TWO CRUELTY-FREE BEAUTY LOOKS (AS RECOMMENDED BY MAKE-UP ARTIST JULIE JACOBS)

We photographed this a few months ago now, and amidst lockdown, building work and Peggy at home, I never got round to uploading it. I’ve been wearing and using more and more cruelty-free make-up lately and I’ve come to realise that there doesn’t really need to be a compromise, both in terms of quality and price. And a lot of make-up artists agree, so I asked my good friend Julie (whom I met a few years ago on a commercial fashion job, when I was a stylist) to show two different make-up looks using cruelty-free products.

Julie Jacobs is a London based Make-up Artist and has worked in the fashion industry for twenty-two years, creating and designing looks for runway shows and international publications from Japanese Vogue to ID magazine and is also Contributing Beauty Editor at CENT Magazine. Julie began her career as a qualified Beauty Therapist working in Harrods and on cruise liners.  Upon her return from travelling, she pursued her dream of being a Makeup Artist and began assisting established professionals on runway shows such as Alexander McQueen, Prada, Miu Miu and Givenchy. Julie has developed a distinguished reputation within the fashion industry building her client base from Dolce & Gabbana; Shiseido; Clinique; Rimmel; Suqqu; Superdrug and IPC Media. Her work is recognisable for its fearless creativity, always accompanied by a flawless complexion.

We have used a range of products for these shoots to show how many amazing cruelty-free brands there are out there, and hope that some might convince you to shop these brands going forward and try some new products. As always, this post is to inspire, not a prescriptive list of items you must buy.

Now, as always, there is a disclaimer with these kinds of articles.

We have used Peta to certify which brands to be used in this post, however, there are many that don’t agree with ‘cruelty-free’ if the brand is still owned by an umbrella company that owns any product which tests on animals. Which is fair enough and where this is the case, we will let you know. We have researched as thoroughly as we can and hope to provide an informative and still creative post supporting as many cruelty-free brands as possible.

Julie used brushes by Zoeva for both the looks created.

LOOK 1

The ‘natural’, everyday look. Basically, the no makeup makeup look which always seems to acquire more products than you think!

Julie looked at my skin and worked with products that she felt could amplify what I already have. She also used products she had tried before and brands she trusted from her experience within the industry.

Julie would tend to use powder (eyeshadow, blush, bronzer) for a stronger look, as it lasts longer without moving or being absorbed.

Skin was prepped with Ark Skincare SPF30 primer and moisturiser. Julie’s notes: “This has a good SPF that has no whiteness to it, it feels like a moisturiser. I like that it’s a small British owned company.” It is a vegan and cruelty-free brand.

Makeup used:

Weleda beauty balm tinted day cream in ‘Nude’. Julie applied using a brush but as it’s a tinted moisturiser “you can treat it like a moisturiser & just put it on with your hands. It gives the skin a bit of a glow and because it’s translucent it just softens any pigmentation & gently evens out the skin, without it being full coverage.”  Vegan and cruelty-free, Weleda don’t sell in China except for their cruelty-free toothpaste & bars of soap as these are exempt from Chinese rules about testing.

Milk makeup flex foundation stick in ‘light’. Vegan and cruelty-free.

It Cosmetics ‘Bye bye, under eye’ concealer in ‘medium tan’. It Cosmetics are cruelty-free but its umbrella company (L’Oreal) isn’t.

Pixi endless shade stick in ‘matte cognac’. Cruelty-free.

Inika long lash mascara in black. Vegan and cruelty-free.

Natural Collection brow pencil in ‘medium brown’. Cruelty-free.

Milk makeup lip + cheek stick – used as blush. Julie’s notes: “I used a more peachy colour as Alex has yellow golden undertones & this will harmonise with her under colouring, popping towards the sides rather than on the cheeks.  Do use a brush (even with a cream blush), I ‘stipple’ rather than swipe over.  Tip:  A looser brush will apply less product, a more compact brush will apply more product.” Vegan and cruelty-free.

Burt’s Bees tinted lipbalm in ‘Zinnia’. Cruelty-free but its umbrella company (Clorox) is not. Apparently Burt’s Bees sell in China but direct to consumer (online) which is exempt from animal testing. This article here, claims otherwise and is worth a read.

Kili liquid bronzer. Cruelty-free.

Becca Hydra Mist Set & Refresh Translucent Powder. Julie’s tip: “Use just down the t-zone as that’s where you shine a little bit more”. Cruelty-free but its umbrella company (Estee Lauder) is not.

LOOK 2

This is a bit more of a punchier look, using a signature bright lip.

Skin was cleaned and prepped with One Ocean Beauty mist cleanser (cruelty-free) and Elemis superfood kefir-tea mist. Elemis are cruelty-free but their umbrella company (L’Occitane) is not. Followed up by It Cosmetics confidence in a cream rosy tone moisturiser. Cruelty-free but its umbrella company (L’Oreal) is not.

Make-up used:

It Cosmetics your skin but better cc cream SPF50. Cruelty-free but its umbrella company (L’Oreal) is not.

Milk makeup flex foundation stick in ‘light’. Julie’s notes: “Make the foundation part of the skin, work it in, pat it”. Vegan and cruelty-free.

Milk makeup flex concealer in ‘light’. Vegan and cruelty-free.

Trinny eye2eye shadow in ‘Faith’. Cruelty-free. Julie’s notes: “Cream eyeshadows have got so much better over the last few years, they don’t sit in the crease of the eyelid anymore, I veer towards them now as they are so easy to blend & apply. “

Inika long lash mascara in black. Vegan and cruelty-free.

Natural Collection brow pencil in ‘medium brown’. Cruelty-free.

Kili liquid bronzer. Cruelty-free.

Bare Minerals barepro longwear lipstick in ‘Hibiscus’. Cruelty-free but their umbrella company (Shiseido) is not.

Lime Crime velveteen lip liner in ‘Drew’. Julie’s notes: “It’s worth spending the time if you are doing a strong lip, because it’s the ‘lip’ that is the look.  If you want the lips to speak keep everything else mono, so I’d use a bronzer instead of a blush.” Vegan and cruelty-free.

*Notes on animal testing within the beauty industry:

It has been illegal to test on animals in Europe since 2013 (this diagram is interesting), China requires animal testing from a brand for them to be able to sell on the mainland. So if a brand is selling in-store in China, animal testing has taken place (however, some brands get around this by selling online instead – they can still access the Chinese market without testing on animals). Also, certain products are exempt from this ruling about animal testing (toothpaste & bars of soap, for example).

Sites we found useful:

https://www.freethebunnies.com/cruelty-free-brands-2019/

https://www.natrue.org/our-standard/natrue-certified-world/

crueltyfreekitty.com

https://features.peta.org/cruelty-free-company-search/index.aspx

Peta has a searchable database of companies that don’t test their products on animals – there are more than 4,400 cruelty-free companies in the database.  They have very stringent requirements that include ingredients, ingredient suppliers, formulations and finished products.   The online version is updated regularly & the published version every six months.   There is also an app you can download to your phone – Bunny Free.