Vegan Lipstick: Top Cruelty-Free Brands

You won’t have a hard time finding cruelty-free vegan lipstick. That said, you can’t just pick up a lipstick at random and expect it to be free of animal products. That’s primarily because lipstick may be composed of tallow derivatives sourced from slaughterhouses. Lanolin, a byproduct of the wool industry, is another common lipstick ingredient. Additionally, the bright red color of many lipsticks may come from carmine, a dye produced by grinding up tiny cochineal beetles whose bodies contain a concentrated red pigment.

Back when vegans were scarce, finding vegan lipstick took real effort. Few stores carried it, and you could only find a limited assortment of colors. But many cruelty-free cosmetics companies have since entered the business. Not only do they refrain from animal testing, they also tend to use a better grade of ingredients. That’s a big deal, especially for anyone appalled by the idea of coating their lips with rendered animal fat!

Even if you don’t follow a vegan lifestyle, it makes sense to seek out vegan lipstick for the sake of avoiding disgusting animal-derived ingredients.