Is Too Faced Cruelty-Free?
A big part of committing to a vegan lifestyle is no longer associating with brands who practice questionable ethics, such as selling/promoting products that are tested on animals. This can mean doing research into many of our favorite brands, and sometimes, no longer associating with them.
Today we’re looking at the brand Too Faced to see if they are cruelty-free.
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Who is Too Faced?
Too Faced is a cosmetics company that began in 1998. Co-Founders Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson teamed up to create a makeup line that would celebrate beauty individuality as opposed to outdated cookie-cutter beauty standards.
According to their mission statement, Too Faced is a serious makeup brand that knows how to have fun. They believe that makeup is power because it gives people the freedom to express themselves and the confidence to take over the world.
With an exuberant approach to everything they do, they use the finest cutting-edge ingredients to create innovative cosmetics that their customers love to wear.
They are currently parented by Estee Lauder.
Are Their Products Cruelty-Free
They are indeed. They don’t test products or ingredients on animals or work with suppliers who may do so, or sell products in China.
The brand are self-confessed animal lovers, so they do not incorporate any kind of cruelty within the production of their products. So much so, their slogan is “Always cool, never cruel – dedicated to cruelty-free beauty.”
Too Faced’s Ethics
Too Faced’s production and sales ethics are as follows:
- Too Faced is cruelty-free
- No Too Faced doesn’t sell products in China
- No Too Faced isn’t a completely vegan brand – although it has a vegan range
- It is vegetarian
They are, however, yet to become palm oil-free.
Palm Oil Controversy
The production of palm oil is an on-going controversy owing to the damage it causes when being sourced.
What is Palm Oil?
Palm oil is a cheap edible vegetable oil that comes from the fruit of oil palm trees. It’s scientific name is Elaeis guineensis.
Two types of oil can be produced; crude palm oil, which comes from squeezing the fleshy fruit, and palm kernel oil, which comes from crushing the kernel/stone in the middle of the fruit.
Oil palm trees were originally native to Africa but were brought to South-East Asia just over 100 years ago for farming purposes. Nowadays, Indonesia and Malaysia make up over 85% of global supply but there are 42 other countries that also produce the oil, meaning it is a huge global industry.
Why is it Bad?
Palm oil is one of the major culprits responsible for the deforestation of some of the world’s most biodiverse rainforests. The production of it is hugely damaging because it destroys the habitat of already endangered species like the Orangutan, pygmy elephant and Sumatran rhino.
This destruction (coupled with conversion of carbon rich peat soils) are also spewing out millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere every single year, thus contributing heavily to climate change. It is also a labor-exploitative industry for its workers and also used child labour.
Therefore the entire industry is funded and supported by greed and the destruction of our beautiful earth and so many of its animals.
What is it Used For?
Palm oil is in innumerable products that you can find in the average American household. Close to 50% of the packaged products we find in supermarkets (everything from pizza, doughnuts and chocolate, to deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and lipstick – to name but a few).
It is also used as a common cooking oil.
It is used in many cosmetic products to add an oily sleekness, and to increase the shelf life, as it acts as a preservative too.
While Too Faced products are known to use palm oil, Estee Lauder is working towards making their full lines contain responsibly-sourced ingredients, and as of 2021, 90% of their products no longer contain irresponsibly-sourced palm oil.
Are Estee Lauder Cruelty-Free?
Yes they are. In fact, they are one of the leading cosmetic lines to fully embrace cruelty-free practices. This this their statement on the topic:
“More than 30 years ago, The Estée Lauder Companies was one of the first cosmetics companies to eliminate animal testing as a method of determining cosmetic product safety. We don’t test our products on animals, and we don’t ask others to test for us.
We acknowledge our brands are sold in countries where animal testing on cosmetics or cosmetic ingredients is required by law.”
Who is Estee Lauder?
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc. is an American (but multinational) manufacturer and marketer that focuses predominantly on skincare, makeup, fragrance and hair care products. They are based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.
The company is named after its founder, who (along with her husband) began producing cosmetics in New York in 1946. They first carried only four products which were Cleansing Oil, Skin Lotion, Super Rich All-Purpose Creme, and Creme Pack.
Two years later, they established their first department store account with Saks Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
Over the next fifteen years, the couple worked on expanding their popular original ranges, and continued to sell their products in the United States, but looked into going international.
In 1960, the company started its first international trade account in the London-based department store Harrods. The following year it opened an office in Hong Kong.
The company is still going (and still thriving) today.
What Does Too Faced Sell?
‘Too Femme’ Line
This line offers the following products:
- Better Than Sex Too Femme Deco Mascara
- Better Than Sex Too Femme Waterproof Mascara
- Too Femme Heart Core Lipstick
- Too Femme Ethereal Eye Shadow Palette
‘Hangover’ Line
This line offers the following products:
- Hangover Pillow Cream
- Hangover Wash the Day Away
- Hangover Good in Bed Hydrating Serum
- Hangover Good to Go Moisturizer
- Hangover 3-in-1 Setting Spray
- Travel-Sized Primer
- Travel-Sized Setting Spray
- Hangover Primer
- Hangover Pillow Lip Balm Treatment
‘Born This Way’ Line
This line offers the following products:
- Born This Way Natural Nudes Eyeshadow Palette
- Born This Way Turn Up The Light Highlighting Palette
- Born This Way Matte 24-Hour Long-Wear Foundation
- Born This Way Foundation
- Born This Way Super Coverage Conceiler
- Born This Way Setting Powder
- Born This Way Pressed Powder Foundation
- Born This Way Travel-Sized Super Coverage Concealer
These products (and the following) are all part of their vegan range.
- Primed + Poreless Advanced Formula Powder
- Damn Girl! Mascara
- Killer Kajal
- Lip Injection Liquid Lipstick
- Lip Injection Lip Gloss
- Melted Matte Liquified Long Wear Lipstick
- Better Than Sex Faux Mink False Eyelashes
Conclusion
So we have found that Too Faced and its parent company are very much on the money with their vegan and cruelty-free ethics, which is great to see. We just hope they can move away from using palm oil in their products in the not-too-distant future to be entirely ethically sound.
Companies are by law expected to be transparent about whether or not their products are tested on animals, therefore it is fairly easy for vegans to navigate whether the products they use are vegan.
