This, Not That: Cruelty-Free Makeup Dupes

Posted by Calvin on March 26, 2024

Some beauty companies still test their products on animals. And infuriatingly, some of them dupe consumers into thinking they’re actually cruelty-free, betraying both animals and shoppers. 😡

We’re here to call these companies out, because people deserve to know which ones pay for tests on animals. So let’s set the record straight: Here are products by beauty companies that use animals for cruel, unnecessary testing and some humane alternatives.

Eyebrow Tool

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Benefit

✔️Cruelty-Free: e.l.f.

Would you rather buy a dual-ended eyebrow pencil and brush from a company that tests on animals for $25 or from a cruelty-free company for $3? It’s e.l.f. for the easy W! The brand’s Instant Lift Brow Pencil and other products can help you shape perfectly defined brows at a fraction of Benefit’s prices.

Eyeshadow

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Make Up For Ever

✔️Cruelty-Free: ColourPop

Be a total smokeshow by choosing this Smokin’ Hot eye shadow palette from ColourPop. Create an infinite number of looks with the 30 sizzling hues, including Peach Margarita, Show Stopper, and What a Babe, with metallic, matte sparkle, and pearlescent glitter finishes.

Eyeliner

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Maybelline

✔️Cruelty-Free: NYX

Instead of Maybelline’s eyeliners, use NYX’s to apply bold colors with precision. The Vivid Brights Colored Liquid Eyeliner collection features nine brilliant colors that are flake-, fade-, and transfer-resistant for long-lasting results.

Mascara

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Revlon

✔️Cruelty-Free: Hourglass

Want to add major volume to your lashes? Caution Extreme Lash Mascara from Hourglass provides 400% more volume, saturates lashes in a single stroke, and won’t smudge or flake. It gives your lashes an exceptional glow-up without harming animals, making it a no-brainer over Revlon’s mascara.

Undereye Cream

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Clinique

✔️Cruelty-Free: Tarte

Ever wish you could give the area under your eyes a jolt of hydration? Try Tarte’s Wink of H₂O Vegan Collagen Eye Cream, dubbed “an espresso shot for your undereyes.” This creamy, water-based formula is clinically shown to provide 24-hour hydration to wake up tired-looking eyes and reduce the appearance of puffiness and dark circles.

Undereye Brightener

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Mary Kay

✔️Cruelty-Free: Milani

You can never have too many undereye options. 😊 Milani’s Supercharged Brightening Undereye Tint instantly color corrects and illuminates the undereye area with niacinamide, plant-based collagen, and caffeine.

Primer

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Guerlain

✔️Cruelty-Free: wet n wild

Prep your skin for makeup with a lightweight primer from wet n wild. You can use a primer stick, jelly, or serum before applying makeup to make it stay on longer and to blur imperfections.

Face Serum

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Lancôme

✔️Cruelty-Free: Pacifica

One of our fave compassionate brands, Pacifica, teamed up with the new The Little Mermaid movie to create a skin-soothing serum for Disney fans (including us!). Right on theme, the Sea & C Love Vitamin Serum is made with kelp, red seaweed, and green algae to provide your skin with a wave of hydration.

Highlighter

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Cover Girl

✔️Cruelty-Free: Rare Beauty

Cover Girl is always putting celebs in its ads, but that doesn’t distract us from its unethical treatment of animals. Thankfully, one of the hottest celebs on the planet, Selena Gomez, has her own makeup brand that doesn’t test on animals or use animal-derived ingredients. Go with Rare Beauty’s Positive Light Silky Touch Highlighter for a Selena-approved natural glow.  

Blush

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Dior

✔️Cruelty-Free: Too Faced

Dior may use cutesy imagery to sell its blush, but its cruelty toward animals stains the brand with an ugly reputation. Use Too Faced products instead to give your cheeks the perfect pigmentation. Try the Cloud Crush Blush selection infused with a flower extract blend for a velvety cloud-like kiss of color.

Concealer

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: NARS

✔️Cruelty-Free: KVD Beauty

This Good Apple Lightweight Full Coverage Concealer from KVD Beauty bests NARS’ concealers at every turn. It comes in tons of shades and offers lightweight, long-lasting coverage.

Foundation

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Revlon

✔️Cruelty-Free: L.A. Girl

L.A Girl’s PRO.matte Foundation gives you smooth, buildable coverage that minimizes the appearance of pores and fine lines. Unlike Revlon’s foundations, this hydrating formula is paraben-free, and it only costs $10. 😏

Lipstick

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: M.A.C.

✔️Cruelty-Free: Manic Panic

Manic Panic’s Lethal Lipsticks are soft, smooth, and available in unique, vibrant colors, just like the company’s famous hair dyes. They’re also gluten-free and talc-free, making them way better choices than M.A.C.’s products.

Lip Gloss

❌NOT Cruelty-Free: Victoria’s Secret

✔️Cruelty-Free: Urban Decay

Victoria’s Secret let us down by choosing to pay for cruel tests on animals to sell products in China. 😞 But Urban Decay’s lip glosses, like its Vice Plumping Shine Balm, provide everything Victoria’s Secret’s do and then some. This gloss is infused with hyaluronic acid for fuller lips.

*****

There are lots of other cruelty-free companies out there that make great beauty and personal-care products. If you’re browsing stores and you want to check whether a brand tests on animals, look it up in our comprehensive cruelty-free database: