I am very pleased to add the following brands to the safe list 🙂
Brown Bag Botanicals
C.O. Bigelow
Charles Worthington (PZ Cussons Beauty)
The Elixery
Erno Laszlo
FACE Atelier
Fudge (PZ Cussons Beauty)
Dermalogica
Illuminaire Cosmetics
Ingenue
IT Cosmetics
Living Proof
Liz Earle
Studio Gear
4.1 oz/120 ml
lavera.com: $13.75
dm: ca. 7 euro
Found on lavera.com
This cleanser is described as a very “gentle”, “kind to skin” product that will cleanse the skin and remove makeup in one application. It is formulated especially for sensitive skin, and is therefore apparently ideal for the sensitive area around the eyes. It is formulated with organic jojoba and shea oils. This product is vegan.
It is a thick white cream which melts a bit into the skin when worked in with water. It is lightly scented.
Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil*, Alcohol*,Caprylic\/Capric Triglyceride,Glyceryl Stearate Citrate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Myristyl Alcohol, Simmondsia Chinensis(Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Sodium Coco Sulfate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Sodium Cetearyl Sulfate, Xanthan Gum, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil*, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice*, Rosa Damascena Flower Water*, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract*, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel) Water*, Hydrogenated Palm Glycerides, Lysolecithin, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Beta-Carotene, Lecithin, Brassica Campestris (Rapeseed) Sterols, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Fragrance (Parfum)**, Limonene**, Linalool**, Geraniol**, Citral**, Citronellol**, Benzyl Benzoate**
* indicates Certified Organic Ingredients
** for natural essential oils
This cleanser has three main claims: to be very gentle (suitable for sensitive skin), to cleanse the skin, and remove makeup. Of these claims, it nails two but misses one.
I do not have sensitive skin myself, but I’m pretty sure this would be a great formula for those of us that do. It is only lightly performed, so there shouldn’t be much irritation from that. If you get it in your eyes it doesn’t really sting, but it does feel a bit weird and your vision will be blurry for a couple of seconds afterwards. In addition, the jojoba and shea oils in it nourish the skin and provide some moisturization. This is more geared towards people with dry skin, I’m not sure if this would be too much for people with oily skin. This would be especially perfect for the wintertime, if your face gets a bit more dry and chapped. Sometimes when your face gets dry and you wash it with a normal cleanser your face can feel a bit dry and tight, this eliminates this completely.
As for the cleansing, Lavera’s really done well in this product. My test for cleansers come from the next stage- toner. I know pretty well how much dirt comes off my face when I tone without having used a cleanser beforehand, and so I just compare how much dirt comes off my face when I tone after using a cleanser to see how effective it was. This cleanser performed very well, the amount of dirt on the cotton pad after toning was significantly less than normal.
Unfortunately, makeup removal was where this product fell a bit short. It did not remove the majority of my makeup, and I had to use a separate makeup remover afterwards. However, it did loosen the makeup up so it was much easier to remove.
Overall, I think I would recommend this product for cleansing the face if you have sensitive and/or dry skin. It will cleanse your skin well and help your makeup come off easier, just don’t expect it to get it all off.
Rating: B+
These are the brands that sell to the Chinese market through Sephora:
AmazingCosmetics
Clarins
Dior
Marc Jacobs (Coty Inc.)
Nina Ricci (Puig)
Peter Thomas Roth
Phyto
Prada (Puig)
Sephora
Valentino (Puig)
Vera Wang (Coty Inc.)
In other news, I have added a feature that shows which brands have been approved by the Leaping Bunny Organization and/or the BUAV.
I am happy to announce these new additions to the safe list:
Aesop
derma-e
Egyptian Magic
Emma Jean Cosmetics
Flower Beauty
The Konjac Sponge Company
Michael Todd Organics
Nip + Fab
Sally Hershberger
Supergoop!
I am in the process of completely updating my list. I am pleased to announce that the following brands have been added:
AG Hair
Aubrey Organics
Everyday Shea
Exuviance (NeoStrata Company)
Goldwell (Kao Brands)
H2O+
Kenra
Laura Geller
Lipstick Queen
Mario Badescu
NeoStrata Company
Psorant (NeoStrata Company)
Pur Minerals
I have also added a feature that show whether a brand is PETA approved, these brands are marked with a {P} on the main page.
The animal testing situation in China has recently become much clearer to me, and so after some research I have decided to move some brands from this list. The following brands have been removed:
Almay (Revlon)
American Beauty (Estee Lauder)
Bobbi Brown (Estee Lauder)
Bumble and Bumble (Estee Lauder)
Caudelie
Clinique (Estee Lauder)
Coach (Estee Lauder)
Donna Karan (Estee Lauder)
Elizabeth Arden
Estee Lauder
Flirt! (Estee Lauder)
Giorgio Armani
GoodSkin Labs (Estee Lauder)
Grassroots Research Labs (Estee Lauder)
Guerlain
Jo Malone (Estee Lauder)
Jurlique
La Mer (Estee Lauder)
L’Occitane
MAC Cosmetics (Estee Lauder)
Michael Kors (Estee Lauder)
Missoni (Estee Lauder)
Ojon (Estee Lauder)
Prescriptives (Estee Lauder)
Revlon
Tom Ford (Estee Lauder)
Tommy Hilfiger (Estee Lauder)
In light of these updates, any posts containing products from any of these brands will be removed from the blog.
Please note as well that though many Estee Lauder brands have been removed from the list, some were not listed on the PETA “Do Test” list (click here to see the list) and were therefore left on my list marked with an asterisk to show that they belong to a parent company that tests.
Beauty and the Freak 