Make me beautiful and make it creulty free!

Cruelty free beauty is a trend that I can totally get behind.  It's not totally new, but, it has gained a new popularity in the last several years and the good news is, is that there are lots of great brands out there that do not test on animals! Animal testing for cosmetics is really unnecessary.  Did you know that there are actually new and more accurate ways to test human reaction to cosmetics? There are  tests that use human cell cultures. They are now able to use these cell cultures to make artificial human "skin" and "eyes" that mimic the body's natural properties, and a number of virtual organs that serve as accurate models of human body parts.  Cool huh!? Hooray for science! So, the blinding and poisoning of hundreds of thousands of animals a year (according to PETA) in the testing of cosmetics, personal care products and cleaning products could be considered completely archaic.
So lets get down to the fun stuff!  Where should we go to pick out that new to-die-for pink lipstick? We should go to a cruelty free company, of course! I will also give you PETA's link to cruelty free beauty companies, http://www.peta.org/living/beauty-and-personal-care/companies/.  It is a good place to start for sure! You can also check out http://www.leapingbunny.org/partners.php for leaping bunny cruelty free partners.
Here are a few of my favorite cruelty free brands and even some of my favorite products! Have a BEAUTIFUL day!

1. LUSH Cosmetics
http://www.lush.com/
LUSH has a long history of fighting against animal testing as well as selling cruelty free bath and beauty products. They have been a leader in the cruelty free beauty world for 30 years!

This is the Honey Bee bath bomb! It's got the scent of honey and toffee and leaves your skin soft and lightly fragranced.  Bath bombs are hard to find in the first place, but, for me the only place to get them is LUSH!

2. Urban Decay
http://www.urbandecay.com/
Although Urban Decay briefly had it's cruelty free leaping bunny certification taken away in 2012, it is back. Urban Decay has delighted it's fans by giving up it's market share in China until non-animal testing methods are accepted by the Chinese government. Nicely done Urban Decay!

Urban Decay's eyeshadow primer potion is simply awesome. Apply just a touch before you put on your eyeshadow and the result is eyeshadow that lasts all day and into the night! Your eyes will look fabulous.

3. Crazy Rumors
http://crazyrumors.com/
Crazy Rumors makes vegan, gluten free, cruelty free lip balms. They have loads of fun flavors and if you are a lip balm freak like me you will love them!

I am a sucker for red velvet cake and this lip balm has the amazing fragrance of that decadent dessert without all of the sweat in the kitchen. It is made with super moisturizing shea butter and will leave you lips kissable and soft.

4. Tarte Cosmetics
http://tartecosmetics.com/
Tarte is another great cruelty free makeup and skincare line. Tarte makeup comes in tons of beautiful colors and is available at Sephora (http://www.sephora.com/) so it is easy to find in most malls.  The makeup is great quality and is treasured by those who own it, I know I love it!

Aqualillies for tarte Amazonian clay waterproof liner in black is just what you need for long summer days. It is waterproof and stays like a champ. According to the Tarte website, it holds up against rain, sweat tears and even swimming! So get out there and get wet and look beautiful doing it!