I bought this in an effort to buy only ethical beauty products. It is worth it. I have tried other vegan or at least "not tested on animals" mascaras, and they were clumpy and performed poorly. This one goes on clump-free and lengthens my eyelashes (it doesn't thicken them, but my eyelashes are just right). The black color is not too harsh (I had found that when buying drugstore mascara, the "very black" ones were too dark; I always had to buy "soft black"--this is equivalent). My coloring is fair skin, green eyes, and either dark reddish brown or deep red hair (my natural hair color, not that I've seen in in twenty years, is something like dark ash blonde, but my eyelashes aren't light). Worth the money.