Going vegan isn’t all about food. It’s a lifestyle choice that impacts everything from what you eat to what you wear to your interest in vegan makeup brands.
As with all things, the internet makes it extremely simple to hold yourself accountable for the lifestyle you choose. By offering articles and opinions galore, the internet puts all the information you need at your fingertips.
Most importantly, the companies on which you decide to spend your hard-earned money should understand the latest styles of vegan living and all they entail.
It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, to learn compassionate companies around the globe have taken up the effort to treat animals as well as they do their investors. Beauty companies are at the forefront of this endeavor.
Using Vegan and Cruelty-Free Makeup Makes Sense
You’re taking the time to explore a new way of living, discovering interesting food combinations to please your palate, and wearing clothes that look and feel as luxurious as their animal-derived counterparts. So, it makes sense to go a step further to investigate other areas in which the safety of animals could be in jeopardy.
If what you’re putting into your body and wrapping around it are animal-free, then what you’re layering onto your face had better meet the same guidelines.
More beauty companies every year are moving away from animal-derived ingredients and steering clear of animal testing. It makes their customers happy to know they’re not slathering across their body remnants of deceased animals.
Cruelty-Free and Vegan Are Not Interchangeable
Don’t automatically assume that the beauty products you’re using now make the cut. Not all vegan makeup brands are cruelty-free nor are all cruelty-free makeup brands vegan.
It’s easier than ever to find out what ingredients companies use in your makeup as well as whether the companies who create it engage in animal testing.
You can’t immediately reach for vegan makeup brands that guarantee a cruelty-free laboratory experience. First, you must know what it means to be vegan and cruelty-free in the beauty industry.
This is what determines if you’re using vegan makeup
Vegan makeup brands assure that the beauty products you choose do not contain animal products or animal-derived products.
Some will try to skirt the truth of the matter by continuing to use carmine, for example, to give you the reddest lips. But most are now upfront about what goes inside their fiery red lipsticks and sunkissed foundations.
Something else Vegan makeup brands know is that animal products include those created by animals, from animals, and anything animal-related. That includes honey, beeswax, lanolin, collagen, and more.
This is how you know your makeup is cruelty-free
Cruelty-free makeup assures the consumer that the company conducted no animal testing to create your favorite face cream or eye shadow.
PETA takes things a little further in their assessment of what vegan makeup brands are cruelty-free. They ask those who want the designation to sign a statement of assurance about their practices as well as those of their suppliers.
That puts the companies on notice in such a way that they’re thinking as inclusively across the board as the strictest vegan.
The Best Vegan Makeup Brands for a Cruelty-Free Face
Vegan makeup brands are generally as expensive or inexpensive as their non-vegan counterparts
Think again if your head is exploding around the costs that companies must pass onto consumers as they create your favorite vegan makeup brands cruelty-free.
Knowledge is power. And the power is to use the best vegan and cruelty-free makeup found at your nearest Walmart or the most glamorous specialty shop.
The list below consists of vegan, cruelty-free brands. They have been highlighted by many different sources from PETA to Cosmopolitan to TrendSpotters to Cruelty-Free Kitty.
The best that goes the extra mile
Pacifica is 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free. They go the extra mile by offering free shipping to “reincarnate” their packaging (think mascara tubes and hair conditioner bottles) for recycling into other products like toothbrushes.
But don’t only love them for their civic duty and commitment to compassion. Dig on Pacifica for their ability to put together a festival-ready lineup of groovy and affordable must-haves for your trip to Coachella.
Coconut Milk & Pineapple Underarm Deodorant Wipes will keep the sweat at bay while Get Lit Multi-High Light will deliver a radiant glow to your skin.
The best for flawless skin
Cover FX offers products enriched with good-for-you ingredients. They claim that it’s just as much about what isn’t in their products as what’s in them. What’s (not) missing includes parabens, fragrance, gluten, mineral oil, and talc.
Cover FX Power Play Foundation was a Redbook 2018 MVP (most valuable product), and it’s no surprise. It’s sweatproof, waterproof, and transfer-proof with a whopping 40 shades available with 3 undertones. And it never looks cakey even when layered.
The best for affordability
Founded in 2004, e.l.f. Cosmetics has a mission to make luxurious, high-quality beauty products available to everyone.
They have an extensive line of beauty products including everything from lipstick to nail polish and foundations to mascara. It’s no surprise they’re one of the fastest-growing beauty companies in the United States.
Except for a few application brushes that use animal-derived bristles, the e.l.f. line of products is vegan and cruelty-free.
They also stand up against human trafficking, forced labor, child labor, harassment and abuse, and other violations of human rights at any level. They’re committed to ensuring that the manufacturers and suppliers they work with meet high standards.
The best way to go naked
Before launching into the benefits of Urban Decay, you should know up front that their parent company is L’Oreal. That means that while Urban Decay is 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free, their parent company is not.
But we’ve probably all worked for bosses with whom we didn’t share the same outlook, so we aren’t going to hold it against them because there is too much to adore here.
Urban Decay came into being in the mid-90s. Their crazy-colored lipsticks and nail enamels spat in the faces of their mauve-loving competitors. Product names like Smog, Oil Slick, and Acid Rain raised eyebrows.
Now they’re best known for their Naked line of cosmetics that prove neutral is anything but boring.
Their Naked Heat Eyeshadow Palette is their hottest neutral set yet featuring fiery colors like a red-brown matte, a glimmering copper, and a deep, shifty bronze.
The best at calming slick skin
Hourglass Cosmetics offers 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free products with the power to tame even the oiliest skin. Note that not all of their products currently meet the vegan and cruelty-free standards, but they will by 2020.
Still, their mission is to protect animal rights in beauty and beyond. Their website makes it very easy to find products that meet ethical criteria, too.
They’re best known for their Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation that absorbs oil, camouflages imperfections, and delivers a long-lasting velvet matte finish.
It’s revolutionary and well-regarded because it’s been shown to reduce the appearance of skin imperfections like large pores and acne scars.
The best for an ultra-bold look
Kat Von D is a vegan and animal rights activist who recently reformulated her entire line of products to suit her beliefs.
All of the Kat Von D cosmetics are now 100 percent vegan and cruelty-free, including makeup brushes that companies often overlook when they make the switch.
The commitment to the mission and her ultra-bold style is apparent in the stunning Vegan Love Eyeshadow Palette. It features a new formula not found in their other eyeshadows. There are ultra-vivid colors including eye-popping reds and purples not easy to duplicate in the world of vegan makeup brands.
The fun with this set doesn’t stop with the vibrant colors, though. Even the names are enjoyable — names like Sanctuary, Earthling, Liberation, Empathy, Mercy, Equality, Species, Sentient, Activist, and Compassion.
The best when eating shrimp on the barbie
This Australian-owned company is one of the most popular vegan makeup brands available. Not only is it cruelty-free, but it’s certified organic, to boot.
The INIKA philosophy to offer 100 percent natural cosmetics doesn’t compromise on quality or performance. They often outperform non-organic brands because of their dedication and confidence in their mission.
Their Long-Lash Vegan Mascara won Best Natural Mascara in the 2018 Glamour Beauty Awards. Formulated with Carnauba Wax, the award-winning mascara adds spectacular body and length to lashes.
The best for long-lasting lips
Internet celebrity and Jeffree Star Cosmetics’ founder knows his vegan makeup is a raging success. Intensely sought-after, it’s augmented by a never-ending stream of news about the man behind the makeup.
His Blue Blood eyeshadow palette sold out on the day it was released. People want what he creates so severely that they’re willing to resort to crime to get it. A thief stole some yet-to-be-released and existing cosmetics worth upward of $2.5 million.
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Of those products most highly revered are the Velour Liquid Lipstick and Velour Lip Liner (the latter was stolen in the heist). The unconventional shades carry fun names such as “Jeffree Who?” and “Hi, How Are Ya?” and “You’re Still on the Property.”
Long-lasting duration is the selling point of many of Jeffree Star’s products, and there isn’t a better way to sell it than by firsthand accounts of its magnificence.
In the past, fellow cosmetics queen Kat Von D called out the company for its lack of commitment to vegan and cruelty-free products. Now, the company maintains its practices and lists all ingredients in its products. Furthermore, they assert that makeup is for humans, not animals.
The best competition for the other guys
Axiology might win the race for the best vegan lipstick because lips are their specialty
“Makeup shouldn’t just be safe for the people who wear it. It should also be safe for animals, the planet, and the people who make it,” says founder Ericka Rodriguez. Axiology has coined a term for the way they do business — “100% Evil Free.”
Shades range from a blood-red titled “Strength” to a hazy, greyish purple called “Phenomenon.”
The lipstick itself can seem a little pricey. But samples of all colors are available for a couple of dollars and provide enough for about four uses.
That way, you can get a good idea of whether you’ll find them suitable. You don’t need to be concerned about wasting money when you give a new shade to you a try.
The best attitude for your fingertips
Beauty Without Cruelty cosmetics began in England in 1963 by trustees of an animal welfare organization. They had a business philosophy that is 100 percent vegetarian and 100 percent natural.
Theirs is a unique seat at the vegan makeup brands table. Like-minded souls created the line solely to provide them with beauty products.
Their most exciting product is their line of nail lacquers, Attitude Nail Colors.
They list all of the ingredients for each shade on the product pages on their website. Their assortment of colors includes a minty green called “Mermaid,” a deep blood red called “Reckless Ruby,” a neutral metallic called “Praline,” and a sweet, soft, frosted pink called “Candyfloss.”
Go Vegan or Go Home
You now have every reason to enhance your beautiful skin. Buying the best vegan makeup brands that are also cruelty-free is easier than ever.
You love your striking color palettes and soothing lotions as much as you adore bunnies, bugs, and bovines. Now you will have no problem finding vegan makeup brands to fit your every mood, occasion, and even your wallet.
So don’t be lazy! Do your homework and enjoy the lifestyle you’ve chosen to the max.
Do you have a favorite vegan makeup brand? Sound off in the comments below. Also, check out our article on vegan makeup.
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