To test or not to test? That is the question...

Hello lovelies! 

Today I thought I would talk testing, and no, I don't mean swatches. I'm talking animal testing. I am strictly against animal testing. I'm not naive, and I do realise that a lot of cosmetics do still test on animals, however I do not condone it, and where I can, I always try to go for brands who don't test on animals. I've gotten together a little collection of brands who don't test on bunnies and pooches for you, so without further ado...

(Apologies for the creased sheets! - Oops!)

The Body Shop 

The Body Shop have been against animal testing for as long as I can remember, and are always a safe bet if you want naturally sourced ingredients too! 

Lush 

Not only are Lush against animal testing, they actively fight it, and even have 'against animal testing' printed on their bags. Lush's ingredients are sourced ethically, and are all handmade. They may be a little more pricey, but by paying that little bit more you get so much more in quality. 

Good Things 

Good Things are a brand that are aimed only at young skin, and pride themselves on using no animal ingredients, SLS or parabens. Good stuff, Good Things! 

Sanctuary Spa 

I was actually surprised to find Sanctuary in this list, however when reading the back of a gift set I received for Christmas, there it was in black and white; 'Not tested on animals'. Hurrah!

Sleek
I only own a sirum from Sleek, however since finding out that they are cruelty free, I have my eye on a few blushes! 

Jergens 

Jergens are a new found love for me, I received the Aloe moisturiser for my birthday and love how fresh and clean the scent is, so I was very happy to discover that I can slather this on with no guilt! 

Soap and Glory 

Another brand I was actually very surprised with. Soap and Glory can be found in Boots stores and feature some of the greatest smelling products in the world! 

REN 

Ahh REN, my new love. The 'Invisible Pores Detox Mask' is a firm new favourite of mine, and boasting no nasties as well as no animal testing, my conscience is as squeaky clean as my face! 

Liz Earle

I recently ordered the 'February Favourites' and have to say, I'm seriously Impressed with this range! 

Urban Decay

I'm so happy that I can add Urban Decay to this list. Apparently they were in talks with a company in China about selling the brand, however pulled out as they found that selling would go against their beliefs and morals about testing. Good on yer, UD! 

Rimmel 

I was utterly shocked to hear about Rimmel - I have a feeling it was a recent change with the new laws that have forced this brand to find alternative methods. I may be wrong, but I always presume that make up brands automatically test...I know, I need to move with the times! 

Barry M 

I guess you dont really think about mainly nail polish brands testing, but I guess they have to. Thankfully Barry M have taken a stance against testing on the furry ones and have found other ways! 

Bourjois 

Again, another popular high street brand I'm happy to report are cruelty free!!

Bumble and Bumble
Possibly one of the most hyped brands of 2013, I highly recommend you try them out if you haven't already, especially now you know their products come without a side order of guilt! 

Illamasqua

Finally, Illamasqua. I own one of their blushers, and absolutely love the formula and pigmentation, so i'm over the moon that I can colour my cheeks without thinking about what else might have had a makeover in the process!  

Obviously, this list is only naming a few, as animal testing in Europe has been banned (Yay!), and generally, only brands who's products are made outside of Europe are still tested (MAC, I'm lookin' at you!) But we now have a much wider variety of non tested choices and can now shop safe in the knowledge that no animals were harmed in the making of our appearance! 

They See Me Haulin' | Collective Beauty Haul

Hey there girlies! 

Today's post actually scared me a little. It's amazing how much you buy in the space of a few weeks without realising! This doesn't even include the clothes I've splurged on! Oh well, at least I'll look preened and polished when I have no money aye!? 

These are my beauty purchases from the past month... 

Batiste Dry Shampoo 'Tropical': Every girl needs a good dry shampoo at hand for those days where your hair just needs a little pick me up. I have been using Superdrugs own brand as they had a 3 for 1 offer a while back, but if I'm honest, it wasn't very good. I picked this one up, having used and loved Batiste before. I've only ever used the original scent, however this tropical version is amazing; it smells like coconuts and the smell lingers on your hair for most of the day! 

Garnier Body Hydrating Firming Lotion: If you read my blog regularly you'll know how much I LOVE Garniers body lotion offerings; especially the gradual tanner. I'm almost out of that one, and picked this up as it was on offer. It claims to make your skin look smoother in 7 days....We shall see.

No7 Beautiful Skin Hot Cloth Cleanser: I actually also picked up the Superdrug Brightening Hot Cloth Cleanser on offer for a mere £2.95 (bargain!) aswell but forgot to photograph it. The No7 hot cloth cleanser was picked up a while ago with a trusty £5 off voucher - Thankyou Boots! I've been using this for about a week so far, and haven't had to reach for my eye make up remover once. This does the job all on it's own - even with stubborn waterproof mascara! 

Superdrug Vitamin E SPF 15 Moisturising Day Cream: As the days are finally getting warmer (yay!) I've been looking for a cream with SPF in it to use in conjuction with my Good Things mattifying moisturiser. Although I tend to lean towards combination/oily skin in the summer, I do still have the odd dry patch, so the vitamin e cream provides enough moisture to combat dryness, whilst my Mattifying cream takes away any unwanted shine. 

Vitamin E SPF 15 Illuminating Eye Cream: My eye cream has gone walkabouts. I have no idea where it could have wandered off to, but either way this is my replacement. It has a slight shimmer to it, which illuminates the eye and brightens up any dark circles, and the SPF is always welcome some summertime. 

Revlon Cushion Brush: I was due to replace my trusty old Remington hair brush, and was looking for a paddle brush, however came across this Revlon one on Fragrance Direct for a mere £1.99 so thought why not. So far, so good! 

Orlando Professional Teasing Brush: As my hair is long, sometimes the weight of it can drag the hair down, making it look flat, so I occasionally backcomb my hair to add more volume at the roots. Also purchased at Fragrance Direct for £1.99, this teasing brush is just what I needed. 

Illamasqua Blusher 'Lover': You can find my full review of this blush here. It's a peachy matte finish blush which looks gorgeous when applied. 

Dainty Doll 'You Are My Sunshine' Blusher: Again from Fragrance Direct (Had a bit of a haul there alone!) is this gorgeous blusher from Nicola Roberts make up range; Dainty Doll. I'm planning a full review on this, but it's a gorgeous coral with flecks of gold running through, very similar to Nars Orgasm.

Sinful Colours Nail Polish: On a recent trip to town I found myself browsing in Boots and came across Sinful Colours. I'd heard a few bloggers rave about these so thought I'd use my advantage card points to treat myself to a few. I picked up from left to right: Be Happy, Island Coral and Orange Cream. I've only used Island Coral so far, and I love it. The colours are amazing, and I'm planning a review with swatches of them shortly! 

W7 Eye Shadow Brush: This was a rush purchase really as my eyeshadow brush from ELF had broken, so I needed a quick replacement. I'm not sure how I feel about this one yet, having only been using it for a few days, however so far, i'm not OVERLY impressed. 

MAC 187 Duo Fibre Brush: I actually found this on eBay, as I was NOT about to fork out over £30 on one brush. I bought it shortly after my 217 purchase, and was so impressed I decided I wanted more, however I have yet to find the perfect job for this. I thought it would be good for stippling in foundation, however my Real Techniques buffing brush does a better job. I did try it with cream blush yesterday and found it did a good job so maybe it will be destined for that... 

MAC 217 Blending Brush: How have I lived 23 years without owning this?! For £17, this is definitely a pricey purchase, however I do feel it's worth it as I can't see myself needing another blending brush. Ever. 

Butter London Nail Polish 'Jaffa': I found this by chance on the Debenhams website on sale for a bargainous £3.40! That's almost a £9 saving. It went into my basket faster than you can say 'Jaffa'. 'Jaffa' is a gorgeous bright orange verging on coral. I have found that the formula is quite thin, however I want to do a full post on this soon so i'll expand later. 

Essie Nail Polish 'Mojito Madness': I was looking for a minty green colour to replace my Rimmel Lycra Pro 'Peppermint', as I've lent it to my sister, which means I may never get it back, and online, Mojito Madness looked like a contender. Upon opening the package however, it's a lot darker than I had thought, so I'm not sure whether it will be a regular on my nails or not. I haven't actually tried it yet so I will hold judgement until I do. 

Rimmel Moisture Renew Lipstick 'Notting Hill Nude': I have this lipstick in the shade 'Soft Coral' and loved it, so picked it up in a lovely soft nude, only to get home and realise it's almost identical to Rimmel Lasting Finish Kate '03'. Bad times. Notting Hill Nude is very slightly lighter in tone, and I do like nude, so I imagine I'll get enough wear from them both. 

MAC Creamsheen Lipstick 'Coral Bliss': If you follow me on twitter you'll have probably seen my many tweets moaning that this was out of stock and I couldn't get hold of it but really wanted it. Well it FINALLY came back in stock on the Debenhams website so I snapped it up at the same time as my Butter nail polish. I was right to have lusted over it for so long. It is gorgeous, and it's been my most used lip product ever since I received it a week ago. The most perfect peachy coral with the right amount of moisture and shine, which doesn't cling to your dry bits too much, giving a lovely and even finish to the lips. This one will be a definite summer favourite of mine. 

Calvin Klein Delicious Truth Lipstick 'Illusion': I forgot to photograph this one, but i'm wearing it now and it's no nice I have to add it in. A very sheer peachy pink, this lipstick is almost like wearing a gloss, and it's absolutely perfect for days where you just want a slight wash of colour on your lips without having to crack out a full coverage lipstick. 

So that's all my beauty buy's over the past few weeks. 

Have you been splurging lately? 

Illamasqua Blusher in 'Lover': The Review

Hi! 

Illamasqua is a brand I have been lusting after for a while now. I think Beth from Birds Words blogged about one of these blushers and ever since reading that an Illamasqua blush has been on my radar, however the £18 price tag did put me off a little; being a drugstore kinda gal, I'm just not used to forking out that amount for any kind of make up! In fact, I've only recently taken the plunge and forked out MAC prices... 

Anyway, going off topic as usual, a week or two ago, as i'm sure anyone who follow Illamasqua on Twitter knows that they had a flash 50% sale for one hour one Friday night. Every blogger and their nan must have been on that site trying to get their beauty mitts on something as the server was mental and crashed so many times! I managed, after about 40 minutes of refreshing the page, to get my hands on a blusher at the bargain price of £9! May I introduce to you my new love in life - 'Lover'. 

The packaging of Illamsaqua products are sleek, black plastic casing with a clear lid which is handy for when you have a couple of the same product as you can see which colour the blush is. I really like the shape of the blush, it's quirky, yet looks very sophisticated, and the shiny black casing gives it an air of classiness. 

The colour of this particular shade, 'Lover', is a gorgeous matte peach with a hint of coral. I have quite a few shimmery coral shades but sometimes I feel they can be a bit too much for every day wear, and matte shades seem to be much more wearable. 

The shade is quite a bit lighter than I am used to for a blush, but I love that. It means I can create a very subtle look, however I would suggest using a very light hand with this as it's very highly pigmented, and you could easily end up looking like a doll. The only downside to this product is that there is a lot of product fallout. I have found however, that if you simply dab the blush with your brush rather than sweep, there seems to be less fallout, but that's my only downfall. 

Overall, I'm really impressed with this blush, and for £9, I think I really did pick up a bargain blush. So far, Lover is definitely earning it's place in my make up bag! 

Do you own any Illamasqua blushes? Which are your favourite?