Why the future is all about vegan makeup
Vegan makeup is essentially any cosmetic containing no animal derivatives. More than ever before, makeup lovers are becoming more ethically conscious and turning towards more cruelty-free cosmetic alternatives. But not all vegan products are necessarily good for you. Many cosmetics tout ‘vegan’ to be their number one selling point, but fail to alert you that their alternative ingredients are mostly synthetic, or worse, contain harmful parabens.
Who wants to be covered in animal fat?
If you are an animal and health-conscious makeup lover, bride, model, actor or musician that uses HD makeup on a regular basis, speak with your makeup artists to ensure that what they are using is in line with your ethical standards.
Similarly, no vegetarian bride wants to be smothered in animal-tested, animal-based products on their wedding day.
There has also been a lot of controversy recently around pork derivatives in cosmetics that breach both Halal and Kosher religious standards.
Makeup artists have a fundamental, ethical duty to ensure they can provide products to suit the needs of their ethically-minded, vegetarian and vegan clients.
Yes, we all love to rely on our favourite cult products, but there are a range of professional-standard products out there that will do the job just as well – or even better.
I am a firm believer in suiting my kit to my clients’ needs as much as possible and over time, have found some fantastic, animal-friendly brands that deliver excellent professional results. But one thing I could never find was a vegan setting powder that was actually good for the skin’s health and delivered the professional results I needed when working on shoots, television commercials and my private clients. So I decided to formulate my own. After years of working, testing and refining my HD setting powder, I finally launched it to share with the rest of the world.
What to look out for
Ensure to avoid the following ingredients if you are vegetarian, vegan or a makeup artist catering for your clients’ animal-friendly needs. None of my products sold contain any of these:
- Carmine or cochineal- coloring made from boiling and crushing insect (many blushers and lipsticks contain carmine)
- Lanolin- moisturising agent derived from sheep (many lip balms and body butters contain lanolin)
- Beeswax/pollen/bee products (often found in lipsticks and lip balms)
- Lard (this could be sheep, cow or pig derived)
- Tallow (this could be sheep, cow or pig derived)
- Lactose or Lactalbumin
- Silk derivatives
- Propolis
- Elastin (from cows)
- Hyaluronic acid
This list is by far means not exhaustive. So many times we get caught up in the ‘hype’ of a glam new product, only to forget to read the fine print. Small changes can make a big difference to both your health, well-being and the safety and sustainability of our fellow creatures.
Feature image credits: Photographer @beahcmodelphotography Model tiffany winteler Makeup artist @williamspromakeup