ATTENTION MAKEUP USERS!!

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Good news everyone! Everyday stores such as Walmart have started to stock cruelty free makeup brands! For me, cruelty free makeup is an absolute no brainer. Animals are blatantly tortured by big name companies such as Covergirl, Maybelline, Revlon, and so many others that we see in the stores everyday. With demand for a multitude of their products (seriously, have you  looked inside your makeup bag lately) these are billion dollar corporations. They have so much money already, yet many of them will not make the switch to cruelty free cosmetics because some of the places they trade with (China is a big one) require animal testing to sell a company's products in their countries. Some makeup corporations don't want to stop testing on animals because the safety methods in place to make sure our moisturizers won't melt our skin off are a tad bit more expensive when not using animal hosts. Basically, it all comes down to money.

Many consumers say they can't afford to purchase all their body products from stores like The Body Shop. They are more expensive, but let me put it this way. Purchasing makeup from such companies does not support cruel practices endured by millions of animals a year such as this:

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and they really are better quality products. Most makeup lasts a while, so my argument is to refuse to support evil companies and pay the extra dollar for cruelty free brands, reaping the benefits of better quality makeup while you're at it. However! I bring to you good news! On my last foray to Walmart (yes I know, I'm blogging about stopping the support of evil corporations and I purchase from a company that is really big on worker abuse...sorry) I noticed they are stocking the brand Hard Candy! This is wonderful! Hard Candy is just as affordable as other "regular" brands, and they are 100% cruelty free. I'm starting to notice other cruelty free brands such as E.L.F. popping up in easily accessible stores too. So yay! Same price, same distance to purchase and skip the torture and abuse of animals? Sounds like a deal. Please please please switch your makeup to cruelty free brands by looking for the leaping bunny symbol when you buy:

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or any other printed notice featured on the product along the lines of "this product was not tested on animals." Be warned though! Animal testing extends beyond the boundaries of the makeup industry. Hair care products and lotions are also big ones to check labels for. Many "reconstructing" shampoos contain Keratin, a product made of animal proteins, and nail polish removers usually contain gelatin, a product made of animal hooves and tendons, that supposedly strengthens the nail base. There are also sneaky ways for companies to get around labeling. They can be approved as "cruelty free" if the finished product wasn't tested on animals, some of the ingredients in it might have been. Companies that don't test on animals can sometimes be owned by companies that do. Also, the label "vegan" means there are no animal parts included in the product, however, this doesn't always mean the product wasn't tested on animals (although most vegan companies are pretty cool about that, Manic Panic for instance is a very awesome company, and most of the products sold at Hot Topic are cruelty free as well as vegan). So be an informed consumer. Animal testing is one of the most swept under the rug issues of the corporate world. No one wants to think "Easy, Breezy, Beautiful" actually stands for "Torture, Pain, Misery." Research the companies you're going to buy your skincare and cosmetic products from, but also be reasonable. It'll be fairly difficult to make sure EVERYTHING you buy has never seen the inside of an animal testing lab (unless you live in a part of the EU because they just passed a ban on animal tested products YEAH!), but do what you can to avoid it.

Purchase
Blackheart (cruelty free & vegan)
Manic Panic (hair dye & cosmetics)
Hard Candy
E.L.F

Research
A list of brands, animal tested and not
PETA's brand search

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