Updated on June 26, 2023

40+ Cruelty-Free & Vegan Nail Polish (2023 Update – Ethically-Sourced Mica!)

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Looking for a cruelty-free and vegan nail polish color for a professional-looking manicure or pedicure at home?

Here is an updated list of cruelty-free and vegan nail polish brands. Whether you prefer a nude, neon, glossy, shimmery, or matte finish, there’s something for you on this list!

Cruelty-Free & Vegan Nail Polish Brands

About This List: What started as only 40 vegan nail polish brands back in 2015 and then doubled to 80 brands by 2022, this list has seen many brands come and go. In its latest update, I’ve decided only to include brands that have been transparent about their ethical mica sourcing policy. As a result, I have removed over 20 brands due to their lack of response or clarification on where/how their mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.

All of the nail polish brands mentioned above are from brands that have been verified as being truly cruelty-free and don’t test on animals.

And all of these cruelty-free nail polish brands offer at least one or more vegan-friendly nail polish that doesn’t contain any animal-derived ingredients.

Most of these brands are entirely 100% vegan, and if not, then I made sure only to include brands that offer at least one or more vegan nail polish products. Brands not marked as “100% Vegan” may carry other nail care or cosmetic products (like cuticle oils, remover, lipsticks, eyeshadow palettes, and skincare) that may not be vegan.

Always check the manufacturer’s website for the most up-to-date information, as ingredients and formulations may change.

Now, you may be asking, what makes traditional nail polish not vegan.

Why is Nail Polish Not Vegan?

Some non-vegan and animal ingredients used in nail polish are guanine, which is derived from fish scales and used in shimmery nail polish colors; keratin and biotin used as a nail strengthener; and shellac, which is produced from the lac bug and commonly used as a high-shine hardener.

Vegan nail polish does not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.

What is Cruelty-Free Nail Polish?

In addition to avoiding animal ingredients, we also want to ensure we’re not supporting or buying from any nail polish brands that allow their products or ingredients to be tested on animals. Unfortunately, most drugstore and high-end nail polishes are from brands that still test on animals.

For example, nail polish brands that are NOT cruelty-free include OPI, CND, Revlon, L’Oreal, Sinful Colors, Chanel, Gucci, Givenchy, Dior, Tom Ford, and Christian Louboutin.

A note on Sally Hansen and Essie, both these brands have started advertising some of their nail polish as ‘Vegan.’ However, I could not get a clear answer from Sally Hansen or Essie on whether they test on animals or not, which is why they’re on my Grey Area brands list.

Exclusive Premium Content:

Want to know which brands didn’t make the list and why? Here’s the tea on why I removed these 20+ brands. (Only available to Ko-Fi members)

Don’t see a brand listed here? Here are some email templates to use to ask to verify a brand’s animal testing policy and vegan offerings. (Only available to Ko-Fi members)

Cruelty-Free Nail Polish Brands

100% Pure Natural Nail Polish

Vegan, cruelty-free nail polish shades made without the 20 common toxins found in conventional formulas. Each 20-free shade delivers stunning chip-resistant color for a professional-looking manicure or pedicure at home.


Avril Nail Polish

Made in France. Formulated without benzophenone, camphor, and rosin. Avril’s intense vegan nail polish colors are fast-drying with a glossy finish. Made with bio-based ingredients and a bristle brush with synthetic bristles.


Barry M Nail Paint

All Barry M nail polish collections are vegan and cruelty-free. Choose from Barry M’s Gelly Hi Shine Nail Paint for a long-lasting, gel-look finish without needing a lamp—or Barry M’s In A Flash Quick Dry Nail Paint for a quick drying mani.


Beauty Pie Wondercolour™ Nail Polish

Made in the UK, Beauty Pie’s nail polish is flexible, breathable, and chip-resistant. Tried and tested by their manicure experts. The nourishing, coconut-oil-infused formula gives a lasting salon-standard finish. From pastel colors to primary brights, find your perfect polish in our luxury range.


BKIND Non-Toxic Vegan Nail Polish

To provide a kinder option, BKIND nail polishes are vegan, 77% plant-based, and 21-FREE, meaning they are free from 21 toxic ingredients normally found in nail polishes. Now you can enjoy beautiful colored nails while respecting animals, the environment, and yourself!


Butter London Patent Shine 10X Vegan Nail Lacquer

Infused with skin-loving nail care ingredients, butter LONDON’s Patent Shine 10X’s good-for-you nail formula is proven to promote brighter, stronger, healthier-looking nails. The unique dense, curved brush applicator hugs nails for flawless, full-colour coverage that coats nails brilliantly. The durable ergonomic cap helps steady the hand, making it easier to get an artfully posh manicure.


BWC Beauty Without Cruelty Kind Colorful Nails

A two-coat efficacy nail color system made with 85% bio-sourced ingredients and without harsh chemicals. Long lasting and glossy, 100% vegan. Easy and even color distribution.


CANDY x PAINTS

CANDY x PAINTS is a certified vegan, non-toxic, and cruelty-free nail care beauty brand centered around Wellness, Community, and Cultural Nostalgia… Evoking emotions and memories while Expressing Yourself Through Color through the lens of an Atlanta Native!


Ciate Plant Pots

Get the perfect at-home manicure with Ciate’s natural nail polish, Plant Pot Collection. The rich colour payoff and gel-like formula give you long-lasting results and Ciaté’s exclusive Nail Care Complex provides nourishment to your nails.


Cirque Colors Non-Toxic Nail Polish

Cirque Colors believes in doing more of what brings you joy by making safe, non-toxic nail polish in unique colors and formulations that inspire you to feel, create, and experience. It takes a lot of effort to live your best life. And Cirque Colors is here to tell you that it’s okay to hit pause, recharge and focus on something fun.


Côte 10-Free Nail Polish

Côte’s 10-free polishes and treatments mean you can still have all the long-lasting, chip-resistant polish finishes without worrying about harsh chemicals or toxins. Chic, wearable nail products can be healthy and safe!


Dazzle Dry Nail Lacquer System

Dazzle Dry’s revolutionary lacquer system dries worry-free in 5 minutes, lasts 7+ days, is environmentally sound, and promotes healthy nails. It provides the fastest-drying, longest-lasting, natural nail treatment you’ve ever experienced.


Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish

Deborah Lippmann’s nail polish is a healthy alternative to gel polish. No lamps or special tools are needed. Gel Lab Pro Color is an award-winning, treatment-enriched nail polish that delivers the gloss and cushion of a gel manicure without nail damage. This dual-patented nail polish formula delivers health, wear and shine with 10 exclusive ingredients to ensure optimum well-being and benefits for the nails.


Deco Miami Vegan Nail Polish

Deco Miami is a 100% cruelty-free brand; all its products are vegan-friendly. Deco Miami offers its nail polish formula in two sizes. A regular-size bottle and a smaller bottle option for those who can never finish a big nail polish bottle, where the small size is much more practical.


Dimension Nails Vegan Nail Polish

Dimension Nails’ selection of vegan & cruelty-free lacquers is 10+ Free, so you can be sure that they are gentle on your nails and free of animal-derived ingredients. Each lacquer is easy to apply and long-lasting, ensuring you can enjoy your look for days. Whether you’re looking for a subtle accent or a bold statement, our lacquers will surely give you the perfect finish while being kind to the animals!


ella+mila 17-Free Vegan Nail Polish

ella+mila, a clean beauty brand that offers 17-Free nail polish. ella+mila believes that beauty and health go hand in hand and are committed to creating high-quality nail polishes that are safe for you and the environment. ella+mila polishes are made without 17 harmful chemicals, including formaldehyde, toluene, and phthalates, commonly found in traditional nail polishes.


essence gel nail colour

There’s no compromise with the gel nail color nail polishes: they are easy to apply thanks to the patented, broad “double-touch” brush and dry extremely quickly in just 40 seconds. The long-lasting gel finish and the wide range of colors leave nothing to be desired. The gel nail color nail polishes are also climate-neutral thanks to CO2 compensation.


Fairypants Vegan Nail Varnish

If you’re a fan of indie vegan nail polish then Fairypants is for you – discover shades your mates don’t even know exist. Veganize your entire nail care routine – start with their awesome nail polish remover, lay down a good base then a couple of coats of this fab nail polish should see you right. It’s super long lasting, but top with with one of their top coats, and you’ll have perfect talons for days.


Gitti Plant-Based Vegan Nail Colour

Gitti’s favourite for the highest performance demands is up to 82% plant-based, vegan, eco-friendly and produced fairly in the EU. All gitti nail colours are 19-free. This means, gitti eliminates 19 questionable ingredients found in some conventional nail polishes and replace them with better alternatives.


Habit Vegan Nail Polish

Habit nail polish is the only polish packaged with recycled plastic components, biodegradable bamboo overcaps to keep plastic use to a minimum, and FSC-certified paperboard boxes. This toxin-free strengthening formula is specially crafted with Myrrh extract to improve the strength and health of your nails.


heroine.nyc Vegan Nail Polish

All of heroine nyc’s 9-free, cruelty-free, and vegan nail polish dry quickly and is a great everyday companion. Its broad brush makes application easy and prevents you from getting nail polish on your cuticles—even when using your non-dominant hand.  


Honeybee Gardens’ WaterColors Nail Enamel

Odorless water-based nail color that is better for you and the planet. Enjoy a beautiful manicure without worrying about absorbing harmful chemicals or damaging your natural nails. Honeybee Gardens’ unique water-based polish is free from strong chemicals and odors; no more nasty fumes! Non-Toxic, kid safe & pregnancy safe! Plus, WaterColors are Mama Earth Approved. The formula degrades cleanly leaving no toxins or contaminants behind.


IDUN Minerals Nail Polish

Discover vibrant dazzling colours with IDUN Minerals Nail Polish. A long-wear, high-shine vegan formula enriched with vitamins and sweet almond oil that moisturize, prevent cracking and protect the nails in an even lacquered result. Long-lasting, ultra-shiny and extra-caring.


ILNP Nail Polish

All ILNP nail polishes are cruelty-free, 7-Free, non-toxic, and totally safe to use! They DO NOT contain Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate, Formaldehyde, Formaldehyde Resin, Camphor, Ethyl Tosylamide, or Xylene.


Kester Black 83% Plant-Source Nail Polish

Elevate your manicures with Kester Black’s cruelty-free, salon-quality formula made from ingredients like organic marshmallow root extract, sugar cane, and cassava.


L.A. Colors Let’s Get Wild Gel Polish

Get bold, get bright, and GET WILD with the L.A. COLORS Let’s Get Wild Gel Extreme Shine Nail Polish Collection! Celebrate the endless beauty of color and admire the energy encased in every bottle eager to adorn your nails in eye-catching, long-wearing hues. Long-wearing, chip-resistant and cruelty-free! Paraben-free and vegan.


Londontown Lakur

Luxurious nail polishes that deliver gel-like wear and shine with effortless application. Formulated to provide nails with the perfect balance of strength and moisturization, lakurs are a breakthrough combination of high-impact color and their proprietary kur® care—the result of a mindful approach that fuses the best of clean ingredients and effective, professional-level technology.


Lottie London Plant-Based Gel Effect Polish

Meet Lottie London’s newest nail launch. Formulated with up to 80% natural ingredients + powered by sugarcane, their plant-based gel effect polishes are 100% vegan and cruelty-free. Available in the cutest colours, there’s a polish to mix + match your every mood.


Manucurist Green Natural Nail Polish

Manucurist’s Green polish replaces petrochemicals with plant-based ingredients. Kind to your nails and good for the planet! Green, non-toxic, vegan, AND cruelty-free nail polish, formulated in France using up to 84% bio-sourced ingredients like potato, corn, yuca and cotton; nothing is too good for your nails!


Nails.INC Nail Polish

Nail Polish in a range of colours and finishes including pastel, nude, gel, glitter, glossy, vegan nail polishes and more. Find the perfect nail polish gift set, or, treat yourself – you deserve it!


Nailtopia Plant-Based Bio-Sourced Nail Lacquer

Nailtopia nail lacquer is Bio-Sourced, Superfood infused, ALL FREE and NON-TOXIC which means it doesn’t have any bad chemicals or harsh ingredients that can hurt your nails. Packed with clinically tested nail strengthening superfoods, vitamins and minerals. A proprietary complex of real fruits and vegetables deliver calcium, Vitamin B5, Biotin, Vitamin A and naturally derived plant proteins for superior flexibility, rigidity and strength to problem nails.


Olive Ave Polish Vegan Nail Polish

Olive Ave Polish is polish you’ll feel proud to wear on your nails. Vegan, cruelty-free, 10-free, made in USA. Each bottle holds 14ml of polish and includes a soft-touch cap, mixing ball, and a fan brush. 


OZN Vegan Nail Polish

OZN stands for vegan plant-based nail polish with intensive coverage and a huge selection of colors. 90% of the ingredients OZN uses are derived from sustainably sourced organic raw materials such as wood, potatoes, beetroot, spelt, sugar cane, cassava or corn. For perfect care, they’ve have added vitamin A, C, E and Pro B5. All OZN products are 100% vegan.


Pacific Plant Magic Polish

Believe in magic! Pacifica’s new nail collection, Plant Magic Polish, is an innovative, 16-free, bio-sourced ingredient formula that is designed to be long-lasting with rich, vibrant colors. Pacifica was able to replace up to 80% of the formula with ingredients that are bio-sourced, originating from renewable vegetable biomass. Infused with bio-ceramics that are rich in calcium, magnesium and trace elements.


People of Color Nail Polish

It is People of Color’s mission to celebrate and represent people of color through its nail polish collections and the stories that they tell. All People of Color’s nail polish are 10-free, vegan, and cruelty-free.


Piggy Paint Non-Toxic, Kid-Friendly Nail Polish

Piggy Paint is a non-toxic, virtually odorless nail polish. It’s safe for all ages and a great alternative to solvent-based nail polishes!


POPbeauty Nail Glam

Add an instant POP of glam to nails with this signature high intensity nail polish, presented in 24 must-have POP hues! 8-free formula provides a fast-drying, non-chip barrier and unquestionable staying power, delivering a rainbow array of fearless colour to suit and accessorize your every mood!


Pure Anada Glamour Polish

Pure Anada’s Glamour Polish contains polymers (long chains of repeated molecules) in an acetate-based solvent.  Once the solvent dries, you are left with colorant (FD&C pigments) on your nails.  Glamour polish wears and lasts similar to traditional polish on the marketplace. However, the key difference is that it doesn’t contain several ingredients which are typically added to nail polish in order to achieve a faster dry-time, or a longer wear. 


Revolution Beauty Cruelty-Free Nail Polish

From vibrant neons to pretty pinks and chic colour pops, Revolution Beauty’s nail varnish selection is sure to inject a dose of colour into your collection. Made in UK, these cruelty-free, gluten-free and avocado oil-rich varnishes offer high-colour payoff and a super glossy finish.


Sienna Vegan Nail Polish

Sienna nail polish is proudly ethically made in France, certified vegan & cruelty-free and breathable. From natural ingredients to the organic timber on its bottles; everything Sienna does is made to be as environmentally friendly as possible.


SOPHi Water-Based Nail Polish

Better than 3 Free, better than 5 Free, SOPHi is a natural nail polish that is non-toxic, odorless, and hypoallergenic. This advanced water-based formula provides a safer alternative to chemical-laden solvent-based polish and allows health-conscious adults to have a worry-free manicure with no smelly chemicals.


SpaRitual Nourishing Vegan Nail Color

Our Nourishing Vegan Nail Colors are vegan, cruelty-free and clean. Our colors are formulated without 13 harmful chemicals and are 1-step, no need for base coat or top coat. Choose from 72 core colors in the collection.


Triple O Polish

Triple O Polish’s mission is pretty straightforward but more importantly inclusive, they provide imagery of underrepresented skin tones paired with imagery of colors many women feel like they could never wear. Providing natural everyday imagery, to help their customers explore beauty that is more realistic and relatable. 


Trust Fund Beauty Nail Color

Made with love in the USA! There’s nothing more luxurious than a clear conscience. TFB’s nail lacquers are 21-Free Nontoxic, Leaping Bunny & PETA Certified Cruelty-Free and 100% Vegan with a long lasting formula. Good for you and the planet doesn’t have to mean boring.


Zao Bio-Sourced Nail Polish

These bio-sourced nail polishes have nothing to envy to conventional products. Indeed they dry quickly, have a very good coverage and an excellent hold. Finally, they bring shine and enhances your nails. Inspired by plants, Zao’s formula is composed between 65.5% to 99% ingredients from natural origin (corn, potatoes, manioc and wheat.)



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