Spotlight: Butter London's Animal Testing Policy

Good news from London that has nothing to do with that silly wedding people keep talking about... Butter London's adorable nail polishes are completely cruelty free and vegan. All polishes are also "3 Free" -- No Formaldehyde, No toluene, and No DBP (Phthales). Sweet!

I picked up a colour from their new S/S 2011 collection called "Teddy Girl" this week. It's a cute pastel pink. Totally opaque and long wearing. The collection was inspired by the impressionist painting style, especially Monet's work.

Oprah and Staff Go Vegan: One Week Challenge

Great news - Oprah and 378 of her staff committed to a vegan diet for a one-week challenge. Oprah also devoted an entire episode to to talking about veganism, including interviews with vegan activist Kathy Freston and food writer Michael Pollan, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at a meat-processing plant with Lisa Ling. Alicia Silverstone over at The Kind Life Blog mentioned this story as Alicia was asked to contribute yummy suggestions for the show.
I think this kind of exposure is essential for the animal-friendly movement. So many people see veganism/vegetarianism as something strange that they could never do. This kind of coverage helps people see it's not so strange and it's also very do-able!

Miu Miu's Valentine's Day Collection

Miu Miu is celebrating Valentine's Day with a capsule collection. It includes ruffled patent clutches, satchels, iPad cases, and flower applique accessories like this head band. How cute is that? Check out the fashionologie slide show for the complete collection. The blue flower bracelet also looks adorable.

I haven't been able to confirm but I think most of the accessories are made of plastic and vinyl, so they should be good to go. Best to check though!

Spotlight: Chanel's Animal Testing Policy

I did some readin' on the Chanel website and here is the scoop: no testing on animals - sweet! However, they do use some animal derivatives such as beeswax and lanolin.

I wasn't sure what lanolin was so I did some digging on wikipedia. OK, so it's not a scientific journal, but hey. Turns out it comes from sheering sheep. It's a wax that is extracted from the freshly shorn wool. Some people say this is "OK" for vegetarians and some people say it's "Not OK". All depends on how you feel about wool products.

Chunky Heels

It looks like some relief is on the way for high-heel wearers. Chunky heels of varying heights were seen across the catwalks of the Pre-Fall 2011 collections. Seen above: Stella McCartney shoes. You can also see a lower version of these babies in Fab Sugar's slide show here. I'm going to be all over hunting for the lower black version - cute, career appropriate, and comfy!

Spotlight: Urban Decay's Vegan Policy

Urban Decay, the beauty brand best known for bright colours and goth-y names like Asphyxia and Oil Slick, turns 15 this year. Their "vegan palette" is featured on the left.

Style Junkie is launching something new, too! We're going to spotlight different fashion/beauty brands and check out whether they are animal friendly. Ratings will be out of 5 paws.

Urban Decay's website says they never test on animals: "Urban Decay is, and always has been, a cruelty-free company. You’ll notice that every box bears our cruelty-free credo: “We don’t do animal testing. How could anyone?” We insist on producing beautiful, irreverent, high-end cosmetics without conducting animal testing." Nice! They've also flagged which products contain no animal ingredients. Some do, some don't. Their website has some animal rights symbols to help identify products. Urban Decay now has a “Marley Approved” symbol to identify vegan products on their website.

I'm giving them 4.5 paws out of 5. They aren't completely vegan, but the site is full of enough information to help people make vegan choices. And, I love their no animal testing policy. Nice work, Urban Decay!

Matt & Nat are having a sale!

Our favourite Canadian vegan hand bag desigers Matt & Natt are having a giant sale - up to 70% off. Check it out here.

This bag, Muse, is on sale for $115.50. Adorable!

Natalie Portman is Engaged!

Reps for the vegan Goddess extra-ordinaire, Natalie Portman, have confirmed to People.com that she engaged to choreographer Benjamin Millepied and that she is pregnant with the couple’s first child. The couple met filming of Black Swan, where Millepied served as both the choreographer and dance partner to Portman and co-star Mila Kunis. Congrats!

Portman was also recently named the new face of Dior's Miss Dior Cherie fragrance. Dior remade all their fabulous shoes in vegan-friendly fabrics for Portman. Amazing! If only they were available for the rest of us!

Vegan Sorels

The weather sure ain't getting warmer and it may be time to trade my converse in for a pair of sensible winter boots. I've bee looking into getting Sorels and their customer service peeps were helpful enough to send me a listing of the boots that contain no animal products: Sorelli Tall Lace, The Sorellington series, and the Tivolli series.

Stella McCartney - New Vegas Store

Stella McCartney has just opened a new, fabulous store in Las Vegas. Check this shizz out!

The 2,900 square foot boutique includes all things Stella, but the most impressive is a crystal horse that hangs from the ceiling. The 8,000 Swarovski crystal sculpture was created by the designer in 2004 and named after her late mother's favorite Appaloosa, Lucky Spot. Someone actually made a short video of the crystal horse.

Norway Bans Fur on the Runway

NY Mag's The Cut is reporting that Norway has become the first country to ban fur from its runways during Oslo Fashion Week, which will be held from February 14 to 20. Amazing! Although, ... the animal lover in me doesn't see a real difference between fur and leather, and we all know leather isn't going anywhere. Even so, one furball saved it better than none!

Matt by Matt & Nat > Matt & Nat

NY Mag's The Cut is featuring Canada's own Matt & Nat in a post on "Hip Vegan Bags". Well, actually... they are featuring Matt by Matt & Nat, which has been infinitely better than the main Matt & Nat line for the last little while. Not sure what's up with that. Judge for yourself here.

Vegan Shoes and Bags for Professional Women

Gotta Love Corporette, they've got a fab post on animal-friendly fashions for professional women. Here are some of the companies mentioned: Moo Shoes in NYC, VeganChic, UK-based Neon Collective, Neuaura, Beyond Skin, olsenHaus, and Charmone.

I've found that you actually don't need specialty stores all the time to get vegan goodies. Nine West makes a whole line of gorgeous purses, I wear flats by Soda to work a lot, and both of those brands are available at most malls. Not everything those companies make is vegan though, so you gotta read the labels!

Stella McCartney - Lace-covered pumps

I've been online shopping most of today - it's a lot easier than working on our new condo.

Anyway, Net-a-Porter.com just made my week. OMG - Are these new Stella Pumps to die for or what? There goes my "tuition bonus"...

Wow - Alice + Olivia Designer Stacey Bendet is a fur-wearing Vegan

Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet, who launched M.A.C.'s alice+olivia collection at Beauty Bar, arrived in a head-turning red number topped with a Mongolian Lamb vest, one of her own pieces. The designer admitted to NY Mag's The Cut that she has somewhat mixed feelings about the fur pieces she makes. "I'm vegan, actually," she said. "I don't eat [animals], I don't put meat in my body. So every once in a while I think it's okay to wear it. But I made it — I'm probably going to hell."

Wow, I'm speechless.

Protein - Meatless Mondays

Chris Elam at the Huff Post has a great post about just how much protein people consume. Wow, the kids are alright! Turns out that whole "am I getting enough protein?" question really isn't a problem for most people. Here's a run down of the protein content of some common foods. The bottom line? When it comes to protein...we don't need animal protein all the time.

Broccoli -- 4 grams in 1 cup
Brown Rice -- 5 grams in 1 cup
Refried beans -- 7 grams in ½ cup
Soymilk -- 7 grams in 1 cup
Peas -- 8 grams in 1 cup
Tofu -- 11 grams in 5 oz
Oat Bran -- 16 grams in 1 cup
Lentils -- 18 grams in 1 cup
Chickpeas -- 18 grams in 1 cup

Image: A model of a protein from Streptomyces avermitilis, a source of antibiotics. Origami/photo: Robert J. Lang / Talia Chetrit

Paloma Picasso Bead Necklace

I'm loving this Paloma Picasso Bead Necklace from Tiffany. I think it's a fabulous alternative to pearls (not vegan-friendly). It's got black onyx, gray moonstone, and tourmalinated quartz. Ooooh and it comes in 18", 36", and 60" long for different wearing options.

FYI: Paloma is Pablo's grand-daughter.

Leona Lewis doing a vegetarian clothing line

Amazing! Leona Lewis wants to do a vegetarian clothing line. In the June issue of InStyle UK, the British songstress and animal rights advocate tells the magazine that she plans to design her own vegetarian fashion line. Lewis has frequently spoken about her struggle to find cool non-leather shoes. Apparently, her friend - the fabulous Stella McCartney - may be on board as a consultant. More here.

Oh man, I can relate to her struggle. I'm always trying to find animal-friendly shoes, bags, wallets, etc. Speaking of which, I recently discovered Nine West has a great selection of fully man-made material hand bags. I picked up this one on Saturday.

Toronto's Best Brunch

NOW Magazine has published their annual list of the best brunch spots in Toronto. Being an avid bruncher, I've been to many of Toronto's brunch hot spots. Here's my commentary on some of the spots they've mentioned.

Calico - Awesome vegan brunch! Owner/Chef Jared is a food artist.
The Drake- Pretentious, but tasty.
Starving Artist - Amazing regular waffles, vegan waffles not great.
Fresh by Juice for Life - Brunch is just OK.
Pulp Kitchen - Good, simple food.
Aunties And Uncles - Crazy line-up, food was good.
Le Petit Dejeuner - Not good.
Sadie’s Diner - Fabulous diner. Staff are really cool.
Shanghai Cowgirl - Solid place.
Sneaky Dee’s - Soooo greasy. This is good and bad.
Live Organic Food - Who wants raw food for breakfast? Not me.
United Bakers Dairy - Good but over-priced.

Also, NOW didn't mention Insomnia - but their brunch is wonderful!
RIP to my all time favourite spot The Get Real Cafe which is now closed.

UPDATE: New amazing spot! The Bloordale Pantry has a fab brunch. Try the vegetarian Bloordale Benny (griddle scones poached eggs and homemade hollandaise sauce), it`ll blow your mind! There website is under construction but you can read more here and here and here.

Avoiding all dairy?

Huffington Post has a controversial piece by Dr. Mark Hyman that advocates avoiding dairy entirely. Apparently, the dairy requirements in the food pyramid guidelines are "udderly ridiculous." (Ha!) Link here.

Hyman's Six Reasons to Avoid Milk Entirely:

1. Milk doesn't reduce fractures.(i) Contrary to popular belief, eating dairy products has never been shown to reduce fracture risk. In fact, according to the Nurses' Health Study dairy may increase risk of fractures by 50 percent!
2. Less dairy, better bones. Countries with lowest rates of dairy and calcium consumption (like those in Africa and Asia) have the lowest rates of osteoporosis.
3. Calcium isn't as bone-protective as we thought.(ii) Studies of calcium supplementation have shown no benefit in reducing fracture risk. Vitamin D appears to be much more important than calcium in preventing fractures.
4. Calcium may raise cancer risk. Research shows that higher intakes of both calcium and dairy products may increase a man's risk of prostate cancer by 30 to 50 percent.(iii) Plus, dairy consumption increases the body's level of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) -- a known cancer promoter.
5. Calcium has benefits that dairy doesn't. Calcium supplements, but not dairy products, may reduce the risk of colon cancer.(iv)
6. Not everyone can stomach dairy.(v) About 75 percent of the world's population is genetically unable to properly digest milk and other dairy products -- a problem called lactose intolerance.

Here is a video with Dr. Hyman explaining his argument.