If you're transitioning to a vegan lifestyle, there's another part of the house you'll need to overhaul after you've transformed your kitchen cupboard: your beauty cabinet. Although you may not expect your beauty products to include animal products, many of them do.
Collagen, a popular skincare ingredient used to combat fine lines and wrinkles, and keratin, a protein used to help strengthen hair to prevent breakage, both almost always come from animals. Even beeswax, a common ingredient in chapstick, isn't considered to be vegan since it's taken from the combs where bees raise their young and store pollen and honey.
Whether you're looking to commit to a vegan lifestyle, or you simply want to make sure that everything in your beauty arsenal is super clean, transitioning to vegan makeup is a great step. To get your makeup overhaul started, here are just a few of the vegan beauty products we carry. All of these have already been vetted by Ipsters who received these products in past Glam Bags!
1. TARTE tarteist™ Double Take Eyeliner
Ditch your old eyeliner in favor of this handy two-in-one alternative. On one side, you have a kaolin clay-infused gel pencil, which is great for tightlining the eyes. On the other side, you have a liquid liner to create rich, dramatic lines like a sharp cat-eye. No matter which side you use, both are waterproof and will stay smudge-free for up to 12 hours.
"You can never go wrong with anything by tart[sic]," writes one Ipster. "Love the brand, love the textures, and love the color."
2. LOTTIE LONDON Shimmer Squad Highlighter in The Good Girl
If your new plant-based diet isn't already giving you a glow, this champagne-hued highlighter ought to do the trick. Totally vegan and cruelty-free, this blendable powder uses mica to illuminate any skin type.
"Wonderful shade and so glowy," writes Ipster scmackinnon. "I love popping this in the inner corners of my eyes and sweeping it across my cheekbones."
3. HALF CAKED Super Glazed in Semi-charmed
Lip products are often a common culprit for a non-vegan ingredient list. Tallow and cochineal dye (carmine) are two animal ingredients you might find hidden in your favorite lip color. Steer clear of both of those with this hydrating, pigmented lip gloss that's certified vegan and cruelty-free. This flattering dusty rose color even smells like strawberries and cream, making application an even more enjoyable process.
"Great color saturation, staying power, and shine," writes one Ipster. "It's not sticky, has a great scent and a subtle, sweet flavor. Works great alone or over lipstick."
4. SMASHBOX COSMETICS Studio Skin 24 Hour Wear Hydrating Foundation
One animal product to look out for when searching for a vegan foundation or concealer is squalene, which is sometimes made from shark oil and used as a moisturizer. However, many brands are now able to also make squalene from plant products. If a formula includes this ingredient but is certified as a vegan product you'll know that it uses plant-based squalene.
This long-wearing liquid foundation from SMASHBOX opts out of squalene as a key hydrating ingredient in favor of hyaluronic acid. It also features a matte finish that's transfer-proof and will last up to 24 hours.
"This is the best foundation I have ever used," one Ipster writes. "It's natural, it's not heavy, and it doesn't irritate my skin. It also gives full coverage but does not cake the face. I love it!"
5. SERAPHINE BOTANICALS Berry + Juice - 100% Vegan Lip Gel in Rose Currant
This lip gel falls somewhere in between a lip balm and a lip gloss. It uses plant-based hydrating ingredients like shea butter, safflower oil, and sunflower oil to condition the lips, improve texture, and protect against sun damage. This gel offers a shimmery, rosy tint and non-sticky, glassy finish – something our beauty editors believe is on the verge of becoming one of the next big makeup trends.
6. PHASE ZERO MAKE UP Matte Liquid Lipstick in Undercover
If you're after a lip product with more of a matte finish, reach for this vegan and cruelty-free liquid lipstick. The mauve-rose color is flattering on all skin tones and the formula dries down quickly to provide a long-lasting matte finish that will stay put all day.
After trying this vegan lipstick, jfhetzel13 wrote, "This is the first liquid lipstick that I have really wanted to use repeatedly. Perhaps it's the soft color, which is very brightening for my skin coloring. It looks great on camera and does not flake off. It also tastes and smells nice."
7. KALEIDO COSMETICS Obsidian Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner
Natural beauty aficionados, take note of KALEIDO COSMETICS. This beauty brand is 100% cruelty-free, vegan, talc-free, phthalate-free, and paraben-free. It's also committed to using as many organic, plant-based ingredients as possible. Obviously, all of that goodness translates into the formula of its waterproof liquid eyeliner. Made with a synthetic felt-tip that dispenses a rich, ultra-precise, smudge-proof line, it's a clean product with some serious staying power.
"This eyeliner literally stays on all day with no flaking or smudging, and I'm guilty of touching my eyes a lot," Ipster mgflora13 writes. "I absolutely love it!"
8. HOURGLASS COSMETICS Caution Extreme Lash Mascara
Just because a makeup product uses vegan or natural ingredients doesn't mean it will be lacking in the drama department. Case in point: this lash-transforming mascara that lengthens, volumizes, lifts, and defines lashes. The jet black formula (which is made without parabens, sulfates, or phthalates) is also concentrated, meaning you only need to apply a few swipes for big, bold, beautiful lashes.
"This is one of the best mascaras I've received in a very long time," one Ipster writes. "A woman I work with asked me who did my lashes and I told her they were mine... with a great mascara."
9. SPACE CASE COSMETICS Seen from Space Highlighter in 1A
If SPACE CASE COSMETICS isn't already one of your favorite vegan makeup brands, it's certainly about to be. Everything this ultra-affordable brand sells is made sans animal products and animal testing and is all non-toxic. The clean, cruelty-free makeup is designed to make you look like "you just hit up Vegas on Venus." Now that's an aesthetic we can get behind.
Shimmer up into outer space by dusting on a little bit of this mica-based illuminating highlighter. The long-lasting pigments will stay put all day and the soft pressed powder makes is a dream to apply.
10. TOO FACED COSMETICS Damn Girl! Mascara
TOO FACED is one of the leading brands in cruelty-free cosmetics, so much so that it's even accredited with PETA. The brand is taking its animal-friendly approach to beauty one step further with this vegan product.
The jet black mascara is free of lanolin (a waxy, emulsifying animal by-product of the wool industry) and instead uses a revolutionary creamy mousse formula, made using a special blend of whipped and melted wax. The results serve up volume that lasts for up to 24 hours. No smudging or flaking here.
"This mascara is amazing," one Ipster writes. "My lashes are longer, fuller, and so dark. I only have to put on one coat to instantly give my lashes the volume that a couple layers of a standard mascara would usually give."
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