Is Your Cruelty Free Makeup Really Cruelty Free?

I mentioned this in my last YouTube video and said that I blogged about it. Oops! I realized I actually just posted about it on my facebook page. So I decided to blog about it since I’ve told people I did. This began because I got into a discussion on a facebook beauty group about parent companies of all our favorite beauty brands.

Who owns Which makeup companies?

The vast majority of most makeup companies, even if they started out independent, sell to a larger parent company. It’s not just a money-making thing, it also helps to get your favorite hard to find or internet brands into stores like Sephora and Ulta. Even Morphe recently sold 60% of their company! Companies that don’t even seem huge sell for BILLIONS. Wow!

Three companies own most of the makeup you love

The big three are Estee Lauder, Loreal Paris, and LVMH (aka Louis Vuitton.) No surprises there, we all know these names. However, none of these companies are animal friendly.  Obviously LV is known for leather bags. Estee Lauder tests on animals. Loreal Paris claims they have discontinued animal testing back in 2013 but Cruelty Free Kitty (one of the best resources on the internet for cruelty free beauty product information!) breaks down the truth on their website.

What’s the difference between Cruelty free and vegan makeup

It’s pretty simple, cruelty free means it is not tested on animals. Vegan means it contains no animal by-products. This is important for people who are vegan and want no animal products in their homes/bodies/lives as opposed to animal lovers who don’t want animals to be tortured and killed for their beauty products but have no problems eating a hamburger.

Louis Vuitton owns Sephora

Let’s just state this right here. If you want to make sure that literally none of your money goes to a company that harms/kills animals you can’t shop at Sephora period. LVMH owns the Sephora makeup store chain. LVMH also owns:

• Benefit
• Makeup forever
• Kendo
• Kendo is a parent company itself, it owns Bite beauty
• Kat von D
• Marc Jacobs beauty
• Formula X

So at the risk of being personally attacked let me make it perfectly clear: Kat Von D beauty might be vegan and cruelty free but

When you buy kat von d products your money goes to companies that kill animals. bottom line.

Some people say, well you can’t avoid all parent companies, I am ok knowing that this liquid lipstick I am using right now was not tested on animals and is vegan. That is ok too. This is not to attack anyone, this is just to inform. You could take it a even further and say well, Jeffree Star Cosmetics isn’t owned by any parent company and is vegan and cruelty free but Jeffree buys LV purses so my money is going to animal cruelty then too. Like I said, this is not to say you should not buy any of these products this is simply to inform. I support JSC and KVD cosmetics myself, I buy products from both. Source here. Read a very detailed breakdown of KVD and animals over at Cruelty Free Kitty.

Estee Lauder owns

• Becca
• Glamglow
• Bobbi brown
• Smashbox
• Too faced
• Clinique
• MAC

Source here.

Loreal Paris Owns

• Urban decay
• Kiehls
• It cosmetics
• Maybelline
• Essie
• NYX
• Vichy
• The Body Shop (brand/store)

Source here.

How can I make sure I buy 100% cruelty free makeup and beauty products?

Support an independent 100% online brand. Of course, like I mentioned above unless you know how the CEO spends their money, maybe they are buying hamburgers or leather shoes. Truthfully if you make an effort to buy products that are vegan and cruelty free you are making a difference. I do feel personally torn on using products from Estee Lauder but I’m not sure where I need to draw the line for myself. I am not vegan so it’s hard to decide even though I am 100% against animal testing.

My favorite cruelty free resources

The two favorite online sources are Cruelty Free Kitty and Phyrra Pale Girl Beauty!