Affordable Cruelty-Free Makeup
Hey there! Ever since I transitioned into cruelty-free beauty and started to talk about it, a lot of people said there aren’t a lot of affordable cruelty-free makeup options available. This is especially true in India, where the exponentially-growing beauty industry still doesn’t provide much information on animal testing or products.
However, there are still some brands and products that are easily available and stood out to me. So, today I’ll be sharing my list of Best Cruelty-Free Makeup that’s available in India.
Now, let’s start with my list of affordable cruelty-free makeup!
Disclaimer: I know there are a lot of products that aren’t tested on animals and are easily accessible that might not have been included here. The reason being they might not have worked out for me or I never used them. I’ll be creating a lot of posts similar to this, in future, as and when I try new products and share them with you on my blog. So make sure you’re subscribed!
1. Essence Lash Princess False Lash Effect Mascara
Price: ₹449 for 12ml
A drugstore treasure, Essence Lash Princess mascara truly gives you the effect of having false lashes on. The brush is long and tapered and coats each and every lash of yours giving you fluttery lashes. It lengthens, adds volume and curls your lashes but there is slight flaking when you add 2 or more coats. At this price, you can’t really ask for more.
For people like me who have poker straight lashes, the curling effect doesn’t last all day so use a curler before applying this.
2. Essence Liquid Ink Eyeliner Waterproof
Price: ₹260 for 3ml
A jet black, matte eyeliner that can survive the heaviest of rains. The super pigmented, no-smudge and waterproof formula that doesn’t cause bleeding has become my recent favourite drugstore eyeliner. Best part? It was suggested to me by one of you guys on Instagram. The slight drawback would be the applicator which isn’t as thin as I’d prefer it to be. But that kind of applicator is mostly found with the pricier eyeliners. So, I have no complaints! You guys NEED to try this if you like using eyeliners.
3. Plum Natur Studio All-Day-Wear Kohl Kajal – Black Brilliance
Price: ₹495 for 1.2g
Ever since Plum launched this Kajal, I’ve heard nothing but good things about it. Ask anyone who has tried it and they’d have no other favourites to recommend than this one. It gives the blackest of black colour in just one swipe and is completely smudge-proof and water-proof. The pencil is very smooth so there’s no tugging and going over the kajal several times. Considering how important a kajal is in every Indian woman’s beauty routine, this is all you need to get those sultry, seductive eyes.
The usual kajal that you get for ₹150-200 has 0.35g of product. You’re getting thrice the quantity with this Plum Kajal and a free sharpener.
Buy it Here.
4. Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Palette
Price: ₹499 for 8.5g
A beginner friendly eyeshadow palette that has 10 shades, this product from Wet N Wild is a must-have for everyone who wants to try their hands on eye makeup. They come in 4 shades: Rose in the Air, Comfort Zone, Nude Awakening, Not a Basic Peach and I have used their Comfort Zone Palette. It’s a versatile palette with which you can create multiple looks and has some highly pigmented shadows. The only drawback is there’s a lot of fallout so you need to do your eyes first.
5. Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Color
Price: ₹295 for 3.3g
These bullet lipsticks from Wet N Wild have demi-matte finish, long staying power and intense pigmentation. The shade range is huge and I own multiple lippies from them with my To-buy list ready for more. I’m waiting for my 6-months Makeup No Buy to end. Dabbing these lipsticks while applying is the right way to get the best formula and shade to show up on your lips. However, the packaging is a bit flimsy and cheap but for ₹300 you can’t be choosy. They have a total of 30 shades to choose from!
From all the shades I own, two of my favourites are reviewed on the blog. So check it out if you’re interested HERE!
6. PAC Lip Liner in Mauve
Price: ₹185 for 1.6g
I have tried only one shade from this range and that has become my holy grail lip colour. Most of the days, I use this lip liner as lipstick and it gives a beautiful nude-pink colour with matte finish. And it stays for long! This lip liner was also a part of my Best Makeup Products of 2018. The pencil is really creamy but never broke or melted down and it would last you for a good amount of time.
7. LA Girl Pro Conceal HD
Price: ₹595 for 8g
Okay! So this isn’t exactly under the ₹500 mark but they’re always on discount and cost around ₹450-500. There’s no concealer available in this price range in India with such a wide variety of shades. They’re creamy, easy to blend and conceal imperfections just fine. However, if your discolouration is a bit too dark, buy their Orange Corrector as well. How to use both? Apply corrector first and then finish with concealer. I’m NC40 and my exact shade match is Medium Beige.
8. Wet n Wild MegaGlo Highlighting Powder- Precious Petals
Price: ₹499 for 5.4g
Not just a drugstore beauty, this highlighter by Wet N Wild can give many high-end highlighters a run for their money. It’s a medium-gold highlighter with a metallic sheen. The formula is velvety-smooth and blendable and gives quite an out-there highlight effect. So if you’re someone who prefers natural glow, use a very light hand. The highlighter stays put easily for 7-8 hours and starts to fade evenly afterwards.
There are a total of four shades available in this highlighter range: Blossom glow, Winter Falls in LA, Crown Of My Canopy and Precious Petals.
Buy it Here.
9. Essence Blush Up! Powder Blush
Price: ₹399
This ombre blush by Essence gives you different shades to play with in just one blush pan. The colours are very buildable so you can get intense, flushed cheeks by layering or just a natural blush by dusting it lightly over the apple of your cheeks. The blush stays on for a good 6-7 hours with some fading by the end of the day and is definitely a must-have if you’re looking for an affordable blush that offers several colours. Available in two variants: Heat Wave and Pinky Glow. But I haven’t spotted Pinky Glow anywhere in Indian markets yet.
10. Wet n Wild MegaGlo Contouring Palette
Price: ₹499 for 12.5g
Comes with a contour and highlight shade, both of which have a matte finish. The Wet n Wild Contouring Palette comes in 2 variations: Caramel Toffee (medium to darker skin tone) and Dulce de Leche (lighter skintone).
The highlight shade is excellent for setting your oily T-zone and eye area. While the contour shade can be used to chisel your face or bronze it to get a sun-kissed look. The quantity you get is huge and powder is satin-smooth with some great pigmentation. The contour shade in the pan, however, gets more love than the highlight shade because that has a tendency to get cakey if not used with a light hand.
Buy it Here.
11. Elansa Nailpaints
Price: ₹169 for 9ml
Until now most of the affordable cruelty-free product I’ve recommended perform really well but lack the luxury factor when it comes to packaging. But these nailpaints have a different story. Elansa has a cruelty-free and vegan range of nailpaints that have a boujee packaging. I have tried two shades from them: Coffee Froth & Midnight Nude and love them both to the bits. They have a good colour payoff with just one coat, high staying power, dry up quickly and come in a variety of shades.
Conclusion: Affordable Cruelty-Free Makeup
That brings us to an end of my list of affordable cruelty-free makeup products that are easily available in India. As I said, there are a lot that I haven’t tried or some excellent makeup from brands like Colourpop that aren’t easily accessible to us Indians. I tried to cover almost all the essential steps in a makeup routine but skipped some as well for the reason I mentioned before. Hope you liked the post and it motivated you to switch to cruelty-free makeup.
Archana says
Very informative and useful post. I didn’t know many of these brands were cruelty-free. Thanks for sharing..
http://ibeautyspy.com/review-of-dot-key-skin-cleansing-steam-balm-with-neroli-lime/
Rifat Yaseen says
Thank you so much 🙂
Shelby Cofrances says
Essence makes the best mascara. I recommend the Lash Princess Sculpted Volume Mascara
Rifat Yaseen says
Couldn’t agree more. Is that the one with purple detailing? The one I have is about to finish up, I’ll give the other one a try.