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Whether you’re splurging on yourself or trying to find a luxurious gift to spoil a special someone, I’m sharing some high-end cruelty-free makeup brands to prove that cruelty-free & vegan cosmetics don’t always have to be simple, boring, and traditional.
Over the years, I’ve shared and recommended many cruelty-free & vegan drugstore makeup brands that are affordable and widely available. Since then, many cruelty-free consumers have been asking for mid-range to high-end luxury cruelty-free options too.
I’ve been hesitant about making a list like this because I didn’t want it to be the first resource for someone who is learning about cruelty-free beauty to stumble upon and conclude all cruelty-free & vegan cosmetics are expensive and is unattainable.
I want to make it clear that cruelty-free & vegan cosmetics can be BOTH. — affordable at times but also luxurious with premium formulations and higher quality ingredients.
So you can treat yourself (or someone else!) while knowing no animals were harmed in the making of these beauty products!
Cruelty-Free High-End Makeup Brands
All of the brands mentioned in this list have been verified as being cruelty-free and don’t test on animals, meeting all of the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist.
In addition, some of the brands are entirely 100% vegan and refuse to use any animal-derived ingredients in their products. But I’m also including some brands that may not be fully vegan but offer some vegan options.
Note also, there are some cruelty-free brands I’ve listed that are owned by a parent company that is not cruelty-free. Although these cruelty-free brands are owned by a corporation that tests on animals, the subsidiary brand remains committed to being cruelty-free and confirmed they don’t test on animals.
Want to know which high-end makeup brands that DO test on animals and should be avoided? Find a list of animal-tested luxury makeup brands to avoid at the bottom of this post or click here.
Best Cruelty-Free High-End Makeup Brands
- Chantecaille – some vegan options
- Cover FX – 100% Vegan
- Fenty Beauty *owned by LVMH – some vegan options
- Hourglass *owned by Unilever – working on becoming 100% vegan!
- Huda Beauty – some vegan options
- Jane Iredale – some vegan options
- Josie Maran – some vegan options
- Jouer – some vegan options
- Koh Gen Do – some vegan options
- Kosas – some vegan options
- KVD Vegan Beauty *owned by Kendo, LVMH – 100% Vegan
- Milk Makeup – 100% Vegan
- MERIT – 100% Vegan
- Smashbox *owned by Estee Lauder – some vegan options
- Tarte *owned by Kose – some vegan options
- Too Faced *owned by Estee Lauder – some vegan options
- Urban Decay *owned by L’Oreal – some vegan options
- Westman Atelier – some vegan options
Organic Luxury Makeup Brands
In addition to makeup that is cruelty-free (not tested on animals) and vegan (no animal ingredients), I know some of you also care and want makeup made with naturally-derived and organic ingredients. So here are some options for organic & cruelty-free high-end makeup:
- Aether Beauty – 100% Vegan
- Alima Pure – some vegan options
- Antonym Cosmetics – mostly vegan, check labels
- Au Naturale – 100% Vegan
- ILIA Beauty – some vegan options
- INIKA Organic – 100% Vegan
- Juice Beauty – working on becoming 100% vegan!
- Kjaer Weis – mostly vegan, check labels
- rms beauty – some vegan options
- 100% Pure – some vegan options
NOT Cruelty-Free – High-End Makeup Brands
The following makeup brands are NOT cruelty-free and should be avoided. Either these brands test their products or ingredients on animals themselves or they allow others to test on their behalf. In addition, some of these brands may sell their products in stores in mainland China where animal testing is mandatory for all imported cosmetics.
- Bobbi Brown
- Burberry
- By Terry
- Chanel
- Clarins
- Cle de Peau
- Clinique
- Dior
- Elizabeth Arden
- Estee Lauder
- Giorgio Armani Beauty
- Givenchy
- Guerlain
- Gucci
- Hermes Beauty
- Lancome
- Make Up For Ever
- NARS
- Origins
- Shiseido
- shu uemura
- Sulwhasoo
- Tom Ford
- YSL Beauty
I will continue to add to this list as I verify more luxury makeup brands’ cruelty-free & vegan status but let me know if you have any special requests to look into a particular brand!
7 thoughts on “List of Luxury & High-End Cruelty-Free Makeup Brands That Are Worth the Splurge”
There is no excuse! Big business should not profit from animal abuse. Tell China to go to hell!
Instead of those poor animals, why don’t they test their f***ed up products on criminals and psychos?!?
100 percent agree with you
Why not just test on willing volunteers?? There are tons of people in this country that will gladly participate in cosmetics testing, whether it’s paid trials or even just in exchange for the cosmetics they’re testing.. Science has come far enough that the products won’t contain anything lethal, so they’re testing for rashes or skin reactions, and compensated participants will knowingly take that risk. In fact, they would get more applications than they had spots available for EVERY product trial… So why is animal cruelty still a thing??
Im sorry but why are you adding Smashbox and Too Faced to your list of cruelty free companies when they are owned by Estee Lauder and Estee Lauder is NOT CRUELTY FREE???? Im pretty sure they sell to China and the Chinese Government requires testing on animals. … You should only list companies that don’t test at any stage of manufacturing or sell to any country that requires animal testing.
I’ve already made a note that both brands are owned by Estee Lauder in the post. Some cruelty-free consumers may choose to continue to support and buy from CF brands owned by non-cruelty-free parent companies. And then there are some other CF consumers that choose to avoid them. I do my best to give as many options as possible while disclosing which brands are owned by animal-tested parent companies.
Both Smashbox and Too Faced have confirmed to me that they do NOT sell their products in stores in mainland China. If you have any information that suggests otherwise, then I would be happy to look into it and make any corrections to my posts/lists.
Loreal is not cruelty free.