Tatcha | MakeUpGuineaPig

Favorites August 29, 2018

Sephora Beauty Insider Appreciation SALE – Cruelty Free Picks!

Believe it or not, it’s that glorious time of the year again…a Sephora Sale is here! Yes, that’s right. There’s a Beauty Insider Appreciation Sale in August instead of the usual early November VIB time frame. No one seems certain if this is a replacement sale time, or an additional sale. I’m hoping for the later…I think! 😉 Given the unexpected discount season, I thought I would share some of my Cruelty Free Recommendations for the sale. So we’ll start with the recommendations, and end with the boring sale details – there’s an unusual restriction this time around that I haven’t heard many mention that may affect your purchasing, so I’ll explain that. So, without further ado, let’s get into it!

Favorites June 8, 2018

Cruelty Free May Beauty Favorites 2018!

Ok. Let’s see if I can get this Cruelty Free May Favorites posted at a decent point in the month for a change. 😜 I feel like each month is getting increasingly more hectic and I’m feel more and more disheveled as we go. 😄 But fear not! I am getting the hang of things and dealing well enough…though the blog is clearly suffering. 🙃 All of that said, I haven’t been wearing makeup as often or switching up products as much as I might normally, but I still have some favorites… some really amazing favorites! Are you ready? Let’s reveal the cruelty free gems from May!!!

Favorites January 11, 2018

Best of Cruelty Free Beauty 2017 – Skin Care

Today’s Best of 2017 is focusing on Cruelty Free Skincare. This is a bit of a tricky category for me because 2017 was the year that I finally started taking Accutane for my stubborn acne. If you’re unfamiliar, Accutane is an often controversial drug taken to (hopefully) “cure” treatment-resistant acne. It has the side effect of completely drying out everyone’s skin, so the second half of the year I was doing everything I could to keep my formerly combo-to-oily skin as hydrated as possible while taking the drug. Having said that, you now know what skin types we are working with here, and since I had two majorly different concerns throughout the year, I will specify which type of skin I had while using the product if it’s relevant. If it worked well either way, I won’t specify the skin type unless it’s still somehow relevant. So, with that out of the way, let’s just get going because there is a lot!

Accutane December 8, 2017

Cruelty Free Accutane Skin Care – Dry & Sensitive Skin Recommendations

As a lot of you may know, I’ve been on an Accutane regimen for a little while now (I just found out I’m about to start my *hopefully* final month!). Accutane is infamous for the extreme skin dryness that everyone seems to experience while on the medication. To give an example, while I’m writing this, I’m on 7 day hair!!! 😳 Yup. It’s been an entire week without washing the not-even-remotely-greasy mop on my head which, I must say, is a positive side effect in my eyes. 😉 With that though, my face has certainly gone from combo / oily to definitely on the dry side. Given that, I have managed to avoid much of the flaky, itchy, tight or other such variations of actual discomfort from the drying effects of the Accutane…with the exception of my nose, which, to be fair, is usually a bit flaky. Since I’ve been using the same products pretty consistently, I feel like I can finally share my cruelty free “secrets” for managing super dry and sensitive skin that is also safe for using while taking Accutane.

Favorites December 1, 2017

Cruelty Free November Favorites

Ok. Obligatory “month flew by” blogger intro here. I seriously don’t even remember November starting! I swear time is flying so fast all the time and I’m starting to wonder if it’s just age relative to time. Whatever the case, it’s been another month of not a lot of makeup and when I’m wearing it, I’ve been testing out new products (thanks Sephora VIB sale). That said, the cruelty free favorites I do have from the month are good. On a more personal note, Thanksgiving was fantastic, though I nearly lost it at crunch time! 😂 And I had no time to properly dress for the event! It was the same as always – just me and my parents, and the past few years I’ve “prepared” everything – Veggie for me, meat for the ‘rents. Nothing fancy and nothing new. If you’re curious why so small, not a lot of extended family lives close by…of the few that remain…and I’m an only child which makes for small gatherings. I really like it that way and since I enjoy my parents’ company, it’s always an enjoyable experience…horrible near-genocidal historical origin aside. Side note…anyone seen that Thanksgiving episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”? First year of college I believe when Buffy hosts the festivities? Classic Buffy awesomeness! 💖 Anyway, I do have some non-makeup cruelty free favorites despite all of my disclaimers there – mostly skin care with a few others for good measure. Since November is over, I thought it time to share them with you today!

Favorites November 10, 2017

Cruelty Free October Beauty Favorites

Ok. I know it’s clichéd, but where the bloody hell did October go?! For one, it’s only felt like Autumn for a few days of the month. What’s up with that? (Since I wrote this about 2 weeks ago, Fall has definitely arrived.) The leaves are just starting to turn. Also weird. (Again, two weeks ago….) I think perhaps there’s some kind of trick being played on me and it’s actually still September. 😂 Who’s with me? (The me from 2 weeks ago. 😉) All of that is irrelevant to this post though because it’s time for some Cruelty Free October Favorites!!! It’s been yet another month of trying to figure out what I really like on my unnaturally dried out everything. I’ll undoubtedly figure it out just as my skin reverts to its former self. 😂 Despite my trials and tribulations in the complexion realm, there are still plenty of things I’ve been loving. Without further ado, let’s jump into the Favorites!