Wednesday 2 September 2015

Bunny Friendly Beauty Tag


Last week the lovely fellow blogger Vicki Maitland tagged me in her Bunny Friendly Beauty post which, after reading through her blog post, sounded like a lot of fun and something I wanted to take part in.

I have to admit that I am not always great at responding to these blog tags so apologies if you have sent me one in the past which I haven't yet got around to doing and please remind me again. It can sometimes throw me when I get one of these, especially if I already have blog posts planned and a to do list up to my eye balls! But I do actually really love to read posts like this and find out more about my blogger friends.

Vicki's post and questions are all related to finding out more about my journey into a cruelty free lifestyle so I hope you enjoy reading my answers!

1) How long have you been on your cruelty free journey?

I think I really started to care about the importance of leading a fully cruelty free lifestyle when I first decided that I would go Vegan a year ago. Prior to that I was veggie and still did care about animals a great deal but going Vegan for me meant a complete change of so many aspects of my lifestyle and the products which I was using. That was when I began to replace all my products with cruelty free alternatives.

2) What made you decide to go cruelty free?

100% my love for animals! I am a pet owner with 2 dogs and 2 cats and my love for them has made me question so much. I would be absolutely devastated if any harm ever came to them but I think at times it can be easy for people to turn a blind eye to what happens to other animals i.e within animal testing for cosmetics and beauty products. I'm pretty sure that most people who are 'animal lovers' would be appalled if they were to see the cruelty in person but I guess it's not at the forefront of their minds when they're buying their favourite products and sadly that side of the industry is pretty well hidden from the public eye. Ultimately I know I could never cause harm to an animal so therefore I don't want to support any brand that does.
 
3) What has been the hardest product to find a cruelty free dupe for?


Definitely my foundation. Prior going cruelty free I used to use MAC Cosmetics and had done for several years. I was super happy with my MAC foundation and always used to receive compliments about it so I was actually pretty worried about having to turn my back on MAC. I have tried quite a few foundations now and none seem to be really hitting the spot for me. The best I have come across so far is by ELF Cosmetics but since their UK store has closed I am still on the look out for a really great foundation. But despite this I would never go back to MAC because they do unfortunately test their products on animals.
  
4) What's the best cruelty free dupe you've found?


Hmmm.... there's been so many! But I would say more recently my favourite has been Eden Perfumes who create Vegan and cruelty free perfumes which match designer brand fragrances. I purchased an Armani Si equivalent a little while ago and I always get people asking what perfume I am wearing which is a great sign of a high quality scent.

5) What product or brand do you wish was cruelty free?


I would have to say MAC cosmetics as they did used to be my favourite make up brand. Although I definitely don't miss spending so much of my money on make up as I used to! But for me for a product to be 100% cruelty free it also has to be Vegan so in order for me to make a purchase they would have to fulfil both criteria. 

6) What's your holy grail cruelty free brand?

It has to be Superdrug. I absolutely love Superdrug for all my cruelty free essentials such as toothpaste, hairspray, wipes.....the list is endless. It is my go to place for affordable cruelty free cosmetics and the fact that the majority of their own branded products are also Vegan friendly makes it even more so appealing. 

7) Name one cruelty free brand might not have heard of?


A little while ago at a market I came across a small brand called NI-KA Deluxe who made some really lovely handmade beauty products which are all cruelty free. I purchased a lovely pot of fizzing bath grains which I loved. However, some of their products do contain beeswax so not all of them are Vegan friendly.
 
8) Are you a vegan? If so, for how long and have you had any struggles? If not, why not?


I have kind of already answered this but yes I am! I went Vegan a year ago and it has been a real transition and not something I achieved overnight. It's been quite a long process of finding foods that I know I like and replacements for dairy products. That being said it's been much easier than I ever imagined. When I was veggie I used to say that I could never go Vegan purely because of cheese really but now that I have cut that out of my diet I don't miss it at all. And I feel so much better now morally that I am no longer contributing towards the cruelty of the dairy industry which was quite shocking to me when I first learnt about it. I never thought dairy products harmed any animals but how wrong was I! As soon as I found out all the horrors of this industry it literally put me off the food anyway so there was no going back. The only thing I really struggle with now is chocolate as it's my go to comfort food and personally I'm not a huge fan of dark chocolate which makes it more of a challenge. There are a few Vegan chocolate brands which I really like but I just have to be organised and order them in as no shops where I live tend to stock anything like that. 

9) What's your favourite local vegan friendly venue?


Unfortunately Essex is not swamped with choice for when it comes to eating Vegan and I envy everyone who lives in cities such as London, Brighton and Bristol. However, that being said, we do still have a really good select few places which serve purely veggie & Vegan meals. My favourite of the moment would have to be The Oak Tree in Leigh on Sea. I've only been there once but had such an amazing meal I am dying to go back again. It's also my chosen venue for my upcoming Vegan Essex Social event which I am hosting in October. I reviewed this restaurant not so long ago on my blog so you can find out here why I loved it so much!

10) You have 30 seconds to convert someone to a cruelty free lifestyle - what would you say to them?

Could you torture a rabbit with your bare hands? No? Well stop funding experiments like this to take place! It's so simple - you could just shop Superdrug's own brand and help to end this cruelty! I can also introduce you to plenty of bloggers who can recommend SO many wonderful alternative products for you to use. It's not difficult, just make the small change which will help to save little lives!  

I am now tagging two of my favourite ladies Milly from sevenseasaway & Yasmina from The July Journal. I look forward to reading your answers to the above questions :-)
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