World Vegan Day Beauty Roundup

Developed by Casey Georgeson, a beauty veteran who suffered from sensitive, stressed skin, Saint Jane Beauty has unyielding standards when cultivating products. The brand’s face, lip and body care offerings feature award-winning, effective formulas that don’t compromise skin.

While there is a skincare quiz to determine the best products for you, my faves include: Luxury Beauty Serum ($125), SuperFlower Detox Serum ($88), Luxury Sun Ritual SPF 30 ($38) and the uber cool Luxury Lip Oil collab ($50) with Favorite Daughter Founders Erin and Sara Foster.

The conscience of Saint Jane Beauty goes beyond its products. Its namesake pays homage to Saint Jane De Chantel, who in the 1500s dedicated her life to healing women shunned by society – old, ill and unwed mothers. It's in her honor that Georgeson has paved her healing-centric approach to beauty.

A brand that mirrors my own beauty aspirations, Wildling is designed to support skin longevity and overall wellbeing, with nary an “anti-aging” claim in sight. In conjunction with small batch, family-owned farms, and wild plants harvested seasonally, the female-founded brand —developed by an acupuncturist, herbalist and holistic esthetician — features 100% natural ingredients and active botanicals along with high potency, bioavailable nutrients for clinical results that don’t harm skin.

My go-to’s include the Starnectar™ Jelly Cleanser ($49), which glides on like honey to melt away makeup, sunscreen and dirt. I love ending the day with its woodsy scent, which comes from plant extracts Tonka Bean Butter, Plum Kernal Oil and Balsam Copaiba that do more than lift my mood; this cleanser nourishes the skin, balances oil production and protects from free radical damage. I follow up with the Moonbounce™ Plumping Moisturizer ($82) which features “a proprietary complex of vegan, plant-based Bio Retinol (Rock Samphire) and Irish Sea Moss” to hydrate and firm skin without irritation.

Pro Tip: TQE Editors swear by the brand’s Facial Gua Sha.

My five-minute makeup routine often includes the Color Crème Multi-Sticks ($24) and Tinted Dew Multi-Sticks ($24). While both are hydrating and natural — thanks to skin nourishing coconut, avocado and castor seed oils as well as antioxidants —Color Crème offers rich color while Tinted Dew creates a “barely there” makeup look. 

Aside from adding hues to my life, the brand contributes to my desire to not contribute to beauty waste — at 120 billion units annually and rising. Axiology is shepherding this cause with 100% plastic-free packaging. The brand is transforming trash into treasure by partnering with a women’s cooperative that utilizes Bali’s paper trash for packaging; providing work and fair wages for Balinese women while also removing trash pollution from the island is the ultimate win/win.

Dew Mighty lives up to its brand mantra of “Use Less, Dew More” with bar-based products that protect your skin — and the environment. Having used (and loved) bar shampoo and conditioner in the past, I was drawn to the vegan brand’s Nova Jelly Serum Bar ($88, includes metal storage container), a gentle retinol alternative featuring dual action phytoextracts among other plant-based ingredients and Oasis Epidermal Armor Block ($108.50, without metal container), a body hydrator that combats everything from dryness and chafing to stretch marks and rough textured skin. Dew Mighty prides itself on powerful ingredients from science and nature as well as transparency; no greenwashing or over promises here, and an ingredient glossary at your fingertips for each product.

Dew Mighty’s singular focus is paving the way toward products that can make an impact on skin while never wasting money or precious materials — including water, plastic and bottles. Bar-based product allows the brand to remove fillers and deliver the best ingredients (read greater efficacy) in a compact, travel ready format that is lighter for shipping. To say the brand gives back is an understatement with contributions to (and participation in) Project:Water, Midnight Mission/San Pedro for the Holidays, The Surfrider Group, Plastic Pollution Coalition and more.

While this brand needs no introduction thanks to its renowned founder Molly Sims, let me assure you YSE Beauty is not a “celeb” beauty brand. I reviewed the line at launch last June, but the testament to its staying power for me is repurchase; I am deeply committed to The Problem Solver ($88) as it gently resolves my lingering pigmentation and Morning Cocktail ($85) for its 3x stabilized Vitamin C that brightens skin while evening tone.

In addition to being vegan, YSE is Leaping Bunny certified, the gold standard of authentication for being cruelty-free, and contributes to 1% For The Planet, where 1% of all sales contribute to climate change initiatives; YSE funds are bestowed to Sea Trees, which plants, protects and restores critical “blue carbon” ocean ecosystems.

While I was initially drawn to Testament Beauty for its founder — a former beauty editor who felt the need to step back from the category’s oversaturation to make sense of it all — it’s her brand, which has been coined the “Mediterranean Diet for your face,” that led me to loyalty. The brand is uncomplicated and feels nourishing, with zero gravity fighting declarations. 

My favorites include the Damascena Rose De-Stress Moisturizer ($88) with Damascena rose (which hails from Turkey), chamomile extract and a probiotic that collectively calms and nourishes skin, helps balance the microbiome, and increases elasticity while providing lasting hydration; Moroccan Chamomile Sleeping Mask ($72), a refreshing mint-scented overnight treatment that incorporates Moroccan chamomile and plant-based peptides, peppermint, lavender among other fresh Mediterranean ingredients to hydrate, nourish and brighten lackluster skin; Ancient Vine Vitality Serum ($120), a multi-tasker with garden-grown Mediterranean citrus oils, grapeseed oil and vitamin C. Whether I use the serum in the morning, night or mid-day as a pick-me-up, my face regains moisture and has a dewy glow.

Vegan (and cruelty-free) Proteger brought facial grade serum to body care, and I’ve been a fan of the brand since launch,. Proteger didn’t stop at intense hydration, having just introduced a trio of Boosters to supercharge their serum for your individual needs. Get Even Booster ($52) fades pigmentation irregularities and minimizes the look of stubborn dark spots; Smooth Sailing Booster ($43) is a leave-on exfoliant that improves texture (from rough, dry skin patches to acne scars) as it helps replenish the moisture barrier; Seamless Booster ($57) softens lines while firming skin and enhancing elasticity.

Using a 5-to-1 ratio of Booster to Dermal Serum ($115) you can quash stubborn skincare concerns with these active concentrates.

While the brand is dogged for healthy skin, they are equally committed to “create a lasting impression on the consumer, and a minimal one on the environment.”

A purpose-driven brand, Umanos offers head-to-toe sustainable vegan beauty with shampoo ($26), conditioner ($28) and body wash ($24). To ensure efficacy without compromise, the brand taps into naturally derived ingredients, from seaweed superfoods (densely nutrient-rich plants that hydrate skin and strands) and coconut-based cleansers to essential oils. While I am a fan of crisp, light scents of the eco-friendly collection — thanks to Atlantic Cedarwood, Juniper Berry, Moroccan Rosemary, Indian Mint, and Lavender — it’s the 65+ vitamins, minerals, and nutrients nourishing my hair and skin that continue to bring me back to the brand. Not to mention that they are on the cusp of launching refills.

But Founder Alisha Stephens is committed to more than making us beautiful. The founder dedicates 1% of sales to Wash to Water, where donations go directly to sustainable, community-owned water projects in East Africa. With 785 million people living without clean water, Stephens has been dedicated to this cause since 2011, more than a decade before she launched Umanos.