Vegan Makeup!

I'm not the kind of woman who wears makeup everyday. Unless I'm doing something really special, I usually go makeup-less. That being said, every once in awhile I get in the mood to wear it again. I hadn't purchased any makeup since I became a vegan, so I wanted to make sure the make-up that I bought was cruelty free. I also have the added issue of being allergic to the ingredients in many mainstream make up items, so I also had to make sure they were hypo-allergenic. Here are my reviews of a couple of the items that I purchased.

1) Mineral eyeshadow from Madison Street Beauty at http://www.etsy.com/shop/MadisonStreetBeauty

Reg. Price: $5

 I LOVE eyeshadow, but since my eyes are very sensitive, there are only a few types of eyeshadow that I can wear without my eyes watering. I had heard that mineral eye shadows were supposed to be great for people with allergies because the ingredients are more natural, so I decided to give them a whirl. Thankfully, I found a wonderful Etsy shop that sells handmade mineral makeup called Madison Street Beauty. I LOVE this shop because of their very wide selection of vegan items, and the fact that all of their items are all-natural, talc free, hypoallergenic, and of course are never tested on animals. They were having a great 60% sale when I bought my eyeshadow, so I was able to get two of them for about the same price that you would pay for one in a regular store. The colors that I bought are "Heliotrope" (the dark purple) and "California Sun". So far, I have worn the California shade. I wore it for about 4.5 hours indoors and I really like it. It didn't bother my eyes at all and there was no visible creasing. The store is currently listed as "on vacation", so you can't purchase anything right now, but I'd advise you to sign up to be notified when they re-open. I know that I will definitely be a repeat customer!

California Sun

Heliotrope

2) Physician's Formula

  Another makeup brand that I like is Physicians Formula. There foundations are wonderful for sensitive skin, available at mainstream stores, not tested on animals, and they make some of their products in North America. Unfortunately, you have to be careful because some of their brushes are made with animal hair (yes, I know, yuck). However, I can recommend one of their foundations which I have used that is 100% vegan: Mineral Wear Talc-Free Liquid Foundation. It is easy to apply and doesn't bother my skin. I like the fact that it has a built in applicator. You can find a list of Physician's Formula's vegan products here: http://veggiebeauty.com

There are many other cruelty free cosmetics companies out there. A great resource to help you find them is PETA's Cruelty Free Companies list. It is a list of companies that have certified to be cruelty free. The list even tells you whether or not the company is vegan. On the flip side, they also have a list of companies to avoid. You can find those lists at PETA's cruelty free companies list .

Until next time, have fun with being beautiful inside and out!

A Few More of My Favorite Things!

It's time for another edition of my favorite things, which features wonderful vegan items from Etsy sellers! Keep in mind that I may not have actually purchased anything from the sellers listed here. All prices listed include shipping in the USA.


Vegan Mandolin Strap $30 from Islandprovisions1
 If I played the mandolin, I'd definitely buy this strap! I LOVE the peace sign! They also sell guitar, and ukulele straps in the same design.

Peace Flower Necklace $21 from Purpleandlime

This far out necklace features peace signs, flowers, and faux suede. You can't beat that!















Vegans Do It Better Tank Top $23.50 from LittleAtoms

This one is pretty much self-explanatory. Be sure to check out this shops hippie-themed items as well!

Peace To All Creatures Zine $8 from Gingercardco

I have several of volumes of the "Peace to All Creatures" zines (but unfortunately not this one...yet!). They are always chock full of great tips about living a vegan and eco-friendly life. I highly recommend this zine!

And now a little self promotion:

Team Veggie Pinback Button/Badge/Magnet $3.95 from my shop: TheVeganHippieFreak

This is my newest vegan themed creation! This is a button, but I can also make it into a refridgerator magnet upon request. If you would like a magnet, just put the word magnet in the notes to seller section at checkout. If that area if left blank I will send a button.
The button/magnet measures 5.7 cm (2.25 inches) and was made with recycled paper!

Book review: Animal Liberation.

 Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated the blog! In that time, I've been busy going to job interviews, volunteering, reading, and running my Etsy shop. I just wanted to write a short review of one of the books I just finished called "Animal Liberation" by Peter Singer. When reading this review, keep in mind that there have been several editions published over the years. This review pertains to the 1990 edition (it's a library book). Anyway, I found this book very informative. Mr. Singer is a philosopher and he presents a very good moral argument for animal rights. He begins the book by explaining how he became a vegetarian and presents his argument that humans and other animals should be given equal consideration. Next, he details many of the cruel experiments conducted by private labs and the government. What's really chilling is that much of the information in this chapter comes from direct quotes of the researchers themselves. He reveals several facts that the public at large isn't aware of: the fact that the vast majority of animal experiments are not considered important enough to warrant publication in the scientific journals, and the fact that many of the "experiments" done do not yield any new information. He gives an example of one experiment paid for by the US Public Health Service in which 33 dogs were put in a chamber heated to 113 degrees Fahrenheit and forced to exercise on a treadmill. 25 of the 33 dogs died. The survivors were put into a 122 degree chamber (without the treadmill) in which all but two of them died in 24 hours. The conclusion that they reached was that the outcome was consistent with all the previous literature on heat exposure and heat stroke in humans (which there was a lot of)! You can find the full description of the experiment on page 63.

In the next chapter, he explains (in graphic detail) exactly what happens on factory farms. This chapter is not for the squeamish, because he doesn't pull any punches! He describes the horrible conditions that cows, pigs, chickens, ect are forced to endure. He talks a great deal about battery cages, gestation crates, and the veal industry. The next time someone says "why don't you eat eggs/drink milk? No animals are harmed to get those", hand them the book and tell them to read chapter 3 and see how mistaken they are.

The fourth chapter is dedicated to the benefits of a vegetarian diet and how to make the transition. The only objection I have to this chapter is that he stops short of recommending veganism. While Mr. Singer does advise the reader to avoid dairy and battery eggs, he states that he sees nothing wrong with "free range" eggs. To his credit, Mr. Singer made a statement after this edition was published in which he said that he is slowly becoming more vegan as the years go by. Let's hope he becomes a full vegan soon!

The final two chapters deal with speciesism, or the belief that only humans have rights and that we can do whatever we want to animals. In these chapters, he explores how speciest thought has been ingrained in humans over the centuries and dismantles many speciest arguments.

Overall, I really liked the book. I feel that it has the potential to educate both devout steak lovers and veteran vegans.While some may argue about whether or not speciesism is as much of a concern as racism or sexism, one cannot argue that the farming and experimental methods described are beyond cruel. I highly recommend reading this book at least once. You can pick up the latest edition on Amazon.com

Have a happy hippie day!

My Favorite Things From The EtsyVeg group

I recently joined a great Etsy group called EtsyVeg, which is for vegan/vegetarian crafters on Etsy. I have decided to share some of my favorite items made by EtsyVeg members. Keep in mind that just because I list something here it doesn't mean I've actually purchased anything from the seller.

1. Vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Doughnuts.

Yes, you can buy vegan goodies online! These doughnuts are available for $15 from VeganLotus



2. Harry Potter Blanket

I'm a HUGE Harry Potter Fan, so naturally I LOVE this blanket!  Unfortunately, I don't have $200! If you do, you can get this at Magglepie

3. Batman Recycled Wallet.

A vegan wallet made from recycled comic books. Very cool! $10 from Polyester10

Beautiful Healthy 71 year old vegan

When your friends and family question whether or not being a vegan is healthy, show them this video! She looks AMAZING!

Non-violent social activism

 Today is Martin Luther King Jr. day in the US. Dr. King was a great man who is one of my personal heroes. For those of you who don't know who he was, Dr. King was an African American Baptist preacher who became one of the most famous men in America in the 1950s and 1960s. He was famous for standing up for the rights of minorities and the poor using non-violent activism. He help organize the Montgomery bus boycott, which lead to the desegregation of the bus system in Montgomery Alabama in the late 1950s. He helped to lead many peaceful protest marches and demonstrations against racism and segregation in the 1960s, including the March on Washington where he gave the famous "I Have a Dream" speech. He was the victim of violence on multiple occasions, including having his home firebombed by white supremacists. Even though people used violence against him, he never sought revenge. He taught others to turn the other cheek and practiced what he preached. Sadly, this peaceful man was murdered for his beliefs in April 1968. He was taken from us too soon, but his spirit and his message will always live on.

In honor of Dr. King, I present some tips on ways that you can be a non-violent advocate for people and animals in you everyday life.

1.Speak up. You can do this in several ways. Read PETA's action alerts, sign petitions, and call or write your state or federal representatives and urge them to oppose bills that hurt animals and support those that help them. Another great way to speak up is via Facebook and Twitter. Post links to animal rights websites and articles, notify your friends about animals that are available for adoption, or share yummy vegan recipes.


2. Go mobile! You can spread the message of veganism wherever you go by wearing animal rights message shirts, buttons, and bumper stickers. As I have said before, seeing you wearing these things often makes people curious, and that can lead to great teaching moments. Another good thing to do is keep a few vegan info leaflets (on recycled paper if possible) with you so you can give them to people who are interested in learning more.

3. Tabling. See if you can get permission to set up an information table at your local school, business, library, store, etc. You can have poster boards with pictures and info, a video playing, leaflets, coupons for veggie burgers, and more. If possible, provide samples of vegan food so people can see for themselves that we eat more than salad.

For more tips, see this great article from Vegan Outreach. The article goes in depth about how to starting tabling and leaf letting.

Remember Dr. King's message and keep standing up for the animals.