Younique...All Natural? Vegan? Gluten Free?

Do you remember those days when you started wearing makeup, and boys teased you for wearing "bat guano" on your eyelashes?  "Eeeew! You're wearing bat poop on your eyes!" Seriously?  Of course, I was never curious enough back then to find out if that was true or not.  However, remembering that made me curious today, and thanks to Google, this Snopes article and Wikipedia, I found out that (thank goodness) it is not true.  Apparently there is an approved color additive called "Guanine", which is extracted from fish scales.  I know, that does not make me feel much better either.  What does make me feel better is knowing that my 3D Mascara gets its color from black iron oxide, which is a mineral.
I'm so glad that there is a lot more awareness on important topics such as animal testing and the contents of our personal care products and cosmetics.  Rest assured that Younique does not test their products on animals and actually also has vegan products.

Younique Vegan Products

Also, all of the products are gluten free with the exception of Rose Water.  These products are not yet  Vegan Certified, however, Younique is considering pursuing a Vegan Classification/Certification for these products, and is exploring official certification as a cruelty-free company.

Younique uses mostly natural and/or organic ingredients along with some non-toxic synthetic ingredients, which makes them naturally-based but not all-natural.  These non-toxic synthetic ingredients are necessary as preservatives to prevent health problems such as skin infections.  

(If you would like more information on this Younique has a great in depth explanation HERE.)

What Is In Your Makeup and Where Are You Purchasing It?

Do you know what is in your makeup?  What is in that moisturizer you put on your skin every night when you go to bed?  Or in that mascara you wear every day?

Back when I was in high school, while on a trip to the mall with my parents, my mom bought me this beautiful eyeshadow from a well known makeup brand that she had been using for many many years.  I couldn't wait to try it out!  So one day I did, and by midday my eyelids were burning, and when I took my makeup off that night they were swollen and had bumps.  To make matters worse, my eyelashes started falling out!!  Seriously, half of the eyelashes on each eye fell out, you can imagine how freaked out I was!  I have no idea what caused this reaction! I had used a couple of other eyeshadow colors by this brand with no adverse reactions, however, this incident scared me so much I never ever used any product by that brand again.  I wish I would have looked into the ingredients on that particular eyeshadow and possibly looked into what had caused that horrible reaction.

One of the many things I love about Younique products is that they are naturally based, another is that they list the ingredients for each of their products and the use for each ingredient on their website.

You will find the "Ingredients" tab underneath the "Add to Cart" option in the product page:

 When you click on it, it will show you the list of ingredients for that product:

I would like to warn you to please be very cautious of where you buy your makeup.  There are many websites and little shops that offer product for way less than the price you would pay at your local mall or through an independent consultant.  Remember, if the deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.  Take a look at this interesting news clip:

How scary is that?!  In this other video one of the ladies selling counterfeit cosmetics was asked by the reporter where she gets her products, her reply? "Some things are from companies."  What companies?  Of course, she didn't have a quick deceiving answer to that question.  Be careful! 

Some of the questions asked about Younique cosmetics:

Are Younique products all natural?  Are they tested on animals, vegan, or gluten free? The answers to these questions coming up in the next post. Stay tuned!

A Bit About Me

A few months ago, I saw a picture on Facebook of a girl I know who had bought an amazing mascara that made her eyelashes look super long and pretty... to make a long story short, it was a Younique 3D Fiber Lash Mascara.  I bought the mascara the next day and signed up to be a presenter the same week!! When I read the mission statement, I was convinced I had made the right decision.

"[...]to uplift, empower, validate, and ultimately build self-esteem in women around the world[...]"

Let me tell you a bit about myself, I will try not to make this too long.  Throughout my life there have been a few times where I have lost and gained and lost and gained weight.  I recently found myself at my highest weight and with the lowest self-esteem I've ever had after a very strong personal situation.  To top it off, I had developed a very painful skin problem that made me feel even worse about myself.  This skin problem is what made me snap out of it, I have two beautiful kids who I need to be healthy for!! One day, tired of the pain and of the way I was feeling I decided to make a big lifestyle change, I changed my eating habits from one day to the next.  Thanks to this, I have lost approximately half of the weight I had gained, and gained back a lot of the self-esteem I had lost.  In the middle of this personal transformation I find this awesome product, read this beautiful mission statement and realize that this is a company I want to be a part of.  I strongly believe every woman is beautiful and unique inside and out, and I want to be a part of helping them see it.