YES!!! Yes yes yes YES!!!

Honey bunnies!

Happy 2010, you beauties! How was your holiday? Did Santa bring you lots of CF goodies?

I have the most fantabulous news! News that I, frankly, have been waiting years to hear!

So, you know that one of my arch-enemies, cosmetic brand-wise, was NARS. For years, I'd heard that they tested on animals, they weren't on PETA's "Does Not Test" list, and there was zilch on their website. And yet, secretly... I loved them, but I couldn't use them. It was the love that dare not speak its name, my dirty little secret, and "Dolce Vita" lipgloss was my forbidden love. I could look, but I couldn't touch.

Well, I don't know at what point they got their act together and decided to finally let the public know about their animal testing policy, but I just did another re-check on their website, and found THIS:

"NARS and Animal Testing: NARS Cosmetics does not and never has conducted any animal testing of any kind. Thank you."

Not to be outdone, Edison says:

"Pffft, please. Like she even found this information herself. I'm the one that found it on the internet, not her!"

So that's the awesome scoop for the day! They either were unfairly branded - I forget by who - as animal testers, or something. I mean, it was all over Makeup Alley that they tested, so I dunno what to think, but there's the good news, right from their very own site! WHOOT!

Have a great time dancing through the aisles of Sephora, babies!

Love,

Lisa and Edison

XO

Product Spotlight - Aromaleigh Mineral Makeup

Happy Friday!

If you've jumped onto the mineral makeup bandwagon with the enthusiasm that I have, you're going to really love today's spotlight product.

There's a little company out of South Carolina called Aromaleigh Cosmetics and Aromatics (http://www.aromaleigh.com/), and they make what is, for my money, the best mineral cosmetics and makeup around.

Now, I'm not going to slag on the biggies like Bare Escentuals. I like BE very much, they're pretty much the mack-daddy of mineral makeup, and far be it for me to bust on any CF product that's good for your skin. I wore BE for five years, but Aromaleigh gives them some serious competition.

I'll start by saying that its only drawback is that you can only order it online. So how do you go about testing it out? Simple - on their website, Aromaleigh gives you options for ordering samples of their foundations, concealers, finishing powders, color-correcting powders, primers, eyecolors, lipcolors, and blushers for a very small price, anywhere from 80 cents to a couple of bucks (give or take, depending on what you want to try) per sample. If that sounds like a lot, keep in mind how much you get in each little sample pack - they'll last you a good long time while you try them out. I'm currently still using a blend of two sample packs of foundation that I ordered a month ago, and I'm not nearly finished with them yet.

And you'll be grateful for those samples, because the selection of shades that Aromaleigh offers will simply boggle your mind! Whatever your skin shade or tone, they have a foundation and a concealer for you. Their eyeshadow colors? You'll go old and gray before you have a chance to try them all. Honestly, I haven't seen huge cosmetic companies in the department stores that have the selection that this little indy brand has.

Their shipping is second to none - it's a one to two day turnaround at most. And how else do they hook you once you receive said package? Simple - they always include three samples in with your order. They pick the colors, usually two eyeshadows and a lipcolor. And will you get hooked on those? I predict you totally will! Their colors are some of the most rich and saturated of any brand I've ever seen. Biggies like MAC and Estee Lauder have got nothing as far as color and depth like Aromaleigh does.

The foundations and concealers are incredibly wearable and natural looking. I don't know how they do it, but their foundations are sheer, but still give you great coverage. Plus, they have two formulas - their Voile foundation for oilier skin, and their Glissade for more sensitive skin types.

Their prices are incredibly reasonable - they're cheaper by a good $10 on foundation than Bare Escentuals, if that gives you any idea, and the prices of many of their products run as low as the drugstore brands do. Plus, with first time buyer coupon codes, the birthday club, and sales on selected products, you can get a lot for very little cash.

In addition to being CF and great for your skin, they also donate a portion of their profits every month to Heifer International (http://www.heifer.org/), a non-profit organization whose goal is ending world hunger and poverty through self-reliance. Quite simply, there's nothing to not love about this company.

So if you're looking for a more wallet-friendly CF brand that gives you zillions of options, plus has a humanitarian side to it as well, I can't recommend Aromaleigh enough!

Have a great and safe holiday weekend!

Lisa

I swear, I haven't disappeared from the face of the earth!

Hi there, long time no see!

Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but this month has been insane at my actual job-job. I promise to be more around more, to be more visible, and to dig for more info. In short, to be a better "blog-friend" (Internet readers - will you accept this rose?). Hey, you know how it goes - start a new blog, put up your first six or so posts like a house on fire, and then have work take over all your blogging time!

One of my plans, now that I've gotten most of my basic info out there to you, is to "spotlight" a lot of the great CF brands I've been indulging in, because there are plenty of them!

For example, I'm currently obsessed, obsessed I tell you, with this awesome online brand of mineral makeup called Aromaleigh, and the more info I can get out there about it, the better. Also Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab for the most incredible perfume oils you'll find. Deva products for hair care, Lush for face care, Desert Essence and Jason Naturals for body care - those are just a few teasers to throw out there to you, and I'll get into detail with those, one yummy brand at a time.

So till tomorrow when I start our first brand spotlight in earnest, stay safe, be good, brush your teeth, and if you were one of the ones who didn't vote for Adam Lambert on Tuesday night during the "American Idol" finale, for shame on you! (Kidding! But I am bummed that the poor guyliner guy didn't win.)

Arrivederci, Roma!

Lisa

Online bargains!

Hey there!

So I guess I don't need to tell you about shopping online, hmm? Nope, probably not. You all look like a fairly sharp bunch.

However, shopping online for CF products, even with shipping involved, can be so much cheaper than the convenience of walking into a store and buying something off the shelves. If you can do without that instant gratification of taking something home with you that day, you can save a lot of money.

Let's take one of my favorite CF products in the world as an example - Jason Naturals Ester-C Hyper C Serum:

This stuff rocks. In the way of CF products, it's probably one of the ones I can't do without. I've used other Vitamin C serums, and they just don't compare. However, the issue is the price.

Some Vitamin C serums from department store brands can run into $100 or more. So while this bottle of Jason Naturals may seem a bargain for $35 at your local Whole Foods or healthfood store, you can still get it for way less online. I found this little beauty for $21 at Vitacost.com - it's an online drugstore, and you can find a ton of CF brands over there for much much less than you'd get it wherever you are. Unless you stole it - which then you have to figure in bail money for shoplifting charges, which is even more than the original $35 price tag, so you'd still pay more! (I never said I wasn't going to be a little silly from time to time in these blogs, did I? Nope, I made no such guarantee.) So in order to avoid jail time, head over to http://www.vitacost.com/, and see what they have. I got the Jason's Vitamin C serum for $21, and then tossed in some Tom's of Maine (http://www.tomsofmaine.com/) toothpaste and some Desert Essence (http://www.desertessence.com/) deodorant to eat up the shipping cost. Vitacost's shipping is pretty inexpensive anyway (and very fast), but on top of that, the toothpaste and deodorant were each about $1 or so cheaper than you'd find them in the stores, so it's like the shipping was free anyway with everything I saved.

Another brand I love, since I have very curly hair, is a fantastic brand of CF curly hair products called Deva:

They have several lines for various kinds of curls (less curly, more curly, color treated, etc.), but they're not cheap. Or are they? They are if you order them from Cosmetic Magic.com, (http://www.cosmeticmagic.com/)- a fantastic little outfit based in Fort Lee, N.J. Are you ready for how much you can save? I saved $5 per bottle on my order of their DevaCurl products! And not just Deva - they carry plenty of CF hair care brands over there, so I can't sing their praises enough. Plus, if you order over $40, you get free shipping. They also didn't charge tax on my order - I don't know if that was just because they're based out of NJ, or if it's a NJ to NY thing or what, but their prices are so low, it's worth it. How fast do they ship? So incredibly fast, I had barely hit "Send" before my order arrived. I'm surprised "Warp Speed" wasn't one of the shipping choices.

Other great finds can be had at Drugstore.com (http://drugstore.com), but as far as the real bargains go on some great CF brands, Cosmetic Magic and Vitacost are hard to beat.

Have a great day!

Lisa

An interesting rule of thumb I've stumbled across....

Good morning!

Something I forgot to address yesterday, which I think is pretty important (hence the bolding): this blog is for the purposes of cosmetics, beauty, pet care, and household care only. I won't get into a discussion about animal testing within the medical industry.

It's a very slippery slope. As much as I wish there were more humane alternatives, I do understand why it's still done in some circles. There's no excuse for animal testing in the cosmetics industry anymore - many existing companies have made that clear. But the medical world is a whole different can of worms - one that I have no wish to open, one that I have no expertise in, so I won't pretend that I do. I lost a family member who I love very much to a terrible disease, so yeah, I get it, believe me. Anyway, 'nuff said about that.

I'm new to blogging, so right now I'm obsessed that I can't get the picture at the top of the page centered (that's my mission tonight after I get home from dinner). Once that's straightened out, it'll stop occupying my mind so I can actually get some information out to you. Otherwise, this blog's going to consist of stupid statements like, "A very good brand to try is - does that look straight to you?" "Let's discuss parent companies and the brands they... the font's not bright enough, is it?"

Back on track - I have no real expertise in all of this. As I stated in my greeting yesterday, going cruelty free is simply a passion and a bit of a hobby of mine. So today's blog will consist of a quick and interesting little rule of thumb I've discovered over the years, which is - if you're looking for non-animal tested brands of cosmetics, head to the department stores. What I've discovered is that most department store brands don't animal test, while most drugstore brands do animal test. Now, that's not a hard and fast rule - there are some non-animal tested drugstore brands, for example, Almay, Revlon, Queen Helene, Jane, and Physician's Formula. And there are some department store brands that unfortunately do still test, such as Elizabeth Arden and Lancome. But your odds lean heavily in the direction of this unwritten rule. I'm not sure why - it could have to do with the cost involved, although many of those drugstore brands rake in billions. They can't be that hard up to change their testing methods (*cough cough Procter & Gamble cough cough!*).

The good news is that as people become more educated on this horrible and inhumane practice, more and more companies are changing their testing methods to ones which are more humane.

At some point very soon, I'll type up a list of companies that do and don't test, and of course at any time, you can contact me to ask if there's a company you aren't sure about. I promise to do my very best to find out for you. Also, a friend suggested to me that I should feature a blog on which non-animal tested brands are a little more wallet-friendly. It's great to be humane, but you don't have to go broke to do it. That blog will go up in a couple of days, but in the meantime, the few drugstore brands I mentioned above are great ones to start with.

Have an excellent day!

Lisa

A "Hello!" to start us off!

Hi there, everyone!

My name is Lisa, and my purpose of this blog is to provide some easy guidance about cruelty-free (and also organic/all natural) products, encompassing beauty, skin & body care, hair care, pet care and household upkeep. This has been both a passion and a sort of hobby of mine since about 1995, and I absolutely love sharing what I know and what I've discovered along the way with as many folks as I can.

It's a big, wide world out there - with a few changes, we can make it kinder and greener!

Smooches, pooches -

Lisa