Oh how I love makeup!  It is colourful, creative and when done well it looks amazing.  Unfortunately I was too short to be on the runway in Haute couture so I just have to pretend sometimes...  I wrote this awhile back for the chapter on Beauty, Modelling and Complementary Medicine in my friend (and ex-lecturer at college) Mark Nicholson’s book The Purple Healer.  

Vegan makeup contains no ingredients derived from any animal source, including animal by-products.  This includes such ingredients as:

• Carmine or cochineal, red colouring made from ground insect - use roobois or red tea leaves instead 
• Lanolin is a moisturising agent derived from the fat or grease of a sheep’s wool - use nut and/or seed butters instead
• Beeswax/pollen/ propolis/bee products, derived from stealing the bee’s products – agave nectar or maple syrup instead
• Lard is rendered pig’s fat - use coconut oil or copha instead
• Tallow is rendered animals fat (mostly cow) - use castile soap instead
• Many waxes are mostly from bees - use soy wax instead
• Lactose/ lactalbumin/whey is from milk (sugar) – use fructose or soy protein instead

There are many great vegan alternatives to the above ingredients that are better for your skin, more ethical and great to wear, plus not harmful in any way to our animal friends.

Get Leigh-Chantelle’s look!

Make sure your face is clean from all other makeup

Moisturise

FACE:
Use Pure Gaisha mineral corrector, apply with finger tips under the eyes and on any spots or blemishes

Use a makeup sponge to apply Pure Gaisha mineral liquid foundation (Jemma) in a pat-lift motion

Use a blush brush to apply No Miss (Tallaasse Tan) loose powder eye shadow to eyelids.  Apply Beauty without Cruelty powder blush (Rosetta) to the apples of your cheeks.

Use a powder/face brush or Kabuki brush to apply Beauty without Cruelty loose powder (Medium) by patting brush and moving to ensure each pore gets the makeup.  

EYES:
Using your fingertips or eye shadow brushes, apply No Miss loose powder eye shadow to eyelids.  Use Sunrise Sunset all over the top lids and a touch under the bottom lids, Indian River Ruby to the outer edges of the eye, and Boca Ice to the inner eye.

Use Beauty without Cruelty soft kohl pencil (Black) for the eyeliner.  Pull your top eyelid down to draw as close to the lid as possible, draw as close to the bottom eyelids as well.  

Use a brow brush and Pure Gaisha mineral density (Jesse) to brush on to the top of the eyebrows.  Start of light, if you need more you can always add more.  Don’t brush the whole eyebrows, just the tops of the brow.

Use Pure Gaisha mineral liquid hot fuchsia pink eyeliner (Flower) to draw a think line of pink near the black eyeliner.  Draw as close to the eyelid as you can, if you want to make the line thicker, keep drawing out.  Draw a small amount on the outer edges of your bottom lid.

Using Beauty without Cruelty waterproof mascara (Black) apply right to the roots of the eyelashes.  Apply two coats.

LIPS:
Using Zuzu Luxe (Crystal) lipshine to your lips followed with Pure Gaisha mineral lipgloss (Sparky) and make sure you smile!!

Wear with confidence and grace.

STOCKISTS:
Pure Gaisha www.puregaisha.com.au
No Miss, Beauty without Cruelty & Zuzu Luxe www.veganstore.com


Animal testing

As well as animal ingredients, be sure that the products you use are not tested on animals either.  There are many brands and companies that test their products including makeup, personal care and household products on animals.

Tests include the Draize eye test where substances are dropped into the eyes of rabbits.  The rabbit’s eyes are held open by clips and they are immobilised.  If you know how much your eyes sting when you accidently get something foreign into them, imagine the immense pain that these rabbits suffer when substances are dropped right into their eyes.

There is also the Draize skin test where the animal’s skin is abraded by firmly pressing adhesive tape onto the animal’s body and stripped off, repeated until several layers are removed.  Substances are then placed onto the animal’s skin.  Both these methods cause intense pain and discomfort to the animals involved and after the tests they are killed to examine their internal organs.

To see if your favourite brand tests their products on animals see the National Anti-Vivisection Society website: www.navs.org