Egyptian makeup artist fights for animal rights

As Egypt’s cosmetic industry grows, one make-up artist is on a campaign to raise awareness on the use of ‘cruelty-free’ make-up.

Mariam al-Khosht is dedicated to raise awareness about animal rights in the country by only using cruelty-free products in her work.

The 31 year old make-up artist embarked on this journey after realising that most products are often tested on animals.

“Bit by bit, I slowly started receiving clients, which wasn’t my target at all. Nonetheless, clients have started calling me, asking for cruelty-free products, clients saying they love animals and that they want a makeup session using cruelty-free products. I really feel like hugging clients who care about animals. But I just never imagined that this would be my career, so I don’t market myself as a makeup artist,” she said.

Mariam’s strong presence on social media has also helped her gain the support for her cause. She says she works only with clients who really care about how their cosmetics are made.

“When I feel that a client really wants this product that no one else offers, I don’t waste time thinking about it. When I get the impression that the client wants any makeup artist available and just contacts me out of convenience, I refer them to someone else, because I honestly don’t want to use cruelty-free products on someone who doesn’t care about animals,” said Mariam.

The animal lover hopes that she will be able to buy and use a wide range of cosmetic products in the near future that are cruelty-free products.

Some cosmetics companies still use animals to test the safety of their products before they are released to the market.

Reuters