If you’re anything like me, then there is nothing more satisfying than opening a fresh eye shadow palette, a brand new loose powder or swatching a matte lipstick right out of the box. Something about that new makeup smell is as great for me as the smell of baking brownies is for others, but it is only recently that I started thinking about the ‘customer’ that tries out that product before it even hits the shelves.
It is 2016 and unfortunately, most companies are still stuck in the barbaric days when animal testing was the only way to ensure the ‘safety’ of a product for the public. It is even more unfortunate that this testing is done for the sake of profit; countries like China and Japan require testing on animals so therefore American companies that sell to these countries must conduct cruel tests on animals in order to sell there. Animals that have to endure the pain of testing include but are not limited to: rats, rabbits, beagles, and even monkeys. Most of these animals are left with blisters, inflammation, ulcers, blindness or ultimately they die.
Luckily, the Internet is on our side. There are countless resources to consult in order to find out which brands are tested on animals, two of the best ones being PETA's database and Cruelty-Free Kitty.com. It’s important to keep in mind that no website is perfect, however, and if a company does not release their policy on product testing, then more than likely they engage in animal testing. One way to know for sure and rest easy knowing that what you are buying is safe is by consulting the back label of the product. All of these logos on a label show that the product is cruelty-free and ethically made.
In terms of cosmetics, there are cruelty-free products ranging from drugstore brands that can be found at Target and Walgreens to high-end brands that one would find at Sephora, ULTA or Douglas (if you are in Europe like I am as of writing this). I’ll share with you two of my go-to drugstore brands that I just haven’t been getting enough of lately.
1. E.L.F Cosmetics
E.L.F is one of my go-to brands for two reasons (other than it being cruelty-free): it is college student budget-friendly and it is surprisingly high quality for the low cost. E.L.F has everything from primers, concealers, foundations and contour / highlight palettes to brow pencils, lipsticks, mascara and even makeup brushes that are made of synthetic hair and are just as good, if not better, than high-end brushes. Their simplistic black-and-white packaging makes their products just as visually appealing as anything one would find at a high-end store, and no one can match that price. Over the last several years, E.L.F has tremendously stepped up their game in terms of quality, and it’s only getting better.
2. NYX Professional Makeup
Ah, NYX. You make some awesome dupes for high-end products, and that makes both me and my wallet happy. NYX is a cruelty-free brand that has as many options as E.L.F, but at a slightly higher price than the previously mentioned brand. I cannot recommend enough NYX’s banana powder for keeping concealer crease-free, their Stay Matte but Not Flat powder for that perfect finish and their matte finishing spray for all the oily people out there such as myself. If you love Urban Decay (which is also cruelty-free, by the way), then you will love that NYX has dupes for many of the beloved products U.D. has to offer.
Though more and more companies are slowly taking the initiative to eliminate animal testing, there is still a long way to go until we can say that we live in a world where all of the products we purchase are ethical. Animals are not ours to test on, and no matter how smooth a MAC concealer is or how good a Dolce & Gabbana perfume smells, I for one cannot wear something knowing that a rabbit went blind for me to wear it.
