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Vegan And Cruelty-Free Products Glycerin, cochineal, uric acid, musk, keratin, lanolin... These are the examples of animal-derived components found in beauty, skincare and household products. There's a lot more where that came from, but the ones I listed are quite well-known.

Some of them are gross when you think about it. Ambergris, for example, is a waxy substance secreted in the intestines of sperm whales to aid in the passage of hard and sharp objects. Sometimes, it is vomited out when the ambergris is too large to pass as fecal matter. The ambergris is collected when found floating on the sea or washed up ashore. It was frequently used in perfumes as a setting agent to make scents last longer, but perfume makers now use a synthetic agent due to the scarcity of ambergris. It is still found in some perfumes around the world though.

Although ambergris is harvested much like eggs and manure, I avoid it. This is because I stick to a vegan AND cruelty-free range of products, and rarely do I use products that are vegetarian. When I'm on the search for something new to add to my bathroom or laundry cabinet, I research the brands and the parent companies. Not just that, I make sure to read the ingredients list of every product I'm interested in to ensure there are no animal ingredients.

A comprehensive list of animal ingredents can be found here: Peta's Animal Ingredients List. They also include ingredients in food. The only issue with this list is that it doesn't show the e-numbers associated with the ingredient. For example, gelatine can be printed as e441 on food packaging, L-Cysteine as e920 so it gets really confusing. Here is a link that lists ALL of the e-numbers that are definitely, or may be, derived from animals: Non-Vegetarian E-Numbers List. I suggest printing out a copy of both lists and keeping them with you for reference.

Now, back to the purpose of this post. I thought the readers might like to know what brands and products I use on a daily basis. Keep in mind that everything that I use are vegan, cruelty-free, (mostly) affordable and easily obtainable in Australia. Bonus point is that they are all reliable and work very well for their purpose. 1. Nature's Organics: the parent company to the following brands; Earth Choice, Organic Care, Fruits, Australian Pure, Purity Sensitive, and Spa. I use Organic Care for haircare and Earth Choice for laundry, kitchen and cleaning supplies. I find these at most supermarkets, and surprisingly, The Reject Shop. 2. Original Source: has a great range of scented body washes, scrubs and hand soaps. The packaging is edgy and attractive for young people like us. A little goes a long way, so the slightly higher price tag is worth it. It frequently goes on special in supermarkets, so keep an eye out. I especially love the Mint and Tea Tree Shower Gel. 3. e.l.f. Cosmetics:  This brand is cruelty-free and vegan except for a few of their brushes and is super cheap considering the quality. It can be found in Kmart but I buy them from iHerb due to the cheaper prices and occasional specials. There is also free shipping on orders above $40. Just note that the website is in US currency, so adjust it to AUS currency when you use it. Use this code to get a $5 discount on your first order, or $10 if your order total is $40 or more: CHC596. 4. Shanghai Suzy: My newest love, Shanghai Suzy. Australian-owned, the lipsticks are $12.95 each, super pigmented, nourishing and wonderful to apply. The price tag might be steep for some of you, but let me assure you that it is WORTH IT! I normally stock up on my favourite shades through Miss Pearl's Store when it goes on special to take advantage of the free shipping on orders over $15. On my first order, I bought three shades, as two shades I had wanted were on special for $8.00 and $7.00, and with 20% off by following one of their social media pages, my order total had come up to $22.36. Score! 5. Australis: I rarely buy Australis cosmetics unless it is on special or there's a bargain bin at Priceline filled to the brim with them. The reasoning for that is Australis is generally out of my price range. Some of their products are great though, like the Velourlips range - super long-lasting matte liquid lipsticks. Sign up for the Priceline Sister Club so that you can be notified of sales. 6. Face of Australia: Like Australis, I rarely buy from this brand due to it being generally out of my price range. It doesn't go on sale very often but it has some great products that I love, like the 3 in 1 face primer. I visit Priceline every week just to see if the brand has gone on special so I can take advantage of the sales.

You may have noticed that I haven't listed any skin care products such as facial cleansers and moisturisers. I was using St Ives. products as my skincare routine but recently, without my knowledge, the brand was bought out by Unilever and is no longer cruelty-free. So I'm in the process of finishing up what little I have left before I move onto something else.

Another link worth checking is a list of brands that are cruelty free, with markers next to each one signalling whether they are vegan, vegetarian and so on: Cruelty-Free Brands.

I hope this has given you readers enough of an idea of what products I use every day. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me. My little Phoebe says hello~ Labels: Beauty, Household 8/03/2015

