The Ultimate Vegan, Cruelty Free Makeup Guide

** Update: As of November 26th, 2012, I no longer support Urban Decay Cosmetics. Urban Decay has sold out to L'Oreal, making them a subsidiary of L'Oreal's animal testing evil empire.

I had some requests on Vegans of Instagram about what makeup products I personally use, so I've put together a post of all of my favorite products. I got myself all done up for the sake of this selfie, but I usually wear half as much makeup, if that. I'm workin' that blue steel face, eh? I predominantly buy all of my products at Sephora or Whole Foods. I will cross check prices before I make a purchase, so if I can find something on Amazon, or another retailer for less, I'll go for that. It's no secret that I have a shopping problem. It is both a blessing and a curse. While I have an affinity for the somewhat more expensive, high quality products, lord knows I love me a good sale. The way to my heart is through a gift card.    

It's very important to me that none of the products I use come from a subsidiary of a larger corporation I abhor. All of the products listed below are vegan, however some of my products are from companies that are vegan friendly, but may not be an entirely vegan brand. Always double check ingredients! Even if it's a product you've been using for years, companies may change their ingredients or get bought up by a larger company. Every company I use is cruelty free (i.e. not tested on animals). This post was written in September 2012, so let us pray that none of these brands will switch to the dark side. For example, I'd been using Bare Escentuals mineral powder for years, but I was unaware that they had been bought up by animal testing giant, Shiseido in 2010. When I found out, I immediately switched to Mineral Fusion. 

Alright, enough of this rambling, let's get to the products:     

FACE:
1⃣ Primer: Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer. This is honestly the best primer I've used. Before I discovered Hourglass I was using Too Faced's Primer. It's good, but it's not Hourglass. Hourglass' primer feels like liquid silk, sans silk, this product is vegan. It's seriously amazing. If you buy it in travel size, it’s a lot cheaper. Like all Hourglass cosmetics, it is free of parabens, sulfates, synthetic fragrances, synthetic dyes, and phthalates. I first discovered Hourglass at Sephora. The woman who was helping me told me that Hourglass was a vegan line, which is wrong. Hourglass is a vegan friendly line. She was lovely, but we ended up having a lengthy discussion on the welfare of bees, which is always fun... So if you walk into Sephora asking for help finding vegan products, I highly suggest learning the names of animal ingredients and their byproducts, because they won't always know. The Animal-Free app for the iPhone and Android is very helpful. 

2⃣ Liquid Foundation: Hourglass Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation. I had bounced around searching for a nice liquid foundation that not only worked, but matched my skin tone. Isn't it annoying when your skin and neck are different skin tones? Gabriel had been my backup foundation, but then I found Hourglass. It is more expensive than most, but it is a far superior product. I tend to only use liquid foundation and flashy makeup when I go out at night. During the day I like to give my skin a break and keep it natural. 

3⃣ Powder: Mineral Fusion Loose Powder. As I mentioned above, I've recently switched to Mineral Fusion. My skin is more prone to breakouts, and after switching to a more natural, less toxic brand, my skin immediately began to clear up. While I do love this product (it's available at Whole Foods, so I can pick it up while I'm grocery shopping.) I'm considering transitioning to Jane Iredale’s Amazing Base. 

4⃣ Cover Up: Mineral Fusion Concealer Duo. Finding a good, vegan friendly cover up can be challenging. A lot of coverups contain beeswax. If you do manage to find one that's vegan, they tend not to have a thicker consistency, and you really do need that to COVERup. Mineral fusion's coverup is vegan, and guess what? It actually works. With the two color options, it really gives you the control of blending and highlighting to match your skin tone. Checkout my friend Kate below trying out their concealer. 

5⃣ Blush: Gabriel Color Rose Blush. Most makeup products contain carmine, a red pigment which is also used as a coloring agent in food (Natural Red 4), but it is actually obtained from crushing the cochineal insect. (Eww!) I'd been using Urban Decay’s “Fetish” until I noticed one day that it didn't have the vegan paw print like the other UD shades. Turns out, it contains carmine. :(  Finding a good substitute took some time, but when I came across Gabriel's Rose blush, it not only matched the Fetish coloring, but it applied even better! It comes in a powder and not a yucky cheek tint like Urban Decay's. I highly recommend giving it a go. I buy all of my Gabriel products at Whole Foods. 

EYES:
1⃣ Eyeshadow: Urban Decay “Lost” is my favorite everyday shade. I also like their "Hijack" eyeshadow if I'm feeling rather frisky. With all of Urban Decay's products, make sure that the Marley Approved Paw Print is next to the individual shade to indicate that it's vegan, otherwise it's not. Here's the list of all of Urban Decay's vegan products. If you're looking for shades that have a flair for the dramatic like MAC (which is no longer cruelty free) I recommend Too Faced's Exotic Color Intense Eye Shadow. Most, but not all of the shades are vegan. "Cop a Teal" and "Poison Orchid" are my favorite vegan shades. If you apply them wet, (like with a vegan eyeshadow primer) you'll get a much richer application. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page under details, they'll indicate which shades are vegan friendly.   

2⃣ Mascara: Manic Panic Raven. Nothing is harder to find than a good vegan mascara. Most mascaras contain beeswax , carmine, or elastin. I spent months trying out almost every vegan mascara on the market. Unfortunately, I found that the majority of natural, organic mascaras are complete and total crap if you want any sort of volume. (Click HERE and HERE for my vegan mascara reviews). Manic Panic's mascara (made with synthetic beeswax) was the undisputed winner. It is by far the best mascara I've ever used. Gabriel and e.l.f were the runner ups. The other mascaras I tried were quite frankly unusable. LUSH has a new vegan mascara out. The product is quite good, but the brush itself is too short for the bottle, so I had to return it. Hopefully they'll change the packaging and we'll have another good vegan mascara on the market.

***Contrary to what you might have read elsewhere online, Physicians Formula, Korres, 100 Percent Pure, Too Faced, Emani Minerals, Mally, Smashbox, Tarte, and Mineral Fusion do not, I repeat: DO NOT have any vegan mascara options. They're all made with beeswax, carmine, or mica. 

3⃣ Eyeliner: Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliners are ridiculously good. I like green shades as a liner rather than your standard black, so I use one of their vegan shades called "Perfect Peacock."It really gives the eyes more pop. You can even use a purple shade like their "Perfect Purple." The nice thing about Too Faced's eyeliners is that they have a smudger on the other end of the pencil to blend in for a nice smokey eye. For a more natural, everyday look I use Gabriel’s "Pine" eyeliner. It's quite nice.  

4⃣ Liquid Eyeliner: Urban Decay24/7 Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner. All of Urban Decay's liquid eyeliners (with the exception of "Woodstock") are vegan. I don't use it as often, as I prefer a pencil, but these are some of the best I've found.  

5⃣ Eyebrows: Sobe Botanicals Eyebrow Filler. When I was a kid I tried to copy my mom doing her eyebrows, so I used my dad’s razor and shaved off the front of both of my brows. They grew back, but ever since I’ve always filled them in. Most eyebrow fillers contain beeswax. However, Sobe Botanicals does not. Unlike your typical eyebrow filler set, this comes in a loose powder, not a base. Apply a very, very thin coat, and brush it in with an eyebrow brush and comb.

LIPS
1⃣ Lip Gloss: Gabriel Lip Gloss “Venus” This is hands down the best lip gloss I've used. The "Venus" shade is heavenly. 

2⃣ Lipstick. Tarte LipSurgence “Envy” Surprisingly, Tarte does not have that many vegan products, but they do make a fantastic vegan lipstick. Some of their LipSurgence shades can also work as a cheek tint, although it can get a little messy if you blend it in with your fingers and not a brush. For your standard lipsticks, I'm a fan of Gabriel’s "Velour" and "Raisin" shades.

3⃣ Lip Balm: Hurraw Lip Balm is fantastic. Very moisturizing, great scent, no harmful chemicals. All of Hurraw's lip balms are vegan, organic, raw, non-gmo, and Leaping Bunny approved. The Coconut balm is my favorite. 

SKIN CARE (DAY):
1⃣ Serum: Skin By Ann Webb Super Vitamin C. Anything with Vitamin C and anti-oxidants is bound to improve your complexion. I love Ann Webb products. They're gluten free, paraben free, organic, and the majority of them vegan. It's labeled "VEGAN" right on the front, which I love. I can't tell you how much time I've spent scouring the internet on my phone trying to find out if something's vegan or not.

2⃣ Moisturizer: DeVita Solar Protective Moisturizer (SPF30) DeVita's line is great! All of DeVita's skin care products are 100 percent Vegan, paraben free, and cruelty free. I like having a moisturizer that has SPF in it. Your face is the last place you want to get wrinkly from the sun. Click HERE to read my full vegan sunscreen review.

4⃣ Lotion Alaffia Virgin Coconut Body Cream. Alaffia's Coconut Body cream smells great AND it's super hydrating. 

All of these products are available at Whole Foods. 

FRAGRANCE: I was very depressed when I found out Stella McCartney’s perfume was made by L’Oreal. So I went on a quest to find a replacement scent. This was quite the challenge, as I’m exceptionally picky when it comes to scents. To give you an idea, I like peony, rose, jasmine, gardenia, vanilla, and coconut scents. I’m not into the herbal/citrusy scents. My top pick: Kai Fragrance: Perfume Oil. I emailed their company and they confirmed that “there are no animal derived ingredients in their products.” Win! (Go with the oil, the perfume is too light and more expensive). Their products smell AMAZING. The next fragrances I enjoyed were Pacifica’s “Tahitian Gardenia,” Lush’s “Vanillary,” and Lavanila's Vanilla Passionfruit. I also enjoyed KleanSpa’s fragrances, particularly the “Nectar” and “Fresh Rain” scents. However they were a bit too tropical for my taste, and I don’t know how often I’d actually wear them. 

You know that feeling when you walk by someone and you’re like, “Wow, you smell amazing. I totally want to bone you.” That’s what I’m looking for, and I found that with Kai Fragrance. Mission accomplished!

TOOLS: Makeup brushes are commonly made from squirrel, mink, sable, horse (sometimes called “pony” or “camel”), or goat hair. Mink and sable brushes are products of the cruel fur industry. Horse hair is commonly obtained from horses who are slaughtered for their flesh. Squirrels are hunted or trapped, and goats are shorn like sheep. Gross huh? Not to worry! I have some fabulous makeup brushes for you: 1⃣  Hourglass Cosmetics, 2⃣  Too Faced - Teddy Bear Hair Brushes, 3⃣ Urban Decay - Good Karma Brushes. I personally don't own any EcoTools, but I've heard very good things. 

I also like to use Skin By Ann Webb’s Coffee Berry Eye and Lip Balm. For those nights I’m out too late and get puffy eyes the next morning. A little caffeine under the eyes reduces the puff, and it also helps with crows feet around the eyes. (Thankfully, I haven't had to worry about those yet...) Another product similar to Ann Webb's is 100 Percent Pure's Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream.

EVERYTHING ELSE: I LOVE Giovanni Cosmetics. I have really straight hair with very little body. I've been growing my hair out. The longer I go without a hair cut, the frizzier the tips of my hair become. So I use Giovanni's Root 66 Shampoo and Conditioner. Then I apply a little Frizz Be Gone to the tips of my hair after I've blow-dried. I've been walking around like Marsha Brady lately because my hair feels so much healthier. 

Giovanni also has a line of skin care. The D:tox line with volcanic ash and gogi berry is SO good. It's one of the best lines for exfoliating, and no more expensive than your average drug store brand. I use their body wash, body scrub, facial cleanser, and facial scrub. All of Giovanni's products are vegan except for their Lip Balms which contain beeswax and their Magnetic shampoo, conditioner, power treatment, styling gel and styling wax which contains lactoferrin.

Okay! I know that's a lot, but I'm a girl so shut it. Hope this helps! If you have any other questions feel free to give me a shout. 

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The Ultimate Vegan, Cruelty Free Makeup Guide