My Go-To Guide to Vegan Makeup: What I Use!

Vegan and cruelty-free makeup is so easy to find these days! With so many options out there, the next challenge is deciding what to try. To help you out, here’s an overview of my favourite products.

As a disclaimer, I am not a qualified makeup artist (or even close to one) but, I love makeup and have been using it for over a decade so I like to think I know a thing or two!

Primer

My all-time favourite primer is the Youngblood mineral primer. It goes on like a dream! The only downside is the price, it's not the cheapest product out there (around $80). Youngblood products are sold in several NZ stores, the easiest way to find the nearest stockist to you is by asking BeautySense (the NZ suppliers) directly. DON'T purchase "Youngblood" products off Strawberry.net as they are knock-offs/fakes.

* Not all Youngblood products are vegan.

My other go-to primer is much more affordable - Designer Brands Gold Elixir Priming Potion. You can buy Designer Brands products from a lot of pharmacies for less than $20. You can also purchase it directly off their website. I like it because it works, it lasts me quite a long time and it's cheap!

*100% of Designer Brands products are vegan.

Foundation

Once again, Youngblood is my #1 - their Mineral Foundation is seriously the best foundation I've ever used. Before this, I've only used liquid foundation but this was a real gamechanger for me. You just really want to make sure that you get the right shade - normally stockists will do a colour check on you first (if they don't offer that, please ask!). I use the shade called 'honey' - a little ironic I know.

* Not all Youngblood products are vegan.

I also use the Designer Brands Flawless All in One Foundation. It's a great back up and I sometimes use it along with my Youngblood to help it last longer. This also acts as a concealer. I use the colour 727 Nude Beige. This is really affordable too - around $18.

*100% of Designer Brands products are vegan.

Concealer

The Aleph Beauty Concealer/Foundation is incredible! As the name suggests, it works as both concealer and foundation. I use the colours 2.0 and 3.0 and mix them both together. You can purchase Aleph Beauty products directly off their website.

*100% of Aleph Beauty products are vegan.

Setting Powder

I use the Youngblood Mineral Rice Loose Setting Powder (in shade medium). It makes my skin feel soft and helps my foundation look nice for longer!

* Not all Youngblood products are vegan.

Bronzer

I use the INIKA Organics Baked Mineral Bronzer. I use it on my face and neck and love it! It lasts the longest time as well. Some pharmacies in NZ stock their products and you can buy directly from their website.

*100% of INIKA Organics products are vegan.

Blush

Designer Brands have quite a few different blush products and I've tried a lot of them! The Make 'Em Blush Pressed Mineral Blush (shade Pink Glow) is beautiful. It all depends on what shade you like though, I prefer pink tones over oranges or reds!

*100% of Designer Brands products are vegan.

I also use, INIKA Organic Mineral Blush Puff Pot (Rosy Glow), the wee brush makes this product really easy to use and I LOVE the colour!

*100% of INIKA Organics products are vegan.

Eyeliner - Liquid

Liquid eyeliner is a product I use daily and I'm pretty fussy about it! I don't like it when they are hard to use and if they take a long time to dry (then I end up with black eyelids and anger problems). My favourite at the moment is the Natio Precision Eyeliner (in black). The pen design makes it super easy to use. I always have winged upper eyeliner and this product makes the corners easy to do. Some Farmers stores and pharmacies in NZ stock their products and you can buy directly from their website.

* Not all Natio products are vegan.

Eyeliner - Pencil

I am obsessed with the RevitaLash Cosmetics Defining Liner Eyeliner - it is smudge-proof and goes on like a dream! You also don't have to use one of the awful pencil sharpeners that leave a mess behind with this. I use this for my bottom eyeliner but you can use it on the top too - it also has a little smudging tool to blend if you're into that. You can buy their products from some hair salons in NZ and directly off their website.

*100% of RevitaLash Cosmetics products are vegan.

Eyeshadow

My long-time favourite eyeshadow is the Designer Brands Wish Upon A Star Eyeshadow Palette. This is pretty old (I've really been savouring it haha) and I don't think it's sold in NZ anymore. The good news is that they have lots of similar palettes. You can check them out here.

*100% of Designer Brands products are vegan.

Another really affordable eyeshadow ($22) is the Smack Eyeshadow Palette 12. I use all the brown and gold shades and really love how they go on! Some of the colours have little specks of gold glitter which look so pretty on your lids! You can buy Smack products directly off their website.

I've also been using the Smack Highlighter Loose Powder (shade number 8) as an eyeshadow - it's seriously the most beautiful colour!

*100% of Smack products are vegan.

Eyebrow filler

I fill my brows in with the elf Instant Lift Brow Pencil. One end is a pencil that you and through your brows and the other end is a brush. It's only $8 from Kmart! You can also purchase their products directly from their website.

*100% of elf products are vegan.

Eye of Horus make the most beautiful products and I am a big fan of their Brow Define Light (In colour Husk) product! I like it because it fills your brows in, in a really natural way - there's no thick vivid marker effect with these. You can buy their products off their website.

* Not all Eye of Horus products are vegan.

Mascara

The RevitaLash Cosmetics Double-ended Volume Set Primer and Mascara is by far my favourite mascara! It makes your lashes super long and is buildable so you can go for a natural look or a full-on 'pop' look. I love that it's easy to use and doesn't spurge out in clumps. I sometimes flag eyeliner and just wear this mascara because it is so good.

*100% of RevitaLash Cosmetics products are vegan.

Highlighter

I have about 5 different highlighters by Designer Brands and the Liquid Gold Jelly Highlighter is one of my favourites. I like the liquid ones because they don't leave a dry skin look behind, instead, it leaves my cheekbones looking fresh! That might not happen to everyone but I naturally have quite dry skin.

*100% of Designer Brands products are vegan.

The Smack Highlighter Palette (shade 2) is also amazing! It's really easy to apply and you don't have to put much on. I put this on my cheekbones and in the corner of my eyes.

*100% of Smack products are vegan.

Lip Stick

I have LOADS of lip sticks (a lot are by DB Designer Brands) but the Aleph Beauty cheek/lip tint (in colour Pixie) is my current go-to. I quite like wearing natural colours and this lip tint looks and feels natural. This lip tint doesn't leave that 'half done' look as it comes off. I love this product and highly recommend it!

*100% of Aleph Beauty products are vegan.

I highly rate the Organic Skin Co Petal Power Cheeky Lips - another beautiful lip tint that goes on so perfectly! It doesn't make your lips dry like a lot of lipsticks seem to (they do for me at least!). You can buy this off the World Organics website.

*100% of the Organic Skin Co. products are vegan.

So far the only two Smack lip products that I've tried are the Lip Gloss (colour 08) and the Matte Liquid Lipstick (colour 18) and I think they are both BEAUTIFUL! I love the Smack products so much I'm on the verge of trying to meet with Kmart directly to get them to start stocking them haha! These lip products are only $12 each... such a bargain for good, cruelty-free and vegan products!

*100% of Smack products are vegan.

Makeup Brushes

I'm in love with the makeup brushes by the Organic Skin Co, I have the A WHOLE LOT OF LOVELY – set of 12 makeup brushes and they are seriously beautiful! They are soft and high quality which makes the world of difference. I'm also lazy and would rather have one amazing set than multiple individual brushes - it's also handy knowing that this set is 100% vegan!

*100% of the Organic Skin Co. products are vegan.

I use the Natio Complexion Perfection Foundation Sponge to apply my DB Designer Brands foundation. This really helps with making sure my makeup is even and prevents my skin from looking dry (don't ask me how because it feels like magic!).

* Not all Natio products are vegan.

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If you have favourites that I haven't listed above that you think I should try, let me know: tara@aguidetovegan.com