Fashion Forward | H&M Long Live Fashion

My home is the tidiest it has ever been at the moment. Between having one of our friends coming to stay for the weekend and not wanting to face a mountain of washing and cleaning when we return from our holidays at the beginning of June we have been going turbo on the cleaning front, and I'll be honest I'm kind of liking this cleaning malarkey. My wardrobe on the other hand... well it's a sight for sure. Between buying mountains of holiday clothes, digging out old summer clothes and generally having a switch around of the seasons my wardrobe makes me want to hide under my newly cleaned house corners. 

Truth be told I'm a clothes hoarder, to look in my wardrobe is really to see a time capsule of my adolescence. Ranging from sizes 6 through 14, I have dresses from my school days as a 'goth' 7 years ago, cropped tops from my college hippy phase 4 years ago and bringing us up to my rather tame and toned wardrobe today and even still I continue to buy. I hate to throw away clothes I have paid quite a bit of money for and after years of giving bits and pieces to my local charity stores I decided it was high time the fashion industry gave us a good incentive for buying and recycling! And that's when I discovered H&M's worn out clothing scheme.

H&M have launched a recycling scheme where you get money off vouchers for the clothes you bring in to your local H&M store to recycle. They can be torn, hopelessly worn, out of style and they don't even have to be H&M branded clothing you just need to fill a bag bring it in to your local store and they will exchange your goods for one of their £5 off recycling offers (which unfortunately can only be redeemed when you spend over £30) it ain't much but it's better than nothing! You can literally bring any fabric product along so I hear, from curtains and bedding, to tops, t shirts, jeans and jeggings, it seems the sky is the limit for this environmentally conscious brand and I plan on reaping the benefits for as long as I can.

Have you guys donated any clothes to H&M recently as part of their recycling scheme? Or have you tried out another stores scheme and found it even better? I would love to hear your thoughts, apologies for the short post today I was just quite excited to share this with you in case like me you were a bit late to the party (as usual for me!) Be sure to leave your comments below, come share them with me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City Girl posts be sure to follow me on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, I have my brand new environmentally friendly trousers on.

H.Elizabeth x

Having and Giving and Sharing and Recieving | Lush Recyling Scheme

It finally happened! Throughout the last year I have been loving Lush and since losing my Lush virginity all the way back in February last year with my 'Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser' and I'm pleased to today report that I have accumulated enough empty Lush pots to take part in their recycling scheme. I say I have only just managed this, truth be told I actually have 8 pots at home!

For those of you who have never been or are unfamiliar with the Lush recycling scheme (where have you been one may ask?!) it is basically a 'you scratch our backs, we'll scratch yours' which has economical (for Lush), environmental (for the world, obviously) and of course consumer (us) benefits. Lush ask that you collect and wash out any of your little black pots which have the wee recycling symbol on them and when you have 5 of them, take them back to your local store where they will exchange them for a free fresh face mask. The pots are then transported back to their production warehouse in Poole I believe, where they are then cleaned out thoroughly and reused for the next person to take home and love. Lush are working towards a closed loop system whereby they no longer have to produce their little black pots due to their durability and re-usability and of course by relying on the loyalty of their customers - and honestly who wouldn't be opting into their scheme?

Anyway, moving along from the techy techy environmentalist side of things, today I thought I would share with you which 5 pots I shall be trading in, alongside a mini review of what I thought of each product and finally what I shall be trading them in for.

Enzymion Moisturiser (x2)
My skincare savior! Following a horrendous experience with a rather thick (such as concrete) MAC foundation I wanted to use something a bit more natural and less chemically on my skin, and my usual moisturiser (Nivea) just wasn't cutting it! The consistency of this moisturiser is quite runny and can drip off your face if you use too much, but it smells lovely. I wouldn't say it leaves your skin feeling amazing or soft right away but give it a week and your dry, dull skin will have cleared entirely! You can read my full review for the Enzymion Moisturiser here.

Angels on Bare Skin Cleanser
You can see my full review of this cleanser here, but as you'll know if you've already read it, this helped to soften my skin and clear any and all blemishes I had. Although I had originally gone in the day I bought this for a cleanser that would also remove eye make-up (which this obviously doesn't and wouldn't) I still fell in love with it. The smell is lovely (if like me you are a fan of lavender) and the consistency is great too. A little of this goes a long way, it'll last you for weeks as long as you use it sparingly which I do!

Catastrophe Cosmetic Face Mask
I had a bit of a love hate relationship with this mask, while I loved the scent and the feeling it left on my skin it was incredibly flaky and the chunks of berry kept falling off of my face and into my tea! Because this was kept in the fridge it was quite hard to get out of the tub and onto my face and often flaked while it was drying so messy messy! I totally agree with the synopsis on their site however it is a very calming and soothing mask but I would not recommend if you are looking for something low maintenance!

Love Lettuce Face Mask
Fresh, fresh, fresh, is all I can say about this face mask. What I love about Lush's Fresh Face Masks is that because they are kept in the fridge to prolong their goodness, every time you put them on your face it is like getting a huge breath of fresh air, but maybe that's just me who enjoys a cold compress. Another thing I loved about this mask was the grainy quality meant you were not only moisturising (and cooling) your skin, but when you wash it off you're exfoliating too, which is why I would only recommend you use this one once or twice a week max. The smell is divine too, I believe it's a mix between honey, almond and lavender all of which I love. This is one I'll definitely be repurchasing in the future.

For all of these empty pots I can treat myself to one of their fresh face masks again, and I'm going to try and go for something different this time which of course is still good for dry skin as I'm still a bit of a sufferer, especially with Aberdeen having now joined the rest of the UK in the cold weather slump! At the moment I have been swithering between their Oatifix mask which sounds like a dream for dry skin or their BB Seaweed, because it looks and sounds so fresh. Do let me know your thoughts on what I should treat myself to in the comments below or of course any Lush products you yourself have been loving lately, I'd love to hear from you! As always you can catch me on Twitter or if you'd like to see more reviews, ramblings and rambunctious goings on you can follow Granite City Girl on Bloglovin

Until next time folks, getting fresh!

H.Elizabeth xx