Why I Started Using Cruelty Free Cosmetics

By Arlett Ramirez
Web Content Contributor

I began wearing makeup when I entered middle school, and like every beginner I had no extensive knowledge on beauty. I learned beauty tips and routines from watching beauty tutorials on Youtube, and till this day I’m still watching them continuing to learn tips and tricks. It wasn’t until I was 17 that I began noticing that certain brands were cruelty-free and others weren’t.

The topic of cruelty-free piqued my interest and I started educating myself on what cruelty-free is. For a product to cruelty-free, there should be no form of animal testing at any point in the creation of a brand’s product. Animal testing is any scientific or test which a live animal is forced to undergo something that is likely to cause them pain, suffering, distress or lasting harm.

Animal experiments can include:

• Injecting or force feeding animals with potentially harmful substances
• Exposing animals to radiation
• Surgically removing animals’ organs or tissues to deliberately cause damage
• Forcing animals to inhale toxic gases
• Subjecting animals to to frightening situations to create anxiety and depression

Did you know that only mammals, birds and amphibians and octopuses are defined as ‘animals’ by European legislation? In the U.S. rats, mice, fish, amphibians and birds are not defined as animals under animal experiments. That means no legal permission to experiment on them is needed.

Knowing that animals could be harmed or tortured in the process of creating cosmetics, it made me be self-aware as a consumer to not support companies that practice animal testing. I started researching what brands were cruelty free and I was surprised to know how many brands had become cruelty-free in recent years. Ulta Beauty carries many cruelty-free brands and if you’re unsure what brands are cruelty-free or not, here is list can help you!

Here are some of my favorite cruelty-free brands that can all be found at Ulta Beauty:

• Anastasia Beverly Hills
• Cover FX
• Jeffree Star Cosmetics
• NYX Cosmetics
• Tarte
• Too Faced
• Smashbox
• Urban Decay
• Wet n Wild

Most cruelty-free brands will let the consumer know that they are by having a symbol on the packaging and it’s usually a rabbit. Tarte Cosmetics is one of my go-to brands because all of its products are cruelty-free and apply beautifully.

Featured image by Arlett Ramirez.