Au Naturel

I’m a “vegan.” I have to put vegan in quotes because I’m not really very diligent about this matter, mostly because I think being a vegan sucks. I’m telling you right now this is not one of those essays where I rhapsodize about how my skin is clearer and how I’ve lost weight and how I sleep easy knowing no baby cows were injured in the movie that is my life. In fact, I’ve gained weight since I went back to being a vegan because I found out that most mass market cookies are vegan– not because they are healthy, but because they contain not one iota of natural ingredients, and I’ve been shoving “sandwich cookies” into my mouth like it’s going out of style.

Anyway, you know what else contains not one iota of natural ingredients? Revlon Super Lustrous Lip Gloss in Shine City!!!! Oh my gosh! Oh my GOSH!!!! I am so in love with this lip gloss. I know that recently I was touting L’Oreal Le Gloss in Naturally Nude as the perfect clear gloss, but Shine City is winning it this week because it is a very (very!) light pink (not noticeable as pink once you put it on) with flecks of glitter in it, and it gives you megawatt shine. I mean, both of these are awesome, especially for their price point, and it looks like Revlon is re-releasing their Super Lustrous series with SPF 15, which makes is double great. Also, for my less rosy lip gloss lovers, Revlon has an almost identical (though much harder to find) product called Sparkling Champagne with gold undertones, and it is similarly gorgeous.

Sigh…I really, really, REALLY love these lip glosses. But I feel like such a jerkwad buying them. I mean, under no circumstances are these products good for the environment or for animals being held captive in a laboratory. I know that. And I keep trying to get with some all natural, organic, vegan lip gloss and I keep running back to the makeup aisle at CVS, clutching a handful of Revlon to my chest and weeping in relief at being reunited.  It’s just that all natural lip gloss just does not deliver the same long lasting, high wattage shine. I know… I know… have I tried Burt’s Bees? Yes! Yes to Carrots? Yes! Zuzu? Yes! Arbonne? Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes! Trust me. You are lying to yourself if you think any of these delivers even half the bang as my babies above. My favourite all natural lip gloss, so far, is the stuff they make right here in Chicago at Mojo Spa, but I recently found out that the one I have been using for years has lanolin in it. I could have probably figured this out earlier if I’d actually read the ingredients, but you know, I see stars when it comes to lip gloss. It is a little bit arbitrary to avoid lanolin since I still wear wool, but I am, you know, a little bit arbitrary in general!

I am really struggling with this! Of course, as evidenced by Oreos, “vegan” and “all natural” aren’t at all the same thing, but I’m not an uniformed consumer. I’ve read a million studies about the dangers of ingesting all of the chemicals used in mass market make-up. Still, I haven’t reached my tipping point. Or found a swap that makes me happy. Honestly, I’m more concerned about animal testing than chemicals, but still lose my damn mind when it comes to glitter flecks. Oh well… I have my eye on Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics’ Lip Tar (though am not optimistic about the words “goes on slick and moist but dries to a satiny finish”). And until then, I know… change takes time. And I honestly believe there are worse things than loving Revlon, though I’m sure every addict on the planet has a version of that sentence to get them through the day. Have you made the switch? If yes, what’s working for you? If not, whoo whee… you’re gonna love Shine City!