The All Saints Graphic Tee

Of all the beautiful, weird pieces that All Saints has to offer, I unforgivably over paid for a t-shirt. But, it has a long neck bird, an owl, and delicate sparse smatterings of iridescent sequins - irresistible to me. I do like their social responsibility, which will also hike up the price.

 
I wore this to the Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit at the De Young Museum in San Francisco. A few years back, I had cut out this beautiful photo from Vogue of Karen Elson in a white gown with an owl by Gaultier. I was so excited to get to see the gown at the exhibit.

Face of the day!

Outfit of the Day:
Top: All Saints - link here!
Bottoms - H&M
Shoes: Tory Burch
Bag: beloved medium Florentine Satchel by Dooney & Bourke
Shades: Fendi
Necklace: thrifted

Face of the Day:
Foundation: Chanel Vita Lumiere Aqua (not Cruelty Free)
Bronzer: Chanel Bronze de Soleil (not Cruelty Free)
Blush: Tarte Exposed (Cruelty Free)
Eyes: Burberry Pale Barley (Cruelty Free), Rouge Bunny Rouge Abyssinian Catbird (Cruelty Free)
Lips: Burberry Nude Cashmere (Cruelty Free)

Burberry's Pale Barley is definitely a top three favorite shadow of all time. I've used it daily for the last 2 weeks. It is worth its price tag. My only complaint is that my oily lids eat it up like crazy even with my current primer. I will certainly be investing in more of the Burberry shadows.

 I recently swapped for Burberry's Nude Cashmere. I swapped a Chanel Fauve shadow for it - I know, I know, this is sacrilege. But, I contest that Rouge Bunny Rouge's Delicate Hummingbird is a superior dupe to Fauve. I have an entire post on that, if you wish to go down the rabbit hole. Back on track though! I do like the Nude Cashmere. I really ain't a nude lips kinda gal, but this one is nice. It's brown and scary in the tube but goes on luminescent. Really nice quality that is hydrating.

In the non cosmetic world, I'm currently reading Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfullness. As an anglophile, this is a highly enjoyable comical, sardonic memoir about the author's youth entwined with her mother's upbringing as well in Africa. I find African history to be confusing (and heartbreaking), and this gives you a digestible amount of information on colonial history. I'm also enjoying this new blog I found, which is a "super serious project about dogs and physics." Enjoy!

The Zara quilted jacket!

I've been reading about Zara for awhile - HRH Collection, Buy Now Blog Later, Sincerely, Jules... And I have checked them out online. But the website just ain't gonna do it justice. I finally made it to Zara in San Francisco. I sure am glad Zara is so far away from me, because it would truly damage my financial situation.

In this photo you can see the spandex-ridging that makes the jacket really move with you. Sometimes, this kind of faux leather can be a bit stiff and limiting. Not this jacket. This method of stitching is very similar to a good pair of half chaps that have an elasticized leather calf - yes, there had to be an equine reference.

Action shot with cat!

Jacket: Zara TRF - link here
Dress: Banana Republic
Shades: Fendi
Lips: Buxom White Russian
Bag: Dooney & Bourke medium Florentine

You can get rid of your expensive shampoos!

PRODUCTS FEATURED IN THIS POST ARE CRUELTY FREE

Ok. You probably shouldn't throw them away if they are currently in your shower. But, you should totally check out the Ogranix and Yes to (insert vegetable) lines. I do shy toward the high end products. So, when I find something affordable that really sweeps me off my feet, I am just tickled.

I've picked up bottles of the Organix before in consideration of purchase, but often the scents were too strong for me. I dig Michelle1218 and she kept raving about the Organix Brazilian Keratin Therapy shampoo. Now this scent is much more pleasant to me than the artificial, fruity scents of the other Organix shampoos. It's lighter, coconut like, and not too chemie smelling. It's smells like Hawaiin Tropic Tanning Oil (which I unfortunately used to slather on in my unintelligent youth). The Organix shampoos are like $8 or something and there are always deals on them at the drug store. The Vanilla Silk as well is a light, more natural scent. I like these shampoos because they do contain some natural ingredients, they contain some organic ingredients, they're cheap as hell, and the quality is totally fine. I have a lot of hair and thus I require quite a bit of shampoo to cover it all. I can use these to my hearts content without feeling guilty about how much expensive product I require to cover my head.

The Yes to Carrots is just wonderful smelling to me. I would describe their ingredients list as "more natural" than the Organix list. The first time I smelled this in Target I was in. And it is accepted and used by the husband too!  Bonus. Yes to Cucumber is kind of ehh-ish (aka so-so), but again it's fine enough and it worked well when I was color treating my hair.

Will I still splurge every now and then on Phillip B? Frack yeah! Am I'm still completely loyal to Lush's Big Shampoo for the ultimate deep cleanse (like the kind you need after you've teased your hair into a beehive, shellaqued it with a gallon of industrial hairspray and then glitter bombed for your burlesque performance...you know what I'm talking about!)? You can bet your Hermes Amber Narguile perfume on it. But, for your every other day wash, Organix and Yes to (insert vegetable here) totally rock for a very reasonable price.

Luke

My horse Luke (aka Skywalker) insisted that I let you know of his current hair products of choice. Ironically (he is a hunter/jumper and prefers an English saddle for this), he is enjoying Cowboy Magic Rosewater Shampoo and Conditioner. Luke loves the light, rosey scent these hair products provide. In his tail, Luke is rocking Cowboy Magic Detangler and Shine. He says that it helps sticks and hay to fall out of his tail easier and gives his beautiful golden tail a real nice sheen. Luke guesses that these products are in fact tested on other horses and is confused whether that makes it cruelty free or not :) Oh, Luke! Such a jokester and riddler with good product taste!

REN: Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask vs. F10 Smooth and Renew Mask

ALL PRODUCTS REVIEWED HERE ARE CRUELTY FREE

 

 I've been in a bit of a face mask accrual phase. A few months ago, I tried out Natura Bisse Glyco Peeling Exfoliant treatment and just loved it. However, it costs $140 and I'm getting tired of contacting all these companies with my long list of questions regarding their cruelty free status. So, I went with something cheaper and that required no research but produced a similar effect as the above mentioned mask. I ended up with these two face masks. I promise, you do not need them both!

Both the Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask and the F10 Smooth and Renew Mask are intended to be exfoliant masks. The difference is that the F10 is designed for sensitive skin. This is the key feature between the two! They both exfoliate, but the F10 is more gentle and has less result than the Glycol Lactic.

On the right side of the photo, we have the thick, amber colored Glycol Lactic mask. On the left side of the photo, we have the very...might I say similar....thick, amber colored F10.  I would describe the consistency of the two as akin to a thick gel mixed with peanut butter. If you look closely, you can see that the F10 has small flecks in it. My guess was that these specks were like a nut shell for the purpose of mechanical exfoliation when removing the mask, but there is no such ingredient in the product. For the life of me I can't figure out what it is in the ingredient list!

Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask

F10 Smooth and Renew Mask

Nose ring side of face (right) is the F10 Mask. Left side of face is the Glycol Lactic.

Nose ring side is F10. Left side is the Glycol Lactic.

My husband offered to guess which side of my post-treatment face was which mask. Interestingly, he guessed correctly and explained the left side of the face appeared more radiant. I do feel that the Glycol Lactic provides a deeper exfoliation more akin to the above mentioned $140 glycol lactic acid mask. The tactile feel of my skin after using the masks on each half of the faced revealed a much smoother texture on the left (non nose ring side). The Glycol Lactic may be used once weekly. If you can handle heavy exfoliation, this is the mask you want. The F10, however, is gentle enough to use more than one day in a row multiple times a week. My skin just almost borders on sensitive, and I feel that the F10 really would be just fine for those with sensitive skin.

The winner: Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask

Vanity Fair

I moved to a new house about a month ago. It's a temporary house we won't be in for too long. One of the best parts is that I got a dressing table! I've never had one before. Here it is!

The dressing table is an ikea hack. Lights and mirror are ikea too. The chair is from a vintage dining set that I refinished and reupholstered.  Vintage peacock rug is a family heirloom.

The bubble lamps are also, surprise!, ikea. Check out my new riding socks! RAD.

Here, my brushes are in a beautiful tarantula ceramic. And yes, that is a Hello Kitty hand mirror!

Lastly, I'm super excited that my 3 month hiatus of cosmetic purchasing is over. I really was focusing on not buying makeup and so I did acquire some skin care product during the time. Regardless, the first makeup purchase was.........drum roll..................Buxom Big & Health Lip Cream in "White Russian." Yes, I am quite smitten on the spring trend of baby pink lips. Don't think it works with my coloring, but that likely won't stop me. So far I'm thinking this one may need the help of a pink lip liner like Nyx's Nude Pink. Here is my Sephora VIB haul:

Ren: Ultra Moisture Cleansing Milk - This is a repurchase, I love it that much.
Ren: F10 Smooth and Renew Mask
Buxom: Big & Healthy Lip Cream in White Russian
Kat Von D: Rehab Priming Elixir - I just couldn't get my head around spending $78 on either of Rouge Bunny Rouge's primers or Sue Devitt's primer. Plus, this one says "rose elixir" (making it irresistible to me) and has a lovely glass black bottle that will display well on the above photographed dressing table.

Thoughts on a Cruelty Free Cosmetic World - Part 2

I would like to explain my logic, rationale, and process for going about figuring out the cosmetic and skincare companies from which I buy product. I try not to categorize these products as "cruelty free" and "not cruelty free" because I do not think you can really, honestly know if a company is cruelty free. I mean, how many layers of ingredients and suppliers of ingredient does a company go through to create a product? Probably a lot. I prefer to label these companies as "I buy it" and "I don't buy it" to try and create a more positive view on the situation. 

Definition
It's so hard for me to imagine that cosmetic products are tested on animals. However, they apparently are, or there wouldn't be so much hubbub around all of this. Does L'Oreal smear makeup all over innocent bunnies to figure out how it affects their skin and chemistry? I have no idea. Are chemicals injected into animals in order to figure out toxic levels? Probably more likely than example #1. It's somewhat comical to think about though bunnies, dressed up in makeup. It's not so funny to think about ingredients being administered to animals to figure out toxic levels. I'm giving animals the benefit of the doubt here though, and still trying to figure all this nonsense out.

So, for me personally, in order for a company to be on my "I buy it" list, they have to adhere to the following rules:
1) No testing of finished products on animals.
2) No utilization of 3rd party agencies to test their products on animals.
3) No purchasing from suppliers who test on animals.
4) You can't sell your products in China. Apparently, if you believe what the makeup blog-o-sphere writes, Chinese law requires that all products sold in their country be tested on animals.

Information Acquisition
There are multiple ways to go about finding out if a company is cruelty free. Many products and companies will tell you they are cruelty free on their website or on their product. But, you don't really know what that actually means. A lot of it means "We personally do not test the finished product we are going to sell to you on animals."

I have found that the best way to really figure out the information that you want is to call the company. If you email them, they probably have some auto-phrase that they use which won't really address your question. Some people do have excellent email customer service, for example Sarah Chapman/Skinesis and By Terry.  Both companies had intelligent individuals who could read, write and appropriately respond to a multi-part question. Most companies don't do this though.

It does take time to call companies and ask them all of this information, which is why I wanted to share the research that I had done on "My Personal Cruelty Free List."

If a company is included on my "I buy it" list, it lists the criteria for my definition of cruelty free and the way in which I found out this information. Besides email and phoning, here are the other sources I consider legit:
1) If it is on the PETA list or has a Leaping Bunny, I stop all research and consider the company safe to buy from.
2) If it is listed on certain cruelty-free blogs, I also consider it legit. These are the blogs I consider respectable and fully knowledgeable:
 My Beauty Bunny
Vegan Beauty Review
Logical Harmony

The bottom line is that this list is really a "to the best of my knowledge" list. I found that small, American, European and Australian companies are likely to be cruelty free but not advertising as such. Examples include Becca and Rouge Bunny Rouge. Additionally, there are very large and mainstream companies that also fit the bill. For example, Burberry. Twice I called them to really confirm their status. Chanel was actually very surprised about the information regarding Chinese law. That question had to "go up the chain" and I still haven't received a response. The two people I talked to there absolutely believed Chanel to be cruelty free but also knew that Chanel sells in China. So, I hope my research is useful to a few of you out there. Like many of you, I'm just trying to do the best I can. There very certainly could be errors on my list, but I assure you I have tried my hardest to provide a solid list of products suitable to those of us who disagree with animal testing for beauty products.

OOTD: Dressing Down the Lace

A few months ago, Sincerely, Jules did an outfit in which she dressed down a fancy number. I have this lovely lace ASOS dress that has been hanging around in my closet since just after Kate Middleton wore her fantastic Alexander McQueen wedding dress. It's quite fancy, my dress. Between the hospital and the barn, I don't often have the need for a black lace mini dress. In retrospect, wish I had gone for my biker booties as shoes. But, hey, it's spring!

 

Dress: ASOS link here

Top: T by Alexander Wangsimilar here

Belt: Joe's Jeans

Bag: Dooney & Bourke Florentine Satchel

Sandals: They are white and undistinguishable from my legs!

Please note my beloved goat skull bracelet on the left. It's upcycled gold and is by alkemie.

I've been trying out the Hourglass Illusion Tinted Moisturizer. This is an interesting tinted moisturizer because it is very thick and acts more like a light foundation. I think it's phenomenal for a tinted moisturizer: it has coverage, it has SPF, and it photographs well. It's so thick, I can apply it with my beauty blender sponge. I'm including an excess of three photos to exemplify its photographic qualities.

This is in the shade Ivory. I'm going to step up a shade and see how that goes for me. My only complaint is that it sort of catches in my "eye creases" (cough...wrinkles).