The Truth About Animal Testing

In order to mark Be Cruelty Free Week, I thought I'd share these brilliant posts from The Plastic Diaries which give a lot of information about animals (including some gory details, but nothing I've not seen before).  Also if you would like to sign the pledge to go Cruelty Free, you can find it here.

Part 1: What Is Animal Testing?

This is the first section of her post which is goes into what sort of experiments are carried out and how companies can pull the wool over consumers eyes by using certain terms.

Part 2: EU Ban on Animal Testing

The second part looks into the EU ban on animal testing (which had its first year anniversary on the 11th March!) and how this actually affects companies and their policies - clearing up any false ideas that the ban implies!

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Photo is of Kali, our wee elderly cat who sadly passed away at the start of the month.  She was 20 - had a long and happy life!

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Paperbacks & Beauty Facts: Pet Vlog!

This week we are introducing you to all our pets!!

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NOTD: Coral Sun

I bought this Coral nail varnish the other day as Barry M were doing 3 for 2 so I decided to go for this as I don't have one this colours.  Although applying it on my nails it reminded me of the Tangerine nail varnish from Barry M but I haven't compared them side by side yet.  I would assume that Tangerine is more yellow and less pink.

I was looking at this on my nails and it was very uninspiring so I added Models Own Tropical Sun over the top and I love it!  New favourite combination!  Tropical Sun has a gold duochrome and tiny bits of gold glitter in it, it's so pretty when it hits the light.  I wore it to work and got loads of compliments from colleagues and customers.

(I was ambushed by Rory during taking the photos for this, at least he sort of matches!)

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Rory Update!

Rory is now (roughly) nearly 4 months old!  We don't know when exactly he was born, but going from how old the woman we got him from said he was, I am guessing he was born around the 16th of September.

He is getting so big, it's hard to tell because I'm seeing him everyday but looking at photos now, and then ones from when we first got him you can really see the difference!

He is the sweetest kitten ever when he is tired, he loves cuddles and being snuggled up really close.  However he has these crazy turns where you would actually think he is spawn of the devil.  He rounds around mental and attacks everything that moves: bare feet, other cats, fingers, hair...  I can't wait for him to stop so all my cuts can heal :(

We took him outside for the first time which was fairly unexciting.  He was in a harness (photo below!) which used to be Tia's from when she was a kitten, so it is pink!  So cute!  Even though he had kept making a mad dash for freedom every time we opened the door, once outside he was very wary of the surroundings and didn't go very far.  The second time I took him out and he literally just stood on the patio and shivered, it was so pathetic!  He will be neutered in a couple of months and then he will be allowed out by himself so I'm not sure what he'll think of that.  It's probably better if he is a bit scared and just stays close by - nice and safe!

Cuddles with dad!

Best Friends!

He has bonded with Theo which is good because the girls, Tia and Kali, hate him haha!  They do a lot of play (sometimes it gets a bit more serious...) fighting, and Rory pesters the hell out of him but most of the time it is in a friendly sort of way.

Wearing his harness, adorable!!

He was washing and then forgot he'd left his leg up there....

On the day before the decorations came down, he discovered he could climb up the tree!

Taking a risk by cuddling up to Kali

This is the first photo of him when we brought him home, for comparison

And lastly, here is a photo of Tia on Christmas Day so she doesn't feel left out!

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Louise Loves #6

This week has been rather stressful as my first two portfolios were to be handed in on Tuesday!  We had a bit of a panic as the printer broke, and then ran out of ink the night before it was due and I hadn't printed it out yet... yes very disorganised, I know haha!

Pritt Stick Glue in Pink

This was the only one they had, I swear!!  I've not used glue since about 5th year when I did Higher Art!  This thing has been very handy especially on Tuesday morning when I was cutting and gluing about 45 minutes before I needed to leave for college!  I also used this to cover my eyebrows when I did a Hallowe'en makeup practice, but I didn't bother doing it on the actual night.

Rory the Kitten!

A week ago this little bundle of fluff (and claws and teeth!) moved in with us.  Although he is very bitey and scratchy, and isn't quite litter trained yet, there is nothing cuter than a tiny little kitten cuddling up to you and purring away!

Gym Class Membership

Last week my friend and I decided to join our local gym as they do unlimited classes for £25/month and it covers 3 of the leisure centres in our area.  So far we have been to Hips, Bums & Tums, Boxercise and Kettlercise!  My favourite was definitely Boxercise, it was so fun!  I also want to go to yoga as I've not done it since the 8 week block I did a while ago.  Ideally I'd like to go to three classes a week, one being yoga, but life gets in the way!  This week we only managed one, never mind!

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Kitty Face Shoes!

I've seen this style of shoe making the rounds quite a lot recently and I fell in love as soon as I saw them, they are just adorable!  They were originally designed by Charlotte Olympia and you can see those particular ones here.  At nearly £500 they are extremely exprensive!  However, the good old high street got to work and there are now a few copies floating about the internet if you can get your hands on them.

I got my pair from Daisy Street Shoes for a mere £21, with free delivery!  I had to pre-order them and wait a wee while for them but they arrived much quicker than I had expected, it was so exciting!  I think that Missguided are also selling them for slightly more.

The shoes have a velveteen feel to them and the stitching is in a pewter colour rather than gold which the original pair are embroidered with, and the little ears are floppy!  They also don't have a heel unlike the originals but I definitely prefer them without. 

As much as I love these they have taken rather a lot of breaking in!  They were very stiff when they arrived, so I just put a pair of thick socks on and wore them around my house.  They are much better now but not exactly comfy just yet!  Hopefully they will soften up soon, I still love them anyway!

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Quick Thoughts: Lush Animal Testing Campaign

I know everyone and their granny is blogging about this at the moment so I will keep it very brief!  I just wanted to say how pleased I am Lush did this, it has definitely caused a big stir in the beauty industry and it is something which was really needed in my opinion.  I know a lot of people were upset because their children saw it, and I can appreciate that it would be quite traumatising for very young children but I for one will be raising my children to know what is going on behind closed doors in the beauty and farming (another story!) industry.  I know this seems to be a rather controversial subject and I don't really want to go into it any more depth than that at the moment but I felt as cruelty-free advocate I should at least mention it!

I share Karrisx's views pretty much and she did a great post about it last night which left me sobbing into my kitty! Here is a link to her's here.

Theo looking cuteee!

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OOTD: My Wee Gran's Birthday!

I wasn't in uni until 2 today and it was my gran's birthday so we went out for morning tea (worst thing ever; I had brunch, mozzarella, tomato and pesto panini!).  It was a lovely sunny day so I decided to wear a dress - also I haven't done a wash in far too long and have ran out of socks...  Anyway my dress is from Therapy by House of Fraser and I got it ages ago in a sale.  It has a cut out back and little buttons and a zip to fasten.  I paired it with my orange blazer from New Look which I love and my cute wee daisy earrings, no idea where these are from... Peacocks perhaps?  

And while I was in my mum's room taking photos of myself in the mirror I thought I'd take one of our elderly (20 year old) cat Kali!  She is half Burmese and half feral... very unique!

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Superdrug Update

In my post about Superdrug I said I'd find out whether this was still continuing and I had a look on their website and came across this:

Since 2006 we have been working to raise fund and awareness to support charities which work on skin cancer campaigns. We have worked with the Institute of Cancer Research, the Teenage Cancer Trust and CRUK and this year will see us exceed raising over £1 million for skin cancer charities over the last six years.

Which can be found here, and pretty much answers the question, unfortunately they are still doing it and are not showing signs of stopping any time soon!

Complimentary cat photo!

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Why I try to avoid Superdrug...

I have mentioned in a few posts and on twitter recently that I try to avoid Superdrug and understandably I've had people asking me why, so I am writing this to explain why!

I found out last summer through CCTV for Slaughterhouse's facebook page that although BUAV approved, Superdrug were raising money and donating it to charities such as Cancer Research UK and The Institute of Cancer Research who both use animal testing in their medical research.  This seems very hypocritical to me and is annoying that BUAV don't take this into account (they also don't take parent companies stance on animal testing into consideration).

So sent Superdrug the following email using their contact link:

I am just writing to you to say how pleased I was when your own brands were BUAV approved - which is fantastic.  However I am now very disappointed to discover that you are raising money to donate to charities which use animal testing in the medical field (Cancer Research UK, The Institute of Cancer Research).  I find this very hypocritical and if you really believe that testing on animals is wrong then you should not be contributing to these institutions who believe that animal testing is excusable.  It is also unethical for you to be using people who are against animal testing’s money to pass it on to companies who do so.  This is completely unfair, and in my honest opinion just plain vulgar.  I really hope you review your decision and in the future donate to cruelty free charities instead.  Until then I am very sorry to say I will be boycotting all your products.
Sincerely,
Louise Brown

Please feel free to copy and paste this if you want to contact them yourself!

And here is the reply I received:

Dear Miss Brown,

Thank you for your email enquiry regarding Cancer research UK.

Superdrug supports Cancer Research UK as part of its campaign to educate customers on the dangers of skin cancer and the ways this disease can be avoided by taking some simple steps during the summer.  Rates of skin cancer are increasing each year in the UK and we believe that offering our customers the expertise and advice of the country’s biggest charity cancer research UK, is vital to help stop this growth.

Neither Superdrug or its own brand manufacturers commission animal testing on any of its own brand products or ingredients.  All Superdrug’s own brand beauty and health products carry accreditation from the BUAV.

Thank you for contacting Superdrug.


Kind Regards
Miss S Berry
Superdrug Customer Relations

Which in my opinion is a load of crap.  How about you stop selling low factor sunscreen (pointed out to me by one of the wonderful members of the facebook group “CCTV for all slaughterhouses”)?  Why don’t you do your own research and find a cruelty free charity to support?  By advocating a cruelty free charity I am sure they would gain a lot more of support from various groups!  I am pretty shocked by their sheer ignorance to be honest.  I know that there are a lot of people who shop there for the sole reason that they are cruelty free and vegan, so taking these people's money and putting it towards the very thing that they are against?  They have been ‘unliked’ and ‘unfollowed’ by me!  I urge you to email them if you agree with me - they need to know that this is wrong!

Admittedly, I have bought a couple of things from Superdrug since I found out about this, but I did use my points so only had to pay for a pound of it!  I am buying a lot less than what I would be buying anyway!

Also this was last year so I am not 100% sure if they are still doing this, but considering it is coming up to summer again the chances are that they are.  I will look into this!  Click here for an update.

Thanks for reading, a very boring wordy post again boo!!

 

Cute kitty picture!

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*EDIT: I no longer avoid Superdrug as buying cruelty free is tough enough as it is, however if there is an easy alternative I will try to use it!*

Day 6. Six Favorite Makeup Brands

Barry M: 
Love their nail varnish!  Loads of great colours.

Nars:
Very expensive but they have gorgeous blushers and eyeshadows.

Urban Decay:
Most of their products are really good, wide range of eyeshadow colours.  Amazing primer obviously!
 
Lush:
Not make up as such but they do count themselves as selling cosmetics.  I love their soap and also especially Dorothy bubble bar, mmmm!

E.L.F:
With a price range of about £1.50 to £3.50 they have such a huge selection of products.  Some aren't so good but some are sooo good for the money.
 
Boots own brands:
This is just my go-to brand for make up remover wipes, hair dye... just anything I'm not sure where to get it from I know I can trust them for being cruelty-free.  They have lots of other brands so have so many things to choose from and of course you earn boots points, which you can use to spend with later!

This is a very boring pictureless post so here is a photo of my cat Theo :)

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