Synthetic Brushes Thread

Please list some more synthetic and cruelty free brushes you love!

A note- some companies have synthetic brushes along with fur brushes, and if it doesn't say which is which I generally avoid buying them.

**The following brushes listed as "cruelty free" may or may not be fur, but said to be obtained in a humane way.

A general list of what has been mentioned in the replies:

Philosophy's flat top brush (synthetic)

Lumiere's Taklon Kabuki (synthetic)

The Body Shop (cruelty-free, ? you decide. synthetic brushes)

Isadora (Hair bristles, no info on the brushes page regarding animal cruelty)

Japonesque's foundation/concealer brush (synthetic)

Urban Decay (synthetic brushes)

Denise Chaplin n.y.c. (no info on what the brushes are made of, listed on caring consumer list at bottom)

Ecco Bella Botanicals (synthetic)

Garden Botanika (synthetic)

Origins Natural Resources (synthetic, made to look and feel like hair)

Aveda (environmentally friendly and synthetic)

Hard-Candy (cruelty free)

Sevi Cosmetics (synthetic)

Beauty Bliss Cosmetics (cruelty free)

Alima (synthetic)

Aubrey nicole (synthetic)

Everyday Minerals (cruelty free)

Fyrinnae (synthetic)

GeoGrafx (synthetic)

Everyday Minerals (synthetic)

Alima (synthetic)

Forever Female Synthetic flat top buffer (synthetic)

Synthetic brushes can be surprisingly soft . Also, if their products contain no fur, you are assured that the company's "cruelty free" policy is not some kind of word-game. Sometimes people have adverse reactions to their fur brushes (like allergies) and synthetic brushes do not have that tell-tale smell.

Caring Consumer // Information for Consumers // Consumer Products // Is There a Squirrel in Your Makeup Bag?

I have some e/s brushes from The Body Shop and I like them. I have one fluffy blending brush, similar to MAC 217, and two flat stiff ones, I suppose they are like MAC 242.

Next week I am thinking about getting a foundation brush from IsaDora.

Originally Posted by Karen_B /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have some e/s brushes from The Body Shop and I like them. I have one fluffy blending brush, similar to MAC 217, and two flat stiff ones, I suppose they are like MAC 242.Next week I am thinking about getting a foundation brush from IsaDora.

The body shop? no way. I'll have to check it out.

I heard that the Bodyshop is owned by Loreal, and they DO test on animals.

Originally Posted by flurominx /img/forum/go_quote.gif I heard that the Bodyshop is owned by Loreal, and they DO test on animals. Yeah, that's what I thought...

Originally Posted by flurominx /img/forum/go_quote.gif I heard that the Bodyshop is owned by Loreal, and they DO test on animals. People keep saying that and tbpo it's beginning to annoy me. I don't mean to be nasty but, I have purchased The Body Shop's products for 20 years and there is NO WAY they would do animal testing! In fact, their brushes won the Proggy award from PETA for best cruelty free brushes! Just because LOreal bought them out doesn't mean a company with a 30 yr. history of being against animal testing and supporting community trade suddenly becomes immoral!

Originally Posted by kaville /img/forum/go_quote.gif People keep saying that and tbpo it's beginning to annoy me. I don't mean to be nasty but, I have purchased The Body Shop's products for 20 years and there is NO WAY they would do animal testing! In fact, their brushes won the Proggy award from PETA for best cruelty free brushes! Just because LOreal bought them out doesn't mean a company with a 30 yr. history of being against animal testing and supporting community trade suddenly becomes immoral! I don't know, I think it's reasonable to suspect a company's innards changing around after being bought by a different one. It does happen frequently. However, if the Body Shop's brushes are synthetic I think it would be okay to buy them.

Yeah, I don't know how to act really... I didn't know TBS was owned by L'Oreal until I read about it here. Still, TBS have good policies regarding animal testing, charity work (last year they had a campaign here in Sweden against spousal abuse, this year it's against child battering), fair trade etc. That is something I wish to support. I guess we can't do everything, but everyone can do something.

Still, it kinda pisses me off how there are less and less "independent" companies, seems like everyone is owned by someone.

I don't know how valid these sources are, as we should not believe everything we read on the internet but here are some links:

The BodyShop in the McSpotlight

body_shop

Anyway, I like Japonesque's foundation brush, but I don't think their other brushes are synthetic.

Also, I wanted to point out that I'm fine with the term synthetic, but isn't "cruelty free" a bit broad?

So this may be a stupid question...so just ignore me if you think so. I've just never really thought a whole lot about animal testing and stuff. Does it hurt the animals?? Or does it hurt them to use their hair for the brushes?? I kinda figured it was like using alpaca fur or something, they just shear ir off and it grows back, not like, you have to kill and skin the animal.

Originally Posted by kaylin_marie /img/forum/go_quote.gif So this may be a stupid question...so just ignore me if you think so. I've just never really thought a whole lot about animal testing and stuff. Does it hurt the animals?? Or does it hurt them to use their hair for the brushes?? I kinda figured it was like using alpaca fur or something, they just shear ir off and it grows back, not like, you have to kill and skin the animal. I don't know where to begin but a majority of animal testing can be likened to torture. For one example there's the claim that rabbits have lipstick pumped into their stomachs to see if there's an adverse reaction. I think that the animals must be bred to get the fur, and it's not likely they are in acceptable conditions. It is most convenient and common for companies to do shocking things to keep costs down and production high. While I do not agree with all of PETA's actions, etc. I would reccommend checking their site out because the videos will really open your eyes if you have not really thought about animal cruelty before.

Even if the test does not hurt the animals--to our knowledge--the argument is that the captivity and the actual carrying out of the tests can cause distress to the animals.

And many tests are harmful to the animals.

Kaylin, I am not too familiar with how the animals in cosmetic testing live and how those tests are performed. I know in medical research (at least in my country) you have to have an ethical permit to do animal research, certain criteria need to be fulfilled in the animal houses, inspections are done by veterinarians etc. And still, it always involves discomfort or suffering for the animals, and of course they are killed at the end.

So, it means humans use animals for their own purposes which can be questioned, animal suffering aside.

Hard-core vegans don't wear or eat anything from animals, including wool, alpaca etc. I believe the animal that gives alpaca (can't remember the name now) is bred only for this purpose, but I don't know under which conditions they live.

oooh ok, thanks girls, I had never really looked into it before. That thing about pumping lipstick into the rabbits is awful, I never thought it was that extreme.

Originally Posted by Karen_B /img/forum/go_quote.gif Kaylin, I am not too familiar with how the animals in cosmetic testing live and how those tests are performed. I know in medical research (at least in my country) you have to have an ethical permit to do animal research, certain criteria need to be fulfilled in the animal houses, inspections are done by veterinarians etc. And still, it always involves discomfort or suffering for the animals, and of course they are killed at the end. So, it means humans use animals for their own purposes which can be questioned, animal suffering aside.

Hard-core vegans don't wear or eat anything from animals, including wool, alpaca etc. I believe the animal that gives alpaca (can't remember the name now) is bred only for this purpose, but I don't know under which conditions they live.

They are called Alpacas, I know some people who breed Alpacas, and they are just happy lil animals. They get to roam the farms and graze and play with all the other Alpacas....I don't know about other operations work, but the ones I know of are fine.

Here is a link to a list of synthetic brush retailers. The list is at the bottom of the page.

Synthetic Makeup Brushes

Originally Posted by katnahat /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here is a link to a list of synthetic brush retailers. The list is at the bottom of the page.
Synthetic Makeup Brushes

Thanks! That's a helpful list for this thread!

urban decay has nice synthetic brushes

eyeslipsface.com also says no animal testing under their brushes. not sure what that means though

Found more cruelty free brushes, they claim the hair was shaved

Luxurious, Cruelty-Free Mineral Makeup Brushes

Hey Momo,

Thanks for creating this thread! It really is eye-opening to know how many of our everyday products would be implicated in the charge of "animal abuse". I think it's great to create an awareness about it so that people can make informed decisions.

I am not vegan, nor do I really align myself with PETA at all, but I try to be as environmentally-friendly as possible, and that includes respecting the dignity of animals as God created them to be.

I will be looking into those cruelty-free brushes!