Going Cruelty Free

I love animals. I always have and grew up having a bunch of different pets. We fostered 2 dogs when I was really young — a Golden Retriever, then a German Shepherd, and then welcomed Gracie, our sweet Boston Terrier, into our home. She lived with us until she went to doggie heaven at 17 years old. We rescued 2 cats off the street — “Kitty” and “Spider Man” (ha!), and even though I am not the biggest fan of cats I loved that we were able to give creatures who needed a home a warm place to sleep… And they grew on me quickly, even though they maybe didn’t love me as much back.

I’ve never had a pet fish before, but we’ve had lizards, hermit crabs, hamsters, (Until I realized being so ticklish was kind of dangerous, so gave him to my best friend) frogs, and just about anything with legs. I have always wanted a pet snake, but that’s where my mom — the biggest animal lover I know — draws the line.

My mother raised me from a really young age to be kind to everyone I meet — and that includes animals. After all, they are God’s little creatures too, and they deserve to be treated with respect. I have watched her save countless animals throughout my life. We didn’t only take pets into our home to care for, but my mom has always been the person to go into the street of our neighborhood when we see a turtle and put it safely on the side of the road it was trying to get to.* She has saved injured birds, found lost dogs, and even helped me move a snake from the road when I was adamant that I didn’t want him to get squished. My mom is hands-down the kindest and most selfless person I have ever met, and I think she is such an angel.

Anyway, it was recently brought to my attention that my favorite Covergirl mascara was tested on animals, which got me thinking more about what other products I might use that could be harming innocent little creatures. Guys, there are so many things in my beauty routine that are tested on animals.

One thing I want to start focusing more on writing about is small little things we can do to help change the world. Yes, I know it’s maybe a little naive of me to think I can change the world by doing something as small as redoing my beauty routine, but that’s why I want to use my writing to encourage others to do the same. I have some ideas of what I will be focusing on in weeks to come, but in the meantime if you want to join me and stop buying products (shampoos, conditioners, makeup, lotion, the list goes on!) that test on animals, Cruelty-Cutter is a great app to use when purchasing something to see whether or not it is an item you should purchase or cut from your collection. I am currently trying several new products that I’ll be doing reviews on soon, but in the meantime I encourage you to be aware of how what you use affects others.

*Just an FYI, when you do move a turtle, always put him onto the side of the street he was originally going to. They are determined little fellas who know what they want, and will just put themselves into harm’s way again to cross the road to his ultimate destination.