Gone are the days when you were at the mercy of your local store for beauty and skincare products. Today, with major brands realising that India is a large market willing to invest in luxury items and the Internet at our fingertips, we are flooded with choices. And so, we can choose to be choosy and be both socially and ethically conscious of various companies and their practices. And that brings me to cruelty-free make-up.
‘Why must we feel beautiful at the cost of our furry friends?’ is a thought that I’m sure plagues many of us. But today, as people become more aware of animal rights and how barbaric testing on animals can be, a lot of companies are breaking free of this habit. We have so many choices of companies that choose to be cruelty-free and now, even vegan.
Your choices depend entirely on how strongly you feel about this subject. There are several companies that claim to be cruelty-free, but test their products on animals before distributing to the Chinese market (FYI, no cosmetics can be sold in China — not Hong Kong — without being tested on animals first). There are some companies that are cruelty-free but their parent companies are not. For example, NARS, bareMinerals and Buxom as brands are cruelty-free, but their parent company Shiseido still tests on animals. And, finally, you have entirely vegan make-up brands. Very often, vegan and cruelty-free make-up are interchanged. They are very different. While cruelty-free prevents testing on animals, it does not stop the use of animal products in the ingredients of these cosmetics — whereas vegan brands do not use any ingredients derived from or tested on animals. For example, beeswax.
For every budget
Whenever I discuss cruelty-free or vegan make-up with people, the first thing I hear is how expensive they can be and it is a luxury to be able to afford these products. But the truth is, you find both sets of products at every price point.
To start with, an excellent blog that only reviews vegan and cruelty-free make-up is www.phyrra.net. This is also an excellent source of indie make-up brands and swatches.
If you’re looking at a drugstore price point, there are several brands such as NYX, Milani, wet n wild and Jordana that are cruelty-free. All these brands are available at www.beautyjoint.com with nominal shipping rates.
Several other indie brands such as Makeup Geek and Sugarpill are also at the same price point.
If you’re looking at high-end cosmetics, brands such as Kat Von D Beauty and Jeffree Star Cosmetics are entirely vegan.
When it comes to luxury make-up, several brands claim to be cruelty-free, but make products with fur and animal skin in their clothing and accessory lines, so it all depends on your personal ethics. However, brands such as By Terry, Rouge Bunny Rouge, Chantecaille and Ellis Faas are certified to be cruelty-free.
If you’re in doubt, always look it up. A Leaping Bunny certification almost always means the company is free of animal testing and products, but if you’re not someone who is bothered by the grey area of parent companies and the ethics of it, a simple Google search should suffice.
