THE CRUELTY FREE TAG!

Hey babes! Long time no see ;) It's been a while since I've been around- the semester got real rough, you guys. But I'm back, and hopefully headed into a regular posting schedule! What better way to break back into the blogging game by filling out the cruelty free tag! This was originally created by Jacquelyn Lovene and Hala Gabrealle on youtube, but I thought I'd give it a shot on here!

Something I think that needs to be raised in the cruelty free community is the tendency towards "policing" each other in a way- people make different choices in their journey towards going cruelty free and people jumping on them for being unsure of a companies testing status or something they had previously purchased is just unnecessary. You can educate without attacking. People make mistakes and people learn. Jumping all over them makes the community unfriendly and hostile. Instead of leaving a harsh comment, maybe send them a message with a link or two.

CRUELTY FREE Q&A TAG QUESTIONS:

- What was your first impression of cruelty free makeup?

Hmm, I don't know if I can truly remember my very first impression. But I remember when I first started wearing makeup, I never paid much attention to cruelty free or not. It wasn't even something that was in my universe- once I finally learned about it, it was just a sort of extra thing, it was never really a consideration either way.

- What is your opinion on parent companies?

People tend to get real fired up about parent companies, and I think it's something that people need to decide on for themselves and make an educated decision. Personally, I do buy from cruelty free companies that are owned by a parent company that isn't. I feel that by putting my money towards the sections under a larger parent company that are cruelty free will help show the parent company that it matters to consumers. It can also be extremely hard to find completely stand alone cruelty free as well, unless you're going completely natural or indie brands.


- What was the turning point in you going cruelty free?

Quite honestly, it was when I started doing my own research about animal testing and what it actually entails. The realities of the testing process is absolutely horrific, and in my opinion, unnecessary. I was pretty horrified at what I'd been blindly supporting in the past.

- What would you say to someone considering going cruelty free?

Makeup at the end of the day is something that is unnecessary to me.  Its a fun little luxury hobby, and something you're allowed to be as choosy and picky about as you want. I don't want my eyeliner to be a product of suffering of another living being.  I would strongly encourage people to do some research for themselves and educate themselves on what the realities of testing are.

- What are your best cruelty free dupes?

I don't have much dupe wise, but I've found a lot of success finding cruelty free brands and stickign with them. My current go to's are Wet N Wild for face products, ELF for lip products and Urban Decay for eye stuff, as I've been finding they work really well with my skin chemistry!

- What items have you not found a cruelty free dupe for yet?

My hardest items so far have been body products. Perfume, hair products, skincare. I would absolutely love recommendations if anyone has any?

- What's your favorite cruelty free brand? Drugstore & High end?

Drugstore wise, I've been really loving ELF, WET N WILD, and Essence. I don't really branch into "high end", but some of the more expensive brands I've been enjoying have been Urban Decay, Becca and Anastasia Beverly Hills!

- Which brands and/or items do you most wish were cruelty free?

I so very much wish MAC would return to cruelty free! I love their lip products so much!

- What advice do you have for the temptation to buy non cruelty free products?

The biggest thing for me is to recognize that it's just stuff. I'm not going to die without a lipstick. It's okay to be tempted, of course. It happens! Another thing I find is important to acknowledge is that people aren't perfect. You might make mistakes! I know I've done it on accident- it can be hard to find a companies status as many are switching back and forth all the time. Often you might find conflicting blog sources. If you mess up, it's not the end of the world, it's just a learning experience.

- What do you do with your non cruelty free products? Declutter? Use up?

For the things that were older or I didn't care for, I passed on or just plan threw out. Other things I've been slowly trying to work through. In my mind, the money's already spent, I might as well finish the product off!

- Do you think animal testing will end one day?

I think it ultimately will. I sure hope so at least!

Intro to 12 pans of Christmas

Even though I told myself that after I finished up 13 By Halloween that I would take a little break for the rest of the year, here I am, writing this. Yep, I'm heading into another project, and I'm hoping to work on these following 12 things until Christmas! Wish me luck.
I picked out these products for one of two reasons; Either they aren't cruelty free, and they need to been used up or tossed, or they're products I really love and want to continue to get use out of.
So let's get right to it:

1) Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder- #4 Sandstorm.
This is actually the best color match I've ever gotten in a powder,  so I was pretty excited to try this product out. We all know it's been hyped by practically everyone and their mother! ;) However, Rimmel is definitely not cruelty free, and I'm wayyy too oily for this stuff to contain it apparently. I do get a good 5-6 hours but after that, I need a touch up. I also haven't been using this for very long and I already hit baby pan, which is weird.

Usage: Tiny pan already.
Goal: Finish.

2) Covergirl Clean Normal Skin liquid foundation in 120 creamy natural.
A lot of people actively hate this stuff, and I'm not going to pretend I can't see why. There's the signature noxeema scent plus the fact that this seems to oxidize darker on a lot of people. This would be a really good foundation for people who have good skin. It's very light, not very build-able and sets to a dewy finish. I used to really enjoy this honestly, but in the last few months I've been getting more oily and acne prone and it just hasn't been a good time. Plus Covergirl tests on animals, so I'm looking forward to just being done with this.
Usage: Almost gone.
Goal: Finish.

3) Maybelline Color Tattoo #35 Tough as Taupe
I bought this in hopes of using it as cool toned medium brown for my brows like everyone else uses it for. LOL NICE TRY, MORG. I'm pretty cool and olive toned, so this pulls straight up cool dusty purple on me. Works nicely as a liner, though. Also far from cruelty free.
Usage: still pretty new.
Goal: make a dent.

4) Covergirl eye enhancer single in 1KT
This is pretty old and I have major pan going, so at this point I just want it gone. It's a decent neutral color, but it's been getting a little hard pan lately so who knows how much I'll actually use before getting annoyed and tossing it. Also not cruelty free. Boo.
Usage: Big pan.
Goal: Use up or throw at end.

5) ELF Blush in Coy
So technically elf sells this as a blush, but I definitely use it as a highlighter/ sometimes as an eye-shadow. I love, love, love this shade and I think it looks great with fall looks. The pan is so huge though, so it feels impossible to ever finish.
Usage: decent dip going.
Goal: hit pan.

6) LA Colors Chunky Lip in Feels Nude
This is a few years old, so it's in the older style packaging.  This is a really easy color and I've almost used the whole thing up so I'd like to just finish it.
Usage: Almost gone.
Goal: Finish.

7) ELF Long wear Lip Pencil in Natural Blush
This matches really well with the lipstick I'm working on, so it's in here too. I never remember to actually use lip liner, so we'll see how it goes. It's a really gorgeous shade, but the formula is too dry and waxy to use as a lip color by itself. I think it'll go fast because you have to sharpen it alot to get a good point.
Usage: Halfway
Goal: Finish.

8) Becca  Backlit Priming Filter
This is a DS size from the Becca kit I got a few months ago. I haven't used this much, but I'm not sure how it's gonna work on oily skin. We'll see.
Usage: almost brand new.
Goal: Finish

9)Benefit Browvo! Conditioning primer
This was a little freebie ds Ulta gave out a few months ago, and I'm not sure brow primer is ever a thing I'd pay money for lol. I'm also pretty sure they are not cruelty free.
Usage: almost brand new
Goal: Finish

10) LA Colors DUO Eyes shadow pencil Java/Mocha
This is another oldie but a goodie. I like the nude end to use as a base, but I like the milani one I have better. This needs to be used up.
Usage: Half gone.
Goal: Finish.

11) Wishful White hand and body moisturizer
I got this in my stocking last year, I believe and I have way too much lotion. Might as well use this up. This smells pretty good but doesn't seem that moisturizing.
Usage: Half gone
Goal: Finish.

12) Angel Face perfume rollerball
This smells amazing, so I don't think using it up will be a problem at all. I got this like a year ago at TJ Maxx for like $2. Looks like I won't be able to repurchase though. Oh well.  It's a really beautiful blend of apple, black current, roses and jasmine.
Usage: Almost new.
Goal: Finish.


Who else is doing a panning project right now? How do you like to pick your products? I'd love to hear in the comments!

XOXO,
Morg