My Favourite Cruelty Free Beauty Brands

I’ve mentioned this a few times now, but I decided earlier this year to transition to cruelty free beauty products. I did a post in 2018 on my favourite vegan and cruelty free beauty brands, but obviously, that was two years ago and I’ve tried several new things since then, so this is my updated version for 2020.

If you’ve seen that post and notice some repeat products/ brands. Sorry. But some of these are holy grails that don’t get switched out that often.

Cruelty free, not vegan? A couple of these brands are vegan, and many of them have a large amount of vegan products but the odd thing that is only CF and not vegan. I’ll list below which are vegan, or have vegan products to make it easier to shop.

A-Z of Cruelty Free Beauty?

When I first got this idea, I was planning on doing a post on an A-Z of my favourite cruelty free beauty brands. While I could have probably found a brand for each letter, I didn’t know if I had a brand for each letter that I truly loved enough to recommend. But, I’m considering doing that anyway, leaving a few blank and filling it in as I find something new? What do we think of that idea?

My Favourite Cruelty Free Beauty Brands

Just before I get started, this list is only skincare and makeup, there are no hair or body products here. I might do a separate post on that, otherwise, this one would be about 5000 words long.

Best Cruelty Free Makeup Brands

By Beauty Bay

Vegan

I tried By Beauty Bay for the first time earlier this year when I picked up one of their palettes for my birthday beauty haul. And I loved the formula so much. I had to try more. I’ve since picked up another palette and a couple of face products, and I’ve been impressed by everything so far, especially for the incredible value.

Colourpop

CF, about 50/50 vegan – all products clearly marked if vegan or CF

If Coloupop shipping wasn’t so expensive, and the were available in the UK on a site like Beauty Bay or Feel Unique, they’d have all of my money at this point.

I’ve tried a lot of Colurpop items, from base products to shadows, liners and lipsticks and I don’t think there’s a single product that I’ve seriously disliked. Even the products I haven’t loved have still been pretty good, just not my favourites. Their range is huge, to the point it’s a little overwhelming and new launches drop SO frequently, it’s impossible to keep up. But the goo thing about that is that there’s definitely something in there for everyone.

Revolution

All CF, many vegan products – clear labelling.

I’m sure you’re aware that Revolution is an umbrella company for several Revolution brands. They have Revolution Beauty, Revolution Pro, and XX Revolution, going from the cheaper end of high street up to the lower end of the mid-range pricing. I don’t love every product from every Revolution brand, and I do have issues with the way a lot of their products are very literal copies of higher end brands. But they do have a lot of incredible products at really good prices. My most used products are from their newest line, XX Revolution, both the concealer and glowy foundation are favourites this year.

Too Faced

CF, some vegan products

Too Faced can be hit and miss, but some of my absolute staple products are by them too so I couldn’t not include them here. Some favourites include their full Born This Way range and their Natural Matte palette.

They were probably the first big brand that I found out were cruelty free after years of already using their products, which was amazing. It’s a great feeling to pick a product because you love it and it’s cruelty free rather than having to hunt out alternatives you maybe don’t love as much just because they’re cruelty free.

Hourglass

Fully vegan brand (by the end of 2020)

This was a huge shock to me when I found out they were CF, for some reason I didn’t think they would be. Hourglass isn’t a brand I’ve tried heaps and heaps of products from, but absolutely everyone needs Ambient Lighting Powder in their lives, especially if you have dry skin. Ambient Lighting Powder alone would honour their place on this list even if I hated every other product they made – that’s how much I love that product.

Becca

CF, many vegan products.

I have three words – Shimmering Skin Perfector.

That’s all.

Wet n Wild

CF, most products are vegan. Vegan product list available on their website.

Back to the budget friendly options, Wet n Wild are one of the best brands in their price range. The quality of the products is always great. Packaging is always poor, but if I’m paying £3 for something, and it’s great, I don’t really care.

They’re still kind of hard to get hold of in the UK, even though a couple of major retailers stock them now, they don’t carry the full shade ranges, so I haven’t been able to explore my full wishlist, but I’ve never been unhappy with anything I have tried.

Zoeva

CF brand, some vegan products

I’ve only used a couple of Zoeva makeup products, and although I’ve liked what I’ve tried, none of them would make my best of the best lists. But Zoeva brushes are some of the best, I know they’re a little pricier than some brands like Morphe, but the quality really is amazing.

I’ve had some of my oldest Zoeva brushes for 7 years now. They’re still soft, they don’t shed (at all), they wash well, and the weighting of them does feel like a quality brush.

They’re always the first place I look if I’m in need of new brushes and I can’t see that changing any time soon.

Best Cruelty Free Skincare Brands

Omorovicza

CF, many vegan products

It pains me that they’re on here, it really does. I’d love to sit here and tell you that cheaper alternatives are just as good, it’s not worth the money blah blah blah.

I’d be lying, if a brand can make me commit to a £60 cleanser being on the regular repeat purchase list, we’re in it for the long haul.

Ren

CF, majority of products are vegan

Ren is a strong contender for my favourite skincare brands, top 5 for sure. I love their radiance range especially, but they have great products across the board.

They make a real effort to be environmentally conscious and are a brand that I’m really happy to support as a whole, not just for great products.

Revolution Skincare

CF, many vegan products

Everything else in the skincare section isn’t axactly budget friendly so I thought it was time for the cheapest of my favourite skincare brands.

I know there was a lot of talk when this brand initially dropped about their similarities with another well known budget beauty brand, but my skin doesn’t get on well with that brand, and it loves this one. They’re an incredible budget friendly option and a great choice for anyone wanting to explore new ingredients and actives without a hefty price tag.

Pai

Fully vegan brand

Remember when their Rosehip Oil was in absolutely every YouTuber’s skincare routine? Yep, me too. And mass influencer marketing worked. I bought it, and I still use it. And by use it, I mean 3/4 times a week, this is a staple I repurchase when it’s low because I cannot run out ever, kind of use it.

While the Rosehip Oil is the only product I religiously repurchase from these guys, I’ve never tried a product from them that doesn’t do exactly what it says on the label. Even if the product hasn’t been my favourite for whatever reason, it works. It works, it’s vegan, a very high percentage of natural ingredients, they’re a home grown British brand. I’m not sure what more you can ask for?

Were any of your favourite brands mentioned here? I spent a very long time thinking about this and I’m absolutely certain I’m going to have missed at least one

Which cruelty free beauty brands are your favourites? I need to know what I need to try next, or remind myself of what I forgot to mention.

Until next time,

Sophie

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