One of my goals for the year was to try to live more sustainably. I already eat a plant-based diet and buy my vegetables locally and organically, so the next big thing on my list to tackle was to try to swap out my beauty products so that when I run out of a product, I buy a cruelty-free alternative, and ideally a vegan one. So far it’s been successful and quite an enjoyable process. I recommend a gradual swapping over like I’m doing, instead of just binning everything that you’ve been using because that’s so wasteful. And for me one of the biggest points is to reduce waste.
I’ve also been trying to go plastic-free whenever possible, though it’s more difficult than you might think at the grocery store. Once you’re cognisant of how much plastic packaging there is with your food, you can’t help but see its over-use everywhere! I ended up walking home last week with a loose avocado in each pocket because at all the big shops near me they were sold in a plastic container that was then wrapped in plastic but my local greengrocer sells them loose. But that’s a story for a different day.
Cruelty-Free Beauty
Their motto is:
“In a world where you can be anything, be kind to animals”
— WILDLING BOX CO.
I was lucky enough to be gifted a sample Wildling Box and I’m an absolute convert. It’s a lifestyle subscription box service based in London and 20% of the proceeds go to animal charities around the world (such as the RSPCA, SANCCOB, and the Humane League.) They feature great cruelty-free brands based in the UK.
Every month each box contains 5 – 7 items including either a cotton tee, tote or make-up bag printed with cruelty-free slogans. This month included a tote bag, two pins, a bath bomb, a lip butter, a facial scrub and a body butter.
I love my tote. It’s my new favourite; it’s cute whilst making a statement. It smelled divine from being in the box with all the beauty products so Harold tried to eat it but I valiantly rescued it from him.
My favourite beauty product in the box is the Miss Patisserie watermelon body souffle (the body butter). Miss Patisserie is a vegan beauty brand and the watermelon product smells insanely good. This is something I’ll definitely seek out to replace once I’ve used it all up. It contains rice bran oil and sweet almond oil so it feels very silky and nourishing. It retails at £7.
I also really loved the Lucky Cloud Coconut lip butter. I absolutely love the way it smells and the tin takes up so little room in your bag. (It reminded me of a Tarte lip product circa 2006.) It wasn’t sticky at all and soaked into my lips very nicely. This is another I would repurchase for me. The lip butter is vegan friendly and retails at £4.50.
I haven’t used the bath ball yet as I’m saving it until after we move house, but I’m sure it will be equally wonderful!
The Skin and Tonic Gentle scrub left my skin feeling wonderful when I use it in the morning to start the day. It contains oats, rosehips and french pink clay. It made my skin feel very soft. The scrub is a powder that you have to mix with water before applying and it took me a little while to get used to it. I didn’t get the consistency right the first few times but once I nailed it, I liked it. It retails at £18.
The subscription fee is £29 per box. Just counting the beauty products alone it’s great value for money, but when you throw in the non-beauty items (in this case the tote) it’s excellent! You can subscribe to the box here. **Not all of the products in the Wildling Box are vegan**
Aesop
Aesop is somewhat of a hipster and beauty blogger staple, but the Australian based company is cruelty-free. As well as not testing its products or ingredients on animals, all Aesop’s skincare products (aside from its brushes) are vegan.
I’m partial to the parsley seed cleansing masque and the resurrection aromatique hand balm. All of Aesop’s products smell good enough to eat and I love the minimalist packaging, though the price can be a bit steep.
Pixi Beauty
I don’t have a lot of experience with their other products, but I absolutely swear by Pixi’s Glow Tonic. Pixi Beauty is cruelty-free and has a lot of vegan products (including the Glow Tonic)
Lush
Lush is everyone’s high-street safe bet. And it’s well-known for its wide range of vegan and organic products and its stance against animals testing. Lush says that at the moment, around 80% of their products are suitable for vegans, but there are a few ingredients like milk, honey, lanolin and eggs that are not suitable. It also has a strong environmental policy, selling many cosmetics without plastic packaging, making it a leader in the solid cosmetics market.
Besides the obvious bath bombs, I’m a big fan of Lush’s massage oil bars, as well as the dream cream. I also love the plum rain shower gel and the daddy-o shampoo. I’d like to try one of their shampoo bars (to minimise on plastic) when my current shampoo runs out. I also recommend the toothy tabs which are great for traveling!
Myroo *
I mentioned Myroo in a blog post a few weeks ago. Myroo is a Yorkshire brand (made in Harrogate) and all their products are vegan, organic and natural. There are fragrance-free options for every product and they are cruelty-free as well.
In fact, they are the UK’s first entirely “free from” skincare line and are particularly cognisant of people with allergies and sensitive skin.
The first thing I’ve to try is the Gentle Cleanser. It has Apricot Kernel Oil, Starflower Oil and is scented with Orange Blossoms. Then there’s the skin boost serum with the same scent profile with the addition of rosehip and raspberry seed oil. The superfood balm contains cucumber, raspberry, mango, papaya, carrot, avocado, and olive. It’s suitable to use all over the body. And last but not least, I’ve the lip balm in spearmint with Jojoba and Coconut oil.
I’ve actually given Sam the cleanser and toner because he loved them so much. However, I’ve kept the superfood balm for myself and have been slathering it on. In fact, I credit it for my tattoo healing through its peeling phase so quickly!
What are your favourite cruelty-free brands? OR even better, what are your vegan, cruelty-free brand recommendations that use minimal packaging?
*** Anything donated with a (*) has been given to me as a PR sample. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.***
