A major goal I have for myself this year is to reduce my carbon footprint and really try to cut back on my personal waste. In my mind, I just want to do everything I can to be eco-conscious and do my part, however big or small. I’m going to do a separate post later about my plans and initiatives to cut back on waste, but I wanted to completely switch all of the products I currently use on myself to be cruelty free. Allllll of it. This is something that’s always been important to me but I feel as though I’ve approached it kind of lazily. This year, I’m breaking my own pattern and making a plan to use only cruelty free products all across the board. In a way, this post is also for me to look back on when I need to, because this switch won’t be happening all at once.
Going back to the whole ‘reducing waste’ thing, if one of these products that I’m currently using is not cruelty free, I obviously am not going to just toss it out immediately in exchange for its CF counterpart. I’m going to wait until I finish it and then when it’s time to restock, I will start buying the CF one.
Here is my layout! All of the new cruelty free switches are dupes for the original and I’ve provided a link if you want to check them out! The non-cruelty free ones will not be linked, and this is my official statement that I do not encourage you to buy them.
Current face wash: La Roche-Posay Hydrating Gentle Cleanser
New face wash: Bubble Soft Launch Hydrating Cream Cleanser
La Roche-Posay is not cruelty free, while Bubble is!
Current skincare serums: The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid, Marine Hyaluronics, and Soothing & Barrier Supprot Serum. Luckily for me, The Ordinary is certified cruelty free! So I will continue to use these (:
Current moisturizer: La Roche Posay Double Repair Moisturizer
New moisturizer: Bubble Slam Dunk Hydrating Moisturizer
Current scrub: Keihl’s Pineapple Papaya Facial Scrub
Kiehl’s is not cruelty free, while E.L.F. is! This is a good switch for me, because E.L.F. is super affordable and already one of my favorite brands.
Current sunscreen: Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream with SPF 30
New sunscreen: E.L.F. Holy Hydration! Face Cream with SPF 30
Current makeup base: instead of primer, I use the Glossier Futuredew. Luckily for me, Glossier is cruelty free, as they are my all time favorite brand! You will see them a lot as I go through my makeup routine.
Current foundation: Glossier Perfecting Skin Tint
Concealer: Glossier Stretch Concealer
Blush: my tried & true Glossier Cloud Paint ❤ I have these in every shade so I just alternate based on my mood/look
Bronzer: Too Faced Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer — Too Faced is cruelty free! (:
Eyebrows & Eyeshadow: To fill in my eyebrows and on the rare occasion that I wear eyeshadow, I use the Huda Beauty Rose Gold Remastered Palette. Huda Beauty is cruelty free!
Eyeliner: When I wear eyeliner, I always use my Glossier Pro-Tip Liquid Eyeliner
Current mascara: Loreal Telescopic Mascara
New mascara: Tower 28 Make Waves Mascara
Loreal is not cruelty free. I actually found out that Loreal spent BILLIONS of dollars on animal testing within the past few years, and they are one of the worst in the game. Although Loreal tells its consumers that its cruelty free, it sells its products in countries where animal testing is mandated, therefore lying to consumers. I was extremely disappointed to find this out! See here. Loreal is the parent company to so many other brands like Cerave, La Roche-Posay, Lancome, Kiehl’s, YSL, Armani, Maybelline, NYX, Urban Decay and so much more. Extremely disappointing. Always try to dig deeper when Googling if a brand is cruelty free, because they can tell consumers that they are, when they truly are not, with no repercussions!
Current shampoo & conditioner: NATIVE Hair Care. NATIVE is cruelty free!
Current body wash: Olay
New body wash: Dove
Olay is not cruelty free, while Dove is!
Current deodorant: Degree ultraclear
New deodorant: NATIVE
Degree says they are cruelty free, but sells their products in countries where animal testing is mandated. Therefore, they are truly not.
Current hairspray: Sexyhair High Tide
New hairspray: amika top gloss
Sexyhair claims they are cruelty free, but they are owned by a company that tests on animals. Amika is cruelty free!
Other hair products: Really the only other thing I use in my hair is the Living Proof Perfect Hair Day Weightless Mask. Living Proof is cruelty free!
Chapstick: I pretty much only use the Glossier Balm Dot Com, as I have every single one they’ve ever made… lol.. I’m somewhat of a collector.
Perfume: My tried & true perfume is Glossier You, but I also use the You Rollerball & Glossier You Reve.
Current toothpaste: Sensodyne
New toothpaste: NATIVE
Makeup remover: Garnier Micellar Cleansing Water. Garnier is cruelty free!
I’m trying to think of other products I use on a daily basis. This pretty much covers the basics though– hair, skincare, makeup, shower, and some other daily essentials. I’m sure I could think of a few more but I feel like this is a great place to start.
Please let me know if you want to join me on my “cruelty free looks better on me” campaign and officially make the switch to cruelty free products!
Instead of simply Googling it, since companies are (for some reason) allowed to lie about it, I always double check on CrueltyFreeKitty! They are a great resource and always accurate about whether or not a company is truly cruelty free.
Here is their official list of cruelty free brands.
Here is their surprising official list of brands that still test on animals in 2025.
I think cruelty free looks better on you, too! (:
— mal
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