When a brand is “cruelty-free” it means that the company you’re buying from makes their products without any animal testing during any stage of the development of that product.  This also includes the ingredients (including those from other suppliers) used to formulate their products. A lot of brands mask the full truth about their products by using tricky legalese such as “finished products are not tested on animals” “tested only when required by law” In addition, certain brands which appear to be inspired by “nature” or have organic ingredients do not mean the products are cruelty-free. For a long time I assumed Aveeno was cruelty-free– they aren’t. At this point in our development in both society and in science… it is absolutely unnecessary to test the safety of cosmetic ingredients on animals. There is a plethora of drugstore and professional makeup brands who find alternatives for testing for cosmetic approval (such as In Vitro testing) and therefore are cruelty-free. That’s why it’s so important here on Beautynewbie.com to focus on those brands and what they have to offer, despite what “new and exciting” product Covergirl, Maybelline, Lancome etc. come out with. Support the brands with ethics. The ones without will eventually see they’re missing out on hundreds of thousands of potential customers!