19 September, 2007

My Makeup isn't tested on animals, it's vegan right?

WRONG. There is a difference between being cruelty free and being vegan. Cruelty free can mean that a product just wasn't tested on animals, these products however may still have animals in them. You may be following the PETA List, but that list only covers animal testing not the individual ingredients in makeup.

Let's go through a quick review of some of the common animal derived ingredients found in "cruelty free" makeup. These are some of the ingredients found in Revlon products including glycerin, silk, and carmine. Those are only the ones that I know how to pronounce. Revlon doesn't test on animals, but they are also most certainly not vegan. Some Revlon products are vegan accidentally like their Mitchum deodorant.

Which leads to the inevitable question number two:

Where do you get your makeup?

There are lots of truly cruelty free companies that neither test nor use animal products. Such as Beauty Without Cruelty, ELF (careful some products contain beeswax), Zia, and Bare Minerals. There are also online stores that are truly cruelty free such as Vegan Essentials, Pangea, Different Daisy, and Vegan Unlimited. The online stores also carry vegan makeup lines that don't have their own websites.

It is still important to check ingredients. Many cosmetics may still contain beeswax or silk, even if they are all natural or mislabeled as being vegan.

What if I want to see the makeup first?

I would check out your natural food stores, both the small local ones and the bigger chains like Whole Foods. However, I caution against listening to what employees say about what is and isn't vegan. I once had a Whole Foods employee tell me that their makeup was vegan, and the first bottle I checked contained silk and carmine. However I have heard that some Whole Foods carry Zia products and possibly other vegan brands as well.

Moral of the story? It is possible to be glamorous and vegan. Just know your ingredients and vegan brands when you shop, and you'll be pretty in no time.

18 comments:

  1. Sadly the PETA list isn't accurate either. I go by the Beauty Without Cruelty list which for instance Revlon is not on.

    The various Anti-Vivisection Societies also have accurate lists.

    To be cruelty free the company can't test nor the people who supply their ingredients.

    Of course being Vegan I can still only use about a third of the brands on the BWC list as most manufacturers still use animal products. BWC do hekp by indicating what is vegan, vegetarian or other.

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  2. Here are two other really great companies. I haven't been able to personally try them yet, but I have heard great things.
    Fyrinnae-
    http://www.fyrinnae.com

    No MIss Nail stuff
    http://65.108.6.137/company.html

    xoxo
    Sarah

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  3. I second the warning to watch store employees. The co-op employee veered me to an Ecco Bella lipstick that had carmine, boo!
    Some (not all) of Hard Candy and Urban Decay makeup is vegan. Their Web sites usually flag what's vegan and what's not. Sephora (the big, fancy makeup store) stocks some of their stuff.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The most cruelty free cosmetics I understand are mineral based make-ups. Jane Iredale is the one I'm most familiar with. I enquired with them as I knew not all their products are vegan, this is their response.

    Dear Donald,

    Thank you very much for your inquiry. Our products are never tested on animals - only human subjects - and we have earned PETA's "Cruelty-Free" designation. You will also find us listed on the following website, www.caringconsumer.com.

    Many of our products are vegan, but some contain beeswax and carmine. Those colors are listed on our web site.

    For a detailed list of ingredients for each product, please click here:
    http://www.janeiredale.com/janesguide/jg_ingred.html

    Sincerely,

    Christine
    Iredale Mineral Cosmetics

    ReplyDelete
  5. What about makeup brushes? I'm pretty sure my Bare Minerals brushes are goat or sable? Arghh this is so frustrating. I'm a teenager and can't afford to go out and buy new brushes with synthetic materials. I'm getting discouraged and feel like being vegan is just out of my reach!

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  6. mary --- being vegan isn't out of your reach! people think becoming vegan is an over night thing, that they have to throw away everything and start all over. most of us cannot afford to do that. when i became vegan, i still used what i already had (shoes were my main source of concern) until they wore out, then replaced them with vegan products.

    it's so frustrating to me that at times other vegans make us feel like we are doing something wrong if there is a brush or leather shoe in our house. this type of militance is off-putting and unnecessary. being vegan is an on-going process, just like anything worthwhile. so, if you can't afford to replace all of your brushes right now, just save up and replace them when you can.

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  7. Hey, great topic! I gave up on wearing make-up when I decided to become vegan.

    @ Mary

    Don't worry about it. You already have the brushes, so use them and enjoy them until they wear out!

    That brings me to another issue I'd like to ask. I shop exclusively at thrift stores and second hand shops. I recently bought a silk blouse there. I feel this is okay since I am not supporting the industry and the shirt (if it wasn't bought) would likely be thrown away. What do you guys think about this?

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  8. Great post! But ELF has now replaced all beeswax with synthetic! 100% vegan company!

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  9. The only thing to trust of Peta is...well nothing, not even their list.
    They kill dogs and cats for God's sake. We Vegans must not put them as the Animal Right's leader cause they are animal welfare, which is to bend causes to their will to make money.
    Support things like Farm Sanctuary, Sea Shepherd and Animal Liberation Front.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Vegan makeup products are cosmetics that do not use ingredients derived from — or tested on — animals. Concerns about animal abuse by the cosmetic industry has created a growing market for cruelty free products. Vegan cosmetic options include eye shadow, blush, lipstick and foundation; even vegan nail polish is becoming increasingly available.
    vegan makeup brands

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  11. It was nice article to find vegan cosmetics products and it was natural , organic so good for use it was beast product for makeups

    ReplyDelete
  12. Vegan makeup reference the makeups designed with certified organic components. They can't include things like virtually any creature components or perhaps virtually any through merchandise. They need by no means ended up analyzed in dogs nor.
    Vegan Makeup

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  13. Vegan cosmetics reference the makeups constructed with organic and natural components. They cannot contain almost any person components as well as almost any by simply goods. They have got in no way ended up tried inside canines neither of them.
    Vegan Cosmetics

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  14. Vegan makeup reference the actual makeups constructed with certified organic substances. They just don't comprise virtually any creature substances or maybe virtually any by items. They've already never ever been recently tested in pets nor.
    Vegan Cosmetics

    ReplyDelete
  15. SkinDressing.com is 100% cruelty-free and vegan. Not owned by any parent company that tests on animals or sells non-vegan products, so shopping for all your skincare needs there is simple and easy.

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