I love make up. I look forward to drawing the perfect wings on my eyelids and swiping a gorgeous shade of lipstick on my lips everyday. I live for finding the best highlighters and the perfect mascara. I love coming across new and amazing products. I countdown the days until I receive my Ipsy bag every month. I can research products and watch make up videos for hours. If it were possible, I could spend days in the aisles of Ulta or even in CVS or Target. It’s become a small hobby of mine.
As much as I love make up, I don’t love animal testing.
I follow several make up artists on Instagram. One of those artists, Haley Wight, has recently become a cruelty-free make up artist. This means she does not use ANY make up products that have been tested on animals. I watched her YouTube video explaining why she has come to this decision, and it just made sense to me.
Animal testing is cruel. And many popular make up brands still do it today.
In her video, Haley explains that while some companies, such as Nyx, are cruelty free, their parent companies may test on animals. Nyx’s parent company is L’oreal, who is not cruelty free. When you purchase Nyx’s make up, the parent compnay notices which companies are making the most money. By supporting cruelty-free companies, it shows to the parent companies that more people are buying from their cruelty free companies, which could one day lead to the parent company making all of its brands cruelty free.
Haley is a vegan. I am not a vegan or a vegetarian. No matter what, by purchasing cruelty-free make up, you are still making a difference. You don’t have to be a vegan to support cruelty-free make up.
Finally, there are actually many brands that are cruelty-free. From drugstore brands like Nyx, e.l.f., and Wet and Wild, to independent brands such as Colourpop and Make up Geek, to higher-end brands like Urban Decay, Too Faced, and Tarte, there are plenty of cruelty free options.
Unfortunately, some of my favorite brands such as Maybelline and Benefit, are not cruelty free.
I have recently stopped purchasing these brands. I am not asking you to do the same, but I am challenging you to be a little more conscious when purchasing makeup! Even cutting back on these brands is helpful (I’ll admit, I still have a few of these items on my make up vanity). Hopefully one day, all make up companies will be cruelty free.