I recently went to Paris and I brought my mum as she's never been.

Paris is one of my favourite cities. I love walking around and just take the city in. I love the smell of Paris in the morning. To wake up and just take the city in. It's a city with a relaxed pace. In comparison to London where everyone is so busy rushing around. The Parisians still have time to relax with a coffee at a cafe or a stroll by the Seine. 

We arrived on Sunday evening to R.Kipling, our hotel in Montmartre. Monmartre is a beautiful part of Paris with lots of hills and stairs. Many knows it as home of Moulin Rouge and where they filmed Amélie.

R.Kipling Hotel decor is designed by Christine Gerondeau. Its pays homage to the eponymous novelist, Rudyard Kipling, known for his love of travel and Asia. It's a lovely boutique hotel. The rooms are Stereotypical French, small.  With quirky furniture especially their lamps and green coloured walls. The reception area is a wonderful place to relax with afternoon tea or wine tasting for later in the evening. 

As we arrived hungry the first thing we did was to go and find something to eat. We found an Italian restaurant near the hotel. We had a delicious veggie pizza, mine was without cheese. It had fresh vegetables and the bread was perfect. Accompanied by a nice bottle of Italian red. 

We then went for a walk around Montmartre before we headed back to the hotel. 

Monday

We started off with walking towards the Louvre. The first stop was La Fayette. The beautiful galleria with the cuopole sealing. We bought couple of stuff and continued our walk past the Opera. We then thought it was time for a Fika (coffee break) so saw a Le Pain Quatiden and had a coffee and vegan muffin. 

We then walked down to Louvre, took some pictures. Realised we were hungry so instead of joining the queue we went to find lunch. 

After lunch we walked some more before getting tired. So we decided to do a quick stop at Notre dam before heading back to the hotel. 

Whilst my mum rested her legs I decided to climb all the stairs to le Sacré-coeur on top of Montmartre. 

In the evening we went to Maceo for dinner. It's a beautiful French fine dining restaurant, but with a vegetarian/vegan menu as well. The food was so tasty. Perfect flavours that went well together. The staff was friendly and helpful. Our waiter recommended all my dishes and every dish was perfect. 

Tuesday

We started our day with a coffee at "Le Deux Moulins" where they filmed Amelie. I love sitting outside a cafe and watch the city life go by. All the businesses getting ready for the day ahead. Tourists running around with their maps, making sure they don't miss a thing and of course all the dog walkers. 

We then took the metro to Tour de Eiffel. I don't know what it is with the Eiffel Tower but I just love seeing it. It fills me with joy and love for this beautiful city. I must admit I thought it was ugly the first time I saw it but then it grown on me and I love it more and more. I think as you can see it from so many places around the city it just reminds you that it's there. After my last trip and I got to see it by night and that was just magical. Even though this time it was a cloudy grey day it looked so serious, sadly romantic, impressive with the  clouds behind it and almost looks like a black and white photo. 

We then spent the afternoon in Giverny at Monet's garden. But that will be a separate blog post. Promise you won't want to miss that. 

We then finished the day with another Italian restaurant "Il Fico" and had a delicious meal. I must be honest, I was distracted  by the conversation on the table next to us most of the evening. It was a couple who was so caught up by their new found love. The lady who confessed that before she came to Paris and met him, had nothing to be happy about and felt empty by her life. The man, who was from Paris felt the same and they were so in love and tried to figure out a plan how they could stay together. I'm sorry but what a perfect Parisian love story right in front of my eyes. A perfect end to my trip. 

Paris always makes me feel like home and it's always so sad to leave. But I'm sure I'll be back soon. That's what I have to tell myself to make it easier. 

July Favourites! Neal's Yard & Nike | Sara Steele

Yet another month and here we are doing July favourites. July has gone so quickly. Here is some of the things I've enjoyed in the month of July. As I'm in Paris this video is coming out slightly earlier than usual.

Click here to watch my last vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk0xB100pHg
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1. Concealer - Ilia (cassava C1)
2. Mascara - Ecco bella
3. Fabulous foot balm - Suti
4. Moisturiser - Neal's yard ( rose & mallow)
5. Shorts - top shop
6. Hat - christys
7. Trainers - Nike
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Reviews

Suti - Footbalm
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/07/review-suti-fabulous-foot-balm.html

Ilia (cassava C1)
http://www.sarasteele.co.uk/2015/07/review-ilia-vivid-concealer-c1-cassava.html

Swedish word - Favorit  which means favourite.

Thank you for watching

Getting ready for Paris

I love getting in the mood for my holiday. Today I'm travelling to Paris. I'm taking my mum as she's never been. It will be my third time. First time was a surprise for my birthday and I fell in love with the city from the second I arrived. 

So before I go to Paris this is what I do. 

I watch French films or films set in Paris. My absolute favourite is Amélie. Especially as we'll be staying in Montmartre. I also watched woody Allen's Midnight in Paris the other day.

I listen to French music preferably from the 1920's Jazz scene. Love Edith Piaf. 

I read books that are based in Paris. It really helps me to get to know the city in a whole different way. So far I've read 

• The most beautiful walk in the world by John Baxter 
• A moveable feast by Ernest Hemingway 

Most of my planning goes in to finding restaurants to eat. As a vegan there's plenty of choice but travelling with other who are't vegan I don't feel like forcing it upon people. Finding restaurants that cater for both can be a challenge but I've found some great places all thanks to Pinterest of all places. Will let you know about them after I've been. 

I also trying to have a rough plan of what I like to do. On the list is 

1. Giverny - Monet's garden
2. Tour de Eiffel 
3. Notre Damm
4. Walking around Montmartre 
5. Drink lots of coffee and people watching
6. Seine Cruise
7. Wine tasting

Packing

I try to pack light. Few outfits that you can Mitch and match. My main thing is to bring as much organic products with me as possible but stay under the 100ml rule and to fit it all in one little plastic bag. I prefer not to use the hotels products. Free samples are a saviour at these times. I always save mine for holidays and means you are lighter going back. 

I always pack few books as I'm first flying to Sweden to pick up my mum and then to Paris. There's a lot of time to kill so books are perfect. And of course I'm bringing my notebooks for my blog. 

I'm hoping to vlog while I'm out there and promise to take lots of pictures that I will share with you later. 

Au revoir

Review | Suti - Fabulous foot balm

A perfect balm to look after your tired feet. My love for Suti continues. Suzannah, one of the ladies who started Suti, gave me their foot balm. The Suti Fabulous foot balm was actually her first ever product she made.

Being a hardworking hairdresser and a keen runner I could not wait to try this. My feet needs as much love as they can get. 

Suti is a British organic skincare collection based on: 

• energy healing, 
• working with reiki, 
• meditation, 
• the moon and flower essences to find the perfect balance in their beauty products. 

On the Suti Fabulous foot balm packaging I'm reading

"Energetic intention: Endurance - to give strength and connection to Mother Earth. Putting the past behind you and finding your inner strength, to start afresh and walk forward."

This is a great foot balm and my feet are loving it. My feet and legs definitely feeling refreshed after using the balm. 

The fabulous foot balm has some ingredients.

- Rosemary, has pain relieving properties so perfect for my tired and sore feet. Make them new 

- Peppermint, is uplifting and making my feet feel like new again. 

- Olive oil, rehydrates the skin leaving it feeling soft. 

Some other great ingredients are pumpkin seed, avocado, eucalyptus, lemon and carrot. They all help to cool, refresh and stimulate my feet.

First time I tried the Fabulous foot balm was after I had done a 10k run in the morning. It felt great to massage this balm in to my feet and calfs. It was exactly what I needed. The feeling after was amazing. It was like having new feet again. They feel clean, fresh and relaxed. 

It is now part of my evening routine. I don't want to spoil the feeling after by running around. I just want to continue to relax. After washing my feet. I apply the foot balm and spending 5-10 minutes to massage my tired feet and legs. It is so refreshing. I did not realise how exhausted my feet are after a long day. But working the balm in to my feet massaging them I can feel the knots and the tension. It's such a relief when I notice them loosen up.  For each day I'm using the balm it's getting better. I feel reenergised and I think the peppermint helps to freshen your feet and stops any odour. 

I only use a small amount and as it's melting I work it over my feet up the legs towards my knees. As it melts I can feel it going in to the skin soothing my sore muscles and relaxes them. The balm leaves my skin smooth, not as rough feet but like nice soft skin. I feel relaxed and ready for bed, but with new energy in my legs ready for the next day. A perfect combination. 

I stand on my feet most of the day and I as most of us neglect our feet so much. I think we take our feet and legs for granted. This balm helps me to bring the importance of them back. To get rooted again.

I also think it is a perfect product for summer. Our feet are out on display so let's make them look and feel their best. My feet feels much smoother and not as dry so happy to show them off in my sandals. 

The Fabulous foot balm is £19 and it will last a long time, as you don't need a lot. 

I don't think my feet ever felt better, so thank you Suti. 

For more info or to buy check the link below. 

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

♡ The Happiness Tag 2015 | Amelie, Blur & more... | Sara Steele ♡

#thehappinesstag

LovedBySteph created this tag. I was watching her video and thought I really like this so I've decided to do it too. There are 8 questions:

Click here to watch my last vlog: https://youtu.be/h_2i_tZeoag
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1. What food makes you happy?
2. What movie makes you happy?
3. What songs make you happy?
4. What item of clothing makes you happy?
5. What's your happiest memory?
6. What beauty products make you happy?
7. What do you do to make yourself feel happier when you're down?
8. List 3 random things that makes you happy.

Films:
-Amelie
-Safety not guaranteed
-I rymden finns inga känslor

Songs
-On top of the world - Imagine dragons
-Jungle drum - Emiliana Torrini
-Tender - Blur
-The Quiz - Hello Saferide
-Slå mig hårt i ansiktet - Thomas Stenström

Products
- Suti - honour facial cream
- Maria Åkerberg - black eyeliner

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I hope I managed to put a smile to your face and thank you for watching.

Review | Ilia Vivid concealer C1 Cassava

I bought the Ilia concealer at Content beauty for £25.
It was at Content beauty I first learned about Ilia beauty. It's such an amazing brand with all their cosmetics made up with up to 85% organic ingredients.

I was drawn to their packaging which is all made by recyclable aluminium or plastic. The concealer is in a small plastic tube. They also have amazing coloured lipsticks. Worth checking out.

Ilia keeps impressing me and I'm liking them more and more for each product I try. I realised I haven't done a review on any of their products yet. So as I recently purchased Ilia vivid concealer, I decided to do a review.

First of all the Ilia vivid concealer is
- Vegan
and free from
- Gluten
- Paraben
- Synthetic fragrances and preservatives
- Petrochemicals
- Fillers

I got the C1 Cassava for fair complexion and sensitive skin.

On the packet it says:
"Ilia vivid concealer is a botanical-packed gentle formula for sensitive skin, providing light to medium coverage. The healing properties of aloe vera and coconut oil soothe and hydrate, while arnica and green tea extract help calm inflammation."

Ilia's concealer feels great on my skin. I use it under my eyes to even out the skin tone, cover up dark circles and cover up blemishes. The coconut oil definitely helps to not dry my skin out, but feels good through out the day. Most days I just use the concealer to make myself look more alive. I'm not a fan of wearing heavy foundations all the time, so the concealer is a good alternative. But when I do use my foundation, the concealer gives my skin that flawless look.

The concealer is light, not too creamy or heavy. It blends in to the skin and just a small amount of the concealer is needed to give my skin a nice smooth look.

What do you guys think? Have you tried any of Ilias products? Have this review helped? Would you consider trying the Ilia concealer? 

random summer haul 2015

It's summer and I've been shopping. I've bought lots of different things so I've put them all together in a summer / random haul. Please leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

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Summer Random Haul 2015

1. Down brim Trilby Panama hat - Christys
2. Slouchy shirt - Lee
3. The most beautiful walk in the world by John Baxter - Foyles
4. Never any end to Paris by Enrique Vila-Matas - waterstones
5. 642 things to write about by San Francisco's Writer's grotto
6. sun lotion - Green people - Content beauty
7. Concealer - Ilia - Content beauty
8. Elderflower salt spray - Less is More - Content beauty
9. Roll on deodorant - Faith in Nature - Wholefoods
10. Biodegradable wipes - Pacifica - Wholefoods
11. Sunglasses - & Other Stories
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What are some things you've bought and enjoyed recently?

Thank you so much for watching! ❤

Review| Neal's Yard Remedies - Rose and Mallow moisturiser

I was advices to try the Rose & Mallow moisturiser when I went in to the Neal's Yard shop at Borough Market. 

On the label Neal's Yard says "Lightly moisturises and protects all skin types. Cooling and restorative rose balances the complexion while mallow and almond soften and smooth for radiant skin."

I found this cream perfect for my normal skin. I use it for my face and it softens my skin and feels smooth and hydrated. The cream is light and absorbs in to the skin easily. 

The moisturiser has a lovely, gentle smell from rose and citrus. I like that it doesn't have a strong smell of rose, as it can be a bit overwhelming sometimes. 

I'm a big fan of Neal's Yard Remedies products as they are free from so many nasty ingredients like

 - parabens

 - EDTA

 - mineral oils

 - synthetic fragrances or colours

 - silicones 

 - GMO

As they're free from all of those things it helps your skin to breathe better and doesn't harm your skin or blood stream. 

Neal's Yard Remedies are easy to recognise with their blue glass jars/bottles and their purple labels. The Rose & Mallow moisturiser cost £22 for a 50g jar. 

For more information http://www.nealsyardremedies.com

Have you tried Neal's Yard Remedies? Which of their products do you like? 

Where do I buy organic beauty products

I know I'm lucky to live in London as opting for green and organic beauty is a lot easier than many other places. But even in London many people don't know where to start, so I've decided to put together a list where I buy all my organic beauty products. For you who don't live in London there's online options too.

1. Wholefoods / your local organic shop
Most places have an organic local shop with food and some beauty products, where you can get your basic hair and body products.
My local shop happens to be Wholefoods in Piccadilly Circus. In Wholefoods there's a whole world of different brands (The one in Kensington high street got even a bigger selection). This is where I get most of my basic products like body wash, lotions, toothpaste, deodorant and cleansers. I love browsing in Wholefoods as you get left alone and with opening hours to 10pm, I have all the time in the world. Well kind of.

2. Content Beauty
If you're lucky to be in central London, you must pay a visit to Content Beauty in Marylebone. It's a boutique organic skincare store. It's small but they have so many wonderful and pretty products and I love this place. They also have a beauty salon for facials, massage, waxing and nails.
It's all organic and they have a hand picked selection of the most advanced cult natural beauty brands from around the world. This is where I treat myself with products I've wanted for a long time or just to discover new brands. They stock some beauty's like Kjaer Weiss and Ilia beauty. The girls in there are so friendly. They let you browse in your own time without bothering you, but helpful when need be. My perfect kind of shop.

If you're not in London they are also available online http://www.beingcontent.com

3. Holland & Barrett
Holland & Barrett is everywhere, which is great. This is where I go to get my essentials when I'm not near Wholefoods. They don't have as big range but still great for some basic things like body wash or toothpaste. The bigger once have better selection of beauty products and some even stock Lavera makeup.

4. Naturisimo
This is my go to website to check a product if it's vegan or I just want to know more about a product. They are so informative about every product they stock. Naturisimo is selective of the products they sell. All the products are free from

• parabens
• SLS
• Petroleum/ mineral oil 
• Phthalates
• GM, pesticides or herbicides residues 

Non of products are tested on animals.

On their website they claim "Our mission is to promote the wellbeing of every living creature. We are not only about avoiding harmful chemicals, pollutants and animal cruelty by offering safe and healthy products.

We are also about responsible purchasing

• sustainable lifestyles, 
• fair trade, 
• animal rights, 
• biodiversity, 
• making the world a better place 
• and last but not least the joy of living

Some of the brands they sell are Kjaer Weiss, Green people, Lavera, Giovanni and Suti. They also do free delivery worldwide.
http://www.naturisimo.com

5. Life
Life is where I go when in Sweden. It's health and Eco shop with great selection of organic beauty. I go the the larger store in Stockholm. Where they sell Maria Åkerberg products, my favourite Swedish brand. If you're ever in any of the Nordic countries I recommend to check it out.

Where do you shop your organic beauty products? I would love to get some more tips of places or products to try. 

My favourite tea and mug

I love tea. I always buying tea and tea mugs. In this video I'm showing you my favourites from my tea and mug collection. If I showed you all of it, we would be here for hours and who has time for that. Get yourself a cup of tea and let's begin.

Click here to watch my last video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj7kNRogAwM

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Swedish word: Fika
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Tea
1. Earl Grey loose - Götheborgs te & kaffehandel
2. Green Chai - Yogi tea
3. Green tea & coconut - higher living
4. Rose garden - the Lawn
5. Liquorice - Higher living
6. Eucalyptus -  Götheborgs te & kaffehandel
7. Söderblandning

Mugs
1. Stockholm
2. Love
3. Istanbul
4. Prague
5. Mykonos
6. Giant Tea mugs - Indiska

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Tell me some things you've enjoyed in the month of June

Thank you for watching and please don't forget to subscribe.

10 things that makes me happy

I wanted to make a list of things that makes me happy. But I have so many different things that make me happy throughout the year. I decided to split my happy list in to four.

Four seasons - four lists

Each list will have 5 seasonal things that makes me happy and 5 things that always makes me happy all year around. 

First up is my summer edition Happy list.

1. Sunshine

Nothing makes me more happy than sunshine in the summer. Coming from Sweden, where we have midnight sun and no sun in the winter. This is what summer is about.

2. Holiday

Summer is holiday time. Discovering new cities or relaxing on the beach. Holidays makes me happy like nothing else. I'm excited from the minute I'm booking the holiday and the memories after is for a lifetime. 

3. Flowers

Flowers in so many colours just stimulates my mind and keeps my heart happy. I love gardening or even better, enjoying someone else's garden and their beautiful work. I'm going to Monet's garden in Giverny with my mum soon, it's so breathtakingly beautiful. You can't be angry near beautiful flowers. 

4. Fruit

I love fruit. Summer is the best time because all the fruit I love are in season. Especially strawberries and watermelon. I love strawberries beyond control. 

5. Coffee

For some reason I drink more coffee in the summer. All other seasons I drink more tea. But in the summer I love sitting outside a cafe drinking my  flat white with soya milk and reading a good book. Simple things like that makes me happy. 

Other things that always makes me happy

6. My family

First of all my wonderful, amazing husband always make me happy and puts a smile on my face without fail. 

I also love talking/seeing my family that all live in Sweden. 

7. Running 

Running makes me happy, relaxed, healthy and strong. I've been running for over a year now and it makes me feel satisfied and proud of myself. I've accomplished so much more than I ever thought I was capable of. M

8. Food

I love food. It makes me happy.

9. Cats

I grew up with cats and you can't be sad with cats. They're so cut and so bad ass. Cat cuddles are the best. 

10. Reading

I love books. It's such a great feeling to disappear to another reality for a while. My dream is to write my own book one day. 

That is the first part of my happy list. What are some of the things that make you happy? 

How I became a hairdresser

It wasn't my dream when I was younger to become a hairdresser. I wanted to be a journalist or a greenpeace activist. Then I went to a language school studying too many languages for my own sanity. So how did I end up as a hairdresser you wonder?

I always played with different hairstyles as a teenager and ended up always colouring my friends hair.

It wasn't until I finished school and I was worrying about what to do with my life my friend suggested hairdressing. First I thought it absurd but after a while I started to like the thought of it. My worst nightmare was to work in an office. I wanted to do something creative and have a steady income at the same time. I guess hairdressing was it. But how do you become a hairdresser?

In Sweden I was too late to go the usual way choosing hairdressing at gymnasium as I already was 18 and finished all my languages that I chosen instead. So the only other way was to pay a fortune for hairdressing school and I didn't have that money.

After a while I found a add for a salon who needed a trainee so I took my chance and went for an interview. They loved me and thought I would be perfect for the job. Until I was writing down my details and they realised I was left handed. Apparently left handed can't be hairdressers I was told (that is a lie).

I put the thoughts about hairdressing behind me and decided to go to London. I was meant to as the most stay for the summer, 11 years later I'm still here.

First I just got random jobs in a bar and then in a record shop, where I met my now husband. But eventually the thoughts of hairdressing started to come back. I remember talking to my neighbours.  They told me to go to this funky hairdressers in Spitalfields market because they thought it would suit me. So I did. I went in and told them I wanted to become a hairdresser but didn't know how to go about it. I was in luck as they needed a trainee so I could start the same week.

I started with sweeping the floor and washing hair. For anyone who wants to become a hairdresser. That will more or less be your life for the next couple of years adding one thing at the time. I remember spending hours practising parting the hair in a straight line down the middle. Practising blow drying on anyone I knew every spare half hour I had.

After a bit of time I started to go to college part time and still working in a salon. I've moved to the salon I'm still working in now. I was lucky with a great teacher who is a talented hairdresser with a big heart. He helped me with anything hair way beyond the curriculum. I have a lot to thank John for.

Also my two bosses Bradley and Scott pushing me to get better and improve my skills.

Our salon ( Natural Colour Works ) specialises in natural colour and we focus on colours. So it is important to have a strong colour knowledge and do good highlights. We do cutting as well so I have to be good in all areas.

After a while my bosses allowed me to colour clients hair as a graduate stylist and was soon promoted to stylist.

I love hair and I love my job. Even though I never dreamt about it as a young girl. It's something I  enjoy and I get such a satisfaction out of making other people happy.

I also love styling hair. Especially wedding hair. Being part of someone's special day is such an honour and I just love it so much. I love creating something beautiful and hair is definitely a piece of art you can shape in so many wonderful ways.

10 years down the line I'm now a senior stylist and I still love my job just as much. I'm looking forward to the wonderful people I will meet on a daily basis. Without the friendly and loving people that are my clients my job would not be what it is.

Don't take me wrong there's some horrible sides to hairdressing as well.

• Like you never have a break, you might not have time to pee for 3 hrs even though you need to go. 
• People can be horrible and shout at you. 
• Or when people turn up late for their appointments and get mad at you for not be able to do everything they ask  
• Everything hurts and you got someone else's hair inside your bra and you cut your fingers. 
• Not to mention all your clothes got colour stains on them

Yet I still love my job and I happily do it. Even when people ask me on my day off. But that's all part of the fun right?

Hairdressing is hard work and you have to be passionate about it or it won't be worth it.

I'm so happy someone many years ago suggested me to try hairdressing. From the day I started I loved it.