REVIEW: Cruelty-Free Cosmetics

Back in October, I received a package from Cruelty-Free Cosmetics.  Now those of you who have been with me since at least October know that it was the busiest time of 2011 for me.  I was working fifty plus hours a week so even though I wore the pigments I received and took notes, I never recorded my review.  In November I started my job at Sephora and that led me into the Holiday Season of Retail Madness.  That carried into Return Hell January, and now we find ourselves in nearly February.  Where did the last three months go!?

So I wanted to come over here and make a blog post where I could post photos and swatches a little bit easier than a photo.  This is something new for me, so I welcome suggestions for improvement.  =]

Cruelty-Free Cosmetics was started by Natallia after she went vegan and wanted more cosmetic options.  She and I had prevously been youtube friends from her previous channel, so when she started her own line, I was very excited to try it!  She sent me four pigments to try out:

From left to right: Silver Taupe, Plum Potion, Spiced Cider & Heart of Gold

Swatches and my review after the jump...

The four colors she sent me are (descriptions taken from her webstore):

• Silver Taupe - Taupe, beige color with silvery sheen and incredible light catching highlights.
• Plum Potion - Pinky purple with cool undertones and glitter.
• Spiced Cider - Beautiful medium brown with hints of gold and a lot of shimmer.
• Heart of Gold - True gold tones with golden shimmer for extra sparkle.  

They all run for $5.50 for a 5 g jar (and are occasionally on sale for $3 for 5g).  All colors are vegan, cruelty free, and are free of parabans, chemicals and preservatives.  All jars come with a label on top with the company name, as well as a label on the bottom with the color name, quantity and where the pigment came from.  They come with a sifter with a sifter sticker to assure no pigment loss during shipping.  All four pigments arrived intact.

To do my swatches, I grabbed the pigments and a few other items:

In this photo: MSC Awesome Sauce, NYX j.e.p. in Milk & Benefit's Stay Don't Stray primer

I wanted to see how the colors would look over a variety of bases, so I started with the Stay Don't Stray.  I chose the Stay Don't Stray over my usual Too Faced Primer Potion because I feel like it offers a little more coverage over the skin tone and grabs pigment slightly better.  I also choice NYX's jumbo eye pencil in Milk because it's a popular base item.  For my last base, I chose Madd Style Cosmetix's Awesome Sauce to show the colors foiled.  I went light on the Awesome Sauce.

Top to bottom: Primer, JEP, Awesome Sauce. L to R: Silver Taupe, Plum Potion, Spiced Cider & Heart of Gold.

I admit, I'm terrible at swatching and this hardly does these pigments justice.  Unfortunately, there aren't any swatches on the site to direct you to either.  You'll just have to take my word that these are pretty colors.

I will have a video review up soon with the pigments on in a look so that you can see them in action, but in the meantime you can check out my tutorial that uses Plum Potion!

FTC:  These items were sent to me for consideration by Natallia, the owner of Cruelty-Free Cosmetics. This is my honest opinion.