solutions.

Avoid Biting or Picking Your Nails

Biting nails or picking at cuticles is a common habit that can cause infections and weaken nails. Dubai’s nail therapists often recommend keeping nails well-manicured to reduce the temptation.

Conclusion

Healthy nails are a reflection of overall wellness and proper care. By incorporating these expert tips into your routine, you can enjoy beautiful, resilient nails that complement your style. Dubai’s nail care salons are more than just hubs of beauty; they’re centres of expertise and innovation in nail health. Whether you’re looking for dazzling designs or holistic nail care, their advice ensures that your nails remain as healthy as they are stunning.

Take the first step today by booking an appointment at Maison Amelie, one of Dubai’s premier nail salons, and treat your nails to the care they truly deserve!

[foesofthefemme]

Consumerism, beauty standards, class, and the reason why 10-year-olds want luxury skincare.

When I was around the ages of 10-12, I asked my parents for new clothes, rainbow loom kits, and bright colored duct tape to make wallets and bows with for Christmas. Upon viewing the current TikTok trends, it seems that my wishes as a young girl are much, much different from those of the young girls today. Instead of the usual dolls and crafts, many children are becoming drawn to expensive skincare and makeup. This has been a notable trend on TikTok (and other social media platforms) for some time now, as the target audience for beauty products and skincare is becoming younger and younger. This phenomenon highlights the intersection of consumerism, beauty standards, and youth culture in the age of social media. 

Drunk Elephant, known for their premium skincare products, clean ingredients, and sleek packaging, has garnered lots of media attention, and customers as a result. The brand’s image as clean, vegan, and cruelty free, as well as their promise of glowing, youthful skin, aligns perfectly with today’s beauty standards promoted on social media. Their high price point categorizes the brand as luxury, which is why the brand’s exposure on social media mostly comes from influencers who were gifted their products in exchange for a positive review. Despite this, Drunk Elephant is becoming increasingly coveted by young girls aged 10-12, as the younger demographic showcases their “skincare smoothies” and skincare routines using the luxury brand. 

You may be thinking, “why on earth are little girls so obsessed with luxury skincare?” If you are, you’re not alone, and I have a few explanations and theories to provide. First, and most importantly, I think the growing infatuation with skincare is being examined in all age categories. 10-step skincare routines, “get ready with me” videos, and influencer marketing have increased consumers’ awareness of skincare brands and why they should be using them. Each brand initiates a promise of glowing, youthful, beautiful skin, preying on a woman’s innate desire to maintain a youthful appearance, and increasing the pressure to do so. While skincare can be a form of self-care and self-expression (and I advocate strongly for this), the glorification of luxury brands and “perfect” skin perpetuates the omnipresent hyperconsumerism and overconsumption we are witnessing today. 

Second, one of my theories is that young girls are simply following the actions of their elders, and by elders, I mean the teenage and 20-to-30-something-year-old influencers doing Drunk Elephant’s marketing for them. As a young girl, I wanted to grow up very fast, and I did all kinds of things to mimic the actions of my older sister and the other young adult women in my life. This included stealing their makeup and buying cheap lip gloss. I believe that the young girls being fed luxury skincare content are seeking the same thing I was, but instead of buying $2 lip gloss, they are emulating the skincare routines they see on social media. In their pursuit to feel older, young and impressionable girls are accidentally falling into a vicious cycle of consumerism and beauty standards. In this aspect, I think this trend is dangerous, especially when considering the young girls without the means to purchase luxury skincare. A socioeconomic factor is sure to play into this as well, as the use of luxury skin care signals a sense of exclusivity and wealth, a defining aspect of the “clean girl” aesthetic. It is a pursuit of both beauty, status, and maturity. 

Overall, I believe there are several factors playing into this phenomenon, and there are many ways you could go about explaining it. However, the most important factors to pay attention to are the rise of hyperconsumerism, increasingly narrow beauty standards, and the use of status symbols. To deny that this phenomenon has anything to do with beauty ideals, class, and consumerism is to ignore the fact that social media has a way of influencing highly impressionable girls. As young girls begin to navigate the complexities of growing up in the digital age, it is crucial to promote critical thinking and messages of self-worth and self-love that transcend materialistic norms of beauty and consumerism.

[melissakayboutique]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Perfectly Posh Pjs All Day Body Scrub.

[academyofselfmastery-elderberry]

The cheap and easy way to protect your family from colds and flu 

Elderberries naturally contain vitamins A, B, and C and stimulate the immune system. Israeli researchers found that the complex sugars in elderberries support the immune system in fighting cold and flu. They developed several formulas based on these complex sugars that have been clinically shown to help ameliorate all kinds of cold/flu.

In fact: “Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu, of Hadassah-Hebrew University in Israel found that elderberry disarms the enzyme viruses use to penetrate healthy cells in the lining of the nose and throat. Taken before infection, it prevents infection. Taken after infection, it prevents spread of the virus through the respiratory tract. In a clinical trial, 20% of study subjects reported significant improvement within 24 hours, 70% by 48 hours, and 90% claimed complete cure in three days. In contrast, subjects receiving the placebo required 6 days to recover.”    

What you need to make a single batch:

2 x Empty Kilner Bottle or empty glass jars  1 x bottle 100% cold pressed Biona Elderberry Juice 4 x Tablespoons of maple syrup, algave or raw honey   1 x Kakadu Plum powder

METHOD:  Mix it altogether in a jug Pour into the kilner bottle or glass jars Store in the fridge

I use Kakadu plum powder as it is a powerhouse of vitamin C and full of antioxidants, a fantastic natural preservative and has the highest food-based form of vitamin C of any food known on this planet.

The elderberry juice can have a bitter taste without the sweetener added, this will depend on preference.

You could substitute the honey with maple syrup to sweeten (if vegan or under 12 months). Raw Manuka honey can also be used for children over 24 months.

DOSAGE: Elderberry Syrup is suitable for 12 months and over and if you are pregnant or are breastfeeding if you have used maple syrup.

**If you have used Manuka honey in the mixture, then it is ONLY suitable for children OVER 24 MONTHS**

Take 1 x Tablespoon every day (adults) Take 1 x Teaspoon everyday (children)

If you are feeling sick or have a cold or the onset of flu, increase dosage to 1-2 tablespoons every 3-4 hours up to 4 times per day (for children over 12 months with Maple syrup use 1-2 teaspoons

For children over 24 months and you have used raw Manuka honey then its 1-2 teaspoons per day.

About Helen

Helen Monaghan B.A (hons) has an active interest in Holistic and Alternative Medicines since 2006, where she started making her own chemical free, natural, and organic skin care products for her friends and family.

Since then, she has studied hard to become the best in her field of natural health and self healing.

Helen has worked with many other professionals across the globe where she has helped them to complete books that has inspired thousands of people across the planet and today she brings with her new ways of living,  using her knowledge and expertise where she encompasses a variety of different healing techniques.

This year she has created her Online Store and the Academy of Self Mastery learning centre, so that many more people have access to her natural health and wellbeing products, whether it be skincare, mini course, e-books or other ways of being and staying healthy.

[ladyinredskincure]

Organic Skincare Products

Website: https://www.ladyinredskincure.com/

Lady In Red SkinCure Boutique by Jade, LLC is an adaptive skin care solutions company, providing allergen-conscious products that are free from parabens, petroleum jelly, mineral oil, oxybenzone, phthalates, formaldehyde, carbon black, ethanolamides, alcohol, sulfate, artificial color, artificial dye, and wax. I do not believe in the use of harmful/harsh chemicals or additives in any of our products.

We guarantee the quality and integrity of all products by creating each item at the time of order.

Lady In Red SkinCure Boutique by Jade, LLC began by creating all-natural, minimal ingredient exfoliators and body creams for sensitive skin types. Our product line has expanded to include skin care products for all skin types. We carry total body exfoliator products, toners, moisturizers, and at home spa products.

We are Eco-friendly:

recyclable and reusable packaging

handcrafted in small batches

BPA-FREE JARS AND LIDS

All print materials are made using recycled paper products

We are Ethical:

cruelty free

vegan

organic

made in the U.S.A.

no toxins

no parabens

no mineral oil

no petroleum jelly

no oxybenzone

no formaldehyde

no ethanolamides

no carbon black

no phthalates

no alcohol

sulfate free

NON-GMO

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladyinred_boutiquebyjadellc/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ladyinredskncur

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[simrane348]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of synthetic leather?

Synthetic leather is commonly referred to as faux, vegan, or PU leather. Today, many people use this leather as it is highly fashionable, attractive, and cheap. It comes in a vast range of colors, textures, and finishes. It is used for making furniture, clothing, shoes, and luggage. This leather looks like real leather, but it is not made from an animal's skin or hide. Synthetic leather is usually made from polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). As plastic is used in the manufacturing process of synthetic leather, it does not biodegrade easily, but it is easy to care for and manufacture in large quantities. Simran International is the leading leather company in India. In this blog, you will read about the pros and cons of synthetic leather.

Advantages of Synthetic Leather:

1.    Natural leather products are more expensive than synthetic leather products. Hence, synthetic leather is best for those who want to spend less money but whose preference is leather. As closely as synthetic leather resembles genuine leather,

2.    The major benefit of this low-cost synthetic leather is that people can replace it every few years, like their furniture, clothes, shoes, etc. But for real leather, they have to spend lots of money.

3.    Synthetic leather is easily washable and cleaned with a damp cloth. Some leathers are durable, so they can be machine washed as well.

4.    It did not require too much maintenance and care.

5.    This leather is waterproof, and it won’t penetrate water as it has a plastic base layer. It is the best option for those whose leather is exposed to rain or humidity.

6.    Most importantly, when creating synthetic leather, no leather is harmed.

7.    It can be produced in any pattern, color, and style.

8.    Synthetic leather can be manufactured with a high-gloss finish.

9.    If this leather is exposed to the sun, it will not be damaged because it is UV fade resistant.

10.                       Synthetic leather is stronger than real leather.

Disadvantages of Synthetic Leather:

1.    Generally, the lifespan of synthetic leather is between two and four years. With the passage of time, this leather starts to break down, flake, and crack. The surface of this leather sometimes becomes dull.

2.    Synthetic leather is not environmentally friendly, as it is made of plastic and requires a lot of energy, chemicals, and waste.

3.    It is difficult to recycle or reuse.

4.    The major disadvantage of this leather is that it is easily torn or punctured.

5.    Synthetic leather does not have the same luster as real leather.

6.    It does not have the same smell as genuine leather, which is normally what customers prefer.

7.    This leather does not have real leather's similar hypoallergenic properties.

8.    Synthetic leather is not breathable, especially PVC leather.

Synthetic leather is the best choice for furniture and clothing, as this leather is cheaper than real leather. If the person properly maintains and cares for their synthetic leather products, then they will last a long time. But if the person wants a product that will last for many years, then they should go for real leather. Most importantly, real leather is made from animal hides, so it is eco-friendly and will degrade with age. Real leather gets faded with sun exposure and is available in few colors, but it is prepared using sustainable methods. Hence, the selection of leather, whether they want to buy synthetic leather or real leather, totally depends on the preference, budget, and maintenance needs of the user. Simran International is a well-known leather garment exporter that exports leather all over the world and is famous for providing high-quality leather to their clients.

Visit Here Read More: https://techplanet.today/post/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-synthetic-leather

https://medium.com/@simrane348/78b133625dae

[ovaruling]

ok no one cares but since i live in a subtropical climate and have blood that insects love, i’ve been looking into how to try to get them to love me less, particularly mosquitos. i was already using vegan products anyway, and i think that does help. but so far i have

switched to a low-ingredient (and vegan ofc) shampoo & conditioner that contains tea tree

switched to a low-ingredient body wash that is aloe-based and thus aloe-scented

started eating much much more garlic and even also added a cheap concentrated garlic supplement to my regime

switched to an unscented, low-ingredient ayurvedic body lotion that contains castor and olive oils

switched to an ozonated avocado oil deodorant

switched to an even more eco-friendly dry laundry strip detergent

no dryer sheets, only rubber balls

and so far i think it’s all kinda maybe working! i sit outside from 4-5pm each day trying to trap stray cats and i’ve noticed a decrease in bugs hovering around me in the last couple weeks

and ok maybe it’s my imagination but i like to think reducing chemicals where i can does help.

also i wear no perfumes/fragrances anyway and also wear no products in my hair at all. and i only use sunscreen on my skin

[petalproufaerie]

hiiii ☺🌸 how can I be more eco friendly ? what changes do you make in your every day?

This is awesome that you are wanting to be more eco conscious! Well done for making this step!

It can be so overwhelming with do's and don'ts and a lot of people try to police how much you do but every little effort counts towards helping our planet!

Use what you have! Don't throw away/donate a bunch of items to be replaced by new things.

Some small things that can get you started are:

Reusable shopping bags. (I take one everywhere I go)

Reusable water bottle/coffee cup.

More walking/public transport (this can differ depending where you live so it won't apply to all)

Recycle, Reuse and repair what you already have.

Cut down on fast fashion. (Eco conscious labels can be expensive! So thrift! Charity shops are your friend. Use sites like Depop etc to find clothing secondhand. Research about where you are buying from, a lot of highstreet shops are throwing the conscious lable about without actually being eco friendly or paying their garment workers fair wages or providing a safe working environment.)

Don't buy what you don't need. (This can be a hard one but you don't need a new outfit for that party- restyle clothes you already have. That Halloween decoration is amazing and I love it but do I need it? Can I make my own? Or buy a non plastic alternative that I will bring out next halloween?)

If you menstruate great! Try using period underwear, (everything from boxers to bikini briefs.) Use menstrual cups, washable pads and tampons. And if you can't use any of these try bleach free and organic cotton sanitary towels.

Shorten that shower! Don't have it too hot either.

Try a shampoo bar! They're cheap and can last for ages! (It might take a while to find one perfect for your hair.)

If you wear makeup pick shades that will match most outfits. (Try to have three very different shades of lipstick instead of twenty.)

Diet change! I am vegan and I support veganisim but I know that not everybody is able to go vegan. Try swapping dairy for vegan alternatives (when you get a coffee try oat, soy or coconut milk) or have meat free Monday. Swap a chocolate bar or crisps for fruit.

Refuse as much plastic as possible! (I know this is very difficult because plastic is everywhere but try to keep your eyes out for plastic free goodies.)

Don't be too fast to turn that heating on. (Grab a jumper and fluffy socks or a blanket. If not, have your boiler on eco mode. You can google the best eco mode for each boiler)

Recycled toilet paper! We get an order through from who gives a crap but there are plenty of other brands to chose from.

If you have a dog get biodegradable waste bags.

Refillable pens and pencils are you're new best friend! You can even get ones made from recycled water bottles now. Or plantable pencils which can grow a herb garden.

Chargeable tooth brushes or bamboo ones!

LED light bulbs!

Green cleaning products. (Washing up block, cotton and bamboo cleaning sponges, refillable surface cleaners etc no bleach!)

Natural deodorant stick, paste etc (avoid aerosol cans)

Reusable razors.

Soap bars.

Eco dental floss.

Reusable face cleansing pads. (I have cotton and bamboo ones and also crocheted my own)

Natural skin care. (Go vegan and cruelty free with eco friendly packaging.)

Reusable food storage (beeswax wraps, silicone washable bags and stainless steel boxes)

Compost food waste.

Eco friendly washing . (Dissolvable, dye free laundry capsules)

Write to your local Council/MP/governing body.

Get involved with petitions.

Keep researching and fact check!

These are some of the small everyday things you can do/change/use! It's the little things compiled that make a difference! Start small and work your way up!

You can do this! We can do this!🌍

[alarawriting]

52 Project #4: Rand Mart

All I wanted to do was buy a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread, and ham. But I’d been to four cash registers already, and no one had been willing to ring me up yet.

The first cashier – a girl with dyed black hair, a tattoo of a dove on her cheek, and nose and tongue piercings – informed me that she’d ring up my bread, but she was morally opposed to the consumption of animal products, so the conscience clause permitted her to refuse to ring up my milk and ham. The dark-skinned woman with a red dot on her forehead, at the next cash register, would ring up my ham and bread, but told me that the American milk industry was unconscionably cruel to cows, who were beloved in the eyes of Brahma. The woman with the light blue scarf around her mouth, nose and hair, at the third register, was willing to ring up the bread and milk, but thought that pigs were unclean and their meat banned by the Prophet. And the fourth cashier, a bearded man with a yarmulke, wouldn’t ring up any of my goods, because it was Saturday.

There was a self-service lane, of course, but it wrapped around the entire cash register area with about forty people queued up in it because no one wanted to go to a cashier-operated register. I’d thought that the fact that so few people were lined up at the registers meant that I’d get through the line quickly. I should have known better.

There were two other cash registers open. On one, a painfully thin woman was haranguing a slightly overweight woman over her choice of sodas. “High fructose corn syrup is pure poison!” she was shouting. “It’s murder! If I let you buy those Sprites I might as well be putting a gun to your head!” At the last cashier-operated register, the clean-cut young man behind the counter was ringing everyone up for all their products… as long as they accepted Christ as their personal lord and savior.

Screw this. I abandoned my groceries in one of the many, many baskets set outside the cash registers for exactly that purpose. The baskets were overflowing. I wondered how the supermarkets made any money anymore.

And then I did what I’d sworn I’d never do again. I got in my car, and I drove to Rand Mart.

***

Rand Mart was infamous for being a terrible employer. It abused its employees, forcing them to work unpaid overtime, failing to give them health care coverage, busted any attempt to unionize, and fired them for absenteeism if they were ever sick at all. I wouldn’t have been caught dead there under any other circumstances. But I wasn’t willing to lie my way into the Christian-only grocery stores, and the service at the secular grocery store was getting steadily worse.

Ever since the Conscience Clause Laws, created originally to allow pharmacists to get out of filling prescriptions for drugs whose purposes their religions disapproved of, were expanded by Supreme Court decision to allow any person to refuse any duty in the course of their work, provided that they had a “heartfelt moral objection” to performing it… more and more people were discovering the joys of sticking it to their employers (and customers) by developing heartfelt moral objections to any number of things. Their employers weren’t allowed to fire them for it, either.

Originally it had been based on religion, until the vegans sued, claiming that just because their belief that meat was murder was not based on the teachings of a god, it was no less heartfelt or moral. The Supremes bought that, deciding that when the Founding Fathers said that Congress should establish no religion, which had been extended to Congress not infringing on any religion, that any heartfelt moral belief counted as a religion for the purposes of not being infringed on, because it wasn’t the business of the law to decide what was and was not a religion.

Corporations weren’t allowed to practice religious discrimination in hiring unless their own heartfelt moral beliefs would be compromised. So the Christian-only stores could get away with hiring only Christians – which had made them very, very popular lately, even though they’d only let Christians shop there, because most Americans are Christian at least in name and most Christians didn’t have a religious objection to selling anyone anything, as long as it couldn’t be used to allow women to enjoy sex without guilt. But a secular store couldn’t demand that its employees actually do their jobs, because no one had a heartfelt moral belief that employees should do work, apparently.

Except for Rand Mart.

Rand Mart had successfully won the right to discriminate against any employee of any religion who wouldn’t do their job on the grounds that their heartfelt moral belief was Objectivism. They believed (heartfeltedly and morally, it seemed) that the government should not interfere in contractual matters between employee and employer, or consumer and vendor, and that therefore they had the right to sign their employees to contracts that stated that they accepted the inability to raise a religious objection to anything as a condition of employment, and make it stick. They used the Hobby Lobby case as precedent along with the Conscience Clause decision to prove that a corporation had the rights to adhere to the heartfelt moral beliefs of its owners even if doing so trampled on the rights of its employees.

As a result, you could get absolutely anything at Rand Mart that they felt they’d make money on selling to you, and no one could raise any sort of objection. Guns? Sure! The Second Amendment and the Conscience Clause meant that they didn’t have to do background checks, because that was government interference with their relationship with their customer, and they believed they shouldn’t have to abide by that rule. Abortifacients? You betcha! They weren’t the only ones – sex shops frequently invoked their heartfelt belief in the right of all humans to sexual pleasure and control over their own bodies to sell things like birth control, Plan B, and actual abortion drugs, without prescriptions, and no one could really stop them because they had the names of everyone who’d ever used a credit card to buy sex merchandise, which included most of the fine, upstanding citizens who tended to protest abortion clinics. But Rand Mart was the one you would go to if you didn’t want to walk through displays of lingerie and dildos to get the pill. Marijuana? Rand Mart didn’t believe in anti-drug laws, and while they were sane enough not to provoke the government on stuff like meth and heroin, they sold weed quite openly, and the Feds were more likely to bust a legal California grower of the medical grade stuff than Rand Mart.

Obviously, given their willingness to sell such culturally controversial stuff, you could get any of the basics at Rand-Mart as well, and none of their employees were allowed to refuse to sell to you. So I drove over there, because I really, really wanted my bread, ham and milk.

As usual, Rand Mart’s parking lot was a zoo. True confession time: this wasn’t the first time I’d been driven to have to go to the place. Every time I went here I swore I’d never do it again, and while my abhorrence of their treatment of employees was one reason, the behavior of the other customers was another. Pedestrians were everywhere, because why should they have to follow rules like the presence of crosswalk markings to make life convenient for drivers? They had the right to walk and they were going to walk, dammit. This, of course, made the drivers of the other cars frustrated, and when you considered how tiny the parking spots were and how quickly they got snapped up, you had frustrated, angry drivers rapidly turning into slavering, starving beasts who’d savage each other for a parking spot. Road rage deaths were not unheard of in Rand Mart parking lots, including incidents where folks used their brand new Rand Mart guns to put a hole in a fellow shopper for fender bender accidents caused by overeagerness to take a parking spot. I parked all the way out at the end of the lot and walked, careful to avoid the cars who were taking out their aggression against the thick clouds of pedestrians in front of the store by nearly running down the ones walking to or from their cars.

The way Rand Mart is laid out, you have to walk through an entire aisle of really cheap impulse buys and sales items before you can even get into the store proper. Then the groceries are all the way on the other side. Shoppers inside Rand Mart are every bit as considerate as the ones outside, which is to say, I had to dodge a lot of folks who were walking straight at me as if I wasn’t even there, or as if they wanted to play Store Aisle Chicken. I was really, really glad I needed so few things and didn’t need to push a cart, because there were so many endcaps and stands of merchandise and random pallets of restock that I couldn’t see how a cart could get through half the aisles.

I plugged my metaphorical ears to the siren song of really cheap electronics, and really cheap DVDs, and really cheap winter jackets, and really cheap kitchen appliances. (I’m a bachelor. I don’t really cook. I do, however, make a lot of use of rice cookers, and toaster ovens, and single-serve coffee machines, and I own lots and lots of other kitchen appliances that promise to pretty much make my food for me, despite which I still never use the damned things.) In what seemed like a long and peril-fraught journey, but was actually probably about three or four minutes, I got to the grocery aisles and started looking for the stuff I’d come for.

And then I ran into Emily. Wearing a Rand Mart uniform, and stocking yogurt cups onto the shelves.

Emily used to be my manager. I work in IT, where the controversies are few; as long as we don’t hire any Amish dudes, we’re not likely to get saddled with deadweight. However, the hours are long, and Emily decided she wanted a new career that would let her spend more time with her young son, so last I’d heard, she’d opened a day care. Considering that this was Saturday, I supposed it wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility that this was her second job, but Rand Mart was infamous for giving their front line employees really egregiously varying schedules with totally inconsistent amounts and times for hours, so they weren’t generally compatible with having, or being, a second job. “Hey, Emily!” I said. “How’s life been treating you?”

“Oh, hey, Brad. You’re looking pretty stressed. They giving you a hard time at work?”

“Oh, no, no, I’m just stressed because I had to come to this place,” I said. “Six cashiers at the Allfood, and none of them willing to ring up a simple purchase of ham, milk and bread.”

“Don’t I know it,” Emily said. “The other day I was in Curtains and More with my son, just trying to get him some new bedsheets, and they practically threw me out of the store because I wasn’t wearing a wedding ring. I told them I don’t wear it because my circulation’s not great and my fingers swell up, but they didn’t believe me. I had to show them my wedding picture in my wallet before I could buy a damned thing, because they thought I was an unwed mother, and that’s sinful. Do you know every single employee in that place is a pregnant woman?”

“What, do they fire them if they’re not pregnant?”

“The owner’s into some odd Christian sect where you’re supposed to have as many babies for the Lord as possible. So I guess they’re not always pregnant, but they’re always either pregnant, on maternity leave, or they’ve got a little baby. It’s crazy.”

Her story reminded me that I needed to get cups for my coffee machine, and that as far as I knew coffee wasn’t against anyone’s religion. Maybe I’d drop by Curtains and More myself. I was a single guy without any kids, so I figured I wouldn’t run into the problems Emily had. “Are they one of those places where you have to be Christian to get in?”

“Oh, no, no. That’s what tripped me up; I was completely not expecting to run into an issue like that. They looked secular.”

“So why’re you working here at Rand Mart anyway? Still doing the daycare thing?”

She shook her head sadly. “No… I couldn’t keep it going. I hired a couple of extra workers, trying to expand – you know, the state’s very strict about how many children you can have per working adult. Well, it turned out that one of them had a strong Christian belief in ‘spare the rod, spoil the child.’ Apparently it’s a central tenet of her religion that you have to beat kids.”

“Oh my god. Really?”

“Yup. Obviously I couldn’t let her anywhere near the kids – she made it clear that if she saw them engaging in bad behavior, she had to follow her moral beliefs on how to ‘train them up’, rather than my instructions. Well, I could have lost my license for allowing any corporal punishment at all on my premises, so I couldn’t let her anywhere near the kids, but I couldn’t fire her, because Conscience Clause. So I had her running errands, but what I really had needed was someone to watch kids. Without being able to take on the extra kids that her watching them would have allowed me to take, I couldn’t afford her salary.”

I shook my head. “Unreal.”

“I managed to eventually fire her for taking too long to run her errands, but I had to document it for months so she couldn’t claim it was an illegal termination on religious grounds. By then it was too late – I was too far into the red to recover. I had to declare bankruptcy. I couldn’t get hired back into IT management because I guess making a sudden shift into running a day care made me look flaky? Or out of touch, anyway. So, you know, I’m still looking, but I’ve got to pay the bills, so…” She shrugged. “Here I am.”

“That sucks. I’ll check the internal postings, see if there are any openings at the company. I’m sure they’d love to have you back.”

“That’d be great,” she said. “But listen, I gotta finish this and clock my task completion time so they don’t dock me for excessive inefficiency.”

“Oh, yeah, I understand. I gotta find my groceries, myself. See you around!”

“Sure, see you,” she said, and went back to unpacking yogurts, this time pulling them out of the box in stacks of three and shoving them onto the shelf as fast as she could go.

Once I had my groceries and I was checking out, I ran into my old friend Ryan, who was working the cash register. “Ryan! You’re working at Rand Mart too?”

“Sad but true,” he said.

“Thought you were working at that hipster coffee place.”

“Went out of business last month,” Ryan said regretfully. “We hired this one guy who would not stop aggressively proselytizing to the customers, and people just felt really uncomfortable ordering coffee from someone who kept insisting that they embrace the Lord. The owner tried to keep him in the back, but you know, small coffee joint. There’s not much to do that isn’t in the front, customer facing… he’d do unloading and garbage runs but the rest of the time there was nothing for him to do but work out front.”

“Yeah, I just heard about my old manager’s day care folding because she hired the wrong person.”

“It’s bad, all right,” Ryan said. “The small businesses can’t take it, and even the bigger ones are starting to feel it. That’ll be $15.99.”

For a pound of deli ham, a loaf of bread, and a gallon of milk? I goggled at the receipt, glad I hadn’t tried to get the coffee single-serving cups here. Well, Rand Mart never pretended to have the lowest prices on groceries; they’ll just sell you anything you want without a hassle, and that’s enough of a draw that they can charge out the wazoo. That and all the cheap impulse buy stuff creating the illusion that the store’s prices were overall low. “You guys are definitely cleaning up on it though,” I said as I swiped my credit card.

Ryan snorted. “I’m out of here first chance I get. There’s a new burger joint down the road, Charley’s. I put in an application there and we’ll see where it goes.”

“Is that one of those places where you have to wear flair?”

“Naah, flair is corporate now. They do have all the kitschy plastic toys all over the ceiling though.”

“I’ll have to check them out.” Maybe today. A burger sounded good. I was getting kind of hungry.

As I walked out of Rand Mart, I swore to myself that this time, this time, I wasn’t coming back.

***

Charley’s was a low-key kind of place, dark wooden beams and light brown wallpaper showing great sports stars from the entire 20th and 21st centuries, despite which it was actually not a sports bar. It was rare to find a burger joint that was neither excessively corporate, nor did it have 25 television screens showing different subchannels of ESPN. Their menu said they were all about the social experience, implying to me that one lone dude like me was probably not their target customer. On the other hand I’ll do a lot to avoid the black attention sucking hole that is large television screens with no sound. I’m not into sports nearly enough to want to see Ukrainian men’s field hockey or whatever ridiculous crap they show on ESPN17, and especially not enough to want to see it with the sound off and no captions.

I was pleasantly surprised by how fast my server collected my drink order and came back with my Coke. She was a cute brunette with curly hair. “I’d like to get a Works Cheeseburger, hold the spinach,” I said.

She shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir, I can’t do that.”

I blinked at her. “Are you out? I don’t have to have all the toppings—“

“No, I mean, a cheeseburger isn’t kosher, so I can’t put that order in for you. Sorry.”

Oh, not this again. “Come on. You’re working on Saturday. You can put in a cheeseburger order.”

“No, I really can’t. I have to work on Saturday because I need the hours, but I do keep kosher.”

I sighed. “Can you get me a different server, then? I came here to get a cheeseburger.”

“I could get you a cheese veggieburger… the tofu ones taste really authentic.”

“No. I want a cheeseburger. Made of beef, and cheese. Are there any other servers who’ll take my order?”

“I’m sorry, I can’t refer you to any of my colleagues,” she said. “If it was just a matter of you preferring a different server, that’d be one thing, but I can’t get a different server for you when I know that I’m enabling you to get a cheeseburger.”

“Okay, I’m not going to order a cheeseburger, but I don’t like you and your sanctimonious attitude, so just go get me a different server because I don’t like you.”

“No, sir, I know you’re lying and you really are going to order a cheeseburger if I do that.”

I glared at her. “Look, I know enough about Judaism to know that you don’t need to enforce the kosher laws on non-Jews, so what justification do you have for not letting me order a cheeseburger? Don’t the kosher laws just apply to Jews?”

“Yes, but I can tell you’re actually Jewish.”

I blinked. “No, I’m not.”

“Well, of course you’d say that, sir, since you don’t keep kosher and you don’t keep the Sabbath, but I know a Jewish man when I see one.”

I had a roommate who was Jewish once, and that was the full extent of my connection to Judaism. “Look, I’m not. Really. I’m allowed to eat a cheeseburger.”

“I sincerely believe that you probably are, and you’re lying to me because you want a cheeseburger.”

So I gave her two bucks for the Coke, which was $1.99, and told her to keep the change. If she was hungry enough to take Saturday hours despite being dedicated enough to her faith to enforce kosher on non-Jewish customers, maybe a spate of 1 cent tips would persuade her to let customers order a cheeseburger in a goddamn burger joint. Or maybe they’d cause her to quit. What the heck was someone with a religious objection to cheeseburgers doing working in a burger joint anyway? I bet she wouldn’t have let me get a bacon burger either.

To be honest, I was pretty sure she was enforcing kosher laws on a non-Jew because she could. Used to be that every store treated its employees more or less the same way Rand Mart does. Long hours, low wages, and if you didn’t take the customer’s abuse with a big smile, you could lose your job, no matter how unreasonable the demands. Nowadays, the hours were longer and the wages were lower – businesses couldn’t stay in business with all the deadweight they were forced to carry if they didn’t exploit the hell out of their workers – but employees could get away with nearly anything if they expressed a heartfelt belief. In fact, I’d read an advice article online that suggested that as soon as you got a job in retail, you should come up with some religious reason to deny a customer something, because then if they tried to fire you for anything else, you could sue them on the grounds that it was retaliation against you exercising your First Amendment rights.

Dammit, I was really, really not in the mood for McDonalds’ or something. The last time I’d tried to go through a drive-thru, I’d found out that the fry cook on shift that day disapproved of the high carbon footprint left by cars, and was refusing to allow any of the fries to go out via the drive-thru. Plus, I’d really wanted a good burger. Rand-Mart had one of those snack bars that they have at places like Target, but I was pretty sure their burgers were at best a single step in quality above McDonald’s, if not the same or worse.

I decided to go to Anomie. Their food wasn’t the best, but the good thing was, you put in your order through an electronic kiosk, swiped your card, and people you never saw in the back, who never saw you, would take whatever orders they felt they could morally accept. Then the food would be slid to you through a numbered slot, kind of like the idea behind the old Automat. You never had to see a single person that worked there.

***

After a mediocre cheeseburger I managed to obtain without interacting with a single human being, I felt somewhat up to going and getting my coffee. It’d be cheapest at the grocery store, but I wasn’t going to go back there if I could help it – even though I was pretty sure none of the cashiers I’d run into would actually prevent me from getting coffee, except maybe the Sprite Is Poison lady, I still didn’t feel like paying any of those people’s wages. So I decided to try Curtains and More. If they weren’t the kind of store that would try to check my religion before letting me in, what was the worst that could happen?

Ten minutes later I was standing in front of a security guard who was saying “I’m sorry, sir,” while blocking my entrance to the store. “You can’t go in there.”

I stared at him. “Why not?”

“Well, you’re a man, sir. Men aren’t allowed in Curtains and More.”

“…My friend just was here and she never told me men aren’t allowed. She brought in her son.”

“Boys under the age of 10 are allowed, but men aren’t. Our corporate policy at Curtains and More is that men and women shouldn’t mingle socially, so they shouldn’t shop at the same stores.”

“So is there another curtains store that just sells to men?”

“I wouldn’t know, sir. I don’t make the rule.”

“But you’re a man.”

“Yeah, I have to stand out here all day. I’m not actually allowed in the building.”

“So how do you punch your time card?”

“There’s an app for that. I have to do it with my cell phone.” He sighed. “Kind of dumb, if you ask me, but what’re you going to do?”

“Shop somewhere else, I guess.” I shook my head. “I thought these folks were Christians.”

“They are, but they’re some weird sect that thinks men and women shouldn’t see each other unless they’re family.”

“And that women should be pregnant all the time?”

“Didn’t know that, but I’ve seen employees go in through the side door, and yeah, most of them are pregnant. Is that why?”

“That’s what I heard,” I said glumly. “Why do they let women in and not men, I wonder? Most of these kinds of places discriminate against women, not men.”

“I don’t know, but I don’t have to turn too many guys away. I guess men don’t shop for curtains as much.”

“Guess not.” It was as good an explanation as any. “I’m gonna have to go back to Rand Mart, aren’t I?”

“I hear they’ve got a pretty good selection,” the security guard said.

***

I figured I’d probably end up back at Rand Mart, but I had to at least try to avoid it, so I tried a few other coffee places; most coffee places sell pods for coffee machines, after all.

I tried Starbucks, and walked right back out as I heard the cashier refusing to serve unbelievers. I didn’t even know what they were unbelieving in, and I didn’t care. The Dunkin Donuts was run by someone who professed a sincere and heartfelt belief that children should work in the family business, and I didn’t want to be served by an eight-year-old again. There was a hipster coffee joint, but they wouldn’t let me in because my belt looked like it might be made of real leather, and they believed strongly in veganism. I considered leaving my belt in the car, but then my pants might fall down in the coffee shop, and I wasn’t risking that. Besides, people like that might give me some song and dance about single-serve coffee pods being terrible for the environment, or something.

And that was how I found myself going back to Rand Mart, about an hour after declaring I was never going back again.

I passed a group of employees on smoke break on my way in. They were holding “HOMELESS AND HUNGRY – PLEASE HELP” signs. I gave one of them a five. For all I knew my friends might be there next month.

Then I dodged around an excessively aggressive cart return guy pushing a conga line of wheeled death, and slipped into the store. I was beginning to come to the conclusion that no matter how many times I vowed I’d never come back here, I’d never be able to keep that promise.

[bitchfacecupid]

This is a very controversial topic that will very likely anger and or irritate people that read it.

I’ve been vegan since 2015.

I’d like to mention (for any non vegans) that I’m not one of the stereotypical, preachy, overly offended, sensitive, shove my vegan agenda in your face type. I keep it to myself and if people ask, I let them know bit by bit (NOT all at once or more than they ask about as that is overwhelming. I have special needs and know that absorbing a lot of information is exhausting).

Way back in 2016, I slowly began integrating small zero waste things, tricks, products, items (used) and other stuff into my life/daily routine in order to reduce my carbon footprint and use less plastic/produce less waste (including textile waste). My stance on sharing this with others is the same as it is with veganism so you need not worry about me telling you you’re horrible for living your life like a normal person.

I am saddened because absolutely ALL of the plant based replacements/versions of things that most of us use on a daily basis such as working boots, shoes, watches, wallets, work jackets, shirts, pants, coats, shoe laces, backpack straps, hiking gear, brief cases, non recreational hand bags, purses and so much more; they don’t hold up for NEARLY as long as the leather or animal derived versions (if you’re getting them from a good leather source, not the cheap, thin overseas leather).

Second, nearly all of the plant based versions have a non bio based plastic in them, even though they claim to be “zero waste “ or “better for the planet.” Plastic in these items is micro plastic, which when washed, goes directly into the water supply unless you can afford the extra $60.00+ for one of the balls you put in the washer that collects most of the micro plastics that your clothes “leak.”

My plastic based Bearpaw brand trainers (sneakers) started fraying around the edges within literal WEEKS of using them for basic walking around town for two hours a day. Meanwhile, the basic 6-inch wheat coloured Timberland brand world boots I found at a pay by the kg (pound) charity shop (thrift store) for £2/kg haven’t so much as ripped from working out in sticker bushes 6 hours a day for weeks.

The leather wallet my Mum got me as a kid lasted from the time I was 9 until nearly 20. It was still in perfect condition when I donated it. My faux leather wallet that I’ve had for less than a year is peeling and cracking.

I understand this likely seems silly to meat eaters, as you may not understand; for myself (and no one else), I am very much against purchasing brand new leather and leather/animal skin or body based products from a source that I have no way to physically go and see how the animals are treated,what conditions they live in, what they’re fed, where they’re put out to pasture Etc. I want to make sure I’m supporting brands that actually care about their animals and don’t treat them simply as profit or a number, like factory farming. This is the issue I face. Many leather products are made from skin of factory farmed animals, and a lot of companies would not, and aren’t willing to let the general public know where they source their leather from.

[melissakayboutique]

Check out this listing I just added to my Poshmark closet: Perfectly Posh Pjs All Day Body Scrub.

[these-eyebrows-are-not-even]

Christmas Gift Ideas 2020

All of the gifts below that I thought of can be altered/customized to your budget, personal style and resources. 

Face Mask’s 

If you are handy with a sewing machine then this is a great one for you, using fabric scraps you already own or thrift bedsheets/t-shirts etc you could make your loved ones some custom face masks. Bonus points if you find a silk shirt and flip that into some face masks as silk, is hypo-allergenic, breathable and causes less friction on the skin so is perfect for anyone suffering from maskne (mask-acne). However, if sewing isn’t for you then places like Etsy have a wide range of masks for everyone and purchasing from sellers on their also supports small business.  

Candle and match sticks 

Candles are all the rage with thousands of reels and tik tok’s on how to twist candles. If you are brave enough then go for it! You can gift your hand-twisted candles to your friend along with a box of nice matches. Writing empowering messages or mantra’s on the matches (maybe get extra-long ones if you have large handwriting!) will mean that every time your loved one goes to light a candle there is a message from you to brighten their day. There is no need to twist candles, you could support a small business and buy theirs or just get a standard candle. You don’t have to support every trend! Bonus points for matching your loved one’s colour palette to the candles or vice versa. For example, my favourite colour right now is green so a set of candles ranging from emerald to sage would be much appreciated. 

Seasonal Drink

It may be the British in me but Christmas is a time where having something to drink on these long winter nights is the norm. I am speaking of something alcoholic but non-alcoholic also works. I love vintage/second-hand glasses and they can be pretty cheap €1 a glass. You could get a second-hand glass of your choosing and send it to your friend along with a bottle of their favourite drink. If you want to amp it up, you could also include a cocktail/mocktail recipe book and some drink rocks. Drink rocks are reusable and do not dilute your drink. If they aren’t a spirit/liquor drinker then a stainless steel ice cube tray is also an eco-friendly and plastic-free option. I could go on with more items to include in this bundle but metal straws, coasters, fabric napkins and more are all ways you could expand this gift idea. 

Seasonings

If you know a good amateur chef or home cook then getting them some fancy salt, oil and or vinegar may be an interesting idea. You could buy; one, two or all three and either make sure they coordinate e.g. Rosemary salt, garlic oil and lemon vinegar or they could be contrasting e.g. Truffle salt, chilli oil and amaretto vinegar. The endless combinations make this a fun gift and allow for some fun experimentation when cooking. If you’re a big diy’er you could infuse the oil and make custom labels for everything. You could also add in crackers, olives and risotto to turn it into a Mediterranean hamper or harissa, dried apricots and Ras-el-hanout to make it more North-African.  

In the Bag. 

A thrifted bag from a second hand/vintage shop (if open where you are) or one bought of Depop/eBay may make a great gift for a fashion-conscious person you know. Then you could add in a lip balm and/or a lip-gloss, a packet of their favourite sweets, a cute bottle of hand-sanitiser and a travel-size bottle of hand cream. These are all optional, the bag would be more than enough but they are just extras for you to think about. You could also make any of these extras vegan, cruelty-free, plastic fee etc 

Cosy Toe’s 

 I don’t know about you but I get really cold feet in the winter. So thick socks are a must! A great idea could be to give someone a pair of fluffy socks. They could be practical or whimsical. I have been gifted thick, grey woollen pairs and a fun foxed themed pair (I love foxes). You could embroider a message or design on them if that’s your thing or pack them with some foot cream and a pedicure kit. As salons haven’t really been open this year pamper time is even more important. 

 Dried flowers

I do not mean the trendy ones, all over insta interior posts, I mean the Victorian past time. Pressed dried flowers, you could use flowers or leaves you have, buy some and then press them or that sounds too long then you could even buy pre-pressed and dried online. I saw a cute DIY on YouTube where they had been glued on to a small bowl or plate in a pretty pattern. This could be used to display jewellery, makeup etc. Furthermore, you could also arrange pressed flowers and plants into a pattern and place them on a canvas or in a frame to make a minimalistic art piece for someone. 

Body care kit

I often joke, I am secretly an old lady as I have dry skin and so am always re-applying lotion. Now, its wintertime that is an absolute necessity but it’s also an act of self-care and 2020 has been a long year so extra self-care is needed. So gifting someone a kit of body scrub, body wash and lotion is a little bit of luxury we all need right now. You could expand on this and include a dry brush to get that circulation and lymphatic drainage going as well somebody oil or a bath bomb to increase the level of pampering. Making body scrub is quite easy but I recommend sugar and not coffee grounds if you do go the DIY route and you can turn regular liquid soap into fun shapes with jelly moulds and gelatine.  

Homemade bookmark 

Before you laugh, I am not suggesting the ones you made when you were seven unless you were an expert crafter. I am suggesting more sophisticated ones but the end product is up to you so I take no responsibility, I am just the provider of ideas! Those pressed flowers we had earlier? Extra ones could be attached in a pattern and glued onto card. You could go full out an paint one using all your creativity. Or make one out of photos of you and the booklover you’re giving this too. Lastly, it could just be an inspirational quote like: you deserve another glass of wine

Or you could do one of each and give them a medley of bookmarks for all their mood and needs. 

Last but not least a Playlist 

I know this may seem a little 2012 Tumblr but bear with me. You curate a playlist for them on their preferred app; if you don’t have access or its different to your one then give them detailed instructions for how they should assemble it). The playlist could be based upon a memory you have together or something you’re planning to do with them in the future, or anything you want! Then write out an explanation behind why you chose each song, what it reminds you of and why you thought that person would get it. You could burn the playlist onto a CD if you have the tech for that. For all the artsy types you could illustrate the written out reasoning with drawings, attach photos, collage – whatever you like to get the emotion across. 

To everyone reading, I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and for those who don’t celebrate then this list may come in handy for another gift-giving occasion. I don’t know about you but I cannot wait to be stuffed full of food on Christmas day, opening presents and sharing laughs. 

Happy Christmas! 

Elsa x