Not exactly a news flash, but many beauty products are not vegan. They contain a ton of animal-derived ingredients—lanolin (wool grease), squalane (shark liver oil), carmine (beetle juice), and gelatin, to name a few.
But a sustainable beauty routine can start with a good foundation—or in this case, a vegan foundation.
Whether you’re a life-long vegan or these ingredients simply freak you out (we get it), there are options that kick these ingredients (to avoid in skincare) to the curb.
By choosing plant-based and ideally organic foundations, you’re opting for something that’s healthier for you, the planet, and all living things on it. And that’s what we’ve curated in this list for you. Our favorite brands and products that prioritize animal friendly ingredients, ethical sourcing and responsible packaging.
Soon we’ll be revisiting the foundation of our selection using our new Brand Rating System. This system will uncover brand practices across an array of eco-related criteria that go well beyond animal welfare and ingredients (like climate impact, chemical use and green business practices). You can learn about them here.
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.
Our Blemish-Free Picks For The Best Cruelty-Free Foundation
Antonym offers one of the best vegan liquid foundations according to our tester. It’s made of 99% natural ingredients, it’s suitable for a variety of skin tones and offers balanced pigmentation.
For repair while you wear, you can’t go wrong with the herbal and mostly organic formulas from Dab Herb. We love how lightweight and smooth it feels, and how natural the end result looks.
Index: Best Vegan Foundations
- Antonym Jump to brand
- RMS Beauty Jump to brand
- INIKA Organic Jump to brand
- Dab Herb Jump to brand
- 100% Pure Jump to brand
- Elate Cosmetics Jump to brand
- Plant Makeup Jump to brand
Antonym
Antonym’s Foundation
Price Range: $40–$52
In a sustainable world that values quality over quantity, Antonym has perfected foundations designed to highlight, bronze, and contour all in one product.
Their infamous Natural Baked Foundation has light reflecting ingredients that leave a transparent, radiant glow. Being non-comedogenic, it’s their best vegan foundation for oily skin or acne-prone skin, since it won’t clog your pores.
The 99% natural and mineral-free Skin Esteem provides a liquid foundation for dry skin as it’s made with hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid, sweet almond oil, and shea butter. Housed in either frosted glass bottles or a bamboo compact, they also reduce plastic waste.
About Antonym
Antonym bridges the gap between formulation and function in the beauty industry, offering clean beauty products and brushes.
This Leaping Bunny, Vegan.org, and Ecocert certified company uses a minimum of 90% natural and 11% certified organic ingredients—and 0% phthalates, parabens, preservatives, and fillers. Their paper packaging is FSC-certified and they support numerous environmental and animal rights organizations.
While we know products are made in Europe, their sourcing transparency is lacking, especially regarding their mineral mica and palm-derived ingredients.
RMS Beauty
RMS Beauty’s Foundation Cream
Price Range: $52–$58
RMS Beauty’s award-winning cosmetics have made a name for themselves in the beauty world. Their two foundations, UnCoverUp Cream and ReEvolve Natural Finish Liquid, are fan-favorites thanks to their RMS signature adaptogenic herbal blend.
The UnCoverUp Cream is formulated with wild-crafted buriti oil, organic coconut oil, and the RMS signature blend, a concoction that leads to hyper focused coverage and one of the best cruelty-free foundations for dry skin.
Their liquid foundation provides a glowy finish with moisture-rich vegetable squalane, and organic aloe juice. This water and sweat resistant formula is perfect for those who need all day medium coverage to support their long days of fighting for animal rights.
About RMS Beauty
A big name brand, you can find this foundation at Sephora (being a Clean at Sephora brand) and more. RMS Beauty products are created from raw, food grade, certified organic ingredients free from parabens, gluten, synthetic fragrances, GMO’s, sulfates, phthalates, parabens, soy, silicone, and talc.
Most shades come from natural and ethically-sourced non-nano mineral-derived colors, though it is not always the case with tricky colors like pinks and reds. In these cases, carefully vetted non-toxic synthetic ingredients are used.
They never test on animals, though not all products are vegan.
They incorporate PCR materials and are actively launching a growing number of zero waste options.
INIKA Organic
INIKA Organic’s Foundation
Price Range: $45–$75
INIKA Organic tops the cosmetics charts with three options—all with 100% natural and at least 71% organic ingredients.
Their best-selling Organic Loose Mineral Foundation contains Titanium and Zinc oxides for SPF 25 protection that doubles as a two-in-one vegan sunscreen and foundation.
Their Baked Mineral Foundation has nearly the same fatty acid-rich and skin barrier protecting formula, but sacrifices the SPF ingredients for a mess-free recycled plastic compact.
Available in a recyclable aluminum bottle, their Organic Liquid Foundation contains natural antioxidants derived from botanical extracts like rosehip, evening primrose, and lavender that provide a luminous finish.
About INIKA Organic
This Australian brand is the it-girl in the world of organic beauty. With over 60 awards, it’s been voted one of the best sustainable skincare brands in the world. Their products are certified Plastic Neutral, Ecocert COSMOS Natural, PETA Animal Test Free, Vegan Society vegan, and halal.
Over 90% of packaging is recycled or sustainable and they use the plastic pollution collected through their Plastic Neutral program to rebuild farm fences in post-disaster communities, among other charitable efforts.
Dab Herb
Dab Herb’s Matte Foundation
Price Range: $2.60–$44
With clinically tested organic ingredients (like Gotu Kola and hemp seed oil), Dab Herb’s medium-coverage liquid foundation balances skin hydration and increases regeneration and cognitive function.
This Frankincense Serum is a 3-in-1 foundation and concealer, primer, and moisturizer. It comes in an elegant glass bottle with an aluminum cap, but be on the lookout for newer products housed in wooden jars handcrafted by indigenous cooperative partners.
About Dab Herb
Female-founded Dab Herb is a zero waste beauty brand that takes on a holistic approach to cosmetics. Their entirely food-grade ingredients undergo strict testing to ensure they are safe for human consumption and free from chemicals and toxins (a pro for sensitive skin.) All are USDA certified organic, wildcrafted, fair-trade, vegan, and cruelty-free.
Each product is slowly handcrafted in micro-batches (without machines or assembly lines) by Dab Herb and their partners. They’re also mailed completely plastic-free.
My Personal Review of Dab Herb’s Herb Foundation:
“Foundation isn’t something I typically use—I’m lucky enough to have pretty decent skin – but after trying Dab Herb’s Herb Foundation, I’m a fan! It feels super light like I’m not wearing anything at all, and it blends perfectly into my skin, so I get a smooth, natural look instead of a heavy, cakey finish.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
100% Pure
100% Pure’s Cream Foundations
Price Range: $42–$48
The Fruit Pigmented Full Coverage Water Foundation by 100% Pure is a fan favorite, available in 19 skin tone shades designed for normal, oily, and combination skin. It provides a full-coverage foundation backed with vitamins, nourishing ingredients, and antioxidant-packed superfruits like acai berries, grape, and alpha lipoic acid, which fights aging. It sets with a matte finish for a gentle complexion.
If you prefer powder, they also have the Bamboo Blur Powder, suited for all skin types. Similar to an eco-friendly sponge, the mattifying bamboo silica absorbs excess oil and provides a soft, poreless complexion.
About 100% Pure
100% Pure are committed to providing the healthy sustainable beauty products. Their range of fruit-pigmented lipsticks, eyeshadows, palettes, and more are all made from vegan, cruelty-free, and certified organic compounds.
They adhere to strict purity standards, ensuring zero harsh or toxic chemicals. They don’t have any room for animal-sourced ingredients, FD&C colorants, or heavy metal dyes in their products, either.
Not all of their packaging is environmentally friendly, but they’re making the swap to post-consumer recycled or recyclable materials by 2025.
Elate Cosmetics
Elate Beauty Cosmetics’ Foundations
Price Range: $37–$50
We are elated with Elate Cosmetics. Their eight shade Pressed Foundation provides a semi-matte finish and is made with super-ingredient vins vinifera, a hydrating grape extract suitable for combination and sensitive skin. It does include Responsible Mica Initiative-sourced mica and non-nanoparticle titanium dioxide and zinc oxide for shimmer and sun protection.
For liquid foundation, Refresh combines bamboo extract for elasticity and hyaluronic acid for hydration as well as natural fruit extracts and nourishing plant oils. They also offer a cream foundation in a 12 shade range.
They’re housed in glass jars with bamboo lids or FSC-certified bamboo compacts. Order powder refills via plantable seed paper sachets.
About Elate Cosmetics
Zero waste makeup brand Elate Cosmetics are certified by Leaping Bunny and Beauty Without Bunnies and are mostly also organic. They always prioritize fair trade over organic when they can’t get both.
They’re also a Certified B Corp, Green Business Association member, and a Surfrider Foundation approved business. 1% of sales got to social justice nonprofits, 1% to environmental ones, and more to tree planting and carbon offset programs. Over 75% of their packaging is reusable, recyclable, or plantable and absolutely all of it can be returned for free to be properly recycled.
Plant Makeup
Plant Makeup’s Foundations
Price Range: $11–$20
Plant Makeup’s foundation powders are designed for combination skin types, especially those on the oily side, since they are made with oil-absorbing clays.
This glass pot packaged vegan foundation powder can be used as bronzer, brow filler, organic eye shadow, and more. It’s lightweight, free from GMOs, oxides, and mica, and only uses natural ingredients like aloe vera, cacao powder, and cinnamon.
About Plant Makeup
Plant Makeup’s small-batch products are handmade from plant-derived pigments that provide a subtle, natural shade range rather than dramatic, bold colors. You won’t have to worry about any carmine, chemicals, mineral oils, parabens, palm oil, or toxins in the mix.
Ingredients are local and/or organic, many coming from founder Jes’s very own volunteer garden sanctuary and micro-farm. Which is why they’re one of the few brands making pregnancy-safe foundation that we’d recommend.
Their packaging is made from upcycled materials and recycled or compostable boxes.
