Eco-Friendly & Cruelty-Free Beauty Favourites

I’m always on the hunt for new eco-friendly and animal-friendly beauty products to try out. And when I find something I like, I do enjoy a good rave about it.

I haven’t done a beauty haul in a while but I’ve come across so many new products lately that I love, so thought it was about time I shared my finds.

NB: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase via the product link, I’ll receive a small commission. Affiliate links marked with an “*”.

The first thing I want to rave about is a website that I have only just discovered. When looking for my new favourite lip balm brand online, I was taken to the My Pure website and it was love at first click. The site offers a massive range of organic skin care and beauty products which are all paraben-free, sulfate-free, against animal testing, all vegetarian and mostly vegan. Beauty heaven! About half of my haul came from this site.

First off…

Hurraw! Balm

The aforementioned new favourite lip balm comes from Hurraw! Balm. I first happened upon the brand in Whole Foods and was intrigued by the licorice scented lip balm. I have since become a little obsessed and expanded my collection to include other unusual flavours like Earl Grey, Coffee Bean and Chai Spice (okay, I have just realised that my selection reads like a Starbucks menu…). The Vanilla Bean is also worth a mention as it is practically edible.

The balms are all vegan and made from raw, organic, fair trade ingredients. They are by far the best vegan lip balms I have come across; not only do they come in flavours even more fun than Lip Smackers, they go on smoothly and they stay on. I have very dry lips (probably caused by many years of lip balm addiction and abuse) so they are very fussy when it comes to what goes on them. I can’t stand using a balm that I need to top up every five minutes, no matter how delicious it smells. I find Hurraw! Balms not only smell great but they last and they work; no caking, no grainy residue, no white lips, no sticky shine. Hurray!

Available from My Pure – £3.99-£4.99 per stick

YES TO

Yes to Carrots, Yes to Cucumbers, Yes to Tomatoes… Okay, I admit it; I was sold on this brand due to the adorable names! But I also wanted to see if these plant-based cosmetics were as kind to skin as they are to the environment. I tried out the Yes to Carrots Moisturising Hand Cream and Yes to Cucumbers Hypoallergenic Facial Wipes.

All products in the YES TO range are made from at least 95% natural ingredients (defined on the website as “those that come from, or are made from a renewable resource found in nature…”) and all products say no to animal testing, petroleum, parabens, silicone and other nasties.

The hand cream is 97% natural; it’s full of antioxidants from carrots and deliciously moisturising shea butter. The scent is fairly subtle, which is great as strong scents often irritate my allergies and asthma (geek alert). The cream is fairly thin so it absorbs really quickly but leaves your skin soft and silky.

The face wipes are 98% natural, stuffed with green superfoods and made from biodegradable fabric. They gently cleanse, exfoliate and remove make-up and again, they only have a mild scent so are not irritating to sensitive skin. The pouch they come in has a handy snap-lock lid, so no more dried-out wipes when the re-stickable seal inevitably loses its stick. The only downside is they are not too powerful on waterproof mascara but they do work well on less stubborn make-up.

The complete YES TO range features Carrots, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Grapefruit, and Blueberries.

Available from My Pure
Hand Cream 85ml – £7.99
Face Wipes 30 pack – £3.99

Lippy Girl Vegocentric Lipstick

Vegocentric vegan lipsticks by Lippy Girl come in eight shades made from natural, organic mineral pigments and are free from beeswax and petroleum.

I am not a particularly confident lipstick wearer so tend to go for fairly safe shades in any case but in this instance – being obsessed with snow as I am – it would almost have been a crime if I didn’t go for “Ski Bunny”. The pigmentation is lighter than it appears on screen but will make a nice, subtle spring shade and I found the lipstick moisturising and creamy.

The Lippy Girl packaging is cute but sturdy and just to make it even better, the aluminium tubes are 100% recyclable.

Available from My Pure – £12.50 per lipstick

Original Source Skin Quench

The Skin Quench range from Original Source is entirely vegan and entirely divine. I always associated Original Source with men’s shower gels but this newer range is full of deliciously fruity and girly scents like Watermelon & Jojoba Oil, Pineapple & Coconut Oil, and Vanilla & Sweet Almond Oil. Boasting the benefits of natural oils, the shower gels are fantastically refreshing with their zesty fruit scents and the body lotions and butters are moisturise without being heavy or sticky.

Available from Boots and major supermarkets:

Shower Gel 250ml – £2.70
Body Lotion 200ml – £4.49
Body Butter 200ml – £5.99

Suvana Organic Paw Paw & Honey Balm

If you’re a fellow Australian, chances are you’re familiar with paw paw balm. Most households had a “red tube” of Lucas’ Paw Paw Ointment on hand to use as lip balm, moisturiser, nappy cream or even dab on insect bites. My sister got me on to Suvana‘s balm instead when I was last visiting Australia as unlike Lucas’, it is free from petroleum, which I find makes my lips need balm even more.

A little goes a long way with paw paw balm, so although I use it daily on my lips, this 25g tube has lasted me months. I purchased the balm from Priceline in Australia as I have never seen paw paw balm on the shelves in the UK but I did manage to track some down on Amazon.

This one is obviously not strictly vegan as it contains honey and beeswax; however it contains no animal derivatives, it is organic, petrochemical-free and is against animal testing.

Available from Amazon* – RRP £7.25 per 25g tube

Nature’s Ingredients (M&S)

Nature’s Ingredients (formerly Nature’s Extracts) is the natural, cruelty-free range from Marks & Sparks.

I purchased the Shower Gel Collection, which comes with four mini tubes in Creamy Coconut, Pampering Cocoa Butter, Fruity Peach & Almond, and Sparkling Lemon Verbena as well as the Body Butter Collection, which includes three mini pots in Tropical Mango, Fresh Aloe Vera and Comforting Shea.

This whole range smells insanely good and is deliciously moisturising. These multi-pack miniatures are perfect for travelling or stashing in handbags and they are also a great way to try out the different varieties in the bath and body range.

The body butters do contain beeswax so they are not suitable for vegans. However, the range is all vegetarian-friendly and BUAV approved.

Available from Marks and Spencers

Shower Gel Collection (4 x 30ml) – £3.50
Body Butter Collection (3 x 50ml) – £8.00

What are your favourite eco/animal-friendly beauty products?