trying cruelty free: 6 months on.

Make up is a wonderful thing, for a variety of reasons. It creates confidence, it is a form of self expression, it is relaxing, it is a form of art... the list goes on. Make up and beauty has been something I've been interested in for the past two years now, but recently I've been doing a lot more research into the ethical side of things and I can tell you, it's not all as beautiful as it seems. 

I never really understood the idea of cruelty free until I watched some of the videos made by Rosianna, Sanne, Lex and Marion (also brief disclaimer I'm not trying to be all preachy preachy here, just telling you about my own personal decisions!!) They discussed their switch over to cruelty free, and why they think it's important. I felt captivated by their speaking and wanted to delve in and do a bit more research, and I'll tell you this: the industry is cruel. (And as I said, not being all preachy and I will leave the gory stuff out for this) I used to be a girl that loved indulging in MAC lipsticks, so to say I switched over to cruelty free proves how this has been a big step for me, but worth it none the less. I have some advice for those who are considering it to read below. 

1) check out http://www.gocrueltyfree.org/consumer to discover what is and what's not cruelty free. I can tell you, you will be surprised by how many of your favourite brands are, and owned by parent companies that are cruelty free. Some of my favourites include Barry M, Yes To, Liz Earle, Lush... Among more!!! Although, this list is updated and changed regularly as companies often get bought over etc, so I try to keep up to date at least once a month. 

2) You can also tell if a company isn't cruelty free if they sell to china, as by mandatory law, they must test on animals :( 

3) when clearing out your products, take it in small stages. Start off by seperating your cruelt free into non cruelty free. By default, I had a range of items that I invested in significantly and wasn't willing to let go of (MAC lipsticks...) so I held onto some products that I promised to never repurchase. Many of my other items went onto DEPOP, I gave to my mum and sister and friends. 

4) Parent companies is where it all gets vvvv confusing. L'Oreal for example as a parent company are not cruelty free, but Urban Decay are???  It's all v confusing but is better explained over here: http://www.crueltyfreekitty.com/cruelty-free-101/non-cruelty-free-parent-companies/  I am still learning myself!!! 

So yes, I am still learning and slowly but surely wittling down my collection to things which are kind to the world and I am doing pretty well. I've actually significantly stopped buying make up a lot recently which I can say has helped obviously, but I still continue to actively try and research a product before I maybe consider purchase.

Do you have any opinions on the ethical side behind cosmetics? Katie x

what really defines beauty?

Every single person on earth has a different definition of beauty. The Oxford Dictionary defines beauty as 'a combination of qualities, such as shape, colour, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.' This vague definition in itself proves how much a person's definition of beauty can vary depending on environmental backgrounds and what appeals to them. As a beauty blogger, fashion advocate and all round moody teenager I've seen and heard the lengths people go to for beauty. We pluck, tweeze, shave and squeeze all parts of our body and scrutinize every glossy magazine we see and wondering, 'why can't I be them?' But let's face it, even that girl in the magazine doesn't look like that. Society tricks us into believing a bit of touching up on photoshop, fancy clothes and 'miracle working teatox' can make us better people, but is that really the case? I don't think so. 

Beauty is a bit of an odd thing to me. I'm someone who loves trying and testing a range of products and doing my make up more than the average human, but this is for my own self enjoyment. I wear make up because it's a form of self expression and I find it amazing how I can transform myself in so many different ways depending how I do it that day. It's my personal preference, and it gives me a slight boost of confidence and the ability to walk slightly taller if I'm feeling crap (in the metaphorical sense of course, as I am 5'2.) The beauty community is also a wonderful thing to be a part of as everyone is so supportive, lovely and willing to make suggestions of products to recommend and how to improve our writing abilities. But, Even in the beauty/fashion community I feel there's a slight pressure. Pressure to try out that new £30 Tom Ford lipstick everyone bangs on about even though you can't afford it. Pressure to gain more followers. Pressure to wear that outfit better than the other person. It's very underlying, but it's definitely there especially when it's just something you do as a hobby. But, do these material things really define you as a person? 

We all wear make up and 'beautify' ourselves to oblivion for different reasons, but I know it can be partly due to society's expectations. We've all done it, picked up that magazine and became little green eyed monsters at the sight of Cara Delevingne and the likes looking flawless as always. This jealousy can spark people to create crazy aspirations and work ourselves as much just to look like them, even though we don't really know this person, as a person other than that model on all the front covers. Realistically, these expectations can't be lived up to and we as a society need to begin teaching that displaying beauty through kindness, confidence, love and intellect is much more important how we aesthetically look. I know a lot of people in the beauty/fashion community feel this way as well, and I've seen a lot of 'confident boosting' tips and ways to 'be proud of who you are' and really does make a difference to people's lives. I'll link some good posts and videos by a range of amazing people below. 

Crop Tops For Curves

Let's Talk Body Confidence

Happy and Healthy 

Walk Taller: Body Confidence (Legs)

Zoella: Body Confidence Tips

The Body Image Project

In my opinion, every single person in this planet is beautiful as we are all unique and are born individually with different qualities. Every person has something different to offer to the world and I find that completely fascinating that not everybody is the same. As long as you're happy with the decisions you make that's all that matters. We are humans, we are free to make our own choices and we don't need to be confined to the expectations by other people. You don't want to shave? That's fine. You do want to shave? Also fine. You enjoy mainstream music and following trends? Wonderful. As long as you're happy, healthy and making decisions that please you, you are beautiful. As cliche as it sounds, humans really are like flowers. Some of us are smaller, some of us are a bit taller, some have shorter petals. But every single one of us are different and beautiful for it. You wouldn't look at a flower and think 'wow, that's an ugly flower' so why do that to yourself? You shouldn't. You're worth so much more than that. Love yourself. Be happy. Embrace life, because you are beautiful. No matter what anyone else says. 

I will leave this discussion with my favourite quote by JK Rowling about using the word 'fat', which can be applied to all insults involving physical apperanance. It's insightful and made me think a hell of a lot. Tell me you're take on this whole discussion in the comments, I'd love to hear opinions. Katie x 

“Is 'fat' really the worst thing a human being can be? Is 'fat' worse than 'vindictive', 'jealous', 'shallow', 'vain', 'boring' or 'cruel'? Not to me.”- JK Rowling. 

the ultimate YSL lip duo.

Whenever I received these goodies in the post from a Dave Lackie giveaway, I honestly felt like the luckiest girl in the world. I had been eyeing up the YSL lipsticks for so long (let's admit, the packaging is swoon worthy) and I felt so grateful for what had landed on my doorstep. Thanks, Dave! These two products are also part of the YSL 2014 Spring Collection which also really intrigued me into looking further into them. 

This lipstick is in shade 34 in 'Rose Asarine' which is a silky pink-red combination with cool undertones and fine micro-glitter for extra shine. The pigmentation is incredibly intense and the formula is incredibly glossy. It might be difficult to apply it straight from tube so I'd advise using a lip brush or just dabbing it lightly with your fingers. As usual with my lipsticks, I did the 'tea test' (aka drank a cup of tea whilst wearing this lipstick, haha) and it stayed on very well. It also feels very light and hydrating on the lips. 

I also received a Rouge Put Couture Vernis a Levres Glossy Stain, which is a slight mouthful to say! This stain is in the shade rouge avant gardiste. This really adds the finishing touches to any bold lip and can be applied lightly to create a subtle wash of colour or built to create an amazing red lip. The stain is also non sticking and has a very different texture to a normal lip gloss. I'm not too sure how to describe it, but basically it feels like there isn't any product on your lips. The only thing that puts me off this product is the smell, which reminds me of wine for some reason? I thought I was crazy but I ran to my mum to ask and even she agreed. Their isn't much of a taste though once applied so don't worry. Personally I wouldn't buy this due to the hefty price point, but if you're willing to splurge on lip gloss/stains then I would go for it. 

You can purchase both of these items  on the YSL UK website here: Vernis A Levres Glossy Stain / YSL Rouge Volupte Lipstick

Do you tried any of the YSL Spring Collection products? Katie x