Smashbox brings makeup straight from glossy beauty shoots to the public. However, is this high-fashion brand cruelty-free and vegan?
Smashbox is cruelty-free but not 100% vegan, meaning some products contain animal-derived ingredients. It does not conduct animal testing on its products or distribute cosmetics where animal testing is required by law.
Photographers Dean and Davis Factor knew that high-quality products were the secret to their flawless photos.
The brothers saw that the harsh lights on-set really put cosmetics through its paces – and it looked good after shoots wrapped.
In 1996 they released Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation (a best seller to this day) and pioneering the HD Makeup niche.
Smashbox has been around for over 25 years, and in that time, it’s created a legacy. But has it been resting on its laurels regarding cruelty-free, vegan, and environmental policies?
Smashbox's Ethical Overview
Smashbox is 100% Cruelty-Free
Test any of its products or ingredients on animals
NO
Purchase any ingredients tested on animals within its supply chain
No
Distribute its products to any countries that require animal testing by law.
No
Smashbox is owned by Estee Lauder.
Please be aware that this company does allow other brands to sell regions where animal testing is required by law.
Does Smashbox Test on Animals?
Smashbox has been committed to sharing effective and creative cosmetics that are also cruelty-free. This has been its intention since it was founded.
What Is Smashbox’s Cruelty-Free Status in 2022?
Here is a screenshot of Smashbox’s official statement regarding its cruelty-free policies and vegan products, taken from its website:
Smashbox is PETA Certified
PETA certification is great start but certification from Leaping Bunny is ideal – even more so than PETA – because it holds rigorous standards and does regular audits to ensure they are upheld.
Leaping Bunny certification proves that:
Is Smashbox Sold Where Animal Testing is Required By Law?
Smashbox does not distribute any of its products to China or any country that requires animal testing on cosmetics by law.
China has a shocking track record. It is the country with the most 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.
Here's how to find cruelty-free cosmetics in China: Are Cosmetics Made in China Cruelty-Free?
Smashbox is Not Vegan
Although the brand is not entirely vegan, Smashbox has an extensive range of vegan products from which to choose.
Some of the most common animal-derived ingredients that Smashbox uses are beeswax, squalane, carmine.
What Smashbox Products Are Vegan?
Although Smashbox uses a couple of animal-derived ingredients – quite a few of its products are vegan.
To save you some time, here are some of Smashbox’s most popular and award-winning products to choose from:
You can find a complete list of Smashbox’s vegan products on its website.
Vegan Alternatives to Smashbox
Brand | price range | 100% vegan | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
Lys | $10 - $28 | Yes | PETA, Leaping Bunny |
$20 - $50 | Yes | Leaping Bunny | |
$15 - $50 | Yes | Leaping Bunny | |
$10 - $65 | Yes | Leaping Bunny | |
$15 - $100 | Yes | PETA |
Smashbox is Not Considered Natural, Or Organic
Smashbox claims to use safe and simple ingredients.
Its whole ethos is to make clean formulas and products that anyone can use.
All products use a certain amount of synthetic ingredients in their formulas. Smashbox is no exception – but it does choose to use better or clean synthetics.
If a synthetic ingredient is "clean," it means it is safe and non-toxic for us. Its purpose is to preserve the stability of a beauty formulation.
Smashbox Has An 91% Allergen-Free Ranking
According to Skin Safe, Smashbox has a 91% allergen-free ranking for each product.
Many of Smashbox’s products are free of allergens such as parabens, topical antibiotics, fragrance, lanolin, coconut, gluten, MCI/MI, nickel, soy, Balsam of Peru, oil, irritants, and SLS.
Reading the ingredient list is crucial because Smashbox is not 100% hypoallergenic or non-comedogenic, and they do not claim to be.
However, certain products are specifically for these concerns, so make sure you buy what your skin needs.
The EU/UK Have Stricter Ingredient Regulations
We don’t want to scare you, but you HAVE to read up on any product’s ingredient list before you make a purchase – especially if you live within the United States. The reason why will shock you.
The FDA has only banned or restricted 11 harmful chemicals from cosmetics within the country. Europe and the UK, on the other hand, have banned 1,328!
Smashbox does not call itself a ‘clean’ beauty brand, but with its high allergy-free and safety ranking, you shouldn’t worry about any serious hidden nasties in its products.
But it’s still worth knowing that with makeup, you want to avoid these ingredients:
Smashbox Has Some Sustainable & Ethical Initiatives
Some of the ethical causes Smashbox supports are:
Smashbox doesn’t market itself as a sustainable brand. Still, it does take on some of the ethical initiatives of its parent company’s values.
It's no secret that the world has a huge waste problem, and cosmetic brands only make it worse by using unsustainable packaging and harmful ingredients.
Smashbox takes environmental accountability by:
Final Thoughts
Smashbox staying cruelty-free is a step in the right direction, and they are developing more new vegan formulas, but we’d love to see them reworking their classics that aren’t vegan.
The brand doesn’t label itself as sustainable; they have a lot of competitors who are doing more for the planet (without it being part of its marketing).
Improving on this thing and clarifying their mica and palm oil sourcing would be huge improvements.
Luckily Smashbox is very responsive to what customers buy and say, so tell them what you want to see change!