How and Why I'm Going Cruelty Free - And You Should Too!
Since I decided to stop buying makeup that has in any way been tested on animals, I discovered how my mental health drastically got better. It might sound weird, but limiting myself to only buying 'cruelty free' makeup made this makeup lover a bigger makeup lover. If you want to know how that happened, then keep reading.
There are two main reasons.
The first thing going 'cruelty free' did was to give me more control and less stress. Going cruelty free made me able to ignore large parts of new releases and large parts of the stores. I've memorized which of my favourite brands are cruelty free and walk past every other stand, because I know they test on animals. Whenever a new brand pops up I can easily google it in order to find out if it's cruelty free or not and then see if it's worth my attention. I try not to look at a brands products before I know if they're 'cruelty free' or not in order not to tempt myself.
The second thing is the most important one for my mental health. I truly believe that it is 100% unnecessary to test makeup products on animals. There are lots of other ways (link to PETA) to test if products are safe for use and many of them are apparently even more accurate, less time consuming and cheaper than testing on animals. These are my beliefs and I should live accordingly. Starting to live closer to my own beliefs then takes away a lot of unnecessary stress in my life and thus improves my mental health and relationship to makeup.
If you want to go cruelty free then here are some tips for you.
1. Ask yourself why you want to do this. Is it just because your best friend is doing it or are you basing it on your own values? Figure it out in order to have a strong base to stand on when you encounter obstacles.
2. Decide what you consider 'cruelty free'. Is it just the brand itself that has to be 'cruelty free' or does their parent company also have to be? Educate yourself on the subject.
3. Make a list of your favourite brands that are 'cruelty free'. this list will serve as your base for your new makeup habits.
4. Go through your entire collection and write down every single product in your collection that isn't 'cruelty free'. Every. Single. One. This is now the list of your next panning project(s). Personally I made my list into the #dropthecruelty project and rolled in 10 products at a time to use up. You'd be very welcome to join me and some friends who are currently participating in it.
5. And now the fun part. This is where you get to try out new products in order to find new and 'cruelty free' favourites. I'd be surprised if someone did number four and realised every single product they owned was 'cruelty free'. That wasn't even the case for me, who lives in the EU where animal testing is outlawed. The companies always find their loopholes.
6. Lastly, I want you to remember that googles is your best friend on this journey.
So, these are my reasons for going 'cruelty free'. Who would have known it would make my relationship with makeup improve so significantly? I sure didn't. I hope my how-to guide helps you if you want to go 'cruelty free' too.
A blog post about why I hate the term 'cruelty free' will be up later this week. Stay tuned!
There are two main reasons.
The first thing going 'cruelty free' did was to give me more control and less stress. Going cruelty free made me able to ignore large parts of new releases and large parts of the stores. I've memorized which of my favourite brands are cruelty free and walk past every other stand, because I know they test on animals. Whenever a new brand pops up I can easily google it in order to find out if it's cruelty free or not and then see if it's worth my attention. I try not to look at a brands products before I know if they're 'cruelty free' or not in order not to tempt myself.
The second thing is the most important one for my mental health. I truly believe that it is 100% unnecessary to test makeup products on animals. There are lots of other ways (link to PETA) to test if products are safe for use and many of them are apparently even more accurate, less time consuming and cheaper than testing on animals. These are my beliefs and I should live accordingly. Starting to live closer to my own beliefs then takes away a lot of unnecessary stress in my life and thus improves my mental health and relationship to makeup.
If you want to go cruelty free then here are some tips for you.
1. Ask yourself why you want to do this. Is it just because your best friend is doing it or are you basing it on your own values? Figure it out in order to have a strong base to stand on when you encounter obstacles.
2. Decide what you consider 'cruelty free'. Is it just the brand itself that has to be 'cruelty free' or does their parent company also have to be? Educate yourself on the subject.
3. Make a list of your favourite brands that are 'cruelty free'. this list will serve as your base for your new makeup habits.
4. Go through your entire collection and write down every single product in your collection that isn't 'cruelty free'. Every. Single. One. This is now the list of your next panning project(s). Personally I made my list into the #dropthecruelty project and rolled in 10 products at a time to use up. You'd be very welcome to join me and some friends who are currently participating in it.
5. And now the fun part. This is where you get to try out new products in order to find new and 'cruelty free' favourites. I'd be surprised if someone did number four and realised every single product they owned was 'cruelty free'. That wasn't even the case for me, who lives in the EU where animal testing is outlawed. The companies always find their loopholes.
6. Lastly, I want you to remember that googles is your best friend on this journey.
So, these are my reasons for going 'cruelty free'. Who would have known it would make my relationship with makeup improve so significantly? I sure didn't. I hope my how-to guide helps you if you want to go 'cruelty free' too.
A blog post about why I hate the term 'cruelty free' will be up later this week. Stay tuned!
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