“Organic” is often associated with “expensive”.
This is, for the most part true, because, let’s face it: you get what you pay for.
Organic makeup brands mean quality ingredients, ethical sourcing, and reduced impact—all of which cost money.
Sure, that 99¢ lipstick might seem like a bargain, but how cheap do the ingredients have to be to make it at that price? And what price might you pay for exposing your body to that later on?
Investing in safe and sustainable products is well worth the extra bucks.
However, we also believe clean beauty products should not be out of reach, which is why we’ve prioritized the all-natural makeup brands that will give you pouty lips without needing to pout over the price.
So what do we look for in a healthy makeup brand? Ingredients (ideally organic) that are recognizable, the ethical sourcing of those ingredients, and animal testing (as in there is none), among other considerations.
In the coming months, we’ll be rolling out our updated Brand Rating System, expanding this evaluation to several more criteria, including chemical use and product packaging. Here’s some more information if you want to know more.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
The Best Natural Makeup Brands Beautifying You Organically
It could be Dab Herb, who creates affordable, sustainable products using almost entirely organically-grown ingredients.
Or perhaps Axiology who is also doing its part to keep the earth healthy with multi-use products that come packaged in nearly nothing.
Index: Organic & Natural Makeup Brands
- Axiology Jump to brand
- Dab Herb Jump to brand
- Elate Cosmetics Jump to brand
- INIKA Organic Jump to brand
- 100% Pure Jump to brand
- Ilia Beauty Jump to brand
- Well People Jump to brand
- RMS Beauty Jump to brand
- Bee You Cosmetics Jump to brand
- River Organics Jump to brand
- Moonrise Creek Jump to brand
Axiology
Axiology’s Makeup
Price Range: $–$$
As far as cruelty-free and vegan organic makeup brands go, Axiology is the balm.
This zero waste makeup brand’s award-winning 3-in-1 lip, cheek, and eye crayons are made of only nine natural ingredients—crayon you believe that!?
These “Balmies” come in several shades, ranging from cool, icy shimmers to warm hues, and are best for those with oily skin who want a moisturizing semi-matte finish.
Axiology would never forget about you dry skin makeup artists out there, however.
Their multi-sticks are made with a trifecta of oils (coconut, avocado, and grapeseed) that result in a subtle, dewy finish and a needed hydration boost for those with dry skin.
About Axiology
Axiology is one of the best organic makeup brands at Ulta (impressive considering they had humble beginnings in a kitchen).
Their products have always been ethically sourced, cruelty-free, and vegan, but Axiology recently made the switch to being 100% plastic-free when they ditched traditional lipstick tubes for paper-wrapped crayons.
They partner with a women’s cooperative in Bali that turns paper trash into beautiful recyclable packaging; cleaning the island while simultaneously providing stable income for women in the community.
Dab Herb
Dab Herb’s Makeup
Price Range: $–$$
This next affordable natural makeup brand has cult status and for good reason.
From lips to lids, Dab Herb has all your organic and pregnancy-safe makeup needs covered.
Like compostable paper tube lip tint and an innovative mascara bar for those focusing on zero waste beauty.
Their formulations are made from natural and organic ingredients like raw shea butter, unrefined avocado oil, red raspberry, cornflowers, spirulina, and coffee seed extract.
Many of which are certified organic, food-grade, or wildcrafted.
Any mineral pigments like mica—such as that in their stunningly colorful plant eyeliners—are ethically sourced in the USA.
About Dab Herb
Dab Herb greets shoppers with, “Welcome to the healthiest decision you’ve made yet.”
The “nature to nurture” approach promises every one of their products are made with organic, wild-crafted, cruelty-free, and vegan ingredients for healthy skin.
Making our world a little healthier, they only use recyclable paper mailers and plastic-free shipping materials, on top of the glass or metal containers their products are housed in.
They also support Made in the Free World, a global organization working to end human trafficking and support those who have fallen victim to it.
Elate Cosmetics
Elate Cosmetics’ Makeup
Price Range: $–$$
We hope your sustainable makeup bag is ready—because Elate Cosmetics is one of the best organic makeup brands to fill your bag with all you could need for eyes, face, and lips.
Things like mascara, eyeliner, brow balm, pressed eye color, foundation, primer, concealer, blush, bronzer, and organic lip balms, glosses, and sticks.
They even carry the vegan makeup brushes you’ll need to apply it all—like the multi-use brush, which can just about cover all your application needs.
Each product is made with 100% vegan and cruelty-free ingredients, many of which are also fair trade and/or certified organic (as about 90% are).
They only use responsibly sourced mica and titanium dioxide, which are free of nano-sized particles.
Many items are housed in either glass bottles with a recyclable plastic pump and compostable bamboo or recyclable aluminum tins.
About Elate Cosmetics
Elate is a Canadian natural makeup brand driven by five conscious beauty principles: impact, ethics, community, future, and mission.
They believe a makeup routine can have a positive global impact and they’re making it possible through transparency, sustainable packaging, consciously chosen ingredients, inclusion, and the desire to continue reducing their impact.
Their inexpensive natural makeup products are packaged in compostable or recyclable containers, like bamboo compacts or seed paper palette refills.
Thanks to Elate’s partnership with Bullfrog Power, you’ll also be supporting a carbon-neutral company when you buy their affordable all-natural makeup.
INIKA Organic
INIKA Organic’s Cosmetics
Price Range: $$–$$$
INIKA Organic is one of our favorite organic makeup brands Australia offers.
They believe natural products should not compromise on quality and performance.
Rather than synthetic fragrances and additives, they craft their natural makeup with botanical extracts and rich mineral pigments that are clinically proven to provide skincare benefits.
Because who says your skincare and makeup routine can’t be a two-in-one deal?
With organic primers, concealers, foundations, blushes, bronzers, contours, mascaras, eyeliners, shadows, brow fillers, organic lipsticks, lip glosses, and more, INIKA has something for every step of your beauty routine.
Each item is certified by Vegan Society, Ecocert COSMOS Natural, and PETA.
We especially love the gorgeous warm colors of the Sunset Eyeshadow Quad—and we love even more that the elegant compact is paper, not plastic.
About INIKA Organic
With a higher level of certifications than any others in the beauty industry, INIKA is arguably one of the best clean makeup brands out there.
The award-winning Australian natural makeup brand is proud to be the first certified plastic-neutral makeup brand globally.
Their earth-friendly packaging is made mostly from sustainable and reused materials, such as aluminum, glass, sugar cane, PCR plastic, and glass.
Better still, they support a circular economy by funding the collection and repurposing of plastic into fence posts that are donated to rural communities affected by natural disasters.
100% Pure
100% Pure’s Makeup
Price Range: $$
100% Pure has an extensive catalog of vegan, cruelty-free, and certified organic mascara, lipsticks, eyeshadow, foundation, concealer, lip balm, primer, and blush.
One we’ve tested (and love) is the Creamy Long Last Liner, made with moisturizing jojoba oil, shea butter, marula oil, sunflower oil, and vitamin E.
The fruit-pigmented eyeliner pencil is long-lasting and easily glides across lids for extra definition and pop.
It’s available in an intense kohl black, deep espresso brown, and shimmery silver.
About 100% Pure
100% Pure uses the magic of plant-based ingredients and pigments to craft high-quality vegan makeup.
The team goes through a strict process to ensure none of the ingredients are animal-sourced or contain toxic materials, FD&C colorants, or heavy metal dyes.
They plan to replace all packaging with post-consumer recycled or recyclable materials and reduce petrochemical-based packaging by 75% by 2024.
All of the organic and vegan beauty products are shipped in recyclable boxes containing biodegradable packing peanuts.
And for every purchase, 100% Pure donates one bowl of vegan dog food or plants a tree, depending on the customer’s choice.
Ilia Beauty
ILIA Beauty’s Makeup
Price Range: $$
ILIA Beauty is one of the more luxury natural makeup brands out there offering Leaping Bunny-certified face, lip, eye, skincare, and multi-use products that are thoughtfully formulated without gluten, parabens, petroleum, mineral oil, talc, and chemical screens.
If you aren’t sure what products to try out first, keep it simple with one of their eye, lip, or complexion sets.
They believe synthetic ingredients are not all black and white: not every synthetic is bad, and not every natural skin care ingredient is good.
That said, some of their products do contain synthetic dyes.
About ILIA Beauty
ILIA is dedicated to protecting and reviving both your skin, and the planet.
Ilia donates 1% of proceeds from their Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 sales towards reforestation efforts in the Amazon.
They also only use recycled aluminum, glass components, and responsibly sourced paper packaging, and partner with the Pact Collective to help recycle difficult-to-recycle products.
Well People
Well People’s Makeup
Price Range: $–$$
When it comes to affordable organic makeup brands, Well People simply can’t be beat.
It offers over 35 EWG-approved products covering everything you need for a full-face beat down including full-coverage foundation, concealer, blush, highlighter, contour, bronzer, and setting spray.
Their vegan products are made from antioxidant-rich natural ingredients like green tea, pomegranate, rosehip, and broccoli seed oil—rather than synthetic fragrances, fillers, and preservatives.
We’re stuck on their Supernatural Stick, whose gentle jojoba and sunflower seed oil base makes it suitable for a hydrating blush or lip tint alike.
About Well People
Well people, what more can we say to convince you this is one of the best natural organic makeup brands out there?
What if we tell you about their commitment to human rights?
Well People is the first beauty company to utilize a Fair Trade Certified factory, meaning they promote sustainable livelihoods and safe working conditions for their workers and suppliers.
Every decision Well People makes is to better serve the environment and community, which is why they are experimenting with plastic alternative corn, sugar, and PCR-recycled containers to supplement their FSC-certified paper.
RMS Beauty
RMS Beauty’s Cosmetics
Price Range: $$
RMS Beauty is committed to providing safe cosmetics made from raw, food-grade, certified organic, wildcrafted, and naturally derived ingredients.
As part of the organic makeup brand’s clean commitment, over 2,600 ingredients are banned from their cosmetics.
Naturally, this means that their products are free from parabens, synthetic fragrances, gluten, GMOs, sulfates, and talc.
Your face will be left with a natural glow after you try their foundations, eyeshadows, lipsticks, and more.
If you’re new to RMS, the RMS collection has four iconic travel-sized glow producers perfect for sustainable travel and general sampling.
About RMS Beauty
RMS Beauty was born out of the desire to make beauty and personal care sustainable and attainable.
With 30 years in the field as a master makeup guru, Rose Marie Smith had her lightbulb moment when she realized cosmetics could be made with better, safer ingredients.
Their packaging is made from post-consumer recycled papers and plastics, and easily recyclable materials like aluminum. Not perfect by any means, but zero waste is all about progress over perfection.
They are currently on the road to creating completely refillable cosmetics, starting with refillable primers and natural foundations.
Bee You Cosmetics
Bee You Cosmetics’ Makeup
Price Range: $–$$
Whether you’re after zero waste mascara, foundation, blush, eyeshadow, lip stain, BB cream, or brushes, Bee You Organics will have you buzzing.
Every single item is free from water, alcohol, gluten, palm oil, alcohol, water, synthetics, fragrances, preservatives, fillers, SLS, SLES, parabens, talc, and more.
In other words, they only use natural and organic ingredients you could pretty much eat.
You can’t go wrong with a cruelty-free, gluten-free, and organic meal, can you?
Rest assured knowing the mica in makeup by Bee You is locally sourced non-micro, cosmetic-grade, and has a traceable supply chain that backs up ethical work practices.
Similarly, their beeswax comes from local suppliers or their own apiary, and proceeds help fund both tree planting and sustainable bee research at WSU.
About Bee You Organics
After an accident left her with scars on her face, founder Larissa started using makeup as a cover-up before realizing the ingredients of traditional makeup products left her with irritated skin and breakouts.
Bee You Organics was born.
Part beauty, part zero waste skin care brand, Bee You believes the two are inseparable, hand-making healing products suitable for the most sensitive skin.
Many products come in paper board, tin, or glass containers (which can be returned for refills) and the clean beauty brand is well on its way to getting rid of plastic completely.
You will receive your order carbon-neutral in recycled or handmade seeded paper, along with recycled/recyclable shipping labels.
River Organics
River Organics’ Makeup
Price Range: $
Like the variety of a river itself, River Organics has a little bit of everything you could need to look and feel your best without the hidden cost.
Their affordable organic makeup range covers it all: lip gloss, blush, concealer, eyebrow products, bronzers, highlighters, facial oils, brushes, sets, and more.
We love keeping our lips simple and supple with their Nourishing Lip Balm that truly does just what the name claims thanks to cacao butter, coconut oil, and delicious mango butter.
Imperfect or not, you’ll see a lot of recognizable, organic, and EWG-verified ingredients in the product descriptions like shea butter, arrowroot powder, moringa seed oil, apricot kernel oil, cocoa seed butter, and conflict-free lab-made mica.
About River Organics
River Organics may be based in North Carolina, but their products are inspired by travels far and wide.
Inspired by trips to the Middle East and Europe, the independently-owned brand prioritizes plant oils over the traditional use of creams.
Products are vegan, cruelty-free, and free of palm oil.
Most products are housed in eco-friendly paper packaging and shipped in recycled envelopes with sugarcane labels.
Moonrise Creek
Moonrise Creek’s Cosmetics
Price Range: $–$$
If you’re looking for long-lasting, inexpensive natural makeup, Moonrise Creek has you covered—just like their matte and pregnancy safe mineral foundation powders, cream concealers, and liquid foundations.
Face makeup aside, tint sticks, nutrient-rich clear mascara, and botanical lipsticks are just a few of the natural and organic beauty products that the Mountain Moon Tribe offers.
Their cruelty-free botanical cosmetics are handcrafted in small batches with love, intention, and earth-friendly ingredients like jojoba oil, cocoa seed butter, and organic coconut oil.
While formulated without parabens, toxins, or synthetic fragrances, some items contain iron and titanium oxides.
About Moonrise Creek
Moonrise Creek has you covered from sunrise to moonrise with their cosmetics and skin care.
The whimsical family-owned shop also stocks aromatherapy, healing herbal apothecary, and cosmetic tools.
They describe themselves as a planet wise, animal friendly, low-impact, earth conscious company—resulting in over 91,000 5-star average rated sales on Etsy
Happy New Year to all at Sustainable Jungle. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication to helping the rest of us be inspired to do more, in large and small ways, to caretake our world.
We would be honored if you would take a peek at our preliminary line of body care items we have just released. We are very small, but committed to uncompromising standards. As such, we are always researching and learning – what a journey this has been! We are eager for questions, advice, comments, guidance. Blessings on you and your Mission.
Kelly Layne – founder and formulator,
Wiley Women Body Care,
EvoQuelle.com and WileyWomen.com
Hey Kelly, please shoot us an email on this 🙂
i would love to see some brands that are actually affordable. i understand there probably aren’t many, if any at all. but still, i wouldn’t label $20 for a 5oz “sample” of mascara or $35 for foundation as affordable when all the of them brands that were giving me headaches costed half that price. i honestly cannot afford $20 for each of my separate makeup products.
Hi Marc, it’s an important questions. We’ve laid out the way we think about this in this article: https://www.sustainablejungle.com/sustainable-beauty/sustainableconsumer/
Hope that helps!