BellaSugar

How Much Does Animal Testing Matter to You?

BellaSugar — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 06:00:33 -0700

I love animals and have been a vegetarian for 12 years, but I admit that my medicine cabinet probably has some products that have been tested on bunnies, rats, dogs and guinea pigs. This has inspired me to do a little more research, which I'll share with you soon. For now, though, I want to know where you stand on the issue.

Source

Would You Wear Perfume With Real Musk or Civet in It?

BellaSugar — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:00:20 -0700

I know that most of you aren't fans of animal testing, but what about animal ingredients? Traditional fragrance ingredients like musk and civet are taken from musk deer and cats, respectively, and entail killing the animal. Aside from the ethics involved in killing animals like these in the first place, there's also the fact that there are lab-synthesized versions of these substances available. And yet some of the most expensive perfumes still use the real things because they're of a higher "quality." What do you think? If you were presented with a pricey fragrance you knew had one of these ingredients, would you keep it, or send it right back where it came from? And do you look for animal ingredients when you're shopping for a scent?
Source: Flickr User meatbell

Sabon Goes Organic

BellaSugar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 10:00:37 -0700

Sabon started out in 1974 with one natural soap handcrafted in a backyard in Israel, and the brand now has shops around the world. Today, it expands into the organic market with its Sabon Organic line.

Even though the "organic" labeling of beauty products (vs. food) often comes under fire for lack of consistency and regulation, this line comes ECOCERT-approved from an international organization that examines organic cosmetics. To be certified, the products must have 10 percent minimum approved organic ingredients, and at least 95 percent of ingredients must be from natural plant sources. In addition, certification requires the absence of synthetic fragrances and dyes, silicones and glycol, petro-chemical and mineral oils, and parabens, and no animal ingredients/testing.

I got a sneak peek and sniff of one of the products from this line. Read my thoughts on the item I tested when you read more.

The Organic Butter Cream, $39 (bottom right), is a rich emollient moisturizer. I can hold the open jar upside and shake it, but the cream stays in! It feels just as thick going onto the skin, but not sticky or greasy. Along with the familiar shea butter, jojoba oil, and aloe leaf juice were other plant extracts like maris sal (dead sea salt), dill extract, and macadamia seed oil. Plus each label lists exactly how much is natural - this item has 98.86 percent total ingredients of natural origin and 82.41 percent from organic farming - and comes in recycled packaging. I'm popping this in my fridge as soon as I get home for a cool Summer treat.

Your Guide to Deciphering Cruelty-Free Beauty

BellaSugar — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 09:00:19 -0700

When it comes to animal testing, there's really no reason to do it with cosmetics. And it's not just me and PETA who think this way; the European Union has banned all cosmetics-related animal testing, effective next year. It's not only about saving bunnies from having shampoo poured in their eyes - although that seems like a good-enough reason to me. It's about creating new ways to test ingredients, too; for instance, L'Oreal is developing ways to test on in vitro skin tissue, which is not only cruelty-free, it's also more reliable.

But that's the European Union. In the States, animal testing is unregulated, with major cosmetics companies such as Procter & Gamble continuing to test on our furry friends. If you'd like to avoid animal testing, here are some things to look out for.

The Leaping Bunny, shown here. Whenever you see this cute rabbit, you'll know that the product has been developed without any animal testing in any phase of product development by the company, its suppliers, or its outsourced laboratories. Independent audits confirm this, so the seal is trustworthy.
Final product not tested on animals. Pay attention to the wording here. The final product isn't tested on animals, but its ingredients probably were.
This brand does not test on animals. Again, the phrasing is tricky. Maybe Brand X doesn't test on animals, but its supplier does. Or Brand X has a laboratory formulate its products, and some mad scientist is injecting poor little mice with poison.

If you're interested in finding out which companies do and don't test on animals, these lists should help. Keep in mind that most beauty companies are owned by a corporate parent who owns other companies. For instance, Burt's Bees does not test on animals, but Clorox, its parent company, does. So when you shop, you may want to keep that in mind.

More Bang For Your Buck, e.l.f. Is Cruelty-Free, Too

BellaSugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 13:00:30 -0800

I know eyeliner belongs on my face and not on bunnies or kitties, but it's not always easy to decipher which beauty products aren't tested on animals. Love PETA or hate it, you've got to hand it to the group for its annual Proggy Awards, which highlights animal-friendly people and companies. This year's winner of the cosmetic category is New York-based e.l.f.

Short for "eyes, lips, face," it not only stands out in my mind for their animal-friendly achievements, but also because most products cost just $1 . . . and no, I didn't forget any zeros. Sold at major retailers like Kmart and Wal-Mart, you can check out its selection of brushes, makeup, and more online. The brushes get rave reviews from readers, and since they're animal-friendly, I feel OK using them on my face, too.

What's in Vegan Lip Balm? None of Your Beeswax. (No, Really.)

BellaSugar — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 09:00:27 -0700

Varieties of vegetarians can be confusing to some people. Whereas many vegetarians, such as yours truly, will eat cheese and eggs, vegans don't eat any animal-based foods - that means no dairy, no honey, and no marshmallows.
Of course, vegans they also avoid beauty products made with any animal-based ingredients, and most won't use anything that's been tested on animals.

Fortunately, finding animal-friendly beauty is just as easy as cooking an amazing veggie meal. (Need proof? Check out Yum's recipes.) The really good news is that vegan products are almost always all-natural, since the synthetic ingredients in beauty products are often the ones that use animal testing in the first place.

So if you're interested in trying some vegan-friendly lip treatments, I've put together a few suggestions of lip-saving balms and pretty glosses worth checking out. Have a look!

Proggy Rock: Award-Winning Animal-Friendly Beauty

BellaSugar — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 13:00:49 -0800

In yesterday's review of an Olay product, most of the comments condemned the company for testing on animals. So today, I thought I'd highlight some bunny- and kitty-friendly beauty products that recently won PETA's Proggy Awards.

The Proggy Awards are given to various animal-friendly companies, people, and products. Check out the winners:

Best Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Line: Urban Decay
This one wasn't a surprise, since Urban Decay has always been strongly against animal testing. It also has vegan products clearly labeled, so it's easy to avoid animal products altogether if you like.

Best Cruelty-Free Personal Care Product Line: White Rain
Whoa. Who saw this one coming? As it turns out, White Rain is another vegan line that doesn't test on animals-proof that you don't need a lot of cash to be a conscientious shopper.

Best Cruelty-Free Personal Care Product: Max Green Alchemy Scalp Rescue Shampoo
I hadn't heard of this shampoo, but it sounds pretty cool. As PETA says, they're not only "vegan and cruelty-free, they are also free of parabens, PVP, and other mysterious petrochemicals." Good times.

To see who scored points in food, entertainment, and religion (yep, religion!), check out the the complete list. Yay for PETA for giving credit where credit's due. Now if they could just put the kibosh on the whole objectification-of-women thing, we'd be best pals.

Six Reasons to Love These Bath Fizzers

BellaSugar — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 10:00:24 -0800

How do I love these Anti-Body Bath Fizzers ($9.95)? Let me count the ways:

They're vegan, paraben-free, and not tested on animals.
They're tucked in a cute farm-themed recyclable carton.
They smell like fresh lemongrass (or lavender or flowers, if you prefer).
You get six for just under $10 - an affordable bit of luxury.
They fizz up, then soften skin with shea butter.
Best of all, the fair-trade shea butter provides jobs for women in Togo.

You might find your own reasons, but these six are a pretty good start.

Bella Brand: Sappho Cosmetics

BellaSugar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:00:32 -0700

Talk about lipstick lesbians. Emmy-nominated makeup artist JoAnn Fowler, who works on The L Word, created Sappho Cosmetics after researching the possible health effects of parabens in beauty products. Her mineral-based range is entirely free of "chemical" ingredients, incorporating essential plant oils and juices instead of artificial preservatives.

Actresses Mia Kirshner and Jennifer Beals (Jenny and Bette, respectively, on The L Word) worked with Fowler to come up with eco-friendly cosmetics created without animal testing. The resulting products, some of which are named after the show's actresses, are used on-set. So if these lipsticks make me look anything like the sizzling Kate Moennig, count me in.

View 5 Photos ›

Bella Interview: Leslie Blodgett, Part Two

BellaSugar — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:00:11 -0700

In Part One of my interview with Leslie Blodgett, the founder of Bare Escentuals, we talked about her clients, but in this part, I wanted to know what are her current loves. Read on for her desert island products and to hear about the forthcoming Bare Escentuals skincare products. (This is the first time she's mentioned that an eye cream is on the way. Scoop!).

What are your skin and hair care product staples?

Leslie Blodgett: I started using Pureology on my hair, for color treated hair. We're launching more skincare products, so I'm using an eye cream that's coming out next Fall, and the moisturizer is launching in January. We have a mist coming out next month, it has the Resurrection Plant from South Africa in it, which comes back to life when it's dead. It can reactivate makeup, hydrate you, refresh your makeup. Also you can spray it onto your face when you're cleansing.

To read more of the interview, read more.

How involved are you in developing tools and packaging, in addition to the formulations?

Leslie Blodgett: The tools are extremely important. You get completely different effects by whatever brush you're using. You can use the same color foundation with a different brush to get more coverage. A fluffier brush gives you less coverage and a more firmly packed brush will give you the fullest coverage. When you swirl it, it's breaking down the minerals so that it tucks inside the bristles, so that's part of the art of buffing it onto the skin. Products cling more to animal hairbrushes; we offer both. For the new skin care products, I asked the audience [at an event] whether they wanted a pump or a jar for the moisturizer; they wanted a pump. And for the eye cream, I wanted a jar, and we did another test, and they wanted a tube, because it's anti bacterial.

If you could take five products to a desert island, what would you take?

Leslie Blodgett: Foundation. [Bare Escentuals] Warmth. Rare Minerals Night Time Treatment. Um, the new moisturizer. I guess I don't need eye shadow or mascara because I'm alone, right?

I guess it depends, like are you on the island with The Professor and Gilligan, or are you Tom Hanks in Castaway, are you on a reality show...?

Leslie Blodgett: I'll make sure my lips stay full in my old age. I'd bring Buxom Lips in Jessica. It's a nice nude color, like a sandy beach.