Essence is Europe’s #1 cosmetic brand offering fun, high-quality makeup products at an affordable price but is Essence cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable in 2021? I’ve got the answers here!
Is Essence Cruelty-Free?
Essence’s Animal Testing Policy
Essence has confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf. Their suppliers also do not test on animals nor do they allow their products to be tested on animals when required by law. And finally, their products are not sold in stores in mainland China or any other country that may require animal testing.
Below is a screenshot of Essence’s official animal testing statement:
On essence’s website, they have a thorough statement of their animal testing policy that also includes a comprehensive list of FAQs regarding their cruelty-free status.
I love it when a cruelty-free brand is transparent about their animal testing policy like essence has done with their informative website!
Is Essence Sold in China?
Most imported cosmetics sold in mainland China are required by law to be tested on animals in 2021. However, Essence has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China and therefore they are not required to test on animals.
“We are not carried in any stores in mainland China”
Essence has met all of the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist and is included on our List of Cruelty-Free Brands.
You can find Essence products at Ulta, Amazon (US), Amazon (UK), CVS, and Shoppers Drug Mart.
Is Essence Vegan?
Not all of
Please reference below for a list of Essence vegan products.
You can also find out which of their products are vegan as they’re all marked accordingly on their website under each product description. See below for an example.
Which of Essence Products is Vegan?
As of 2021, I will no longer be regularly updating this list of Essence’s vegan products as all of their vegan products are now clearly marked. Check their website for the most up-to-date and accurate information on which products are vegan or not.
Below is a list of Essence products that are suitable for vegans and do not contain any animal-derived ingredients or by-products.
Face – Essence Vegan
Foundation
Powder
Bronzer
- contouring duo palette
- pure NUDE highlighter
- sun club luminous bronzing powder
- sun club large bronzing powder
- sun club matt bronzing powder palette
Highligher
- get cheeky blush & highlighter palette
- glow to go highlighter palette
- go for the glow highlighter palette
- pure NUDE highlighter
- pure nude highlighter palette
- pure nude sunlighter palette
Blush
Primer
- HD HYDRA primer spray
- instant matt make-up setting spray
- prime+ studio glow boosting + pore minimizing primer
- prime+ studio mattifying + pore minimizing primer
- prime+ studio redness correcting + pore minimizing primer
Sprays
- believe in magic sparkly body dust
- instant matt make-up setting spray
- keep it perfect! make-up fixing spray
- you better work! fixing spray
Eyes – Essence Vegan
Mascara
- get BIG! lashes volume curl mascara
- i love extreme volume mascara
- super curl volume eye-opening mascara
- the false lashes mascara dramatic volume unlimited
- the false lashes mascara extreme volume and curl
- volume booster lash primer
Eyeliner
- eyeliner pen
- eyeliner pen longlasting
- longlasting eye pencil
- melted chrome eyeliner
- smokey crystal ultra longlasting eye pencil
- superfine eyeliner pen
- superfine eyeliner pen waterproof
Eyeshadow
- Bonjour Montréal eyeshadow palette
- follow your heart eyeshadow palette
- G’ DAY SYDNEY eyeshadow palette
- Hello New York eyeshadow palette
- Hey L.A. eyeshadow palette
- melted chrome eyeshadow
- metal shock eyeshadow
- never give up your daydream eyeshadow palette
Brows
Lips – Essence Vegan
- kiss the… lipstick
- lips go wow! plumping lipgloss
- Matt Matt Matt lipstick
- plumping nudes lipgloss
- this is nude lipstick
- ultra last instant colour lipstick
- velvet matte lipstick
- water kiss glossy lip color
Nails – Essence Vegan
- crystal power nail polish
- extreme last base coat
- extreme shine top coat
- out of space stories nail polish
- shine last & go! gel nail polish
Not Vegan – Essence
The following Essence products contain animal-derived ingredients or by-products and therefore are not suitable for vegans:
- #lashes of the day super volume mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- AIR eyeshadow palette (contains carmine) – not vegan
- camouflage + healthy glow concealer (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- camouflage + matt concealer (contains beeswax) – not vegan
colour boost mad about matte liquid lipstick (contains beeswax) – not vegan- EARTH eyeshadow palette (contains carmine) – not vegan
- extreme lasting eye pencil – not vegan
- eye flirt party look eyeshadow palette (contains carmine) – not vegan
- eye got this rock look eyeshadow palette (contains carmine) – not vegan
- eyebrow designer – not vegan
- eyeliner pen waterproof – not vegan
- FIRE eyeshadow palette (contains carmine) – not vegan
- fresh & fit awake
make up (contains beeswax) – not vegan - fresh & fit awake primer (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- get BIG! lashes volume boost mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- get BIG! lashes volume waterproof mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
i love extreme crazy volume mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegani love extreme volume mascara waterproof (contains beeswax) – not vegani love stage eyeshadow base (contains beeswax) – not vegan- kajal pencil – not vegan
- lash princess false lash effect mascara waterproof (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- lash princess false lash mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- lash princess sculpted volume mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- lash princess volume mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- mosaic blush (contains carmine) – not vegan
- volume stylist 18h curl & hold mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- Salut Paris eyeshadow palette (contains carmine) – not vegan
- spice up your life eyeshadow palette (contains carmine) – not vegan
- super precise eyeliner – not vegan
superlast eyeliner deep black – not vegansuperlast eyeliner matte black – not vegansuperlast eyeliner waterproof – not vegan- volume hero mascara waterproof (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- WATER eyeshadow palette (contains carmine) – not vegan
- what the fake! volumizing & lengthening mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- you better work! length definition mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
- you better work! volume & curl mascara (contains beeswax) – not vegan
Is Essence Sustainable?
Essence’s headquarters is based in: Germany
Essence’s products are manufactured in: “90% of essence products are made in Europe with some items made in other countries based on specialty parts.”
Sustainability & Environmental Initiatives: Essence claims, “this is why our sustainability strategy serves as the basis for all economic, ecological and social matters we do. We strive for general waste reduction and the use of environmentally friendly, sustainable and recyclable materials in the production of our cosmetics. Waste prevention through re- or upcycling and zero waste is our major goal, and we are committed to achieving it! Since this is a complex challenge, we have joined the cross-industry dm Rezyklat Forum, an initiative in which trade and industry come together to work on keeping valuable packaging materials in the recycling cycle and to greatly expand the use of recycled materials.”
Eco-Friendly Packaging Initiatives: Nothing yet but claims, “in packaging we are constantly researching which sustainable materials are suitable for the packaging of our cosmetics and are increasingly focusing on offering more recycling options in their development.”
Giving Back Initiatives: Essence supports, donates, and works with several organizations that help children in hospitals, disadvantaged children, food banks, and other local social projects in their neighbourhood.
Ingredients and Formulations Claims: Some of their products have “Paraben-Free” and “Gluten-Free” labels on them under their product descriptions, but not all of them do. Essence states, “ingredients are rigorously monitored and analyzed for their environmental, health and social impact using a traffic light system. We have also implemented numerous measures to reduce CO2 emissions. Additionally, essence is part of various initiatives such as the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI).”
Is Essence’s Mica Ethically-Sourced? Essence claims their mica is ethically-sourced without the use of child labo and they’re also members of the Responsible Mica Intiative.
“Thanks so much for taking the time to reach out to us about such an important issue. At essence, we take the problem of child labor very seriously and feel it is our duty to ensure that no child labor is involved at any point in the supply chain of our products.
In order to be able to guarantee this, we devote our attention closely to the origin of our natural mica and communicate frequently with our suppliers, both private label manufacturers and raw material suppliers. Raw material suppliers that do not offer us the required degree of transparency are no longer taken into account when new projects are awarded.
We have been supporting the sustainable mining of natural mica since 2016 in cooperation with an NGO with the goal of supporting local social projects and improving the living conditions of the population and in particular those of the children in India. We also joined the Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI) in July 2017.We are dedicated to the shared goal of eradicating child labor and unacceptable working conditions within the beauty industry. We hope this has answered your concerns but please feel free to reach out with any further questions! :)”
I hope this article helped you to understand essence’s cruelty-free and vegan status and by choosing cruelty-free together, we can help end animal testing for cosmetics once and for all!
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Francesca
July 3, 2020I think some of these mascaras listed as vegan are wrong as the essence website says some of them contain beeswax?