The price of these cosmetics makes them available to a very specific clientele. This lip color is sheer, glossy, emollient, lightweight, and easy to layer. Your lips will thank you and everyone will compliment you on that amazing lipstick. I’m not typically one for dark lip colors, so when I opened the genifique Black Honey, I was doubtful it would work for me—but it glides on in a much more subtle tone than I’d expected.
Unfortunately I have a number of these brands in my make up bag but they will be getting put straight into the bin! I have recently found a vegan brand called Tropic and their skincare is amazing so I will be trying out their make up range. Just to let you know that Avon is now owned by the company, Natura, who also owns The Body Shop. I am unsure on the separate company in China but I do know that both Avon UK and USA do not test on animals, and even do a vegan friendly range of both skincare, and makeup. Guerlain is owned by LVMH (Louis Vuitton / Moët Hennessy). They claim that they “are strongly opposed to animal testing and have developed recognized expertise in alternatives to animal testing”.
In Hong Kong it is not a law to test on animals. They are a subsidiary of Coty yes, but the original owners still have all creative control over their products and how they are made. They made sure of that when they went to the table with Coty.
Owned by L’Oreal, Shu Uemura shares their parent company’s policy to test on animals where required by law. Since they sell their products in mainland China where animal testing is mandatory for foreign cosmetics, they are not a cruelty-free brand. They were previously owned by Chanel but were acquired by Coty in 2015. They share the same policy as their parent company to test on animals where required by law. They sell their products in mainland China and as such, they are not cruelty-free.
While they claim to have “a deep respect for animal welfare”, it seems to be part of careful wording to distract from the fact that they are not cruelty-free. As with Giorgio Armani, Yves Saint Laurent is also owned by L’Oreal, and adheres to L’Oreal’s animal testing policy. As YSL products are sold in mainland China, they unfortunately are not cruelty-free. To be honest, I wasn’t sure about the shade before I put it on.
After a refill for City Block, it was time for one of the brand’s promotions where if you spend a certain dollar amount, your order comes with a big bag of samples. City Block was Laura Feinstein’s gateway product for Clinique. After getting her skin read, she found out years of driving in college had damaged her skin on the left side and she knew she had to get serious about sun coverage. City Block gave her sun coverage, but didn’t solve her other skin problems.