Bahrain's Cruelty-Free Beauty

We're all trying to be better human beings sometimes, no? It sounds like a huge step, but making conscious choices about your skincare and beauty routine is actually easier than it sounds. A disappointing amount of our favorite brands still require animal testing, but a great number of them have already moved forward!  Now, if we were in the U.S., everything’s a Google-search and free delivery away. It’s a little tougher here, and I’ve been doing my own research on figuring out which brands are cruelty-free or vegan, so we figured it would also be extremely useful to list our findings here - cruelty-free and vegan brands that are readily available in Bahrain. Other than the big brands that everyone already knows, it's been a fun surprise to find obscure brands all over the country who are also cruelty-free.

All brands listed are cruelty-free, whether the products are completely vegan is indicated in the notes.

TIP: Search for the specific category you're looking for on the page to make your life easier (I spelled make-up with a dash, for some reason, so search "make-up" and not "makeup". Love you.)

Categories available: make-up, hair, skincare, bath, brushes, fragrance, and false lashes.

List of possible animal ingredients can be found here

*Information on the cruelty-free status and vegan status of different beauty brands are referenced from the awesome Logical Harmony, Vegan Makeup, and My Cruelty Free Style

**Updated on April7, 2017

Fashion Revolution Bahrain

Part of my personal overhaul in becoming a more socially-conscious person, I’ve also taken a step towards ethical and sustainable fashion. I’m not much of a shopper, I’ll buy an insane amount of new clothes once or twice a year, but I always opt for the deals. Why buy a t-shirt for X amount if I can get it for 1/4 of the price at a wholesale fashion retailer, right? Not to mention all the Bahraini Instagram accounts that’ve been popping up, advertising more imported fashion for less moneyz. Well, I watched a documentary called The True Cost, and it was both eye-opening and heart-breaking. We teamed up with two other wonderful Bahrainis to start Fashion Revolution Bahrain. No amount of money saved is worth the damage that the fast-fashion industry is exacting on so many human beings. I’m also going to list my cruelty-free and fair trade fashion finds here - from websites that deliver internationally to Bahrain to Bahrain-based boutiques and retailers who don’t partake in fast-fashion:

List of Bahrain-based fashion retailers and boutiques:

• Dogeared, Inc. | Jewelry sold at Pink Potion (Isa Town/Arad)

More coming soon!

List of International Websites that deliver to Bahrain:

Coming soon!

Vegan-Friendly Bahrain

You’ve undoubtedly noticed the rise of vegetarianism and veganism in Bahrain, you can see it in the growth of the vegan shelf at our major supermarkets. Online, it’s illustrated through the establishment of a Bahraini Facebook group for vegans and the vegan-curious, in addition to the growing popularity of local vegan chefs and bloggers. 

I've also become more aware of the local vegan community, and how difficult it must be to live veg-fully in our culture. We've joined forces with Nada (OneArabVegan, whose blog is amazing if you're looking for plant-based recipes or tips for making a plant-based lifestyle easier in Bahrain) to create a directory of restaurants, based on how vegan-friendly their menu is.   

We created a really long list of restaurants to review - we would study their vegetarian and vegan options, how easily veganizable their non-vegan dishes are, and whether or not the food actually tastes good! The Bahraini vegetarians and vegans will no longer have to stress about going out to eat with friends. They no longer have to feel uncomfortable at a restaurant because they know they’ll have to drill the waiters about hidden dairy products or animal fats in their food. You shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable when you’re not doing anything wrong or harming anyone around you, especially if you’re just putting in the effort to live a happier and more fulfilled life. I’m going off on a tangent, but we all just want to make the country more welcoming for all communities, and what better way to start than with Bahrain’s vegetarians and vegans? Shda3wa x OneArabVegan presents: Vegan-Friendly Bahrain! 

List of Reviewed Restaurants:

More coming soon

Let me know if there's anything I've missed, or if you have any feedback by emailing us:

Shda3wa@WeAreHighlight.com

Psst - feel free to follow us on Instagram also: @Shda3wa

Last updated: April 7, 2017