Happy Friday and happy February! January felt like a year, even with my jaunt down to Naples.
Although it may not look like it (I come from a minimalist makeup family where we only look like we are wearing lip color), I am a beauty product junkie. I love discovering new products, and I am always open to discovering new brands.
As I have gotten older, I have realized more and more that it’s super important to take great care of my skin. And, for those of you in your 30’s and above, I think that you’ll appreciate what I am about to say: it’s inspiring to see beautiful people in their young 20’s selling me cosmetics, but I never looked like them, and my skin certainly won’t look like that again!
I am proud to say that no beauty products that I put on my body, including soap and lotion, has been tested on animals. That practice is completely antiquated and utterly cruel, and I want to do everything possible to advocate against it.
I love to play before I buy (and try before I buy), so I stop into Credo and Follain locally. There are a few other bigger stores that I visit, but I love not even having to ask about cruelty free at these two places.
Below are a few of my tried and true essentials. I will be doing a separate list for makeup and one for bath products!
In the Morning
Indie Lee Brightening Cleanser: This is the first thing that I use in the morning to clean my face. It’s hydrating and has a light strawberry smell from the strawberry oil.
Josh Rosebrook Hydrating Accelerator Moisturizing Facial Mist: I use this before serum and often during the day for an extra bit of hydration.
Juice Beauty Signal Peptides Firming Serum and Stem Cellular Anti-Wrinkle Moisturizer: I love the smell and feel of both of these. I feels like you are putting something juicy and good for you on your face, and it’s made a huge difference on my skin.
At Night
Osea Ocean Cleansing Milk: A nice, light ocean-y smell that smoothes my skin. Especially good on colder days.
or
Patyka Cleansing Perfection Foam: A french clean beauty company – LOVE the foamy cleanser, and I’ll be exploring more of their products.
or
Ursa Major Essential Face Wipes: Billed as a triple threat to clean, exfoliate, soothe and hydrate. But, for me, the appeal is that I can travel with them and that sometimes, when I am home, I am exhausted and lazy and this is an easy cheat to clean my face.
Red Flower Illuminating Rose Collagen Renewal Face Serum: The ultimate rose indulgence. Rose is calming and it makes me feel wonderful to put this on before I sleep.
Derma-E Hydrating Night cream: I’m over 40, and I want something thick at night. 
Naples Soap Company: This eye serum is only $16 and smells like honeydew! Not greasy and I am totally in love!
And once or twice a week, this is my new mask of choice:
Farmaesthetics Herbal Hydration Complex: A new favorite that I just discovered at my mini facial at Follain. It is the drink that my skin has been missing.
Most of these products can be found at Follain or Credo, or on my Amazon store page for cruelty free beauty at www.amazon.com/shop/preppyfrancophile.
You can use my code ref15_tsiepo for 15% off at most everything at Follain (Josh Rosebrook is one of the exclusions, but the mist is pretty affordable anyway.
Absent from this list is an exfoliator. I am still searching for a grainy one that I love.
I also want to mention that you can download the app Cruelty Cutter for a few bucks, which allows you to scan the bar code of a beauty item and it tells you if it is cruelty free or not. Not all small brands are known to the app.
Please let me know if you have any cruelty free favorites yourself, and please let me know if you liked this post and tried any of my picks.
Have a great weekend. GO PATS!
xxoo, PF
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