the broke college guide to caring consumerism

animal testing is obsolete and horrific.
that said, many people are completely unaware that they are using animal tested products, or even worse, aware and apathetic.
unfortunately for the caring consumer, shopping cruelty-free can be VERY expensive. and for a poor student such as myself, it is not only imperative to be cruelty-free, but thrifty as well.
there are many good websites with information about animal-tested products, ( leaping bunny and caring consumer, for example), but these sites tend to overlook a whole mess of products. some are eschewed from the list for being "inorganic", some don't make it because they observe a moratorium rather than a full-out ban.
however, a lot of these neglected brands are the easiest and cheapest to obtain-and as such, i've decided to compile this list based on my personal experience of nearly a decade. this list is limited to makeup and personal care products, a market rampant with (unnecessary!) animal testing.
hope this informs and assists a few people in the future :)

bonne belle
physician's formula
N.Y.C.
st. ive's
v05
freeman
queen helene
hawaiian tropic
burt's bees
paul mitchell
wet n' wild
avon
revlon
almay
colgate-pamolive and subsidiaries * moratorium
method
aloe vera inc.
manic panic
raw! color

some brands to avoid: (as well as subsidiaries)
unilever
johnson & johnson
l'oreal ( i mistakenly used this for years- :( )
procter and gamble
arm and hammer
clorox
dial
s.c.johnson

a very personal piece...

i finally got my tablet pen working again, and i felt i had some steam to blow off.
this is a very personal piece... the affliction is a metaphor for my own feelings of uselessness and subconscious self-sabotage.
totally digital work- not really a polished work, but i was leaning toward a more expressive style.
i've been mulling the idea around in my head for a series of afflicted self-portraits, one for each of my worst flaws. who knows, it could be cathartic.


Persons affected are cognitively impaired and have behavioral disturbances that emerge between two and three years of age. The uncontrollable self-injury associated with LNS also usually begins at three years of age. The self-injury begins with biting of the lips and tongue; as the disease progresses, affected individuals frequently develop finger biting and head banging. The self-injury can increase during times of stress. Self-mutilation is a distinguishing characteristic of the disease and is apparent in 85% of affected males.

The majority of individuals are cognitively impaired, which is sometimes difficult to distinguish from other symptoms because of the behavioral disturbances and motor deficits associated with the syndrome. In many ways, the behaviors may be seen as a psychological extension of the compulsion to cause self-injury: Rejecting desired treats or travel, repaying kindness with coldness or rage, failing to answer test questions correctly despite study and a desire to succeed, provoking anger from caregivers when affection is desired, and so on.

Compulsive behaviors also occur, including aggressiveness, vomiting, spitting, and involuntary swearing, or coprolalia. The development of this type of behavior is sometimes seen within the first year, or in early childhood, but others may not develop it until later in life
~wikipedia

art dump and cynicism

well, now that the art dump is over..... on to cynicism!

i am SO sick of being leered at by lecherous men. it's uncomfortable, scary, and demeaning. why should i have to be afraid to walk down the street just for being female? what is it in the male psyche that dehumanizes the female into the sum of her organs of generation?
i am more than a juicy piece of meat.
i have feelings, and i have the right to personal space. i have the right to go about my business unharassed. i have the right not to be groped by another testosterone- fueled imbecile. if i wear a low-cut blouse or a skirt, could it possibly be because it's hot out, and not because i'm "asking for it?" what if i came up to you and started fondling you? would YOU like it? (maybe.) how would you like to be afraid to walk to the store? to ride the subway? to go out alone lest SOMEONE try to follow you home.. or worse?!
WHY IS THIS SO HARD TO UNDERSTAND?
this must be one of the reasons why humans are the inferior species. hell, if a short, dumpy freako like me gets this so often, i can't imagine what it must be like for my fairer sisters.
fucking EVOLVE, guys, and maybe you'll go home alone less frequently.

(this is not to say that SOME men haven't taken the plunge into civilization...)

a little rant on my part...

for too long, i've watched friends of mine starve themselves to squeeze into that narrow margin that society has deemed beautiful. what's more, all of these people are otherwise incredibly intelligent and creative. with every passing day, i see them flounder in self-loathing while they struggle to further emaciate themselves. their fervor borders on insanity.
it would be hypocritical to say that i haven't any qualms with my looks- i do. however, i would never starve myself. i would never aspire to be a magazine body. why?
because like all things fashion, thin is a trend. and trends come and go.
it irks me so that people who pride themselves on thinking differently flock like sheep to the great altar of modern beauty, dragging behind them the misery of hunger and a broken psyche. the groupthink escalates from there- those dying to be thin and hating it begin to hate those different from them, different from the norm. is it disgust? perhaps it is envy, that while they suffer for a chimerical body, those who are truly revolutionary can be comfortable in their own skin, regardless of the trends.

painting in progress; apollo and hyacinthus


another shot
faceup of a friend's character
rough of a comic collab with a friend.
guess who's been re-wathcing their slayers dvd's?



summer is still not eventful, jobwise or artwise. had fun looking for jobs at least for a bit with liz ( the skirt was lovely, i wore it to dances of vice, by the way :)
i blame part of it on holly crashing. nothing like having to reinstall the tablet driver to deter any digital art from me. the rest is me being a lazy douche. well, chronic pain doesn't help either.
this is the least craptastic of the bunch, hopefully i'll finish the damn painting and pretend to be productive before school starts.

i take stock in dreams.

no, not dreams like aspirations and goals. i mean dreams like the little nocturnal movies in your head.
i think it comes from reading tarot for so long, since it's so heavy on symbol interpretation, or some of it, anyway. lately i've been doing dream interpretations for friends that ring astonishingly true. even my own dreams have become so clear in their metaphors that it's almost frightening. it's like closing your eyes in reverse, seeing what you don't want to behind your eyelids rather than the warm dark. a double-edged blade, yes- but the painful truth is better than blissful ignorance.
take a good hard look at your subconscious, people. you'll be surprised at your own wisdom sometimes.

summer is going well, but jesus christ i need a job.
i'm going to try for a tattoo apprenticeship, crossing my fingers that i'll get in. i feel so useless not working, and it really puts a damper on basic things like getting new clothes and art supplies.
also kind of feeling like my art isn't good enough to employ me. all my stuff is so far behind that of my peers that i'm constantly frustrated with my lack of ability.
blah.