Books that have inspired me

Enough: breaking Free from the World of More, by John Naish, published January 24th 2008 by Hodder & Stoughton

Stuffocation, by James Wallman, published December 10th 2013 by Crux Publishing

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World, by Cal Newport, published January 5th 2016 by Grand Central Publishing

L’art de la simplicité: How to live more with less, by Dominique Loreau & Louise Lalaurie (translator), published January 3rd 2017 by St. Martin's Griffin

The End of Absence; Reclaiming what we’ve lost in a world of constant connection, by Michael Harris, published October 30th 2014 by Current

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, by Marie Kondo, published January 15th 2011 by Vermillion

Blink; The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, by Malcolm Gladwell, published January 11th 2005 by Penguin Books

 

Online resources that have inspired me

Justine Leconte’s YouTube channel

A Small Wardrobe’s YouTube channel

Stefan' Sagmeister’s TED Talk, The power of time off

Jason Fried’s TED Talk, Why Work Doesn’t Happen At Work

Cal Newport’s TED Talk, Why You Should Quit Social Media

 

Skin & Beauty resources I use regularly

Fushi

PROS

  • Superb selection of both carrier oils, essential oils and some other extras that I rarely buy.

  • They deliver all oils in glass bottles (best option for recycling), use little to no plastic in their other packaging

  • The product range is very fresh and diverse, with the majority being organic and cold-pressed

  • For their most popular products, you can buy a smaller ‘try me’ version which is superb

  • Their service has always remained consistent throughout the 6-7 years I have used them

  • They also offer a zero-waste option to refill if you are close enough to one of their refill stations

CONS

  • website can be a bit clunky

  • there are only a small number of options to buy a sampler, or any oil less than 50ml

  • I’m not close enough to one of their refill stations to be able to use that service

All Natural Soap Company

PROS

  • Palm oil free, cold processed soap full of natural glycerine

  • Their solid shampoo bar has had a very positive impact on my scalp health and sebhorreic dermatitis and I can highly recommend this product to anyone with this condition - I now do not use anything else to wash my hair

  • Clean and uncluttered website makes for a calm online buying experience

  • Specialist brand - soap is what they do

CONS

  • None so far!

Sisley Paris makeup

PROS

  • Consistent product production means that my shade or product is usually still available to buy when I run out

  • Their range focuses on harnessing the power of botanicals as part of the makeup and they seem heavily invested in research & development in this area

CONS

  • When buying online, it arrives in a LOT of marketing packaging that just becomes waste

Leighton Denny nail polish

PROS

  • Good mixture of unusual and 'quirky’ nail colours alongside a wide range of traditional classic colours

  • 5-free meaning the chemical content is much reduced from more ‘mainstream’ nail polish that is available, but I find the formula has real staying power and I get a solid 5-7 days without chipping

  • Specialist brand - I believe Leighton Denny himself is a former nail technician - this brand is focused on nail polish and has been for a long time

  • Also available in Marks & Spencers meaning you can purchase quite accessibly from the high street and cut down on the amount of marketing or packaging waste

CONS

  • None so far!

NOTE: None of the above are affiliate links. I am not incentivised in any way to sell you these brands or products and simply am recommending them based on my own experience and opinion of them through having made purchases for my own personal use.