Makeup, shampoos, and other personal care products

Ok, so this post is a little more gender specific, but I do live in a liberal-ish area so really, this post can apply to whomever! I never used to wear much makeup but decided to try some concealer, powder, blush, etc about a year ago. I am getting older and thanks to my heritage and genes, am cursed with dark circles. Thanks mom and dad! :-P

Of course if I'm not going to eat animals or anything that comes from them, I'm certainly not going to wear them either. And so began my research for high quality vegan makeup and other personal care products. You will find that a lot of companies brag about not animal testing. Sorry but that just doesn't cut it for me. So you won't do animal testing but you will use their parts as ingredients in your cosmetics? Thanks but NO thanks!

You'd be (or should be) grossed out by the ingredients they use. Like food ingredient listings, they won't state the lamens term such as whale blubber or sheep fat but instead will hide behind the technical terms. I came across a great comprehensive list on a site by PETA, which defines the ingredients to be aware of.

My favorite vegan makeup is made by Urban Decay. A bit pricey but very good quality! They don't do animal testing and most of their products are vegan. I say most because some do contain beeswax, etc. You can know for sure though because the vegan makeups have a small paw print right next to the name of the makeup on their display case, called a Marley's Purple Paw. I buy my Urban Decay makeup from Ulta. The staff there is pretty knowledgeable and will help out the makeup challenged as I was when I first went there.

A very good shampoo/conditioner is Pureology. Also pricey but worth it! They state on their homepage that it is 100% vegan. It also states that they are about serious color care but you can use this even if you don't color your hair. They also make excellent hair styling products (wax, mousse, etc).

Most companies will boast about there not being any animal products in their line of products so sometimes all you have to do is read the back of the box or bottle or visit their site and they will state somewhere that it's animal-free. Again, don't be fooled by them simply stating that they don't do animal testing because they could very well still use animal ingredients.

Another very good comprehensive list of vegan cosmetics and personal care (and cleaning) products can be found here.

Oh, almost forgot...be aware of the makeup brushes as most are made from animal hair. All of Urban Decay's brushes are man-made.

Hope this was useful!