NYX (L’Oreal)

Last Updated: December 10, 2023

How Ethical Is NYX (L’Oreal)?

Make a positive impact by supporting companies with the same values and ethics as what matters most to you. To navigate and find ethical brands, here’s a summary of NYX Cosmetics’ ethics and initiatives.

Ethical Analysis

Is NYX cruelty-free, vegan, or sustainable? We’ve got the answers here! Read below for more details on NYX’s policies.
NYX is cruelty-free but NYX is owned by L’Oreal, a parent company that is NOT cruelty-free.
Not all of NYX’s products are vegan, but they have some vegan options.
NYX does not claim or market itself as a sustainable company.
NYX claims, 100% of its palm oil purchases are certified through RSPO standards.
When I asked NYX about their ethical mica mining policy, they sent me a link to their parent company, L’Oreal’s sustainable purchasing policy.
NYX products come in plastic packaging. And I couldn’t find anything stating they’re working on reducing their use of virgin plastic in their primary packaging but their new Avatar Makeup set claims to be made from recycled PCR packaging.

About NYX (L’Oreal)

NYX Professional Makeup offers a full range of beauty products at affordable prices and they’re available at most drugstores.
COMPANY BASED IN: USA
PRODUCTS MADE IN: Won’t disclose
PRODUCTS: Makeup, Lashes, Makeup Brushes
CERTIFICATIONS: PETA-Certified

NYX (L’Oreal)

This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

Is NYX Cruelty-Free?

🐰 NYX is a *cruelty-free brand. None of NYX’s ingredients or products are tested on animals. NYX has met all the criteria in our Cruelty-Free Checklist and is included in our Cruelty-Free Directory.

Does NYX Cosmetics Test on Animals?

When asking, does NYX test on animals? We must look beyond to ensure none of NYX’s ingredients or suppliers test on animals. And they don’t sell in any country or under conditions that may require animal testing by law.

In our research, we discovered the following:

  • ✓ NYX confirmed they do not test their products or ingredients on animals or ask others to test on their behalf.
  • ✓ NYX confirmed all their ingredient suppliers do not test on animals
  • ✓ NYX confirmed they do not allow or sell their products under conditions where animal testing is required by law

By meeting all of our Cruelty-Free Criteria, NYX Cosmetics is a *cruelty-free brand by our standards.

*NYX is owned by L’Oreal, a corporation that is NOT cruelty-free because they allow some of their other brands to test on animals.

The decision is yours whether you want to support or boycott cruelty-free brands owned by a parent company that is not cruelty-free. There is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to this. Do what you’re comfortable with. I just thought it was important to disclose that L’Oreal owns NYX.

What is NYX’s Animal Testing Policy?

Below is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on NYX’s website about its animal testing policy:

Is NYX Cruelty-Free?
NYX Animal Testing Policy

What About China’s Animal Testing Laws?

NYX has confirmed they do not sell their products in retail stores in mainland China; therefore, they are not required to test on animals.

With the current changes to China’s animal testing laws, some cosmetics sold in China can be exempt from animal testing under certain conditions. However, without meeting those conditions, animal testing is still legally required for most cosmetics sold in China in 2023.

Is NYX Certified Cruelty-Free?

NYX is certified cruelty-free by PETA. And NYX is NOT certified cruelty-free by Leaping Bunny.

Cruelty-Free Policies 2023

Just because a brand claims they are ‘Cruelty-Free,’ doesn’t always mean that’s the case.

That’s because there is no legal definition for the label ‘Cruelty-Free.’ It can mean different things to different people. But Cruelty-Free is generally used to imply no animal testing. More specifically, the ingredients, formulation, or finished product are not tested on animals at any stage of product development.

At ethical elephant, we always assess a company’s cruelty-free policy using our Cruelty-Free Checklist. This ensures no animal testing was performed by the brand itself, its suppliers, or any third parties.

How We Assess Cruelty-Free Policies

Since starting my blog in 2015, I’ve been emailing companies asking about their animal testing policies and cruelty-free commitments.

And based on the responses I receive from companies, I’ll research to find any supporting facts needed before concluding whether the brand should be classified as “Cruelty-Free,” “Animal-Tested,” or “Grey Area – Unclear Policies.”

☕️ Every week, I continue to reach out to new brands while trying my best to keep current brands updated. If you found any of my posts or guides helpful, consider Buying Me A Coffee! I would greatly appreciate it! ❤️

What about Vegan?

Just because something is called Cruelty-Free, doesn’t always mean it’s Vegan. And vice versa.

Cruelty-Free only refers to no animal testing, while Vegan means formulated without animal products.

Some brands are Cruelty-Free, but not Vegan.

And some are Vegan, but not Cruelty-Free.

Another important distinction to know is, Vegan in cosmetics can refer to an entire brand is 100% Vegan or a specific product is Vegan.

Is NYX Vegan?

⭐️ NYX is NOT an entirely vegan brand. But NYX offers some vegan options that are free of animal products.

The following is a screenshot of what’s currently stated on NYX’s website about its vegan claims:

Is NYX Vegan?

How to know which of NYX’s products are vegan?

All of NYX’s vegan products are marked on their website. See below for an example. You can also find a list of their vegan products here: https://www.nyxcosmetics.com/featured/vegan/

Where to buy NYX Cosmetics? Check out nyxcosmetics.com, Target, Ulta, Walmart, and Amazon.

Vegan Policies

Similar to ‘Cruelty-Free,’ there is no standard or legal definition for the label ‘Vegan.’ But Vegan is generally used to mean formulated without animal-derived ingredients or animal by-products.

Some common animal products in cosmetics include carmine, lanolin, snail mucus, beeswax, honey, pearl or silk-derived ingredients, animal-based glycerin, keratin, and squalene.

There are plant-based and synthetic alternatives to animal-derived ingredients. But unless a brand explicitly labels its ingredients or product as Vegan, it’s often difficult to know with certainty whether a product is vegan just by reading the ingredient list.

So it’s best to ask the company and manufacturers to ensure the ingredients they chose were from non-animal sources.

Where are NYX’s products made?

I asked NYX where their products are manufactured and they told me:

“Please be advised that our products are created all over the globe, making it difficult to know where exactly a certain product is manufactured.”

Ethical Mica Mining Policy

Mica is a mineral used in cosmetics to add a shimmery effect. But the mining of natural mica has been linked to child labor and human rights violations.

Unless the company discloses its mica mining policy, we have no way of knowing whether its mica is ethically sourced without child or forced labor.

So I asked NYX if their mica is ethically sourced without the use of child labor and they responded by stating,

“Regarding your question on which Mica we use in our cruelty free makeup products, please look at the link we have provided down below regarding our sustainable sourcing for mica:

https://www.loreal.com/en/articles/audiences/a-sustainable-purchasing-policy/”

Responsible Palm Oil Sourcing Policy

I asked NYX if any of their products contain palm oil or palm-derived ingredients and if so, are they from certified sustainable sources. And NYX responded by saying,

“Since 2010, 100% of our palm oil purchases are certified through RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) standards. For more information on our efforts, we invite to you visit: https://inside-our-products.loreal.com/ingredients/palm-oil.”


I hope this article helped you to understand NYX’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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What do you think

35 thoughts on “NYX (L’Oreal)”

    1. Hey Zara,
      You’re right. I just checked the ingredient list for The Wonder Stick from NYX and it does list beeswax. I’ve now removed it from this list. Thank you for catching that! =)

  1. On ULTA and NYX website they do not list the BB Cream as being vegan. I am learning how to read ingredients and can’t verify myself. Can you confirm it is currently vegan?

    1. Hi Samantha,
      I just noticed that NYX’s US and Canada websites have different products on their “Vegan” page. On NYX’s Canada website.. they have the BB Cream listed as Vegan but as you said, it’s not listed on their US site.
      When I checked the ingredients, I didn’t spot any recognizable non-vegan ingredients. But a tool that I love to use is http://www.doublecheckvegan.com. I inserted the ingredient list of NYX’s BB Cream and sure enough, it says the ingredient, Glycogen is NOT vegan.
      I’m not sure if NYX reformulated its BB Cream and maybe forgot to remove it from their Canadian website’s Vegan Category page or the ingredient was overlooked by their team. Regardless, I’ve removed the BB Cream from my list above to avoid any further confusion.
      Thanks so much for catching that and letting me know! These vegan product lists can be hard to keep as current as possible with companies always changing their formulas without letting us know!

  2. Thank you so much for the thoughtful response and for looking into this. That resource to check ingredients is invaluable. xoxo

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