For those of you who know me personally, ya know I’m a gal who enjoys makeup.

I actually wear a lot less than I used to.  As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that the whole “less is more” thing is actually true. Still, if I’m going to be out and about, I’ve almost always got a little somethin’ on.

I started being thoughtful about my makeup about a year or two into vegetarianism. The idea that some poor animal had endured brutal testing procedures for something as ridiculous as my lipstick or mascara just didn’t sit well with me, so I went about eliminating brands whose parent companies test on animals. Obviously, when I went vegan I took it one step further and sought out brands that made no use of animal products at all.

Much to my delight, I discovered that there are oodles of really high-quality brands of vegan makeup out there. I haven’t had to make any sacrifices about how things look or how long they last. Even better, finding good stuff doesn’t even require much extra effort or $$. All I really have to do is go to a different counter at Macy’s.

So what’s my fave vegan makeup? Origins. Origins is a pretty groovy natural skincare company that makes an entire line of plant-based, environmentally-friendly beauty products. Not only is a lot of their stuff organic, they make a very sincere effort to produce it using renewable resources, wind energy and earth-friendly methods. The vast majority of their products are also made without animal ingredients, however they do use beeswax in some of their lipsticks/balms, etc. – which is a bummer, but sort of common in many mostly vegan lines.

I get nearly all of my makeup and skincare goodies from Origins and I really, really love their stuff. It looks great. It feels great. It even smells great!  Best of all, no animals are harmed for the sake of my beauty routine – and that’s as it should be, right? As I mentioned, you can find an Origins counter at any Macy’s nationwide, so it’s really easy and accessible as well.

Obviously, the one thing I can’t get from Origins is lipstick/lip balm. Finding something suitable without beeswax was no easy task. But, after a little bit of trial and error, I finally came up with something that works just swell.

Crazy Rumors is a fun little personal care company run by a married couple in Georgia. It literally started out of their kitchen! All of their products are lip balms and all are completely vegan. I use one of the balms in their HibisKiss line, which are all tinted with natural mineral colors. Love, love, love it!

The one drawback with Crazy Rumors: I can only find it online. Not a big deal, but it sure would be nice to be able to just run out and pick it up whenever I need more.

On top of my tinted balm, I use a smidge of one of the vegan lip balms from Lush for a little shine. Lush is an awesome company that makes fresh, handmade cosmetics. You might know them best for their bath products. They’re sort of famous for these giant Bath Bombs that turn your bath water into a giant tub of wonderfully smelling fizzy bubbles.

Most of the stuff from Lush is vegan. Their website notes all vegan products with a green “V.” You can also filter to see only vegan items. The next time you’re at the Galleria or West County Mall, follow your nose to the Lush store/counter and explore a bit. You’ll come out smelling like candy.

This is the stuff that works best for me, but obviously, these are just a few examples of the many, many brands of vegan makeup out there. If you wear makeup, using products that haven’t been tested on animals and aren’t made with animal ingredients is a really easy way to do something small that makes a big difference for animals. Just like concealer, a little bit of extra consideration goes a long way!