Finding fragrance-free vegan skincare can be harder than it seems.
When brands call their products ‘fragrance-free’ what they often mean is that the product is free of synthetic fragrances. Therefore, ‘fragrance-free’ skincare can easily include natural fragrances such as essential oils.
Since natural fragrances can also irritate your skin, we set out to find vegan skincare that is completely fragrance-free and unscented. No natural scent molecules, essential oils, perfume, or masked fragrances. Just no added scent whatsoever.
While perfume used to make skincare products more luxurious, the tide has definitely turned. In 2024, the best kind of skincare products have nothing unnecessary added to them. That’s especially important if you have eczema, rosacea, or sensitive skin.
So here is our selection of the best fragrance-free vegan skincare brands and fragrance-free vegan skincare products. All products we recommend are vegan and cruelty-free, meaning they are free of animal ingredients and not tested on animals.
Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Skincare Brands
These companies offer the best selection of vegan fragrance-free skincare. Not all of these brands are fully vegan and not all of them are fully fragrance-free but there is a lot of overlap between the two among the best skincare brands.
The Ordinary
The Ordinary is the best brand for fragrance-free vegan skincare. This Canadian brand is fully vegan and cruelty-free and they never use perfume or essential oils in their products. The Ordinary is also affordable and offers quality skincare to target specific skin issues.
If you have sensitive or blemish-prone skin, The Ordinary always indicates which of their products are nut-free, oil-free, alcohol-free, or gluten-free with a clear pH level range. That will help you choose fragrance-free skincare that is free of all common irritants.
- 100% vegan: Yes
- 100% fragrance-free: Yes
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: Natural Moisturizing Factors + HA Cream, Squalane Cleanser, Niacinamide + Zinc Serum, Hyaluronic Acid + B5 Serum
Shop The Ordinary: Sephora, Ulta
Vanicream
Vanicream is a cruelty-free vegan skincare brand that offers fragrance-free skincare for the whole family. They have unscented vegan lotions, cleansers, and sunscreens – all clean, simple, and affordable. Vanicream products are excellent for soothing red, dry, or irritated skin.
Vanicream also serves as a good vegan alternative to CeraVe and Cetaphil – companies that have a similar fragrance-free approach but that haven’t made any cruelty-free or vegan commitments like Vanicream has.
- 100% vegan: Yes
- 100% fragrance-free: Yes
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: Moisturizing Cream, Moisturizing Ointment, Broad Spectrum SPF 50 Sunscreen, Gentle Facial Cleanser
Shop Vanicream: Amazon, Walmart
Drunk Elephant
Drunk Elephant is forever against using fragrances and essential oils in its skincare. In fact, the company believes skin problems such as breakouts, irritations, and collagen breakdown stem from using essential oils and masked fragrances in skincare products.
This cult skincare brand is cruelty-free but not 100% vegan. We do love their selection of fragrance-free vegan skincare though, especially their two bestselling moisturizers and nourishing marula face oil. (See Drunk Elephant vegan product list here)
- 100% vegan: No
- 100% fragrance-free: Yes
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: Lala Retro Whipped Cream, Protini Polypeptide Cream, Slaai Makeup-Melting Butter, Virgin Marula Facial Oil
Shop Drunk Elephant: Amazon, Sephora
Paula’s Choice
American company Paula’s Choice never adds fragrance to their products, be it synthetic or natural fragrance. While the company is not fully vegan, the majority of its products are vegan-friendly (see Paula’s Choice vegan product list here).
We really appreciate the science-based approach of Paula’s Choice. They offer great moisturizers, cleansers, acid exfoliators, and targeted treatments for a variety of skin concerns, including sensitive, acne-prone, and mature skin.
- 100% vegan: No
- 100% fragrance-free: Yes
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: Calm Ultra-Gentle Cleanser, Calm 1% BHA Exfoliant, Omega+ Complex Moisturizer, Omega+ Complex Eye Cream
Shop Paula’s Choice: Amazon, Sephora
Skinfix
Canadian brand Skinfix formulates products with sensitive skin in mind. That is why this company never uses fragrances, essential oils, or tea tree oil in any of its products. Formulated by dermatologists, Skinfix products are loved by people with eczema or acne.
Skinfix is not fully vegan as some of its products include beeswax. But most of their bestselling skincare is vegan-friendly. They offer a range of fragrance-free vegan skincare to properly soothe and moisturize the skin and strengthen the skin barrier.
- 100% vegan: No
- 100% fragrance-free: Yes
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: Triple-Lipid Peptide Cream, Foaming Oil Cleanser, Triple Lipid-Boost Eye Cream, Hand Repair Cream
Shop Skinfix: Sephora, Official site
Versed
Versed is a cruelty-free vegan skincare brand from Los Angeles. The company offers simple and affordable skincare solutions made with clean and effective ingredients. Versed never uses sulfates or parabens and their skincare is free of over 1300 potentially irritating ingredients.
For some reason, essential oils didn’t make it into their no-go list. All Versed products are free of artificial fragrance but they do use essential oils in some of their products. You can see their list of fully essential oil-free and fragrance-free vegan skincare here.
https://versedskin.com/blogs/learn/essential-oils-in-skincare
- 100% vegan: Yes
- 100% fragrance-free: No, some products include essential oils
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: Skin Soak Rich Moisture Cream, Gentle Cycle Milky Cleanser, Guards Up Sunscreen, Recovery Mode Night Cream
First Aid Beauty
First Aid Beauty skincare is always free of artificial fragrance. They do occasionally use natural fragrances and they are not fully vegan but they have many fragrance-free vegan products that sensitive skin loves. Their skincare is often also gluten-free, oil-free, and nut-free.
Finding fragrance-free vegan skincare from First Aid Beauty is not easy because they do not have a special collection for that. You need to research each individual product page and expect both ‘vegan’ and ‘fragrance-free’ keywords to be present on one page.
- 100% vegan: No
- 100% fragrance-free: No, some products include essential oils
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: Pure Skin Cleanser, Eye Duty Niacinamide Brightening Cream, Facial Radiance Niacinamide Serum
Shop First Aid Beauty: Amazon, Sephora
Pai Skincare
Pai Skincare is a British skincare brand made for sensitive skin. They use organic ingredients and are always free of artificial fragrance, parabens, and phthalates. Pai Skincare is also entirely vegan and cruelty-free.
Some of Pai’s products do include essential oils but they have a collection of fully fragrance-free vegan skincare. With scented skincare, Pai also notes that the highest possible concentration of essential oils in their rinse-off products is 0.78% and for leave-on products 0.47%.
- 100% vegan: Yes
- 100% fragrance-free: No, some products use essential oils
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: The Light Fantastic Ceramide Face Oil, Peacekeeper Buriti + Kukui Barrier Balm, Instant Kalmer Ceramide Serum
Shop Pai Skincare: Amazon, Cult Beauty UK
Kravebeauty
KraveBeauty is another great skincare brand that is fully vegan and fragrance-free. All their products are free of synthetic fragrances, essential oils, colorings, and other potential allergy triggers. Their vegan skincare is simple but great and the products suit all skin types.
As an ethical brand, KraveBeaty relies on its small fragrance-free vegan skincare collection that they do not rush to grow. The brand aims to step out of the cycle of constantly launching new products – an approach that benefits both the planet and our skin.
- 100% vegan: Yes
- 100% fragrance-free: Yes
- Best fragrance-free vegan skincare: Matcha Hemp Hydrating Cleanser, Oat So Simple Water Cream, Great Barrier Relief Serum
Shop Kravebeauty: Official site
Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Skincare Products
We love these fragrance-free vegan skincare products From First Aid Beauty, Skinfix, Purito, Klairs, and other vegan and cruelty-free brands. The unscented vegan skincare below is also suitable for sensitive skin.
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Cleanser: First Aid Beauty Pure Skin Cleanser
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Moisturizer: Skinfix Triple-Lipid Peptide Cream
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Serum: Purito Centella Unscented Serum
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Toner: Klairs Supple Preparation Unscented Toner
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Exfoliator: Paula’s Choice Calm 1% BHA Exfoliant
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Face Oil: Pai The Light Fantastic Ceramide Face Oil
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Face Mask: Skinfix Antioxidant Redness Treatment Mask
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Sunscreen: Vanicream Broad Spectrum SPF 50
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Eye Cream: Paula’s Choice Omega+ Complex Eye Cream
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Night Cream: Versed Recovery Mode Night Cream
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Body Lotion: Vanicream Moisturizing Cream
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Hand Cream: Skinfix Hand Repair Cream
- Best Fragrance-Free Vegan Skincare Set: Pacifica Vegan Ceramide Bundle
What To Look For In Fragrance-Free Vegan Skincare
The first thing to look for in your fragrance-free vegan skincare is the assurance that the skincare product is really and truly fragrance-free. Both natural and synthetic fragrances have the potential to sensitize the skin.
On the product label, you want to look for fragrance-related words like:
- Parfum/Perfume
- Natural fragrance
- Citrus oil
- Lavender oil
- Eucalyptus oil
- Peppermint oil
- Tea tree oil
- Rosemary oil
- Geraniol
- Linalool
- Limonene
- Citronellol
- Citral
You should also consider why you are buying fragrance-free vegan skincare in the first place. Are you looking for fragrance-free vegan skincare because of your skin sensitivities or because you simply do not like fragranced products?
If you have sensitive skin or allergies, make sure your fragrance-free vegan skincare is also free of other potential irritants such as gluten, soy, nut oils, silicones, parabens, or alcohol. if your skin is acne-prone, prefer fragrance-free skincare that is also oil-free.
If you just do not like scented products, know that some vegan skincare products can still have a natural scent. For instance, the natural aroma of rosehip oil is not too pleasant. So definitely read reviews about the natural scent of a product before buying it.
FAQ About Fragrance-Free Vegan Skincare
Not necessarily. While vegan skincare brands are usually free of artificial fragrances, many of them still use natural fragrances from essential oils.
Skincare brands that are fully vegan and fully fragrance-free include The Ordinary, Vanicream, and Kravebeauty.
The best places to buy fragrance-free skincare are Amazon, Sephora, and Ulta. On Ulta and Sephora, you can filter out fragrance-free vegan skincare products by ticking three filters: fragrance-free, vegan, and cruelty-free.
No, this serum is not vegan. Aveeno is a company that still tests on animals and the origins of some of the ingredients in this serum are unknown.
No. While many CeraVe products are free of animal-derived ingredients, CeraVe is a company that tests on animals when required by law. That’s why CeraVe cannot be considered a vegan brand. The same goes for Cetaphil.
Summary
Finding vegan skincare that is 100% fragrance-free can be a difficult task. Even though most vegan skincare brands keep clear of synthetic fragrances, many of them still like to use fragrant plant-derived essential oils in their products.
It’s good to know you can find fragrance-free vegan skincare that includes no scent molecules whatsoever, especially if you have eczema or sensitive skin. Essential oils can also irritate the skin if your skin barrier is compromised. Unscented vegan skincare is thus crucial to have.
We hope you found your new favorite fragrance-free vegan skincare brands from our selection. As scented and perfumed skincare is slowly becoming a thing of the past, we will keep seeking new unscented products and brands for you to explore.
See also: Vegan Skincare For Sensitive Skin
Article update on May 04 (2023): Fact checked and medically reviewed by MD Shimona Garg
