While the beauty industry has taken a vegan course, there is only a handful of cosmetics brands that can call themselves fully vegan. Animal suffering is far from gone in the beauty world.
Animal-derived ingredients are still widely used in makeup and skincare. Even animal testing is still happening, especially among brands that sell their products on the Chinese market.
To help you make ethical choices, here are the top 10 vegan beauty brands right now. Shop vegan makeup, vegan skincare, and vegan haircare from these one-stop shops.
All vegan beauty brands we have listed are 100% vegan and cruelty-free, meaning they are always free from animal-derived ingredients and have not been tested on animals.
See also:
- Best Vegan Makeup Brands
- Best Vegan Skincare Brands
- Black-Owned Vegan Beauty Brands
- LGBTQ-Owned Vegan Beauty Brands
- Celebrity Vegan Beauty Brands
Best Vegan Beauty Brands
These beauty brands are 100% vegan and cruelty-free. Shop vegan makeup, skincare, and haircare from these ethical vegan cosmetics brands.
1. Pacifica Beauty
Pacifica Beauty is the best vegan beauty brand. Born in California, this brand has been always vegan and cruelty-free. They offer vegan skincare, haircare, and makeup that is affordable and made from natural ingredients. It’s our favorite drugstore vegan beauty brand.
Selection: vegan makeup, vegan skincare, vegan haircare, vegan fragrances | Certifications: PETA certified vegan and cruelty-free| Features: vegan, cruelty-free, female-owned, paraben-free, phthalate-free, SLS-free, mineral oil-free, most products made in the USA
2. Hourglass
Hourglass is our favorite luxury vegan beauty brand. Though owned by Unilever, Hourglass has always been against animal testing and as of 2020, they are also fully vegan. Their vegan makeup is praised by makeup artists and they also have a small collection of vegan skincare.
Selection: vegan makeup, vegan skincare | Certifications: PETA certified animal test-free | Features: vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, sulfate-free, synthetic fragrance-free, non-GMO, made in the USA and Italy
3. E.l.f. Cosmetics
E.l.f. is another affordable vegan beauty brand we love. This PETA-certified vegan cosmetics company has probably the largest selection of vegan makeup and skincare. Their products are cheap but of good quality. E.l.f. is also paraben-free and phthalate-free.
Selection: vegan makeup, vegan skincare | Certifications: PETA certified vegan and cruelty-free, Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free | Features: vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free, skincare also sulfate-free, made in a Fair Trade certified factory
4. Milk Makeup
Milk Makeup is a New York-based vegan cosmetics brand that offers some of the best vegan makeup products. We love their vegan primers and creamy complexion sticks. Milk also has one of our favorite vegan moisturizers made with nourishing plant oils.
Selection: vegan makeup, vegan skincare | Certifications: Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free | Features: vegan, cruelty-free, gluten-free, paraben-free, mineral oil-free, talc-free, Sephora clean brand, inclusive, made in the USA
5. Acure
Acure offers natural and organic vegan beauty at accessible prices. One of the bestselling vegan beauty brands on Amazon, they have a great selection of vegan skincare for every skin type and skin concern. We also really like their vegan shampoos and conditioners.
Selection: vegan skincare, vegan haircare | Certifications: PETA certified animal test free, Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free | Features: vegan, cruelty-free, female-owned, clean, organic, affordable, made in the USA, recycled packaging
6. Rose Inc
Rose Inc is a beautiful vegan beauty brand launched in 2021. This celebrity vegan beauty brand was born from a collaboration between model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and biotech company Amrys. We love their vegan blushes, bronzers, and lipsticks as well as their vegan serums.
Selection: vegan makeup, vegan skincare | Certifications: Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free| Features: vegan, cruelty-free, natural, female-owned, non-comedogenic, paraben-free, synthetic fragrance-free, Sephora clean brand, refillable options
Shop on: Sephora, Official site
7. Well People
Well People is a wonderful organic vegan beauty brand that hasn’t always been vegan. They dropped all animal ingredients at the beginning of 2023 and now we can all enjoy their organic vegan makeup and skincare. This skin-friendly brand was developed by a dermatologist.
Selection: vegan makeup, vegan skincare | Certifications: Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free, PETA certified animal test-free | Features: vegan, cruelty-free, organic, clean, natural, gluten-free, dermatologist-developed, safe for sensitive skin, EWG-verified, made in a Fair Trade certified factory, made in the USA and Italy
8. Inika Organic
Inka Organic is another organic vegan cosmetics brand we recommend. Their vegan makeup and skincare products are 100% natural with the highest ratio of certified organic ingredients. This brand is also certified halal, plastic-neutral, and many more wonderful things.
Selection: vegan makeup, vegan skincare | Certifications: The Vegan Society certified vegan, PETA certified vegan and cruelty-free | Features: vegan, cruelty-free, certified organic, clean, natural, halal, plastic-neutral, dermatologist-tested, safe for sensitive skin
Shop on: Amazon, Official site
9. PÜR Cosmetics
PÜR Cosmetics is a vegan cosmetics brand from Atlanta. We love how their vegan makeup has always some skincare benefits, especially for dry and mature skin. PÜR also has a great line of vegan skincare products, we especially like their vegan cleansers.
Selection: vegan makeup, vegan skincare | Certifications: PETA certified animal test-free (under Pür Minerals/Complexion Authority) | Features: vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, petrolatum-free, mineral oil-free, SLS free, talc-free, gluten-free
10. Merit Beauty & Versed
We have listed these two sister brands as a singular item as they have the same CEO and founder Katherine Power. Merit Beauty offers vegan makeup while Versed offers vegan skincare. Both vegan beauty brands are excellent at what they do.
Merit and Versed make natural and clean vegan beauty products that are free of over 1300 potentially harming ingredients. The brands are based in California. Both companies are also Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free.
Selection: vegan makeup (Merit), vegan skincare (Versed) | Certifications: Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free | Features: vegan, cruelty-free, clean, natural, female-owned, free of over 1300 harmful ingredients, made in the USA, South Korea, and Italy
Shop Merit: Sephora, Official site
Shop Versed: Amazon, Official site
What Makes A Beauty Brand Vegan?
A beauty brand is vegan if it does not use any animal-derived ingredients, most commonly beeswax, honey, collagen, lanolin, keratin, or carmine. A vegan beauty brand cannot also test its products or ingredients on animals anywhere in the world.
Many beauty brands today have a wide selection of vegan products. Most animal ingredients used in cosmetics are easily replaceable by synthetic or plant-based alternatives. However, beeswax is still widely used in skincare and makeup products.
A great number of popular beauty brands are not considered vegan because of their formulas but their animal testing practices. Many large cosmetics brands like L’Oréal or MAC still choose to test their products on animals in countries where it’s required by law.
To make sure a beauty brand is vegan, look for certified vegan and cruelty-free labels. We trust certifications from PETA, Leaping Bunny, and The Vegan Society. You can also pick a brand from our verified list.
What To Look For In Vegan Beauty Brands
When trying to find a vegan beauty brand to support, there are a few things to pay attention to. To make sure the beauty brand is truly animal-free, prefer companies that have gone through the trouble of getting their products officially certified by external organizations.
Another thing to pay attention to in vegan beauty brands is the parent company. Some vegan beauty brands are owned by large corporations such as Unilever that are not vegan or cruelty-free. It doesn’t automatically make the brand itself less ethical but it’s worth taking into consideration.
We like to buy from vegan beauty brands that use clean ingredients. We also like brands that are minority-owned, support different charitable causes, and are actively seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. The more sustainable the brand is, the better it is for the animals as well.
How We Review Vegan Beauty Brands
At Vegan Avenue, we select the best vegan beauty brands by following these criteria:
- Selection – For our top list, we only select vegan beauty brands that offer products in more than one category (vegan makeup, skincare, and haircare).
- Certifications – All of our top 10 brands have at least one vegan or cruelty-free certification from organizations like PETA or Leaping Bunny.
- Values – Our chosen vegan beauty brands all have some additional values to being vegan, be it clean beauty, affordable prices, or sustainability in some other regard.
FAQ About Vegan Beauty Brands
100% vegan beauty brands include Pacifica Beauty, Hourglass, E.l.f. Cosmetics, Milk Makeup, and Acure.
The best selection of vegan beauty brands is available on Sephora, Ulta, and Amazon. Other good online stores to check are Credo Beauty and Dermstore.
No. Fenty Beauty is not vegan. Fenty Beauty offers many vegan beauty products but the brand also uses animal-derived ingredients. Fenty Beauty’s subbrand Fenty Skin is 100% vegan though.
Summary
Hope you liked our list of the best vegan beauty brands. These 10 vegan cosmetics brands have the best selection of vegan-friendly makeup, skincare, and haircare products.
As new cruelty-free vegan beauty brands enter the market every month, we will keep reviewing their products and add the best companies to this list. Stay tuned!
See also: Best Vegan Makeup Brands
