I, like many other people, love to do my makeup. It boosts my confidence, whether I spent 15 minutes trying to perfect my contour or just did a little face powder. Picking out the brand that works best with your skin is difficult, but it is even more difficult when you are trying to find cosmetic brands that are cruelty-free. Recently, there have been more brands that have declared themselves as cruelty-free, but there are still countless that resort back to using animals to test their products.

Animal testing is not legally required in the United States. The companies can ensure safety with their products by choosing to create them using thousands of ingredients that have a long history of safe use. Companies that still do animal testing are using the animal to assess the safety of new ingredients that they are trying out. According to the Animal Humane Society, the tests that the companies perform include: skin and eye irritation tests where the “chemicals are rubbed onto the shaved skin or dripped into the eyes of restrained rabbits without any pain relief,” repeated force-feeding studies to look for signs of illness, and to find a “lethal dose.” At the end of the tests, the animals are killed.

The Animal Humane Society says that cosmetic companies can stop animal testing immediately and still produce new and amazing high-quality beauty products. First, the companies can use ingredients that are already known to be safe. These ingredients have already been tested multiple times in the past and have been used for decades, so they don’t require any further testing. Secondly, nearly 50 non-animal tests have been validated for use, and these are more efficient and cost-effective than the animal testing methods. Since animal testing on cosmetics is banned in the European Union (which involves 28 countries), there have been many efforts to find alternatives for all the common cosmetic tests that use animals. Cosmetic companies in the United States that conduct animal tests will not be able to sell those products in Europe unless they change their practices.

The United States Humane Society and Humane Society International are committed to ending animal testing. Through their "Be Cruelty-Free" campaign, they are committed to no longer having animals suffer “to produce lipstick and shampoo.”

I searched for makeup brands that were cruelty-free. To my surprise, there are multiple cosmetic companies that have stopped animal testing. A few of my favorites that I had already been using that are cruelty-free include: Urban Decay, Tarte, Lush, Bare Minerals, ELF, NYX, Nars, and ColourPop. There are of course many others than just these ones. I am looking forward to finding more cruelty-free brands and switching all of my makeup to those. I have started to feel better about what I have been using and I feel like I am making a difference. Animals shouldn't, and don't have to, be tested on to create our cosmetics. It is time for change.