Cruelty-Free Beauty: What’s In Your Make Up Bag?

Cruelty-free beauty is something that’s really important to me and hopefully is to you too. In this post, I’m going to be touching on the issues surrounding cruelty-free beauty products, in as non-preachy a way as possible. Ultimately, it’s your own choice to buy and use whatever products you want, but until a few years ago, I was completely in the dark about how some of the most popular cosmetic and household brands out there actually weren’t cruelty-free. Even now, in 2018.

I’m going to give a little bit of background into the cruelty-free beauty movement and show you how to find out exactly which products are the most ethical. I don’t claim to be an expert in all things cosmetic by any stretch, but I have picked up a few useful pointers over the years that might be useful to anyone who’s keen to learn more about cruelty-free beauty.

What is cruelty-free beauty?

In a nutshell, we’re talking about cosmetic and body products that haven’t been tested on animals.  Some of the statistics around this issue are upsetting; around 80% of the world still allows cosmetic testing to be carried out on animals. This isn’t limited to the testing of the final cosmetic or cleaning product. Ingredients that go into the manufacturing of lipstick, deodorants, eye shadows and countless other beauty products are used in painful tests on dogs, rabbits, hamsters and other animals. 

It’s completely unnecessary and entirely unethical, and what’s more, there are safer alternatives! 

Animal testing of cosmetics was banned in the UK in 1998 and in the EU in 2013, however, some brands have navigated this by having their products manufactured elsewhere in the world, such as China, where animal testing is actually required by law.

Isn’t it just cheap brands that aren’t cruelty-free?

No! Some of these brands include big names such as Maybelline, MAC and Benefit, who continue to sell their lines in China despite knowing that their products will be tested on animals. So while products that are manufactured here in the UK may be a safer bet, it’s worth double-checking the back of the bottles of your favourite brands to see where they were made. If something’s been labelled as having been made in China, you might want to dig a bit deeper into that before buying or using the product. 

I can only scratch the surface of this issue here, as it’s got a huge and complex history to navigate. What’s important overall, is to become better educated about cruelty-free beauty and learn exactly how and where the products I use are made.

How do I know if a beauty product is cruelty-free?

A great starting indicator is to look for the Leaping Bunny logo on your product.  The Leaping Bunny logo is an international gold standard for non-animal tested products, so if you see it on your favourite foundation or highlighter, then you’re off to a winning start. If you’re not sure, it looks like this. Be sure to check it looks exactly like this, as some brands try and falsify their cruelty-free status using variants of the bunny-shaped logo.

Places that I’ve found sell a lot of Leaping Bunny-accredited products include Morrison’s and Home Bargains. Hair products, face creams and sun creams in particular at Morrison’s have impressed me with their Leaping Bunny status. As for Home Bargains, their cleaning products, particularly the ‘Astonish’ line, also display the logo on them. Which is brilliant because it means I can clean my bathroom without feeling guilty.

Another rule of thumb for me is to check where your product was manufactured. If it says ‘manufactured in the UK’ or ‘produced in the EU’, chances are it’s going to be a cruelty-free beauty product. ‘Made in China’ is usually a sign I use to avoid that particular product. 

What is the green beauty movement?

Fortunately, there’s been a huge upsurge in the popularity of vegan and cruelty-free beauty products as a whole of late. In particular, the green beauty movement is really gaining traction here in the UK. This increased awareness and move towards greater social and ethical responsibility is a fantastic thing, and so I wanted to highlight a few green beauty brands that I really love. 

Revolution Beauty London

Revolution Beauty is one of my favourite green beauty brands. They’re committed to bringing exciting and affordable new beauty products to their customers, and more importantly, they’re 100% cruelty-free. Their commitment to accessible ethical beauty makes them stand out in a very saturated market.

Revolution Beauty is also PETA certified, which means they never allow animal testing during any stage of the development of their ingredients or on their final products. It’s an ethical beauty brand that’s backed by the experts. Plus, their products are actually fantastic quality (I know because I use them myself). If you’re looking to find an affordable and high-quality brand to start replacing any non-cruelty-free beauty products with, then Revolution would be my first place to start.

Their skincare range is a good starting place if you’re looking to overhaul your regime from the ground up. I’m also really excited about their new haircare line, which has a special section for curly hair. I’ll be picking up some of their curl products myself.

Marks & Spencer Beauty

You may or may not be surprised to find out that Marks & Spencer’s own brand of cosmetics is entirely cruelty-free. What’s more, they’re fantastic quality. I love their Autograph range, which is their signature line and features both cruelty-free make-up and skincare products.

Evolve Beauty

Another green beauty brand worth exploring is Evolve Beauty. They’re a UK-based skincare and beauty brand that develops their products using natural and organic ingredients and superfoods. Evolve’s range is vegan, organic and cruelty-free. Their essential skincare range is a solid place to start exploring, especially if you’re looking for a new serum or natural skin booster to brighten your complexion up a bit.

Is cruelty-free beauty worth learning more about?

Absolutely. Don’t get me wrong, it is a minefield of information, but if you can become more socially responsible about the products you use every day, then why would you not? It’s important to me to make a difference on this issue and to let brands that continue to be part of animal cosmetic testing know that they’ll never have my support.

It’s not always easy to keep track of the right products to use, but making the effort to try and learn about the issues is what counts at the end of the day. If you want to know more about the products you’re using, you can find a wealth of information over at Cruelty-Free Kitty. It’s an invaluable, well-researched resource for anyone wanting to become more ethically aware and shop cruelty-free beauty with ease.

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