Thursday, January 12, 2012

Makeup Without Cruelty Please!


  This is a topic dear to many of our hearts. I was asked by a friend of mine to make a post about Cruelty Free Products, which I was more then happy to do! :) I put together a list of Companies That are Cruelty Free to PETA's (People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals) standards as well as a list of companies that DO test on animals currently. Before we get into the lists, let’s go over how and why animal testing has been used in the cosmetic industry.

There are a number of animal tests that can be done on cosmetic formulas and ingredients. This is a brief, very broken down, and less graphic description of each test and how it's done. The primary tests include the following.

 1. Draize test - This is a procedure used to determine dermal irritation. Animals used are albino rabbits who have much more sensitive skin than humans. Patches of the test material are placed on skin and readings are taken at 24 and 72 hours. The skin is then graded for irritation and reactions.

2. Eye irritancy test – Tests what happens if the cosmetic gets into the eye. It involves albino rabbits again and compounds are put into the eyes. Evaluations take place at 24, 48, 72 hrs and up to 7 days.

3. Guinea Pig Maximization test – This test measures for the sensitizing potential of an ingredient and involves injecting the compound under the skin followed by topical application.
 

Why should animals suffer and die so we can have "Smokey" eyes?!?!? They shouldn't. Thank goodness there are so many companies that are Cruelty Free! It is so easy now to purchase a Cruelty Free product over a product from a company that does animal testing!!!

There are even Vegan Choices for Cruelty-Free Makeup

Urban Decay offers many cosmetics that are not only cruelty-free, but also vegan.  Vegan makeup includes products that are made from fruits and vegetables, so check the labels for ingredient listings if you are unsure.
Cruelty-Free Makeup Brushes

Unless a makeup brush is specifically labeled as synthetic, Taklon, or nylon, it's going to contain animal hair. Unfortunatly in most cases these brushes are made in foreign countries and the animals they get the hair from are killed in inhumane ways. The only way anyone can be sure of purchasing and using brushes that haven't been the result of an animal's suffering, is to use 100% synthetic brushes.
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-Urban Decay, The Body Shop, and Eco Tools, to name only a couple, offer high-quality, cruelty-free synthetic makeup brushes.MAC also has a number of vegan brushes. You have to seek them out, though, brush by brush, on their site to see what each brush is made of. Vegans will want a brush described as having "synthetic fibers".


Read the fine Print!
Some companies claim that their products are cruelty-free or not tested on animals and where the finished product may not have been tested on animals, the individual ingredients have!! Sometimes companies claim that they don’t test on animals, but they contract other companies to do the testing. Sick...



Companies THAT TEST on Animals!

 I was shocked and disgusted at the following list of companies that either test on animals or contract laboratories to do the testing for them! These companies were pulled from a list available on www.peta.org Many companies that do test on animals have some cruelty-free products. Look to see how many of these items are in your home, or you have used in the past! 

**Companies are Listed by Brand/Product-Parent Company**
  • Aussie (Procter & Gamble)
  • Aveeno (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Axe (Unilever)
  • Braun (Procter & Gamble)
  • Chapstick (Pfizer)
  • Christina Aguilera Perfumes (Procter & Gamble)
  • Clairol (Procter & Gamble)
  • Clean & Clear (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Clearasil (Reckitt Benckiser)
  • Colgate-Palmolive Co.
  • Crest (Procter & Gamble)
  • DOLCE & GABBANA (Procter & Gamble)
  • Dove (Unilever)
  • Escada Fragrances (Procter & Gamble)
  • Estée Lauder
  • Garnier (L'Oreal)
  • Gillette Co.(Procter & Gamble)
  • Giorgio Armani (L'Oreal)
  • Gucci Fragrances (Procter & Gamble)
  • Head & Shoulders (Procter & Gamble)
  • Herbal Essences (Procter & Gamble)
  • Hugo Boss (Procter & Gamble)
  • Lacoste Fragrances (Procter & Gamble)
  • Lancôme (L'Oreal)
  • Listerine (Johnson & Johnson)
  • L'Oreal USA
  • Lubriderm (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Mary Kay
  • Matrix Essentials (L'Oreal)
  • Max Factor (Procter & Gamble)
  • Maybelline (L'Oreal)
  • Mizani (L'Oreal)
  • Nair (Church & Dwight)
  • Natural Instincts (Procter & Gamble)
  • Neutrogena (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Nice ‘n Easy (Procter & Gamble)
  • Olay (Procter & Gamble)
  • Old English (Reckitt Benckiser)
  • Old Spice (Procter & Gamble)
  • Ralph Lauren Fragrances (L'oreal)
  • Redken (L'Oreal)
  • Shiseido Cosmeitcs
  • Skin ID (Johnson & Johnson)
  • Suave (Unilever)
  • Vidal Sasson (Procter & Gamble)


Companies that DO NOT test on Animals and Are Cruelty Free!!

 Major credit to the follow companies that don't make animals suffer for the products they offer! Again, this list is pulled from www.peta.org and if you are interested in more information please check out their site!
 All companies that are included on PETA’s cruelty-free list have signed PETA’s statement of assurance or provided a statement verifying that neither they nor their ingredient suppliers conduct or commission any animal tests on ingredients, formulations, or finished products.

  • Bare Escentuals (Shiseido)
  • bareFaced Mineral Cosmetics
  • Bath & Body Works
  • Beauty 21
  • Beauty Bliss Cosmetics
  • Beauty Without Cruelty
  • Bobbi Brown (Estee Lauder)
  • Bonicca
  • Bonne Bell
  • Burt's Bees (Clorox)
  • C.O. Bigelow
  • Carmex
  • CertainDri
  • Cheeky Cosmetics
  • CiCi Cosmetics
  • Clinique (Estee Lauder)
  • Color Me Beautiful
  • E.L.F. Cosmetics
  • Eco Minerals V
  • Eco Tools Cosmetic Brushes
  • Ed Hardy Habit
  • Flirt! (Estee Lauder)
  • Garden Botanika
  • Gosh Cosmetics
  • Green Beauty Cosmetics
  • Hard Candy
  • Heartbreaker Cosmetics
  • Hello Kitty
  • Honeybee Gardens
  • Hourglass Cosmetics
  • Illuminare Cosmetics
  • L.A. Colors (Beauty 21)
  • L.A. Girl (Beauty 21)
  • LA Minerals
  • LUSH Cosmetics
  • M.A.C. Cosmetics
  • Manic Panic
  • Montagne Jeunesse
  • Nail Couture LA
  • NYX Los Angeles Inc.
  • OPI Products (Coty)
  • Palmer's
  • Physicians Formula
  • Prestige Cosmetics
  • Pur Minerals
  • Revlon
  • Rockstar Cosmetics
  • Shany Cosmetics
  • Smashbox Cosmetics (Estee Lauder)
  • Stila Cosmetics
  • Tarte Cosmetics
  • The Body Shop (L'Oreal)
  • Too Faced Cosmetics
  • Urban Decay
  • Victoria's Secret
  • wet n wild
  • Whole Foods Market, 365
  • Zuzu Cosmetics

Labels can be deceiving, so be careful. No specific laws exist regarding cruelty-free labeling of products, so companies like and will use loop holes. While it is unlikely that a company would put blatantly false information about its animal testing practices on its products, the statements that it does make might indeed mislead consumers.

I am not making this post trying to sound superior or better then anyone else. I just want you, the consumer, to be aware. I have purchased and do own a lot of the brands that are currently testing on animals. I was not aware they did, and this was very eye opening for me. For some reason I had thought or at least told myself that animal testing for beauty products was illegal now, but that's not the case! Am I going to go and throw away all the brands I have that test on animals, no, but next time I go shopping I will make sure to choose a cruelty free product over an animal tested product if possible! I hope some of you found this helpful and maybe found out something you didn't already know! 

XOXO,


PINK! Inspired Nails of The Day


Good Morning Beautiful! 

I was getting dressed and saw this cute pair of panties I have from VS so I decided to go with a Victoria Secret PINK! Inspired nail design. They are just a simple white with pink polka dots!

I just thought they were fun, and super girly! :) 

The Products I used for this look are:
  • Dazzle Dry's Base Coat
  • 2 Coat's Essie Bone Chilling
  • Nail dotter and Sinful Colors Fusion Neon (60)
  • Dazzle Dry's Top Coat
 I am glad I FINALLY purchased a set of dotting tools, I always tried to make Polka Dots free hand and they just don't come out as good that way. I'm sure most of you already have them, but if you don't.... you should get some! I got mine off Ebay for like 9 dollars, and I got 5 different dotting tools, all different sizes and they are dual ended so you actually get 10 different sized dotters. I also use them to help place gems and decals <3 Totally worth the $$.

Well hope you all have a wonderful day!
Till Next Time Gorgeous,




Wednesday, January 11, 2012

My Take On ELF's Beauty Eye Manuals


Hi Beautifuls!! I got these elf (Eyeslipsface.com) Eye Manuals for Christmas and I just got around to opening them up and trying them out! At first glance I really enjoy the packaging, it's a cute concept, and I immediately think this would be a great gift idea for people new to make up! 

 I think the insert of the Beauty books allowing people to write down their successful looks is a great tool for learning and becoming a better MUA. Also for remembering exactly what you used to create the look!

Each of the beauty books comes a mini elf Brightening Eyeliner pencil in "Black" as well a dual ended applicator, I took these out of the books and stored them separately (personal preference). The Beauty books also include a how to Create the look guide, so if you didn't know how to create a smokey look they teach you some basic techniques. After playing with the different "Manuals" I changed my mind about this being great starter make up and I'll tell you why at the end of the post. 

The first beauty book I played around with is the Smoky Eye Edition. I thought this book came with really fun colors, and I was super excited to try them out. Out of all the books I tried this is the one I enjoyed the most.


This palette had the most usable colors out of the 4 beauty books that I tried. They don't have names for their eyeshadow colors in these palettes and they are labeled eye 1..eye 2..eye 3.. ect. Eye 1 in this palette was VERY chalky and far too glittery for me. Eye 2 and 3 looked different in the palette, but had no real difference when swatched. The other colors produced fairly true to color swatches with minimal to no chalking.
The Second Book I played around with is the Bright Eye Edition. This was my LEAST favorite beauty book! The colors were nearly impossible to use. The most chalky of all the palettes.

 I was really hoping this palette was going to work out. I thought the colors looked like a lot of fun, until I went and tried to use them! Eye 1 I couldn't even get to show up. That's with about 15 passes of the color. Eye's 2-5 took about 8 applications of the color to get it to show up, but they are SOOO chalky that if you blow on them all the color would be gone! Eyes 6-8 took 2 swipes and they are the only real usable colors in the palette, but I can't imagine how difficult they would be to blend out. Eye 9 was just a waste of space (sorry it's true), that little mark of a swatch was after trying to get color to stick after 20+ swipes, ZERO pigmentation! Eye 10-12 is very very chalky but at least there is a slight pigmentation. 

 The Next Book I experimented with is the Natural Eye Edition. I enjoyed some of the colors in this book, but I guess I had higher hopes for it when I saw it (thinking it was gonna be a Urban Decay Naked Dupe), but the colors again, are so chalky it's hard to use them. 



All of the colors seemed to swatch fairly well with 2 passes. The only shadow I had a huge problem with is Eye 10. Very very little pigmentation, far too chalky to use for anything. The other colors had "ok" Pigmentation, but were also chalky.


The Last Beauty Book I played with is the Everyday Eye Edition. I would say that as far as eyeshadow quality this would rank #2 in the 4 I tried. A good variety of colors to play with!


 There was a big enough difference between the colors that this is the one palette you actually get 12 different usable colors to play with! Each of the colors swatched pretty nicely at 2 swipes. The only thing I didn't like about the palette was the black (Eye 12) has a lot of glitter in it, though my camera didn't pick it up, it is definitely there. But again, that is a personal preference and there is nothing wrong with the color if your into glittery shadows (: 

So, as I mentioned at the beginning of this post.... I think the concept of these Beauty Eye Manuals are WONDERFUL. The tools that are included, the How To Guide, the Pages to write notes, are wonderful things for beginners. The quality of the shadows, however, make these palettes NOT SO ideal for newbies. I think they would get very frustrated and disappointed at the quality, and the chalkiness and the fact they don't blend! I know if this was the first Eye Shadow I had to play with I would toss the towel in and give up! Well, I doubt that I am too stubborn, but if you aren't, you might be more apt to get discouraged. So maybe if you are looking for cheap makeup to start hit up your local drug store when they are having a cosmetics sale and just pick up some Drugstore Makeup on clearance! There are lots of great brands to play around with and TONS of reviews out there (including here)! Hope this helped at least someone! 

Till Next Time Gorgeous, 

   

Monday, January 9, 2012

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Hey beautifuls! @Rafflecopter is giving away an Apple iPad 2 (16GB) & a Kindle Fire. Enter to win - tell them I sent you (Bethany Wolf) if you enter!!  a Rafflecopter giveaway