Roses are red, violets are blue, kissing is great, so here are some eco-friendly lipsticks for you.

What can we say?

We like natural sustainable makeup, especially if we’re applying it right on our lips.

Because, petroleum-based toxic chemicals (like methylparaben, polyparaben, retinyl palmitate, and synthetic dyes) commonly find their way into our favorite splashes of lip color.

Smooching with natural and organic lipstick alternatives is non-negotiable.

While we can’t tell you what the best red lipstick is for your skin tone, we can share some of the healthiest options. Those that are made by brands who prioritize natural and organic ingredients and formulations.

And as we roll out our new Brand Rating System we’ll be vetting brands across 22 different sustainability-related criteria including chemical use and product performance. You can read more about it here.

Ok, time to practice our pouting!

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 Lipstick Brands We’re Puckering Up For

We’d love to give Axiology a big smooch for offering the absolute best sustainable lipstick packaging that’s completely compostable. We’ve been using their 3-in-1 makeup crayons for some time now, and love how nourishing and easy to use they are.

For kissably clean lips, we’re big fans of Dab Herb’s all-natural nourishing lipstick made from food-grade and organic ingredients.

Index: Eco-Friendly Lipstick Brands

  1. Axiology Jump to brand
  2. INIKA Organic Jump to brand
  3. Dab Herb Jump to brand
  4. RMS Beauty Jump to brand
  5. Juice Beauty Jump to brand
  6. Elate Cosmetics Jump to brand
  7. 100% Pure Jump to brand

Axiology

Axiology has not been rated.

Axiology

What is the most sustainable lipstick?

We try not to pick favorites, but Axiology’s Multi Sticks make it hard not to.

Instead of parabens and toxic chemicals, you’ll see their lipstick’s natural ingredients include organic coconut oil, avocado oil, and other nourishing seed oils.

Available in a full range of colors, each one has a little shimmer due to trace non-nano mineral additions like mica and titanium, tin, and iron oxides.

If you want to go even lower waste than these paper eco-friendly round lipstick tubes (or just want to skip the mineral shimmer), check out their Balmies crayons.

Both are 3-in-1 products that can be used on the lips, cheeks, or eyes.

They’re also both vegan, cruelty-free, and absent any synthetic fragrances, gluten, palm oil, alcohol, and synthetic preservatives.

About Axiology

Axiology actually started from a search for cruelty-free lipstick with natural ingredients.

From humble beginnings in founder Ericka Rodriguez’s kitchen, they’re now one of our favorite zero waste beauty brands.

PETA-certified vegan and cruelty-free, their products contain minimal, all-natural and mostly organic ingredients, sourced from fair trade whenever possible.

In addition to not using palm oil, they try to actively combat the effects of palm oil deforestation by donating to Orangutan Foundation International.

All packaging for products and shipping is plastic-free, consisting of FSC-certified cardboard tubes and outer boxes made from recycled paper by a woman-owned initiative in Indonesia.

My Personal Review of Axiology’s Balmies & Multi-Sticks:

“I tested both the Balmies and the Multisticks and love how versatile and easy to use they are. Both are made with 10 or less super nourishing natural ingredients and can be used for lips, cheeks, or eyes. The Balmies are slightly drier so if you have oily skin, they recommend that you opt for these, and for those with drier skin, the multi-sticks. I love both and often pop them in my purse for on-the-go touch-ups.”

Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content

INIKA Organic

INIKA Organic has not been rated.

INIKA

When INIKA Organic says they make “natural lipstick”, they mean it. Each one contains 100% natural ingredients, 72-82% of which are certified organic.

Whether you’re after lipstick, lip gloss, lip tints, lip glaze, or colorless lip care products, you’ll get them in eco-friendly lipstick tubes made entirely of aluminum or glass pots.

If you’re after non-plastic sustainable lipstick, try their Organic Lipstick Crayons. These wood pencils come with a recyclable aluminum tip-protecting cap.

No matter which you choose, you’ll be getting nourishing oils—like shea butter, jojoba oil, argan oil, and sunflower seed oil, to name a few—combined with other botanicals, essential oils, and vitamin E.

Some contain minerals like titanium dioxide, mica, iron oxide, and manganese violet for shimmer, but there are options without.

About INIKA Organic

Of all organic lipstick brands, INIKA Organic might just be the most accredited.

With over 60 awards and certifications from Vegan Society, COSMOS Natural, and PETA, this Australian cosmetics company is proving you can still be big while doing things better.

While they use some post-consumer recycled plastic for product housing, they are Certified Plastic Neutral, meaning for every kilogram of plastic used, they collect and recycle an equivalent amount of the environment.

Thor 4.7 tons of collected plastic (so far) have been turned into fencing for disaster-stricken farming communities.

They also decreased their use of virgin plastic by 84% last year

Dab Herb

Dab Herb has not been rated.

Dab Herb

Dab Herb helps us smooch sustainably with their lip gloss, tints, paints, and balms.

Everything is made from 100% non-toxic food-grade natural and organic ingredients—many of which are also organic—like hemp seed oil, sweet almond oil, avocado oil, shea and cocoa butters, beetroot, rosehips, and other plant-based pigments.

The only preservative here is natural, non-GMO Vitamin E that’s certified Kosher.

For sustainable liquid lipstick, the Organic Lip Gloss with Tint is your best bet. With antibacterial red root, skin-softening alkanet root, and antioxidant beetroot, suffice it to say it’s the best eco-friendly red lipstick.

All varieties come in recyclable, reusable, or compostable containers, like glass tubes, pots, and cardboard tubes.

The glass containers can be sent back to Dab Herb’s California HQ to be refilled.

About Dab Herb

With a focus on “Nature to Nurture,” Dab Herb Makeup is one of the best zero waste makeup brands that combines wellness with consciousness.

In an effort to quell woes over chemical-ridden cosmetics, Dab Herb seeks out the best cruelty-free, food-grade, and vegan ingredients available.

Founder Crissy is committed to creating “medicinal makeup” using responsible sourcing practices. They use fair trade-equivalent standards and don’t use palm oil or its derivatives.

They also support Made in the Free World, a human trafficking organization.

You’ll receive any Dab Herb creation in a plastic-free shipping package, some of which might be reused shipping materials.

My Personal Review of Dab Herb’s Herb Lip Paint:

“Dab Herb’s Herb Lip Paint is the perfect combo of a lip balm and a lipstick. It’s so blendable and smooth that it feels like my lips are getting luxury treatment. It’s made from 100% food-grade ingredients, so yes, it’s basically edible (not that I’ve tried it, but still). The plant-based colors come from beetroot, alkanet, and cherries, and the avocado and hemp seed oils give my lips a serious dose of hydration. I used to also love the nude version, but it seems like it’s no longer available.”

Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content

RMS Beauty

RMS Beauty has not been rated.

RMS Beauty

RMS Beauty’s long-lasting lipstick with organic and natural ingredients comes in several forms, such as tinted lip balm, lip gloss, and more.

For a traditional tube, their Wild With Desire Lipstick leaves nothing to be desired. Available in eight bold shades, this richly pigmented, bleed-free lipstick is best for anyone who wants a splash of color infused with healing antioxidants.

Finish with a swipe of Lip Shine, and you’ll have luscious lips in a way that keeps our planet lush, too.

Instead of chemicals, you’ll find ingredients like certified organic castor seed oil, organic candelilla wax, and organic cocoa seed butter.

Note some do contain iron oxides, titanium dioxide, mica, and some artificial colors, as well as beeswax.

RMS’ eco-friendly lipstick packaging includes recyclable aluminum tubes, glass pots, and, in the case of their multi-color palettes, plastic cases that are 100% recyclable through the PACT cosmetics recycling program

About RMS Beauty

A Clean at Sephora brand, RMS Beauty aims to make conscious makeup more mainstream and create healthy luxurious beauty products using the highest-quality clean ingredients.

Founder and renowned makeup artist with 36 years of experience, Rose-Marie Swift (the RMS of the name) developed this brand in response to her own heavy metal load-induced health problems.

This cruelty-free brand uses raw, minimally processed, and non-toxic ingredients instead, all viewable in full because “[they] have nothing to hide”.

They’re all non-GMO, non-nano, soy-free, cruelty-free, silicone-free, paraben-free, and palm oil-free.

Some ingredients are certified organic and wildcrafted and ALL are personally verified by Rose-Marie herself.

It’s so clean, it’s no wonder they’re considered one of the best pregnancy safe makeup brands.

They also only use packaging that is reusable, recyclable, or minimal, like recycled glass pots. Their shipping boxes are 80% post-consumer recycled cardboard and are manufactured using 100% wind power.

Lastly, they aim to make the world a more beautiful place by giving to a variety of organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund, Sea Shepherd, and the sex-trafficking victim recovery program Doors to Freedom.

Juice Beauty

Juice Beauty has not been rated.

Juice Beauty

Are you trying to find the best natural lipsticks?

Well, pucker up, buttercup, because Juice Beauty has you covered.

The Luminous Lip Crayon is pigment-rich and available in seven shades ranging from a vibrantly bright fuchsia to a mellow pale nude.

Instead of artificial dyes, Juice Beauty utilizes bold colors from plant-based photopigments. They infuse the pigments with a foundation of certified organic botanicals instead of petroleum byproducts, which results in a less harmful beauty product.

The Luminous Lip Crayon is 100% vegan and cruelty-free and doesn’t contain any toxic compounds like parabens, petroleum, phthalates, sulfates, artificial colorants, or synthetic scents. Instead, you’ll find nourishing ingredients like mango seed butter, turmeric root, and jojoba oil.

About Juice Beauty

Juice Beauty believes in Farm to Beauty, meaning they source the majority of their plant-based compounds from nearby West Coast USDA Certified Organic farms or grow their own at their Innovation Center in Sonoma County, California.

All of their products are cruelty-free, vegan, Leaping Bunny Certified, and Environmental Working Group (EWG) verified.

They are in the process of swapping to sustainable packaging alternatives, like glass, FSC paper, and Bioresin samples and travel containers.

Juice Beauty gives back to different organizations, including EWG and Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP).

My Personal Review of Juice Beauty’s Luminous Lip Crayon:

“After testing the Luminous Lip Crayon in Laguna Pink Mauve, I can confirm that, unlike most conventional lipsticks, these ones actually leave my lips feeling plumper and more moisturized than before. There’s no need to layer natural lip balm below it; this formula does it all. Plus, I love that it doesn’t contain any toxic compounds like parabens, petroleum, phthalates, sulfates, artificial colorants, or synthetic scents. The mango seed butter ensures it applies super smooth.”

Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content

Elate Cosmetics

Elate Cosmetics has not been rated.

Elate Cosmetics

Not only are they vegan and cruelty-free, but the affordable organic lipstick, lip pencils, and tinted lip balm conditioners from Elate Cosmetics round out your eco-friendly lip care kit.

All are made with certified organic and sustainable lipstick ingredients like organic castor seed oil, mango seed butter, and meadowfoam seed oil.

They do use some palm oil derivatives (namely stearic acid), but it is derived from RSPO-certified courses.

The pencils are naked (be sure to compost the shavings!), the lip balms come in reusable glass pots, and the eco-friendly lipstick tubes are FSC-certified bamboo.

About Elate Cosmetics

Conscious beauty is everything for Elate Cosmetics, which is why they incorporate these five principles into their organic makeup: impact, ethics, community, future, and mission.

Not only are 90% of their ingredients organic, PETA, Cruelty-Free International-certified, but many are fair trade, too.

Any non-nanoparticle minerals (mica and titanium dioxide) come from members of the Responsible Mica Initiative.

For powdered products, they provide refills in seed paper envelopes that grow into wildflowers.

This Canadian company is a member of the Green Business Association, a member of the Surfrider Foundation, and a Certified B Corp.

Elate donates extensively, allocating 1% of profits to social charities, 1% to environmental charities, and more to plant trees and offset emissions via Bullfrog Power.

100% Pure

100% Pure has not been rated.

100% Pure

If you’re looking for organic pink lipstick, look no further.

Any kiss is possible with 100% Pure, because they’ve got some in all colors and forms: sustainable matte lipstick (in 24 colors), sustainable liquid lipstick (in 10 colors), lips gloss, tints, and balms.

Made of plant-based materials and pigments, their lipstick organic ingredients include things like cacao, rose petals, rosemary leaf extract, and pomegranate seed oil, as well as some beeswax and palm oil.

While their lipstick tubes aren’t zero-waste, 100% Pure is working toward petrochemical-free packaging in favor of recycled glass, tin, and cardboard by 2024.

Any plastic that still remains is recyclable in-store, meaning that you can still give a second life to that non-eco friendly lipstick tube—free sample as a reward.

About 100% Pure

For everything from eco-friendly makeup brushes to vegan foundations, 100% Pure is committed to “producing the purest, healthiest products”.

The founders use strict standards to ensure that their products never contain toxic or harsh ingredients, instead opting for natural nourishment from the likes of shea butter

They also only use natural ingredients for pigment, so instead of FD&C colorants and heavy metal dyes, they use vegetable, tea, cocoa, and other antioxidant-rich fruit pigments.

Some shimmer does come from mica.

All products are made in the USA and sourced via fair trade or Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) standards.

They’re also completely cruelty-free and painstakingly ensure none of their ingredients are animal tested or derived.

Beyond doing no animal harm, they do extra good by donating one bowl of vegan dog food to a shelter dog in China for every order (or planting a tree—you choose at checkout).

Shipping materials are recycled or compostable and, with the aim of becoming Carbon Positive, their HQ is fully solar-powered.