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Megan Does Makeup

Choosing cruelty-free cosmetics

Each year one of my best friends and I make New Year’s resolutions with no intention to stick with them. We enjoy creating the list and wishing for a more promising year than the previous one.

The one resolution I hope to keep for 2017 is to choose cruelty-free cosmetics over brands that test their products on animals.

As a person who believes in animal rights and has been a vegetarian for years, I should be supporting companies that choose to test their products humanely.

There are hundreds of brands on the market that are labeled cruelty-free. There are lists online that are multiple pages long which can be a bit daunting when you are just looking for what brands at the drugstore you should think twice about.

I have not used products from every brand that I mention so I only discuss what I have used and recommend.

Down the cosmetics aisle at Walmart, Kmart or Target, the brands to look for that claim to not test on animals are: Elf Cosmetics, Wet n Wild, Milani Cosmetics, Flower Beauty and Nyx Cosmetics.

Many of the products from these brands are very affordable but that does not mean they are not good quality.

In my daily makeup routine, I reach for multiple Elf products to transform my face into the desired look.

Elf has a range of primers for all skin types. Each one has a silicon feel that creates the perfect canvas to begin applying product to the face. I use the Hydrating Face Primer.

Using the brand’s small stipple brush, I apply their Beautifully Bare Blush in Peach Perfection to the apples of my cheeks. It is a cream blush that when stippled on, it blends out well and looks natural.

The Matte Lip Colors also are fantastic. They apply to the lips with ease and have beautiful colors to choose from.

Wet n Wild’s kohl pencil liners are cheap, easy to apply and last all day.

One of my favorite products from the brand is their MegaGlo Highlighting Gold Bar. For lighter skin tones a light dusting to the tops of the cheekbones is all you need but for deeper skin you can intensify it to really pop.

Nyx Cosmetics’ Prismatic Eyeshadow line is gorgeous. There are tons of sparkly shades to dazzle up your everyday eye look.

At makeup stores like Ulta and Sephora there also are cruelty-free high end options like: Tarte Cosmetics, Kat Von D, Too Faced, Urban Decay, Stila, It Cosmetics, Buxom, Bite Beauty, Ciate London and Dose of Colors.

Tarte quickly has become one of my favorite high end makeup brands. Two of my holy grail products are the Tartelette in Bloom eyeshadow palette and the Tarteiest black mascara.

The eyeshadows are gorgeous, there are a variety of matte and sparkly shadows and the entire palette smells like chocolate. The 12 colors are neutral without being boring.

The mascara has a plastic brush that volumizes, lengthens and separates your lashes. I want my mascara to make my jaw drop and this product never disappoints me.

The Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and the Chill Setting Spray I use every single day to prepare my lids for eyeshadow and set my makeup in place. When I use both of these products my makeup stays on all day.

If choosing cruelty-free products is important to you, this is a great start to being a knowledgeable shopper.

Bloom is a Sun-Gazette reporter who has a passion for makeup and making people feel beautiful. Megan Does Makeup is about tips for applying products, if a product is worth the money and inspiration for makeup looks. The column is published on the third Sunday of each month in the Lifestyle Section.

Follow Bloom on Instagram at @megandoesmakeupxo..

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