When I first committed to buying only vegan products, I wasn’t sure what sort of sacrifices I would have to make with my beauty routine. Not because finding vegan makeup is that difficult, but because I’m the sort of consumer who is also concerned about toxins in conventional makeup products.
I only buy non-toxic and cruelty-free beauty products. Which is surprising pretty easy in 2018! 🎉 But what can be a little tricky is finding the best non-toxic makeup that is also vegan. Why is that? Because most natural makeup brands use beeswax as a solidifier. And beeswax is not vegan. This makes it especially difficult to find non-toxic vegan mascara to build dramatic lash volume and length. And, hello, I’m all about the drama. 💁♀️
I’ve tried out a few vegan mascaras over the years. Here is my round up of go-to non-toxic mascaras that are also free from animal and insect ingredients!
This is easily my go-to vegan mascara. And the ingredients are pretty good as well! What is truly innovative about this Pacifica mascara is the twist-to-transform wand. I naturally have long lashes, so I’m often looking for a bit of length and noticeable volume. But I also don’t want my lashes looking clumpy. So with many mascaras, I use a spoolie to brush out any product clumps. However, the Dream Big Lash Extending mascara is like having two different applicator brushes in one. With a twist of the end of the wand, the bristles move closer together or farther apart. You can alternate between plumping or lengthening applications without reaching for a different product or tool!
I love that I can compress the wand down to build super thick lashes, and then unwind it a bit to separate and lengthen my lashes. Vegan status aside, this is quite possibly the most versatile mascara I’ve ever tried! It also stays put all day without flaking. Of the vegan mascara options in this list, Pacifica’s Dream Big is probably the easier to track down at physical stores. Bonus that it’s also a pretty affordable non-toxic mascara!
Be sure to check your local Whole Food beauty section for Pacifica products. If there are no Whole Foods nearby, you can order online or sometimes find them in-stock at green beauty boutiques or anywhere else you typically buy cruelty-free and vegan mascara.
Pro Tip: This formula gets better after it’s used. A fresh tube may not provide the most dramatic results. Just give the formula time to dry out a bit! By the fifth or sixth application, you will notice really dramatic lashes.
FitGlow Beauty makes some of my favourite healthy mascaras. I was hooked on their original formula for years! This is the new and improved formula with a super-sized wand. So what’s different about this 2.0 version? It is packed full of botanical goodness to promote thicker, healthier lash growth. It’s basically a mascara and eyelash serum in one. When I wear this mascara, I get compliments and questions from strangers. Everyone notices the bold “are those her real lashes?” look when I wear this formula.
While I love the falsie-eyelash look you can achieve with this mascara, I do find it smudges easily. Because of that, I only use it on my top lashes. (For smudge-proof, see my note below.)
This vegan mascara is perfect for lashes that need a little TLC but also desire extra drama. If you live in Toronto, you can pick up FitGlow Beauty products from Pure + Simple spas.
I was a huge fan of the Fruit Pigments mascara by 100% Pure. It was my ride-or-die green mascara. When it comes to ingredient integrity, you cannot do better than 100% Pure. However, it was a product I had to give up when I committed to buying only vegan products. It took me a while to try their new Maracuja Oil mascara, but I’m so glad I did!
This a fantastic everyday mascara. The formula contains coffee, cocoa, seaweed, green tea, vitamin B and lots of other good stuff! Your lashes will be super nourished and happy with this light-weight mascara. I find that I’m not able to build as much shape and length with this vegan mascara. However, I still reach for it often because it looks beautiful on low-key makeup days. And I know it’s doing my lashes good.
A cruelty-free, water-resistant mascara that I also want to mention is Blinc mascara. Blinc mascara isn’t really “green” and it’s not great for building volume, in my humble opinion, but what it is fabulous for is your lower lashes! I literally never use anything else on my lower lashes. Once I tried Blinc mascara, I was so impressed with it’s immaculate staying powder that I didn’t even want to test out other formulas. I don’t want to look in the mirror at 4 pm and see raccoon eyes. I want to just apply my mascara and not think about it again. And to be honest, most natural mascara doesn’t hold up well in heat or humidity.
Once this formula dries, it will not transfer and it will not move. Why? Because it’s not a traditional “paint” mascara. It only sticks to itself and not your skin. As it dries, the coating forms a tiny tube or straw structure around each lash. If you splash a lot of water on them, they become malleable and can slip off each lash. The first time I removed this mascara I was a little freaked out. It looked like weird stretchy spider legs slipping off my lashes. (Not sure how else to describe?) This mascara does not mess around. If you read the reviews on the website, you’ll see positive reviews from female bikers and athletes who love that the mascara doesn’t run, transfer or flake. It’s simply perfect for high-performance wear.
Warning note: The Blinc mascara that I bought has a different ingredient list than the website. (?) I reached out to the company for clarification but did not hear back. I’m not sure if they just changed their formula and didn’t update the website, but be sure to check the ingredients before you buy!