The Stylish Vegan

The Stylish Vegan is a big proponent of oral hygiene – who isn’t? So how hard can it be, you brush, you floss, you rinse, what’s the problem? Hang on there, sparky, as with everything else in the carnivorous world, you gotta be selective in your tooth product. There are all sorts of mysterious ingredients floating around in those chemical laden pastes and gels not to mention the poor little animals that they’re tested upon.

So as soon as my kitties recover their sight, one by one, I’ll give you TSV’s recommendations. Damn, this is taking longer than I thought. I mean, how long can it sting? Man. Alright, alright, skip the calls to Animal Protection, I’m joking over here, people. Hey, not to worry, vegan nation, there are plenty o’ products on the market to keep those pearly yellows in good shape.

“Ok, Stylish Vegan, what do you use?” Who said that? Somewhat embarrassingly, I use Tom’s of Maine. It’s natural, no animal testing, etc., etc., but, and this is a big butt, they’re owned by the evil empire of Colgate! Before you throw poisonous darts at your full color poster of The smiling Stylish Vegan that graces your living room wall, Colgate has come a long way in working with PETA and ceasing much of their animal testing. So there.

You don’t wanna use Tom’s, alright, your lovely disseminator of vegan knowledge, has done his research. After pouring over website after website so you, my fab friends, don’t have to, The Stylish Vegan has come to a consensus. It seems that many veganistos are very fond of a paste called Jason. In particular, our friends at Vegan Represent recommend Jason Powersmile.

All natural, organic and devoid of monkey eyeball burning, it seems to rate well for flavor and freshness.

Another lovable paste, as recommended by our now close friends, is created by Nature’s Gate. They have many cyberly wonderful looking products in addition to the toothpastes and gels but it’s the oral products that we’re here for. They tell TSV the minty, fluoride-free paste is the queen of the bunch.

It doesn’t seem to this wisenheimer that you can go wrong with either of these wonderful tooth preservers. And, I almost forgot to mention, my favorite company in the animal-friendly, organic, natural, politically correct, anti-republican personal care products is Kiss My Face. I won’t get into their oral care products here since I’m going to dedicate an entire day to them in the near future. I bet you can’t wait!

There you have it, veganoids, can’t miss oral hygienic products that you can feel comfortable using knowing this guy’s eyes were spared in the development and manufacturing.

Happy oral hygiene, kiddos!

The Stylish Vegan can only give you a quickie tonight, time is limited but I cannot let my veganistos down without something. I’m not a wearer of fragrance, actually I think the aroma, rather the stank, makes me nauseous. What else is new? But just because it’s not within my idiom doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for it with the vegan  – albeit, whatever the cologne, a really, really little goes a long, long, long way – get it?

But like everything else in this manufactured carnivorous First World, it’s difficult to find men’s fragrances that are not only animal friendly in the testing sense but also don’t use them in the elixir. It’s a problem with just about any men’s or women’s product. A while back I informed all of my wonderful readers of the evils of many shaving products – particularly lanolin. Well, you got it, smarties, fragrance can be just as evil. That is until The Herban Cowboy came on the scene (no jokes please).

Offering everything from shaving products to skin care to fragrances, this smiling, shirtless lad in the ten gallon had apparently has what vegan men need. It’s totally organic, 100% cruelty-free, vegan and packaged in recycled materials. Ride ‘em cowboy!

TSV has no idea what these products are like but as usual, I admire a company that states “vegan” upfront. I may have to hop on the horse and take these products for a spin.

Also, here are few other sites to check out, vegan stallions, with veganistic product and cologne, So Organic , The Body Shop and Organic Madness. Knock yourselves out and report back your findings to The Stylish Vegan. Look, I can’t do this alone people. And if you do hop on the Herban Cowboy, no pix please, words will do just fine.

Good question and one The Stylish Vegan has asked to other non-animal consumers over and over and over. Listen up: you don’t have to look like you just rolled out of bed 24 hours a day. You don’t. Really. Now I understand that many of you prefer it this way – it’s your statement or whatever – great. Here’s the reality, kids; you will never be taken seriously outside of your group of patchouli stankin’, Birkie rebels. Take a look at Mango, our favorite fruitarian (i.e. a wacked out vegan who only eats fruit).

Isn’t he adorable? The picture of scuzziness. You got a great thing going there, pal, and by the way, thanks for perpetuating the vegan stereotype. Would Dennis Kucinich be a somewhat viable presidential candidate if he looked like this? Would he have been elected to the House of Representatives had he not showered in days and looked like a scruffy (I’m being nice here) street person?

The Stylish Vegan has several siblings, many of whom are married. I’ve been to dozens of weddings celebrated within an eclectic array of faiths. I don’t intend to pick on Mango, but I will anyway, for showing up at important events like his sister’s wedding (poor thing) looking like a greasy, frightening sewer rat.

In case you’re wondering, Mango’s the dude on your cyber right. His brother, the one dressed in a suit (what a novel idea wearing a suit to a wedding) hasn’t talked to his brother, Mango, in years. Hmmmm….I wonder why? Other than the odor trailing him like Pig Pen, they probably have a lot in common.

I am sorry for the rather venomous mood tonight but I am baffled by the lack of, not only style, but respect that seems to run rampant in the high almighty cult of veganism. Do you think for one moment that Dennis Kucinich would show up at any public event wearing Crocs and hemp shorts? Of course not! Mr. Kucinich figured out long ago that people will listen to a “freaky vegan” when he or she fits the dress code. And why is this important, as The Stylish Vegan has reiterated until the free range cows come home? People will listen to you. That cause you are so passionate about whether its climate change or animal cruelty, have infinitely greater chances of hitting the right ears and being accepted in our crazed country when your appearance is smart and tight.

Dress the part. Look good. Groom yourself. Don’t wear offensive smelling “natural” cologne/perfume. It’s easy and it can be quite affordable. It’s important. Period. Just do it. You will break down the immediate barriers and and you will be heard. It works and I’m here to help.

Today The Stylish Vegan intended to enlighten all of you in Veganland about the great products I’ve been using for years on my handsome mug. Having used the same product for quite some time, I was very well aware that Kiehl’s was an old established brand that was very proud of not testing their products on animals. That fact has made me a big fan, especially of the shaving cream.

It, frankly, is the best shaving cream The Stylish Vegan has used. Period. Well, as of today at about noon PST, as I was reading a post at The Vegan Forum my eyes burned at the sight of the words in front of me,  “lanolin in many shaving creams is made from some bizarre wool fat/grease from any wool bearing animal.” What?! I ran to my blue animal-friendly product the whole way saying, “no, it’s not in there, it can’t be, can it?” I picked it up and it immediately fell to the floor (why is it that always seems to happen when you really want to find something out), grabbed it off the tile and began reading. There were all sorts of strange words written very small on the tube.  I muttered each as if I were more relieved with each passing multi-syllabic chemical. And then, there it was “LANOLIN”! Oh, God! I’ve been smearing lamb grease on my face for years! The horror!

A huge tidal wave of embarrassment rushed through me. Things like this don’t happen to The Stylish Vegan – certainly not after seven years of priding myself on my vegantude. But the words were there and there was no denying it. There was no time for self-pity, there was research to be done! Turns out, there are quite few quality shaving creams out there without any of the nasty critter by-products of most brands.

So here’s what Ima gonna do. I am making this a quest to find the ultimate vegan shaving cream, one that stands up to the demands of this fickle vegan. First up, Kiss My Face. I love their soaps so tomorrow I will check out one of their shaving creams . It should be readily available, I’m guessing, at my local PCC. If not, or for those who don’t have the fortunate local access I have to veganworld can certainly go to places like Cari Amici.

The Stylish Vegan learned a wonderful lesson today about being more aware of dead animals showing up with fanciful long words in products even when the company is “animal-friendly”. That is unless you happen to be one of the animals ending up in their products.