new blog

Hello and welcome. This blog is mostly going to be a journal of some sort so I can sort of release my stress about things going on. I'm really sort of confused right now. I don't know who I am anymore. I used to be a little tomboy who couldn't care less about how the world percieves me or how "pretty" I looked. I wanted to be a veterinarian when I was young because I loved animals. That dream dwindled as I got older, but like everyone else, I had a lot more changes.

 

 Little representation of me~ Nice to meet you :3

I don't know when I changed, but I have an idea of how it started. I always had sort of nice skin and I wanted to keep that. I stumbled across The Body Shop in downtown SF and I was amazed at their business. Charity, community trade, and anti animal cruelty? I'm in! I started with their lotions because I liked how it made my skin soft, so I decided to buy more. 

My skin did not break out often, but I always liked preventing instead of curing, so I bought cleansers to prevent future break outs. The cleansers from drugstores had a nasty tendency that made my skin flaky, itchy, or all red. Also, I'm not fond of floral, or actually any sweet scents in skin care products; they seem to scream irritation to my skin. 

 red and peeling skin...drugstores favorite gift to me~

It was hard finding my perfect cleanser, finally I found it. The Body Shop's Aloe Cleanser.It did not aggravate my skin like the drugstore brands, yet it cleansed my skin, making it feel soft and refreshed. To this day I still use it and I consider it to be one of my best skincare products, but this is where the problems arise. 

 

Superb feeling after Aloe cleansing *\(^0^)/*

A few years later, I start experimeting with make up. It was really odd for me, but I really got into it. I started this because I watched a lot of make gurus on youtube and thought; hey, why not? I started slow, but then my make up collection became pretty big, although I was careful and cheap, only buying during extreme sales. BUT MAN I DISCOVERED SOMETING BIG.

Half of my make up products are from Loreal and Maybelline, which I thought were pretty harmless. Then I discovered that Loreal owns Maybelline New York, but I didn't think anything of it since it's a dog eat dog world out there in business. I researched more and then to my shock, I discovered that Loreal owns The Body Shop. I was shocked; thinking that I was supporting a small business that genuinely cares throughout my high school life; how naive I was. 

Later...I found out that Loreal tests on animals.

The most confundling thing in my life. While I am not an extremist towards animals rights and I do eat meat, I do not think it is right to torture animals for the sake of beauty. That is why I am throwing away all my Loreal and Maybelline products (not without tears ;_; they worked so well), I cannot put on their make up while imagining animals getting tortured with injections of cosmetic ingredients. It's like hearing dying animals everytime you put it on.

 

THE GUILT!!!

So, I was at a lost for what to do with The Body Shop. When I first bought their products, they were still owned by Loreal, but their values were the same as it started; Community trade and causes I support such as the cause to stop child trafficking. It's just... I could not shake the fact that they were owned by a company that tested on animals, even though they, the individual company, are against animal testing themselves. It made me want to drop their whole line and throw away everything I had from them. Burn them for lying to me all these years and making me believe that I've been doing good in the name of beauty.

EVEN THEN....

... I am not sure about dropping them. Their semi-anual sale is over on March 2nd, and I still love their products. While they are owned under a company that tests on animals, they still do community trade and several charities and there is some proof that they, the individual company, does not test on animals. I don't want to support a company that tests on animals, yet I still love The Body Shop.

The final decision will come on March 2nd...I hope I will make the right decision by then.