Vegan Beauty 101 (ad)

When I first went vegan, I found the food element of it all quite easy and rather simple – it was very clear what I could and couldn’t eat. I had no issues. Beauty on the other hand! That took me years to get right. It’s not as easy to spot non-vegan ingredients on the back of a moisturiser as it is with hummus! Even then, beyond checking if the ingredients are vegan, there’s no guarantee that the company in question is cruelty-free! Yes, shopping for vegan beauty is definitely a touch more complicated.

This is why I’m so happy to see so many vegan brands at Boots! In today’s post I’m going to show you some of my favourite vegan beauty products stocked at Boots.

This post is in conjunction with Boots UK, but all thoughts are my own.

Makeup

Vegan makeup has come a long way over the last few years, with lots of high street brands embracing vegan alternatives in their formulas. This means moving away from ingredients like beeswax and carmine (the latter of which comes from squished bugs!) and opting for animal-free ingredients instead. 

Some of my favourite makeup brands for vegans are stocked at Boots! This includes Barry M, ELF and Florence by Mills.

Barry M

People are often quite surprised to learn that such an affordable British brand like Barry M are vegan. They have long been a cruelty-free brand but only recently switched up the last of their formulas to become fully vegan too. So, you can now shop their full range of cosmetics with confidence.

I loved seeing Barry M go vegan because it’s a brand I grew up with, a brand I trust and a brand I’m quick to turn to in the aisles of Boots. One of my go-to products includes their That’s How I Roll mascara. Not only is it under a tenner and easy to find in store, it’s also waterproof (essential for a Londoner always getting caught in the rain like me) without compromising on volume. I love to use this for dramatic lashes that’ll last all day. 

Lipsticks are one of the trickier products to veganise – whether that’s beeswax for the waxy formula or carmine for the red pigment – so Barry M is a great brand to turn to if you’re searching for a new lipstick. I got their Velvet Lip Paint in the shade ‘crave me’ which is the perfect moody brown for the colder months. The day I got it, I wore it on an evening out and was really impressed by its pigmentation and long lasting abilities. Definitely one I’ll be keeping in my bag at all times. 

But more than anything, Barry M is a budget-friendly brand with a full catalogue of cosmetics so it’s great for picking up basics. For example, I love an eyeliner pencil but hate having to spend a fortune on them. This makes Barry M’s £3 Kohl Eye Pencil perfect for me. I already have this in brown and find it really smooth to use and it lasts well throughout the day too, so I was keen to expand my collection with this bolder black shade.

e.l.f.

e.l.f. are the original vegan budget makeup brand. However, as a US brand, it was hard to find their products in the UK for a while. It’s great to see Boots stocking so many of their products. They’ve been doing vegan beauty for so long; you can trust them to have some of the best animal-free makeup formulas around. Here are a couple of my top picks:

• e.l.f. Lip Plumping Gloss – this gloss hits all the right marks – the shades are well pigmented and adds both colour and shine to the lips, they leave lips feeling a little tingly and plumped, plus the texture is smooth not sticky which is the perfect gloss combo. 
• e.l.f.  Primer Infused Shimmer Blush – one of the smoothest blushes I’ve ever used. I’ve got the ‘always silly’ shade which has just the perfect amount of shimmer to it as it delivers a peachy, sunkissed blush. Thanks to the primer infusion this blush will last all day.

Florence by Mills 

Florence by Mills is a Gen-Z beauty line created by actress Millie Bobbie Brown. They actually focus a lot on skincare, which is why I think their Like a Light Skin Tint is so good. It uses plant-based oils like meadowfoam and jojoba to keep skin hydrated and bright. It looks after your skin as it provides a good low-to-medium coverage. Even better, it comes in 20 shades which are spread well between skin tones – making it easy for everyone to find their shade. 

As you can see, Boots has made it really easy for me to fill up my makeup bag with a full-face worth of vegan cosmetics.

Skincare  

Few things in life are as peacefully enjoyable as having a good skincare routine. I’m one of those people that will not only follow their routine every morning and night, but also takes joy from it. It’s a nice, calming way to look after yourself every day. I don’t like anything too complicated in my skincare – my skin always looks best when I keep things simple and use effective plant-based products.

For me (and many others), it’s important to change up my skincare routine with the seasons. My skin is always a bit oilier in the hot summer months and then drier in the cold autumn/winter periods. Boots has made it easy for me to find nourishing vegan skincare products for the winter through their vegan-friendly brands:

Glow Hub

One of my favourite things about Glow Hub is how easy it is to shop for your skin type. As we edge into the colder months, I need to switch to more hydrating products to protect my skin from central heating and harsher weather. Thus, I was immediately drawn to their Nourish & Hydrate range. 

First off, I grabbed their Cleansing Balm, which has the most perfect easy-to-melt texture for the cold British weather. It melts into the skin perfectly – making it a great cleanser for removing all traces of makeup, impurities, and SPF at the end of a long day. It’s got the most gorgeous scent thanks to the peach oil and does a great job of keeping skin feeling hydrated (not stripped or dry) after cleansing.

One of the best ingredients for hydrating skin is hyaluronic acid – so it’s great to have an extra boost on hand when your skin’s feeling dry. I love to keep this Nourish & Hydrate Serum Mist in my bag so I can spritz myself during the day. Not only is it great for the skin, but it also looks and smells amazing – making it a real treat to use on-the-go.

Sukin

Sukin have long been one of my favourite, reliable vegan skincare brands. Their motto is ‘skincare that doesn’t cost the earth’ because sustainability is at the heart of their values, but they keep their prices affordable and fair. Not only are they vegan but they’re also carbon neutral – a big pro for any eco-beauty lover. However, they are Australian made, which makes them a difficult brand to find in the UK. Which is why I love that Boots stock them! 

Here I have their Glow Night Moisturiser – another perfect product for autumn/winter! This is a gorgeously thick night cream which doesn’t just nourish your skin overnight, it helps keep your skin bright too. Whilst the blend of mango butter and squalane deeply hydrates, the pineapple extract helps to naturally exfoliate the skin – this is what helps brighten up your complexion and keep dry skin at bay.

Hope you’ve found this post helpful if you’re looking to swap over your beauty products! I know so many people find it so confusing shopping for vegan beauty products, so I hope I’ve shown just how much easier it is with shops like Boots stocking so many amazing brands.