The beauty industry has been rebranding itself by becoming more ethically approved. But does everyone understand what vegan and cruelty-free mean?
We all want to be more environmentally friendly and aware of the products we purchase, like foods, cosmetics, haircare, skincare, and home products. However, it is understandable that vegan and cruelty-free makeup products can be expensive, especially from brands known for being 100% ethical in their production and formulas.
I had 34 participants take part in a recent survey through which it was revealed that 76.5% of women feel like they have a good amount of knowledge of what ‘vegan’ and ‘cruelty-free’ mean. Whereas 23.5% said that they don’t.
A total of 19 out of 34 (55.9%) women said that they have been informed about this through social media, whilst 15 out of 34 (44.1%) said that they don’t think they have been educated or informed about vegan and cruelty-free.
One of the participants said:
“Maybe through brand marketing, but I couldn’t say too educated on it, or as much as I should be!”
I asked whether they have ever considered if a product is vegan or cruelty-free before purchasing it, to which 67.7% said yes and 32.4% said no. A majority of the women claimed that this was only after learning about what vegan and cruelty-free are.
The results concluded that 97% of the participants own vegan and/or cruelty-free products, with the remaining 3% saying that they don’t.
These findings inspired the following article as it highlighted that people don’t feel like they are informed enough about vegan and cruelty-free products and the inner workings behind them.
What Does Vegan and Cruelty-Free Mean?
Some people assume that vegan and cruelty-free are the same thing but just different wording, but that’s not the case.
In simple terms, vegan means products that don’t contain any animal-derived ingredients. Some non-friendly vegan ingredients that you need to look out for in cosmetic products are beeswax, carmine, collagen, shellac, lanolin, glycerine, casein, and guanine. Plant Based News has a detailed list of these ingredients and what they are most used for, which is a great read to understand them better.
A way to make sure that a makeup product is 100% vegan is to make sure that the label has a logo or a trademark. This means that the product has been approved by the Vegan Society. On the other hand, if the label says ‘vegan-friendly’, then it is not officially certified. This is a common mistake that people make whilst looking for vegan makeup.
Cruelty-free, however, simply means products that have not been tested on animals. This includes the formula, product production, and the finished product. Some brands claim to be cruelty-free as they do not test their final product on animals but have a third party on the outside who helped with the product production who might have tested it on animals. Therefore not making it 100% cruelty-free. Brands are now rebranding themselves by being more open about the process of ethically manufacturing their products.
There is a common misconception that if a product is cruelty-free, it is also automatically vegan (this goes vice versa). Brands may not test their products on animals, but their formulas can still contain animal derivatives.
10 Affordable Vegan and Cruelty-Free Brands and Products
Although there are websites and magazines who have done an amazing job at listing affordable vegan and cruelty-free products, such as Glamour Magazine and Cosmopolitan, they tend to list high-end cosmetics brands, which for some people it’s not so ‘affordable’.
With the help of TikTok, it is now easy to find ‘dupes’ for high-end brands, but it can be hard to find dupes (or makeup in general) that are both vegan and cruelty-free. So here is a list of 10 makeup brands you can find at your local drugstores.
1. E.l.f
E.l.f is popular for creating dupes that perform as well as, or even better than, some high-end products. Not only is it super affordable, but it’s also vegan and cruelty-free. Most of their products cost less than £10. You can find e.l.f cosmetics in Superdrug and Boots in the UK and in the US, Walmart, Target, and Ulta Beauty.
2. Wet n Wild
Wet n Wild has been very open about being cruelty-free. On their website, they stated: “It’s true! Wet n Wild never tests on animals; we are super proud of this. We never have, and we never will. We believe in beauty without cruelty first! None of our furry, feathery, or scaly friends were harmed in the making of our products.”
Wet n Wild is cheap and long-lasting, and you can find their products at Boots in the UK.
3. NYX Cosmetics
NYX, named after the Greek goddess of night, is a cruelty-free brand. Though it is not 100% vegan, it still offers some vegan products. They have a great shade range and can be accessed easily worldwide. In the UK, you can find NYX Cosmetics in Superdrug and Boots, and in the US, you’ll find the cruelty-free brands of Walmart, Target, Ulta Beauty, and Walgreens.
4. Rimmel London
Similarly to NYX Cosmetics, Rimmel is a cruelty-free brand with a range of vegan products, but not entirely vegan. You can find their products at Superdrug and Boots in the UK. In the US, you can find some of the products at Walmart, but you can get a bigger variety at Beauty Bay.
5. MUA Makeup Academy
MUA stands for Makeup Artist. It is a 100% vegan and cruelty-free brand with a great range of affordable products. You can find MUA at your local Superdrug stores (UK), and in the US you can find MUA products on Beauty Bay.
6. Milani
Not only are Milani products high quality, but they are also reasonably priced. It is completely cruelty-free, with a good selection of vegan products. In the UK, you can find Milani products in Boots, Ulta Beauty, Beauty Bay, and Target, among others in the US.
7. Pacifica
Pacifica is entirely vegan and cruelty-free. They offer a variety of beauty and skincare products. Unfortunately, you can only access Pacifica at Cult Beauty in the US, as it is yet not available in the UK or EU.
8. BarryM
BarryM is a 100% cruelty-free and vegan British leading brand. It is very affordable and is very well known for its nail polish color range and quality. Just like Pacifica, BarryM cannot be accessed worldwide yet, however in the US you can access the product on the Boohoo website. You can locate their products at Superdrug and Boots in the UK.
9. Essence Cosmetics
Essence cosmetics is very popular in the EU and is also completely vegan and cruelty-free. Their brand is dedicated to providing affordable and high-quality. You can purchase their products online on their website. In the UK you used to be able to buy their products in Wilko, and in the US you can find essence at Ulta.
10. Revolution (Makeup Revolution London)
$10.00 | credits: revolutionbeauty.com
Makeup Revolution is well-known for its super affordable makeup. They strive for diversity and ensure the production of inclusive products. Revolution is entirely cruelty-free, with a range of vegan products, though not entirely a vegan brand. You can find Revolution makeup products in Superdrug and Boots in the UK, and Ulta Beauty and Target in the US.
