I am super late to the game, but Korres is cruelty free again! I used to buy (and feature!) their products quite often. I was always a fan. So, what happened? Well, the company has never tested on animals, but they were sold to Jonson & Johnson years ago. When that happened, they were distributed in mainland China, which means animal testing by the Chinese government. About two years ago, they ended the agreement with Johnson & Johnson. So, they have been cruelty free for some time now, but I just found out the news!
I received some new goodies from Korres, and I’m majorly in love with all of them. The packaging is gorgeous and everything smells amazing. Here’s what I thought of each product:
Korres Basil Lemon Showergel smells so good! It’s a lemon scent with a bit of spice (not strong spicy like lemongrass – more lemony than that). I can’t deal with artificial fragrances (gross), so I’m excited when I find a product that is not full of chemicals and smells amazing. This shower gel is cruelty free, vegan, and made without parabens, mineral oil, propylene glycol, alcohol, phthaltes, or silicones. The formula contains 89.2% natural ingredients. It is thick and lathers well (note that it does have sodium laureth sulfate – so if you’re allergic – steer clear). I feel good about using it on my body!
The Pomegranate Lip Butter is something I have been wanting to try for a while now. It gives me a hint of color, while moisturizing my lips – exactly what I need on an everyday basis. It comes in several shades. Pomegranate is a sheer coral. My lips are pretty dark, and I can see the color, so if you have lighter lips, this may look like more of a gloss on you. It’s a great product to keep in your bag – especially on vacation – use it for after-sun care or a carefree no-makeup makeup look. It’s cruelty free, vegan and made with shea butter, safflower oil and rice wax (no petroleum-based ingredients).
The Pomegranate Soap is made with vegetable glycerin and formulated for oily skin. I was excited to try it out because I have some dry and some oily patches on my body. After using it for a few weeks, I am very happy with the results. It is not drying, and still gives moisture where I need it (due to the sweet almond oil). It’s vegan and made with 96.3% natural ingredients. It smells lovely and lathers easily. You can also use it on your face, but I mainly use it on my body to tame breakouts.
The Castanea Arcadia Wrinkle Rewind Eye Cream is brand new! The star ingredient (from Greece’s Arcadian forest) is extracted from castanea (chestnut) tree extract. It’s called Lupeol and is known to have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Korres has encapsulated Lupeol into hyaluronic acid “shells” that allow it to better penetrate deep into the skin. This ingredient, along with peptides, sweet almond oil and beta-glucan, can reduce fine lines, puffiness and dark circles, while moisturizing and preventing premature damage from UV rays. I love that this cream is fairly thin and easily absorbed. So many eye creams are THICK and easily clog the small pores around my eyes (milia). It moisturizes without suffocating my skin. I am lucky that I don’t have a lot of wrinkles near my eyes yet, and I will continue to use this cruelty free eye cream (and avoid direct sun) so that my eyes stay wrinkle free for as long as possible!
What are you favorite Korres products? What would you like me to test out for you in the future? Let me know in the comments below.
I’m so glad I checked the site today. I stopped buying korres when i learned they were in China. I’m glad thats over with.
Oh! That’s awesome to know!!! Will add Korres to my list as well!!! Yay!!!
Korres is sold/manufactured in Brazil via Avon, who tests on animals.
Thank you so much Elisa – I’m looking into this. It sounds like a strange agreement, and only in Brazil, so I’m not quite sure what this means for the US and European Korres markets yet.
Dear ChiefBunny, regarding the fact raised by fellow commentator Elisa Mattos, your stance on finding it “a strange agreement” doesn’t change the fact that Korres is indeed in partnership with Avon. I feel the pain, I am a big Korres fan but I am a bigger fan of standing for what I believe in and that is not supporting any sort of company that makes money at the expense of animal cruelty direct or indirectly. I find your position on this very upsetting “I’m not quite sure what this means for the US and European Korres markets yet”. Using this odd line of thought everyone who thinks of oneself as animal rights and an ethical person could say the following without damaging his/her moral image ” well x y and z don’t test on animals but they are sold in China (where all cosmetics are tested on animals). A bit of an odd position for a cruelty-free company, but hey that is JUST in the Chinese market, so let’s keep on supporting them and turn the blind eye”. This aside thank you for your continuous efforts for a more ethical collective 🙂
Wow those are some harsh words Maia. This article is from June 2016 and I haven’t had any communication with Korres since this was published. I’m doing the best I can with the information I have, but from what I’ve been told, there isn’t any animal testing going on with Korres. If there is some agreement for Avon to sell their products in Brazil (without any animal testing), that doesn’t change my opinion on them. But I don’t have any solid information on this other than a random reader comment. You mention the Chinese market, but to my knowledge Korres is not sold there. If that were the case, I would certainly remove them from my cruelty free list.