As the popularity of cruelty-free and vegan beauty products continues to increase, a number of skin care, cosmetics and hair care brands are striving to meet the demand.

What are the exact differences between cruelty-free versus vegan beauty products? When a brand makes cruelty-free claims, it promises not to test products on animals. For a brand to qualify as vegan, its ingredients must be neither animal-tested nor animal-derived, according to Allure magazine. In short, if a product contains ingredients such as beeswax, honey or milk, it's not vegan.

"The final formulation of a vegan product cannot contain any ingredient that comes from an animal," explained Ginger King, a New Jersey-based cosmetic chemist. Lanolin, for example, exists within numerous lip treatments and balms; as a byproduct of sheep’s wool, anything containing lanolin is not vegan.

Why do consumers prefer both cruelty-free and vegan beauty products? Many are more conscious of how their products are developed, and with which ingredients, as Mona Gohara, a Connecticut-based board-certified dermatologist, told Allure. "With ingredients spotlighted on packaging, consumers are noticing more and more what their routine is made of—literally," she explained.

It's also becoming easier for the consumer to find cruelty-free and vegan beauty products. "Thanks to biotechnology and genetic engineering, ingredients such as collagen and squalene are derived from other sources while being functionally equivalent to their animal-based counterparts," noted Ron Robinson, the founder and CEO of BeautyStat Cosmetics in New York, in Allure. "More and more consumers are looking for vegan beauty products. They care about the welfare of animals and prefer that manufacturers find other sources.”

Cosmetics Business, a London-based trade publication owned by HPCi Media, has reported that 36 percent of women prefer to purchase cruelty-free beauty products. Beauty app Perfect365 in Menlo Park, CA, surveyed 15,000 women to find out if they would stop using a beauty brand that tested on animals; 43 percent said they would.

The survey also revealed how more consumers are consciously choosing cruelty-free beauty, as 24 percent of respondents said they used People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)’s website to research which cosmetics brands tested on animals before making a purchase.

“Based on our recent user survey, the data suggests that a large percentage of the younger generation of women are expressing concerns about the testing of beauty products on animals,” said Cara Harbor, Director of Marketing at Perfect365. “While animal testing has remained mostly unregulated, this study shows it’s something beauty brands will need to think about going forward to meet consumer demands.”

Following its survey, Perfect365 has teamed up with two cruelty-free beauty brands— makeup brush brand blendSMART and cosmetics and skin care company PÜR The Complexion Authority (owned by Astral Brands)—allowing app users to try on four new animal-friendly makeup looks.

“Formulating products that are cruelty-free has been in our DNA since the brand’s inception in 2002,” said Tisha Thompson, Vice President of Marketing and Innovation at PÜR. “We take pride in trailblazing this trend, and look forward to showing beauty lovers that they can enjoy incredible products without harsh animal testing.”

The survey results followed California’s ruling to prohibit animal testing. Of the beauty app’s users, 46 percent said that they were pleased with the bill in California, which now officially bans most beauty products tested on animals. Shortly thereafter, Nevada and Illinois passed similar legislation—which, along with California’s, was enacted on January 1, 2020. This year, Hawaii, Virginia and Maryland passed their own legislation to ban cosmetic animal testing—all of which will be enacted on January 1, 2022. Additional states are now considering their own bans, including New Jersey, Rhode Island, New York, and Oregon, according to VegNews, a plant-based food and lifestyle magazine based in Santa Cruz, CA.

Sheer Miracle specializes in makeup for sensitive skin (SPF 30 Mineral Foundation, Mineral Blush, Mineral Finishing Powder, Mineral Bronzer, Mineral Eye Shadow Pigments) and all-natural effective skin care designed to create an airbrushed-worthy glow. The Chicago, IL-based company’s makeup is minimalist, vegan, cruelty free and made in the USA.

Among Sheer Miracle’s most popular products is its Wide Awake Organic Vegan Dark Circle Concealer. As Amazon’s best-selling vegan and organic dark-circle concealer, it’s become a cult favorite for its all-natural ingredients and overall effectiveness. With color correction, the creamy brightener virtually eliminates dark circles. Formulated with shea butter, jojoba oil and Vitamin E, Wide Awake nourishes the delicate skin around the eyes while concealing.

Both cruelty free and vegan, the organic, paraben-free Sea Mineral Hydrating Mist stands out as another one of Sheer Miracle’s best-selling products. Packed with skin-healing, all-natural sea minerals and essential oils, Sea Mineral Hydrating Mist does triple duty as a hydrating, makeup-setting and after-sun mist. In addition to Organic Aloe Leaf Juice, Organic Kelp Extract and Organic Blue Green Algae Extract, it’s formulated with Dead Sea Salt, Hyaluronic Acid, Organic White Willow Bark Extract and Vitamin E (Non-GMO). Essential oils including Australian Sandalwood, Frankincense, Lavender, Bulgarian Rose, Helichrysum, Roman and German Chamomile Flower and Tea Tree Leaf complement one another perfectly to create a refreshing, uplifting scent.