I love a red lip as much as the next girl. But a girl also needs standards, you know, and for years I’ve made a point of buying products that aren’t animal tested. However, these days, possibly due to age-related skin changes (of which we shall say no more), I’m finding it ever harder to find a lippie that really does stick. No matter how careful the application – and, yes, I know about a dab of foundation under and a dust of powder over, which, frankly, all sounds like a bit of a faff – within 20 minutes I end up with a dry, flaky outline round the edges of my lips and nothing else to see for my trouble.
Since lipstick is the ultimate lazy girl’s face saver, I decided it was time to take action and headed online to a great info source that regular readers will have seen me mention before. Vegan & Vegan Curious in Bahrain (VVC) is a friendly Face Book page that caters to both the whole-lifestyle vegans and people like me, who, for now, just want to live a bit kinder and feed their visiting vegan pals.
I posted my question “Does anyone have a good cruelty-free lipstick brand that doesn’t disappear in 20 minutes?” and waited…but not for long.
First, you have to look at what you personally consider to be cruelty free. As I said, I’ve always looked for products that aren’t tested on animals – neither by the company or anyone else. I also always check the parent company, which can be disappointing. The Body Shop used to be a go-to for family and friends to buy me for Christmas, having been built on the cruelty-free principle. And then it became part of L’Oréal. Oh dear.
Thankfully, and I have to hold my hands up and tell you I only just discovered this, it was sold to Natura in September 2017 and a year later that company was awarded Cruelty Free International’s leaping bunny certification which means its products and ingredients are not animal tested. This is different to being featured on the PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) list, which is not always as strict on standards.
And make a note, if companies claim to be cruelty free but also sell in China – China actually requires testing by law. It’s being challenged, but that’s the way it stands at the moment.
Of course, for vegans, the question is also about the use of animal products, something I’ve not looked at closely enough in the past. So, I was interested to see what my FB friends would have to say.
The first recommendation came from the page’s founder Louise O’Loan, who really knows her stuff. ELF, or e.l.f. cosmetics, does a matte lip colour which ticks all the boxes. It’s available to order on iherb and is cheap as chips. A quick look at the site reveals that the company also has various other products, from primer to anti-ageing serum. I am excited.
Next up a personal recommendation from owner Alison Lawson for The Jamila in Al A’ali Shopping Complex. Vegan and natural lipsticks, pencils, tints and glosses and, since it doesn’t involve online ordering, a chance to check out the colours in person and not have to wait for them to arrive in the post.
Ket Lejdi suggested Anastasia Beverly Hills, which apparently needs make-up remover to shift it – sounding very positive. Her pick was seconded by Kelly Hassan, another trusted source. There’s a list of which of Anastasia’s products are vegan at ethicalelephant.com and Kelly pointed out that they’re available at Sephora, another bonus.
My heart sang a little at the news from Penny Nicola that there’s a new brand called Note from Lulu. She said: “All their make-up is cruelty free! I wear their lipsticks for work and they last hours.” And even better, I can try it when I pop in for my weekly shop.
Honourable mentions also to Kat Von D, GOSH, Organicare, Zao and colortheworldlipsticks.com
