Beauty Stuff - 2

I totally forgot about this face mask by Caudalie when I was talking about my new products a few days ago. I got it in Vegas and I have used it a few times. I like it and it smells wonderful, very herby. I might use it again tonight, if I stay home. First I am going to take a bath, then put on this mask and follow with a honey mask. That will be nice for my skin. Cleansing and moisturizing.
Now what about Caudalie, a skincare line that I have used for years (I use one of their face sprays, the Beauty Elixir) and animal testing? I always thought that Caudalie did not test on animals, it's a bit more complicated than that since they sell their products in China. This is what I gathered about Caudalie and L'Occitane, another skin care line that I use, "China has laws that state that beauty products must undergo animal testing before human use. So while L'Occitane and Caudalie both released statements to The Daily Mail saying that none of their products are ever tested on animals, the bottom line is that if you sell to China, the Chinese government will require those products to undergo animal testing. So companies who sell to China, even if their products are completely cruelty-free up until that point, then become complicit in supporting the continued use of animal testing. Hence the loss of the Leaping Bunny."



I decided to check back on Caudalie before I get any more of their products to see if they have changed anything about their policies on animals testing and China. There are companies that cancelled plans to enter the Chinese market due to the animal testing policies there, one example is Urban Decay. Kudos to Urban Decay!

A few months ago I started thinking more and more about the personal choices I make in my life and how that affects the environment and the animals. I already eat basically no meat, so far 2015 has been completely meat free although I am NOT a vegan but I do admire vegans for their lifestyle. I encourage everybody to eat less meat, read into what eating less meat would mean for you and the environment and of course the animals. ❤
Now I do use products to clean myself, to beautify myself and to clean my home. I decided to try to make better choices. Did I succeed? Well, here follows a personal inventory of my latest products. Here is where I FAILED (let's start with the bad first). I recently got a face cream from MAC in Vegas that I had seen advertised in a magazine. I decided to try it and I use it before work as a face moisturizer. It's called Mineralize Timecheck Lotion. I liked it and went into the MAC store in Anchorage and stocked up on another bottle since there is no MAC store in Kenai. While in Vegas I also exchanged some empty MAC containers for a new eyeshadow. I believe it's 6 empty containers (of MAC products) that you need to bring in to receive a new eye shadow or lip gloss for free but I might be wrong, so don't quote me on that. Anyhow, I picked out a new eyeshadow called Greensmoke. MAC from what I understand tests on animals. They used to be cruelty free (according to some reports that I read) but since they outsourced to China where products have to be tested on animals they are no longer cruelty free. So FAIL on my part.



I also got some new lip glosses. I ran out of my FAVE by NARS called Coeur Sucre and needed that one. Then I saw a gloss called Angelika and got that one too. I found out that NARS does not test on animals. But then I also got some other glosses by Make Up Forever and Sephora's own brand Sephora and those are not cruelty free. From now on I will stick to NARS.



Now here to some better choices. I got these shampoos and conditioners by Paul Mitchell. Not tested on animals. In fact Paul Mitchell is one of the first hair care companies to publicly oppose animal testing. I can say that The Detangler worked really well on my hair.



I got these really nice and yummy smelling lotions by Pacifica. Not tested on animals.
Good stuff!



And here are some products I've had for a while that I want to tell you about.
Eminence Organic Skin Care. I really like Eminence and my mission is to find some great day and night moisturizers by them to start using daily. Eminence products smell AMAZING and edible. The Honedew lotion is wonderful and I really like the Monoi Age Corrective Exfoliating Cleanser. It has small scrubbing beads (finely ground olive seeds actually) in it and I leave it on my face for a while before washing it off. Love it!



I know I have room for improvement and I am working on becoming a better person for this planet. That is my mission.

So as you know.....in case you have been reading my ramblings for a while, I use fake lashes for work and other occasions too, like if I'm going to a party or something but never during the day (I don't bother with any make up during the day, the simpler the better).
A few months ago I tried teaching a girl at work how to apply them. It usually takes a few times before you get a hang of it, I can get them on in about two minutes, that's one minute each eye. Then they stay glued on all night and I take them off before I go to bed. I've been asked how long they last. I reuse mine many times before I discard of them. These that I put on last night are on their last leg though. I have probably used them 15-20 times. If you are careful with the lashes they can be reused. And why go and buy new when you can reuse, right? At least that's my philosophy. So I switch between a few different styles. I get the brand called Ardell which you can find at any Sally beauty Supply, at Smith's or Vons, most large supermarket chains carry Ardell. In Alaska I get them at the local Fred Meyer. I switch off between the "Demi Whispies" or 105 or 117. Always in black.



The other week I found these pretty dark blue ones. I'm not sure where I would wear them so you could actually notice the blue hue but probably a party/rave although those have been few and far in between lately. I need to go out soon or I'm going to turn into a boring fogbone!

Well I finally decided it was waxing time for my legs. The hair on my legs reached new lengths, I was quite impressed with my Sasquatch style.
I haven't been working and therefore not been occupied with shaving my legs. I usually (when I work) shave up to the knee and then wax my upper legs when the hair gets long enough. Usually every five or six weeks or so.....sometimes longer depending on how motivated I am. My upper leg/thigh hair is kind of fine. When I don't work for a while I let my lower leg hair grow out so I can wax it. That hair is darker and coarser, probably from all the shaving. I like the Sally Hansen wax, it works and it's not that expensive, about $11. I rarely go to a salon for a wax because I have had bad waxes where you basically pay a minimum of $40 for somebody to do a shitty job when I can spend $11 and get it done right. So now all of you know that I waxed my legs and everything that there is to know about that. Very important news, I know! If you need a good waxer, I can assist you. But I won't do any Brazilian waxes. So don't even ask.



I'm a hairy beast! I was impressed myself.....it took 1 1/2 jars of the Sally Hansen wax to rid myself of my leg hair. When I wax the thighs only about half a jar is suffucient. Yeay....I'm smooth and hair free now (on my legs that is....he he).

I am a massage lover and a spa lover. In my dream existence I would have one long luxurious and nourishing facial/week, two massages/week and one foot reflexology session/week.
I believe you can keep your skin beautiful by getting regular and quality (of course) facials and your body healthy by getting massages. A while back I wrote about pedicures, that there are places that actually deliver an expert pedicure.....a meticulous one. Not the sloppy "cutting a bit of cuticle, rubbing some lotion on your calves and feet for a couple of minutes and slapping on two layers of polish" places and then you are done and out the door. I have, after some searching found one lady that's OK here in this village....I said OK, not great.
Another thing I am very particular about are my facials. I've had some BAD ones and then I found Anastassia in Anchorage (after somebody recommended her to me). Anastassia is a Russian lady, from my personal experiences Russians and Hungarians are the best schooled in the art of aesthetics.....because it is an ART. And not everybody has the talent, even after they finish whatever school they paid for to get some diploma. That's why I've had so many bad facials, because whoever carried them out sucked at it, despite all the hours spent in school. Anastassia gives an AMAZING facial massage (although she is lazy sometimes and skips it), I mean it's amazing. She has the touch and talent, I would visit her more often if I could (it's too far). I recently came across some articles about facial massages in a magazine. They list some places world wide that are known for their facial massages, of course they mention a spa in Budapest, Los Angeles (I might have to go there next time I visit), New York and Tokyo. I mean, how often when you get a facial does the esthetician give you a long and thorough facial massage? Not often. I've had that done two places, at Anastassia's and Aida Thibiant in Los Angeles and I've had facials all over the US.
Speaking of skin care, I have been using L'Occitane cremes for years, their Immortelle day cream and night cream and I love them. But a while ago I discovered Eminence. An all organic line, originally from Hungary. So far I have only tried a body lotion, Honeydew and it's fantastic and this bamboo face masque. It smells so good and I like it. I might have to invest in some other products like a day and night cream to mix it up with the L'Occitane. And when I had the masque on my face I just had to take a selfie only to show everybody what I look like with a masque on my face!

Had to go out and get some necessities. Needed more lotion. Sometimes I use unscented Lubriderm but I love L'Occitane so I decided to try their vanilla cream. Some vanilla body butter from Body Shop too. And vanilla scented shower creme from Bath & Body Works. I like vanilla and I also like honey scented lotions and cremes. Mandy has this creme from Weleda, it's called Skin Food and it smells like essential oils/aromatherapy, I decided I needed some of that too. And a hand creme from Weleda, my other one I've been using it's almost empty.
I think I'm going to get some for my Mom (the Skin Food), it's really nice.
There is a mall here, I haven't been to a mall in about six months or so. I went to Victoria's Secret but they did not have any bras that I thought were cute enough for me. But I might have found some tennis shoes. I need a new pair, or two. I will go back to the mall in a few days and try them on, I'm excited! Right now I'm just laying in bed and relaxing......tired.