What’s in my cruelty-free make-up bag?

Earlier this year I made the switch over to living a cruelty-free life. I’ve been gradually replacing all my products with their non-animal-tested counterparts over recent months and I’ve finally got to the stage where my make-up bag is entirely cruelty-free. I didn’t want to waste the products that I’d bought previously so I’ve been using them up as usual and when they run out I’ve been searching for the non-animal-tested version to replace them. It’s a simple way to make a big difference without any waste (and without having to spend out on everything all at once) so I’d recommend a gradual change-over if you’re considering going cruelty-free. I’m including haircare, skincare, cosmetics, homewares, cleaning products and even food in my cruelty-free life so there will be plenty more blog posts to come as I make the switch to non-tested brands. I thought it might be an expensive choice to go cruelty-free but I was wrong – most of the products I’ve bought have been the same price as those I was already using and, in many cases, it’s even been cheaper to buy the non-tested version. That’s money in my pocket AND happy bunnies – I’m delighted! Today I’d like to share the contents of my cruelty-free make-up bag with you and let you know what I’ve found to replace my old favourite cosmetics.Foundation

Foundation is sometimes a tricky one for me, as I have very pale skin. I’m probably the palest person I know, so I find even the lightest shades are sometimes too dark for me. I’ve therefore been mixing up my own shade of mineral foundation for years. There are some great natural and organic mineral foundations available from cruelty-free brands and it’s a product that the cruelty-free market does well. However, sometimes loose mineral foundation can be very drying on my skin and I wanted to try a liquid foundation for the first time in ages. I picked up the GOSH X-Ceptional Wear Foundation foundation in shade ’12 natural’ along with the GOSH 007 stipple brush to apply it. I was surprised when I didn’t need the lightest shade in this foundation. Even though ‘porcelain’ might be better for me in winter months, the best match for me was the second lightest shade, which blends into my jawline really well. It’s also a great medium coverage and you can add layers to build it up if needed. It claims to be ‘light-reflecting’, and while it’s not particularly ‘dewy’, it’s certainly not entirely matt. In fact, it’s exactly the type of ‘natural skin’ foundation that I’ve been searching for all these years so I doubt I’ll ever use anything else!Blusher

Ooh now we’re on to one of my favourite cruelty-free brands; Freedom. The quality is great, the packaging is cute and the prices are very reasonable. The only trouble with this brand is that it’s hard to find on the high street. Even though it’s stocked on the Superdrug website, none of my 4 nearest Superdrug stores stock it on their shelves. That said, it’s well worth ordering online and click ‘n’ collecting in store. I did this when I ordered Freedom Pro Glow Pink Cat. This blusher may look like a scary neon pink leopard but it’s actually a gorgeous combination of pinks and peaches that swirl together to make the ideal blusher for my skintone. It’s also available in bronzer and highlighter tones too and is only £3.50. Again, I don’t know why I’d ever need to buy any other blusher now that I’ve tried this one! I like the look of Freedom’s eyebrow palette too but it’s hard to know what colour you’re ordering online, so I’d rather search out the collection in a shop and check it out ‘in real life’.Eye shadow

My new day-to-day eyeshadow is this mini palette from Marks and Spencer. I picked up the Autograph Colour Luxe Duo Eyeshadow in shade ‘Pink Shell’ last time I was in M&S, knowing that all the Marks and Spencer own-brand make-up collection is cruelty-free. It even has the leaping bunny logo on the back of the packaging. This cute compact has a mirror in the lid for easy application, and I’ve used it every single day since I bought it. Again these colours are just right for me – a pale highlighter for the brow-bone and inner corners of my eyes, and a heathery colour for the lids.  It’s just shimmery enough to stop it being matt but not so sparkly that it looks like glitter! This duo comes in a range of colours and I think that the chocolate brown shade is next on my list. I had a left over gift voucher from Christmas to put towards this product but I think it’s still good value at £8.50 (despite being more than I usually spend on eyeshadow), because it is highly pigmented so you only need a small quantity each day. I’ve been using it daily for a couple of months and I’ve hardly made a dent in it.

Concealer

I’ve stuck with the same concealer that I’ve been wearing for years – MUA Hide and Conceal in shade ‘fair’. It’s easy to apply, and now that I have the GOSH mineral powder stipple brush, I can blend it in really well too. The only trouble with it is that it’s not particularly long lasting and actually feels little greasy on a warm day! I was previously using the infamous Collection Lasting Perfection concealer in shade ‘fair 1’ and their animal testing policy seems to make it clear that the brand is cruelty-free, but there seems to be a debate about this in #cfbloggers community. If anyone knows more about this or can recommend a cruelty-free dupe of this cream concealer, I’d love to hear about it so please drop me a line in the comments section below.Mascara

Literally the only make-up product that I couldn’t live with out, mascara is my make-up bag essential. I use ‘Eyes Right’ mascara by Lush for day-to-day wear. It makes my lashes look just as long and lovely as my favourite waterproof brand but it’s much kinder to my lashes and it washes off in seconds. I’ve noticed that I’m keeping hold of more lashes since using the mascara because I’m not having rub off a waterproof mascara and I’m not picking at second-day clumps (bad habit, I know!). I love shopping in Lush because I can be 100% certain that everything I buy is not tested on animals. I’ve also bought a second mascara for ‘special occasions’. I needed a waterproof mascara for weddings, swimming, nights out and for breezy walks along the promenade, so I went searching for cruelty-free alternative to my old Max Factor mascara. I decided on the GOSH Volumateur waterproof mascara in black (I got it as part of a 3 for 2 deal in Superdrug along with my foundation and brush) and I’ve been very pleased with the results so far – although I’ve not had particularly weepy moments while wearing it yet! While the GOSH website only ships products within Denmark, it is available via Superdrug here in the UK.So that’s basically what my face looks like at the moment – plenty of GOSH and MUA products, some slightly more spendy M&S items and some Freedom make up whenever I can get my hands on it. I’d love to try out some more cruelty-free brands so please get in touch with your suggestions in the comments below or tweet me to chat @Cassiefairy. It would be good to hear about budget brands and product dupes, so please do keep me in the loop.