Beauty Haul Summer 2014

My collective haul

My project ten pan/ project ? pan is going quite well. I've used up almost 100 products this year so far! Part of this challenge is for me to stop buying beauty products unless I really need them (aka I run out of something). Well, when we got to North Carolina I had to buy some products because I either didn't have any to begin with, or I ran out. Some of these products are not cruelty free and vegan. This is either a result of my mom being the one to buy them and not knowing that I don't use certain brands or the fact that there were no cruelty free options at some of the stores where we shopped. So, here is my collective haul for the summer in random order (so far, as summer isn't over yet and I might need more conditioner before we go home).

* denotes cruelty free
** denotes cruelty free with a parent company that is not
v denotes vegan PRODUCT not company

1. Cutex Non- Acetone nail polish remover in a no-spill pump.
This was literally the smallest nail polish remover (and only brand) they had at Ingles and I'm planning to take it home with me. The pump is amazing. I haven't spilled any of it so far (I spill things a lot because I knock them over when I'm not paying attention). While the Cutex website states that it doesn't test on animals, it is on every single animal testing list I have found. I believe their parent company tests as well.

2. Ogx (formerly Organix) Sunkissed Blonde Lemon Highlights Conditioner * v
I've used the Organix brand for several years and tried many of the different shampoos and conditioners in their product lines. They are a cruelty free brand, but they do use animal products in their line. This product, however, is the first one I have seen that doesn't list silk proteins in the ingredients so I'm hesitantly labeling this as a vegan product. I believe this product is new and I haven't seen much about it online. I will be doing more research on this product as I use it, but at the time (in the Walgreens store) it was the only product I could find that I couldn't find animal products in.

3. EcoTools Loofa * v
I got this at Ingles when I first got to NC because I didn't have any sort of sponge or scrubby brush and the water pressure in my shower isn't strong enough to really get all of the grime off after a strenuous hike in the woods. EcoTools is a cruelty and vegan brand. For under $3, this is a bargain buy!

4. Laura Lynn Cotton Swabs 300 Count
The important thing about these store brand Q-tips is that they are made on paper sticks, not plastic. I really don't like the plastic ones since I literally throw these away after one use. Why would I use something that is just going to sit in a landfill forever instead of paper that will eventually break down. Laura Lynn is the Ingles brand and there is no information anywhere about whether or not they are cruelty free.

5. Laura Lynn Cleansing Pads 50 Count
I ran out of cotton rounds, so I go these. I only need to use one of these for my whole face or to remove both my hands worth of fingernail polish. They are 100% cotton and some of that is organic (it doesn't give a percentage) and made in the USA from US products. Like the product above, I can't find any information about Ingles' Animal Testing policy.

6. Avalon Organics Vitamin C Renewal Refreshing Cleansing Gel * v
This product I haven't used yet because I'm still using up my tiny samples of facial cleansers, but it was a great find at Ingles. I really love that there are so many cruelty free and vegan friendly brands being carried by this store now. This product is a vegan product, though this company does use milk, honey, beeswax, and lanolin in some of it's baby products and lip products. See what PETA says about it here.

7. Sally Hansen Diamond Strength No Chip Nail Color in 110 Flawless
Sally Hansen products are made by Coty Inc. which (despite it's animal testing policy of not testing on animals) sells to China and other countries that require animal testing. Therefore theya re not a cruelty free brand in my opinion. I bought these because they were literally the only clear polishes in Walmart. all the other ones were gone! I thought that Sally Hansen was cruelty free (and some people will argue that they are because of Coty's animal testing policy) so I picked these up. As they are not, I recommend Wet n Wild as an alternative. I've been using this nail polish to create my own nail colors using eyeshadows (tutorial coming soon!).

8. Sally Hansen Advanced Hard As Nails Strengthening Top Coat
Like the nail polish above, this is not a cruelty free brand. I picked it up because I thought it was, but was proven wrong when I did more research into the brand after I brought it home. This is why I need to carry a little Do Not Buy and Buy This list when I go shopping to keep this from happening.

9. Scunci Girl Hair Elastics 500 pieces *
This was literally the smallest box available at Ingles for these small hair elastics. I like using these in my hair when I do braids that I don't need gigantic hair ties for, like accent braids or braided buns. The larger, cloth coated elastic bands can get in the way sometimes, so these are better. I will probably be using this box until the end of time. Scunci is owned by Conair, a cruelty free brand (yay!) and there are many products I enjoy that are made by them, so I hope this remains the case.