The Cruelty-Free thread: dupes, discussion & news!

[Madeline7]

Please visit the up to date thread here: 

https://community.sephora.com/t5/Makeup-Is-Life/The-cruelty-free-thread-dupes-discussion-and-news-pa...

Thanks! 🙂

[sulfate]

This is clay and not charcoal, but this might be something you'd like?

First Aid with clay

http://www.sephora.com/skin-rescue-deep-cleanser-with-red-clay-P384539?skuId=1567205&icid2=products%...

[Beadshopgirl]

I'm still on the lookout for a CF Roller Lash Dupe. Haven't found one yet. 

[Mcakes]

Is anyone subscribed to a cruelty free sub? I'm thinking it's a nice way to get introduced to indie cruelty free brands. Would love to hear about your experiences 🙂

[sunfishoutofh2o]

I HIGHLY recommend Benevolent Beauty Box.  They started in spring 2016 & I have been nothing but impressed w/ the products, overall value, & customer service.  They are a cruelty-free box & do not include any brands w/ parent company testers. They have two box size/ price options - I believe ~$20 &  $28 but am not 100% as I did multiple months up front & had a promo code.  They send only full size products w/ the diff size boxes differing only in the number of items included; they focus on beauty/ makeup w/ some skincare included as well.  While many products are vegan the box is not entirely do as they include products w/ beeswax & honey; if/ when an entire box is vegan they announce as such in advance to allow for one time purchased. The boxes have included a nice mix of brands I'm familiar with & have never heard of, everything from small indies to several international brands (ie Cailyn, Ecco Bella), including a few several that are or have been @ Sephora (i.e. Ardency Inn).

At the very least I suggest signing up for their email list &/ or following them on IG as they have fairly consistently offered promo codes, many of which are pretty major discounts.  And as an example of their fab customer service, they allow & even encourage current subscribers to take advantage of promo codes, hitch TBH I've never heard of w/ another sub of any type, as they are usually used solely to lure in new subscribers.

so....as you can tell I'm a big fan. 

For anyone wanting full size items rather than minis/ samples they are IMO your best bet by far. Sort of the cruelty free equivalent of BoxyCharm.  

Let me know if you have any questions!

[vegchililover78]

@Mcakes I sub to Petit Vour and Vegan Cuts. I've been a subscriber to each for a little over a year and I love both with no plans to stop! Both are cruelty free and Vegan Cuts is well, Vegan! haha

I've found that each box always has a value worth more than the subscription cost. Most months (not so much lately for Petit Vour) there is at least one full size product in each box.

Petit Vour has a points system and makes it very easy to accumulate and cash in points towards any purchases. Vegan Cuts does not have a points system, but they have an amazing selection of boxes. Right now I get the monthly beauty box and the quarterly makeup box, but they have speciality boxes for snacks, coffee, chocolate and others that are for a specific beauty area like skincare or hair. From time to time they offer previous boxes for purchase in their 'vault' if there's a box you missed or just loved it enough to buy another or gift it. 

Of the two boxes I think Vegan Cuts has a better range of products so you get things like natural deodorant, aromatherapy or toothpaste to try in addition to the norms of skincare, hair and makeup items. For the quarterly box you can customize at least two of the items you get including choosing an alternate color if the color you chose is not available. 

I think @MarciaBrady subscribes to Art of Organics which is also lovely. 

[MarciaBrady]

I do subscribe to Art of Organics and I LOVE it! Always thoughtfully curated and beautifully presented. The value tends to far exceed the monthly cost. Here's this month's:

You may also want to look into Yuzen, which is a quarterly box. It doesn't focus on cruelty-free specifically, but it features organic and natural products, which it seems overlap with the no animal testing category.

@Mcakes

@vegchililover78

[Mcakes]

Thank you so much for this info @vegchililover78! I've heard of Petit Vour but not Vegan Cuts. I like that they add a variety of products- even snacks?! I love snacks 😄 

[gonerogue]

Bump

[sulfate]

I'm curious to hear opinions about a company that did choose to sell their products in China, and for whatever reason, they are no longer there, like Smashbox.   

For me, they already had their products tested so I'm not sure they have accomplished anything by leaving and I still judge them for doing that to the animals.  I don't know if it was a choice either.  For example, it may be because their products weren't doing well.  I'd love to hear your thoughts?  THX

[RGbrown]

@sulfate so, if smashbox is cruelty-free, does the why behind it matter? Honest question, no snark. Just curious if "we failed miserably and pulled out of china" somehow makes going CF less valid than "we didn't wanna hurt any more bunnies". The end result is the same, so does one reason make you want to avoid them more than another?

I feel like I have worded this poorly, and I apologize for that. I'll emphasize again that there's no sarcasm or snark or anything ugly in my thought process...I am just genuinely curious. 🙂

[sulfate]

HI RGbrown!  No snark taken!!!  

It's a great question and maybe it doesn't or shouldn't matter.    

I guess they are cruelty free for any new products coming out.  But, where I'm at a loss is they've now tested all their products on animals to be sold there, so all the damage was done.  However, your point is good, and if I look to the future, their new products will be cruelty free.  Maybe it will feel different as time passes.    I remember when Urban Decay almost went but they cancelled their plans.  That was fine with me because no harm was actually done.  And yes, it shows what they are made of that they were willing to entertain it, but they didn't do it and that is all that ultimately matters to me. 

[RGbrown]

That leads me another question, one I'm having an even more difficult time forming into more than just random thoughts tumbling in my head. I'll go ahead and apologize for rambling, and promise again there's no sarcasm or snark.

For companies that used to test on animals, like smashbox, is it not important to support them when they make the CF change, to show them that it matters? Sure, some of their formulas and processes will be derived from results of animal testing, but at the same time, like you said, the damage has been done, and existing products have to go somewhere. Either consumers buy and use it, or it goes in a landfill. I'm not sure smashbox filling up dumpsters makes much sense...wreaking havoc on the environment because they stopped torturing critters is just as wrong as animal testing was in the first place.

So I guess my question is...at what point do you (or anyone, really...this doesn't have to be a one-on-one convo... I'm interested in all viewpoints) consider them to have run out of the old non-CF stock before you'd start buying? 

[Flutterby68199]

I think that we should support companies that chose to go cruelty free that may have products/concepts that were tested on animals.  As technology has gotten better they now have more options to NOT test on animals were previously the technology just wasn't there.  It beggers belief that there are still cosmetic/CPG companies that test on animals when clearly there are other companies that have products that are as good if not better quality that do not. test on animals and many of these products are the same price or similar.    

[Indy701]

I'm not seeing Philosophy on any do or don't buy list. The company states "philosophy inc. is fully committed to using alternatives to animal testing to ensure the safety of our products. please be assured that we do not perform, nor do we ever commission any third parties on our behalf to perform, animal testing on our products or ingredients."

Anyone have any more info?

[ValBuchanan]

I worked for the brand (awful experience lol) but they say "we don't test products in US, but since we do sell in Asia we test for them" if that makes sense. Long story short they do test

[Beadshopgirl]

They're on LH's avoid list. 

[Indy701]

Thank you 😊 

[sulfate]

Would you like us to give a shout out to brands with products we like that aren't offered at Sephora too?  

(like Glossier, for example)  Or do you want to keep this Sephora only?  

Oh, Ilia cosmetics is another Sephora CF brand.

[Madeline7]

I've been working on making a small Chrome extension that adds a little bunny icon next to the name of CF brands (so for example when I'm scrolling through the sale page I can easily tell which products are CF).  

If people are interested, I could try to share this extension? 🙂

[sulfate]

HI, I don't know exactly what that is, but I'd be interested in anything that makes sorting through the brands easier!

[Foxismo]

Thanks for the great thread.  I have been trying to purchase cruelty free for years.  Good news is that there is more information and more product than there used to be.  Totally agree with @NikkoBT that would be terrific to have a list of companies who are not selling in China.

I encourage Sephora to get (and post) info on animal testing from the brands on their site so as to allow customers to make more informed decisions.