Tag Archives: makeup

Apr 27 2012

Beauty Companies Against Animal Testing

Posted on by

A couple of days, I came across a YouTube video from one of my favorite companies, Lush. They did a real-life demonstration on what animal testing is like and how cruel and unusual it is. Watch this video.

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube Direkt

Shocking, right? After watching this video, I decided I had to do my part. I signed Lush’s petition here. I also came up with the idea to research and compile a list of the well-known companies that DON’T test on animals. I’m including makeup, skin care, and even clothing stores that sell perfumes or lotions. Here’s what I’ve found:

*When I put something in parentheses like (this) that means where you can find these companies in stores.

**When I put something in brackets like [this] that means that company owns the company that’s not in parentheses

Abercrombie & Fitch

Alba Botanica (Drugstore/Whole Foods)

Almay (Drugstore)

Amazing Cosmetics, Inc. (Sephora)

Anastasia Beverly Hills (Sephora)

Ardell International (Drugstore – Most famous for their false eyelashes)

Avalon Organics (Whole Foods)

Aveda [Estee Lauder]

Badger (Whole Foods)

Bare Escentuals [Shiseido] (Sephora, Ulta)

Bath & Body Works

Benefit Cosmetics (Sephora, Ulta)

Bobbi Brown (Sephora)

Burt’s Bees [Clorox]

butter LONDON (Nail Polish)

C.O. Bigelow (Bath & Body Works)

Carmex (Drugstore)

China Glaze (Nail Polish – Sally Beauty Supply)

Clinique (Sephora)

Dessert Essence (Whole Foods)

Dr. Hauschka (Whole Foods)

Eco Tools (Target)

E.L.F. Cosmetics (Target)

Gosh Cosmetics

Hard Candy (Drugstore)

Hello Kitty (Sephora)

Henri Bendel

Hourglass Cosmetics (Sephora)

IT Cosmetics

Illamasqua (Sephora)

Jack Black (Sephora)

Josie Maran (Sephora)

Kate Spade Beauty

Kiss My Face (Drugstores, Whole Foods)

Laura Mercier (Sephora)

Liz Clairborne (JC Penny)

LUSH Cosmetics

MAC Cosmetics

Milani Cosmetics

Murad, Inc.

Nature’s Gate (Whole Foods)

Newman’s Own Organics (Whole Foods)

Nordstrom Cosmetics

Nubar Cosmetics

NYX Cosmetics (Ulta)

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics, Inc.

Organix Hair (Drugstore)

Orly International (Drugstore)

Paul Mitchell Systems

Physicians Formula (Drugstore)

Pureology [L'Oreal]

Revlon (Drugstores)

Sally Hansen (Drugstores)

Seche (Nail Polish)

Seventh Generation (Whole Foods)

Slatkin & Co. (Bath & Body Works)

Smashbox Cosmetics

SpaRitual

Stila Cosmetics (Sephora)

Tarte Cosmetics (Sephora)

Too Faced Cosmetics (Sephora, Ulta)

The Body Shop [L'Oreal]

Tom’s of Maine [Colgate-Palmolive] (Whole Foods, Target)

Trader Joe’s Company

Urban Decay

Victoria’s Secret

wet n wild (Wal Mart)

Whole Foods Market, 365

Yes To Carrots (Drugstores)

Zara

Zoya (Nail Polish)

In my next blog post, I will be compiling a list of well-known beauty companies that DO test on animals. These companies you SHOULD stay away from. This list will be up next week.

Are there any companies that I missed? Let me know in the comments below, and I will happily add it to the list!

Any of these companies you’ve never heard of? Check them out! You might be surprised with the results.

 

 

 

 

Mar 28 2012

What’s In My Make-Up Bag – Part 2 (Make-Up Products)

Posted on by

I always love seeing posts on what’s people’s makeup bags, so I thought I’d do a post myself! Now, I don’t carry much in my makeup bag. Granted I don’t put on my make-up before I go to school or work because I don’t have time. Also, keep in mind I don’t use foundation. This is because I wear contacts and I constantly touch my face. I know if I do, it will easily stain my contacts. I do have dark under eye circles. Regarding eyeshadow, I’m a sucker for sparkley/shimmery eyeshadow. I really this it makes the look. I feel like matte eyeshadow are too boring, and I want to make my eyes pop. I have hazel eyes with gold flecks. Great eyeshadow shades for my eye color are golds, purples, pinks, etc. Here are the things that are currently in my makeup bag:

Laura Mercier’s Secret Concealer in #3 I have very bad dark eye circles. I have tried my fair share of drugstore concealers and none of them have seemed to work for me, besides the Sonia Kashuk Hidden Agenda Concealer Palette. I love that one, but I would use up the darker shade so quickly, and Sonia Kashuk didn’t have that shade in a single pot. So I researched for the best high-end concealer for dark under eye circles that is at a pretty good price. I went to my local Sephora. I was debating between Bobbi Brown and Laura Mercier. I talked to one of the employees, and she said that she really likes the Laura Mercier one. She applied this concealer on me, and I immediately saw a difference. Ever since then, I have been using it daily. If you are planning on purchasing it, remember this: A little goes a long way! Just a quick dab on your brush and apply it to your dark eye circles. My shade is #3. It’s a peachy color. This concealer retails for $22 for 0.08 oz. You can purchase it at Sephora or at LauraMercier.com

Urban Decay’s 24/7 Gilde-On Shadow Pencil in Sin I used this as my daily eyeshadow primer. It’s a beautiful champagne shade that goes with any eyeshadow! I have changed primers recently, and I have noticed that this product has had my eyeshadows in longest wear. I have tried the Primer Potion from UD, and the Maybelling Color Tattoo, E.L.F. eyeshadow primer, and nothing compares to this! It’s an underrated product, but I think it’s well worth it! I got the set of 5 for $12 on Hautelook when it’s originally $34  at Urban Decay.  I just checked out the Urban Decay website and the whole set of 5 of these shadow sticks are $12! Each of these sticks individually are $20 a piece. Great deal! If you can check it out now while you can! Unfortunately the set isn’t available at Sephora, but you can buy the individual shades there if the one that you want isn’t in the set.

Laura Mercier Eyeshadow Duo in Plum Spice After I got so excited about the concealer that I got from Laura Mercier, so i started browsing website. As I always do on any makeup site, I browsed the eyeshadows section. I came across the an eyeshadow duo called Plum Spice. It’s originally $22, but it’s on sale for $10. A high-end eyeshadow duo for a drugstore price! My heart leaped! I researched on how the eyeshadow’s pay off is. Is it any good? I scavenged through Temptalia.com and see if it got Christine’s stamp of approval. It did! I looked to see if I could get free shipping with buying just that product, and I did. This may be because this product will be discontinued very soon. If I were you, I would get my hands on it as soon as possible! It’s the best formula of eyeshadows I’ve ever encountered. It’s finish is Sateen, which gives a soft, satin-like finish. It so beautiful and pigmented. You just need to barely touch the eyeshadow with your brush to get the product. The result, fabulous! A must have. You can get it for $10 at LauraMercier.com . If you find that you ahve to pay shipping use the new costumor code: “new2lm” for free shipping! If you try it, let me know if it works out for you! <3

Credit for this photo: BeiArea.com

 

Maybelline Eyestudio Gel Liner in Blackest Black I wanted to try a gel eyeliner, and I heard this is a perfect dupe for for MAC’s Fluidline. I had to try it out! It’s good, nothing that special. I does stay throughout the day and it doesn’t smudge which is an advantage. You can get it at any drugstore: ULTA, Target, CVS, Rite-Aid.

 

 

 

Rimmel London Glam’ Eyes First of all, THE PACKAGING! Isn’t it the cutest packaging you’ve ever seen? The thumb imprint (pick background with crown) helps you hold your mascara brush perfectly. If your were looking at the brush head-on, it would look like a compass: West & East have longer bristles while North and South are stubbier and thicker. I love this mascara. If you are looking for a new one, try this one out! You can get it at any drugstore: ULTA, Target, CVS, Rite-Aid. Mascara is one of the products I feel that you should use only from drugstores. This is because you should change your mascara around every 3 months. I just feel it’s a waste of money to spend on a product when there are perfectly good ones at the drugstore.

 

I noticed in this post that most of my makeup products are high-end. That was unintentional. A few of these products are fairly new. (I like switching around my products from time to time.) Usually all of my products are drugstore. I will to a post on Drugstore Spotlights: My Favorite Makeup Products very soon. So, keep checking in!

What’s in your makeup bag? Leave your answer in the comments below!

 

 

 

 

Pin It
Mar 22 2012

What’s in My Make-Up Bag (Part 1 – Brush & Bag Edition)

Posted on by

My favorite beauty videos to watch are “What’s In My Make-Up Bag” videos. So, I though I’d show what I have in my makeup bag on a daily basis. It’s very rare that I do my makeup at home before I go to school or work. I usually do it when I have arrived at work or school – depending on what day it is. But I keep everything in this bag! Disclaimer, I don’t carry a lot – I don’t use foundation because I feel I don’t particularly need it, and I don’t use blush because the one that I have right now has been breaking me out, so I need to lay off the blush for a while.

This is my makeup bag. It’s around the size of a pencil case. I love the material because it’s so strong a sturdy. The “skin” of the bag is shiny and smooth. Whenever something is subtly shiny, I am quite attracted to it. This makeup bag is from Sonia Kashuk and you can get it from Target (in store or online) for $5.99. Sonia Kashuk Sparkle Soft Cosmetic Case

 

 

Next order of business. Brushes. Now, I know about Sigma brushes and how supposedly they’re amazing, but I really don’t feel safe buying brushes online. I’ve heard great things about the Sonia Kashuk brushes, and I love them!

Sonia Kashuk Synthetic Concealer Brush Amazing brush! I’ve tried a lot of concealer brushes, but nothing can compare to this brush! It blend really nicely and easily buffs the concealer into the skin. What I really like abou this brush is the handle. It has a curved handle to easily hold this brush.It’s $9.99 at Target.

 

 

 

 

Sonis Kashuk Medium Eyeshadow Brush My go-to brush for all-over-the-lid eyeshadow. This brush gets the job done! It goes for $5.99 at Target!

 

 

 

 

 
Sonia Kashuk Large Crease Brush For the longest time i was using a smudge brush. One day I gave in a bought a crease brush. Once I tried this when I got home from Target, I immediately fell in love with it! I don’t know how I applied eyeshadow without it now! It’s amazing! One disadvantage, though, some of the hairs tend to fall out of the brush. But don’t worry, it doesn’t affect the brush’s performance at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Sonia Kashuk Bent Eyeliner Brush A very precise eyeliner brush, bent for a perfect fit on the eyelid. I use this with my gel eyeliner, and it works out perfectly!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: I was not paid by Sonia Kashuk. I just happen to really love her products.

In a few days I will be posting the rest of my products in my make-up bag. So stay tuned!

So what brushes do you use? Where’s your favorite make-up bag from?

Let me know in the comments below!

Feb 10 2012

Celebration Haul!

Posted on by

 So I finally finished Biology! So I will now be doing blog post more regularly! Today, I will show you what I got today in celebration of finishing the class that was literally (but-not-so-literally) killing me slowly.

First, I went to LUSH. Can I just say, the people who work there, every time I go, are SUPER nice! Every time I go in that store, I always feel welcome! That is one thing that I find really unique with this store. Other stores I don’t want to be bothered. But the people who work here are super friendly. So off to my haul! 

  

Trichomania Originally I wanted to come into LUSH to get a solid shampoo. I saw online one called New that has scent of cinnamon like the Wiccy Magic Muscle Massage Bar that I love so much. I have dry & curly hair. My hair is damaged because I hated my curly hair in high school, so I straightened it with a straightener all throughout high school. One of the girls that works at LUSH helped me, and showed me the difference between the New solid shampoo & the Trichomania shampoo. It feels so much smoother! And she said this shampoo is great for dry hair. Great for conditioning your hair! Trichomania – LUSH

The 2nd thing I bought at LUSH was the Honey Trap Lip Balm. I needed a new lip balm because the lip balm that I was originally using just ran out! In the store, I 1st tried on the Lip Service lip balm, but it felt so sticky. I didn’t like it at all! The girl who I talked to about my solid shampoo, she asked me if my lips are dry too. I told her that they’re not dry, but I tend to wear chapstick all the time. She said, “So you like to pack on the lip balm, right?” It’s like she got me. “Yes!”, I exclaimed. She said, ” I have the perfect one for you, try this..” She pulled out a clean popsicle stick, scooped up some of the Honey Trap Lip balm and gave the stick for me to try on my lips. Once I tried it, i was so shocked! I could believe how soft & hydrating it was on my lips. I had to have it! Thus started my love affair with LUSH’s Honey Trap. I actually never liked the Honey scent before. I used to have a honey lip balm from Burt’s Bees, but I hated it because it was so sticky on my lips, and extremely hard to apply. This lip balm has changed my world view on Honey lip products thank you LUSH!

Next up, I went to Forever 21. I only usually go there for the earrings or Disney sweatshirts. They have the most amazing designs for their jewelry and at a really cheap price! I got a pair circle dangly earrings with blue lilies inside of the golden circle. There isn’t a picture that i can find online for these, so I will take a picture tomorrow of theses earrings and post it here. In short, they are gorgeous, and unique in every way! The lilies are a pretty blue, which really brings out my eyes.

I tried shopping at Cotton On & Love Culture, but didn’t find anything because it was too hot outside, and I always picture the clothes on me when shopping. I was just not in the mood! But I did stop at CVS to get some makeup products that are long overdue!

Maybelline Eye Studio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner in Blackest Black I just recently finished up my black pencil liner from Rimmel London, and was in need of a new eyeliner. I’ve heard so many great things about, so I just had to give it a try! I tried it tonight, and it’s great! The brush is a little thick, so i think I’ll stop by Target this weekend to get the bent eyeliner brush from Sonia Kashuk. I’ll be wearing this on a daily basis, so expect a review soon! You can find this at your local Target, CVS, Rite-Aid, basically any drugstore that carries Maybelline.

Maybelline Color Tattoo in Bold Gold Of course I’ve heard of the raves! How it’s an exact dupe! I thought I’d try it out myself! Because I have hazel eyes, Both gold and purple really bring out my eyes. I will be using this as base on my everyday look. Expect a Look of the Day (LOTD) coming soon! You can find this at your local Target, CVS, Rite-Aid, basically any drugstore that carries Maybelline.

Burt’s Bees Herbal Blemish Stick This is a Holy Grail item in my makeup bag. During the wintertime I get the most blemishes. This really gets rid of the red spots on my face! You can find this at Target, CVS, Rite-Aid, & Whole Foods.

That’s it for my haul! Let me know in the comments below if you would like me to review the LUSH products as well! I have a bunch of blog posts lined up, so keep this site bookmarked!

Jan 29 2012

A Little Update

Posted on by

 

Hey guys!

Sorry I’ve been away for a while, things have been so hectic lately. I’m taking a winter class of just Biology, 4 hours everyday, & it’s killing me! But, in 2 weeks it’ll be all over!

I have a few products to review for you guys when my Biology class ends.

1. Physicians Formula Happy Booster Glow & Mood Boosting Lipstick in “I <3 Rose”

2. Rimmel London Eyeshadow in English Rose

I’m thinking of getting a couple of the Maybelline Color Tattoos & I am going to try out the Nuance by Salma Hayek Skincare line. Would you like me to review those here? Let me know in the comments below!