Project Cruelty Free

I've decided to start a project to help me get through my non-cruelty free products. I also think it will help me downsize my makeup collection as well. I've sifted through my collection and done some research on the brands I do own. I've pulled out enough makeup for a full face of makeup from the brands I own that are not cruelty free. They will go into what I deemed "the bad children basket" (lol!) and I will use those and only those products until they are gone. When they are gone I will continue to replace with more non-cruelty free brands in my collection until I am left with only cruelty free. I am not allowed to purchase any more cosmetics until I have used up that specific item. What I mean by that is, if I'm out of eyeshadow primer I can purchase eyeshadow primer, even if my project is not completely fulfilled. Also, not included in the 'no purchasing rule' is my subscription box. I do subscribe to Petit Vour, which is a cruelty free monthly subscription box. The subscription is my way of being introduced to cruelty free brands so when I can purchase new items, I'll know what to get!

Now that the boring part is out of the way, I can show you my first basket! 

I kinda went with a common theme here, I don't know if you can tell. I wanted to go through my collection brand by brand. As you can see here, most of this is MAC. However, keeping with the full face of makeup, I had to add in other brands because I only own eyeshadows, blushes, and lip products by MAC. I'll list everything in the basket by brand. 

MAC - 13 eyeshadows, 2 lipsticks, 4 lipglosses, 1 paintpot, 3 blushes, 1 setting powder

Urban Decay - Setting Spray and 2 dual-sided eyeliners

Benefit - Face primer, cheek highlighter, and Lip stain

Lorac - Eyeshadow primer

Smashbox - Concealer

Ulta - Foundation

Sephora - Bronzer

I tried not to go too overboard with the amount of products because I didn't want to feel like I might never get through the products, but I did want to allow myself a variety. I still wanted to make myself look nice without being mismatched because I was trying to get through ONE lipstick and ONE blush that didn't match my eyeshadow. I think this first basket is very doable. I plan on doing an updated basket once a month, showing what I've gone through and what I've added! What do you think of this project? Are you trying to get through any products? 

Method Cleaning Products

The other day I used up my last toilet bowl cleaner. My favorite clorox wand cleaner that made cleaning the toilet easy as pie. Unfortunately, they are not cruelty free. Can you imagine?! Clorox, known mostly as a company that makes bleach and bleach based cleaning products, tests on animals! How sad is that? :-( 

Obviously I couldn't use my loved toilet wand anymore. So, I went on the hunt for a cruelty free cleaning product. I spent some time in the "cleaning" aisle at Walgreens, googling every product name that was unfamiliar to me. Fortunately, I stumbled upon a brand called Method. Much to my satisfaction they were completely cruelty free! They don't have a parent company that tests on animals. They also require that any company that they may purchase ingredients from, also promises to be cruelty free. Not only that, they were very reasonably priced. I was so happy that I wasn't going to have to make any homemade cleaners! (Not that it's a bad thing, I'm just the laziest person ever!) They have everything from laundry soap to hand soap. I ended up purchasing the all-purpose cleaner, the toilet bowl cleaner (obviously), and the dish soap. My Walgreens didn't give me all of the different scents to choose from, but I did discover that my local Target carries this brand and has a much wider range of choices. You can bet I'll be buying it from there from now on!

The All-Purpose Cleaner

 

My Walgreens didn't have all of the choices in the picture above. They only had the purple one, which I purchased. It claims to "Cut grease and Grime" which I'm all about! I mostly bought it because I like using grease fighters to clean the oil off of my bowling ball. I've used it so far on my counters and it works just like any other cleaner! It even left them nice and shiny! It doesn't leave an awful chemical smell, in fact, it smells like French Lavender (which is what the purple one is scented as). That is what is also amazing about this brand, all of their products are scented. I highly recommend the all-purpose cleaner even if you aren't cruelty free. This product contains 28 fl. oz. and retails for $3.99.

The Toilet Bowl Cleaner

Unfortunately, the toilet bowl cleaner doesn't come in multiple scents. But it does com in a wonderful minty smell!! I applies like many other toilet bowl cleaners. It has a top that you move around the edge of the bowl as you squeeze dispensing the product. You then let it sit for 5-10 minutes, depending on how dirty your toilet is, and then scrub with a regular toilet brush and flush! I love the minty smell and it leaves my toilet nice and shiny! This product contains 24 fl. oz. and retails for $3.99 also.

The Dish Soap

The dish soap also comes in multiple scents. I didn't have all of these to choose from either, but I did get the yellow one which is lemon mint scented. This soap is hands down better than Dawn in my opinion. It suds really well and a little bit goes a long way. It doesn't hurt that the smell is amazing either! I like that the top is a pump. It makes it much easier to re-apply to your sponge than having to turn upside and squeeze like many dish soap containers. This product contains 18 fl. oz. and retails for, again, $3.99.

Like I said, this brand is very affordable and really great quality. You also get quite a large amount of product for the price. Many natural and cruelty free products I've noticed cost a large amount for such a small container. I'm looking forward to trying out the laundry soap and the bathtub cleaner! Have you tried any of these products? If so, which is your favorite?

What is and What isn't?

I've been doing some research today (in between plays during the GB game. GO PACK!) on what brands are and are not cruelty free, and I'm really trying not to let myself get discouraged. I initially started my research based on products I owned in my own repertoire. Before trying to figure out what wasn't cruelty free, I looked for what was. And surprisingly I found I do already own quite a bit of things by companies that do not test on animals. Hooray!!

However, here's the kicker. I'm discovering that I really have to dig for the correct answer. Some companies claim they are cruelty free, but are owned by a company that tests on animals. For instance, Urban Decay, a higher end makeup company, does not test their products on animals and some of their products are even Vegan! I got really excited because I love their line. But, after doing more digging, I came to learn that UD is owned by L'Oreal which does test on animals. :-( So ultimately you're giving your money to a company that is not cruelty free to buy a "cruelty free" product. On the flip side, a company can claim to be cruelty free, but when questioned about their status with selling products in China, they do. Why is selling to China an issue you might ask? Well, unlike the United States, China does actually have laws requiring their products to be tested on animals. So, the same goes, you're contributing to a company that does, at the end of the day, test on animals. It's really a shame.

I'm discovering helpful websites that help bridge the gap between truly cruelty free and not. For instance, PETA's website will even list which companies have parents companies that test on animals. (Like my Urban Decay and L'Oreal story.) Like I said, I'm trying to focus on what IS rather than what ISN'T so I don't lose sight of mind and get discouraged.

Why Cruelty Free?

Let's start with a little bit about myself and why I chose to make the switch. I am 23 years old and newly vegetarian. I tried to be fully Vegan but I had a hard time with it. My husband however, is fully vegan. We made the switch about a month ago after watching a documentary on Netflix. We already slightly knew about what went on at the slaughterhouses but not like we did after we watched that documentary. I will never be able to erase those images from my memory. It doesn't hurt that it's much healthier for us anyway! 

Now for the cruelty free part. Why? For the same reason I stopped eating meat. I had heard things here and there about animal testing but I never knew the horrors until I did my own research. I don't feel the need to personally contribute to such horrific acts. I can find perfectly good products on the market that don't harm animals in the process. I also slightly felt like a hypocrite refusing to eat meat yet purchasing animal tested products. 

I wanted to start this blog to record my process of transitioning. I don't expect it to happen overnight because I am still learning the ropes. I will probably still use the products I do own that have been animal tested solely because I don't believe in wasting. However, I will do my best to research and purchase cruelty free products from now on! I'll share products I've tried, whether I liked them or not, and add any new information I learn as I go! Let the journey begin! 

If you're curious about what cruelty free is or want to know a little more about animal testing here's a good >website< I found. Don't worry, there's nothing disturbing nor is there any pictures. Just FAQs and information! :-)