Friday 24 July 2015

Cruelty Free (to the best of my knowledge) Replacement Blog Extravoganza! Skin Care Edition.


Hello Everyone, I hope you had a lovely few weeks and can I just say, I am loving this sunshine, my fair English Rose skin may not be loving it as much, as I turn into a lobster, but my body is loving every second of that Vitamin D.
I am extremely sorry for the delay on this post, I've been investigating and looking into travelling plus other life things have been happening-But I'm back!!

In my previous but most recent post, I listed a load of brands that were cruelty free, some questionable as to keep with laws in China they test on certain products, or their mother company is owned by an animal testing company.
To follow up with that, like the majority of conversions of course, we clear out the old and bring in the new, so I recently went on a massive haul to convert to animal cruelty free cosmetics, to the best of my knowledge and excessive research. Interestingly, I found it quite fun to hunt for at the same time, fairly difficult with a lot of brands being owned by other brands, who test or sell to China.
I raided every Boots, Superdrug, Debenhams and hoopers I could find so without further a do, I bring you my new beauty toys. We'll make a start with the skin care, shall we? Yeah go on then!




From left to right.
Tesco Loves Baby 64 Fragrance Ultra Soft wipes [trust me!] 
Sanctuary Spa Brightening Eye Gel. 
No7 Deep Pore Purifier cleanser. 
Burt's Bees Soap Bark and Chamomile deep cleansing cream. 
Burt's Bees Radiance toner with Royal Jelly. 
Dermalogica oil clearing Matte Moisturizer. 
Batiste Dry Shampoo (Fruity and Cheeky Cherry) 
No7 Essential Moisture Day Cream. 
No7 Essential Moisture Night Cream. 
[No7 range on offer: 3 for 2 + £5 off Voucher) 



Tesco loves Baby 64 fragrance Wipes Ultra Soft wipes-Price: 64p. (Tesco's)
I happen to find the supermarkets baby wipes to be a lot better, than any skin care brands very own wet wipes. They're gentle on the face, they wipe off the make up (give or take the fact you're using about 2 wet wipes-I blame mascara!) and they're just nice on the skin. They do everything a wet wipe should be doing, only for a much, much cheaper price. After trying many different skin care brand wet wipes, I found the majority of them were causing my skin severe dryness, a little too harsh and just rough on my skin. I know it takes a lot to budge the concrete that is foundation and mascara, but seriously? Feels like I'm rubbing sand paper on my face with some of the ones I was using. Tesco's very own "Loves baby ultra soft wipes" have a light scent, that can only be described as smelling like a new born baby, or in the case of how I met your mother "a head that smells like love". Their soft material with the light wetness is cooling and gentle, practically just glides around your face at the same time removes majority of the make up, sadly not so good with mascara but do bare in mind it is supposed to be for babies. Somedays, I tend to just use this as a cleanser to give my face a break from chemical over load, which I find helps my skin to heal a little bit more and also to keep calm.
Rating: 4/5.

Sanctuary Spa Brightening Eye Gel-Price: £10.50 (Boots)
For what it is, I think it's a little bit steep and over priced although, you don't need much eye cream anyways. Eye brighteners have always been a dilemma for me, I think I genetically inherited bags under my eyes from my dad's side of the family there has been no point in my life, where I have never had bags under my eyes and covering them up has always been a difficulty. For this reason most people will tell me "I constantly look tired" so finding an eye gel or brightener, which hides these bags would be a blessing and greatly appreciated.
The Sanctuary Spa Brightening eye gel comes in a cute little green box, which as you open, you find the product to be in an all white tube the shape of which will always remind me of toothpaste (don't ask why!). The gel itself when you squeeze it out onto the back of your hand before applying it, is a foggy, transparent gel which almost has a slight shimmer to it, assuming this is the magic that does all the light reflecting. Once I started applying with my fingers, I found the gel to be fairly light and it absorbed into my skin nicely, it's very cooling feel awakens the eyes for a brief moment before it warms to skin temperature. After a while, I found it did very little in regards to offering any firmness, it did however discard those menacing dark circles and brightened by eyes for a few moments. I have never found an eye gel or cream which has really worked wonders for me, even when I used to use "Ooo la lift" by benefit but sanctuary spa's eye gel is cooling, it brightens and it discards the dark circles.
Rating: 3/5

No7 Deep Pore Purifier Cleanser-Price: £12.00 (Boots)
Now my review of this is going to be incorrect because after having it for a few months, only just read the packaging and found it says "Only use once or twice a week" I've been using it on most days until I saw that sign-my bad!
No7 is a brand owned by our beloved Boots, with their promise and policy of animal cruel free goodness we can rest assured that No7 keeps with this policy and promise. The Pore Purifier comes in a lovely white and blue shiny sided box, with the instructions I failed to read on the side. Inside the box is a white tube containing the product and the application of the product is something which can only be described, as an alien probing device. The product has a slanted round plate with brussels, and a hole to allow the product to pour onto the plate, you simply switch the head round and give the tube a little squeeze, applying in a circle motion to the face and neck. The product is a clear liquid, which smells and feels like it is definitely deep cleansing the skin, removing all the oils and dirt from the pores. Almost a very mild alcohol, cleaning bleach smell to it, the product instantly tightened and shrunk my pores. However, using it everyday like a plonker it has left my skin feeling incredibly dry and I'm currently suffering from flakey ness, which is becoming prominent as I apply make up-always read the label guys!
Rating: 3/5

Burt's Bees Soap Bark and Chamomile deep cleansing cream-Price: Free Sample when I purchased my toner! (Online) (this company ships to China-I did not realise this until now and I do apologise!) 
Burt's bees are skin care company from America,
The combination of this cleanser and the Burt's bees radiance toner (get to that in a second) literally does feel like a bee has come along and stung your face! It awakens the skin, it felt really tingly, smelt fresh and lovely at the same time I found it was very good at assisting with the clearing of my skin. Red blotches are quickly fading and the lotion is very creamy, thick to apply I normally use cotton pads with my cleanser but with this, it's so thick and creamy that I find the cotton pad sticks to my face half the time falling apart. Rub the cleanser into the pad a little bit more than usual, before applying to the face is my best advice, the cleanser will be applied but the cotton pad won't make you look like a fluffy white bunny rabbit at the same time. Bert's bees use the beeswax they make, in all of their skin care products-pretty straight forward, hence the name! By making the ingredients with bee's wax, what Burt and Roxanne have done is repopulated the count of bees, by giving them hives to build colonies in, obviously in exchange for their beeswax. Using beeswax in skin care products, provides a protective layer on the skin which prevents irritation, with the combination of beeswax and chamomile you can feel safe in knowing that with this purchase, your skin will be protected and soothed so no irritation or calm will be coming in your grill anytime soon.
I recommend this product provided you don't get it in your eye, I have done accidentally at least on 3-4 occasions and it stings! (If you'll excuse the pun!).
Rating: 3/5
-simply because I was not aware this company shipped to China. They claim themselves to be all natural and from what I remember, promised no harm to animals. It depends on your beliefs and how you feel.

Burt's Bees Radiance Toner with Royal Jelly-Price: £9.99 (Online)
Don't be fooled by the name, the Queen isn't a bee and nor does she produce royal jelly, nor is the jelly king or queen involved in the making of this product, nor does it come with a crown or jelly. It is however, a good product which is something to be excited about yes? Of course! Burt's bees radiance toner has added a slight glow into my cheeks and skin that can only be described as simply Radiant. Unlike most toners, which I find to be quite cooling, this toner actually has a fair bit of a warm feel to it, when working on its own without the cleanser it's still calming yet it has that bee sting feel/warmth. I haven't been stung by a bee so I'm probably not the best person to ask, but it's my guess it's obviously not painful otherwise I wouldn't continue to put it on my face. I just imagine being stung feels kind of warm, that's how this feels when putting it on, it feels warm and tingly.
The Royal Jelly ingredient increases the moisture of the skin, which helps with treating dry and damaged skin, whilst the beeswax protects the skin so together, we have a moisturising and soothing face protector. The toner is a new favourite of mine because I like the fact it's warming instead of cooling, my skin has started to gain a natural glow whilst toning and cleaning my skin.
Rating: 5/5. 

Dermalogica Oil clearing Matte Moisturiser-Price: £16.15 (Online)
Dermalogica's Oil Clearing matter Moisturiser certainly matte's, banishing the pesky shines away. The problem I am currently facing is whether or not it is clearing up my oil so much, that it's leaving my skin dry or whether it's because I have combination skin, however previously speaking it went oil central, so now the moisturiser has banished the oils, it's left with nothing to de-oil, If that even makes sense. It was a highly expensive product and one that I suggest, using very rarely-I'm talking once a week only! Not twice a day as it suggests-literally one time, on one day a week. Dermalogica's oil clearing is great if your skin suffers from a lot of oil, however as mine was only severe for a short period of time (thanks combination skin!), I have decreased the amount of usage, it is a very strong product and I find it personally, irritates me skin. For some of you, skin irritation can cause a blockage in the pores, not something you want from a product that's supposed to clear all that out BUT using this product only once a week, maybe more beneficial as the skin will not be as irritated because you're not using it as frequently.
I will however, give it some credit for having a lovely SPF 15, which works effectively well at keeping my beautiful rose coloured Britishness well protected and upon application, the product does mattefy, it just doesn't last all day.
Rating: 2/5 - it's just not for me! I'm sorry. 

Batiste Dry Shampoo (Fruity and cheeky Cherry)-Price: £1.99 (Savers)Batiste is the goddess of Dry Shampoo-Am I right ladies? I think we can all agree on who has won our hearts, I'm sorry but these other brands just do not compare. We know what we're getting, a free hair wash in a can, the perfect "I totally washed my hair" but we all know you didn't look, but hey! Let's not act like thats a bad thing, it is actually really damaging to wash your hair everyday so FEEL NO GUILT GIRL! You're doing the right thing, your hair needs those essential oils. 
Batiste's Dry Shampoo Fruity and Cheeky Cherry is my favourite of all time when it comes to dry shampoos, the product smells amazing and leaves hair smelling great all day, a tiny spray goes a long way, after using it I often find my hair to be bouncy, easy to manage and not so static. It's just perfect! On days when I have no access to this beautiful product, I often find myself using a sprinkle of talcum powder, the only down flaw with that is well, my hair kind of looks a little something like that cat. Batiste dry shampoo has a lot more controlled results meaning I look less like a lion that's having a bad hair day, more like a model on the cat walk with the wind blowing the all the right directions.
Rating 5/5 

No7 Essential Moisture Day Cream & Night Cream (2 different products-both do the same thing)-Price: £9.50 each (Boots)
I decided to review these beauties together because they both basically do the same thing, at different points in the day, the only difference being the day cream has a SPF protection the night does not-for obvious reasons I mean, unless you sleep in the sunshine.
No7 essential moisture creams are a personal favourite of mine, they are both semi thick at first appearance and when first circulating onto the face however, the skin just absorbs it almost instantly and it suddenly feels incredibly light weight. The creams come in a clear jar, they're slightly pink and have a lovely pink and white lid on top. Both of these moisturisers are hypo-allogenic friendly, containing traces of Elderflower and Vitamin C, which leave the skin glowing and even better when used together, they work as an anti-inflammatory. This would explain the relaxing and calming feel which the moisturisers leave on skin. After using this moisturiser for a while, along with the "Angels on Bare skin cleanser" by LUSH! Cosmetics OR Burt's bee's cleansers, with the Radiance toner by Burts Bee's my skin has become a lot clearer and cleaner, looking a lot calmer and more relaxed since I stopped using the Dermalogica.
 I highly recommend No7 Essential moisture day and night cream-the pots have lasted me well over 2 months and they're still almost full.
Rating 5/5.