♥ Cruelty-free beauty brands ♥

Today the time has finally come to separate the good guys from the bad guys, so come along and find out which beauty brands you can trust and which you should definitely be avoiding.

In the world of cosmetics it can sometimes be very hard to keep track of which products are cruelty-free, especially when companies say on their website they don't test their products on animals, but then don't specify if their ingredients are being tested which they get from a supplier, who most likely does testing on animals. Also, if a company sells their products in China (not including Hong Kong), this pretty much means that their products are being tested on animals (even if they claim to be cruelty-free etc etc) as all products that are sold in China HAVE TO be tested on animals.

Like you see, it is very important to keep your eyes and mind open and to not be fooled by companies promises as they might turn out to be nasty lies. Now on to my list... I hope it will help you in deciding whether to leave that mascara back on the shelf or not. Here you go:

Brands that DO test on animals ☹

• Anny
• Artdeco
• Aussie
• Aveda
• Avon
• Bare Minerals
• Biotherm
• Chanel
• Clarins
• Dior
• Essie
• Estée Lauder
• Garnier
• Kiehl's
• Lancome
• L'Oréal
• La Roche Posay
• MAC
• Make Up Factory
• Manhattan
• Max Factor
• Maybelline
• Misslyn
• NARS
• Nivea (- Beiersdorf -)
• Olay
• Redken
• Revlon
• Rimmel
• Schwarzkopf
• Shiseido
• Soap & Glory
• The Body Shop - cruelty-free BUT are owned by L'Oréal who test on animals!!!
• Urban Decay
• Vichy
• Wella
• Yves Rocher
• Yves Saint Laurent

Brands that DO NOT test on animals ♥

• Alterra
• Alverde
• Aubrey Organics
• Badger
• Balea
• Benecos
• Body & Soul
• Burt's Bees
• Catrice
• Dr. Hauschka
• Essence
• Everyday Minerals
• Illamasqua
• Isana
• Logona
• Lavera
• Lily Lolo
• Lush
• NYX
• P2
• Paul Mitchell
• PHB Ethical Beauty
• Rival de Loop
• Sante
• Terra Naturi
• Weleda
• Wet 'n' Wild

The big baddies of the cosmetics industry:

• Unilever (Dove, Vaseline, Simple, VO5, St. Ives...)
  http://www.unilever.co.uk/brands-in-action/
• Procter & Gamble (Aussie, Bruno Banani, CoverGirl, Escada, Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essence, Hugo Boss, Max Factor, Olay, Pantene, Vidal Sassoon, D&G, Gucci, Wella...and thats only some of the beauty brands mentioned!)
  http://www.pg.com/en_US/brands/
• Johnson & Johnson (Aveeno, Bebe, Korres, Neutrogena, ROC...)
  http://www.jnj.com/healthcare-products/consumer/
• Estée Lauder (Aveda, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Donna Karen, MAC, Michael Kors, Origins, Smashbox, Tom Ford, Tommy Hilfiger....)
  http://www.elcompanies.com/Pages/Our-Brands.aspx
• Henkel (Diadermine, Fa, Schwarzkopf, Syoss, Gloss Kur, Got2be..)
  http://www.henkel.com/brands-and-solutions-12106.htm

Unclear at the moment (I'll update you on this when I know more...)

• Dr. Scheller
• Isadora
• I love....
• The Victoria's Secret (on PETA's list but some "cruelty-free experts" say one should not trust their lists so much...personally I don't know what to make of this yet.../)
• Yes To...

As you can see, the bad list is full of popular brands like Maybelline and Rimmel, which is pretty disappointing. If Dr. Hauschka or NYX can produce good quality products without having animals suffer, what on earth is stopping L'Oréal and co. from doing the same?! I really don't understand how some people can sleep at night...

If you want to be 100% sure that your product has not been tested on animals, please pay attention to the following seals, which are either printed on the product itself or on the packaging:

• Leaping bunny
• Cruelty-free bunny
• Vegan
• IHTK seal (International Manufactory Association against Animal Testing in Cosmetics - picture of a bunny being petted)
  
  And so on...

That's all for now. But I'll keep on researching this and will try my best to update the lists provided above as often as I can. Please keep in mind that I haven't listed every single cosmetics brand I know as the list would get veeery long and I would never get to posting it! I really hope you find this post useful and please do let me know if you need information on some other brands or if you just have any questions.. I'll be happy to help! :-)

xoxo,

Mia

Animal testing in cosmetics - Choose to be cruelty-free!

Animal testing is a very important issue that should be discussed more. In this blog post I hope to make you more aware of what is really involved in animal testing.

Few facts about animal testing

There are so many people unaware of how many products are in fact being tested on animals at this very second, or some simply choose not to care. Out of sight, out of mind as they say.

This really needs to change.

Animal testing in the cosmetics industry is still way too common. The situation in the EU regarding animal testing regulations is not that bad. For example last year in March a full ban on animal testing in cosmetics came into use. In other countries like the US things don't seem to have progressed that much. But, despite of regulations and laws, some companies still seem to find a way around them, for example by conducting animal testing outside Europe. 

When animal tests are conducted, different substances are tested on animals to find out how they react to it. They are examined, poisoned, burned and tortured and put through a lot of unnecessary pain and suffering. When the tests are over, animals are usually killed so that their organs can be further examined for any toxicity.

Animals that are mostly used in tests are rats, mice, rabbits, hamsters, monkeys, fish, sheep, frogs and even cats and dogs!

To give you an idea what actually happens behind those testing labs, here are some examples what these tests include:

• skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed on shaved skin or dripped into the eyes without any pain relief.
• widely condemned “lethal dose” tests, where animals are forced to swallow large amounts of a test chemical to determine what dose causes death.
• animals are exposed to a substance and are then bred. After the animal gives birth, they are killed so that their system can be examined. Their baby is examined for any birth defects and is also eventually killed.
  (http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-animal-testing)

These animals have no life. They are suffering and can't do anything about it. They are not running free outside like your pet or playing with their favourite toy. Instead they are being injected foreign substances into their bodies and tortured until they die.

Photo by: Colin Davis 

Animal tests cannot guarantee that the products are safe to be used on humans, because animals and humans have different anatomy and we simply function differently. Nowadays there are thankfully many other safe ways to produce products, like testing with human cells, without having animals suffering and dying just for our beauty's sake!

Choose to be cruelty-free!

In the end it is quite easy to become cruelty-free. After everything you know, if this does not make you think twice when buying make-up, I don't know what will! I hate the thought of animals suffering and it truly breaks my heart. I have been cruelty-free now for over 6 years and when you make the choice to only buy cruelty-free make-up, sure it won't be easy. You will most likely have to ditch your favourite mascara or concealer, but trust me, it is so worth it. Do it for the animals' sake. They can't defend themselves, so be the one to do it for them.

I hope this post helps you. In my next one I will write about cruelty-free brands and brands you should definitely avoid. Keep tuned for that!

xoxo,

Mia

Healthy Sexy Hair - Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner & Soy Milk Conditioner - disappointed!

If you are anything like me and try to avoid parabens at any cost, or if you are just trying to use more natural products in general, then you might want to keep reading...

In today's blog post I'm writing about two hair products from an American brand called Sexy Hair:

• Healthy Sexy Hair - Soy Tri-Wheat Leave In Conditioner, 50ml, 7,95 EUR
• Healthy Sexy Hair - Soy Milk Conditioner, 50ml, 5,95 EUR

Everyone wants to have a beautiful, healthy and shiny hair and so far I have not had much luck in finding a good detangling and nourishing product within natural cosmetics lines, or a product that is completely paraben-free. So, after hearing a Youtube beauty guru rave about these products, I decided to check out the official website of Sexy Hair and I must say I was happy to see that they are not only cruelty-free (yay!) but also all of their shampoos and conditioners within Healthy Sexy Hair and other lines are completely sulfate-free and paraben-free. Just what I need to know! 

I ordered these products on http://www.hair-express.de and wow, they deliver their products really fast! So, you can imagine how happy I was to receive them only after three days of placing my order. BUT that was of course until I saw the ingredients...

I am so disappointed to see methylparaben listed in the ingredients. Parabens are a big no-go for me because of their connection to causing cancer. I just think it's better to be safe than sorry, and I feel better when I know my products (especially my skin care products) are not full of harmful ingredients. That being said, I will definitely not be testing these products now. I might even consider writing feedback to Sexy Hair about this, as I really dislike being mislead like that by companies. 

That is all I have to say about these products. My hunt for a nice paraben-free detangler continues!

I hope you find this post useful..See you next time!

xoxo,

Mia

Welcome to my blog!

I thought I'd tell you a little bit more about me... My name is Mia and I'm a 28 year old girl living in Germany. I originally come from Finland, but I moved to Germany some years ago. 

I work as a multilingual administrative assistant in an office, and as much I love languages my true passion lies in beauty. Animals have also always been very close to my heart and I was fortunate to grow up with having dogs as pets. One night when I was living abroad in 2005, I was online browsing and found a website stating all the terrible facts about animal testing in the cosmetics industry. I was horrified and immediately started researching it and became more and more aware of it. I have been cruelty-free ever since! Unfortunately not many people are aware of how much suffering goes into producing your favourite mascara or lipstick.. and this needs to change NOW! There are many sites out there stating the facts and listing cruelty-free products for you to choose from.. you will most definitely find these things on my blog as well as it is very important to spread the word. But I will also share my opinions by writing reviews on different products that I am using, giving make up tips for you guys and sharing my favourite products with you. 

It is almost impossible to escape the beautiful nature when you're living in Finland. I have always been a nature's child and I love being outside. Two years ago I decided to give natural cosmetics a try after reading about parabens and other harmful ingredients. So for the past two years I have been buying more and more organic products; make up, skin care products and even washing-up liquid! My journey hasn't always been that easy because of having a sensitive combination skin, which drives me crazy most of the time. But, I will keep on going and will take you with me on this interesting journey!

So, please stay tuned to my blog as I share my experiences in my search for a better, healthier and cruelty-free life. 

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Mia

Ps. Please excuse any mistakes..English is not my mother tongue. :)