Working in animal advocacy has changed the way I interact with and partake in the beauty industry.
My journey into animal advocacy wasn’t exactly linear. Although I grew up a self-described animal lover, when it came time to choose a college major, I felt stumped. I had so many passions, it was intimidating to pick just one path. I considered working with animals in some capacity, but at the time, I thought the only options were companion animal shelter work, veterinary medicine, or working in entertainment venues with wild animals (before I understood how harmful those venues truly are).
As a kid straddling the Millennial and Gen Z divide, I grew up during the golden age of smartphones and social media—right alongside the rise of YouTube “beauty gurus,” whose videos I studied for hours. Like many impressionable adolescents, I saw the beauty industry as an exciting form of self-expression and confidence-building. As a lifelong dancer and performer, makeup had always been part of my world, so it felt natural to lean into it even more. When I enrolled in a Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing bachelor’s program with only about 25 other students, I dove in headfirst, motivated by a growing passion for advocating for a 100% cruelty-free beauty industry.
I spent hours in the lab mixing cosmetics and memorizing dozens of fragrance raw materials I could identify with just a whiff. I wrote skincare formulas, studied consumer behavior, and tracked shifting beauty trends across the globe. I shared my knowledge with the public and supported brands in developing and marketing their products.
But I was horrified to learn that animal testing in the beauty industry is still legal. What once felt empowering—expressing myself through beauty—began to feel limiting as I learned more about the suffering behind the scenes. I committed to buying products that were free from animal testing and animal-derived ingredients, and I leaned deeper into advocacy, even helping a brand achieve Leaping Bunny Certification.
The more I immersed myself in animal advocacy, the more I began to reflect on how much time, energy, and money I had spent trying to shape how I looked, rather than working to change the systems of injustice that harm animals and the planet. I realized I wanted to use my voice for a population of sentient beings who so often have no one advocating for them. My priorities shifted. Change was due.
Now, after nearly four years working in animal advocacy, I can confidently say this work has grounded me. It’s shown me that there’s something far more meaningful than marketing messages designed to keep us chasing an unattainable ideal—and that beauty should never come at the cost of animals.
That said, I’m not on a beauty product boycott, and I probably never will be! I have a deep appreciation for how beauty can be a lifesaver—a source of confidence, autonomy, cultural identity, and even rebellion. I still cherish my beauty routines (Pacifica, e.l.f., and Derma E are some of my favorite vegan and cruelty-free beauty brands), and I truly believe fragrance taps into memory more powerfully than any other sense. But the way I engage with this long-held passion has shifted. I see it through a new lens now—one shaped by compassion, purpose, and a broader sense of what it means to do meaningful work. And for that, I’m deeply grateful. I don’t think I would’ve ended up in animal advocacy if my journey had gone any other way.