#BlogForBunnies – My Top Ten Cruelty-Free Beauty Buys!

Today is the start of #Becrueltyfree week and I’m joining loads of other bloggers by supporting the #BlogForBunnies campaign and helping to raise awareness of cosmetics animal testing.

I shop cruelty free because animal testing is both sad and pointless.  Around 100,000 animals suffer each year to test cosmetics, and these tests are pretty much redundant because our DNA is so different to the animals’ that the tests can’t even be relied on to tell us how chemicals will affect human beings.

On a more positive note though, I have loved shopping cosmetics ever since I decided to go cruelty free because there are so many great cruelty-free brands out there! It doesn’t need to be difficult or restrictive to #BeCrueltyFree and I have discovered some fantastic favourite products that I don’t think I’d have discovered otherwise.

Here are my top ten cruelty-free beauty buys!

1. Illamasqua eye brow cake. Illamasqua is now my favourite premium makeup brand, and the eyebrow cake in Motto is just amazing for my blonde eyebrows. I don’t know what I ever did without it!

2. Lush Rehab shampoo. Several Lush products appear in this list because they are amazing in so many areas. Haircare is one of those areas, and Rehab is currently my favourite shampoo to use.

3. Lucy Bee coconut oil. Coconut oil is a kitchen cupboard essential for any healthy eater, but I also have a second jar which I use as a beauty product. I swear by Lucy Bee’s as a miracle body moisturiser and also an occasional hair mask!

4. Lush emotional brilliance. The most pigmented and vivid lip colours I own are from Lush’s makeup collection, which they call “Emotional Brilliance”. This gorgeous coral/pink colour is called “Believe” and I love it!

5. Tropic smoothing cleanser. This luxury cleanser is pretty much new favourite product! I recently reviewed it here.

6. Lush Ultrabland cleanser. Although the Tropic cleanser is my new favourite, I can’t take anything away from Ultrabland, which I think is a fantastic gentle cleanser too!

7. Barry M nail polishes. Barry M is my number one brand for budget nail polishes.

8. B. Ready day cream with SPF 15. I don’t have a photo of this one as I’m currently using a different day cream, but I’ll be going back to this old faithful from B. at Superdrug for my next purchase as it’s great for sensitive skin.

9. Mermaid perfume. This perfume was a random discovery, but its orange blossom scent is lovely and summery so it will be one of my main summer perfumes this year.

10. Faith in Nature hair care. I love that Faith in Nature is a local British brand and that their products are made from natural ingredients. I enjoyed using their chocolate-flavoured shampoo and conditioner, and want to try the coconut flavour next.

(Do you love any of these products?)

So for anyone considering giving #Becrueltyfree a go, here is some important info…

• The good news is that animal testing for cosmetics is banned across the whole of the EU and cosmetics that have been newly animal tested anywhere else in the world are banned from being sold here.
• The bad news is that China legally requires animal testing on cosmetics imported into China. I avoid any brand that sells into China, which sadly now includes a previous favourite, MAC.
• As I mentioned there are loads of cruelty free brands out there, including many standard high street favourites. My first port of call is to look for a Leaping Bunny logo. The Leaping Bunny standard is a good guarantee that a product and its ingredients are cruelty-free and avoid selling in countries such as China. But I also bear in mind a company can be leaping bunny approved whilst having a parent company who is not (e.g. The Body Shop who is owned by Loreal). I choose to avoid those companies.
• My favourite way of finding cruelty free brands is to check out some great cruelty free bloggers who have put a lot of time and effort into researching their cruelty-free lists. Two bloggers recommended by Humane Society International are Logical Harmony and My Beauty Bunny, whose lists are very well researched!

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