While being vegan in your diet is (fairly) easy these days, what about inside your makeup bag? A-listers from Gwyneth Paltrow to Beyoncé have all touted the incredible hair, skin and health benefits that come with a vegan lifestyle. But while a plant-based diet is relatively straightforward (save for the nights when steakhouse dining appears to the only option for your friends), really living it can be a whole lot trickier. Especially when it comes to vegan cosmetics.
But while filtering your makeup search by “suitable for vegans” would once have yielded mere scraps, the tide is happily changing. Vegan lip balms and lipsticks abound, with the rest of the makeup counter from foundation to eye shadows, blush and mascara catching up fast too. Kat Von D made headlines just a fortnight ago with plans to overhaul her entire eponymous makeup line to ensure that every product is 100% vegan, and even iconic beauty brands with global reach are dipping a toe in.
So with the hunt for vegan makeup ramping up—the past decade has seen a 350% rise in the number of people opting for a vegan lifestyle in the UK—we thought it high time we pulled together everything you need to know. Keep scrolling for the definitive Byrdie guide to vegan makeup.
