Lily Cole Cruelty Free Collection for The Body Shop

The Body Shop's latest collaboration with Lily Cole has evolved into a limited edition cruelty free make up range celebrating their against animal testing ethos. The range is full of bright, springtime colours that make a statement, while being vegetarian and 100% cruelty free!

The collection includes a fantastic mix of face and skin products, as well as a mini brush set for cheeks, eyes and lips in a mirrored wallet.

Lily's favourite products are also my top pick from this collection. These cute little domes can be applied directly onto the skin to give an effortless subtle tint or flush to lips and cheeks.

Crazy for Coral is perfect to use on tanned skin, while Pinch Me Pink is flattering on any complexion. The colour is very subtle and easily blendable, perfect for on the go application over/ under makeup or on its own.

These Mini Hi-shine glosses are super sparkly and easy to throw in a bag. The colours are fairly sheer, so they can easily be used on their own or add a wet look to any bright lipstick.

The liquid liner in this collection is a rich violet with a hint of gold shimmer. As far as liquids go  this one is pretty simple to use as its felt tip applicator makes it easy to create a solid line. The purple is not as deep as others I have tried, but it's definitely a fun alternative to black, which is flattering on any eye colour.

I have always loved TBS's shimmer cubes and this combination of colours is absolutely gorgeous. 

I especially love pairing the deep, warm purple with the shimmery copper for an intense, yet radiant eye look.

The Pearl Radiance Primer in this collection is a great base to create a glowing complexion. Since this product has quite a bit of shimmer it does need to be used sparingly, especially on oily skin. Just one pump distributes the perfect amount of light-diffusing pearls!

Have you tried The Body Shop's strictly limited edition cruelty free makeup collection? What are your favourite products from the range? xxx

Go Cruelty Free with The Body Shop

Today a global pledge to ban animal testing for cosmetics will be launched at over 300 The Body Shop stores in the UK, and will roll out over the coming weeks at The Body Shop stores in 65 countries across the world! It is the largest and most ambitious campaign ever to seek a global ban on the use of animals to test cosmetics. The Body Shop customers in countries including the USA, Australia, South Africa, Hong Kong, India, Thailand, Mexico and Saudi Arabia will have the opportunity to sign a pledge in-store. 

Paul McGreevy, International Values and R&D Director of The Body Shop, said “The Body Shop believes passionately that no animal should be harmed due to the demands of governments and regulators around the world. We have a long commitment to this cause, and unfortunately many people believe this issue is resolved and it is not. We are very proud to support Cruelty Free International’s campaign to achieve a worldwide ban on animal testing and encourage everyone to sign their pledge in our stores!”

The Cruelty Free International pledge is currently available in all The Body Shop stores in the UK, and online at www.CrueltyFreeInternational.org

Twitter: www.twitter.com/CrueltyFreeIntl

Facebook: www.facebook.com/CrueltyFreeInternational
For a full list of cruelty-free cosmetics please visit: http://www.gocrueltyfree.org/

Look Out for Bunnies this Easter!

Happy Easter my lovelies! I hope you are all enjoying your yummy chocolate eggs and spending time with your loved ones. 

Today I wanted to take the opportunity to ensure that all the little Easter bunnies are being looked after by raising awareness of the plight of animals who still suffer in laboratories for beauty products. I am no vigilante, but I do try to be conscious of the products I purchase.

1. Look for the Leaping Bunny logo before you buy any beauty products this Easter to ensure no bunny has suffered in animal tests!
2. Over the Easter weekend, BUAV certified company Melvita has a special offer for BUAV supporters – use the promo code ‘MELBUAV12’ to get 15% off purchases, both in-store and online.
   
    
3. BUAV certified company Neal’s Yard Remedies will be running a competition to win an Easter hamper brimming with Neal’s Yard Remedies goodies. Follow Neal’s Yard Remedies on Facebook to be in with a chance of winning. Neal’s Yard Remedies also has a special offer for BUAV supporters over the Easter weekend – use the promo code ‘BUAV’ to get 20% off online purchases.  
4. If you haven’t already, please sign the No Cruel Cosmetics petition to prevent a delay to a sales ban on animal tested cosmetics sold in Europe: www.NoCruelCosmetics.org. 
5. Last month a new ground-breaking organisation was launched with a mission to end cosmetics testing on animals throughout the world. Ricky Gervais and Lottie the rabbit co-star in the Cruelty Free International launch video at www.CrueltyFreeInternational.org 

Haircare Ingredients- is 'natural' always better?

There has been a lot of interest recently in potentially harmful ingredients in haircare so I decided to do some research online and of course test out a new product on my hair.

What I really wanted to know was if these 'bad' ingredients are really harmful, or if the hype was just another way of making us buy new products by scaring us into believing that 'natural' is better. Though come to think of it, everything is natural as it comes from nature. It wasn't just created by alchemy (as Wayne- gossmakeupartist always reminds us)!

First of all I am going to quickly go through some of the ingredients that have been the cause of much heated discussion.

Parabens- These are used as preservatives that attack any bacteria that may form in toiletries. Although they are made synthetically for use in commercial products they occur naturally in blueberries, prunes and cinnamon. The main issue with these is that they can imitate the effects of oestrogen on a very weak basis (breast cancer risk), though studies have been inconclusive.

Petrochemicals- eg. mineral oil and silicone. These act as smoothing agents, but repeated use can lead to build up causing blocked pores and lank hair. More importantly petrochemicals can be absorbed through the skin and scalp, and then human organs and tissues. In high quantities over time these chemical agents can lead to nerve, liver and brain damage, birth defects, acute asthma, and even cancer.
SLS- eg. sodium lauryl/ laureth sulphate. This is used to make toiletries foam and create a 'nice lather'. However, as it is a harsh detergent for some it may be an irritant and aggravate conditions such as eczema.

Some frightening stuff, though we have to be careful to keep our fears in proportion. These ingredients are all FDA approved and so far no serious harm has been found to be caused by the small amounts added to our toiletries. Most results have been inconclusive, but it is always sensible to be aware of potential dangers.

So with this in mind a few weeks ago I switched to the 97% natural (really don't like that term) NAKED haircare brand sold in Boots. At £3.91 each for shampoo and conditioner I wanted to see how an affordable 'harmful ingredient free' range would compare to haircare I had previously used such as Pantene, John Frieda, Head and Shoulders etc.

I used the Naked Rescue shampoo and conditioner for two weeks (which may already tell you something). Originally I had very high hopes for this line. The smell of the products was lovely and the blurb on the back really did make me feel as if I was treating my hair to something special. I was also happy that they did not test their products 'on Lassy, Skippy or Bambi' :).

The shampoo did not lather well, as was expected, but I did not find it a problem. However, after rinsing it out I felt that my hair was literally squeaky clean. I am not even joking, it squeaked! The conditioner was too thin and I did not feel that my hair was at all nourished. Since my hair is long and wavy it is a nightmare to detangle and these products made it so much worse. It was a big, knotted, dry mess and I had to rip the brush through or else put in lots of leave-in conditioner (which sort of defeats the point as the line is meant to be gentle on hair!). After two weeks of dandruff, frizz, breakage, split ends and painful brushing I gave up.

Sorry NAKED I really wanted to love you but it just did not work for me :(. However, I think that someone with greasy hair may like this product.
At the moment I have started to repair the damage with Body Shop's olive shampoo for normal/ dry hair which does contain sodium laureth sulphate (more gentle than lauryl), but is making my hair look shiny and healthy again!

If you have found any paraben etc. free haircare lines that have worked wonders do let me know lovelies!