A few days ago I woke up to see my Instagram feed flooded with posts about a petition The Body Shop started that aims to put an halt to animal testing. Before I go on, I’d just like to say that this post is no way sponsored or influenced by The Body Shop. They didn’t reach out to me about this at all; their mission just really resonated with me and I felt compelled to share in my own way.

The first thing that popped into my head when I saw all these posts was, “I should do a FOTD using only cruelty-free products”!

The second thing that popped into my head was, “Dangit I don’t OWN any cruelty products!”

A pang of guilt hit me then, because I was forced to admit to myself that I prioritize aesthetics over ethics. Like most people, I’ve always just been more aware of and drawn to mainstream makeup brands. I don’t think it makes me a bad person – I just prefer shopping at Sephora to the local hippy commune. Who doesn’t?

But at this point I was resigned to my little project, so I diligently got to googling cruelty free makeup brands and…guess what? I came across this list and realized I actually owned LOADS of cruelty free makeup! It turns out many of my favourite makeup brands actually fell into this category and I just had no idea! Long story short, putting this FOTD together took absolutely zero effort whatsoever as many of the products were ones that I already used on a near-daily basis.

This revelation got me thinking: if so many mainstream brands can produce top notch makeup without testing on animals, what’s stopping other companies from getting on board? There’s no question that the brands I used for this look – BECCA, NARS, Too Faced*, etc – make amazing products, so it’s not a quality issue. Tons of people with sensitive skin use these brands quite comfortably, so I doubt you can really argue safety. And they’re all priced within their market range, so it’s not even as if cruelty-free testing comes at a premium.

I can’t think of a single good reason why any makeup company should test on animals when there are so many cruelty-free brands that are just crushing it. If you agree with me, I urge you to sign the petition. It takes two seconds and every single signature counts.

*Before someone jumps down my throat about how we all should boycott cruelty-free brands that have “sold out” to non-CF companies, here’s my take on the matter: No we should not. In fact, I think we should make a point to shop with those brands. Because when you buy from cruelty-free brands like Urban Decay etc, you’re voting with your dollars and showing parent companies which of their brands are profitable. A profitable brand is going to get more attention and support from their parent company, prompt in-depth evaluations on what makes them successful, and hopefully inspire higher-ups to push other acquired or in-house brands to adopt similar practices (if only for the good PR). And if you care enough to debate me on this, feel free…but please go sign the petition first!

It goes without saying, but all the brands I used here are cruelty free. Face: BECCA Backlight Filter Face Primer, Rouge Bunny Rouge Milk Aquarelle Foundation in Coconut Milk, Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer, IT Cosmetics Bye Bye Undereye, CoverFX Perfect Setting Powder // Cheeks: Marc Jacobs Instamarc Contour Duo, NARS blush in Madly, Hourglass Strobe Light in Brilliant // Eyes: Puree, Charmed I’m Sure and Luscious from Too Faced Sweet Peach Palette, Pixi Fairy Dust in Snow Sparkle, Urban Decay Perversion Mascara // Brows: Anastasia Beverly Hills Dip Brow Pomade in Dark Brown // Lips: Bite Beauty Lipstick in Sour Cherry

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