Ethical Make Up Reviews!

xojanneal: EOTD with Rockeresque eye shadows: XOXO, Lower East...

kimuakiyo — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:19:08 +0930

EOTD with Rockeresque eye shadows: XOXO, Lower East Side, and Dead as Night (crease, liner, brows)

A little ELF review -

kimuakiyo — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:17:43 +0930

Cruelty free, only one non-vegan item (the essential brushes), cheap as chips AND ships to Australia, there’s not much else you could ask from a brand. Elf (eyes, lips, face) is up there in my all time favourites although the products can be a bit hit or miss, a quick search on Google or make up ally and you’ll be able to see reviews on what’s best. (Even if you get a product that doesn’t work for you, it was only a few dollars so no harm to your pockets!)

Here are a few of the ones I like;

Studio Flawless Finish Foundation | Shade: Porcelain | Price: $5.99

I have been on a holy grail foundation hunt since I was about 13 and didn’t know dark orange wasn’t the colour you were suppose to go for. I’ve tried everything from high end brands like MAC, NARS, Illamasqua and Bobbi Brown to things you can find in Priceline such as Maybelline, Revlon and Rimmel. I thought I had found my perfect match in the Naked Skin by Urban Decay but unfortunately I no longer support Urban Decay as a brand because they were bought by L’Oreal who test on animals.

This foundation however not exactly holy grail status is the best vegan foundation I’ve found so far (and cheapest!). I’m always the lightest shade in foundations and this does run a little dark on me but is easily fixed by some blending. I’ve tried applying with my fingers, a damp Beauty Blender sponge and a Real Techniques Expert Face brush and I find the brush works the best as it leaves it looking smooth and dewy. I do find I have to set it with a little powder ‘cause sometimes it can be transferable. (As is almost every foundation I’ve tried.) The coverage is medium, I can still see my freckles but it covers any redness or imperfections and all in all is a pretty good foundation!

Studio Conditioning Lip Balm | Shade: Mellow Melon | Price: $5.99

The name speaks for itself, just a very conditioning, sheer (but buildable) lip balm. It comes in 5 different shades and I find it to be very nourishing and most days when I can’t be bothered with doing anything else, I pop this on and I’m good to go!

Eyebrow Kit | Shade: Light | Price: $5.99

This nifty kit is perfect for beginners and people who have been filling in their brows for years even me who is absolutely hopeless and has one brow higher than the other can get them looking quite good with them. I take the left side (the wax) on a angled eyeliner brush and run that through my brows then lightly take the ride side (powder) over the top and I’m done. It comes in 4 different shades from Ash to Dark and I definitely recommend you give it a go.

Mineral Eyeshadow Primer | Price: $5.99

This primer is aimed at mineral eyeshadows but I’ve used it with my regular ones and had no problems. It looks orange in the package but blends until it’s completely sheer. Compared to UD primer potion, it’s not as tacky and very thin/watery which I thought may crease my eyeshadows but hasn’t happened so far. Especially for the price, it’s a really good primer and I want to try the regular eyeshadow primer which is even cheaper ($2.)

I have a lot more favourites from ELF, some honourable mentions are the face primer and translucent powder that I’ve run out of and a bunch more that I will write about in the future (especially from an order that should be arriving soon!)

Places to buy from:
Their website | Crush Cosmetics | BeautyJoint | iKateHouse

xo

Photo

kimuakiyo — Sat, 18 May 2013 12:19:38 +0930

Hello! I'm not sure I understand what to look for when buying vegan makeup, skincare, nail polish stuff. What ingredients do you need to look for? I mean, obviously if it says something like "suitable for vegans", and it doesn't have beeswax in it, but what else do I have to look for? Like, what makes a nail polish vegan?

lemongrabxvx — Wed, 15 May 2013 12:17:00 +0930

Cosmetics tend to be sneakier in hiding their ingredients, sometimes they will use “beeswax” but often they will just call it “cera alba”
In nail polishes, it would typically be carmine that you would have to look out for in red/pink/purple shades. as well as if the company tests on animals OR buys ingredients tested on animals OR is owned by another company that profits from animal testing.
Apparently they also use fish scales and oyster shells for metallic colours, they both are usually called “pearl essence” so watch out for that!

As for other ingredients in cosmetics, look out for lanolin, acetate, allantoin, honey, royal jelly, beeswax (cera alba) carmine (75470),
Cetyl Alcohol, collagen, cysteine, elastin, gelatin, keratin, lactic acid, milk protein, shellac, silk, vitamin D.
Now that list looks scary long, and the ingredients look hard to remember, but don’t fret, majority of them aren’t that common (although they are still used in beauty products) and the MAIN ones to remember are: lanolin, carmine, silk, shellac, beeswax.

Here is a better source with a better more detailed list of animal ingredients and where they come from.

If you are having trouble, I’d recommend downloading an app for your phone, I have one on my phone called “the chemical maze” and It really helps! If I don’t recognize an ingredient i can search it and it will tell me if it’s animal derived or not!

Lime Crime is completely vegan now. :) They reformulated their primer to vegan. Also, they no longer have the "vegan" label because everything is vegan, lol.

kimuakiyo — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:00:00 +0930

Oh awesome, thanks for telling us!

There is one thing I would like to say about Lime Crime, though, if you’ll allow me to get on my soapbox for a minute.

Their “China doll” ad strikes me as incredibly Orientalist. As an Asian-American women, I face racial stereotyping every day, so I’m very adverse to giving money to a company that helps perpetuate those stereotypes. Please read this very eloquent blog post if you’re interested in learning more about the problematic ad.

This does NOT mean that Lime Crime is not vegan, nor that you shouldn’t buy from them. It’s just my personal view on one facet of the company, but the very purpose of this blog is educated consumerism, and my morals toward racism (as well as sexism and homophobia) rule my shopping habits just as much as my veganism does.

-Sylvia

Not exactly makeup, but do you have any suggestions for a vegan facial moisturizer with SPF?

kimuakiyo — Wed, 08 May 2013 14:00:53 +0930

ELF’s tinted moisturizer is SPF 20

They also have a really cool SPF 45 sunscreen powder that can be worn over makeup.

Beauty Without Cruelty has one

I’ve also seen this one off Etsy recommended

Hope that helps!

Hello!! Do you know if Mary Kay products are cruelty free? I keep hearing mixed opinions on them. Thank you :)

kimuakiyo — Tue, 07 May 2013 14:01:03 +0930

From their website:

Mary Kay does not conduct animal testing on its products or ingredients, nor ask others to do so on its behalf, except when absolutely required by law. There is only one country where the company operates – among more than 35 around the world — where that is the case and where the company is required by law to submit products for testing – China.

Which means that the company tests on animals so that they can sell their products in China.

Do you own any Furless brushes? Would you recommend them? :-)

lemongrabxvx — Sat, 04 May 2013 18:37:23 +0930

Yes I do and YES! their brushes are amazing, the very best i’ve ever used!

hey i just went vegan, and need to replace my existing make up with vegan make up. what do you recommend? Also I am AWFUL at anything beyond putting on foundation/really simple eyeliner, do you have any tutorials? and LASTLY, what kind of brushes do you use? Thanks for all the help. <33

kimuakiyo — Fri, 03 May 2013 22:55:00 +0930

Hey sweetie!

Well, we have a tutorial tag that we’re always adding to.

Kady made this post that lists her favorite, fairly inexpensive, vegan products. ELF is a great place to start, because it’s so inexpensive and pretty nice.

Is fudge hair dye vegan?

lemongrabxvx — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:17:00 +0930

yes

is elf makeup not vegan?

lemongrabxvx — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 19:08:00 +0930

All of their products are vegan friendly, but their essentials brushes are made from animal hair.. so i do not feel “right” calling them vegan..

I get really bad dark circles and have really bad skin, and can't find a vegan concealer that actually works ANYWHERE. Any suggestions??

lemongrabxvx — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 11:53:05 +0930

three words: obsessive compulsive cosmetics

DIY Hardening Nails Treatment

kimuakiyo — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:01:09 +0930

sweetcenobite:

I’ve heard several times about similar treatments but never actually tried one of them… so I decided to give it a try, and I found out it really works!

What you’re gonna need is extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, sugar (optional) and lemon essential oil.

Take 2 spoons of extra virgin oiive oil, 1 spoon of lemon juice and mix them. Put the mixture in the microwave for about 20 seconds… It should get warm, but not too hot. Put 5 drops of lemon essential oil and stir. Then, add a spoon of sugar if you want it to be not only a treatment but also a scrub. So, dip your fingernails in the mixture and start massaging well, nails and hands. Alternate massaging and soaking in the oil mix. I keep on doing this for about 20 minutes (I usually do this while watching a Family Guy episode, lol!). Then, rinse well and apply your favourite moisturizing hand cream. It’s best to do this before going to bed, so you can apply a generous amount of cream.

I only did this 3 times in a week and I already see that my super choppy and fragile nails are getting harder and lighter (yes, this treatment will also lighten your skin and nails a bit, it helps also if you have sun spots on your hands skin).

Please notice that if you are prone to allergies or have a particularly delicate skin, you should avoid essential oils, since sometimes they can give allergic reactions. Always do a test first. Anyway, I think this will works also without that particular ingredient.

I think I’ll try this also with almond oil, which is very good for nails too.

This was my first post about my experiments with DIY beauty treatments (which I love!), hope you like it :)

[Images found on Google Images. No © infringement intended]

wildfiremagazine: Sometimes it is not just Amy Pond nail envy…...

kimuakiyo — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 14:00:56 +0930

wildfiremagazine:

Sometimes it is not just Amy Pond nail envy… Here are some red(ish) coloured vegan polishes like River Song wears in The Time of Angels.

BUTTER LONDON - Blowing Raspberries

PRITI NYC - Petunia

GABRIEL - Classic Red

zombiedoll1981: @rockeresque is having a makeup sale go check...

lemongrabxvx — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:41:00 +0930

zombiedoll1981:

@rockeresque is having a makeup sale go check it out. www.rockeresque.com #rockeresque #makeupsale #veganmakeup #vegancosmetics

A lovely get the look tutorial from Gabriel Cosmetics!

kimuakiyo — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 08:17:08 +0930

A lovely get the look tutorial from Gabriel Cosmetics!

vegansofig: I asked one of my favorite beauty bloggers Vegan...

lemongrabxvx — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 14:27:00 +0930

vegansofig:

I asked one of my favorite beauty bloggers Vegan Beauty Review to guest post on her favorite vegan friendly hair dyes:

For cruelty-free, vegan, alternative hair dyes (blue, pink, green, etc.)

◦ Special Effects
◦ Jerome Russell’s Punky Colour (#1 and #2 have the longest-lasting formulas In my humble opinion)
◦ Manic Panic
◦ Paul Mitchell’s Ink Works
◦ Splat
◦ Hot Topic Raw
◦ Stargazer (UK)
◦ Directions (UK)

Note: These are all semi-permanent hair dyes (which work best on bleached hair), and they fade with each wash. Also, be sure to use gloves when dying hair to avoid purple/pink/blue hands and fingernails. And… these dyes tend to smell a bit like candy. :)

For natural colored cruelty-free hair dyes
◦ Herbatint - has a pleasant licorice scent, available at Whole Foods, other health food stores, and Amazon.com (best deal)
◦ LUSH henna (in red, brown, black, and chestnut) - all-natural, plant-based, and infused with cocoa butter for extra conditioning
◦ Aubrey Color Me Natural - Available in dark brown and mahogany.

For more on vegan, cruelty free hair dyes check out Sunny’s website VeganBeautyReview.com #VegansofIG

http://instagram.com/p/WC10P7GiZO/

Not sure if you already got my ask but, do you know if Art Deco's dita Von terse line has any vegan suitable products? I've emailed them but not heard back yet (and I'm about to leave Europe where they can be found!)

lemongrabxvx — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:02:00 +1030

Sorry, From what I can tell they are not tested on animals and they do have some vegan products, but from having a quick look at some of the items ingredients, some items contain lanolin, carmine, beeswax.
And the items i found that were vegan are the lip liner, lip lacquer, face powder and the mascara, but again you will most likely have to check each items individual ingredients just to make sure.

wouldn't that mean you wouldn't use clarins/illamasqua/etc because they are sold from sephora in that respect? what does "produced" mean?

lemongrabxvx — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:50:00 +1030

Sorry, I just found out that Kat von D’s line is still cruelty free

Produced means, like made.. manufactured.. by sephora, a brand that is owned and made by sephora.

Hiya I'm just wondering if you know anything about Kat Von Ds make-up? I can't find anything online that gives me an answer. Any information you have would be great and really much appreciated

lemongrabxvx — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 09:17:00 +1030

According to mybeautybunny Kat von D’s line is still cruelty free, although sephora has started selling to china, not sure how that works.