Favorite Cruelty Free Cosmetics

September 8, 2014

Now let me give you a little background on my stance on animal cruelty before we begin this highly requested post...  I choose not to eat pork, red meat, lamb or any other game for that matter but I do eat skinless, boneless chicken on occasion, fish/seafood regularly and turkey for Thanksgiving.  I made this life choice when I was really too young to have decided such a thing (around 9 if I remember correctly) and I don't eat those things because I can't bare to think about how those animals are treated before they are killed for our consumption.  Honestly I could give up chicken too if I think about it long enough. But although I won't buy fur for the same reason, I do buy leather goods so do me a favor and save your judgement.  We are in the Trust Tree and I'm sharing my personal opinions on this matter.  Just as I do not judge you for eating a bloody steak across the table from me at dinner, I expect the same. So onto the topic of cruelty free cosmetics... it seems you're either 100% on board or you just don't care either way.  Do I buy products solely on them being cruelty free?  No, but when I have a favorite brand that has the bunny on the label I do get excited and tend to repurchase far more often.  From the research I've done, there is no reason that any brand should have to test on animals and surely no reason for China to demand that all products sold in the country be tested on animals.  The way I look at it is that if your product is full of such sketchy chemicals that it is not safe to be tested on humans, then it probably shouldn't be produced and sold to the masses.  Now if you choose to go a complete 180 and only use cosmetics that are sold at markets and health food stores, that is up to you however I'm going to give you a few choices for every category you need for basic every day makeup that are not tested on animals or are PETA approved at both department stores, as well as drug stores.

Upon doing my research I must admit, I was most shocked at the brands that DO test on animals and I may take that into consideration when making my next cosmetics purchase (see list below).  If you are wanting to move in the direction of cruelty free cosmetics, please refer to this list of suggestions:

*This list is not complete nor does it encompass every brand available but these are just some of the stand out brands I found.

SKINCARE

Kate Somerville

Dr. Gross

Murad

RenEve

Lom

PRIMER

Smashbox

Hourglass

FOUNDATION

Jouer

Hourglasss

Chantecaille

CONCEALER

Josie Maran

Laura Mercier

BRONZER

Becca

Too Faced

Marc Jacobs

BLUSH

Nars

Tarte

POWDER

Laura Mercier

Marc Jacobs

SHADOWS

Urban Decay

Kat Von D

LINERS

Charlotte Tilbury

Smashbox

Marc Jacobs

BROWS

Anastasia

MASCARA

Charlotte Tilbury

Tarte

LIPS

Jouer

Charlotte Tilbury

Nars

SELF TANNER

St Tropez

SUN PROTECTION

Supergoop

Sun Bum

BRUSHES

Real Techniques

Hourglass

Urban Decay

Origins

The Body Shop

BATH PRODUCTS

Lush

Burt's Bees

The Body Shop

NAILS

Butter London

Zoya

China Glaze

Seche Vite

OPI

RGB

OCC

Orly

Deborah Lippmann

Sparitual

Scotch

Mavala

Essie used to be on this list but since it's been bought out by L'Oreal who does test on animals, it is unclear if they will remain cruelty free.

DRUGSTORE CRUELTY FREE BRANDS

NYX

Flower by Drew Barrymore

No7

Almay

Burt's Bees

Elf

Pixi

Sonia Kashuck

Real Techniques Brushes

EcoTools Brushes

BRANDS THAT DO ANIMAL TESTING/OR SELL TO CHINA THEREFORE ALLOWING ANIMALS TESTING ON THEIR PRODUCTS

Aveeno

Avon

Benefit

Bliss

Bioderma

Bobbi Brown

Burberry

Boscia

Caudalie

Cle de Peau

Clinique

Coppertone

Covergirl

DDF

Dior

Dove

Estee Lauder

Fresh

Armani

Givenchy

Glam Glow

Guerlian

Kiehls

Korres

L'Occitane

Loreal

La Mer

La Prairie

La Roche Posay

Lancome

MAC

Makeup Forever

Mary Kay

Maybelline

Neutrogena

Obagi

Olay

Philosophy

Revlon

Rimmel

Sephora

Shiseido

Shu Uemura

Sisley

Sk-II

Stila

YSL

Now if you do not see your favorite brand on my Cruelty Free List, don't panic.  Simply contact the brand via email and ask - that's what I did for the brands that I couldn't find on any non animal testing lists.  Jouer and Charlotte Tilbury for example are either too new or too small to be on any major lists but when I reached out to the brands, both responded right away confirming they do not do animal testing, nor do their third party vendors.

I hope this helps if you needed a little nudge in the cruelty free direction or if you were just curious!  Either way, thanks for stopping by and keep this list handy when you are ready to make your next big makeup purchase :)

Remember, if you see the Leaping Bunny... your product is safe!

xoxo,

-Kara