I’ll admit, up until now I’ve brought all of my beauty products from companies that I know test on animals. It’s one of those where I just haven’t gotten around to find replacements for the things that I already own and have just kept with what I have.

However, since turning vegan I’ve wanted to try to replace everything that I use with products that have not been tested on animals. Ideally these products would also be vegan, but I’ve found this difficult. The majority of these products I can’t find on Island, and I want to be able to test and try them before I buy. So for now, I’m trying to at the very least ensure they are not tested on animals and will get vegan products as I go.

I’ve put off changing everything because once I find something I like, I don’t change it. I’ve used the same foundation since I was 14. Therefore the idea of having to get new versions of all my favourite makeup has been daunting and I’ve just put off going out until the last moment; it got to the point where I had nearly run out of everything. So I finally took the plunge and headed off to The Body Shop, where I knew I would hopefully be able to find the majority of the things I needed.

So here’s my beauty haul. I still have things to get, but this will come in time as the products I currently use run out. Take a look at my review of it all below, and hopefully you’ll find it useful.

The Body Shop Eyebrow Kit

I’ve actually been looking for something like this for a while – currently I just use brown eyeshadow to fill in my eyebrows. I don’t like using eyebrow pencils so I was really pleased when I stumbled across this.

The colours are great and I really like how it comes with the brushes, although I prefer to use my own.

A great product and perfect if you want to really darken your eyebrows.

The Body Shop Seaweed Oil Balancing Clay Mask

So this smells AMAZING and I was really looking forward to trying it out. I love using face masks once a week and although this wasn’t something I necessarily needed, it looked great so I brought it anyway.

It went on nice and smoothly and the directions said to leave for 10 minutes. However, as it got closer to the 10 minute mark, I noticed that it started to feel a bit uncomfortable on my skin and started to burn slightly. I still left it until 10 minutes but it was burning when I was washing it off and left my skin feeling a bit sore. I will say my skin felt good, but very sensitive.

I would probably still try it again, but wouldn’t leave for longer than 5 minutes. If you have particularly sensitive skin then I’d probably be wary of using it.

The Body Shop Liquid Eyeliner

Liquid liner is my life, and I was pleasantly surprised with this one. Currently I use a combination of two liners, one with a more structured nib, like this one and one with a more fluid nib. I’ll still need to find a more ‘fluid’ one, but this harder one is a good replacement at the moment. It’s a great black colour and super easy to apply.

The Body Shop Moisture Foundation

As I mentioned, I’ve not changed my foundation since I was about 14,a good 8 years, so this was the one I was most worried about changing.

I ended up choosing this liquid foundation, but I did find it a bit heavy. It also has a strong smell and I’m not totally convinced by it, possibly because I’m so used to such a different foundation. I’m also not convinced by how well I’ve matched it to my skin tone. Whilst it’s fine and does the job until it runs out, I think I’ll have to keep searching before I find a replacement I’m happy with.

The Body Shop Skin Defence

This is a great product. You can either use it as a moisturiser or put it on top of your moisturiser; I just use it instead of a moisturiser. It’s SPF 50 which is great as I always like to ensure I have a high SPF to keep my skin safe from the sun. Like the foundation it has quite a strong smell, but it’s creamy and I like how well it protects my face from the sun.

The Shop assistant also noted how a lot of people also use it on their hands which is a good idea and so I’ve also begun to do that as well.

The Body Shop Brow and Lash Gel

This is a product I’ve been looking for for ages. I like to use some sort of gel to keep my eyebrows in place. Before this I was using a clear mascara because I simply couldn’t find anything else that did the trick. Then I come into The Body Shop and find exactly what I had been looking for all this time!

It does exactly what it needs to, a clear gel to keep those unruly hairs in place. I’d definitely recommend.

The Body Shop Tea Tree Squeaky Clean Scrub 

As I go to the gym straight after work it means I end up sweating on top of my make up which I’ve been wearing all day, so come night-time, I like to feel that I’ve really washed my face and have got all the grime, dirt and sweat off. Therefore I like to use some sort of gentle exfoliating scrub to help clean my face.

I’ve used a lot of different scrubs over the years but have never really found one that I truly love – until now. Again, like the clay mask, it smells amazing. It’s gentle on my face but still feels like it’s exfoliating my skin and doing the job I want it to do.

This is a great product and I’m really pleased I’ve found it, I’d definitely recommend.

Liz Earle Shampoo (for all hair types) and Conditioner (for dry or damaged hair)

Ok so this one isn’t The Body Shop, but unfortunately they don’t do shampoo or conditioner which I found disappointing.

I’d actually been given the shampoo as a Christmas present so I was pleased when I found out it was cruelty free AND vegan. Because of this I knew then that this would be the shampoo and conditioner I’d use going forward.

I have trouble with shampoo and conditioner; I usually use L’oreal and when I’ve tried other brands in the past I’ve found they’ve left my hair feeling heavy. So this was another one where I was wary of having to find a new brand. However, I was pleasantly surprised; they smell great and have left my hair feeling really soft and shiny. Definitely one I’m pleased with and will continue to use.

Hope you’ve found this useful, and I’ll be posting more soon as I replace the rest of my existing make up!

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