For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been both an animal and a beauty lover. It wasn’t until Legally Blonde 2, where Elle Woods introduced me to the realization that not all beauty products are cruelty-free. I realized that something I indulge in for pleasure may be causing harm to animals. While I’m nowhere near perfect in my attempt to help the animals, cutting back on my purchasing of non-cruelty free cosmetics seemed like an easy and realistic place for me to start. Sure, some of my favorite brands were now viewed in disappointment as I realized they tested on animals and I’d be phasing their products out of my collection in search of a cruelty-free replacement, but it became fun and exciting for me to find cruelty-free brands. While laws and companies are always changing and you’ll have to keep up with updates on brands and their cruelty-free status, a cruelty-free brand is a brand that doesn’t test their ingredients or products out on animals and they don’t sell in countries that require animal testing, like China. While there are the classic cruelty-free brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills, ColourPop, Urban Decay, e.l.f., Becca, Bite Beauty, Too Faced Cosmetics, Cover FX, Covergirl, Marc Jacobs Beauty, Tarte, etc., new cruelty-free beauty brands are still emerging and keeping the cosmetic industry fun.
Here are five newer cruelty-free cosmetic brands that are available at Sephora for you to add to your makeup collection:
Tower 28
Tower 28 has been the most recent makeup brand to excite me with its simple and clean packaging. Their products are pigmented while being easy to apply, perfect for the everyday gal on the go. The brand was created to be safe for sensitive skin and while they’re a cruelty-free brand, all their products so far are also considered to be clean, vegan, and gluten-free. Tower 28 is an LA-based brand founded by Amy Liu and named after the lifeguard tower, tower 28 in Santa Monica.
Stand out product: BeachPlease Tinted Lip + Cheek Balm
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Lawless
Lawless was founded by Annie Lawless, the co-founder of SUJA Juice. Lawless is another beauty brand that is committed to being both cruelty-free and having all clean beauty products, free of any ingredients that may be harmful to your health and skin, animals, or the earth.
Stand out product: Soft Matte Liquid Lipstick
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Kosas
Kosas was founded in 2015 by Sheena Yaitanes. Kosas is another brand that is both clean and cruelty-free. Most of their products are also vegan and gluten-free, however, you’ll have to double-check as not every product of theirs meets all those categories, though most do. Kosas was created to be both pigmented for all skin tones while also being infused with beneficial skincare ingredients.
Stand out product: Color & Light: Crème Cream Blush & Highlighter Duo
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Kaja
Kaja is a Korean beauty brand that was launched by Sephora and Memebox. Kaja translates to “let’s go” and is created to have “bite-sized” packaging so you can easily take it with you on the go.
Stand out product: Beauty Bento Bouncy Shimmer Eyeshadow Trio
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Lilah B.
Lilah B. was founded by Cheryl Yannotti Foland and takes a minimalistic yet luxurious approach to their products and packaging. The products are intended to be multi-purpose with the brands’ belief in quality over quantity. Every Lilah B. product is also clean, vegan, and gluten-free.
Stand out product: Bronzed Beauty™ Bronzer Duo
All these brands and their products are perfect for the makeup user that is both in a rush and doing their makeup as they’re running out the door, or for the makeup user that is relaxing and here to play and experiment with their makeup for hours. While all five of these brands are cruelty-free, most of them have other benefits such as being clean, vegan, gluten-free, or multipurpose products. Not only are these brands and their products guilt-free, but they also work well, and all have pleasing packaging and aesthetics. You won’t want to overlook these brands and miss out on adding them to your makeup collection.