Tuesday 30 June 2015

Is Cruelty Free really a big deal?

In short, yes. Often, 'Cruelty Free' goes hand in hand with 'Vegan' and sometimes even 'Organic', but these terms mean totally different things, and legally there's no strict guidance on how they are used. Therefore, companies can describe a product as Vegan because it has no animal bits in it, but if you were to assume that also meant it hadn't been tested on animals, then you'd be wrong.

Unless a company specifies that it's products are cruelty free, it's safe to assume they're not. You can contact your favourite company to find out, but sometimes a multitude of sins can be hidden by parent companies, and different trading names.

We specify that ALL of our products are vegan, cruelty free, and as natural as they can be, with no nasties. But companies as transparent as us are few and far between. If you search for Cruelty Free companies in your country you'll probably find a lovely helpful blogger has put a list together for you - these lists are ever changing - as they add new companies, and maybe (sadly) remove some. So if you find a good updated list that's relevant for you, bookmark it, and check it regularly. And if there's a company that you think deserves to be on the list, let that lovely blogger know - they can't find every hidden gem.

As well as 'Cruelty Free' being used with abandon, it can also be used in different ways. Some companies use it because that particular product has not been / is no longer tested on animals. But other products by the same company might be - so they lead you into a false sense of security. That's bad news for the conscious shopper.

You probably think that animal testing doesn't exist any more, and you'd be partly right. Animal testing for cosmetics is banned in the EU, and this goes for cosmetics that have been tested outside the EU too - they can't be sold here. This is fantastic news, but it's about time every country followed suit.

We're really proud of the fact that we are totally cruelty free. All our ingredients are cruelty free, and the final products are too. We do of course test products on willing human victims, but only once they've been checked over by our friendly lab technicians first. If you ever want to help us test stuff, keep your eyes peeled on our social media accounts - that will be where we ask for help.

And finally, to answer your question - is cruelty free a big deal? Just look at this face, and tell me it's ok to rub stuff all over it to check for a reaction. Apart from anything else, the last time I checked, my body was pretty different to his, so what exactly does it achieve?

This is Fairycat. He works in our packing department. The tongue is because we told him to get back to work.
xox

Friday 26 June 2015

Are you ready for this Gel-y?

Bad pun, we know, but we're pretty chuffed with our new gel finish nail varnishes!

They are regular polishes, and they work in exactly the same way - no special top coats or drying techniques. They just happen to have an amazing, shiny finish - just like having gels done in a salon!

They're very hardwearing too, our testers have been wearing them for 1-2 weeks with very minimal chipping, which is what we like to hear!


As you can see, we've gone for some old school primary colours, topped up with a super glossy white and black. They remind us so much of poster paints in primary school, and if you're a bit clever, you could mix and blend these 5 shades to create whichever shade you fancy. The number of shades you can create is limitless!

As ever, each polish is only £3.99, with the gift set of 5 for £15. So you could get all 5, and create your own paintbox!



These shades are all amazing, and really give you a bright, pop of colour. There's two coats on this nail, and you can see the super shiny finish.


The black is lovely and glossy - it's a perfect base for some vampy nail art - let your imagination run wild!


The red is proving popular already, I think it's rare to find a red that suits all skintones, but this one tries pretty hard!


Again, perfect as a base for nail art, this white is solid, glossy and perfect. 


Last but not least, we have the brightest, sunshiney, egg-yolky yellow we've ever seen! It's perfect for summer.

You can finish these shades off with a topcoat, but they don't really need it. They'll keep their shine until you decide to remove them. So, pick which shades you'd like to try, and send us photos of your own paintbox creations!

xox

Tuesday 23 June 2015

Focus on - Nooch









First off, how amazing is that name?! In case you didn't know, Nooch is a nickname for Nutritional Yeast. It's normally found in a sort of flaky form, and can be added to most savoury foods to add a je ne sais quoi - a sort of nutty, cheesy flavour. It's used by a lot of vegans to create cheesy sauces (since cheese is off limits to vegans!).

So now we've done the context, now lets talk about the shop. Nooch is based in Wigan, which really isn't that far from us in Chester. They have normal opening hours, but I love the fact that they keep their social media updated with their opening hours, so if something disastrous happens they can let their customers know - it's also handy to check there first if it's a bank holiday.

The shop is absolutely lovely inside too - I just love what they've done with the place! (I've always wanted to say that...) They run lovely workshops also - make sure to check on their social media for updates on when the next one will be. I love the idea of a shop not just being a shop - being more of an interactive experience. I really think that's the future of the British high street.

A workshop at Nooch - photo from their Facebook page
They sell a few of our lines, most notably our lovely nail varnishes, which are on proud display in the shop. If you're local to Wigan you definitely need to pop by and say hello. If you're not - don't worry, still have a mooch at their pages, it'll probably make you want to make a special trip oop north, just to see them in their lovely shop!

Our lovely nail varnishes on display


So do make sure to visit them in real life if you can, or just on Facebook or Twitter. Either way, they're super friendly, and I'm sure you'll enjoy browsing all the lovely things they have for sale. If you do pop in though, you don't have to buy our stuff, but it would be nice. Ta.
xox



Saturday 20 June 2015

Scrub of your life!

Let us tell you ALL about our super amazing Lip Scrub. We probably say that about a lot of our products (we can't help but be a bit biased),but these beauties really do work pretty hard, and they do what they say on the tin. Or jar.


We'd seen lip scrubs around for a while, but when we looked at buying them, we were a bit shocked by the length of the list of ingredients! We didn't understand why it took so many things to make a good scrub.

We decided to start with our ace classic lipbalm recipe, and see what we needed to add. The only ingredient that stood out to us, was humble granulated sugar. The granules are the perfect size, and of course they are lovely and natural.

We tried by making a couple of different batches, and passing the finished product around to see what people thought. They loved it, so we decided to launch it to our amazing customers.

We wanted to follow on from our lipbalm flavours based on cakes and cocktails, so we came up with Peppermint Cream...


We couldn't name this after the famous thin chocolate you eat later than 8pm... but that's exactly what it tastes like. It's fresh, minty and chocolatey all at the same time. In short, it's gorgeous!

We also chose Lemon Drizzle...


This really does taste like a lemon drizzle cake. It's fruity, without being too sweet, and with an undercurrant of vanilla-y goodness. If you like your lips sweet, then this is the one for you.

Finally, we chose Turkish Delight.


We thought this last one would be a bit marmite - not everyone likes Turkish Delight, after all. But it's become a bit of a cult favourite, and is the most popular of the three - so well done for proving us wrong! This smells of roses, with a hint of chocolate.

They're all served up to you in a lovely little 15ml jar, and they're packed with the aforementioned sugar, which is the active ingredient in keeping your lips soft and smooth. We'd advise you to rub a small amount over your lips, moving your fingers in small circles. You can then lick off the sugar (yum yum!) which will leave behind a layer of our balm to soften and smooth your smackers.


You can see the gorgeous sugar in this photo. In short, these little scrubs are a miracle product, and once you've started using one, you'll never look back. xox


Wednesday 17 June 2015

The Good Life

I often share photos on social media of my little plant pot garden, and of the things I make with it. So I thought I'd share a little more in depth, and give you my fail safe crumble recipe too. This post isn't related to anything available on our website, but we often talk about Fairypants being a lifestyle choice, so why not!

We've got a nice big garden at Fairypants HQ, but I prefer to grow things in pots, as I find it a lot easier. It means I go though a heck of a lot of bags of compost, but it's all good.

A selection of the things we are growing at the moment
I won't bore you with the details of everything I am growing, but suffice it to say, if you can grow it in the UK, I'm giving it a bash. Most things have been grown from seed this year, but some things, like my grape vines, rhubarb and herbs come back every year - so they're a huge investment, if you use them a lot!

Rhubarb is NOTORIOUS for taking over your garden, I know this to my cost - I had to hack mine up out of the ground to halt its ever increasing march of destruction. I replanted some of it in a large tub, and now it grows quite happily on the patio. 


See? Happy as Larry, whoever he is. I find that Rhubarb grows super fast too, so even once you've harvested, you won't be waiting long for another crop. It's handy having someone around who's practical too - Mr Fairypants built a pretty swish frame for all my fruit plants - and he's pretty pleased with it. It should protect all my berries from the birds. I've also put lots of different bird seed and fat balls out for the birds, so they don't miss my fruit too much. And I don't feel so guilty about keeping the fruit all to myself.

Mr Fairypant's Fruit Frame
He also made me some troughs for my onions out of drainpipes, so he's pretty handy to have around! I'm hoping to plant some more fruit trees soon too, so next year we can enjoy even more of our home grown food. I've got vegetables more than covered, but I only have a plum tree and an elderberry tree at the moment - I'd love my own apple tree! I'm aiming to be a bit more like Tom and Barbara from the Good Life, so the more I can grow, the better!

Lastly - here's what I think you really want to know - how I make my amazing, mouthwatering crumble. Look at it.

Yum.
I have made this recipe for yonks, and over time my measurements have become a little less precise. I have used different sugars, different butters and different fruit, and all in various quantities. It always turns out amazing, which is why I think this recipe truly is fail safe. Give it a go though, and see for yourselves!

You will need

Fruit (about 400g if you can)
Sugar 50g

Plain flour 150g
Caster Sugar 150g
Butter 150g
Rolled Oats 150g

These last four ingredients are for the crumble topping, and I've adapted the quantities to suit my likes. I originally started with half the quantities, but the crumble topping is my favourite part, so I doubled it. Feel free to halve it again if you're not as crumble obsessed as I am.

Heat your (regular) oven to 190. You'll need to change that temperature to suit your oven if you've got something fancy. Cook your chopped fruit over a low heat with the 50g sugar and a little water. If you're using a particularly 'wet' fruit like berries, you may want to use less water. And if you're using a fruit that's naturally quite sweet, like eating apples, you can use less sugar. I normally use cooking apples, so you need all the help you can get.

Mix your crumble ingredients together in a bowl. If you're a vegan, just use your preferred vegan butter - as long as it's suitable for baking. I sometimes switch oil for butter in cakes, but that won't work in this case, you need the stodginess of the butter. And don't worry if you haven't got the right sugar in your cupboard, I've used all kinds and it always turns out lovely.

Use your fingers to squash and press the oaty dough into little 'tiles' of crumble. Place your cooked fruit in a suitable oven proof bowl, and cover completely with the crumble tiles. You'll have some really crumbly bits left that wouldn't press into a tile, so smooth them over the top once you're done.

Pop the whole thing in the middle shelf for around 20 minutes, or until the topping is all golden and exciting.

Take it out, eat it. I find that this crumble will easily last a few days in the fridge, but it doesn't tend to hang around that long in our house. If you've made as much crumble topping as I usually do, try cooking a little extra fruit, and make a mini version too, in a smaller bowl. I usually do that when I need to ingratiate myself with someone. Presenting someone with their own mini crumble in a tiny bowl is a great way to cheer people up!

My last tip is to reheat portions in the microwave for up to a minute before eating - it tastes so much better hot! The best thing about this crumble is you can use whatever fruit you have lying around. The photo above shows rhubarb, apple and pear. The rhubarb needing bulking up, and I happened to have apples and pears in my fruit bowl. I left the skin on the apples and pears because I think the different colours look nicer, but feel free to peel if you prefer. I also usually add a little cinnamon or all spice depending on the fruit used. This time, because of the rhubarb, I used a little ginger - and it was amazing!

Enjoy growing and baking - I'd love to see your photos of Fairypants Crumble! xox



Sunday 14 June 2015

Roses are... pink!

At least in our world they are, not red! We're talking of course about our first ever range of vegan, cruelty free and 5 free nail varnishes, created a year ago.

Rose, our pink pastel nail varnish

We decided to start with a range of 5 colours -so if you're childish like us, you can wear one on every nail ;-). It was spring time, so pastels were the order of the day. We wanted to make them a little bit different, so we thought - why not make them look like little teeny birds eggs? As you do. So we did.


Minty green pastel nail varnish
We made 5 gorgeous pastel shades - pink, blue, yellow, green and lilac. All with the little black specks of glitter in them. If you were worried this glitter would make them hard to remove, don't. It makes them hardy enough to take a bit of a battering, but it still lasts longer than a lot of high street polishes.

Buttercup yellow pastel nail varnish
They're a super bargain too, just £3.99 for 10mls of joy. Which is a pretty nice price, especially if you decide to treat yourself to our amazing gift set - you can get all 5 shades for just £15, which makes them £3 each. And we don't judge, if you decide to keep the lovely set instead of giving it away, we'll turn a blind eye.

Lilac pastel nail varnish



In fact, this range is also the most popular with our various stockists, and that's why we decided it would make sense if they were the first shades we ordered from our lovely manufacturer. We were really excited when they arrived, it was a pretty big step for us to take, but we're very glad we made it!

Bluebell pastel nail varnish




We didn't really know what to expect when we released these shades - we thought they'd be popular for a bit, and then we'd need something new. Which turned out not quite to be the case - you guys love these bad boys all year round! Which is fine by us.

Pastel Gift Set £15.00

xox




Thursday 11 June 2015

Focus on - Teenz Skin

Teenz Skin Store



We were so excited when we welcomed this stockist into our little family - they're based over in the Netherlands, so that makes us a business that trades internationally - yeah! We already send our stuff all over the world to individual customers, but this was (and still is) the furthest afield we've sent a bulk order, and so it was a pretty big milestone for us.

Teenz Skin is a lovely company with a wonderful ethos - they're trying to bring natural, ick-free products from around the world to their customers in the Netherlands, and that's how they found us. If we found a Teenz Skin in every country, we'd be laughing, because they're just ace.

They're really active on social media too, which we like - they regularly message us or tag us in photos on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. And we love this, because it makes us feel like a bigger part of their relationships with their customers.

If you're local to the Netherlands, make sure you go on their site, and get following them too - links below.

Website - http://teenzskinstore.nl/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/teenzskinstore
Twitter - https://twitter.com/teenzskinstore

Most of the readers of this blog wouldn't actually buy our products from Teenz Skin, but since we're introducing you to all our stockists, we really wanted to have a shout about them in particular. All our stockists and customers mean a lot to us, but a 'first' is always going to be exciting. Especially when it's so far away!

xox

Monday 8 June 2015

Fairypants needs YOU!




Well, that goes without saying, kinda. If you didn't want to buy our stuff, we wouldn't be here. But on a less emotional, deep level, we do ACTUALLY need you. To share with us your thoughts on our products.

See, we like what we do. We like dreaming up weird and wonderful shades, scents and packaging for our products. We try to make things you won't find anywhere else, and we currently do a pretty good job of it.

But that's only our opinion, and we'd love to hear yours. Whenever we are dreaming up a new product, we send an SOS via our social media pages for bloggers and ordinary people alike to test the product for us. We usually get a really good response from this, so if it's something you fancy, just keep your eye on Facebook or Twitter, and we'll shout out next time we need help. 

But something that really makes us smile, is something that we don't ask for, you guys just give it. And that's when you share with us your photos of our products in your home, on your fingers, modelled by the dog - whatever. We can't get enough of it! We don't care how professional the photo is, or if we can see last weeks' washing in the background. We just care that you care enough to take it in the first place!

An amazing photo of our Neon Nail Varnish, on the hand of one of our lovely customers
So what we're saying is - more please! Doesn't matter what it is, if it's our jewellery, lip paint, nail varnish - whatever! Show us your Fairypants (and we don't mean that in a rude way, stop laughing!) and we'll share your photos far and wide - if it's ok with you!

xox

Friday 5 June 2015

What does 5 Free mean? And why is it important?

We've mentioned that our polishes are all 5 Free before, (Here) but we wanted to go into a bit more detail, and explain where we're coming from.

Before we start, here's an overview of what 5 Free actually means...

The polish does NOT contain formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate, toluene, camphor and formaldehyde resin. These are all potentially dangerous ingredients that can do not very nice things to your body. Your nails are made from 'dead' tissue, and since the polish sits on top of them, the likelihood that general, normal use of these chemicals actually causes you health issues is really very slim. But, in the same way we would encourage non-vegans to veganise their make-up bags - a small change can be a positive one. If you have the chance to buy nail varnish that doesn't contain those ingredients, and you still get a huge choice of shades, finishes and textures then we say go for it. If you're a non vegan but you have the chance to buy lipbalm with no animal bits in it, go for it. Simple.

One of the first shades we made, Spring 2014

As the founder of Fairypants, I have worn nail varnish for about 16 years or so - I haven't seen my nails naked for longer than it takes to switch polish since I was about 12. If I had to go without nail varnish IN PUBLIC I would probably hyperventilate.

And as such, my nail varnish collection is extensive. Huge. Too big, even by my own admission. And in my hunt for nail varnish hues and shades I didn't already own, I have been known to buy it from the weirdest places, as well as spending hours perusing the shelves of Superdrug.

In fact, since I used to work in Superdrug, they should just have taken my wages straight back off me, or at least paid me in Barry M. I spent most of my pre and post shift time in store, trawling the make-up stands, and intercepting the deliveries so I was first to see the new stuff coming in. Aaaaanyway, certainly in my younger years I wasn't really interested in what I was actually putting on my nails, I cared more about the final look than what was actually in the bottle. As a result, I have inadvertently used the majority of the icky ingredients I try so hard to avoid now - simply because I didn't care.

And I know that plenty of nail polish users won't care either, but more and more people are realising that they want to know a bit more about the contents of those little bottles of joy. And maybe they'll search for 5 Free, and maybe they'll find this post!

Our super bright Neon range. Much joy.

So, here we go. Fairypants as a whole operates a strict No Nasties policy anyway - all our products are totally vegan and cruelty free. Whether you're a vegan or not, it's nice to know there are no crushed beetles in your lippy, eh?

So in order to fall in with those ideals, our nail polish needed to be as Ick-Free as possible. After a little research I found someone who could supply me with the base product (essentially like clear nail polish, but more professional) and that meant I wasn't mixing hazardous chemicals myself. The base was marked as 5 Free, so I got pretty excited about it.

All I have to do is make sure the pretty things I add (colours, glitter, scent etc) fall in with my guidelines too. Mix them up in the right quantities, and unleash them into the world in a cloud of glitter and pixie dust.

I'm trying more and more to work with a manufacturer to make my polishes for me. Thanks to you guys loving exactly the same stuff I do, I sell A LOT of polishes. More than I ever expected. And sometimes the making sessions can be pretty heavy going. So ideally, I'll collect the days orders, go to my (presumably tidy) shelves, pick out the right bottles, pack them up and post them on - sealed with a kiss. It works a bit like that now, but with huge making sessions every now and then to keep levels topped up.

Our first order arrived from the factory!

Luckily for me, I found a lovely manufacturer who is able to do quite short runs on each line (if I make a new shade of nail varnish, there's no point in me paying for 25000 units, in case it goes down like a lead balloon...) and they also make everything 5 Free as a matter of course. I think in general the cosmetics industry is doing the same, more and more often you see major brands claiming that their polishes are at least 3 Free, so it's moving in the right direction.

One day, every nail varnish made in the world will be vegan, cruelty free and 5 Free. But until then, you should probably stick to Fairypants. We put sweeties in with each order too, if that helps. And it's nice to know you're supporting a small, UK business. We love new additions to our Fairypants family, the more the merrier.

xox

Tuesday 2 June 2015

Give your cuticles some good lovin'

Say hello to our GORGEOUS cuticle oil!


Hello! Super easy application is down to the easy bottle and brush application - just like one of our Nail Varnishes. Use the brush to swipe the oil exactly where you want it, then do what you like. 

Are you a Leaver-On, or a Rubber-In? Either way, your cuticles will thank you for giving them such spa-like treatment in the comfort of your own home. Sometimes we just like to apply it before bed, and leave it overnight to sink in and do its work.

If you don't have as much time, or you want to incorporate it as part of your normal nail routine, you might be a part of the Rubber-In brigade. Nothing wrong with that, either, it's just a different technique. You can apply the oil during your normal routine, before you apply the Fairypants polish of your choice. (Other nail varnish brands are available...). Just brush it on, leave it for a few seconds and rub it in. This might be the best method if the area needing treatment is a little larger, as you can rub the excess alllll over your fingers, should you so desire.

If you choose this second method, just make sure you swipe your nail with a little nail varnish remover before applying your nail varnish - the oil can create a bit of a barrier which isn't good for a perfect paint job!

You can of course keep your cuticles topped up with the oil, as and when you feel like it. It won't affect your current mani, but it will leave you wondering why you didn't do it earlier...

Click for Options
Nails after treatment with our Cuticle Oil

The oil contains wonderful restorative ingredients, including Sweet Almond Oil, Jojoba Oil, Bran Oil, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Pelargonium Oil and Damask Rose Oil. This combination means that not only does it do what is says on the bottle - it's super hydrating- but it also smells gorgeous too - which has to be a winner!
xox