Cosmetics, Skincare & Animal Testing Lies, Exaggerations, & Deceptions...EDIT for January 2014

WELCOME fellow animal lover!

This is kind of a long time coming...but it can be SO hard to find out if Korean cosmetic brands are tested on animals because of the language barrier...
There are several sits dedicated to informing you of American and European brands that test on animals...here are some links...
LEAPING BUNNY free cruelty free guide
BUAV (ENGLAND) BUAV's actual list is online and FREE... Cruelty Free
American Anti-Vivisection Society
Nature Watch (UK)
Uncaged (UK) They require payment for their cruelty free guide and they get it from Nature Watch...
KARA Korea KARA

But Mars, what about PETA?

I am NOT including PETA because I do NOT support their deceptive practices. The woman who runs PETA believes pitbulls should be exterminated from the planet and she supports BSL (bred specific legislation that results in family dogs being snatched from their homes and killed), believes all feral cats should be killed, believes no animals should be owned as pets, uses naked celebrities to draw media attention and the majority of those celebrities will go home and wear fur, or buy $2,000 dogs from breeders...furthermore statistics say that PETA kills more than 95% of the animals they "save". Last time I checked killing wasn't saving.
If you love animals I suggest you donate to LOCAL No-Kill rescues instead of PETA, HSUS, or the ASPCA. All three pick and choose which animals are worthy of life, and their founders and/or CEOs make millions of dollars. Money doesn't go to the animals, it goes to their political agenda. For more information, please check out Nathan Winograd's blog.

Moving along...the tricky part of this is just because a cosmetic company says "against animal testing" or "this company does not test on animals" does not mean they are. They could be paying another company to test on animals for them. Other companies that actually DON'T test themselves are bought out and owned by companies that DO test. for example- Smashbox is owned by Estee Lauder. The Body Shop is owned by L'Oreal. So when you buy these cosmetics, the money goes to...yes, the giant corporations that test on animals.
Companies that were once considered safe are not now- MAC,Clinique, Benefit, Stila
Other companies have expanded to sell in China- and China requires that all cosmetics be tested on animals. , Mary Kay, Avon, Revlon (see the list HERE: )
Companies you shouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole, goggles, and a pair of hypoallergenic gloves:
Covergirl (cheap crap), Mabelline(cheap crap), L'Oreal, Lancome, Estee Lauder, Mary Kay, Avon

 

Here are the questions to ask a cosmetic/skincare company:

 Do you test your ingredients and/or finished products on animals?
 If NO, Do you get another company to test for you and do they use animals in their tests?
If NO, are you owned by a parent company, and do they test for you?
 Why do you not have information on animal testing on your website?
 Why don't your products say on them that you do not test on animals?
Common misleading claims you can find on the back of packaging or on websites:
* "Against animal testing"- they are "against it" but it's cheaper than alternative methods and they do it anyways.
* A bunny logo. If it's not either Leaping Bunny or PETA Bunny, it's just a generic bunny logo to trick you into thinking it's cruelty free.
* "None of our products are tested on animals" - the ingredients are tested on animals before they are turned into the "final product".
* "We do not conduct animal testing on our products or ingredients, nor ask others to test on our behalf, except when required by law".-this means they choose to sell to China or to use new ingredients".
* "We never test on animals" - no they don't. They pay someone else to do it. Same thing, less honest.

ALWAYS ALWAYS google the brand name and the phrase "tests on animals" for more accurate info and ALWAYS ALWAYS check the date. If you google the brand and the phrase "doesn't test on animals" you will pull up a ton of old information from when so many companies didn't test, and innacurate info from people who heard that they didn't and repeated that info not knowing it was wrong or outdated. If, for example, you google "MAC not tested on animals/doesn't test, you will find information from the time when their test motto was "tested on models not animals" or something to that effect. That is no longer true. If you google the other way, newer info will reveal the change. You can also put "insert brand" now tests on animals etc. Be careful what you believe. I found several sites claiming that a deodorant brand doesn't test because of their statement "we do not test". They don't. They pay someone else to do it.
The same can be said for Benefit. Bloggers and forum writers rave about them "being against animal testing" but if you go to their site, it ACTUALLY SAYS that they are against it but they do it "when required by law". Which means they do test to sell in China and they are scamming you by hoping you don't know the difference.
SO.
1. Check the date of the info. Many American companies change their views or sell to China or sell out to a bigger company.
2. Google "test on animals" not "not tested" to weed out the old statements and the false statements from people repeating the wrong info.

I contacted Leaping Bunny USA in the past to ask about products and companies and they said they know nothing about companies not listed with them. Unfortunately, there are hardly any well-known and easy to find companies listed with them. :( And of course the PETA list lists companies that are owned by companies that test and also companies like Stila that sell in China. BUt can you really trust an anti-no-kill organization that tells shelters to kill and sends them a vegan cookie basket to keep killing? LINK coming...An organization that promotes vegan Ellen who is spokesperson for one of the testing giants and adopts dogs from rescue for people who have been declined and then gives them to them...

Back to the actual Korean brands.

EDIT:JANUARY 2014
If it isn't listed on KARA (http://animalrightskorea.org)... You can google a brand and "animal testing" and I'm not sure where people get their info, but a few blogs and forums have people claiming that companies that do test do not test.
Companies that are often *thought* to be safe but according to KARA are not:
Missha, Skinfood, TonyMoly, Innisfree, Etude House, Laneige
Companies that do not test BUT sell in China: Amore Pacific brands.

Missha- The problem with Missha is that they seem to be very unsure of their policy. They know they are against testing, but that doesn't mean they don't do it. See an actual response an actual beauty blogger received here: CLICK After contacting KARA, they informed me that Missha was unable to comply with all of the requirements to get on the non-test list. Possibly because their ingredients, like Skinfood are tested on animals?
Etude House- The problem with Etude House is that they are owned by a giant cosmestic company that DOES test. They claim via e-mail response that they don't test but don't answer specific questions. They have also said they test only when required by law. Only no one is required by law to test unless they sell to China. So while I own EH products, I will refrain from buying anything else until I know for sure. It also appears that Etude may or may not be sold in China, where testing is mandatory as of 2012.

EDIT: Etude is owned by Amore Pacific who also owns a bunch of other brands. Amore Pacific recently agreed to stop testing but not to pull out of China. I will write a new blog reflecting this and including some brands KARA approved.

Companies that are *unknown*:
Holika Holika (Enprani)

Companies that DO test:
Laneige (AmorePacific)
Lioele

And there you have it...

There are some Cruelty Free Beauty Bloggers (people with souls), but many are mis-informed and even more of them blindly follow PETA.
Here are some good ones...
http://littlemissmetamorph.blogspot.com/2011/04/no-to-animal-testing-and-lies-big.html