The Best Vegan Skincare Brands And Products At Ulta

By Anett Rannamets. Updated: February 2023.
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Ulta is one of the main beauty stores to go for skincare. While cruelty-free products are easy to find, unfortunately, finding 100% vegan brands at Ulta can be complicated. However, you can quite easily spot popular and recognizable vegan brands such as Pacifica or The Ordinary.

For this article, we have done some research to understand the easiest way to find vegan skincare brands and products at Ulta. Plus, we list over 20 vegan skincare brands. Let’s dive into it now.

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Vegan Skincare At Ulta
How To Find Vegan Skincare Brands at Ulta?
Vegan Skincare Brands At Ulta
Best Vegan Skincare Brands At Ulta
Best Vegan Skincare Products At Ulta

Vegan Skincare At Ulta

Ulta has a lot of vegan skincare options. You can find drugstore brands as well as more luxurious merchandise. So, Ulta is suitable for those who look for affordable vegan skincare but also high-end salon products.

However, like Sephora, Ulta defines a vegan skincare product partially. Ulta has a separate page dedicated to conscious beauty. And one of the subpages also specifies the ‘vegan’ term. Quoting Ulta: ‘Vegan describes ingredients; cruelty-free describes testing. That means vegan products could be tested on animals, and cruelty-free could contain animal-derived ingredients.‘

Ulta understands that ‘vegan’ and ‘cruelty-free’ are not the same. And we agree! Because ‘cruelty-free’ indicates that the product is in no way related to animal experimentation. However, it is important to mention that a lot of retailers still use a limited vegan definition. As does Ulta.

Its “vegan” refers to ingredients, leaving out the aspect of animal testing. A more comprehensive vegan definition, however, means no animal exploitation at all. This refers not only to the composition but also to animal testing. Meaning that 100% vegan products and their ingredients should not be tested on animals.

How To Find Vegan Skincare Brands At Ulta?

In order to find 100% vegan skincare at Ulta, you need to familiarize yourself with vegan brands. Although Ulta also has both, vegan and cruelty-free filters, they do not always help to display 100% of the relevant brands and products.

Ulta has developed a filter system for searching skincare with subcategories like skin type, concern, preference, and brand. Under preference, you can also find the keywords ‘vegan’ and ‘cruelty-free’.

Although Ulta thinks that ‘vegan’ only refers to ingredients, one would expect that if you select both filters (vegan + cruelty-free), you would get what you want. Unfortunately, it does not happen. Meaning that neither of these filters are accurate.

So, as it turns out, Ulta’s vegan filter still shows some non-vegan skincare with animal-derived ingredients in it.

And under cruelty-free products, you can still see brands that definitely test on animals.

For example, after applying the filters, you can still spot brands like Aveeno, Clinique, CeraVe, Philosophy, Vichy, La Roche Posay, Clarins, Neutrogena, Estee Lauder, and L’Oreal. All of them still sell in China, where animal testing is required. Look for an example in the video below.

In addition, Ulta has created a clever (and rather unnoticeable) sponsorship system that displays different skincare products on the page regardless of the filters applied. And often these products are non-vegan, which again is misleading. See an example in the video below.

So research vegan brands before shopping at Ulta. Also, it is always possible to read the list of ingredients, but this is even more time-consuming. The easiest thing is to do additional research on a product you like by googling it.

Vegan Skincare Brands At Ulta

Although Ulta’s vegan or cruelty-free filter is not reliable, this store still offers a large selection of vegan brands. So we did some research and listed over 25 vegan skincare brands we found at Ulta.

The 5 Best Vegan Skincare Brands At Ulta

Since it is difficult to find 100% vegan brands at Ulta in one go, we have narrowed down the selection. Below you can find the best 5 vegan brands that are represented at Ulta.

1. Pacifica

This American skincare brand is female-owned. They use a lot of natural ingredients and mixtures of superfoods. Pacifica is always free from parabens, SLS, and mineral oils.

Pacifica appeals to skincare enthusiasts because it concentrates using effective active ingredients. A large part of the composition is natural, and their design is simply gorgeous and always aesthetic.

Shop Pacifica at Ulta

2. Acure

The American family-owned skincare brand offers a wide range of effective vegan skincare. Starting with face creams, and ending with cleansers, serums, and face oils.

Acure has become popular as it uses high-quality, organic, and natural material. Plus, the brand’s products never contain parabens, paraffin, sulfates, or mineral oils.

Shop Acure at Ulta

3. Derma-E

Derma E is an American brand that has been vegan and natural from the start. Especially popular are the company’s anti-aging vegan products with peptides and hyaluronic acid.

Derma-E is one of our favorites because it offers effective vegan skincare products based on active ingredients. In addition, Derma-E is affordable but still of very high quality.

Shop Derma-E at Ulta

4. Juice Beauty

This brand has been in the skincare world since 2005. Since then, they have offered vegan, cruelty-free, clean, and certified organic products.

Juice Beauty has earned a loyal fan base because it uses natural components as well as effective active ingredients. Skincare enthusiasts’ favorites are vitamin C, vitamin E, and other powerful antioxidants.

Shop Juice Beauty at Ulta

5. Mad Hippie

Mad Hippie is an American skincare brand with a heart for saving the world. Of course, all their products are vegan and cruelty-free. In addition, they have a mission to help many non-profit organizations.

The brand is one of the favorites amongst people who prefer natural skincare. Mad Hippie proves that natural skincare can also be effective.

Shop Mad Hippie at Ulta

The Best Vegan Skincare Products At Ulta

To make the choice even easier, we rounded up the best and most trustful vegan skincare products at Ulta. Behind each product, you can also see whether the product comes from a 100% vegan brand or not.

FAQ About Vegan Brands At Ulta

What vegan skincare brands are at Ulta?

Ulta carries a large selection of vegan brands. Among them, you can find The Ordinary, Klairs, Skyn Iceland, Derma E, Pacifica, Mad Hippie, Acure, Juice Beauty, e.l.f., Boscia, Hempz, and OSEA.

Summary

Finding vegan skincare products at Ulta is an adventure in itself. Since the definition of both ‘vegan’ and ‘cruelty-free’ is still confusing to many, Ulta’s search filters cannot be trusted either.

That is why it is good to know the best vegan brands that Ulta carries. Among them are Pacifica, Acure, Mad Hippie, Juice Beauty, Derma-E, Kylie Skin, e.l.f, and Hempz.

In order to find completely vegan products online and to make your shopping cart ethical, it is worth familiarizing yourself with list of 100% vegan brands. Our guide to the best vegan skincare products can also be a good help.

Anett Rannamets

Anett is a passionate journalist, writer, and magazine editor with almost 7 years of experience. Through engaging articles, she brings kinder and more environmentally-friendly choices closer to everybody.