When it comes to buying products we all have a responsibility to know where our dollars go.

And while in the world of beauty it might seem a bit tricky to be conscientious of animal rights and our planet… it’s so essential. Fortunately, Sephora agrees and their latest announcement confirms it!

Recently, Sephora announced that it would no longer sell mink-based lashes online or in-store in an effort to combat animal cruelty.

Speaking to Allure this week, the big-box beauty store announced that they had started 2020 with efforts to phase mink lashes out of its stock. This week, after animal rights activist organization PETA launched a campaign demanding that the brand do so, the retailer confirmed that when it comes to false eyelashes they are going completely mink-free.

“Following a PETA campaign and emails from more than 280,000 concerned shoppers, Sephora has confirmed that it has banned mink-fur eyelashes and will purchase only synthetic or faux-fur lashes going forward,” PETA shared in a statement about the decision.

In a graphic video about the trading and selling of mink fur which is often used for coats and fake eyelashes, the organization urged Sephora to stop selling the beauty product.

*Warning this video is graphic*

The organization lambasted fur farms in its statement saying “As PETA pointed out in its letters to Sephora, mink fur typically comes from fur farms, where stressed minks frantically pace and circle endlessly inside cramped wire cages and many languish from infections or broken or malformed limbs. Some minks even self-mutilate as a result of the intensive confinement, chewing into their own limbs or tails. At the end of their miserable lives, they’re gassed or electrocuted or their necks are broken.”

Confirming their decision to take mink off of its shelves, Sephora wrote in a statement that they “have always been committed to upholding the highest standards of beauty, and we take our responsibility to communicate transparently and honestly with our clients about the products we carry seriously.”

The brand went on to say that they shared with PETA “earlier this year we had already decided to begin phasing mink products out of our assortment in 2020. We have only ever offered products our clients can trust and we stand by the people and partners who have made the Sephora experience what it is today.”

For one Argentian man, there really ain’t no mountain high enough.

After the coronavirus pandemic halted international travel, Juan Manuel Ballestero set sail on a three-month-long high seas journey to his see his 90-year-old father, proving not even a novel virus could keep him from his dad.

Ballestero set out to see his father after his home country of Argentina canceled all international passenger flights in an effort to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

View this post on Instagram

Misión cumplida! La fe cruza oceanos

A post shared by Juan Manuel Ballestero (@skuanavega) on Jun 20, 2020 at 11:09am PDT

According to The New York Times, Ballestero had been on the Portugal island of Porto Santo when Argentina canceled international passenger flights. Still determined to see his father, Ballestero decided to set out on an 85-day sailing voyage across the Atlantic Ocean. All on his own.

“I didn’t want to stay like a coward on an island where there were no cases,” Juan Manuel said in an interview with The New York Times. “I wanted to do everything possible to return home. The most important thing for me was to be with my family.”

Ballestero is a veteran sailor and fisherman who has been a lover of water since he was 3 years old.

Still his family expressed that they were nervous about his decision to go his journey alone.

“The uncertainty of not knowing where he was for 50-some days was very rough, but we had no doubt this was going to turn out well,” his father, Carlos Alberto Ballestero said in an interview with The New York Times.

He also documented the trip all while on Instagram.

Though Ballestero made the trip home safe and sound, he did run into a few issues along the way.

Ballestero said that on April 12 authorities in Cape Verde barred him from docking his sailboat so that he could replenish his food supply and refuel his boat. At the time, Ballestero was eating only canned tuna, fruit, and rice. Because of Cape Verde’s denial, he was forced to continue forward with less fuel and rely on winds. What’s more, towards the end of his trip, Ballestero hit choppy waters and was forced to add an additional 10 days to his trip while in Vitória, Brazil.

Despite the complications, Ballestero said he never considered giving up. “I wasn’t afraid, but I did have a lot of uncertainty,” he explained. “It was very strange to sail in the middle of a pandemic with humanity teetering around me… There was no going back.”

Ballestero arrived on June 17 in Mar del Plata.

View this post on Instagram

Haciéndole elaguante #skuanavega #lafeliz #freedolphins

A post shared by Juan Manuel Ballestero (@skuanavega) on Jun 19, 2020 at 6:44pm PDT

“Entering my port where my father had his sailboat, where he taught me so many things and where I learned how to sail and where all this originated, gave me the taste of a mission accomplished,” he shared before revealing that he had to take a test for COVID-19 before he could see his family. Fortunately, after 72 hours of waiting for his results, he found out that he was COVID-19-free and able to enter Argentina.

Despite his long trip, Ballestero said that he’s eager to hit the waters again soon.

“What I lived is a dream. But I have a strong desire to keep on sailing.”