Cruelty Free & Me

One key decision any makeup artist could make is the products they choose. Putting together a comprehensive professional kit is a considerable investment, and the quality of the products is paramount in that decision.

I’ve been a lifelong makeup lover, and to be honest as long as the makeup I bought looked the way I wanted, I’m ashamed to say I didn’t really give much thought to the origins of the ingredients or the ethics behind the brand. I was the biggest MAC girl going. With animal testing banned in the UK, I didn’t really think that products I was buying would be animal tested. I now know this to be incorrect.

While browsing the internet one day around 6 months ago, I happened to come across a piece on animal testing. It resonated with me so much, there was so much I didn’t know. I won’t go into the horrors of animal testing- if you want to know, that information is freely available on the internet. Aside from the obviously horrible things that happen to the animals- household cats and dogs even- what struck me most was how totally unnecessary it actually is. There are so many ingredients that are safe for human skin that could be used in any conceivable product that there is genuinely no need for it. There are also more reliable and cheaper alternatives to animal testing that companies could use to test their products.

The next thing that came to mind was that the brands that chose to animal test are ONLY doing it for profit- so that their products can be sold in the huge mainland China market where animal testing is required by law. Nars, a high end cult brand which used to pride itself on its cruelty free credentials made a huge about-turn when they controversially announced they’d be looking to sell their products in mainland China, and therefore testing on animals. A perfect example of a brand prioritising profit above ethics. (Goodbye forever Nars Laguna!)

From then on it was like a lightswitch went off in my head. I have given away any of my makeup kit that was from a non CF brand ( I don’t want the products to be wasted after the sacrifices that went into them) . I have also gone on to purchase only from cruelty free brands. And you know what? There is absolutely no difference in the products, but a huge difference to my conscience. There are products to suit every eventuality, occasion, skin type and budget, there are high end and budget drug store options. It is easy to chose cruelty free.

Whilst it is still a challenge, I am going forward in the hope of building a professional kit which is fully vegan. I also want to do some more research on cruelty free bath, shower and household products and extend this CF philosophy to all the consumables I use and invest in. I still have a lot of learning to do, but I feel like every little bit will make a difference.

I also won’t pass judgement on anyone that hasn’t yet come to the same realisation as me, but for every one of us that does chose to go cruelty free, we can vote with our purses and send an increasingly powerful signal to makeup brands in their favourite language- profit.

There really is no need to compromise your ethics or your beauty. My kit is 100% cruelty free. Sometimes I show some of the products in my kit on my instagram page, rebeccabirch_weddingmakeup . I sincerely hope that the future brings an end to animal testing worldwide, but for now I will do what I can.

If you want to find out more about going cruelty free, the cruelty free kitty website is a great place to start. x