Embracing a vegan lifestyle doesn't have to be restricted to a diet... it's now easier than ever to make kinder choices in your beauty basket, too, with many brands now adopting a vegan-friendly stance.
The best vegan makeup brands offer gorgeous cruelty-free products that don't compromise on quality.
The popularity of vegan beauty brands is soaring, and that means there’s a great choice of makeup out there that don't contain any animal ingredients or byproducts, like beeswax, lanolin, whey, and carmine.
Whether you're looking for glow-getting highlighters, flawless-skin foundations, look-at-me lipsticks or popping colour palettes, there's something for everyone.
We've rounded up the best vegan makeup brands so we can all look glamorous guilt-free and make the world a more caring, and chic, place all at the same time...
Top vegan makeup brands to try
1. MUA Make Up Academy
MUA Make Up Academy is the go-to brand for on-trend, affordable, high quality vegan makeup. Their in-house makeup expertise and passion means they strive to deliver the hottest and most exciting items on the market for the ultimate beauty devotee, all of which are 100% cruelty free and, since November 2019, 100% vegan. Expect everything from £1.50 lipsticks to eyeshadow palettes with a colour payoff to rival big name brands.
2. Inika Organic
One of the earliest vegan beauty brands, Inika Organics is hugely popular with animal-lovers everywhere. Every single product is vegan and cruelty-free, and you won't find any nasties like parabens or fragrances here, either.
Stars like Emma Watson are big fans of the brand, whose lipsticks were actually the first in the world to be certified organic and vegan.
All your beauty needs are more than met, from top-quality mineral foundations and concealers to long-lash mascaras and pretty blushes.
3. Milk Makeup
The brainchild of E! presenter Zanna Roberts Rassi, this out-of-LA brand has cool-girl vibes oozing from its (very minimal) pores.
It's all about fuss-free makeup for busy go-getters in all-stick forms - think lip balm sticks, foundation sticks, lip + cheek sticks, evening brightening serum sticks. There's a host of handy multitasking heroes, and they're all cruelty-free, vegan and crafted with high-quality ingredients - the iconic Kush mascara was the first product on the market to contain cannabis oil.
Gorgeous, guilt-free goodies - what's not to love?
4. B Cosmetics
Thought you had to spend a fortune for high-quality vegan makeup? Think again. Superdrug's own-brand B. Cosmetics is completely cruelty-free and vegan-friendly - as well as totally delicious.
From gorgeous makeup like eyebrow pomades, liquid highlighters and contour kits, to a host of makeup tools, including eyelash curlers, brush shampoos and blending sponges, it's got you covered. And the prices are so palatable, you can get one of everything...
5. Cover FX
Celebrities and beauty bloggers alike flock to this gorgeous 100% vegan makeup brand for guaranteed good-quality cruelty-free products.
The brand is all about skin-perfecting illumination, from mineral foundation to glow-giving setting spray and brightening drops.
If you only buy one thing? Make it the Cover FX Custom Enhancer Drops - luminous liquid metal highlighters and bronzers with ultra-concentrated refined pearls for a game-changing gleam.
- Buy now from Amazon or Cult Beauty
6. Tarte
Launched in 2000 'with a dream of combining glamorous makeup and good-for-you ingredients', Tarte's hypoallergenic range of must-have goodies is now available in the UK - and it's popularity is soaring, for good reason.
Every product is packed with naturally-derived, 'skinvigorating' ingredients and is always formulated without the bad stuff like parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, triclosan, and gluten.
Hero products? It's got to be the Shape Tape Hydrating Foundation and Shape Tape Contour Concealer - you'll barely find an MUA without one in their kit.
And if you want a skin-enhancing bronzer without any annoying glittery bits? The Taste Amazonian Clay Matte Waterproof Bronzer is your gal.
- Buy now from Tarte Cosmetics or Amazon
7. Lime Crime
Fans of forward-thinking Lime Crime definitely go for bold. The vegan makeup brand, which is certified by Peta, is famed for its punchy palettes, neon hues, glittering eyeshadows and more is more ethos.
The fact it's completely animal product and cruelty-free is really putting this funky brand on the map - and in our beauty bags.
8. Charlotte Tilbury
One for high-glam girls, Charlotte Tilbury's eponymous makeup line is an absolute beauty bag must. As an MUA-to-the-stars for over 20 years, Charlotte knows a thing or two about good makeup.
Championing glamour at all times, even the beauty brand’s rose gold packaging is decadent and indulgent. It’s for super-stylish ladies who want to elevate their beauty look with a host of gorgeous colour palettes, glittering highlighters, and skin-perfecting foundations, contouring and concealers.
And the best bit of all? The entire range is completely vegan-friendly. Bravo.
9. Elf
Elf says its products contain 'the skin-loving, 100% vegan ingredients you want, minus all the toxins you don't' - all at wallet-friendly prices.
The extensive range contains everything from skincare - think hyaluronic acid-infused moisturisers to nourishing hemp seed oil sets - to makeup must-buys, like lip-plumping glosses to face and eye palettes. Being kind and caring never looked so chic.
10. Illamasqua
'Illamasqua products have never and will never be tested on animals,' says a spokesperson for the brand. Since it launched in 2008, it's had a strong commitment to never support or permit animal testing on any of its products, and only works with suppliers who uphold these principles.
You could cover your entire beauty needs with the brand's lovely products, from popping lipsticks and beautiful blushers to glow-to highlighters. Hero products? It's got to be the Illamasqua Hydra Veil Primer, which instantly hydrates and smooths skin through a self-levelling, futuristic clear gel, and the Illamasqua Gel Sculpt, a unique contouring gel that offers easy-to-apply definition for cheeks.
