While applying your new mascara or lipstick, have you ever thought about who may have suffered so that you can have those things? And how it was tested for your safety so you didn't get hurt from it? If you haven't, it's time to start thinking. It's estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 animals suffer and die for cosmetics around the world.

Why do brands test on these innocent animals? Well, the companies run tests on rabbits and other animals to determine skin and eye irritation. To test these complications, lab technicians rub the products on the shaved skin of the rabbit, or they drop the products into their eyes. These studies last for weeks, or even years to seek specific health hazards, such as cancer or birth defects. Pain relief for these tests are not at all provided for the animals and at the end of the tests, animals are usually killed, normally by asphyxiation, neck-breaking, or decapitation.

It is 2017. Why can't companies find alternatives to the harmful products that they want to use so they don't have to take innocent lives of animals? And how are these tests still permitted when there are animal cruelty laws in almost every state? Cosmetic testing is banned in Europe, India, Israel, and Norway. Every other country needs to follow in suit. If four countries have found a way to ban testing, there has to be an easy way to prevent it from happening everywhere else.

A story came out in 2014 about how human skin can be grown in labs and companies can test their products of these small sheets instead of using animals. Surprisingly, it is cost effective. You can read more about this alternative here.

What hits close to home is how beagles are the dog breed that is used most in animal testing. In May of 2016, 156 beagles were freed from a test laboratory in Bangalore, India after spending their lives in small cages. They were born and bred in the lab, being fed minimal food and never saw sunlight. The government made the scientists cease the dogs' involvement of beauty product testing, and set them free.

We need more moments like these and we need to stop using these innocent animals for our own safety. Below are brands that test on animals and brands that do not. One way we can ensure that the testing ends is by not purchasing from these brands that still use testing so that they lose business. Maybe, this will send the message that what they are doing is absolutely wrong.