Sibu Beauty’s cruelty free body moisturizer is great – not too heavy and not too light. Not greasy or drying. Just perfect for everyday use. It has a nice, citrus-y scent that I dig. The sea buckthorn oil, meadowfoam, shea butter and aloe help prevent and treat sun damaged skin. It can also help those with eczema, rosacea, psoriasis, burns and cuts and scrapes. It’s gentle enough for all skin types. The product is vegan (they use vegetable glycerin in case you’re wondering). No dairy, wheat, gluten, sodium, yeast or preservatives. And especially no animal testing!

And, like all of Sibu’s sea buckthorn products, it’s sourced from a fair trade agreement with Tibet. The Dalai Lama even gave his blessing to Sibu because they are creating jobs for the men and women in the area. Go Sibu!

Jen

Image credit: www.buav.org

Exciting news! You might be wondering what that ticker on the right side of the page is all about…

Well, sometimes I talk about all the cruelty-free products I love, and you guys write to me to ask where you can buy it. Maybe it’s not available at the local Sephora – or maybe you don’t even have a local Sephora (I shudder to think!). So, I thought it would be great to have one central location where you can go to buy all your cruelty-free beauty products – right on this site! I partnered with the folks at Open Sky so that soon My Beauty Bunny readers will have their very own online beauty store!

The products will be the same price that you would pay in stores, but a portion of the proceeds will help me pay for this site. Hosting, domain names and all that stuff ain’t free! So, when you buy from my store, you’ll be helping me spread the word about cruelty-free products. Pretty cool, huh?

And, I can choose which products to add to my site. I hereby vow to only choose haircare, skincare, makeup and other beauty products that I think are worthy of my readers. I’m not going to put just any old products in the store, just because they are cruelty-free. They’d better be damn good ones too.

So, keep a lookout for the new store. I hope you find it useful. And, I hope you feel like you can trust me to only sell the good stuff. If there are specific products you’d like to see, please let me know!

Jen

When I shop for foundation, I usually go straight to the fairest skin tones section. As a melanin-challenged individually, I was very happy to find out about Purely Cosmetics. They sell a light mineral makeup that’s perfect for me – called Peaches N Cream. It goes on with just the right consistency to give me light to medium coverage without looking heavy or making my pores look huge. I’ve never had problems with it caking or looking smudged throughout the day either.

I usually put on concealer and then dust it on with a big brush (or you can use a kabuki brush). I like to use the swirl and tap method – swirl the brush and then tap the handle of the brush on a flat surface with the bristles facing up. It distributes the makeup evenly, so you don’t put too much on. See more on how to apply mineral makeup here.

And BEFORE the foundation, you can even add a primer if you have oily skin. For normal to oily skin, use the Silk & Pearl Primer. For oilier skin, use the Oil Absorb. It keeps the shine away! Purely Cosmetics also has a ton of great mineral foundations for darker skin tones, eyeshadows, blushes, bronzers and powders. I tried their Lightly Bronzed powder, which gives a nice glow and makes me look less ghostly. A little bit goes a long way here.

Here’s why you should try Purely Cosmetics:

• Purely Cosmetics powders are free from skin irritants like talc, corn starch, preservatives, oils, FD&C dyes, and is recommended by dermatologists.
• Zinc oxides and titanium oxides act as natural suncreens without clogging pores.
• Ideal for sensitive skin, or those with acne, rosacea, or eczema.  The same oxides have proven to be soothing in addition to SPF properites, so you’re healing your skin while you’re covering up your imperfections.
• NO BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE - a skin irritant for many, and contained in many of those “other” mineral makeups.
• No micronized ingredients, which are easily inhaled, troublesome for asthmatics or other repiratory problems, and provide less coverage.  The health safety of micronized particles is controversial.
• Diminishes the appearance of lines and wrinkles.
• Gives your skin a natural looking luminosity, and provides even coverage.
• Lightweight, and feels like you’re not wearing anything!
• Purely Cosmetics has voluntarily registered with the FDA for product safety, so you can rest assured that you are receiving only the finest quality.

Jen

Just a quick post for my ladies out there who are looking for a great, dark brown eyeshadow/eyeliner. I received a sample of Coconut Grove from the cruelty-free NARS Fall 2010 collection and it’s PERFECT for an eyeliner. I have so many browns that just aren’t dark enough. Sometimes, you just don’t want to use black eyeliner because it’s a little too harsh. I have to say, it’s actually darker than what I see in the photo above. It’s always hard to represent true colors online and it could be my monitor, but just take my word for it – it’s a really nice dark brown.

I have dark brown hair and very fair skin, and this is my new favorite. NARS calls it a “deep taupe brown.” It stays on all day and I love how deeply pigmented it is. I’m using it as an eyeliner for day, but I might try a smoky eye with it for the evening. You can also use it on your brows if you have dark eyebrows.

Jen

We had cruelty-free goodie bags for the guests and giveaways all night. Everyone got free Beautisol self-tanner samples, courtesy of Sinead, from SelfTanningQueen.com. Guests also got coupons for free spray tans from Nathalie, courtesy of Spray Tan LA (new clients can get a free spray tan too – check out their coupon).

The Marie Louise Cosmetics travel kits were a huge hit. Guests who signed up for the mailing list received a kit with Cleansing  Clear Gel, Washing Foam, Moisturizing Toner, Creme Facial Moisturizer and Restoration Clear Gel. The Restoration Clear Gel is insane. Amazing stuff.

Guests also got free cruelty-free products from: Aveda, Softlips, Jeune d’Age, Tarte, Hard Candy, Sibu Beauty, DermaE, Beauty Sprinkles, Skin 1 by Dr. Gram, Kushyfoot, Elizabeth Grant and more.

Here’s a pic of the beautiful Sydne from ThinkThruFashion.com, the gorgeous Sinead and myself at the event:

(l-r) Sydne, Sinead, Jen

The next Beauty Rebellion Project event will be a benefit for Best Friends Animal Society. It will be held in an outdoor venue – next to American Vintage on Hillhurst (in Los Feliz). We’ll have bands, a DJ, pet adoptions, vegetarian BBQ, drinks, etc. More info to come. If you’re in Los Angeles, and you’d like to be notified about upcoming Beauty Rebellion events, please sign up for our mailing list and tell your friends!

Summer is here and we are finally venturing outside again! Okay, I live in Southern California – I can go outside anytime. But, now it’s hot enough to lay out by my imaginary pool. I have a very rich imagination.

I’m melanin-challenged so I need a high SPF when I’m outside for more than 15 minutes. Lately I’ve been using Exel High Sun Protection Creme with an SPF of 30. Using sunscreen protects my skin from wrinkles, hyperpigmentation (dark spots) and general damage. In my opinion, the BEST way to keep your skin looking young is to use sunscreen now. You may not see the damage in your ’20s and ’30s, but you’ll definitely see it in your ’40s and ’50s. Sunscreen is also a must if you’re using skin-lightening products or AHAs (like glycolic acid). If you don’t use SPF in conjunction with those types of products, your skin spots will actually get worse – the opposite of what you’re trying to correct!

Exel High Sun Protection Creme has aloe, Vitamin E and karite butter (shea butter). It does not contain PABA or mineral oil. Tested by dermatologists – not on animals.

Jen

OMG Urban Decay – can you possibly make me love you even more? You have the best colors, insanely fun packaging, and you’ve taken a very public stance against animal testing. If I started my own cosmetics company it would be Urban Decay. I seriously can’t get enough.

This is their stance on animal testing:

Urban Decay is, and always has been, a cruelty-free company. You’ll notice that every box bears our cruelty-free credo: “We don’t do animal testing. How could anyone?” We insist on producing beautiful, irreverent, high-end cosmetics without conducting animal testing.

They have just come out with an incredibly cute vegan eyeshadow palette. All Urban Decay products are cruelty-free (no animal testing), but many are also vegan, which means no animal by-products of any kind (i.e. beeswax, honey, milk products, etc.). This palette is created for the animal lover – adorable animal artwork and my favorite Urban Decay slogan: “We don’t do animal testing. How could anyone?” The cover is even printed in soy-based inks and made with recycled materials.

But, let’s get to the goodies. The palette includes Minx (a glittery aqua), Urb (a neutral silvery-gold metallic), Gunmetal (shimmery gunmetal gray), Twice Baked (dark shimmery brown), Half Baked (a shimmery gold) and Smog (a nice bronze). It also comes with a travel-sized Eyeshadow Primer Potion in Sin (I rarely use eyeshadow without it – it keeps your shadow on all day without creasing) and a mini 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencil in black. All this for $34 is pretty freakin’ amazing.

Get your credit card out and buy this right now. You need it. Go on – I’ll wait.

Oh – while I’m waiting – let me tell you about their cruelty free makeup brushes. Why buy animal hair brushes when you can get these bad boys? The Urban Decay Shadow Brush is made from recycled PET plastic bottles. The handle is made from recycled aluminum. Even the box it comes in is made from recycled egg crates (it’s super cute too). The shadow brush’s texture and shape is perfect for putting on shimmery or glittery shadows (for which Urban Decay is well known). You can shade, blend or define with this multi-tasker. You can use it wet or dry and because it’s made with synthetic material, it doesn’t soak up bacteria (like animal hair does).

Jen