There was a time when almost every cosmetics company thought nothing of testing their countless products on innocent animals before any humans were invited to step up as a guinea pig. But now, a growing number of makeup makers are opting to cut out this practice, deeming it barbaric and archaic. Among these avant garde guardians of beauty, here are our Top 5 favourite animal-friendly makeup brands.
From foundations and primers to eye shadows and lipsticks, Charlotte Tilbury offers an entire range of high-end beauty products in a vegan format. But that’s not all, its fragrances and makeup brushes are also completely devoid of any animal by-products, making this one of the top animal-friendly makeup brands in the world.
Most beauty product users may be already be familiar with Lime Crime as a go-to for playfully colourful yet innovative products (its Velvetines line featured one of the world’s first matte liquid lipsticks), but the brand is also a true-blue cruelty-free proponent. As its website proudly proclaims, “At Lime Crime, we value animal safety and wellbeing, and our products and ingredients are always vegan.”
If its name wasn’t enough of a giveaway, Inika Organic doesn’t just eschew any animal testing or by-products, it places an emphasis on creating makeup that using natural, organic ingredients. In keeping with its eco-friendly policy, its containers are made from recycled materials, and all packaging is recyclable as well.
Dedicated foundation specialist Cover FX makes our list of animal-friendly makeup brands thanks to its staunch position on avoiding any animal testing or by-products. What’s more, it goes the extra mile to eschew what it dubs the ‘Inflammatory 5’: parabens, fragrance, gluten, mineral oil and talc. Instead, it utilises vitamins, emollients and natural redness reducers.
Not only does this all-vegan lipstick-focused makeup label produce non-toxic lip colours of every imaginable creamy hue, it also draws from Mother Nature to give its products an added organic touch. Taking animal-friendliness to a whole new level, the brand actually donates a percentage of its annual profits to such humane organisations PETA and Orangutan Foundation International.
