Vegan makeup brands in India.

What does being vegan mean?

Lately you see a lot of celebrities going vegan, Virat Kohli for example recently declared that he was going Vegan. So what is all this buzz about? What does being vegan mean? Well, veganism is mainly a stricter version of vegetarianism. Like the vegetarians, vegans do not eat animals that have been killed and also additionally avoid any animal by-products like milk, eggs and honey. They even avoid using products made using any animal products like leather, wool or animal-derived cosmetics.

What are Vegan brands?

A brand is declared vegan when they are cruelty free AND do not use any animal by-products in their ingredients. This means their products are not animal tested and they do not use ingredients like milk, honey etc. In India most of the brands are cruelty free but not vegan. One of the examples is Kama Ayurveda, their products are cruelty free but not vegan, which simply means that they do not perform any animal testing but their products contain milk or honey which is derived from animals.

So, do you have to check ingredients every time you buy something?

Well, no. PETA has made it very easy for you to buy products. They do all the research and have a different logo for 'cruelty free' and 'vegan & cruelty free' products. So all you have to do is turn the product around and look for the logos. This is how they look -

What are some of the Vegan cosmetic brands available in India?

Indian brands that manufacture their products locally are all cruelty free as animal testing is banned in India. This is the first country in South Asia to ban testing of cosmetic products on animals. So all the locally manufactured products you find will be cruelty free. However, finding vegan brands might be a little of a challenge. Abroad the concept of veganism is more known and therefore a lot of brands outside are vegan. Some of the vegan cosmetics you find in India would be -

- Milani Cosmetics - A wide range of their products are Vegan. Their highlighter, bronzer, lip gloss and some more. You'd be able to find them at the Nykaa stores anywhere. You can also find their entire vegan products list on https://bit.ly/1EmG6oY

- Plum Goodness - They have an entire range of Vegan products. They are PETA certified for being 100% cruelty free and Vegan - so no animal products and not even tested on animals. They have a wide range of lotions, body washes, scrubs etc. Majorly famous for their dark black long lasting kajals/eyeliners. You can find their entire range of products on https://plumgoodness.com

- The Balm Cosmetics - Their highlighters are to die for. Extremely pigmented ‘Mary-lou-manizer’ range of shadow, primer and highlighters are all vegan. They also have eyeshadows, mascaras and tinted moisturisers that are vegan. Balm cosmetics also has a range of synthetic makeup brushes. This brand however is a little more on the expensive side. It again can be found at the Nykaa stores as well as the Sephora branches in India.

- The Body Shop - They have a wide range of vegan hand creams, BB creams, shower gels, facial wash, aftershaves, mascara, deodorants etc. This is one of the most readily available brands in India with a wide range of everyday use vegan products, from body to face products. The body shop however is owned by L’Oreal which itself is not cruelty free. You can find their entire range of Vegan products on https://bit.ly/2F5opB2

- Disguise Cosmetics - This is one of India's 1st all vegan brand. It is fairly a new company and therefore just does lipsticks but they have some beautiful highly pigmented shades. Their products contain avocado oil and shea butter which keeps your lips hydrated all the time. You can check their range of products on www.disguisecosmetics.com/

Apart from these brands, you will find many international brands like Anastasia Beverly Hills, Jeffree star cosmetics, Kat Von D cosmetics etc which have vegan products and are available online to buy. Start by mainly looking at the label of the products you buy, it will either be ‘PETA certified VEGAN’ or they will have ‘contains no animal ingredients’ on them. Many of the stores in India itself do not understand the concept of vegan products, so do your research before you buy any product.

Please keep adding to this list, leave a comment below if you know any other vegan brands. Also, let me know what you want me to write about next :)