I’ve been meaning to write this post for about 2 weeks since Chris and I went to the Vegan and Cruelty Free makeup event in Victoria Warehouse Manchester. We received free tickets courtesy of Kokoa UK. To them we send our thanks. I have been wrestling with my conscience about writing this post. The thing is I’m passionate about the content of the event I can’t bear cruelty to animals and do believe this is an amazing thing.

To think we can make cosmetics without the need for cruelty to animals. I would advocate the use of humans to test makeup on. If they wanted cosmetics so badly they would allow animals to be used in this manner. This however, is not why I was wrestling with my conscience. It was because I like to write positive post about events I have visited. I have to be true to myself and keep my integrity as a writer so I wrestled between writing the truth and my only other option (as I can’t lie) not to write this post.

I want to say I fully support the cause and would love to see a fully cruelty free makeup and Cosmetics range. However I cannot support this event, for the following reasons. The location was dark and oppressive in the basement of Victoria Warehouse. The stalls were laid out reasonably presentable but because the rooms were so dark you could not really see much of the products. I found some of their stall holders pushing the sale of the products rather than the message of the event they were supporting.

The goods were wildly overpriced. Don’t get me wrong, I know you probably have to pay a bit more for vegan or cruelty free but don’t take the mickey out of your customers. I was approached by one stallholder (who will remain anonymous) with an item she was selling for £40. I really wanted it however I went home without buying it and later found the same product for £10. I was really annoyed about the price difference. Anyway moving on, I really wanted to see one of the makeup presentations and we made our way through to the other room as the presentation was announced.

I was sat with Chris at the front and spoke to the lady who was doing the demonstration and very nice lady began and to my amazement the presentation was nothing but amateur. The lady doing the makeup, then relaying to the trainee (that had no idea of how to speak through a microphone) how she was applying the make up makeup and the girl literally just repeated what she said. “Now she is applying the concealer” “Now she is applying the mascara” You get the idea? It was like she was a toddler reading a script from the first school play.

In the end Chris and I left because there was just no point to the presentation. After this it did not get better. We stood in the queue for probably 15 minutes to get a drink which overpriced. I was stood alongside another stall while waiting in the drink queue, which was selling vegan chocolate which I really wanted to try they were giving away samples but at £3.50 for a cream egg I thought that was very overpriced.

Finally we went for our final walk round and bumped into a very lovely girl who was, for me, one of two stalls which turned out to be the saviour of this event. A make-up artist by the name of Abbey Turner. She had previously done makeup for a couple of our TV shows. She asked if I would like her to do my makeup and hair. Obviously I accepted this offer. She did my hair and make-up absolutely perfect. I was very impressed with her abilities which for me saved the day.

Another stall that caught my eye was PHB Ethical Beauty. The girls on this stall talked about the products and they certainly knew their stuff. I loved the passion for the products they displayed. If you would like find them on Twitter @phbbeauty. They have an amazing range of beauty and hair care and make up. Have a look!

To sum up, would I go to another event? I would but I would advise the organisers to find a more suitable venue. Victoria Warehouse is a lovely space but not for this kind of event. Hopefully I won’t put people off going to the next event because the overall message of the event was a good one. It just needed a little bit more thought and planning to get a better event. Sorry Kokoa but I have to be honest and I hope we can work together on your next event.

Thanks for reading.

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