UPDATE: MakeUp Geek | My decision : cruelty-free?

UPDATE!!!!(please read before you read the article below) 

I have received an email from a representative from Sugarpill. He wanted me to correct my information about their cruelty-free status. I do not have an official post about Sugarpill. He was referring to my post on MakeUp Geek.
Please click this link to see their PETA certification. I was surprised to learn that most of their products are vegan. They also have won a Libby award.

I have emailed said representative back, asking the questions I always ask.

Lots of Love,
Camila

Hey guys.
Read this first! If you don't you'll be confused with this post.

I've thought about MakeUp Geek for a few days now. I was honestly really confused about my feelings, but at last I have come to a conclusion.

I have decided to add them to my cruelty-free list.

This is my reasoning:

I know I always talk about (type- about?) not supporting a company that claims to be 'cruelty-free', when it's parent company conducts animal testing. I think it's wrong because you don't know where your money is going.

I held tight to this way of thinking, while I was considering what to do with MakeUp Geek. However, if I'm honest you can't really tie that way of thinking with MUG's situation. It's not like they have a non-compliant parent company, which you would be supporting if you purchased from them. They do however sale brands that PETA has not found compliant: Palladio & Sugarpill.

However, think about this for a second.

Even when you buy from a 100% cruelty-free, where does your money go?
A good amount goes into manufacturing the product. Meanwhile, another chunk goes to pay for factory workers, company executives, supervisors, the girls that sell them at the counter, etc. You can't be sure that those people only buy cruelty-free cosmetics. Do you see where I'm going with this? You can do the best you can do but at some point, you have to accept that you are no longer in control.

I think of my blog as a small fairy-light in this world. Which brings light to a very HUGE issue. This light can help others see and might even inspire others to turn on their "fairy-light". (I love fairy-lights, so I felt they would make a good metaphor).

I'm honestly scared some of you might think of me as being compromising on this situation. However, let your conscious be your guide. I always give my opinion about whatever I share on here, but that's just it-it's my opinion.

I will make it clear on my Cruelty-Free list that MUG sells Palladio & Sugarpill.

I hope you're not discouraged! Keep buying cruelty-free & keep boycotting companies that sell in China or have non-compliant parent companies! I know I will!

Lots of Love,

Camila

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Makeup Geek | Animal Testing Policy Information

**Update (November 22,2013):
I have received an email from a Sugar Pill representative. He assures me that SugarPill is PETA certified. In fact here is a link so you can see. In fact the majority of their products are vegan. I have emailed them back, asking the questions I always ask companies. 


UPDATE(August 14, 2014): I have decided to add them to my cruelty-free list. Click here to read my reasons why. 

Hey guys!

I contacted MakeUpGeek a week ago. If you've never heard of this company, it was started by Marlena who actually makes YouTube videos. Their eyeshadows have been compared (some say they're better) to MACs. Which doesn't really mean anything to me -I've never tried MAC nor do I ever plan to. However, seeing as I am a makeup junkie, but first an animal lover, I of course wanted to check out their cruelty-free policy.

Seeing as I have received a couple of new followers this past month. I wanted to explain how I go about emailing a company. I always use this format (which I updated recently). I will sometimes -if I'm lucky- receive a reply within the week. Other times, I never receive a reply. Which is really unfortunate!! That's why I encourage you to email companies as well! Maybe one of us gets lucky!

Anyways. This is what I receive from MUG:

Hi there,
Thanks for contacting us.
The entire Makeup Geek product line is cruelty free. We don't do any testing on animals. Our lab and their ingredient supplier don't test on animals.
All of our products are vegan except for the lipsticks (they contain beeswax) and these eyeshadows: Bitten. Country Girl, Cupcake, Drama Queen, Mango Tango, Razzleberry, Twilight, Unexpected, Unicorn, and Simply Marlena (they contain carmine).
We have actually discussed with PETA and they were ok to give us a certification, the reason they did not is that we resell Palladio and **Sugarpill products that are not PETA certified, but for MUG products we are compliant with PETA requirements.
We don't have a parent company and are not doing business within China.
Hope that answers your questions!
the MUG team

**Please scroll up to read update!!! 


As you can see they didn't answer question # 7, which says: "Do you use palm oil/carnuaba wax in any of your products? If so, is it from an organic and sustainable source?"

(P.S. I'm trying to implement this question more in my correspondences. I have received a couple of emails from you guys asking me to do so. I'm still reading up on palm oil and its effect on orangutan in Indonesia, our Amazon, and Malaysia . So please be patient. I just do the best I can :D 

Therefore, I emailed them again asking them to please address this question. 
I received this reply, literally in a couple of minutes:

Hi
There is no palm oil in our lipsticks (and obviously not in our eyeshadows either).
Best regards,
the MUG team

Well that's pretty self-explanatory. :P

So let's review:  

I really appreciate their honesty! From the looks of it they meet the criteria I look for when determining a company's cruelty-free status.
(1) They do not test their products on animals nor do their suppliers.
(2) They do not have a parent company. So we don't have to look into another company's cruelty-free policy to completely determine their status. If you are new: I do not support a company whose parent company does not comply to a cruelty-free status. Such as in the case of Burt's Bees(Owned by Clorox) or UrbanDecay (Owned by L'oreal).
(3) They do not sell in China.

However, they do make it clear that on their site they sell Palladio and Sugarpill products. They explain that PETA did not certify them because those two companies don't meet PETA's requirements.
I don't know anything, in terms of animal testing- about Palladio or Sugarpill. The fact that PETA didn't want to certify them makes me feel really uneasy.

I don't know how to feel about MUG. You guys know I do not support a company, whose parent company does not comply with a cruelty-free, animal friendly policy. I always say that you have no way of knowing where that money is going! It might be funding animal testing. Which, ugh is just so disgusting to me. Just thinking about it makes me feel saddened and angry.

I honestly couldn't tell you if I'd purchase from them. At least not now. I think you have to let your conscious be your guide for this one guys.

I fear that I might be coming off as either compromising or too "hard". These thoughts bother me, but my hope with all blog is to be transparent. These are my honest feelings.

I won't be adding them to my cruelty-free list right away. I need to think about this one & I would REALLY appreciate your opinions and feedback! I'm always honest with you all so PLEASE be honest with me. What do you think?! HELP!

Until Next Time, 

Camila 

P.S. HELP! 

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LimeCrime

Hello guys. I'm really excited to share with you all my correspondence with LimeCrime. If you have never heard of LimeCrime, you need to listen up! They sell really vibrant cosmetics. For example, you can find red lip stick and blue lipstick on their site. Shades you might expect high-end companies, such as Mac or Nars to sell. Except --as you will soon find--cruelty-freely.

I first "heard" (read?) about LimeCrime, when I was looking through PETA's DO NOT test list. I checked them out & knew I had to find out their cruelty-free status.

Of course, I first emailed them using the format I always use. (Click here to see it).

To Whomever it May Concern:

I am doing research on animal testing, and I need to verify a few key points about your company.

 1. Does your company test ingredients or finished products on animals? 

2. Do you test ingredients or products on animals through a 3rd party? 
3. Do your manufacturers test ingredients or products on animals? 
4. Are you owned or affiliated with any companies that test products or ingredients on animals? 
5. Do you/your parent company currently or have plans to market and sell your products in the Chinese market, which requires animal testing by law to sell in that country? 
6. Do you use palm oil/carnuaba wax in any of your products? If so, is it from an organic and sustainable source? 
7. Could you provide a list of all of your current vegan items available for purchase? 

I received a reply a few days later:

Hi Camila,
1-6 the answer is no
7 currently all products on our site are vegan.

I'm glad they replied, but --as you can see--their reply didn't leave me much to go on. Being very as partial to detail as I am, I decided to email them again, urging them to explain further:

 Hi [names have been omitted], 

Thank you for your prompt reply. I would appreciate it if you elaborated. How does LimeCrime ensure that the manufactures of their ingredients do not conduct animal testing? Does LimeCrime have an audit process? Second, from what I understand LimeCrime does not retail in the Chinese market because it requires animal testing; am I right in this statement? 

Also, thank you for becoming affiliated with PETA. There is a fast growing market of makeup enthusiast who only shop cruelty-free. I know I really appreciate it and so do the readers of my blog, it just makes shopping easier for us. -Camila 

 I received a second reply about a week after:

Hi Camila, 

I've just spoken with our Inventory Manager, sorry for the delay. We do have signed pledges from all of our manufacturers stating that our products and ingredients are completely vegan. We ensure vegan/cruelty-free claims by working with manufacturers who are reputable and willing to provide sworn written statements about the sources of their ingredients.

Well, as you can see: LimeCrime does not have a parent company; meaning we don't have to worry about what would be that company's cruelty-free status, Lime Crime does not support 3rd party testing & have a specific audit process to ensure their manufacturers are reliable, and finally, LimeCrime does not sell in China. These are the three specific criteria I look at when determining a company's cruelty-free status & deciding whether to add them to my list. (To see my criteria more in detail click here). 

I would feel safe purchasing from LimeCrime & am excited to do so!! 

Also, if you are interested about purchasing from LimeCrime, I really recommend you check out Friends of the Lagomorph, which is an online site that retails ALL cruelty-free cosmetics, beauty products, etc. And, no I am not being paid to talk about Friends of the Lagomorph, I just truly LOVE that site. It's easy to shop & I don't really know of any other online site that only sells cruelty-free beauty products. 

Let me know what you think. Leave me ANY feedback you would like. 

Until Next Time,

Camila 

Zoya, Qtica, Smart Spa (Art of Beauty)

Hello guys! I'm going to be honest. I had contacted Zoya almost exactly a month ago, everything went smoothly they emailed me back, I didn't feel the need to email them further--as I felt their email answered all my questions--but for some reason I had yet to share my correspondence. I'm going to blame it on lack of sleep! 
Anyways, I emailed them using the format I always use. (To see that format click on "How I Contact Companies"). 
I received this email a couple of days later:

Good morning! 

No problem! We actually are known as Art of Beauty, and are the parent company and manufacturers of Zoya, Qtica, and Smart Spa and aren’t affiliated or owned further with any other companies. We are a cruelty free company and none of our products or ingredients are tested on animals nor do we use any 3^rd party testing for our products. We don’t currently have any official distributors in China or sell there direct. Regarding the ingredients I will have to double check with the science department about those specific ones. I don’t have a specific product list of our vegan friendly products but the Zoya Nail Polish and Treatment line is entirely vegan friendly, and then the Zoya Hot Lips and the Qtica lines are not vegan friendly as some of the items use carmine, lanolin, or other animal based products. Hopefully this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and have a great day!

            thank you,

I appreciate the clarity of this email and that Zoya (Art of Beauty) addressed all my questions directly. Zoya's parent company is Art of Beauty where both Qtica and Smart Spa fall under. They affirm to the cruelty-free status of their raw ingredient providers, etc. Lastly, they do not retail in the Chinese market! 

I'm excited to hear this news. If you shop cruelty-free only, I'm sure you are aware that finding high quality nail polish companies is difficult. However, I have emailed Art of Beauty back urging them to become affiliated with either Leaping Bunny or PETA. If Art of Beauty did this, first it reasures us that what the company claims is true and secondly, it makes it easier when shopping. I will update you guys once they email me back. 

Personally, for now I would feel safe purchasing from Zoya, Otica, or Smart Spa. I will be adding them to my list. 

Please let me know what YOU think about this correspondence. Leave me any feedback you'd like! I love hearing--reading?-- your opinions and addressing your concerns. 

Until Next Time,
Camila