After two decades of touting their "no animal testing" policies, Avon, Estée Lauder, and Mary Kay have quietly resumed paying for cruel tests on animals—without letting consumers know about this stunning about-face. After confirming with each company that chemicals are being dripped into rabbits' eyes and that substances are being rubbed onto animals' skin because of requirements of the Chinese government in order to market products in that country, PETA has downgraded the companies to our "do test" list. 

All three companies were among the first large international cosmetics manufacturers to ban all tests on animals after being targeted by PETA. Avon was the first in 1989, following PETA's "Avon Killing" campaign, a play on the company's then-slogan "Avon Calling." Mary Kay came next, after being publicly lampooned by cartoonist Berkeley Breathed in a series called The Night of the Mary Kay Commandos in his hilarious Bloom County comic strip. Estée Lauder soon followed suit.

For each test required by the Chinese government, superior non-animal methods are available. Mary Kay had taken steps to work with Chinese officials on the acceptance of these tests, but Avon and Estée Lauder seem to have agreed to the tests without objection. PETA has jump-started the effort for non-animal test validation by awarding a grant to the Institute for In Vitro Sciences, which is working with scientists and regulatory bodies to replace animal tests in China.  

Please let Avon, Estée Lauder, and Mary Kay know that you won't buy their products until they are 100 percent cruelty-free once again. Fortunately for animals, you can still choose from more than 1,000 companies in PETA's online searchable database of cosmetics and personal-care companies that don't harm animals at home or abroad.

PETA's 2010 Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity Olivia Wilde and shelter dog advocate Emma Stone have another (synthetic) feather to put in their nonwool caps.

The ladies each earned a PETA Kind Choices Award for promoting cruelty-free cosmetics from Revlon, one of the first cosmetics companies to ban all animal testing. 

Olivia and Emma are gorgeous living proof that women can save animals' lives with every mascara, eye shadow, and blush product they purchase. In addition to Revlon, hundreds of other companies, including Almay, Kiss My Face and ELF, refuse to test their products on animals. Check out PETA's handy cruelty-free guide for the complete list.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Pamela Anderson has proven time and time again that she is beautiful, inside and out. Now you have a chance to win Pamela's heart—or rather, her heart-shaped bag filled with cruelty-free cosmetics from her own line.  

All you have to do to have a chance to win one of the five cosmetics sets we're giving away is make up a caption for this sweet photo of Olivia the rat:

ArtBrom/CC by 2.0

Mine would be "Gee, your cruelty-free-shampooed hair smells terrific!" Top mine with your amazing caption and you might win.

The contest ends on October 20, 2010, and we'll select five winners on October 22, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.

Good luck!

Written by Karin Bennett

We're carefully watching a bill that was recently introduced in Congress. The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 (SCA) aims to ensure the safety of all cosmetics ingredients. Sounds great, right? I know I don't want to smear toxic chemicals on my face or swipe them across my lips.

On the surface, the SCA looks wonderful: Even the language in support of alternatives to animal testing is good. However, even though the bill supports the development of—and requires the use of—non-animal testing methods whenever possible, most "safety" testing is still performed on animals using tests that were designed in the 1930s and '40s. These tests fail to provide reliable information that can be used to protect people, and their continued use would result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of animals.

To provide greater protection to people and animals and to ensure that U.S. manufacturers will not be driven from the European market, this bill should be made consistent with the European Cosmetics Directive, which explicitly prohibits the testing of cosmetics on animals.

Please check back for updates—we'll keep you informed. In the meantime, you can help animals now by contacting your members of Congress about another important piece of legislation that needs stronger language to require the use of non-animal testing methods. You can also help protect animals by only buying products from cruelty-free companies.

Written by Shawna Flavell