Glam but first coffee
A list and review of popular cruelty-free brands. More I learn about brands and products and my own taste, the more I fall for cruelty-free and vegan products and brands that represent them. The more I fall for these products, the more I want to dedicate my blog to exactly these brands that choose to not hurt animals in any form or way.
I decided to write more about cruelty- free brands that I have discovered and the ones that I need to discover and try in my life. Want to share my discoveries with you and make you think of who you support and why. While I was reading the list of cruelty-free brands, I was so happy that there are so many brands, popular brands that have chosen to be cruelty-free and animal friendly. Today I would want to introduce you with them.
If you love cruelty- free products or if you are interested to know more and use more of animal friendly products, then you are welcome to read further and follow my blog because there are a lot more to come!
I will start with the brands and products that I have used and advice you to try out.
Beauty blender
Who does not know about the famous makeup sponge that changed the world? The quality is very good and soft but really pricey. They have come out also with a foundation that I have not tried yet. Beauty Blender had a small drama about the shades that came out but now they have launched a lot of new tones for different skin tones. Definitely hoping to give it a try one day.
You can buy your beauty blender in Sephora or their website.
Ciaté
A few years ago, I decided to order some beauty advent calendars for the first time, so I ordered a Ciaté advent calendar for Christmas. They had a good price and a great shipping policy. That way I had an amazing possibility to try out the brand and not regret it. Some of their nail polishes really became my favourites, including the glitter and pearls for creating designs.
Obsessed with the bow packaging as well. I have not tried out the makeup yet. You probably know I love bows, that is why I am also in love with Ted Baker designs. Ciaté is not only a cruelty-free brand but also vegan.
EcoTools
Eco tools will be always in my heart and mind as the first good and brand makeup brushes I ever used. To be completely honest, I still use them up until this day and some are my favourites of all time and I think they are one of the bests for the price point. I really like natural design they have, and the fact that they are vegan and cruelty-free make these brushes even more valuable. I am sticking up for this brand and cannot wait to use more of their brushes.
In my daily makeup routine, I use their large powder brush, blush brush and full eyeshadow brush. I have washed them many times and they are still like new ones. The bristles do not fall out at all, and they are very full and therefore work very well.
ELF cosmetics
Cruelty-free, paraben-free and vegan- what else can we ask for? For good price and quality, I would say, and ELF cosmetics also has that- a good price and some very fantastic products. Even Jeffree Star has mentioned, tested and talked about some of their products.
I am very surprised by some of their lipsticks which have become one of my favourites. They are very creamy and moisturising. Obviously, the lipsticks are not very long-lasting but I love the formula and the shades.
Other surprises I had are the eye brushes- crease and blending brushes. I cannot imagine my eye looks without using these eye brushes. They work perfectly, are not too hard and blend very well. I got them for $1 each from Shopmissa- an amazing deal for such a quality product.
Essence
Essence is one of those very affordable brand which are meant more for young audience. They sometimes have some fun and colourful packaging and the price is very low. To the brands like Essence the quality can even be very good (I have tried some highlights and blushes before, and they worked amazing), but the packaging breaks very easily. That is very common thing for these brands. I am very nicely surprised that they are very affordable but still can be cruelty-free brand. Meanwhile some luxurious high-end brands think they cannot make a product without harming an animal.
GOSH Copenhagen
I feel like not everyone will know about Gosh. I found out about Gosh some years ago when I won a mini palette No. 004 from them in a Facebook contest and I have been very obsessed ever since. Those mini palettes are one of the bests I have seen. The packaging is very sleek black, the pigmentation is so good, and it also has a very good wide mirror. I have only palette No.004 with natural brown colours inside, but they have also glitter, purple and other shade palettes that I would love to get my hands on one day.
In the beauty exhibition I bought their powder and I like how soft and matte it is, but I would not suggest it for dry skin- that is why it did not always work for me because I have dry patches around the nose and on the forehead. The powder could work very well for oily skin.
Buy GOSH Copenhagen products HERE
Kiko Milano
Kiko Milano is a medium-low budget makeup brand which still has very good products and not only products but also good quality packaging and which is rare for affordable makeup brands. Some months ago I decided to order from them some of the products and see myself if the brand is as good as many say it is.
Right now I am using Radiant powder from Kiko Milano and I like the natural soft and matte finish it gives my skin.
I also ordered an eyebrow pencil. The formula works very great, it is not too hard and not too soft but the only detail I want to add is that the shade is a little bit too brown for me, I like more natural light nude almost or grey shades. But the pencil works great and is not bad.
If you are living in very hot country and sweating a lot, or you like to wear makeup to gym or beach then the waterproof eyeliner is just for you! I was shocked of how good it is. The only cons are that therefor you need to apply it as correctly as possible because it dries off very fast and is difficult to correct it. Sometimes it can be difficult to take it off, but then just hold the cotton pad with makeup remover on your eye a little bit longer and the eyeliner will come off easier.
The last things I ordered are lipsticks because I love lip products. I ordered two matte lipsticks from the same range. I am not a big fan of the formula because they seem a bit too dry and you definitely will need more time to apply them well, it takes more time but in the end looks great.
The third lipstick I ordered is the normal shiny lipstick and I am so obsessed with it. Perfect shade and colour for spring and summertime. It has a wet and soft texture, and a lovely shine to it as well as a coral shade that gives your lips a healthy and juicy shade.
Lush
Who does not know about beautiful and iconic Lush bath and shower products? When we had Lush in my country (Latvia, where I lived before), I used to shop a lot in there for bath bombs, oils and even some shower gels and hair products. I was very addicted to Lush products, unfortunately lately I have not had a chance but I advice Lush to all of you. I especially cannot imagine winter and Christmas season without Lush because the company come out with festive launches.
Lush is also very famous for their lip scrubs, especially the Christmas one and bubble gum. Lip scrubs are sugar-based, taste and smell very good and do not cause you to harm if you eat them. But if you feel bad doing it, just wash it off with warm water. I have had both of the scrubs and they are my favourite. Lush also has a Popcorn scented scrub.
NYX
NYX is one of my favourite affordable makeup brands. If before it was more known of their great lip products and eye pencils (at least I have used some great pencils), then lately they have stepped up their artistic eye shadow and glitter game. And not only, NYX have a lot of different products for your creative mind. NYX even has a contest every year for the most artistic makeup artists and look. The winner receive money and can go to USA for special NYX event. How cool is that?
I have a lot of NYX products in my wish list, but the first products I bought from NYX were lip products (what a surprise). I bought NYX mega shine lip gloss (in lovely peachy orange shade, and it has a almond scent); some plumping lipsticks that I cannot find on their webpage anymore as well as lip matte cream, which my favourite is in shade Amsterdam. Lip matte cream stays on lips forever and the shade is so juicy red and suits my skin perfectly.
NYX HD photogenic concealer is great for under-eye coverage but is a little bit patchy and does not give as full coverage as I would like. A face duo with concealer and bronzer on it is a very great product to use for sculpting. I only now realised how great the bronzer part is giving a natural tan finish.
NYX Wonder eye pencil give the natural wider eye look when using on the waterline.
Pixi beauty
Pixi beauty has a brand that has lovely packaging, a great owner or at least it seems like that and very good quality for both sides- skincare and makeup. It is very rare that a brand has makeup and skincare and that both have very good feedback.
Pixi beauty products are in the middle price range- they are not the most affordable but definitely not expensive as well. I got the chance finally try their skincare line and the new glow collection which was inspired by the famous glow tonic. Now the whole glow tonic is in my skincare routine. I wrote the whole review about the new collection.
Read review about Pixi Beauty glow collection HERE
I still need to try out Pixi beauty makeup. I would love to especially try out their liquid lipsticks and eye shadow palettes. From what I have seen their pigmentation and quality are just amazing!
Real techniques
Back in time Real technique brushes were very popular between influencers and YouTubers and they mentioned a lot their brushes. When I started to seriously get into makeup, I needed to increase my brush collection, therefor I decided to buy Real Techniques brush set and for the price they work amazingly. I already have planned to buy the eye shadow brush set that I have seen in stores. The quality is great and brushes feel very soft.
I already mentioned EcoTools and Elf cosmetics brushes, and I will add Real Techniques brushes which are must-have if you are a beginner in makeup or want to have good but affordable makeup brushes. From the brush set I bought, I mostly use a buffing brush and powder brush.
Buy Real Techniques brushes HERE.
Sleek
Sleek has one of the most beautiful black and matte packaging. I always thought that Sleek is from more expensive brands but it is not. Probably I had that idea due to the sleek packaging and good quality.
Unfortunately, I had used only their eyebrow pencil which very fast became one of my favourites, but I have heard that their blush and bronzer and powder palettes are very great as well as other products. Have you tried some of their products and which would you advise others to buy?
The body shop
The body shop and their famous body butters in all possible scents – who have not tried some of them? The body shop have a lot of good body and bath products that I have tried and loved them completely. I am also loving the advent calendar that they launch every year around November. Products from their advent calendar are great for if you travel a lot and take a trips- I use a lot of The body ship products during travels.
The body shop has also a makeup line which I have not had a chance to try a lot. The only product I tried is a black eye pencil which is one of my favourites- is very black and easy to draw on, as well as a flat eyeshadow brush that works great to create crease looks.
Buy the Body shop products HERE
Zoeva
Zoeva is a middle priced makeup brand that not everyone knows about. In Spain, Zoeva products are sold in Sephora but I noticed that in the USA it is not. Zoeva has amazing eyeshadow palettes. I have Zoeva matte eyeshadow palette and the colours, blend and pigmentation are amazing! Something like Morphe quality or higher considering also the nice packaging.
Zoeva matte palette has very great natural colours, I really like to use it in autumn because of the brick, orange and brown tones the palette holds.
These were all the popular and more known cruelty brands that I have used before in my life or use right now. The next ones are the list which I hear the most on Youtube videos, blogs and Instagram profiles.
Reasons, why I have not tried these brands, are usually that they are not possible to buy on the spot in my country, or financial reasons (like right now, shameful to admit it but I want to be as transparent as possible).
Anastasia Beverly Hills
Bare Minerals
Becca
Charlotte Tilbury
Colourpop
Covergirl
Derma E
Drunk Elephant
Elemis
Gerard cosmetics
IT cosmetics
Jeffree Star
Jouer
Juvia’s places
Kat von D
Kylie cosmetics
Madara cosmetics
I am especially proud to see Madara cosmetics in the list of cruelty-free makeup brands because it is Latvian brand.
Marc Jacobs beauty
Milani
Milk Makeup
Natasha Denona
Physicians Formula
PUR cosmetics
Smashbox
Stila
Tarte
Tatcha
Too faced
Urban Decay
A list and review of popular cruelty-free brands. What cruelty-free brands are your favourite and what brands/ products do you advise me to get?
UPDATED! Garnier is cruelty-free too! Read the review of the best face mask!
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