Thursday Miscellany: Cruelty-Free Beauty Products And More

CoverGirl products are now certified cruelty-free. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

I’d planned an outfit post for today, but when I went to take photos yesterday evening…pffft! dead camera battery! So I’ve done a last-minute schedule switch.

Have you heard? CoverGirl is now cruelty-free! They’ve received a Leaping Bunny certification, and are the largest cosmetics company to do so. I may have to give their Lash Blast Mascara another try…

Supergoop unseen sunscreen and makeup primer. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

Even in winter months, I don’t leave the house without at least an SPF 30. I’m a big fan of Supergoop! Mineral Sunscreen for everyday use, but not everyone likes or can use a mineral sunscreen. I recently tried Unseen Sunscreen from Supergoop! and really like it. It’s a chemical sunscreen that also acts as a makeup primer. It’s cruelty-free and contains no Oxybenzone. It also smooths and blurs, so looks great on its own as well.

Lush shampoo bars for travel. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

I’ve decided before my Paris trip, I’m going to pick up one of these Lush Shampoo Bars to try. I’ve had so many people recommend these to me. Do you use them?

If You’ll Be In New York Next Week…

Tish Jett event Rizzoli bookstore. Details at une femme d'un certain age.

You have a chance to attend this fabulous event at Rizzoli Bookstore: a conversation with my dear friend Tish Jett (author of Living Forever Chic: Frenchwomen’s Secrets for Everyday Elegance, Gracious Entertaining, and Enduring Allure), Teri Agins and Lesley Jane Seymour. The event is Monday, November 12, 6-8pm. Oh, how I wish I could hop on a plane and go! (But I will be seeing Tish in December in Paris if all goes as planned.)

And If You’ll Be In LA Today…

Just a reminder: tonight’s the Icon Event at J.Crew in the Westfield Century City Mall. 5-8pm. I’d love to see you there! We’ll be styling pieces from the J.Crew Icons and current collections, and there will be refreshments, a gift with purchase, and more. If you’re planning to attend, you can RSVP here

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18 Comments

  1. I really love Lush products and the shampoo cakes are great – love the fragrance of them. The only drawback for me was the tin. Make sure you can dry out the cake before you put it in the tin, especially for the first couple of uses otherwise it tends to really stick to the tin. Once the cake gets smaller, all is well!

  2. I love the Lush shampoo bar. I also have the conditioner bar. And a shea butter bar (for massages, but I use it as a body cream). All great for travel–no TSA hassle, no spills, no leaks.

  3. They contain ingredients like sodium laurel sulphate that are known irritants and carcinogens.. There are other bar shampoos that are free of these ingredients. You have mentioned trying to use cruelty free, and avoiding toxic ingredients, so thought this might be pertinent for you.

    1. OHSA, American Cancer Council & the National Toxicology Program agree that there is no scientific evidence linking cancer & sodium lauryl sulfate. Just an update.

  4. I may try out the Lush bar now that they have one for very curly/kinky hair – alas it is more expensive than the others. Painful as it is to drop in their shops (FAR too much heavy fragrance) I’d go there to make sure that any scent in the bar is light. It is a great idea in terms of the environment. Eco-shops also carry these, but sometimes they are “for all hair types”, which simply doesn’t work for curly-kinky people.

    I also like to use Argane oil.

    Alas, once again my condoleances to people in the greater LA region…

  5. I use Lush’s ‘Jason and the Argan Oil’ shampoo bar for my coloured hair. It’s great! I also use their conditioner, Veganese.

  6. It’s good that you’re seeking out cruelty-free ingredients early; hasn’t CA enacted a ban on cosmetics tested on animals to begin within a few years?

    I think the larger companies will divide themselves up into different entities to get around it, because I can”t see them abandoning the Chinese market, so they will have to figure something out.

  7. I use Lush shampoo bars, for home and travel. I have ridiculously sensitive skin and the Seanik shampoo bar works very well for me. I don’t use the Lush metal tin because it’s not that easy to open, especially with soapy hands. Plus, it somehow looks suspicious with TSA. I use the large Humangear GoTubb container that opens with one hand. I do leave the container open to let the bar dry.
    For sunscreen, I use eltaMD products from the dermatologist. Their UV Physical Broad-Spectrum sunscreen has zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. The company does not test on animals. There’s no sunscreen smell. It’s made for post-procedure skin, so it’s extra gentle. I use it every day. Plus, it’s less expensive than other brands. No Nordstrom points, though!

  8. I like the Elta MD mineral sunscreen also. In Hawaii they’ve banned the ‘O’s’ b/c of the damage they cause to the delicate coral and sea life here. I haven’t tried Lush products yet.

  9. Forgot to mention: I’ve been using Oribe gentle shampoo which reportedly doesn’t have sodium lauryl sulfates or parabens. It’s expensive! Don’t know if I’ll continue using it, therefore….and btw a trick that Sarah Murdoch (a Rick Steve’s Italy travel guide) uses is to squeeze shampoo into a little plastic cup (you can get screw top Nalgene containers at REI) and let’s it ‘dehydrate’ over the period of a week or something. I haven’t tried this but it seemed like an interesting idea. In other words, she makes her own shampoo ‘bars’ with her own favorite shampoo. Just a thought…..

  10. You are so adorable my dear friend. I wish you could be there by my side.

    I am so excited for you with your J. Crew event. Congratulations. Anyone reading this comment, please go out and see my wonderful friend Susan. You’ll love her style, you’ll just plain love her.

    If you’re on the other coast, please come to see me and have a glass of wine.

    xo,
    Tish

  11. I haven’t tried the Lush shampoo bars, but my daughter uses them and likes them a lot. Seems like a great travel purchase, since it doesn’t count toward your liquids!

  12. I am a huge fan of Lush bars. I use Seanik and Braziliant shampoo bars regularly. They travel so well in the metal tin, clean and rinse easily and leave my hair in great condition (my hair is super straight and medium thick, so it’s hard to mess up). I am also a fan of Lush Toothy Tabs. I have been using their products for several years to get my 3-1-1 down to the barest amount of gooey beauty essentials. Replacing shampoo, toothpaste and a few other things allows me to take my favorite eye cream and face oil. Lush isn’t for everyone, but do give it a try if you like to pack light!

  13. The Andalou Naturals Brightening Vitamin C Beauty Balm does have zinc oxide, and is tinted, but it disappears into my skin. I use it on my face even at the beach and it’s really effective. It’s cruelty free, too.

    I know there’s an argument for supporting Cover Girl now that they’re cruelty free, but it’s taken them since the 80s to get on board, so I have no desire to support them.

  14. In general, I’ve had great luck with Lush products. The shampoo bar worked well for me but I have quite long hair and the conditioner bar just coudn’t cut it. I revisited the store to make sure I was using it correctly and they suggested another (much more fiddly) method but my hair felt dry afterward and was a mess to brush through.