Buying vegan skincare and beauty products is easy. Almost all of the major retailers carry a wide range of vegan skincare. Be it online only or high-street, you will find a good selection.
Until recently, Amazon was the most popular place to buy skincare and beauty products in general. However, specialized beauty stores such as Sephora and Ulta have overtaken Amazon as the most popular retailer. And actually, Walmart used to be the biggest retailer as recently as 2016 with roughly 50% market share in skincare.
In 2019 Amazon held 47% of all online beauty market sales. By 2021 this had shifted significantly, as Sephora & Ulta held 57% and Amazon only 19%.
We have listed the best 11 places to buy vegan skincare from. We have ranked them in order of popularity, range, pricing, and convenience, including locations, shipping times, and returns. Some of the cheapest places to buy vegan beauty products include Sephora, Amazon, and drugstores such as Walgreens and CVS. Whereas you can find more luxurious vegan beauty products from Ulta and Bluemercury.
Below you can find 11 places where you can purchase vegan skincare. While each store has its charms and pains, all offer a good selection of vegan skincare brands.
1. Sephora
Sephora is one of the most popular stores to buy skincare. Sephora has its advantage as it focuses only on selling cosmetics and beauty products. So you are not going to get other unnecessary noise and irrelevant ads. And of course, Sephora has an extensive selection of brands, including vegan ones.
Sephora has a separate vegan skincare page, which can be accessed by clicking on the top black menu bar. There you can see quite well-known and familiar vegan brands such as The Ordinary or Youth To The People.
However, on this page, you will also find brands that many do not consider vegan, as they conduct animal testing. Among them, for example, are Caudalie, Algenist, and Nécessaire.
Sephora has also created a vegan filter in its search system. Sephora classifies the term vegan only to refer to ingredients. They do not consider animal testing to be against vegan. So if their vegan filter is used alone without the cruelty-free filter, the list will include brands that still conduct animal testing. So, to find 100% vegan skincare products at Sephora, use both filters: vegan and cruelty-free.
Among the vegan products, for example, you can find award-winning items such as The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid Hydrating Serum, Youth To The People Superfood Lightweight Moisturizer, and The INKEY List Rosehip Nourishing Night Oil.
Sephora offers a good selection of vegan products from different brands, including ones that are not completely vegan. The best 100% vegan brands at Sephora are Alpyn Beauty, Aveda, Youth To The People, Herbivore, The Ordinary, Skyn Iceland, Biossance, and many others.
What we like: Great selection, fast shipping, free shipping, many locations, good prices, returns for full prices
What we don’t like: Vegan term only refers to ingredients.
Price Range: $1-$400
2. Amazon
Amazon is an e-commerce company known in each part of the world. And it lists an amazing amount of products and brands. This multi-million company is popular for a reason — it simply has the widest and most affordable selection of different goods. And of course, vegan skincare is also represented on Amazon.
If you type “vegan skincare” into Amazon’s search bar, you get over 7,000 search results. This by itself shows how many brands and different products are represented on this platform. Therefore, you can find vegan skincare products for all skin types and needs.
Unfortunately, Amazon does not have a vegan or cruelty-free filter yet for the search system. You can still reach vegan brands and products without filters.
Amazon’s product details vary significantly, some products indicate clearly their ingredients and whether they are vegan, and some do not. When shopping from Amazon, it is easiest to buy from brands that you know are 100% vegan. These brands often indicate they are certified vegan, which means they do not use animal-based ingredients, and also do not test on animals. A brand cannot obtain a vegan certification without complying with these two rules.
Among Amazon’s skincare products, you will find community-recommended vegan skincare like Andalou Naturals 1000 Roses Day Cream, Youth To The People Kale + Green Tea Face Cleanser, Pai Skincare Organic Rosehip Facial Oil, and Paula’s Choice Pore-Reducing Toner.
The best vegan skincare brands available on Amazon are Pacifica, Acure, Derma-E, Youth To The People, The Ordinary, Skyn Iceland, Klairs, e.l.f, Edible Beauty, and Pai Skincare.
What we like: Great selection, fast shipping, free shipping, same day delivery, easy to read reviews
What we don’t like: Difficult to detect which products are truly vegan and which are not, no vegan filter, return policies vary
Price Range: $1-$400
3. Ulta
Ulta is a company focused on offering beauty products. Its list includes drugstore brands as well as luxury skincare items. So, shopping at Ulta is suitable for everyone as well as for vegans. In fact, at Ulta, vegan skincare brands are quite well represented.
To find completely vegan skincare at Ulta, you need to familiarize yourself with vegan brands first. This is because Ulta’s vegan and cruelty-free filters are not completely reliable and display some misleading products and brands.
Using both, vegan and cruelty-free filters when searching, you can notice brands that test on animals. These are, for example, 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.
Although Ulta’s vegan or cruelty-free filter is not reliable, this store still offers 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.
The best vegan skincare products on Ulta include, for example, DERMA-E Anti-Wrinkle Renewal Skin Cream, KLAIRS Supple Preparation Unscented Toner, and The Ordinary Glycolic Acid 7% Exfoliating Solution.
4. Soko Glam
Soko Glam is an American company that was created with the goal of providing the best Korean skincare. On this webpage, you can find a large selection of community-favored products. And of course, you can see vegan options among them.
Korean people are known for their clear and smooth skin. Therefore, Korean skincare has also become a trend in the Western world. Koreans often use special ingredients, plus many of their formulas are based on tradition.
However, the Korean skincare industry is also known for using a lot of animal-based ingredients. Among them are, for example, the famous snail mucin or collagen. Fortunately, scientists and technological progress have given us alternatives. Therefore, Korean skincare also has some vegan brands and products.
As the demand for vegan products is rising, Soko Glam has created a separate subpage for vegan skincare items. Unfortunately, however, it is not completely reliable. Among vegan products, you will also spot brands that are not cruelty-free and therefore not considered as vegan.
In addition, Soko Glam has created a virtual vegan sticker, which can often be seen on products. However, Soko Glam also defines the vegan term to only refer to the composition, leaving out the cruelty-free aspect.
Therefore, the green leaf label cannot be trusted as some of the products that carry it may have been tested on animals. So, we simply recommend familiarizing yourself with Soko Glam vegan brands beforehand.
Among 100% vegan brands at Soko Glam are Klairs, AcroPass, Chasin’ Rabbits, Good Light, Manyo Factory, Pacific, Olivarrier, Re:p, Rovectin, and The Plant Base.
The best vegan skincare products to go for at Soko Glam are, for instance, KLAIRS Rich Moist Soothing Cream, ROVECTIN Skin Essentials Barrier Repair Face Oil, and KLAIRS Supple Preparation Facial Toner.
5. Target
Target is one of the largest retail companies in America and it deals with a wide selection of different product groups. Fortunately, it also means that Target’s selection includes vegan skincare.
All skincare products added to Target’s website are tagged with different keywords. This makes shopping fairly convenient. So, when you click on your desired product and scroll down a little, you will find additional information with graphic labeling stickers.
One of the signs is a green V-letter that indicates vegan. Unfortunately, however, Target also uses the vegan term by only referring to the product’s composition, leaving out animal testing.
Luckily, Target also has a cruelty-free label. Therefore, we recommend that you check your desired product’s additional information to see if it has both signs — a green V label and a pink rabbit sticker.
Of course, it is also useful to familiarize yourself with the 100% vegan skincare brands that Target carries. The long list includes skincare brands such as Sweet Chef, Pacifica, Versed, Acure, Derma E, e.l.f, BYBI Beauty, Sukin, Well People, WLDKAT, Boscia, Hempz, and Juice Beauty.
Our favorite vegan skincare products at Target are Derma E Vitamin C Moisturizer, Pacifica Sea Foam Complete Face Wash, Versed Press Restart Gentle Retinol Serum, and Sun Bum Original Sunscreen Lotion.
6. Walmart
Walmart is the world’s largest private company, offering products from food to personal care. As it is a very big retail company, vegan brands have also found their way to Walmart.
Walmart’s website/online store, however, is fairly uncomfortable and takes time to get used to. Many places are illogical, and the vegan and cruelty-free filters do not work as they should either.
Immediately after applying either of the filters, you will see products that cannot be categorized as vegan or cruelty-free. Therefore, we recommend looking up vegan products and brands that you can trust before shopping at Walmart’s online store. Or do additional research by googling the product you found at Walmart. In the physical store, we recommend looking for certified vegan and cruelty-free labels on the packaging.
Walmart carries a long list of 100% vegan brands such as Derma E, Pacifica, Versed, e.l.f, BYBI Beauty, Sukin, Boscia, The Ordinary, Mad Hippie, California Pure Naturals, Azure, Youth To The People, Bubble Skincare.
The best vegan skincare products found at Walmart are e.l.f. SKIN Holy Hydration! Face Cream, DERMA E Anti-Wrinkle Retinol Facial Oil, The Ordinary Hyaluronic Acid 2% + B5 30ml, and Pipette Mineral Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 50.
7. Walgreens
Walgreens, an established American retail chain has a rich history in selling pharmaceutical products. With many of its stores operating 24 hours a day, Walgreens has become a popular destination for Americans seeking various products and services.
While Walgreens offers a diverse range of products, finding vegan skincare at Walgreens can be a bit challenging. Luckily, Walgreens does carry some vegan skincare options, and to assist customers, they have implemented a vegan filter on the skincare subpage of their website.
However, it is important to note that after applying this filter, it becomes evident that the products can only be considered partially vegan. So, to find vegan skincare on the Walgreens website, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with the specific vegan skincare brands they carry before.
100% vegan brands at Walgreens, for example, are e.l.f., Derma-E, Hempz, Alchimie Forever, Bulldog Skincare, Cococare, Dr. Botanicals, Human+Kind, Method, Simple, Swisspers, Tanologist, Thayers, and Pipette.
The best vegan products found at Walmart are the Derma E Hydrating Day Creme with Hyaluronic Acid, e.l.f. Holy Hydration Face Cream, e.l.f. SuperTone, and Sun Bum Original SPF 30 Lotion.
8. Dermstore
Dermstore is an American online store for cosmetics and beauty products. Its niche is offering products recommended by estheticians and dermatologists. Among them, of course, is a fairly decent selection of high-quality vegan skincare.
Similarly to Sephora, Dermstore also has a vegan subpage. Unfortunately, their subpage also focuses only on ingredients. This means that the list of vegan products created by Dermstore itself contains brands and products that still conduct animal testing.
However, In addition to the vegan page, Dermstore does not have a reliable list of cruelty-free products. This means that both vegan and cruelty-free product pages include products that may have been tested on animals.
This same concern arises when using Dermstore’s vegan or cruelty-free filter when searching. Therefore, Dermstore vegan or cruelty-free filters cannot be trusted. The most reliable way to shop vegan skincare products at Dermstore is to do background research on the product you found.
Some of the best vegan skincare products on Dermstore include Juice Beauty STEM CELLULAR Anti-Aging Cream, Pai Skincare Organic Rosehip Facial Oil, and Supergoop!® Unseen Sunscreen SPF 40.
The best dermatologist-recommended vegan skincare brands on Dermstore are Alchimie Forever, Boscia, Dr. Loretta, Herbivore Botanicals, Juice Beauty, Mio Skincare, Pai Skincare, and Skyn Iceland.
9. CVS
CVS is an American retail chain offering various services such as pharmacy, health and wellness products, and photo services. CVS also carries some vegan skincare products.
However, finding vegan skincare products at CVS can be challenging. CVS has a vegan filter on its website for skincare products, but it may not be entirely accurate as it can show non-cruelty-free items.
It is recommended to do additional research on vegan products before purchasing, as CVS’s vegan filter may not be reliable. When searching for vegan skincare products at CVS physical stores, look for labels indicating that the product is vegan or certified vegan.
It is also good to know what vegan brands CVS carries. These are, for example, Pacifica, Derma E, Acure, e.l.f., Beauty Without Cruelty, Coola, Hempz, and Rainbow Beauty.
The best vegan skincare products to go for at CVS are Bliss Bright Idea Vitamin C + Tri-Peptide Moisturizer, TruSkin Vitamin C Brightening Moisturizer, e.l.f. Pure Skin Cleanser, and Pacifica Sun + Skincare Sport Sunscreen Spray SPF 50.
10. Directly From Brands
Around 7% of all online sales are sold directly through brands’ own websites. Brands would prefer shoppers to buy directly from them since then they don’t have to pay commissions to retailers.
However, then you are stuck with the particular brand’s products only, their shipping times and returns, whatever they may be, whereas big online retailers have a great logistics network and can often offer same-day delivery or pickups, with free returns.
But for the best brand experience, buying directly is a great choice. And if you love a certain brand, you will usually gather some loyalty points for return visits for free products or discounts.
Some of the more popular vegan skincare brands include Youth To The People, The Ordinary, and Biossance.
11. Bluemercury
Bluemercury is especially good if you are looking for luxury vegan beauty products. Vegan brands such as Lune+Aster and Le Domaine are found from Bluemercury.
FAQ About Where To Buy Vegan Skincare
Luckily, you can find vegan skincare almost everywhere if you know what you are searching for. However, you can spot the best selection of vegan skincare at Sephora, Amazon, Dermstore, Soko Glam, Ulta, Target, Walmart, Walgreens, or CVS.
Summary
There are 11 great options to buy vegan skincare from, be it from online retailers like Sephora and Amazon or drugstores such as Walgreens or CVS or directly from beauty specialists such as Dermstore and Soko Glam. Buying directly from Brands’ own websites is also a great idea.
Many retailers use the vegan label only to refer to composition and ingredients. So if you want vegan beauty products that do not use animal-based ingredients, or have not been tested on animals, be alert. Buy only from certified vegan beauty brands since they commit to those two directives.
To familiarize yourself with all the essentials of vegan skincare, check out our complete guide to vegan skincare.
