Going cruelty-free

I just used up my last Bioré pore strip, which means I can now officially scratch the brand Bioré from my list of non CF brands that I still own products by. So, that’s bye bye Bioré! In case you’re wondering why I’m avoiding them from now on: they’re selling their products in China and are therefore not cruelty free, and they’re also owned by Kao corporation - a company that I found pretty shady when researching it, and not only in the animal testing department.  

A cruelty free brand that makes pore strips that I’ve used in the past is Formula 10.0.6. Their Down To The Pore - Blackhead Banishing Pore Strips looks, and works, exactly the same as the Bioré pore strips. You wet your nose, apply the strip, wait until it has dried and hardened and then pull it off starting from the bottom. For better result, you may want to use it after you’ve opened up your pores a bit. That can be after a (hot) shower, but you can also steam your face or simply wet a washcloth with hot water and press it to your nose for a bit. 

I will admit that it isn’t quite as effective in removing blackheads as Bioré is, but it’s close enough. The Formula 10.0.6 one also has Tea tree and kaolin, two ingredients that both purifies and calms the skin. Unless I find another CF brand that does pore stips as effective as the Bioré ones, I will use Down To The Pore when I need my quick-fix blackhead banisher. 

Making your beauty routine cruelty free do take some time and effort on your part, but there are sites that makes it a lot easier. Those are sources that I regularly turn to in my search for CF brands and products.

Leaping bunny - a cruelty free certification that not only lists the brands that qualifies and are affiliated with them, but also have helpful tips and guides, and a pledge to sign (with the option to sign up for their newsletter). Don’t miss the app, so that you can quickly check if brands are on their list while on the go!

Cruelty free international - information about the cause.

Choose cruelty free - Australian certification and resource. Also has their own app, called CCF in the app store.

Peta’s cruelty free company search - type the brand into the search bar and see if it’s certified as CF by peta or not. In my opinion - always double check with other resources as well as they’re not always up to date. A lot of brands, cruelty free and not, are also not in their system. A good thing is that they clearly state the parent company, so that you can decide if you want to support a CF brand with a non-CF owner or not. 

Cruelty free kitty - An extremely well kept website/blog with reviews on CF products and lots of helpful lists both for those new to CF and those more familiar with the subject. Written by an out of this world passionate writer, this is perhaps the most complete resource written by an individual (as opposed to an organisation). 

Logical harmony - In a similar style of cruelty free kitty, this is a great resource written by a vegan and CF passionate individual. Packed full of reviews, tips and tricks and generally helpful information. 

Makeup has been a part of my life since my early teens, but it’s only in the past few years that I’ve started to take a real interest and find enjoyment in it. The more I learnt about makeup in general, the more I learnt about makeup products and the brands that create them. Animal testing of course wasn’t a unknown practice to me, but I can honestly say that I was completely unaware of how widely spread the practice still is in the beauty industry. And on top of that, how many of the brands on the top shelves in stores and in my own collection that still tests their ingredients and finished products on animals. 

When my eyes were finally opened to this fact, I could not find a single justifiable reason to keep supporting these brands and have animals suffer for the sake of my own vanity.