Monday, 29 June 2015

Girl of convenience

Cleaning! Nobodies best friend but if you like a clean house and you own two beagles it is a part of every day life and when you factor in full time work, dog walks and a life it can all feel like a bit of a chore!

I have been a fan of floor wipes forever, but I was in my local Tesco and they had a few offers on different types of wipes. I was seduced into purchasing a whole selection, that cover pretty much all household tasks and so to justify buying them I thought I would review them for the blog. 

First of all lets look at Tesco's cruelty free credentials, as they may not be the choice for all. 

Here is their policy:

Animal testing

We do not support testing on animals for cosmetic or household products, and do not carry out or commission such tests on our own-brand products or the ingredients they contain. Some products have ingredients which will have been tested on animals in the past. This is because we operate a fixed cut-off date for animal testing of ingredients, of 31 December 2007. We have set in place very robust systems to ensure that these cut-off dates have been met by all our suppliers to our own brand, where stipulated.

Whilst I agree that 2007 is a late fixed cut-off date, I think that organisations are making a commitment to change and it is important to look forward, it is also quite scary to think that 2007 is 7 years ago. 

I am not here to tell you if Tesco products are for you, however their household products are cruelty free from 2007. 

If you have decided that Tesco might be for you, here is a review of 4 of the wipes they do and what I thought:


Anti-bac apple floor wipes

For starters these smell lovely, they are a large size wipe and feel pretty tough. They clean well and save me loads of time on floors and other places.

I use them for:

  • Wiping mud off white kitchen units
  • Cleaning up paw marks between floor steaming
  • I wash my leather sofas with them (although I don't recommend this, mine are not damaged but try at your own risk!) 
  • Washing bathroom floors
They save me time as I don't have to get a mop or steamer out every time the boys trial something nasty into the house!

At £1.25 for a packet of 15 they are reasonable.

Expert bathroom wipes

I absolutely LOVE these (which I know is a little sad), they smell great again and make the bathroom smell really clean. They are a much tougher cloth than most bathroom wipes and you can use them to do a full clean of the bathroom and toilet with no trouble. I tend to deep clean my bathrooms once a fortnight and then use these every couple of days to keep them clean. As my dogs sleep upstairs their hair is always all over our en-suite even though they don't go it. 

If I was only allowed one wipe, this would be it!!! - A little pricey at £1.50 a packet but they are often on offer for £1 and you get 36 wipes in a packet so they do last. 

Wooden furniture wipes


Having just bought some wooden living room furniture I thought I would try these, they work well, smell pleasant but in all honesty I wouldn't buy them again as spraying a bit of polish and going round with a duster is not really any hardship, they are £1 for 30 versus an everyday value spray of £0.38.

Window wipes

I think cleaning the windows might be the job I hate the most! I always end up with a ton of kitchen roll and more streaks than I started with, but when the sun comes out and all the beagle snot my two manage to get on them I don't really have a choice. 

These are fab, and are now firmly on my cleaning products list. When I first used them I thought they would smear as they are quite wet, but my windows are streak and snot free and I managed to do the patio doors and my lounge bay window with just one wipe, so they did go quite a long way too. 

They cost £1.25 for 20 and I actually think they save me money on kitchen roll and they definitely save my sanity, when I see snot marks I can just grab a wipe instead of hunting out the spray and kitchen roll (like I say, I am pretty lazy). 

Please add any recommendations that you have either here or on the Facebook page. 


Tuesday, 4 November 2014

Organix conditioner give away!!!

Fancy trying something new for December? - Live Cruelty Free has two Organix Conditioners to give away to two lucky winners.


Sea Mineral Moisture Conditioner



The sea has healing powers. This nutrient-packed blend combines a few of the ocean’s gems: hydrating sea minerals, healing algae and supercharged sea kelp, to repair and moisturise even the most land-locked hair.




Awapuhi Ginger Conditioner



Some secrets are meant to be shared. Awapuhi ginger is one Hawaiian secret you’ll love. It mends dry, coarse hair and stimulates the scalp, while keratin proteins fortify each strand for hair that feels strong and gorgeous, all day long.




If you haven't already done so, and you want to enter our competition please make sure you:


The links to each are on the tabs above this blog post.

How to enter:
  • Go to the Run Free Alliance Facebook page
  • Like the competition post
  • Do this before 21st November

All entries will be entered in to a draw and the two winners will be picked at random, we will then contact you for your details. 

By entering you are agreeing to complete a questionnaire for us which will be used on this blog and Facebook.


Any questions, please message via the Live Cruelty Free Facebook page. 

Note - Please check the ingredients as Live Cruelty Free and the Run Free Alliance take no responsibility for any adverse reactions to these products. By entering this competition you are agreeing to this condition.


Thursday, 23 October 2014

Product challenge - Windowlene v's Astonish window cleaner

Whilst having a cuppa after a lovely walk in the autumn sunshine, the light flooded into my living room and much to my horror the "art" the boys had generously decorated my window with was illuminated for all to see. Rather reluctantly I hauled myself into the cleaning cupboard and had a rummage around. There, lurking somewhere towards the back was a bottle of windowlene that the previous owners had left when they moved out and also my cruelty free version Astonish.

I was interested to know what you got that was extra when a product was twice the price and also tested on animals, so my beagle art became the subject of my first product test for the Run Free Alliance.

I am not precious about cleaning equipment, so I can't really comment on the look of the products. They both look like window cleaner to me!

The price difference, according to Tesco was around £1 with Windowlene retailing for £2 whilst most stores stock Astonish for half the price at £1.

The first thing I did notice is that Astonish does smell a lot like vinegar! This is the active ingredient so it is no surprise really. Whilst Windowlene still contains vinegar it does smell a whole lot better, however the smell of either doesn't linger once you have wiped it off, so I didn't find it a big problem.

I got to work on the artistically decorated windows (two beagles = two artistic offerings) with a couple of squirts of spray and a sheet of kitchen roll. Both products left me with nice clean, and shiny blank canvases, both were smear free and it took roughly the same amount of effort to achieve the same results.

In summary, I couldn't tell the difference between the two (except for the smell). My one complaint about Astonish is that they are harder to get your hands on than the other brand. I have to make an effort to go to a different shop after I have finished my grocery shopping to pick up their products and you can never quite guarantee that the shop you go to will carry the same product from one month to the next. This is a huge shame as their product range is great, it is cheaper and for me it is a local company and I would love to support them more.

Typical shops that stock their products in the North of England are:
  • ·         B&M bargains
  • ·         The Range
  • ·         99p store
  • ·         Home bargains

You can check where Astonish is stocked in your area using the link below:

http://www.astonishcleaners.com/stockists.html

Whilst it isn't a big issue for me, popping it to one of these shops as I work in a large city and these shops are on my way home, I can see how people might be tempted by a non cruelty free alternative if they have to go out of the way to purchase it.

If you are struggling for Astonish in your area, you could try Co-op, Morrisions or M&S own brand as they are all cruelty free too. If you do, let me know what you think of them!