We can all probably agree that testing cosmetics on animals = not great, and yet while it’s illegal to test cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients on animals in the UK and other countries within the EU, the majority of high street makeup brands are not cruelty free. Many of them sell their products in China (where it’s required by law to test on animals), or they have a parent company that does, or they use ingredients that are tested on animals. This means that when you walk into the makeup section of Boots or Superdrug, almost all of the brands have contributed to animal testing.
I’ve known this for a while, but I’m also a lazy, privileged, broke ass student. I’ve always been drawn back to the same cheap, reliable makeup that I’ve used for years, from brands that I have no idea what their policies on animal testing are, or, even worse, from brands that I know aren’t cruelty free. Buying cruelty free requires some serious research into which brands to avoid like the plague, and I never seemed to have done enough. But, honestly, if animals have to suffer and die so that I can wear my foundation, I think I’d rather not wear my foundation, so I need to up my cruelty free game.
I saw this video from justkissmyfrog on YouTube a couple of months ago, where she named and shamed all the stuff in her makeup bag that wasn’t cruelty free and then labelled it so she wouldn’t buy it again, and I’ve decided to do it too.
Warning: Despite the fact that I’ve been wearing it every day for about six years, I’m still something of a novice when it comes to makeup. My talents include “can sometimes do a halfway decent cat eye” and “finally found a foundation that kind of matches her skin tone”, and that’s about it. I do love makeup. I love glittery eyeshadow and cool lipstick and really really soft makeup brushes. I love doing an eyeliner flick so sharp that it could cut a man. But the contents of my makeup bag is pretty depressing. Just a heads up.
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Maybelline – Not cruelty free
Maybelline is owned by the parent company L’Oreal, and they say on their website that they don’t test on animals unless “regulatory authorities demand it for safety or regulatory purposes” which means that they sell in China. Bye bye, perfect eyeliner. You will be missed.
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Barry M – Cruelty free
Barry M is cruelty free! We’ve been blessed! Adorable cheap nail varnish forever and ever!
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Boots No7 – ?
This is where buying cruelty free gets messy. Boots’s own makeup brand isn’t listed on any of the cruelty free lists that I have been looking at, but from what I can tell around the internet, they don’t seem to test on animals or sell in China. However, it’s pretty suspicious behaviour: if they are cruelty free, why wouldn’t they explicitly state it? Probably a brand to avoid in the future.
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Seventeen – ?
This is another Boots makeup brand, and I also can’t find any definitive statements about whether it does or doesn’t test on animals.
I told you this was complicated.
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Lush – Cruelty free
Ah, Lush. Lovely, lovely Lush. As a brand, Lush is well known for it’s commitment to fighting animal testing, using only raw materials in their products that have been sourced from companies that also don’t test on animals. So, no matter how many bath bombs you buy, NONE of your money will go towards animal testing!
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Rimmel London – Not cruelty free
Here’s another brand with a dodgy parent company: Rimmel London is owned by Coty, Inc, which also sells in China.
Aaaaaaaand now I need to find a new foundation. Why do this to me, Rimmel London? Why?
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Soap & Glory – Cruelty free
Yes. I do own two eyeliners. I’m a very committed eyeliner fangirl, ok?
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Amie
I know this isn’t technically makeup, but this moisturiser is a) the best, and b) lives in my makeup bag, so I decided to include it. Also, it’s cruelty free, vegan, and approved by BUAV, which is the founder of the Leaping Bunny logo – which is a good thing to look for if you’re out shopping looking for cruelty free products.
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Ecotools
I bought this the one time I was trying to use brushes properly and be halfway decent at putting on makeup, and it was literally the first one I found. Well, GOOD JOB, PAST ME. EcoTools is entirely cruelty free, and it is also 100% vegan.
Overall, this was potentially not as horrific as it could’ve been. I’m only mildly ashamed of the contents of my makeup bag. I’m going to use up the non-cruelty free makeup that I have at the moment – there’s no sense in throwing away a half used bottle of foundation – and then I’m going to have to go through the gruelling process of finding more makeup that works for me.
Do it for the bunnies, Amy. Do it for the bunnies.
Here are some resources that I used to find out what was/wasn’t cruelty free:
- Logical Harmony
- Leaping Bunny
- Happy Bunny Beauty
- Video: Animal Testing 101
- Video: Going Cruelty Free.