We have always loved writing about Korean vegan skincare brands. Now, we’d love to introduce you to some fantastic Korean vegan makeup brands.
Korean makeup brands utilize Korean beauty technologies to bring us makeup products that are clean, high-performance, and affordable. Korean makeup has almost always some added skincare benefits which is one of the main reasons we love it.
Currently, not many Korean cosmetics brands are vegan. Korean brands still widely use animal-derived ingredients such as carmine or test their products on animals in order to operate in China.
To help you find Korean makeup that is kind to animals, see our list of the best Korean vegan makeup brands. Enjoy vegan K-Beauty that is animal-free and planet-friendly.
Best Korean Vegan Makeup Brands
Here are the best vegan Korean makeup brands in 2024. These K-Beauty brands below are all cruelty-free and most of them are also 100% vegan.
- Youthforia – 100% vegan
- Unleashia – 100% vegan
- Cle Cosmetics – 100% vegan
- Surebase – 100% vegan
- Kaja Beauty
- EM Cosmetics
- Touch In Sol
1. Youthforia
Youthforia is our favorite Korean vegan makeup brand. They are 100% vegan and certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny. Youthforia offers vegan makeup that is almost entirely plant-based and always skin-friendly. In fact, it’s so skin-friendly you can go to sleep with it.
Youthforia doesn’t have a large makeup collection but they have a wonderful vegan primer, setting spray, lip gloss, and blush. The blush oil is an especially cool product as it gives your cheeks a flush of color by reacting to your skin’s pH level.
- Cruelty-free: Yes, certified by Leaping Bunny
- Vegan: Yes, 100% vegan brand
- Best product: BYO Blush Oil
2. Unleashia
Unleashia is a PETA-certified vegan makeup brand from Korea. Their specialty is glitter makeup and they offer beautiful shimmery vegan eyeshadows and lip products. Many of the eyeshadow palettes are multifunctional and work great for contouring.
- Cruelty-free: Yes, certified by PETA
- Vegan: Yes, 100% vegan and certified by PETA
- Best product: Glitterpedia Eyeshadow Palette
3. Cle Cosmetics
Another Korean vegan cosmetics brand we love is Cle. Based in Los Angeles and Seoul, Cle offers vegan makeup and skincare that is minimalist, clean, and hi-tech. They have some gorgeous vegan lip tints and highlighters and we especially recommend their vegan CC cream.
- Cruelty-free: Yes
- Vegan: Yes, 100% vegan brand
- Best product: CCC Cream
4. Surebase
Sure Base is a 100% vegan Korean makeup brand by Completone – a collection of Korean beauty brands that are PETA-certified vegan and sustainable. From Sure Base, you will find 3 excellent vegan foundations that are healthy, natural, and made from EWG Green-graded ingredients.
- Cruelty-free: Yes, certified by PETA (under Completone)
- Vegan: Yes, 100% vegan and certified by PETA
- Best product: Glad Glow Foundation
Shop on: Amazon, Official site
5. Kaja Beauty
Kaja Beauty is a bestselling Korean makeup brand on Sephora. The company is not entirely vegan but they have many vegan-friendly makeup products. Kaja means “let’s go” in Korean and the brand celebrates inclusivity with versatile products for lips, eyes, and face.
Be it the Eyeliner Stamp, Lip Mousse, Eye Pigment, or Concealer, you can find so much high-quality Korean vegan makeup from Kaja. Their vegan products are always marked vegan on their website (under Frequently Asked Questions on product pages).
- Cruelty-free: Yes
- Vegan: Not entirely, see their vegan selection here
- Best product: Wing Stamp Eyeliner Stamp & Pen
6. EM Cosmetics
EM Cosmetics is a vegan K-Beauty brand by American beauty influencer Michelle Phan. The brand is cruelty-free and the majority of its products are vegan. This modern makeup brand is also gluten-free and most of its products are free of parabens and fragrances.
EM has some wonderful face, eye, and lip makeup products from bronzers and foundations to mascaras and lip crèmes. To make shopping for vegan makeup easier, EM has a list of non-vegan products on their website that include carmine, beeswax, or lanolin from animals.
- Cruelty-free: Yes
- Vegan: Not entirely, see their non-vegan products here
- Best product: Lip Cushion Tinted Lip Luminizer
Shop on: Amazon, Official site
7. Touch In Sol
Touch In Sol is a cruelty-free Korean makeup brand loved by K-pop celebrities. Touch in Sol is not entirely vegan and their bestselling primer sadly includes collagen. But the brand has launched a great Vegan Again collection of 100% vegan lip, eye, and complexion makeup.
- Cruelty-free: Yes
- Vegan: Not entirely, see their vegan collection here
- Best product: Vegan Again Radiance Stick
FAQ About Korean Vegan Makeup Brands
Korean makeup brands are not always vegan. Many Korean makeup brands use animal-derived ingredients (such as carmine) and still test their products on animals.
Some 100% vegan Korean makeup brands include Youthforia, Unleashia, Cle Cosmetics, and Surebase.
The best selection of Korean vegan makeup is available online, especially on Amazon. Some Korean vegan brands are also available on Sephora, Ulta, and Target.
Laneige is not vegan. Laneige uses animal testing and many of its products include ingredients from animals.
Etude House is not vegan because its products are tested on animals.
Summary
We hope you enjoyed our list of the best Korean vegan makeup brands. From Youthforia to Kaja Beauty, you can find some wonderful K-beauty brands that offer vegan makeup for every skin type and skin tone.
In the future, we wish to see more Korean beauty brands go cruelty-free and give up animal-derived ingredients altogether. As we keep searching for new exciting vegan Korean makeup brands, we will add our favorites to this article.
See also: Korean Vegan Skincare
Main image: courtesy of Youthforia
