Some Tips for Buying Cosmetics Online: Choosing Cruelty Free and Vegan Options

With recent awareness drawn to both environmental and animal rights concerns, makeup consumers have had to become smarter when selecting products. Oftentimes responsible individuals looking to support brands who don’t animal test, cruelty free cosmetics users have a variety of options in terms of face, lip, eye and skin care. Thankfully the cruelty-free movement has become so popular that brands are now seeking to produce stylish, versatile options and colors in their cruelty-free makeup lines.

There are also a number of vegan cosmetic brands that deliver soft, easy-on-the-skin products with responsibly sourced ingredients. Although similar in humanitarian mindset to cruelty-free products, vegan cosmetics take animal considerations to the next theoretical step – refusing any product made with or that has come in contact with a captive animal. Although these movements toward animal empathy have clear ethical benefits, they also are a convention of products. In order to understand better the products made using the titles of “cruelty free” and “vegan” cosmetics, let's break down some of the pros and cons as well as the conventions of both cruelty free and vegan beauty products.

Additional Read: Choosing Skin-Care Oriented Cosmetics to Nourish and Shine: The Best Face Primers and Masks

Cruelty Free Cosmetics: An Explanation and Some Well-Reputed Brands

The FDA designates all cosmetics products that have not been tested on animals as “cruelty free.” When you buy cosmetics online, you can identify the term cruelty free on many retail sites. If you are looking for cruelty free brands and sites, you should keep an eye out for companies that are PETA certified. 

Consumers like the concept of not testing on animals, for fully understandable ethical reasons. The outside organization PETA implements several practices to authenticate that products have been tested cruelty-free. PETA employs scientists, social workers and lawyers to both prevent animal testing and develop legislative and infrastructural change in the beauty industry. Management and research teams from PETA regulate the practices of companies to verify information and business practices regarding product development. Brands that PETA certifies may also choose to buy a license from PETA that allows them to use a bunny logo on product labels and promotional materials, to designate being cruelty free. 

Brands like Milani, Too Faced, Lush and Wet N Wild are well reputed as being cruelty free, and you will find that other brands and manufacturers are as well.

What are Vegan Cosmetic Brands?

Consumers tend to know less about vegan cosmetics than about cruelty free cosmetics. Vegan cosmetics carry a host of benefits and drawbacks. When you choose a vegan option, there is the possibility of fewer color and pigmentation options. Vegan products are not waterproof, and they don’t last as long as their non-vegan counterparts due to the vegan products’ lack of added preservatives. 

However, a host of high-quality vegan range lines offer options to help offset some of these drawbacks. One of the strengths of vegan products is that they are particularly compatible with sensitive skin. Vegan products can by and large be worn after facial surgeries, unlike almost all of their non-vegan counterparts. Finally and perhaps most obviously vegan products offer a host of environmental benefits. Products that don’t use added chemicals do not produce these chemicals to ultimately end up in the environment when disposed of.

 

With a number of high-quality and affordable options for both cruelty free cosmetics and vegancosmetics brands, make sure to keep an eye out for products that may suit you and your skin type.