Cruelty Free Makeup and More

This post is dedicated to my daddy, who we lost on 2/7/2014.  He loved all creatures (even bugs!) and was the best man who ever walked the earth!  

I love animals. I love makeup. I don't like, when animals are being tested on, and I don't like companies that test on animals. This year I am making the goal of going cruelty free. I've already been looking into products and brands that do not test on animals, household and beauty. My research has led me to quite a few revelations, some good, some bad.

First off, the bad........ I've already nixed M.A.C.. I hate their customer service and guess what?  They test on animals! They used to be cruelty free and their slogan used to be "tested on models, not on animals". They no longer are cruelty free.  M.A.C. sells their products in China, and in China, the government makes it mandatory to test all products on the poor helpless bunnies in their testing facilities. These poor babies are waiting in cages, in fear, and what happens you ask?.  Makeup companies spray/put horrible things in their eyes and God only knows what else is being done.  I can not stand behind brands that torment defenseless little animals.

My love, Mia

I still have a few M.A.C. products that I have to finish this year, some lipsticks and other things. I spent money on these products and am not going to let them go to waste.  I'm disappointed because I do like their eyeshadow primer in Painterly (and I'm almost out) and I like their M.A.C. Fix Plus. But, until they stop selling in China, I will not contribute $$$$ to their animal testing.

Another bad... drugstore bad. Maybelline and Revlon. I have some products that I bought and I still need to finish, but once I'm done, that's it. My money will not go to these companies anymore. It's a shame because I love the Maybelline Color Sensation lipstick, mascara and eyeliner.  Time to use new lines of products. NYX matte lipstick is an amazing alternative to the Maybelline Color Sensation lipstick.

My love, Samwise Gamgee

Ok, now sorta bad/sorta good?.... Urban Decay, NYX, BareMinerals and NARS. Four brands that I love a lot! While these four lines don't test on animals and from my understanding, are not sold in China, their parent companies L'Oreal and Shiseido do. Again I have a couple of L'Oreal products that I have to finish this year. One beauty blogger says to buy from the lines that do not test on animals, that way the parent companies can see that they do not have to sell their products in China and can still make money.  I will continue to buy, Urban Decay, BareMinerals and NARS, but I'm a bit conflicted with this decision.  Am I being a hypocrite? I want to show my support for the lines which are cruelty free and that our voices are heard.

As I was in Ulta today, the sales lady, Erin, and I were talking about this very subject.  She said that L'Oreal is moving in the direction of being completely, 100% cruelty free.  I'm sending out positive thoughts that they do travel down this route.

Who would test on this sweet face?

The good.....There are some amazing, reasonably priced, drugstore brands that are cruelty free. For example E.L.F., Makeup Academy, Wet n' Wild and Physicians Formula are all cruelty free. Wet n' Wild is made in China, but not sold there. All I see are red flags with this one! Physicians Formula is organic too.

The good....High end.  My favorite high end brand that does not test on animals AT ALL is Too Faced. I think their products are made with cocoa powder and they smell delicious.  I don't own any of their eyeshadow palettes because I'm working on my Gwen Stefani, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Palette.  Their melted lipsticks are PHENOMENAL!!

There is a brand of make up that is a local company, right here is Los Angeles, actually I think they are headquartered in Oxnard, California. It's called ColourPop.  Not only is the brand reasonably priced and is local, they are also cruelty free! The lipsticks and eyeshadows are, I think like, $5 a piece.  As far as I know this brand can only be bought online, which is not my favorite way of purchasing makeup. I am definitely going to check this company out! I love supporting local businesses. Please don't ever sell out.

Speaking of selling out..... The Body Shop. What a disappointment you are. You too were bought out by L'Oreal.  I worked for The Body Shop when Anita was still alive.  She must be turning over in her grave right now, thinking only bad thoughts. I have no words.  To even be associated with a company that tests on animals...L'Oreal (they seem to own a lot!).

This isn't just about makeup.  I am now ONLY going to buy cruelty free household cleaning products and body/hair products as well. You can find a bunch at Target. I heard their own brand (is it Up-Up?) is also cruelty free.

Did you say 'Cookie?"

I will not check on the PETA website.  If you don't know already, I am NOT a fan of PETA.  They kill "euthanize" many of their shelter animals. My dog Mia wrote a disapproving  letter to PETA a few years ago, explaining that she loves her life as a domesticated doggy.  If you'd like to read her letter, here's the link to that post:
http://jonellemariefariaedrosolano.blogspot.com/2010/08/applying-for-job-at-peta.html

No one can tell me that rubbing a lipstick on a rats face can determine if a lipstick is safe for human use.  We're not rats. What works for one person may not work for another.  I'm severely allergic to Penicillin. They tested that on animals for years.  It makes me sick to my stomach thinking about the agony that these poor animals must go through, and it's NOT for our benefit......

For a complete list of cruelty brands, beauty and household, check out these links below. There are SO many brands to choose from, so make good choices!!

Sources and links:

Cruelty-Free Kitty
http://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/start-here/

Logical Harmony---but they list Lime Crime as being cruelty free and I've heard it isn't. So be careful and research
http://www.logicalharmony.net/#axzz3zPB8I1bF

BlogHer
http://www.blogher.com/how-shop-cruelty-free-target

Leaping Bunny
https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/LeapingBunny

I have a great quote, but I can't read who said it, and I want to clarify, it wasn't me, "Compassion for animals is intimately connected with the goodness of character; and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man" 

Sam and Mia say, "Don't test on animals!

Shop cruelty free!"

Wet N' Wild

Wet n' Wild Smokin' Hot Pink & Spotlight Red

For the last couple of months I've been on the hunt for the perfect lipstick.  I'm not sure what it is that I'm looking for. Is it the color, texture, staying power or price? It's actually a combo of all those things.  In a previous post I reviewed the NARS Audacious lipsticks. Those are by far my all time favorite lipsticks, but at $32 a pop and on my salary, I try to limit the NARS lipsticks I purchase.   

Right now I'm obsessed with watching beauty YouTube videos.  There are three beauty experts that I watch religiously. I'm not sure of the protocol with regards to posting their information on my blog, so I'll refrain.  One of the Vloggers reviewed the Wet n' Wild MegaLast Lip Color and that peaked my curiosity.  I haven't used a Wet n' Wild product since I was in high school.  I loved the deep vampy blue that was all the rage in the mid 90's.  For .99 cents you couldn't beat the price.

A few months ago I bought four of the MegaLast Lip Colors.  Two of the colors are posted above. I also bought Cherry Picking and Don't Blink Pink.  The lipsticks were on sale at CVS, buy one get the other 50% off.  At 1.69 regular price and the second 50% off,  I couldn't pass up the bargain, so I bought four.

According to the Wet n' Wild site the MegaLast Lip Color lasts 4 hours and feel rich and velvety on the lips. They are not supposed to bleed or feather and are a semi matte cream.  I loved the fact that they are a matte lipstick.  I know that matte lipstick are extremely popular right now.  

I was pleasantly surprised by these lipsticks.  They did feel velvety like the site said they would, and they didn't feel over drying like the MAC retro matte formula. When I would reapply my MAC Retro Matte lipstick, the color would just peal right off, I didn't notice that with these. I felt that they didn't tug my lips or accentuate any dry patches I may have had on my lips. They didn't quite last 4 hours, but they did last longer than some other lipsticks I own.  I noticed the color would start to fade in the center of my lips. Even though they don't bleed, I like to use a lip liner.  I use the MAC Candy Yum-Yum with Don't Blink Pink and an e.l.f  lip liner with Cherry Picking.  

I absolutely HATE the packaging.  The plastic lid is annoying.  It can easily crack and looks messy after a couple of uses.  Of the four colors I purchased, I only kept two, Cherry Picking and Don't Blink Pink. The two in the photo above, I gave to my mom. They looked more coral than pink against my skin tone.  I  don't like that I can't color swatch the lipsticks before purchasing them,  but at $1.69 a piece, I'm not going to complain,

A couple of months ago I went to Las Vegas with my husband and decided to only take my drugstore lipsticks, nothing "high end".  These colors worked out amazingly well.  It just goes to show you don't have to spend a million bucks to look a million bucks.

Wet n' Wild MegaLast Lipstick gets 4 out of 5 Pink Gerber Daisies 

"The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides"
Audrey Hepburn

MAC, It Was Fun While It Lasted

Oh MAC., how you've failed me!  I remember how, in the in late 90's and early 2000's, I loved MAC and being able to purchase a MAC lipstick was a big deal. They are one of the cheaper "higher end" makeup brands out there. I loved their exotic colors and artistry. I had so many of the Lip Glass-- Gloss, Oyster Girl was my favorite, and their shadows were all the rage! But in the end, the Lip Glasses would just be a big hot, sticky mess and my hair would always fly into the goo.  Flash-forward to 2015 and oh how my opinion of this brand has changed.

They still have all of the funky colors, but they just don't last.  In my search of a dupe for my favorite lipstick, I came upon a YouTube video, where the Vlogger swatched the MAC Matte Lipstick brand. I was interested in a few colors so I went to the MAC store at the mall, not the MAC counter at Nordstroms, mistake # 1. 

Every time I've walked into this store I have been completely disappointed with their inadequate service.  It doesn't matter if there's no one else in the store, or if it's filled with people, it's always so difficult to get someone to answer my questions, say hello or help me.

Since I already had a few colors I was interested in, I just started swatching on my arm. Finally a sales associate asked if I needed any help.  I whipped out my favorite NARS color, Greta, and asked if they could match it.  At MAC's $16 a tube I didn't mind buying a dupe from their store. The sales associate was showing me colors she liked, for her skin tone. I'm fair, she wasn't, get my drift? The colors that looked good on her, were not colors that looked good on me.

I settled on a matte color called All Fired Up, which the MAC site describes as a "bright fuchsia matte". I don't know, maybe I bought the wrong All Fired Up, because in the tube it looks like a brick red, on my arm it looks like a brick red, and on my lips it looks like a brick red. Oh and swatched next to Greta, it looks like a brick red. 

Now the formula. I know that they are matte, so I didn't expect a shiny or creamy finish. This lipstick felt chappy, easily rubbed off (and I applied a liner) and was one of the most drying matte lipsticks I've used this summer.  You can't just reapply if it wears off because then it gets cakey. The second time I applied this lipstick, I could see it settle in the lines of my lips. It's not advertised as a long lasting lipstick, so I expected that.  I had to take it off the second time I applied it because it was just too drying. 

One swipe of Greta, takes 10 swipes of All Fired Up to get a similar look. 

Below is a color swatch of Greta and All Fired Up.  You can see that this is definitely not a bright fuchsia. 

The matte color is All Fired Up (bright fuchsia), from MAC and the creamy finish is Greta

I don't know about you, but to me that's not a bright fuchsia. That is only one swipe of Greta and four swipes of All Fired Up.

Another thing I hated was that when I opened my MAC package, I had the wrong color and had to go back to the store to exchange it, that made me a sad monkey.  They couldn't even grab the correct color.  When I swatched these side by side in the store, the color was almost the same.When I got home  and in the natural light, it looked orange. 

When the sales girl asked me what color I brought in to swatch,  I simply replied, "Only the best color and lipstick on the planet." 

Because of all the mishaps and mislabeled colors I give MAC's matte lipstick, in All Fired Up, 2 Gerber Daisies out of 5.

“Nobody looks good with brown lipstick on.” 
― Frank Zappa

No Frank Zappa, they do not!!