Looks Could Kill: Your Guide to Cruelty-Free, Vegan Cosmetics Lists!

May 25

Mice, fish, rabbits, rats, guinea pigs, hamsters, farm animals, birds, cats, dogs, mini-pigs, monkeys, chimpanzees – amongst other sensitive, intelligent animals – needn’t be slayed, just so you can slay (pun intended). It’s easy to splurge on make-up without a second thought about the actual cost of the product beyond your dollars.

PETA’s list of companies that DON’T test on animals

PETA’s list of companies that DO test on animals

If they are in the market, the damage has already been done right? WRONG. Unlike some other global problems where your direct role is indirect and beyond your control, ‘supply’ is created to meet the consumer’s ‘demand’, making you personally and directly responsible for every choice you make when you shop. By supporting cruelty-free brands, you not only save painful deaths (or entire lives spent in pain) in the present, you also encourage cruel cosmetics companies to follow suit.

The cost of your contour isn’t worth a slow, torturous death for an animal – and you are spoilt for choices* when it comes to the availability of cosmetics made with compassion – so we compiled a guide of cosmetics companies for you to follow/avoid (and for everyone you know too, because our power is in the numbers, so do hit ‘share’!)

1. Logical Harmony’s ‘Cruelty-Free Brand List’ has a trusted A to Z list they compiled themselves (not any other blog/website). You can simply scroll, or ‘search’ for specific brands to check their status – and if you can’t find it on the list, you can check out supporting lists for ‘Brands to Avoid’, ‘The Pending List’, or the ‘Grey Area’ list.

2. Cruelty Free Kitty’s ‘Ultimate Guide to Cruelty-Free + Vegan Make Up Brands 2017’ has a thorough, intensive list of brands that are not only divided according to ‘Mid-Range to High-End Brands’, ‘Drugstore Brands’, ‘Natural and Organic Makeup Brands’, and ‘Independent or Indie Makeup Brands’ (that are popular but hard to find) – but it also mentions brands which are cruelty-free, but owned by a parent company that isn’t.

3. The Good Trade’s ‘Upgrade Your Makeup Collection With These 25 Cruelty Free Makeup & Beauty Brands’ compiles a list, complete with what it’s ‘Best For’, whether it is ‘Certified Cruelty Free’ or ‘Natural & Organic’ and the ‘Price Range’ for each.

Phew! If you went through them all like us, you are now probably 98484 brands smarter! So the next time you hit the shops, keep in mind that cruelty-free doesn’t mean expensive, unavailable or boring – it means to simply be CONSCIOUS.

Additional Resources:

If you’re already a conscious consumer just looking to treat yourself, check out Allure’s gallery of cruelty-free goodies!

If you want to widen your knowledge about product testing in general – the what and why – check out Nav’s ‘Animal Used in Testing’ article.

*You are spoilt with options, unless you are in China – click here to know why.