You can find Beauty Blender’s cruelty-free products at Sephora, Ulta, Target, Nordstrom, and on Amazon.

Beautyblender is Cruelty-Free

Beautyblender has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf. Their suppliers also do not test on animals, nor do they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law. And finally, their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing.

By our standards, we would consider Beautyblender to be Cruelty-Free.

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

Beautyblender has confirmed they only sell their makeup sponges and makeup brush cleaners in China and they do not sell any of their cosmetic formulations in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

Chinese officials do not require makeup application tools to be animal-tested. As long as beautyblender does not sell any of their makeup complexion products in China, then they are not required by law to test on animals.

As of May 1, 2021, some imported ordinary cosmetics can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, for the most part, animal testing is still legally required for most imported cosmetics in 2022.

Cruelty-Free Policies

Note that there is no legal definition for the label ‘Cruelty-Free.’ It can mean different things to different people. But Cruelty-Free is generally used to imply no animal testing. More specifically, the ingredients, formulation, or finished product are not tested on animals at any stage of product development.

At ethical elephant, we always assess a company’s cruelty-free policy using our Cruelty-Free Checklist. This ensures no animal testing was performed by the brand itself, its suppliers, or any third parties.

Also, note that Cruelty-Free and Vegan don’t always mean the same thing.

Beautyblender is Not 100% Vegan

‘Vegan’ in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand that is 100% Vegan or a specific product is vegan.

In the case of Beautyblender, not all of their products are vegan. But they have some products that are suitable for vegans.

How to know which of Beautyblender’s products are vegan?

All of Beautyblender’s vegan products are clearly marked on their website. See below for an example.

Beautyblender Vegan Product List

As of 2021, I will no longer be regularly updating this list of beautyblender’s vegan products as all of their vegan products are now clearly marked. Check their website for the most up-to-date and accurate information on which products are vegan or not.

The following Beautyblender products are suitable for vegans and do not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products. This vegan product list was provided by Beautyblender.

• All Makeup Sponges and Makeup Brushes
• All Cleansers (liquid and solid)
• Bounce Concealer
• Bounce Foundation
• Glass Glow Shinelighter
• Instaclean
• Opal Essence Serum Primer

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But it’s usually used in the context to describe something that doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

Some common animal products used in cosmetics include carmine, lanolin, snail mucus, beeswax, honey, pearl or silk-derived ingredients, animal-based glycerin, keratin, and squalene.

There are plant-based and synthetic alternatives to animal-derived ingredients. But it’s sometimes difficult to know with certainty whether a product is vegan just by reading the ingredient list.

So it’s best to ask the company and manufacturers to ensure the ingredients they’ve chosen to use were from non-animal sources.

Where are Beautyblender’s products made?

I asked Beautyblender where their products are manufactured and they told me:

“All of our blenders are made in the US.​ Is there a product in particular you had a question about?”

I responded and asked about their foundation and highlighter and they told me:

​”These are both made in Italy.”

Ethical Mica Mining Policy

Mica is a mineral that’s used in cosmetics to add a shimmery effect. But the mining of natural mica has been linked to child labor and human rights violations.

Unless the company discloses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.

So I asked Beautyblender if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“Our products are vegan and cruelty free! The mica we do source, we ensure is ethically sourced. “

Beautyblender claims their mica is “ethically sourced” but did not specifically address where their mica is sourced from and how they audit or trace to ensure no child labor was involved in mining their mica.

I hope this article helped you to understand Beautyblender’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!