Cruelty Free Beauty

A few months ago my friends and I were talking about how they were looking into witching to more natural products in their lives. Mostly regarding skincare and makeup, but some other items as well. This got me thinking about the products that I use. I have a bit of a conflict when it comes to natural products. Yes, I do think that natural is probably better for you, but I feel like a lot of the unnatural products get a bad reputation. I’m a full believer in everything in moderation, so while I didn’t think going only natural products would be the right choice for me, I decided that I would make an effort to switch to cruelty free products.

Funnily enough, a lot of the cruelty free products end up being natural, but that wasn’t my intention. I am a big animal lover, and this seemed like an easy change I could make in my lifestyle to help support companies who love animals as much as I do. I did give myself a few exceptions, such as the items I get as samples either with purchase or as a part of the Sephora box, or items that are holy grail products for me. For example, my hair has taken me years to master, so I am not going to even play with that.

It has been both easy and hard making the switch. There are a lot more companies out there than I expected that are cruelty free which has made it a little easier. I have also discovered new brands which has been a lot of fun. The hardest part has been learning that brands that I have used and loved, such as Estee Lauder and NARS, are not cruelty free. For me, this means no longer using them as my go-to brands if I can find a product that works just as well from a cruelty free company.

Also, I am not going crazy. I know that some people are strict with what they use and don’t and will go as far as not using any products form companies that are owned by a parent company that isn’t cruelty free, even if that specific branch is. At this time, I am not making that drastic of a lifestyle change.

My point in sharing all this with you is that I have recently changed my skin care routine, and plan on doing an update on that soon. My skin has been looking pretty great though, if I do say so myself!

 Have you ever made lifestyle changes to your beauty routine?