Is LA Girl Cruelty-Free and Vegan?

December 15, 2021

LA Girl is a global cosmetics company known for making affordable but well-developed makeup. But for such a low price – can you really get an ethical product? Here are its cruelty-free and vegan policies. 

LA Girl is cruelty-free. It doesn't conduct animal testing on its products, nor does it distribute its cosmetics where animal testing is required by law. While LA Girl does offer a range of vegan cosmetics, it is not considered a vegan brand.

LA Girl was founded in 1985 by Beauty 21 Cosmetics. It was developed to provide fashionable, trendy, and reliable cosmetics at a fraction of the price. Today, you can find its products all over the world.

Before deciding on what to buy, here's what you need to know about LA Girl's current animal testing policies, vegan ranges, formulation, and sustainability.

Is LA Girl Cruelty-Free and Vegan?

LA Girl is 100% Cruelty-Free

It does not:

  • Test any of its products or ingredients on animals;
  • Purchase any ingredients tested on animals within its supply chain; or
  • Distribute its products to any countries that require animal testing by law.

LA Girl is also owned by Beauty 21 Cosmetics which is also a cruelty-free parent company.

However, there are two things to consider.

Firstly, it does have a set of makeup brushes made with a blend of natural fibers (i.e., animal hair); however, the source is not disclosed.

The brand still claims to be cruelty-free, regardless of this. But sourcing natural animal fibers may infringe on cruelty-free policies.

This is because animal hair is sourced from countries with few animal welfare policies and are also hard to trace within the supply chain.

Secondly, LA Girl is certified as cruelty-free by PETA, which is a great start. But it may not be the most reliable certification, and we explain why under certification.

LA Girl is Not Vegan

Although the brand is not entirely vegan, LA Girl does have a wide range of vegan products to choose from.

All its vegan products and ranges are marked on its website. You can see this information once you've selected the product of your choice.

If a product is vegan, you'll find the information underneath its picture.

LA girl cruelty-free and vegan website claim

Some of the animal-derived ingredient that Pixi uses include:

  • Carmine – this ingredient is the red pigment made from the crushed female cochineal insect. A little gross, no? But it is completely harmless and is used in makeup to get those rouge tones.
  • Lanolin – this ingredient, like honey and beeswax, is used in skincare and cosmetics because it is incredibly hydrating. It is basically the waxy oil that comes from sheep wool. Lanolin can be cruelty-free – follow this link for more details.

They do also use ingredients like glycerin, tocopherol, fragrance (parfum), niacinamide, glyceryl tribehenate, and diisostearate. However, all these ingredients are synthetic or plant-derived and not from an animal source.

Unfortunately, LA Girl does not list any of its ingredients online alongside its products. So it's difficult to know what you're buying as a consumer.

If you're interested in which products are vegan or finding vegan brand alternatives – keep reading or click on this link: LA Girl vegan products

Animal Testing Policy and History

We cannot say for sure how long LA Girl has been cruelty-free since its launch in 1985. But we can say that they are committed to creating innovative and affordable cosmetics that are also cruelty-free now. 

Cruelty-Free Status in 2021

Here is a screenshot of LA Girl's official statement regarding its cruelty-free policies and vegan products, taken from their website:

LA Girl Cruelty-Free Website Claim

Certification

It would be nice to see more certification from LA Girl since it’s such a proudly cruelty-free brand.

The brand is currently PETA-approved, which is not a bad start. 

While you might know PETA very well – it surprisingly doesn't hold the strictest cruelty-free regulations out there. It seems to only require a brand's written consent that abides by the PETA code of conduct. 

Certification from Leaping Bunny is ideal because it holds rigorous standards and does regular audits to ensure they are upheld.

Leaping Bunny certification proves that: 

  • No animal testing is conducted on the ingredients, formulas, or final products they sell.
  • No animal testing is conducted by the brand suppliers or on their ingredients or formulas.
  • No animal testing is done by someone else that the company itself paid for.
  • Any other form of testing (beyond ingredient and consumer safety), such as worker safety and environmental health, are considered and evaluated.

If you see a bunny stamp at the back of your product bottle – that's a really good sign. But don't be fooled by the image itself. A lot of brands are using fake logos to fool consumers.

Do your homework and see which products are genuinely cruelty-free first. This article will help you: Which Cruelty-Free Logos Can You Trust?

Is LA Girl Sold Where Animal Testing is Required By Law? 

LA Girl does not distribute any of its products to China or any country that requires animal testing on any cosmetics by law.

China has a shocking track record. It is the country with the most amount of animal testing globally, with over 20 million animals used per year.

However, if you live in China or are concerned about its cruel beauty policies, there are a couple of loopholes to be aware of. Here's how to find cruelty-free cosmetics in China: Are Cosmetics Made in China Cruelty-Free?

What LA Girl Products Are Vegan?

LA Girl has a great range of vegan products that continues to expand. According to the company, over 60% of its products are vegan. This includes makeup tools, like brushes, made from synthetic hair. 

To save you some time, here are some of LA Girl's best-rated vegan products to look through: 

  • Pro-Matte Foundation (all shades)
  • Pro.Color Foundation Mixing Pigment
  • Jetsetter Liquid Liner 
  • Pastal Dream Auto Liner
  • Lineart Matte Liner 

The biggest inconvenience about this brand is that although it has vegan products, only some are clearly labeled for consumers in the description.

If you don't see any specifications under product details for something you like – the best thing to do is send them an email and ask directly. 

For this reason, LA Girl also doesn't have a very clear vegan filter when searching. But you can always visit its website to browse: LA Girl Products 

Vegan Alternatives to LA Girl

We like that LA Girl is making a huge effort to be cruelty-free and expand on its vegan products. For a multi-million dollar brand – it's commendable.

The only thing that would be great is to see some more certification behind its claims. 

If you do not support a brand that isn't entirely vegan – LA Girl might not be your first choice.

If you're looking for 100% vegan makeup brands that are within the same price range, it's a bit tricky, but the two best options we could find are: 

  • Glamour Dolls, and
  • Pacifica.  

Wet 'n Wild is one of LA Girl's biggest competitors. But recently, it was found selling in mainland China, so it no longer holds a cruelty-free status. 

Some great alternatives to LA Girl that offer more clearly marked vegan ranges include E.L.F cosmetics, BH Cosmetics, and GOSH. 

Is LA Girl Natural and Organic? 

LA Girl is not a natural or organic brand, nor do they claim to be.

As a conscientious shopper, you must read up on any brand's ingredient list before you make a purchase – especially if you live within the United States.

This is because the FDA has only banned or restricted 11 harmful chemicals from cosmetics within the country. Europe, on the other hand, has banned 1,328!

With makeup, here are some ingredients you really want to avoid:

  • Butylated compounds,
  • Benzophenone compounds, 
  • Carbon black,
  • Formaldehyde, and
  • Lead or other heavy metals. 

Does LA Girl Use Safe Ingredients?

For a makeup brand, LA Girl has a relatively decent spread of ingredients that can benefit your skin, and they also avoid using anything that could be harmful where possible.

Most people might not think that such an affordable drugstore brand could be safe for your skin – but it is!

According to Skin Safe, LA Girl usually has a 73% - 91% allergen-free ranking for each product, but some score as high as 100%.

Many of LA Girl's products are free of allergens such as common preservatives, irritants, gluten, nickel, fragrance, parabens, soy, propylene glycol, and lanolin.

Reading the ingredient list is crucial because LA Girl is not hypoallergenic or non-comedogenic, and they do not claim to be.

Certain products still do contain ingredients like gluten and parabens.

Luckily, most LA Girls products are free of these harmful ingredients altogether, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't check. All ingredients are subject to change so keep your eyes open.

Are Cruelty-Free Ingredients Safe?

If you're worried about how safe it is to use cosmetics that are not tested on animals – please relax and take a sigh of relief.

There is no reason why cruelty-free products shouldn't be just as safe, if not safer, than anything tested on an animal.

Not only is it easy to test ingredients without using animals altogether, but there are so many pre-approved ingredients you can use to make cosmetics that there really is no need.

If you're interested, here's more on the subject: Are Cruelty-Free Cosmetics Safe?

Is LA Girl Sustainable and Ethical? 

LA Girl mentions certain sustainable initiatives – but it does not seem to be a brand focus. 

LA Girl uses:

  • Fewer toxic ingredients that are also 100% cruelty-free with many vegan options – meaning its products are more biodegradable and environmentally conscious. 
  • Birchwood to make its makeup tools – which is better than using more plastic. 

However, there is very little information about whether LA Girl takes any other sustainable initiatives.

The brand does not have a clear:

  • Mica mining policy
    Although it says it sources its Mica ethically, it provides no details about where it's sourced or how it audits or traces the suppliers to ensure no child labor is involved.  
  • Palm oil harvesting policy
    Very little information is disclosed about where LA Girl Sources its palm oil. When this is done unethically, it is a huge deforestation contributor. Something like Cosmos certification is necessary to ensure it is sourced sustainably. 
Finally, it's no secret that the world has a huge waste problem, and cosmetic brands are only making it worse by using unsustainable packaging and harmful ingredients.

So while the brand is cruelty-free, has vegan options and sources ethically – it does not really consider sustainable packaging.

Final Thoughts

All in all, LA Girl is a reliable cosmetics brand that can make a relatively ethical product for a very low price. The fact that they are cruelty-free is a step towards a more sustainable future in cosmetics. 

We would like to see a more transparent supply chain open to the public about its testing, purchasing, and distribution policies. 

Since LA Girl is not 100% vegan – it might not be the best choice for any activists who go the extra mile. Especially since the brand also uses palm oil as an ingredient and unsustainable packaging.

Finally, it would also be nice to see some further cruelty-free accreditation from other reputable organizations. So let's push to make that happen! 

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