Cruelty-Free Skincare!

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Today, we’re gonna talk about cruelty-free skincare! My mom has always expressed to me the importance of washing my face every morning and night as well as always taking off my makeup before I go to sleep. Those are things we’ll be talking about today!

I’d like to preface this post by reminding y’all that everyone has a different skin type, so these reviews may not necessarily be on point for all of my readers. However, since I wanted you guys to join me in my cruelty-free journey, I wanted to continue posting about changes I’ve been making to my beauty routine. I’ve never had an issue with acne, and my skin isn’t oily or anything. Sometimes it gets dry, but otherwise, I got pretty lucky as far as skin is concerned.

What I Was Using: Aveeno Positively Radiant Skin Brightening Daily Scrub

What I’m Using Now: e.l.f. Daily Face Cleanser

I’ve been using this Aveeno scrub for as long as I can remember. It never made me break out and it kept my face clean, as it should have. The microbeads made my face really soft, but microbeads were just banned in New York, so this scrub has been slowly disappearing from stores around here. I figured it was the right time to try something different, especially since I found out that Aveeno tests on animals. Since I’ve been having so much luck with e.l.f products and this Daily Face Cleanser was so cheap, I decided to try it out. It’s been working really well! My face is still soft and I’m not breaking out, so it’s getting the job done. I would definitely recommend this! It smells really nice too.

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What I Was Using/Am Continuing to Use: Pond’s Cold Cream

What I Tried: Nature’s Way Unrefined, Vegan, Organic Coconut Oil

I’ve been using Pond’s Cold Cream to take off my makeup forever, and I realized a few years ago that I could use it as a moisturizer. It was working out really well for me, no breakouts and my skin was super soft and hydrated. Then, I found out that Ponds tests on animals as well. I remembered that I had coconut oil in the house, and decided to try it out again. Last semester, I wrote an article about coconut oil (that I adapted into a web article; check it out here!), so I needed to do lots of research. I tried using it as a makeup remover and moisturizer and I really liked it! It made my skin soft and it smelled great. However, I did notice that I was breaking out. I stopped using it, but then I realized that I was getting my period the next week, and I usually break out around that time. This time, I tried coconut oil again nowhere near my period week, and I still broke out all over my chin and under my eyes, and like not even normal breakouts, like huge, painful zits that didn’t go away. It was an amazing moisturizer and got ALL of my makeup off my eyes. People have told me that coconut oil has made them break out before, so it wasn’t a huge surprise. I switched back to my Ponds for now, but if anyone has any recommendations for moisturizer, please let me know! Maybe I’ll see if e.l.f. has some since they have yet to fail me. I would definitely recommend coconut oil either way, but proceed with caution.

If you’re interested in going cruelty-free, check out PETA’s Searchable Database and Cruelty-Free Kitty’s alphabetized list of cruelty-free brands. If you have any cruelty-free recommendations, please comment them below!

More Cruelty-Free Product Reviews!

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The Clunkster is back with more cruelty-free products! Yay, helping animals! So far, the products I’ve been using have been awesome. It shows that going cruelty-free doesn’t make that big of a difference on your beauty routine. Sometimes, things get even better, like with my e.l.f. foundation. I’m still a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to switching over to cruelty-free mascara (you all know how protective I am over my lashes), but as I run out of things I still need to move on to eyeliner (which I barely wear so it’s not super urgent), primer, and lipstick. Baby steps!

What I Was Using: Coppertone Sport High Performance Accu-Spray Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 15

What I’m Using Now: Kiss My Face Bare Naked with Air Powered Spray Body Mist SPF 30

I didn’t have an issue with my old sunscreen, but I did find out that Coppertone tests on animals, and since I never seem to run out of sunscreen, I figured I’d buy a new can even though I had plenty left. I found Kiss My Face on this post by PETA, and then I saw a can at Stop & Shop, so I figured I’d try it out.

So far, I have not gotten sunburnt! The can says that it’s not scented, but it does have a little something. It’s not bad though! It’s kind of like a toned-down version of a sunscreen smell, which I love, so I’m happy. This sunscreen is also double the SPF of the Coppertone that I was using before, which is definitely a bonus. Also, Kiss My Face is like almost chemical free. The sunscreen contains antioxidants like Green Tea, Vitamins C and E, Aloe, and Cucumber so your skin gets super soft while you’re being protected from the sun. It’s also gluten free, paraben free, phthalate free, SLS free, and vegan. So like, why wouldn’t you use this sunscreen? It’s basically like Coppertone but cruelty-free with better ingredients.

What I Was Using: L’Oreal Infallible Makeup Extender Setting Spray

What I’m Using Now: Urban Decay All Nighter Long-Lasting Makeup Setting Spray

HOLY SHIT, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS SETTING SPRAY. Once upon a time, I saw a lot of girls on Twitter talking about how Urban Decay’s setting spray was like magic or something. I always used L’Oreal (never gave me too much of a problem, but I could’ve done better), but since I ran out of that setting spray and they test on 

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animals, I sauntered over to Sephora to pick me up one of these bad boys. Sure, I spent $30, but you know what? IT WAS FUCKING WORTH IT.

This magical bottle is insane. It sets your makeup for sixteen hours. Yes, you read that properly, sixteen, like a sweet sixteen, yeah. At first I put this on and I was like What? It’s light as hell. So I put on a lot more which wasn’t a great decision since my face got shiny. Then, I figured out that no, the people of Urban Decay are just angels and know how to make some freakin’ setting spray so it doesn’t feel like I sprayed my face with detangler. This shit is paraben free, sulfate free, and phthalate free. It has this special temperature control technology where it literally LOWERS THE TEMPERATURE OF YOUR MAKEUP so it doesn’t bleed! And you know what? You feel it working. I had a really busy day at work the other day and while I was running around, I felt my face cooling off a bit. I looked in the mirror afterwards and though I did have some black crap under my eyes, it was much less than usual (I have weird under-eyes so stuff always gets caught in that region, in addition to the fact that I use a ton of mascara and I work with machines that kinda dry my eyes out), and it didn’t really stain my face. I wiped under my eyes with my fingers and the crap went away, but it didn’t smear under my eyes.. When I got home, I started crying over something, and I don’t mean like cute *shedding a single tear* crying, I mean like ugly crying. I went to the bathroom to take my mirror off and I DIDN’T LOOK ANY DIFFERENT THAT I DID WHEN I LEFT WORK. This is literally a miracle product. I still felt my tears on me, I touched where they were, and you couldn’t even tell that I was just crying. Yesterday, I was running around Manhattan with my friends (sometimes it was hot and sometimes it was raining), and my makeup stayed on perfectly the. entire. day. 

Moral of the story: Buy this fucking spray. It is SO worth the money.

As you can see, I can get a bit heated over my cruelty-free products, but that’s because I’m so amazed that these products can work so well without torturing animals! If you’re interested in going cruelty-free, check out PETA’s Searchable Database and Cruelty-Free Kitty’s alphabetized list of cruelty-free brands. If you have any cruelty-free recommendations, please comment them below!

Cruelty-Free Updates!

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The other day, I told you guys about all the cruelty-free products I bought! I had used some, but not the tarte sunscreen, Lavanila deodorant, and some of the e.l.f. products. Since I’ve just been in my pajamas all day, I figured I’d give y’all an update.

What I Was Using: Secret Scent Expressions Invisible Solid Deodorant (sometimes in Va Va Vanilla, others in Cocoa Butter Kiss), Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 100+, Maybelline Dream Blender

What I’m Using Now: Lavanila, The Healthy Deodorant (in Pure Vanilla), tarteguard 30 sunscreen lotion broad spectrum SPF 30, e.l.f Concealer Brush, e.l.f Daily Brush Cleaner

When I ran out of deodorant, I decided to find one that was not only cruelty-free, but also aluminum-free. I have no clue why, but apparently it’s a very common practice to put aluminum in deodorant. I don’t want that under my arms, especially since studies show that aluminum-based deodorant is linked to causing breast cancer. I didn’t think an aluminum-free, cruelty-free deodorant existed until I came across Cruelty-Free Kitty’s post about it! That’s where I found Lavanila.

I bought the trial size of Lavanila just in case I didn’t like it, but I’ll be buying the big-girl size at Sephora as soon as I run out of the tiny one. I absolutely love it! It sounds weird, but I can actually feel the deodorant working as soon as I put it on. It smells amazing, and I smell amazing all day, even when I’m riding bikes on the boardwalk or running around at work. I seriously recommend it.

As for the tarte sunscreen, I’m honestly indifferent. The pros are that it smells good (not like sunscreen, but good), dries quickly since it’s meant to be worn under makeup, and goes a long way (one pump can cover my entire face!). The things I don’t like are that the formula is very thin, so it makes my face really shiny. It’s okay when I wear it under my makeup, but when I go makeup-free I just look like I’m sweating a lot. Also, it’s only SPF 30. My e.l.f. Foundation has some SPF 15 sunscreen in it, so if sunscreen math is the same as real math, I guess I’m wearing SPF 45. My Neutrogena sunscreen was SPF 100+, and I’ve heard that any SPF over 45 isn’t legit, so I’m not exactly sure what to think. Also, my Neutrogena sunscreen fought wrinkles! However, it tests on animals, so bye-bye Neutrogena. I found this sunscreen on this post by PETA, and I bought the trial size. I might be exploring the other options on the list. I’ll keep you guys updated! 

On to makeup, I’ve been loving e.l.f.’s concealer brush. It makes under-eye application ten times easier and does a really good job of covering my zits! As for the brush cleaner, I’m not so sure yet. It smells good and is working on the concealer brush, but my foundation brush is still a little gross. It could be because it’s thicker and handles a lot more makeup than the concealer brush, but still. I’m not sure if it makes a difference, but I used the foundation brush a few times before I started cleaning it, while I started cleaning the concealer brush right after I started using it. I've also never used brushes/brush cleaners, so I have nothing to compare it to. I definitely need to get the weekly brush shampoo too. 

As always, I’ll keep you guys updated on these products and any other products I’ll be buying soon. If you have any recommendations for any type of cruelty-free products, please let me know in the comments! In the meantime, be sure to follow The Clunkster on Instagram and Twitter (both @theclunkster) and like The Clunkster on Facebook! (The links are at the top of my blog too!)

Clunk it up!

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Cruelty-Free Makeup Mini Haul!

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All of these products are linked in the post!

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My beautiful NARS lipgloss <3

I'm not trying to preach at all, but I'm about to talk about some stuff that I recently learned and am very uncomfortable with. If it makes you severely uncomfortable, feel free to stop reading and skip down to the actual product review! I figured that if I didn't know about this stuff, neither would my readers. In the meantime, be sure to check out @theclunkster on Instagram! 

Recently, I looked a little deeper into what animal testing was and it made me so upset. I didn't realize the amount of harm that the substances that are tested on animals can do. I thought testing was just putting makeup on mice to see if they would break out or something, which still wasn't okay with me, but I figured that there was no way to avoid companies that do test on animals. I was completely wrong. 

I found out that animals who are held captive in testing facilities are injected with substances, forced to inhale certain chemicals, and basically ripped apart. Some of the products that are tested cause animals' skin to be literally burnt off. And it's not just mice, it's bunnies, guinea pigs, hamsters, farm animals, monkeys, and even cats and dogs. I thought about my innocent little puppy, the one I love more than anything, being tied down and tortured just so my lips would be a different color. These animals never escape, either. Most animals in testing facilities are bred to be tortured and then killed shortly after these harmful tests are conducted. 

After some more research, I found out that there are so many companies (both drugstore and quality brands!) that don't test on animals and are doing just fine. I realized that I've been using products at the expense of other animals when I could be using ethical products from companies that use other ways to test their products, ways that are actually cheaper and more accurate, which I found out after more research. If products are doing these horrible things to animals, there is a chance that these products could have the same reaction on me, which I really didn't like. 

It turns out that I use a lot of brands that do test on animals. Since I'm so protective over my beauty routine, I decided that I would try replace these products with cruelty-free brands as I ran out of things, mostly so I feel a bit more comfortable, but also in an effort to save money. Since I ran out of foundation the other day, I stopped by e.l.f. to check out their cruelty-free foundations. I walked out with foundation, concealer/highlighter, and a vegan foundation brush (which I've never used before!) so this whole experience was really new for me.

Product Review Thing

What I Previously Used: Maybelline FitMe Matte and Poreless Foundation (in Natural Ivory, 112), Maybelline Fit Me Concealer (in Fair, 15), Maybelline Dream Blender

What I'm Using Now: e.l.f. Studio Flawless Finish Foundation (in Porcelain), e.l.f. Under Eye Concealer and Highlighter (in Glow/Fair), e.l.f. Pointed Foundation Brush

The concealer, which is specific for the under-eyes (where I need it!) was really easy to put on. It was more creamy than what I'm used to , but I liked it. Working with the foundation brush was so much easier than working with a sponge! Applying my makeup felt a lot more natural, and I think it made the look of my foundation more natural as well. The foundation smelled delicious, like some sort of flower. Though the makeup was a little sticky, I think it looked a bit more natural as well. My mom loved how much less cakey it looked, and my dad noticed that my skin looked shinier, which he liked, but I don't know if I do yet. This foundation didn't really cover my pores, but then again I am used to wearing a matte and poreless foundation. 

The foundation and concealer looked great in pictures. I wore them when I rode my bike on the boardwalk and they held up really well even though I was active and it was hot as hell. They held up a little less today at work when I was sweating, but that could also be because I'm all the way at the end of my setting spray so I couldn't set my makeup completely. My under eyes were a little black and smudgey from my mascara which could be from the lack of spray, or because I was wearing more mascara today than I have for the past few days.

Overall, I was really impressed with e.l.f.'s foundation and concealer! I was seriously surprised at how inexpensive their products were. I'm definitely going to have to get used to the change, but I'll keep you guys updated. e.l.f. also has matte foundations, so maybe I'll try that after I run out of this foundation.

Other Products

Since I was so impressed with e.l.f.'s products, today while I was at CVS I picked up their Daily Brush Cleaner and Concealer Brush so under eye application is just a bit easier. I also got a small sample of some sunscreen from Tarte (cruelty-free!) and a sample of Lavanila Pura Vanilla Deodorant (also cruelty-free as well as aluminum free!). I'll let you guys know how everything works out probably sometime next week! 

Oh, I also got my favorite lipgloss in the whole wide world, Striptease by NARS. I've been using it for the past year and a half and I absolutely love it, but it's expensive, so I can only buy it when I have the money. In my opinion, it's totally worth it, and I was shedding happy tears while handing over my money at Sephora.

If you guys have any cruelty-free brands you love, please feel free to comment below! I need suggestions! 

To find out if your favorite beauty brands test on animals, check out PETA's searchable database and Cruelty-Free Kitty's alphabetized list of cruelty-free brands!