Cruelty free quickie, the dupe edition…

I recently watched, with amusement, some beauty bloggers on Twitter get a tiny bit annoyed with Aldi for it’s penchant for blatantly ripping off big brands. I am bemused at folk who not only want to pay £40 for something that can be produced for a fiver, but also want to defend the rip off merchants. I am all for dupes, in fact, I find Aldi’s bold faced copies hilarious.

Their latest target is Benefit. A brand I used to love, but have zero good feelings for since they resumed torturing small creatures. I was delighted to discover that they were doing a They’re real dupe, but didn’t raise my hopes for two reasons. Firstly, it seemed too good to be true and also my local Aldi is pretty small, so it doesn’t get always get the cool beauty lines. Well, colour me happy because I was wrong on both fronts. Too Legit is both available & kind of great in my neighbourhood. Listen, if I can get a cruelty free & amazing mascara for £5.99 I honestly do not care what brand it is. In addition to that I just don’t understand anyone who doesn’t find this kind of outrageous copying hilarious.

Lacura too legitToo legit/They’re real

As is always the case in places like Aldi, I bought other things purely because they were right there. One of which was this Smashbox dupe. I have never purchased any smashbox products. However, I do frequent social media where folks are always raving about their photo finish primer. So, of course I bought the Aldi dupe. I have not tried the original nor do I know if Smashbox are despicable, but I do feel ‘Insta ready’ wearing just this primer & aforementioned mascara. Again, I cannot not help but be tickled by attention to rip off detail.

Lacura snapshot readySnapshot ready/photo finish

Here is my very own face both completely bare and covered in solely these products. I am genuinely impressed and disgruntled that it is clearly so easy to cheaply make these potions. Seriously, if Aldi can do this ethically, stop giving those designer brands your money.

ly h Kerr

Cruelty free quickie…

This is a friday quickie to allow me to gush about a new discovery.  My darling friend Jenna sent me a mascara from thrive causemetics as part of my Xmas gift & now I love her even more. 

I used Benefit’s They’re Real for years, but had to give it up when they returned to animal testing. I loved they’re real & I have struggled to find anything that compared. The search is over, thrive liquid extensions mascara blows benefit out of the game. It adds length & volume & gives me magnificent lashes. Even better, thrive are completely vegan & cruelty free. Plus, for every product bought they donate one to a women dealing with cancer or domestic violence. I adore this company. I suspect I am about to become their biggest customer. 


Behold my glorious lashes (& another vegan favourite, the mighty Oreo thin). 


This isn’t a sponsored post & I am not being gifted any items. I am genuinely delighted to have found such an excellent mascara from such a wonderful company.  Those who try make a positive difference should be applauded & rewarded. I hope thrive gobble up lots of the big animal testing brand’s business. Oh & if you do make a switch please email the brand and tell them why you are rejecting them. I always do!