Finding cosmetic goodies in some countries can be really tough. In Argentina it requires a lot of time, patience and frustration. There are a lot of not-tested-on-animal products, but most of them have dead animals inside!! How ironic!!! I?ve been able to find only ONE brand that has FEW vegan options, most of their stuff has beewax or lanoline or some -yuck- have lactic acid. But it?s the only brand that doesn?t test and doesn?t kill. It makes me sad that they do turture though. There?s an organic market twice a week that has handmade soaps and aftershave, but these fake hippies use fat in some of their products. Then when it comes to make-up I only have Mac, not even Clinique because they don?t test but use animal stuff, and not all Mac products are vegan. I?ve given up on looking for some stuff and I?ve managed to make some products at home:

Toothpaste: mix baking powder, mint oil, hydrogen peroxide water vol 10. First time?s yucky, then you get used to it, and it is great to whiten teeth. I use a lot of mint oil.

Deodorant: mineral water, alcohol, squezeed lemmon juice and rose petals.

Aftershave: mineral water, alcohol, squezzed lemmon juice and aloe vera. If you sweat a lot add a LITTLE apple vinager.

Make up remover: first mineral water then grape oil

Face tonic: mineral water, let it absorbe

Femenine pads: nondisposable. there are many brands, here?s one. [www.pinkrobin.co.uk]

Shaving cream: organic aloe vera conditioner

Nail polish: contrary to what I always thought, nails look great without anything on!!! I thought they didn?t but that was because I would never let them breathe and also because I ate crap. So let them rest and see how they look.

When you don?t depend on industries you feel so free!!!!!!

note: always try to find the mineral water that has the most amount of minerals.

Peace&Love

You ladies should check out Arbonne cosmetics. I have been using them for a year and absolutley love them. I actually recently decided to become a consultant because i was telling so many people about their products. All of their products are certified vegan. Their products are not tested on animals and do not contain animal derived ingredients or animal by-products. They have over 400 products in their catalog. These products are awesome. Check my website for more info.

Peace.

www.islandbotanicals.myarbonne.ca

Thanks Jen!
These products look amazing...

Try looking up "Leaping Bunny" for cosmetic companies who do not test on animals. They will send you a tiny pamphlet with approved companies listed...they are very particular so you can feel good about buying from their list. The only caveat is that not all products will be vegan, but at least you'll have a good list to pick from and can read the label to see if it is vegan or not. I buy cleaning products that are Leaping Bunny approved as well so it's helpful there too...good luck!

Brands I buy include Sukin organics (http://www.sukinorganics.com/), Nature's organics (http://www.naturesorganics.com.au/) and Nature's Gate (http://www.natures-gate.com/)

To be honest, I don't use cosmetics very often because I don't see the need to disguise my face for the sake of pleasing others.

Also, I have noticed that olive oil, coconut oil and castor oil are all good to use for hair and skin, I even use them as lip balms and small amounts as lotion or leave in conditioner.
Mix some of said oils with avocado and you have a pretty good face mask
Apple cider vinegar is great to use to cleanse hair, it works better than most shampoos I have used to be honest lol
And sometimes I use vegan pure henna for my hair to make it look better.

For nail polish I've been going to spas that use Spa Ritual, which is a vegan nail polish brand.