Tuesday 26 January 2016

An Interview With Mica Of Mica Day


Today I am so pleased to introduce a new cruelty-free blogger interview with Mica Day. Mica writes about cruelty-free and vegan beauty, food and household products so you're sure to find something new to try on her blog. Her post about her favourite soya products even influenced me to (successfully!) renew my efforts to cut down on dairy.

Mica is a very inspiring animal rights supporter and has been actively campaigning against Seaworld. Make sure you watch her interviews with Dr Jeffrey Ventre, Blackfish cast member and senior ex-trainer at Seaworld and Howard Garrett, Orca expert and researcher to learn why. Raising awareness for animal rights is so important and I'm very happy to share Mica's passion here.

An Interview With Mica Day Cruelty-Free & Vegan Blogger

Hi Mica!

Hey Gemima! Firstly, thank you for asking me to be a part of this - it's great to be involved in the cruelty-free community. 

When did you start blogging and what inspired you to start your own?

have had my blog nearly a year now and what a journey it has been. In November 2014 I learned about animal testing for cosmetic & household products, I had a few days of watching various videos & I was horrified to say the least. Not only that this awful process goes on, but also that this is not more well known to the public. Immediately after I discovered this I went through my products and unsurprisingly, about 95% of my products were from companies tested their products on animals. Having this revelation also coincided with other realisations for me, I started to think about my food - what I was eating & how it got to my plate, straight after that Christmas I turned vegetarian and then soon after that, vegan. This was also a profound time for me because I watched the documentary 'Blackfish', this ultimately changed my life and it was a combination of all these things (a complete reality check) that let me to start my blog. 

Why should an animal suffer for anything that I have - product or food. I felt I could help the cruelty-free cause , I wanted to spread the word and make more people aware of what's going on under their noses. My blog has certainly evolved as I have become more aware of various issues over time. For instance, as I previously mentioned I have a strong passion for the freedom of the Orca's at SeaWorld and try to help this cause as much as I can with my interviews with Blackfish cast members & Orca experts. Marine life & Climate Change are also very important to me, I feel we can all be more ecological to save the planet and the animals. There is no need to have animal tested products, there is a big enough selection on the market but unfortunately the human race has become very greedy (in many respects). Having a blog like this is the perfect place to display all these issues and discuss. I hope to inspire and change peoples minds, as so many blogs & people have done for me. 

What are your favourite cruelty-free products?

My favourite cruelty-free products - what a difficult question! I love the reliable brands like Superdrug, Astonish & the Co-Op but I must say some of my favourite cruelty-free brands are the independent ones I have discovered, they have such a personal touch about their products which have derived from a true passion. 

Living Naturally - http://www.soapnuts.co.uk/ 
Living Naturally are one of go to brands for household & skincare, they have harvested the power of a natural nut that contains soap and have made so many products out of it. They have all the right credentials and they're incredibly ecological (& effective), I am a particular fan of their Soapnut's & Soapnut Salve & Scrub (to be honest - everything!). 

This brand has been such a life saver for my face! They make fabulous moisturisers & cleanser, all natural and again - have the right credentials. Their Hemp Moisturiser has done wonders for my skin. 

A Konjac Sponge is a fantastic invention, scrubs with Microbeads are so bad for the environment and just end up in the Oceans. I only use a natural scrub like a Sugar or Salt scrub (or ones that are made from seeds/nuts) or I use one of these fabulous, ecological, cruelty-free & vegan sponges. These are a great way to exfoliate and you keep them for months, they are also completely biodegradable and nothing is washed into the Ocean. 

Humblestuff - http://humblestuff.co.uk/ 
Handmade natural cleaning products, this brand's surface spray is one of my favourite things to use in my house and it doesn't hurt the environment or any animals - perfect! 

What advice would you give to someone who wants to buy cruelty-free?

I would say - firstly, do some research into what cosmetic testing actually goes on. I know video's and imagery can be graphic and extremely upsetting. But if you are still not convinced or not too sure how bad cosmetic testing can be - just watch one 30 second video or see some images from a cosmetic testing lab and I guarantee I will confirm what you should do next. This is also a great way to share the cruelty-free message on. It is horrible to see what goes on but unfortunately this is reality. 

Do a google search for cruelty-free bloggers on the internet, If you're unsure where to start this is the direction to go. There are so many great people out there blogging about how to live a cruelty-free life with your cosmetics and household items there's no excuse. Take to social media, I know for me Twitter was hugely important in my journey to where I am today. There is a HUGE cruelty-free community out there and you can just reach out and everyone will be only too happy to help.  

What's your favourite part of blogging?

Of course I love trying new products and finding companies that share my love for being cruelty-free. I really love connecting with a brand, through conversation I really enjoy hearing about their reasons for making such a product and their passions for making their company a cruelty-free/vegan/ecological one. There is so much out there, and I'm sure I'm still at the start, it is definitely becoming more popular to have more natural products and even in just the year I have been blogging I have seen more & more cruelty-free brands come on the scene. 

******

Thank you Mica for such a brilliant interview! Make sure to also check out my interviews with Vicky of Ethical ElephantAna of Aniqa DreamsSarah of The V Nice LifeEmily of The Bell JarMorag of mo'adore and Kelly of The Vegan Taff for their thoughts on blogging and buying cruelty-free. You can read the whole series so far here.

Tuesday 5 January 2016

The Best Of 2015 | My Most Popular Blog Posts

The Best Of 2015 on Lovely Witches. My Most Popular Blog Posts & Blogging Goals. Want to know what the most popular blog posts are? I shared my most viewed blog posts from 2015 and my blogging goals for the New Year.

Happy New Year! To round up 2015 I wanted to share my most popular posts from the past year. If you're new to Lovely Witches these posts would be an excellent place to start. And if you've been reading all year I want to say thank you so much!

My blogging goals are much the same as last year - to improve my photography, find a good life/blogging balance and improve the overall look of this site. I'd like to stick to one style for graphics, maybe add in a colour scheme and I'd absolutely love to have a logo. My biggest problem is indecision, as I'll make up a logo or graphic and then immediately change my mind. The design side of blogging is completely new to me so I'm still learning as I go. Let me know if you have any tips! On to the best of 2015...


FAQs About Cruelty-Free

FAQs About Cruelty-Free

I'm so glad this post has been helpful for people, and I'll definitely be writing more for this series. There are lots of misconceptions about cruelty-free - that animal testing doesn't happen any more, or that buying cruelty-free is expensive, or just too hard. I explained why the opposite is true.


e.l.f. Cream Blush, Cruelty-Free & Vegan.

An e.l.f. Haul

When my favourite make-up brand e.l.f. announced they were leaving the U.K. I went a bit overboard and bought everything in their sale. They've since returned online so if you're looking for affordable vegan make-up these products are a great place to start.


Vegan Tuck Box Review. A U.K. monthly subscription box of vegan snacks!

Vegan Tuck Box

I really enjoyed writing this review, because I got to eat all these delicious vegan snacks! The selection from Vegan Tuck Box seriously impressed me, and I would happily subscribe to their monthly box if I wasn't already a loyal member of The Vegan Kind.


 Disappointing Products on Lovely Witches. Find out why I really disliked these beauty products!

Disappointing Products

I go through a lot of beauty products to find the good ones and many of them never make it to this blog, because they were just so so. This post featured a couple of products I thought would be perfect for me, but I really disliked.


 Animal Testing & Parent Companies on Lovely Witches. Should you buy from a cruelty-free brand with a testing parent company or boycott?

Animal Testing & Parent Companies

This can be such a tricky debate amongst the cruelty-free community - to buy from brands with a testing parent company or to boycott. I tried to cover both sides of the argument and explain what it all means.

An e.l.f. Make-Up Look For Spring on Lovely Witches. Cruelty-Free and Vegan Beauty.

An e.l.f. Make-Up Look For Spring

A daytime make-up look using all e.l.f. products - cruelty-free and vegan of course! I love purple eyeshadow any time of year so this look can definitely see me through until Spring arrives.

Vegan Switches | Cutting Down On Dairy on Lovely Witches. Looking for vegan alternatives to everyday dairy products? Try these dairy free replacements!

Vegan Switches | Cutting Down On Dairy

My renewed attempts at switching to dairy free products were actually a success this time, update coming soon! If you're looking for vegan alternatives to regular dairy products then you should definitely try these.

Cruelty-Free & Vegan Favourites on Lovely Witches. My favourite cruelty-free and vegan beauty products every month.

Cruelty-Free & Vegan Favourites 

This series has been hugely popular and I'm so pleased as these posts take ages to put together, but I probably enjoy them the most. I like to make them a monthly round-up of what I've been up to, a few favourite posts from other bloggers, the beauty bits currently on my wishlist and of course the products I've been loving that month.


An Interview With Kelly Of The Vegan Taff on Lovely Witches. Read my interview series with cruelty-free bloggers for their tips on blogging and buying cruelty-free.

Cruelty-Free Blogger Interviews

This year I've had the chance to interview some fantastic cruelty-free bloggers: Vicky of Ethical ElephantAna of Aniqa DreamsSarah of The V Nice LifeEmily of The Bell JarMorag of mo'adore and Kelly of The Vegan Taff - thank you all so much for taking part! I asked them all about blogging and buying cruelty-free, and their advice for beginners. Make sure you go check out their blogs because they are all lovely ladies who are absolutely inspiring.


I've enjoyed blogging so much since I started not that long ago and the people and opportunities it's introduced me to have been amazing. Here's to an even better year in 2016!


Gemima

© Lovely Witches | Cruelty-Free Beauty & Lifestyle . All rights reserved. Disclaimer.
Blogger Templates by pipdig