I’m gonna pretend you clicked on this post for the title and recently decided convert to the cruelty free beauty world*. First of all, welcome!
I made the switch to using exclusively cruelty free products last year and can understand that it can be the most intimidating thing to start especially after years of lusting after Mac or YSL lipsticks. Never fear! Here a my top 5 resources that I personally used when I was starting out (and that I still use now!) that have been super helpful in changing my own habits.
List of Cruelty-Free brands | Cruelty-Free Kitty
The absolute mother of all resources, Cruelty Free Kitty, is usually my first stop in confirming whether or not brands adhere to certain ethical standards. I usually have Suzi’s list of confirmed cruelty-free brands bookmarked on my phone to pull up when I’m in Boots or Superdrug, just incase I need to check. It’s a great first port of call if you’re just starting on your cf journey.
Your ‘cruelty-free’ brand is lying to you | Ethical Elephant
As much as we’d like to think companies that outwardly state their CF-status are good companies, some still manage to skirt around the topic in the way they word their ethical policies and label their products. Vicky’s no nonsense post fantastically highlights the many loopholes your faves could be employing just to tick a box in their CSR Policy. It’s not definitive but it’s definitely a post to get you thinking and super useful if you’re starting to email companies yourselves.
China & Animal Testing: Can a cruelty free company sell in China? | Lovely Witches
If you’ve just switched to CF you’ll know one of the main ethical debates that crop up time and again is whether it’s ‘right’ to buy from a brand that sells in China. If you have no idea what your stance is on the matter Gemima’s post is one of the best guides laying out the pure facts, laws and arguments in an unbiased way for you to make up your own mind.
25 Harmful Beauty Ingredients | Curiously Conscious
First of all I adore Besma’s blog. Second if you want to up your game when it comes to becoming a more ethical and natural shopper, her guide on potentially ‘harmful’ common ingredients used in beauty products is super useful. I used the term ‘harmful’ loosely as, depending on your own ethical stance and the way your body reacts to certain chemicals, some are less harmful than others. The post has been invaluable to me as I’ve learnt more about the way my skin reacts to cf products this year and it’s a nice starter for those who might want to veer into the vegan-zone.
Going Cruelty-Free | DerpinaMode
For me the video that started it all. The ladies of DerpinaMode (and Lex!) lay down their journey and reasons why they decided to switch to using cruelty-free beauty and skincare products in a totally non-preachy way. It’s very honest and though the video is about a year old now I still recommend it people who are a little skeptical about switching to CF.
Let me know comments if you’re making the switch and why?
And feel free to share your own resources (I am by no means an expert so could always do with more reading material!)
Ria
*if you haven’t, welcome anyway?
