This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Temple chapter.
Those pink bunny ears are a telltale sign that the product you have purchased is cruelty
free. But what’s the deal with cruelty free? Are we really still testing on animals? Does it
matter?
According to hsi.org about 100,000 to 200,000 animals are used to test cosmetics each
year.
Although that can seem unsettling, you might feel a little guilty about it when you’re
putting on your favorite shade of Covergirl lipstick in the morning. Most people push it to
the back of their minds and try to move on.
“I love cruelty free brands, but I feel like they’re not as readily available as other brands. I
would definitely use them more if they were more available and less expensive, too,”
said sophomore Janine Renz.
Non cruelty free brands such as Covergirl, Maybelline, and Revlon seem to dominate the
market if you’re looking for a cheaper makeup that is still fairly good quality.
Quality is another concern for a lot of girls. “The only brands I really know are Lush and
e.l.f. Lush is expensive and e.l.f. is cheap, but the product isn’t as good as other brands,”
Renz said.
For a lot of girls, cheap price means cheap quality. Sometimes the lower price isn’t quite
worth it if the quality is not up to par with other, more expensive products.
“They should advertise more,” said Deanna Crawford, a sophomore Neuroscience
major. “I don’t know who is cruelty free and who isn’t.” It is true that these cosmetic
companies don’t advertise their cruelty free status that much, but you can always go on
the website and see if your favorite brand tests on animals. Wet n Wild has a cruelty free
link in their “About” section. In that section you can find their statement as follows: “wet n
wild® NEVER tests on animals, and we are super proud of this. We never have, and we
never will. We believe in beauty without cruelty first!” Here are some other cruelty free
brands:
e.l.f.
e.l.f is cruelty free and very inexpensive! This brand can be purchased anywhere from
Target to your local drugstore. Although e.l.f might get a bad reputation for being low
quality because it is so inexpensive, some of their products are great. e.l.f.’s Daily
Hydration Moisturizer even got a best of beauty award from Allure magazine.
Hard Candy
Hard Candy is actually a clothing company in addition to being a cosmetic company.
They have products ranging from concealers, to contour palettes, to colored mascara
(which is only $6). The company’s cosmetic products are sold exclusively at Walmart
and are fairly inexpensive.
Physicians Formula
Physicians Formula is another drugstore brand. Their products are moderately priced.
According to their website physiciansformula.com: “Physicians Formula Inc. does not
conduct tests, or commission any outside facility to conduct tests that involve the use of
animals. The safety of our products is determined using such alternate methods as “in-
vitro” testing, human clinical evaluations and human use-trials under the supervision of a
Board Certified Dermatologist.” Some of their products are also hypoallergenic, gluten
free, and paraben free!
Nyx
Nyx is owned by L’Oreal, which is not cruelty free, but Nyx still stands by its own cruelty
free promise. The products can be found at Target and Ulta and are also moderately
priced. Nyx’s products offer a more edgy style of makeup. They even have a lipstick
collection entitled Wicked Lippies with shades such as Sinful which is a deep blue and
Risque which is a forest green color.
Pixi by Petra
Pixi by Petra was created by makeup artist Petra Strand. As stated on the website:
“At Pixi Beauty we do not test our products on animals, nor do we allow others to test on
our behalf. Additionally, we request our suppliers to certify that the raw materials used in
the manufacture of our products are not tested on animals.” Pixi’s products are a little
more high end than the other products on this list, and are sold at Target or online.
There are also more expensive cruelty free brands such as Tarte, Urban Decay, Too
Faced, and of course, Lush. Makeup is subjective, what works for some may not work
for others and low price doesn’t always mean low quality. If you are interested in going
cruelty free try doing some of your own research and figuring out which brands work
best for you and your budget.