The hidden horrors in my beauty bag…

The hidden horrors in my beauty bag…And I’m not talking about the 2 year old mascara and that leaking bottle of nail varnish. I’m talking about the horrible realisation, that over half the make up in my seemingly ‘innocent’ make up bag, is tested on animals.
Really? Over half? That seems like a lot!
Yes, yes it does doesn’t it. Now call me a big naive thicko, but I just assumed this sort of thing didn’t really happen anymore. How have I been slathering rabbit tears all over my face for over a decade and not realising it? How have leading brands such as Clinque, L’Oreal, Estée Lauder and even Dove (Dove for god sake) managed to slip under the radar? Either people have stopped caring or they don’t know. Either way, I do care so I need to start disposing of all my beautifully packaged, wonderfully fragranced, lotions and potions in order to silence the small crying badger living in my conscience.

But let’s get real for a second. As much as I would love to burn all of these products and replace them immediately with cruelty free alternatives, I’m (a) not made of money and (b) replacing like for like is not going to be easy and requires extensive research. So this is what this blog is for, hooray! So, in addition to fattening us all up with recipes, I’ll also be testing and reviewing cruelty free make up because you know, it’s not like I have anything better to do. So without further a do, lets have a snoop in my beauty bag…

Animal Tested:
1. Clinique Anti Blemish solutions Liquid Make Up £25 – 02 Fresh Ivory
2. Benefit Watts Up Soft Focus Highlighter £24.50
3. M.A.C Pro Longware Concealer 19ml £18
4. M.A.C Opulash Optimum Black Mascara £15
5. Rimmel London Sun Shimmer Bronzer 
6. Elizabeth Arden Moisturising Lipstick Matt Finish £21 – Nude 43 
7. Bourjois Liner Pinceau Liquid Eyeliner
8. Clarins Eye Make Up Palette £35
9. Estée Lauder Blusher (discontinued)
10. Okay so I forgot to include this in the shot but I always have one of these in my bag. Maybelline New York Baby Lips Peach Kiss Lip Balm £2.99. I’m so upset about this one!

Cruelty Free: 
1. Nars Lip Cover – Overheated £21
2. KIKO Weightless Perfection Wet & Dry Foundation SPF 30 £13.90
3. KIKO Velvet Passion Matt Lipstick – Gossamer Emotion £10.90
4. The Body Shop 3 in 1 Brow Definer £9
5. The Body Shop Bold OverSized Felt Eyeliner – Black £10
6. NARS Duo Eyeshadow Hammamet £25
7. The Body Shop Face & Body Brush £16

Well that was a disappointing. MAC, Clarins, Benefit, Maybelline, Estée Lauder, Bourjois, Rimmel and Clinique, shame on you! From my research, I found that most of these products claim to be cruelty free but admit to testing on animals when ‘required to by law’, this means they’re sold in China. In China it’s compulsory for any company that sells cosmetics to conduct tests on animals. So, I guess I won’t be buying those again anytime soon, but what are the alternatives? This is what I’ll be researching in the coming weeks, starting with foundation.
I’m very upset about my Clinique foundation, I’ve been using it for years and with good reason. Not only does this foundation offer up good coverage for my spot prone skin but it also contains an anti blemish formula. It’s buttery lightweight texture makes it a dream to apply, damn you Clinique! This one’s gonna be hard to replace, wish me luck!