21 Best Vegan Makeup Brands

In the last few years, it seems more beauty brands are becoming vegan in the hopes of creating healthier and higher-quality makeup products. Most cosmetics include animal byproducts such as beeswax, carmine (made from crushed Cochineal beetle), and lanolin (a wax-like material secreted from sheep). While vegan makeup doesn’t include any animal-derived ingredients, it’s important to note that vegan does not necessarily equal cruelty-free, which means the products were not tested on animals. If you’re interested in vegan cruelty-free makeup such as foundation, eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, lipstick, lip balm or concealer, you’ll want to look for the Leaping Bunny or PETA logo on the packaging.

With so many beauty companies and cosmetics manufacturers, it can be a challenge finding ethical brands that make vegan makeup products that are also cruelty-free. To help you find quality cosmetics that are safe for your skin and body, we’ve compiled a list of the best vegan makeup brands to try right now. From Kat Von D to Charlotte Tilbury to Milk, these popular cosmetic companies make some of the top vegan makeup that is animal-friendly.

Vegan Makeup Brands

Kat Von D Beauty

Kat Von D Beauty is one of the largest and most popular makeup brands in the world. In 2016, the company made the commitment to go 100% vegan, which primarily involved removing carmine, used as a pigment, from its products. While the famous tattoo artist sold her line in early 2020, the beauty brand is still committed to producing products that are both 100% vegan and 100% cruelty-free, including liquid lipsticks, bright eyeshadows, and long-lasting eyeliners.

Charlotte Tilbury

While not 100% vegan, Charlotte Tilbury is committed to being 100% cruelty-free, ensuring absolutely none of its products are tested on animals. The makeup artist’s luxury brand, which is popular among celebrities like Kim Kardashian-West and Emily Ratajkowski, has an impressive range of vegan options, including its Magic Foundation, award-winning Hot Lips lipsticks, and Scent of a Dream perfume.

Cover FX

Cover FX is a 100% vegan and cruelty-free brand. The company provides its customers with high-performing products that are made with safe and clean ingredients, including soothing green tea leaves and antioxidant-rich algae. All cosmetics are also free of talc, parabens, fragrance, mineral oil, gluten, sulfates, and phthalates. Priding itself on providing products for all skin types and tones, Cover FX is well known for its foundations, touting 40 different shades.

Inika

Award-winning Inika specializes in natural and organic beauty products. The company’s wares are 100% plant-based, completely cruelty-free, halal-certified, and made with organic ingredients. The Australian brand is very transparent about which extracts make up its face powders, lip tints, brushes, and more, and includes a list of organic ingredients on its website, including jojoba, ylang ylang, aloe vera, sunflower, and avocado oils.

Milk Makeup

Despite Milk Makeup’s name, you won’t find any milk in its products! The NYC-based brand has been cruelty-free since day one, and as of 2018 is 100% vegan. This meant removing animal-derived products like honey, beeswax, gelatin, and cholesterol from its line. Aside from cosmetics, the company has an impressive skincare line with synthetic and natural alternatives to animal-based products, including hydrating moisturizers and serums.

Jeffree Star Cosmetics

Founded in 2014, Jeffree Star Cosmetics is 100% vegan and 100% cruelty-free. The namesake brand of the popular YouTube star and influencer is accredited with both PETA and Leaping Bunny. Jeffree Star Cosmetics has several products sure to fit any color lover’s taste, including a rainbow of eyeshadow palettes, vivid velour liquid lipsticks, and shimmery highlighters.

E.l.f. Cosmetics

Short for EyesLipsFace, e.l.f. is another makeup company that is committed to being 100% vegan and cruelty-free. Focused on being guilt-free, e.l.f.’s cosmetics are also free of phthalates, parabens, triclosan, and triclocarban, among other chemicals, and its skincare line is free of sulfates. With your wallet in mind, this familiar budget brand boasts hundreds of affordable cosmetic and skincare products, from mineral-based makeup, brush sets, and CBD and Cannabis Sativa oils and creams.

Everyday Minerals

As an affordable brand with a full line of options, Everday Minerals products are 100% vegan, all-natural, sustainable, and cruelty-free. Handmade in Austin, Texas, the brand also provides eco-friendly and recyclable packaging. Focused on ultimate customization, the company’s website allows you to tailor your own makeup look by cosmetics, formula, and skin type. And with face powders in 24 shades, tinted lip balms, and a skincare line, it would be hard not to find something you like from Everyday Minerals.

Lime Crime

If you like your makeup loud, look no further than Lime Crime. Known for its eccentric and colorful products, Lime Crime is 100% vegan and cruelty-free, and certified by both PETA and Leaping Bunny. The brand offers over 100 colors of lip products and eyeshadows, as well as bright hair dye in dozens of shades. The company makes one of the few vegan hair dye formulas on the market.

Axiology

Axiology is committed to providing “evil-free” lipsticks, crayons, and balmies, and providing its customers with “the most ethical lipstick on the planet.” The company sticks to its promise, being 100% vegan, 100% cruelty-free, 100% free of palm oil, and PETA-certified. All lipsticks include only 10 ingredients, including kokum butter, avocado, and coconut oil. Also, lipstick tubes are made from post-consumer recycled plastic, balmies are zero-waste, and boxes are handmade from recycled trash by a women’s cooperative in Bali.

B. Beauty

While exclusive to Superdrug (found in the UK and Ireland), you can still purchase B. Beauty’s 100% vegan and cruelty-free products from its website. While not as extensive as the items you may find in store, like lip glosses and mascara, there is still a wealth of affordable products on its site, including metallic lipsticks and glosses, highlighters, and eyelashes.

PHB Ethical Beauty

Another award-winning UK-based brand, PHB Ethical Beauty is the home to the world’s largest line of vegan, cruelty-free, and certified halal beauty products. The brand also prides itself on being organic, eco-friendly, and paraben-free. On top of that, 20% of all purchases go to charity. PHB’s skincare range focuses on everything from curing acne to eczema and even has lines targeted to teenagers and pregnant mothers. Aside from skincare, PHB has a variety of natural cosmetics, including BB cream, lipsticks, mascara, and pressed mineral foundation, blush, bronzer, and eyeshadow.

Pacifica

Pacifica is another brand that is 100% vegan and cruelty-free. It focuses on providing clean products, including skincare made from natural ingredients, including CBD, kale, coconut, rose, and pineapple. There’s also vegan nail polish, hair care products, bath products, perfume, and cosmetics. If touting hundreds of clean products wasn’t impressive enough, Pacifica also has its own recycling program. They take customers’ used products and turn all #5 plastics into razors and toothbrushes that you can buy on the company’s website.

BITE Beauty

BITE Beauty specializes in clean, high-performance beauty products. Certified by Leaping Bunny as cruelty-free, as of this year the company’s products are now also 100% vegan. The brand includes numerous food-grade nutrients in its face and lip cosmetics, including orange peel, grape skin, willow bark, and coconut, olive, sunflower, and jojoba seed oils. The brand also has a nourishing Agave+ lip care line for all your lip balm needs.

Herbivore Botanicals

Herbivore Botanicals is 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and natural. The brand incorporates a wide variety of unique raw ingredients from around the world, including French pink clay and Brazilian gemstones, all while avoiding fillers and synthetic materials. The company also carries recyclable and reusable packaging. Herbivore Botanicals concentrates on face and body care, including cleansers, masks, mists, oils, body scrubs, and soaking salts.

Lush

While this brand is most well-known for its bath bombs and body butters, Lush also carries many vegan cosmetics and beauty products, from face powder to mascara to lipsticks to henna hair dye. Also, all of Lush’s products are 100% vegetarian. In 2019, the company introduced its Lush Labs app, which uses artificial intelligence to reduce wasteful packaging. On top of that, Lush has the 5 Pot Program, where customers can return empty pots in exchange for a free Fresh Face Mask of choice.

Urban Decay

While not all of Urban Decay’s products are vegan, the company keeps your furry friends in mind by being 100% cruelty-free and by not testing on animals. Though Urban Decay has a limited vegan line, they add new products frequently, including its gorgeous metallic Stone Vibes Eyeshadow Palette and Multidimensional Lip Gloss, along with cult favorites like its Eyeshadow Primer Potion and All Nighter Ultra Glow Setting Spray.

Tarte

Tarte is another brand that is 100% cruelty-free, though not 100% vegan. That said, the company has PETA’s seal of approval and hundreds of vegan products. Tarte’s vegan options include selections from its Amazonian clay, Rainforest of the Sea, sugar rush, and Tarteist lines, as well as its popular mascaras and bamboo brushes. There’s no doubt you’ll find something that catches your eye!

Too Faced

While not completely vegan, Too Faced is cruelty-free and does not test on animals. A leader in the beauty industry, the company carries numerous vegan-friendly cosmetics, including its famous Better Than Sex Mascara, Born This Way Setting Powder, and Dew You Luminous Face Primer, among other favorites.

Wet n Wild

Another drugstore company for the cost-conscious, wet n wild promises 100% cruelty-free cosmetics, with PETA’s certification. Most of the value brand’s products are also vegan, including its gel nail polishes, fake eyelashes, brushes, eyeshadows and palettes, lip colors, and more.

Haus Laboratories

Founded by Lady Gaga, Haus Laboratories is committed to affordable, cruelty-free, vegan cosmetics that will make you look and feel beautiful. Haus has created a full line of beauty products, including eyeliner, eyeshadow, mascara, blush, bronzer, highlighter, and lipstick. As expected, the full collection is artistic and creative but still offers a complete range of colors to match every skin tone and look.