Reasons I'm Cruelty Free

1. I love animals.
2. I'm a makeup junkie, but I love animals more than a lipstick
3. With modern technology there is no need for animal testing
4. I've found that with my sensitive skin, cruelty free products work much better
5. I feel good putting on makeup I know wasn't tested on an animal.

That's just a short list, if I can inspire one person to live cruelty free by this blog I've done by job.

Sephora Haul! February 24th

Here is my latest shopping spree from Sephora! I purchased Nars Sheer Matte foundation in Siberia, Urban Decay Big Fatty mascara, Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Roman Holiday, and Benefit Boi-ing concealer in 01.

This is just a sneak peek, reviews and pictures are soon to come :)


UPDATE: Mini Reviews 
Nars Sheer Matte Foundation: WOW Nars really meant sheer. This foundation was way too sheer for my liking. I returned it within a week....

Big Fatty: This mascara is good when you want really big lashes, I wouldn't use it daily because it clumps easy, and you have to apply it very carefully.

Foundation Diaries

  For years I was a devote MAC customer, I used all of their products including foundations so I never really worried about what else was out there. That was until I found myself on my graduation trip to New York where I was in Saks and had the opportunity to have a consultation with one of the head Nars artists. Needless to say at that point I had switched to Nars, and I wore their sheer glow foundation for the next year.

  I really did like this foundation, just at some point I got a little bored with it, and thought "what if something better is out there?". I guess a good foundation is like dating, you found something that works but you always sort of think what else could be out there. At that point I thought about switching back to MAC, only to discover that they had discontinued my long loved Select SPF foundation!

  Over the summer I stepped on the BB Cream fad and started using Smashbox's BB cream. Which I loved, but then those jerks had to sell out and now are no longer cruelty free. So my love affair with that BB cream is over.

  I then found myself without a go to favorite foundation, which is a troubling place for a girl to be. I then went to Sephora and found that it is so hard for a girl with super fair skin to find a match in the limited selection of cruelty free brands. I spend over an hour in the makeup chair, with one disappointing match after the other. Two Faced lightest one was too pink, Tarte was too yellow, Stila just wasn't light enough! Then we found a match, Hourglass' Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation so there I went home with what I thought was my new perfect match. That was until a week later my skin was way too dry from this super matte formula! 

  So there I was again, a girl without a dream foundation. Then Urban Decay came out with the Naked Skin foundation, that's where I found a match! I loved this light formula, with its easy to blend water base. Although this was lighter than any foundation I had used before, I went through two bottles of it! 

  Though of course with my commitment issues with makeup, in this last month I decided I was over having to conceal every single imperfection on my face with concealer (which over all doubles my time I use on my face). I then started thinking back to when I wore my Nars Sheer Glow foundation and I didn't even own any concealer back then. So with my bottle of UD Naked Skin almost gone I made a trip to Sephora to go try my old favorite again. Once I put this foundation back on I was so happy with the coverage, it looked natural and not overdone but was a nice medium to full coverage I was wanting. Then... a few days later I woke up to acne! I thought I had finally found a foundation that would solve my dilemma, but with time your skin changes and my once favorite now makes me break out. 

  So off to Sephora I went again, this time I returned the Nars Sheer Glow foundation for the Sheer Matte version. I was hoping that this would give me the same coverage that I loved from the glow version, just minus the acne but no. The matte version doesn't even come close with the coverage. Where it says sheer it means sheer, which isn't a bad thing. I really want to like this new foundation, it matches my skin nicely and once you buy the Nars foundation pump it's more user friendly. I think that I need to just go back and buy my favorite primer I ran out of (Hourglass Mineral Veil) to truly judge the proformance of the Nars Sheer Matte Foundation. I will supply pictures of this foundation once I can get my hands on my go to primer again. 

So there it is, my long affair with foundation over the past year. This story is far from over... 

xoxo 
Shelby

New Directions

I originally created this blog with the intent to create a full on glamorous cruelty-free review based blog. Which I haven't really been that inspired to write about, so I'm going to start posting a variety of things on here. Beauty reviews, lifestyle tips, organizing tips, makeup tips, and just pictures of my daily experiences. Since I will be traveling this summer to study abroad, I think that this format will be a lot more interesting. The makeup post I do make will continue to be cruelty free, I just need a little more variety on here to keep myself inspired.

Daily Skincare Routine

Here's a list of my favorite daily skincare products, I use these every day and they help keep my skin clear and even. All of these products are cruelty free and great!

Step one: Burt's Bees Natural Acne Solutions Purifying Gel Cleanser
I was having issues with acne for the first time in my life, I tried many cleansers and never quite got the results I needed until I discovered this. I was using the Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Cleanser, but once I ran out I thought I'd try a less expensive alternative. To my surprise this cheaper alternative worked even better for me than the Juice Beauty one! Now my skin is clearer than ever!

Step two: Lush Tea Tree Toner
This toner helps keep my skin oil free, and clear all day. I love the tea tree scent it has, and I really think it helps absorb extra oil through out the day.

Step three: Juice Beauty Blemish Clearing Serum
I absolutely love this serum, it's expensive but worth every penny. I use a little in the morning, and then in the evening I use a heavier amount. I love the smell of it, and it really does help heal and prevent acne.

Step four: Rhonda Allison Amino Peptide Moisturizer
After using the Burt's Bees cleanser, I noticed my skin was a bit on the dry side, so I went on the search for a good moisturizer that would suit my combination skin. While getting a facial one day I shared that I was looking for a good moisturizer and was given a small bottle of this to try. Let me say, I am in love with this product! It's so light weight, it's helped even out my skin tone, and has a great citrus scent. I was worried about the cruelty free status of the brand when I got it, but no fear they don't test on animals! I think I need to try more of this brands products now.

Story Behind This Blog

Animals have always been a huge part of my life, I have quite a few of my own loveable pets, and I've been a vegetarian for the past 6 years. I always have wanted to live a healthy happy life, so it's only natural that I would want to live cruelty-free. I always have the idea of living cruelty free in my mind, and always tried to go with cosmetic brands which were cruelty-free, but I never kept updated on their animal friendly status. In the past year a lot has changed in the cosmetics industry, all of the brands owned by Estee Lauder have started testing on animals (Clinique, MAC, Bobbi Brown ect...). A lot of people don't know that in order to sell in China cosmetic companies have to test on animals, so many companies are changing their cruelty-free status just to sell in China. This really hit home for me, the brands I used on a daily basis were throwing their morals aside for a financial benefit. For example, I have always been a MAC girl since middle school but now that they are no longer cruelty-free I will never buy a product from them again. I also became rather fond of Smashbox, and loved that they had the leaping bunny seal of approval on their packages, until recently that is, they are now no longer cruelty-free. The point of this blog is to share that living cruelty-free can be easy, and glamorous. I will show my readers cruelty-free alternatives to their favorite makeup products, product reviews, and tutorials on different makeup looks.

Welcome to my journey into blogging!
Shelby