Thinking about what to get your loved ones for Christmas? Want to remain green & ethical at the same time? Have a look at these gift suggestions, and fret no more!

What are you treating yourself to this Holiday season? Let me know by leaving a comment below.
 

For Her

If she loves lush, smooth, sensual and feminine fragrances, enchant her with MuLondon Organic Rose Moisturiser. With 100% certified organic ingredients and precious Rose Otto oil, this cream will pamper her skin like nothing else. If you add the Organic Rose Face Wash to it, she'll be over the moon!
 

For Him

Does he like woody, masculine, smoky perfumes? Treat him with MuLondon Organic Hemp Moisturiser. Packed with hemp oil and essential oils of cedarwood, vetivert and black spruce, this cream is ideal for male and oily skins. Great to soothe those nasty nicks and cuts he gets after shaving! Although, those cuts would probably not be there if he was using one of new MuLondon Organic Face Wash foams - perfect for shaving all over!
 

For Young Ones

For young and sensitive skin of all ages, make sure you treat it right and use mild products from the start! MuLondon Organic Lavender Moisturiser and Cleanser soothe and protect with 100% natural, relaxing ingredients.

 

For Mature Wise Ones

Dry, ageing and mature skin will benefit from MuLondon Organic Marigold, Frankincense & Myrrh Moisturiser. Its healing base of Shea butter and Jojoba oil is enriched with extracts of Blue Chamomile and Marigold and essential oils of Frankincense & Myrrh - to soothe and repair. Be as wise as the Three Wise Men, and give the gift of (Mari)Gold, Frankincense & Myrrh!
 

Check out MuLondon in the latest issue of  "The Big Issue"!

In their "The best of independent London - Veg out in London" section, presented by Wedge, they say:

"100% vegan, natural products for your skin, body and home, handmade in London. MuLondon have strong green and ethical values, including no animal testing and fair-trade policies. Try their new luxurious Organic White Chocolate Truffle Face Moisturiser for a truly decadent pamper."

Grab "The Big Issue" today for your chance to win a jar of Organic White Chocolate Truffle Moisturiser, and for an exclusive discount for all readers!

Get your very own yummy MuLondon Organic White Chocolate Truffle Moisturiser here:

http://www.mulondon.com/moisturisers/organic-white-chocolate-truffle-moisturiser.html

On one of my many trips to London's Chinatown, in one of the alleys lined with red lanterns, I found gold! Vegan food gold, that is - which is worth MORE than real gold, I'm tellin' ya!

A jar of inconspicuous, thick brown mass was sitting quietly on a shelf in an Oriental supermarket until I picked it up, read the ingredients, and did not believe my eyes. All-vegan. Delicious. New. Exciting. I had to have it!

I bought a jar of "Matamis Na Bao", took it home and heard the angels sing as I opened the jar. This is a thick, sweet, syrupy stuff made from fresh coconut juice and sugar. It smells - and tastes divine.

"Matamis Na Bao" is a traditional spread from The Philippines, usually eaten on toast and used to make other desserts. Other varieties of this coconut jam are enjoyed throughout the region - in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Before I became vegan, I was a vegetarian for many years. I used to devour jars of "Dulce de Leche", the Argentinian condensed, caramelised milk spread made by slowly simmering milk and sugar for hours.

"Matamis Na Bao" is a fantastic vegan alternative to "Dulce de Leche". It has the same thick, creamy and milky taste, but with a hint of fresh coconut.

Try it as it is, straight from the jar. If refrigerated, it will thicken even more and be quite hard to get out of the jar.

"Matamis Na Bao" is absolutely amazing on ice-cream or on toast, but it really shines when used as glazing on vegan muffins. Make sure the muffins have cooled down, and that Matamis is at a room temperature. Use a knife, and spread thinly and evenly on top of each muffin.

I guarantee you and your friends will enjoy this. It'll send your muffins to another galaxy. I'm not bluffing!

Have you tried Matamis before? Any other tips on how to use it? Let me know by leaving a comment below.

A new video review of MuLondon moisturisers by wildkatmakeup, a beauty video blogger, is up on YouTube. Check it out below - and please click through and rate and comment on it.

Fab, right? Thanks so much to wildkatmakeup for this lovely review! Yay yay yay!
Here's the link to the video on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BygQ5j3kCNw

Did you know that L-cysteine is often derived from human hair?

Yes, HUMAN hair!

L-cysteine is a non-essential amino acid, which means that humans can synthesize it. However, it is often used as a dough conditioner for bread and bagels, and for flavouring meat and other products.

So there could be hair in your soup - and your supplements. As two large supplement manufacturers confirmed to me recently:

"Unfortunately, our L-Cysteine powder is not suitable for vegetarians and vegans. It is derived from human hair."

Urgh - wait. What? Why? Not only is this weird, and according to some, constitutes cannibalism, but it's just wrong. Or is it? What do you think?

Apparently, human hair is cheap in China, where most of L-cysteine is produced. It's sweeped off the many barber shop and hair salon floors and shipped to factories to be converted into the white crystalline powder that is L-cysteine.

There are a couple of companies producing L-cysteine by fermentation, from non-animal and non-human sources. They are Ajinomoto and Wacker Chemie. Both have failed to respond to my numerous emails - very disappointing for companies trying to do something new and different, and advertising themselves as such.

Oh well. Just look out for human-hair, feather or pig bristle-derived L-cysteine in your bagel, soup and shampoo.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cysteine

http://www.vegpeople.com/cgi-bin/gossamer/gforum.cgi?post=225214