Cruelty-Free Cosmetics: 5 Brands to Know Right Now

* Best makeup lines that keep it cruelty-free
* Organic, luxury and wallet-friendly products
* Get the scoop on best-selling products for each brand

If you’ve seen the photos of animals exploited for beauty product testing, you’re familiar with just how grim things can get. But it’s not a necessary evil in makeup production – on the contrary, many brands have deliberately kept their products and ingredients cruelty-free, from organic luxury labels to gently-priced, trend-happy collections.

These five brands to know right now prove there’s no harm in getting beautiful results.

1. NYX Professional Cosmetics

NYX Professional Cosmetics gained their cult-following of amateur makeup enthusiasts and professional makeup artists alike with high performance makeup at seriously affordable prices. Known for their highly pigmented formulas and dizzying spectrum of colors, one of their must-have products is, ironically, neither. Their Matte Finish Makeup Setting Spray is exactly what summer – or anyone living in a humid climate – calls for, controlling shine and managing high-temp makeup melt.

2. ColourPop

This Los Angeles-based company prides themselves on “being wallet friendly and bunny approved,” meaning they’re up to snuff with industry standards to be officially cruelty-free. The trend-driven colors and products are modestly priced with a purpose – ColourPop is all about constant experimentation – but with luxury-level formulas and fun packaging. Take a cue from the runway with their Ultra-Matte Liquid Lipstick, a creamy, hydrating lip color that sets to a satisfyingly opaque, matte finish.

3. PÜR Minerals

With a focus on bringing skincare elements to color cosmetics, consider them the pre-cursor to BB creams. Formulated from natural mineral colors, each product has a skin benefit, like Bronze Your Selfie Liquid Bronzer, made with their signature Energy Complex. It’ll nourish your skin while giving it a gorgeous glow.

4. W3LL People

Made from organic ingredients and high-performance formulas that give prestige brands a run for their money, W3LL People is the ultimate win-win for those seeking makeup that’s cruelty-free and scary-synthetic-ingredient-free. Their top-selling Bio Tint Multi Action Moisturizer is another win-win — a facial moisturizer, SPF and medium coverage foundation all in one.

5. Kat Von D

TV’s most renowned tattoo artist’s eponymous makeup line sends out rock’n’roll glamour without testing on a single animal. Though her brand can skew edgy, like a grey and black lip palette, the core of her collection is actually made up of user-friendly products, like the Alchemist Holographic Palette here. Brush any of these iridescent powders over your color makeup and watch it transform into a light-catching pastel; wear it alone or over foundation as a skin-luminizing highlighter.

Image Courtesy of Sephora[/caption]

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