Daisy Audited My Make-up Bag

Foundation, mascara, lipstick and more — here's what actually passed.

f you've been following along you already know how this works.

I go through the products I actually use. I check them against Leaping Bunny and PETA's Beauty Without Bunnies database. I dig into the parent companies. And I tell you exactly what I find — the good, the bad and the embarrassing.

Over the last few weeks, we tackled skin care swaps. This week we went straight for the makeup bag.

I'll be honest — I was curious about this one.

A quick reminder of how I check each product:

🐰 Leaping Bunny — gold standard. Entire parent company must prove no animal testing across the supply chain.

🐰 PETA's Beauty Without Bunnies — requires a signed legally binding agreement. Less strict than Leaping Bunny but still meaningful.

⚠️ When they disagree — I dig into the parent company and flag it as Proceed With Caution rather than giving a full pass.

And as always — this is a no judgment movement. If a product works for your skin, your budget or your specific needs — that's your call. Use this information as you see fit.

Here's what I audited:

• bareMinerals - Complexion Rescue tinted moisturizer and Original Serum Foundation

• L’Oreal - True Match Nude

• Versed - stick blush

• Maybelline - Great Lash Waterproof mascara

• E.L.F. - lip stain

• bareMinerals - lip gloss/stick

The Results:

✅ Daisy Approved:

Versed stick blush — Leaping Bunny certified

E.L.F. lip stain - Leaping Bunny certified

⚠️ Proceed With Caution:

bareMinerals products. PETA and Cruelty Free Kitty approved. Not Leaping Bunny approved because owned by Shiseido.

❌ Needs A Swap:

L’Oreal True Match Nude foundation

Maybelline waterproof mascara

My honest reaction:

I should have known better than to purchase the L’Oreal foundation. It didn’t even occur to me to check for cruelty-free status beforehand. My use of Maybelline and L’Oreal is just habit - repurchased because I was too comfortable to do the research.

I will add that it’s unlikely that I will replace bareMinerals in my rotation for now. I’ve been using it for a while, and it works for my skin. I need the extra SPF, and it’s one of the few brands that doesn’t cause breakouts. Also, I’m currently testing face cleansers and moisturizers, so I don’t want to add another change that could impact those results.

I am already testing new mascaras, though, so stay tuned!

A note about makeup specifically:

Makeup is one of the trickiest categories for cruelty-free verification — and here's why.

The beauty industry has seen enormous consolidation over the last decade. Brands you'd never expect are owned by parent companies with complicated animal testing policies. A drugstore mascara that's been in your bag for years might be perfectly certified — or it might be owned by a conglomerate that tests elsewhere in its portfolio.

This is exactly why the parent company checks matter as much as the brand certification. A brand can be genuinely committed to cruelty-free practices and still be owned by a corporation that isn't. That's the Proceed With Caution reality — and it's more common in makeup than almost any other category.

The Makeup Brands Worth Knowing About:

Before I get to my specific replacement recommendations — here are some broader notes on the makeup landscape that came up during my research:

🐾 Generally strong cruelty-free makeup brands:
e.l.f. Cosmetics, Haus Labs by Lady Gaga, Kosas, Jones Road Beauty

⚠️ Brands with complicated parent company situations:
NYX (L’Oreal), Tarte (Kose), Too Faced (Estée Lauder)

❌ Brands that are not cruelty-free:
Maybelline, L'Oréal, Revlon, MAC, NARS

Next week — the swaps.

For every product that didn't make the cut I'm finding you three or four Daisy Approved alternatives — verified, affordable and available at your regular drugstore or online.

Spoiler: there are some genuinely great cruelty-free makeup options at every price point. Daisy has already started reviewing candidates. She is thorough. 🐾

Tested by me. Trusted by you.

— Rebecca & Daisy, Chief Approval Officer

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