Lazy (And Affordable!) Ways to Go Cruelty Free

As an animal lover, I have a strong ethical stance on animal testing and try to avoid consuming animal products as much as I can.*

*Disclaimer: I am not perfect – I am not fully vegan (yet) and I do wear some leather. It’s a journey!

However I am really strict when it comes to every day stuff such as cleaning products, cosmetics and beauty bits and was genuinely surprised how little effort it took to make this small change and go cruelty free.

And it doesn’t have to be expensive!

So, here’s my quick, super lazy person’s guide to going cruelty free (UK high street edition)

Look for the bunny

No, you don’t need to go pouring through the ingredients on the back of every bottle of shampoo. There are a few very distinctive logos that cruelty free brands will display clearly. There are three in particular that are recognised as 100% trustworthy:

• The Cruelty Free International ‘Leaping Bunny’
• PETA’s Beauty Without Bunnies
• Choose Cruelty Free

Avoid big name brands

As a general rule, if the brand is owned by Unilever or Procter and Gamble (P&G) then it is unfortunately not cruelty free.

While both of these giant corporations support eliminating animal testing and do not test cosmetic products in the UK (where it is banned), they currently sell in countries (in particular mainland China) where it is required by law.

Check out supermarket own brands

However, lots of supermarket and high street store own brand cosmetics and cleaning products are cruelty free!

My favourites which are all Leaping Bunny approved are:

• The Co-op Supermarket
• Morrisons (my local)
• Marks & Spencer
• Waitrose
• ALDI (who do excellent dupes of higher end beauty products you should check out!)

Special shout out to Superdrug who have much wider own brand ranges of skincare and personal grooming products, again all sporting the Leaping Bunny. They also very clearly mark whether or not their products are vegan too.

Don’t diss cheaper “drug store” make up

Before I looked into it I didn’t realise how much of the cosmetics aisle at Boots was actually cruelty-free, or even vegan. Popular brands like Rimmel London, Revlon, Max Factor and Maybelline are not unfortunately, but a surprising number of other common “drug store” brands are!

My favourites are:

• Barry M – a bit of a blast from the past but their products are solid, plus they are now also 100% vegan.
• Makeup Revolution – I am obsessed with this brand, the products (especially foundations) are superb for their budget friendly price tags, they are entirely cruelty free with vegan ranges.
• Collection – one of the cheapest but absolutely not to be scoffed at. Their mascaras are genuinely great.
• MUA – another cheapy but decent for the basics.
• B. Cosmetics – Superdrug’s own brand makeup.
• NYX – I am a die hard fan of their matte liquid eyeliner, they are certified cruelty free by PETA but they are also owned by L’Oreal which is a turn off *sadface*.

And that’s my little baby guide to simple alternatives you can make during your next big supermarket shop/late night online make up splurge!

To check a brand or product’s cruelty free status, you can use this online tool on the Cruelty Free International Website or even check out the number of apps available on the App Store or Google Play.

Cruelty Free Kitty and Ethical Elephant are my favourite cruelty free blogs you should check out too!

This post was not sponsored in any way, it is just a subject I feel strongly about.

You can support the blog and shop for all things cruelty free and vegan at my affiliate biggreensmile.com