Going Cruelty Free

OK, so I've made the decision that I want to go cruelty free with my makeup products. This means I will not be buying products from brands that test on animals. I've been thinking about doing this for a while. The thing that has always put me off doing this before is that there is such a lack of affordable cruelty free makeup available in the UK. Regardless, I've made this decision to change because I personally feel morally obligated to do this. 

Of course there is different meanings to 'cruelty free'. For me, I am not a vegan, I just do not believe in the torture of innocent animals for selfish reasons (such as the beauty industry.) I understand animal testing sometimes is needed for things, such as in the medical world, but it just does not seem right to use it for products that can be tested in alternative ways. 

The main reason brands still use animal testing is because China's laws mean that if a brand sells to the Chinese market, that brand needs to pay for their products to be animal tested. Hopefully one day China will get rid of this ridiculous rule, so the whole beauty industry can one day become cruelty free. 

I know there is also a lot of debate whether or not cruelty free brands with parent companies, who use animal testing, is acceptable (for example, Urban Decay is cruelty free, however, it is owned by L'Oreal who is not.) Personally, I will use brands that are cruelty free, such as Urban Decay, because that brand has made that decision to stay cruelty free, even though they could easily enter the Chinese market. So I will be using products from any brands that are cruelty free. 

First, I've researched heavily into what brands I can use and followed many other beauty blogger's that are cruelty free. I recommend looking on crueltyfreekitty's blog, PETA and Leaping Bunny when looking for what brands are cruelty free. 

To make this change I will be doing small steps at a time. I'm not  going to throw half my makeup collection out and buy all new (I'm a uni student, I have no money for that!) Instead, I am going to throw/give away any products that I don't really use and use up all the products I've already purchased. (I may as well, since I've already gave money to these brands for the products.) I will slowly be finding replacements for some of my favourite makeup products that are from brands that test on animals, so that eventually my whole makeup collection will become cruelty free. I am going to share this journey with you all, as it may be helpful for any one thinking of making the change themselves.