vegan/cruelty-free makeup.

here's the first real lifestyle post! (sorry, gents. this one's not for you. unless you're into this kind of thing, which ... more power to ya!)

a lovely reader (hi, andrea!) asked what vegan & cruelty-free beauty products i use. i do try my best to use vegan & cruelty-free makeup ... so almost all of the products i use fall into one or both of those categories (except one, sadly).

here are my favorites!

face :

oxygenetix foundation (vegan & cruelty-free) 
i started using this when i had some dry skin issues a while back. it's super gentle & breathable & i've been using it ever since! i'll be using this product for a long time ... (also, sooooo many skin tone options to choose from.)

chella highlighter / concealer (cruelty-free)
i loooove this product. it's actually a highlighter, but i use it as a concealer. covers really well & is super easy to use.

benefit porefessional primer (no animal testing)
there's some question as to whether benefit is actually cruelty-free. but they appear to have updated their policy & website. while it doesn't specifically say cruelty-free, it does state that they do not test on animals. this primer is super legit ... i actually don't understand how it works so well.

*update on benefit cosmetics ... i reached out to the company & got a response from their customer service team. while they asked that i not share their e-mail on my site as they prefer to educate the consumer directly, the gist is that they don't test on animals. however, they do sells products in china, where the government requires testing done in state-run facilities. so there's that.

brows :

#browsonfleek

anastasia beverly hills brow pencil (cruelty-free) 
i'm super into my eyebrows & this is hands down the best brow pencil... i'm pretty sure i found this out on a beauty blog by a makeup artist, so we can trust that it's good stuff. judging by how much of mine is left, time to order more.

benefit brow gel (no animal testing)
see above re: benefit ... love this brow gel to hold the brows in place & provide just a bit of extra tint.

mascara & eyeliner :

urban decay (vegan & cruelty-free) - mascara & eyeliner
urban decay is probably one of the best companies when it comes to vegan & cruelty-free make up. all of their products are cruelty-free ... then they have a specific line of vegan items. it's super high-quality, too. so it's really a win win win. the ones i have are on the cruelty-free list, since they came in a kit i got as a gift... when these are up, vegan it is!

lips :

nars (cruelty-free)
i'm just going to go ahead & say it ... nars has the absolute best lipsticks & lip pencils. if you're looking for a great red that looks good on ev.er.y.bo.dy, go for dragon girl. something dark? volga. anything in between? trust me & just do it.

urban decay (vegan & cruelty-free) 
see above. love their naked lip glosses.

--

after doing some reading online, it seems like this is kind of a touchy subject... for example, the parent company of urban decay (l'oreal) is not cruelty-free, so some people say that makes urban decay not cruelty-free. (let me tell you, people get super amped up about it.)

in my opinion, you can do whatever you want to do. a favorite quote of mine is: "being vegan is about intention, not perfection." i don't know who said it, but it's the mantra i live by.

so go forth, pretty vegans! get yo' glam on.