Tell Sephora: There’s Nothing Beautiful About Cruelty

There’s nothing beautiful about animal cruelty. But that hasn’t stopped mink fur eyelashes from becoming a staple in the luxury beauty world. Many consumers have no idea that when they see the word mink on a package of lashes, it often means fur taken from real animals — not a synthetic lookalike. And those who do know are frequently misled by claims that the fur is collected through “natural shedding” or other so-called cruelty-free methods.

One beauty blogger wrote the following when reviewing mink eyelashes by the brand Esqido:

“Esqido mink lashes are made from mink, which made me pause and wonder about animal cruelty, but according to their FAQ they’re ‘responsibly sourced’ from mink hair that’s been naturally shed. I didn’t read anything about whether the mink were kept in nice conditions, but the mink hairs are gathered in as ethical a way as they can be (no shaving or killing).”

This blogger, like many others, bought into the duplicitous cruelty-free claims that mink eyelash brands use to mask the horrors behind their products. Sadly, the truth is far darker — the mink fur in luxury false eyelashes comes from animals who endure a lifetime of suffering before they are inevitably killed for their pelts.

In 2022 alone, 17 million minks were killed for their fur globally. And while that number is declining year over year, the shift away from mink fur cannot happen fast enough to save millions more from unimaginable suffering.

Undercover investigations of mink farms in Europe and North America have exposed appalling conditions: minks crammed into filthy wire cages, driven insane by confinement, surrounded by their own waste, with festering wounds and swollen, infected eyes. These are not rare violations — they are the everyday reality of an industry built on systematic cruelty.

Mink eyelashes are not a harmless by-product of a cruel industry — they are another way fur farms profit from the exploitation, torture, and killing of innocent animals. Claims that the fur is “naturally shed” are misleading at best and outright lies at worst, as proven earlier this year when beauty brand Lilly Lashes settled a $500,000 class-action lawsuit over false advertising of its mink lashes as “cruelty-free.”

There is nothing glamorous about wearing tiny pieces of a tormented animal on your face. No one who truly cares about animals should support brands that still use real fur.

Sephora has taken an important step by dropping real mink eyelashes from their shelves. But they continue to prop up the mink fur trade by carrying products from brands like Lilly Lashes, which profit from the sale of real fur lashes.

If Sephora wants to take a real stand against animal cruelty, they must stop selling all Lilly Lashes products — even the synthetic ones — until the brand commits to ending its use of fur for good.

Take Action Now

Sign now to tell Sephora to stop supporting brands that profit from animal suffering. Tell them to drop Lilly Lashes until they drop cruelty.