Cruelty-Free Make-up Brands to Suit Any Budget

Cruelty-Free Make-up Brands to Suit Any Budget
If quality, price or lack of choice has been preventing you from supporting cruelty-free makeup then think again! This week I've been doing some research to find cruelty-free makeup brands to suit any budget. No matter whether you want to save, spend or splurge, this list offers you an extensive insight into what's on offer for your budget!

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Cruelty-Free Make-up Brands to Suit Any Budget
Now, like most women out there - I have my favourite makeup products and brands. Obviously, some of these brands and products changed when I turned cruelty-free in 2015. Instead, I've found new favourites among cruelty-free brands that I adore. I do love makeup and in many ways, investing in it goes hand in hand with my job as a stylist and blogger. I prefer to be completely transparent when talking about how much I spend on fashion items, makeup, etc. While I am fortunate that I get sent many products to try from brands, my own collection of fashion and beauty products is a mixed bag in terms of retail price. There are some items that I like to invest in, but I won't purposely criticise a cheaper product just because of a price tag or brand name.





Below is a list of cruelty-free make-up brands varying from budget - to middle of the range - to high end luxury. To help you better understand the difference:
  • Budget or "low end" are make-up products that you can buy from a stand or in a high street store.
  • Middle of the range or "mid-end" is makeup that you are likely to buy from a brand specific counter, i.e. MAC, Urban Decay, etc.
  • And high end / luxury means that the brand usually has a catwalk show at Fashion Week, or the brand is a very well known fashion house! 
Personally, I find it difficult to name categories that are determined by cost, e.g. low end, high end, etc. Obviously, everyone is different with different budgets and we like to spend our money on different things. While I have shopped from all 3 of the categories below, I feel that brands such as NYX and Art Deco don't fit into what I'd regard as the "budget/high street price bracket". They're not overly expensive, but some products in their collections are significantly more expensive in comparison to other brands on the high street. This is why I've added them to the mid-range category. The same applies to the "luxury brands" - not all of these brands have their own fashion houses, but their prices certainly reflect luxury/high end. 
 

Budget Cruelty-Free Make-up Brands



  1. Milani (I love Milani's matte lipsticks! They are great cruelty-free dupes of MAC! This lipstick is identical to MAC's Lady Danger at less than half the price!)
  2. Wet N Wild 
  3. Catrice (I regularly shop from this brand. I love their nail polishes, lip pencils and eyeshadow palettes.)
  4. Essence (Fantastic nail polishes, nail varnish remover, and eye liner at a great price!)
  5. Colourpop
  6. Physicians Formula
  7. L.A. Girl (I love their powders and palettes.)
  8. Pixi by Petra
  9. Pacifica
  10. E.L.F Cosmetics (Stands for "EYES, LIPS, FACE". This brand has excellent brushes, false eyelashes, and lots of other great accessories.)
  11. Barry M (Fantastic contour kit and palettes.)

Mid-End Cruelty-Free Makeup Brands



  1. Too Faced
  2. Urban Decay (Amazing eyeshadow palettes!)
  3. Art Deco
  4. Kat von D (The Queen of liners)
  5. Milk Makeup
  6. Cover FX
  7. Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics
  8. Lime Crime (The brand that started the unicorn trend)
  9. NYX (My favourite everyday brand at the moment!)

High-End and Luxury Cruelty-Free Makeup Brands



  1. Charlotte Tilbury (I guarantee you won't be disappointed with anything you buy!)
  2. Hourglass (Amazing foundation)
  3. Illamasqua (Great foundation!)
  4. Fenty Beauty by Rihanna (Excellent range of products for all skin tones)
  5. Marc Jacobs Beauty (Lovely perfume)
  6. Anastasia Beverly Hills (Their eyebrow pomade is a life changer)
  7. By Terry 
  8. Chantecaille
  9. Tarte (Beautiful eyeshadow palettes. Great quality foundation and concealer!)
  10. Becca
  11. Josie Maran

Why and When I Switched to Cruelty-Free Makeup


In 2015 I switched over to supporting only cruelty-free cosmetics and fashion. This means no cosmetics that are tested on animals! To be perfectly honest with you, I didn't really know much about animal testing prior to my ethical changeover. The media and certain brands (non-ethical brands might I add) have a habit of making animal testing sound far less severe than it really is. It's not a case of "applying blusher to bunnies" - yes, I've actually seen that written somewhere! Statements like this make animal testing sound almost cute and comical, in the same way you'd regard putting a jumper or coat on your dog in winter to stop him/her from getting cold.
I would never go back to buying from brands that test on animals or that test ingredients in their products on animals. I'd just rather not buy cosmetics! I'm happy to include luxury brands on this list of brands because they are cruelty-free. However, speaking for myself, I don't think there's anything luxurious about a brand or a product that causes suffering and pain to innocent creatures. Through my journey I have also discovered that ingredients in products that are not cruelty-free are more harmful than in ethical products. If you're struggling with adult acne, I'd highly recommend making the switch! It's worked wonders for me!
So to finish on a high, are you currently looking for cruelty-free versions of products that you're using at the moment? Do you use any cruelty-free or vegan cosmetics that you love and would like to recommend? Let me know! ?

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