Current Cruelty Free Favourites

If you're a regular reader of TheRobynChristina then you may know that I recently made the decision to go cruelty free.  This means that I've had an excuse to try out some new products recently and thought I would share some of my new finds.  Yippee!

Original Source shower gels

I've loved these shower gels for ages and since discovering that they are vegan and don't test on animals I'm just working my way through the collection. The Pineapple and coconut one is definitely in the running to be my number one as it the perfect holiday smell but I know my boyfriend loves the mint one! They're really affordable and are really easy to find in the shops. 

Palmers Cocoa Butter Natural Bronze body lotion

I've used bits and bobs from Palmers before but since discovering that they're a cruelty free brand I've been trying a few more of there products. One that I have really been enjoying is the natural bronze body lotion which is basically a gradual tan. The scent is the classic cocoa butter which my boyfriend is definitely not a fan of, I quite like it and it stops the nasty fake tan smell so I'm happy. It leaves my skin feeling super soft and gives a nice natural tan than builds up quickly over a few days. This is definitely up there with my favourite gradual tans. 

OGX shampoo and conditioner 

I'd seen this range around before and had never really looked in to it but after running out of shampoo one day and having to quickly stock up I found these and turned out they're cruelty free so that was me sold! They have a lot of different versions and I have only tried a couple so far but I really liked the macadamia oil one a lot. I've been trying to get my hair in really good condition lately and felt that these really helped nourish it. 

Dermalogica skin perfect primer 

You may or may not know that I am a beauty therapist and I have recently been doing some training with dermalogica. Training usually involves trying out lots of products and I always end up wanting to buy everything. Some times if you're very lucky you get given some samples to try and I ended up with a few of these beauties and I'm a little bit in love. This is a tinted primer that creates the perfect base for you're makeup. If I want a lighter look I sometimes just wear this with a little bit of concealer. It has anti-ageing properties and spf 30 so is just an all round gem. I will definitely be getting a full size when my minis have ran out 

.Sleek Matte Me liquid lipstick in birthday suit

I've recently been looking for a cruelty free version of some of my favourite nude lipsticks. Luckily for me Sleek is a great brand that also happens to be cruelty free and whilst browsing there shelves I found this little beauty. Birthday suit is a gorgeous dark nude and dries completely matte. It doesn't budge once it's on. Like most liquid lipsticks it does tend to get a bit dry but popping a little bit of lip balm on top helps with that. 

Being cruelty free is still new to me and I am definitely still learning. Please let me know any recommendations you have on any other products you think I should try. I will be keeping you posted on any other great finds very soon. 

Going Cruelty Free

I've been a vegetarian for a long time now and a few years ago I decided to stop wearing leather so I don't know why it's taken me so long to realise that it's equally bad ( or worse) to use cosmetics that aren't cruelty free. I'm honestly a bit embarrassed that I didn't realise sooner. Looking on the brighter side, I am 25 years young and have the rest of my life to be cruelty free.

Making this decision hasn't been too easy for me. There's a lot more to consider than you might think and I am still in the transitional period. I had products that were already opened when I made the decision and I decided it made sense to finish those before buying animal friendly replacements. It also wasn't until I noticed cruelty free cleaning products in my house that I realised I would have to consider those as well. It's definitely a learning curve but I'm starting to get the hang of it now and for me it's definitely worth it. 

If you've read all this and are feeling frustrated because I haven't actually explained what being cruelty free means, then I apologise for my poor blogging skills, sorry. To me, being cruelty free  simply means using products that do not test on animals and that don't use animal derived products. I've started to find some good brands that match this criteria and I'll definitely be sharing some of my faves once I've found them.  All in all I'm happy with my decision and I now have an excuse to try out some new goodies! Yippee!