The V-word is no longer only used by dedicated recipe hunters or new vegans trying to figure out why honey isn't actually vegan. Ethical and conscious consumers' interest in vegan and cruelty-free makeup, beauty and skincare is on the rise.
That is why we dived deep into Google Trends analytics and uncovered the trends behind vegan and cruelty-free beauty, skincare and makeup search demand in the United Kingdom. We also looked at the most popular vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics brands in the UK.
Based on average monthly searches from 2021, we discovered that UK customers look more often for vegan beauty, cosmetics, makeup and brushes rather than for cruelty-free beauty, cosmetics, makeup and brushes. However, UK customers prefer to search for cruelty-free makeup brands rather than vegan makeup brands.
Looking at the countries in the UK, we found that…
But we dug even deeper and looked at the counties of the UK…
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We took a look at all of the countries in the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), and also at county level data, but found that searches for vegan and cruelty-free beauty, skincare and makeup are highest in the counties of England.
This is more than likely because of the fact that England has a much denser population than the other countries in the UK, and there are more people living in each of the counties in England.
But we are sure that the search demand in other counties will rise in the upcoming years – and we are here for it! For now, we found that:
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We didn't stop there and looked at the cities in the UK in more detail…
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Hungry for more? Check out our map to learn about the top vegan and cruelty-free beauty, skincare and makeup search trends per UK city!
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Sigma Beauty is an established and well-known beauty brand that is loved for its professional quality makeup brushes and tools, although they also sell eyeshadow palettes and other beauty products.
They use specifically developed antimicrobial synthetic hairs for their brushes to protect your skin and better hold and apply the product.
A very popular drugstore budget brand that sells in drugstores all over the UK. They operate under various daughter brands: Makeup Revolution, Revolution Skincare, Revolution Hair, XX Revolution, Revolution Pro, I Heart Revolution and Makeup Obsession, and there are sometimes regional differences in what they are called.
They divide most of their daughter brands by cosmetics category (Revolution Skincare is their skincare brand, for example) but noteworthy are XX Revolution which is well known for their striking eyeshadow palettes and highlighters, and Makeup Obsession, which is a cosmetics brand marketed more towards teens.
Hailing from East London, Barry M is an English cosmetics brand to the core: bright, playful, edgy and alternative.
They have been revolutionary for bringing colour back into cosmetics and are well known for their bright and playful eyeshadows, lipsticks and innovative cosmetics products. Even better: they recently reformulated their entire range to be 100% vegan!
Anastasia Beverly Hills is a beloved high-end professional cosmetics brand that is specifically known for revolutionizing brow makeup and the way we look at brows as a whole.
You could say that they played an integral role in developing current brow trends, and are at the forefront of cosmetics innovation.
They sell many more products and are also well known for their contouring, foundations, highlighters and concealers. Oh, and did we also mention that they are cruelty-free and a huge chunk of their range is vegan?
BH Cosmetics is a USA-based 100% vegan and cruelty-free brand, specifically known for its bright and fun eyeshadow palettes, available in any shade range, from rainbows to greens to pastels to neutrals.
Milani is a US-based cosmetics brand that is known for its affordable and great quality makeup and its inclusive foundations and concealers. They’ve got labelled vegan products, so you don’t have to worry about reading complicated ingredient lists.
Oh, Nabla. We LOVE Nabla. Nabla is an amazing high-end vegan-friendly cosmetics brand that produces, amongst others, amazing quality lipsticks. Some of their products still contain beeswax, but most are not only cruelty-free, but vegan as well!
Do you have sensitive skin and are you allergic to most makeup or skincare? Look no further! Physicians Formula was specifically created to be hypoallergenic and gentle to the skin.
Just like Europe, South Korea has a ban on animal testing for cosmetics. We love that! Purito is a Korea-based 100% vegan and cruelty-free skincare brand that stands for safe and honest beauty, with simple ingredients and recycled eco-friendly packaging. We’re fans!
This affordable and well-beloved London-based brand Eylure is well known for its amazing quality vegan false lashes and lash products.
Available in drugstores around the UK, Catrice is an affordable brand that sells a wide variety of cosmetics and skincare. We are especially in love with their foundations and concealers in a wide range of different skin tones!
Australian Bodycare is a popular Danish skincare brand that focuses on Australian tea tree oil. They’ve been making tea tree products since 1992 and take pride in their natural cosmetics that are mild for your skin.
Founded by famous influencer and makeup artist Shrinkle, Sugarpill has become a household name when it comes to bright, fun and top quality eyeshadows, although over time they’ve expanded their range to other products such as false lashes and liquid lipsticks.
Sugarpill is especially beloved by the LGBTI+ and drag community for its theatrical and striking colours. Most of their products are vegan, but they do use carmine in some of their red, pink and purple coloured cosmetics.
iUNIK’s magic word is simplicity. iUNIK is a Korean skincare brand that focuses itself on minimalist cosmetics, with honest, natural and fair ingredients.
Another brand that’s very popular within the LGBTI+ and drag community for its bright and fun colours. Glamlite rose to fame with their themed eyeshadow palettes, mostly inspired by food, and their fun and elaborate packaging. The entire brand is vegan and cruelty-free.
Milu is a small skincare brand that focuses mostly on face masks and beauty tools such as massage rollers. The brand also recently came out with some of their first cosmetic products, including lip care and a cleansing balm!
Milu is 100% vegan and we love their sleek designs, minimalist approach and their clean and natural ingredients!
In a short time, OFRA Cosmetics have become a household name. They are well known for their fantastic liquid lipsticks and other lip products in a wide range of colours, although they sell a wide range of different cosmetics, from foundation to highlighter and skincare products. The best thing: OFRA is 100% vegan!
MGC Derma is a Swiss skincare brand, who is proudly vegan and certified by the Vegan Society. MGC Derma is known for its high-end skincare featuring a surprising but excellent ingredient: CBD oil.
The brand’s minimalist approach and high-end ingredients and formulas created by experts in skincare make our hearts flutter and our skin happy!
We love this Los Angeles-based makeup brand! LA Girl Cosmetics is proudly cruelty-free, and both their eyeshadows as well as their lip products are amazing.
The brand also clearly labels its vegan products, so you’ll never have to scour complicated ingredient lists to find your perfect plant-based makeup!
This natural body and skincare brand Ben & Anna has a-ma-zing toothpaste and deodorant. All of their products are gentle to your body and 100% vegan, which we love!
This brand is especially well known for its soap brows – a brow product that you can use to create a high-end brushed up brow. They are also 100% vegan and certified by the Vegan Society. West Barn Co, we are fans!
Another popular budget cosmetics brand available in most drugstores around the UK! Essence is known for its great quality yet super affordable makeup and skincare.
Some of our personal favs are their waterproof Liquid Ink eyeliner and their Stay 8h Matte Lipstick.
Check out our map to learn about the most popular vegan and cruelty-free makeup and cosmetics brands per UK city!
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We're delighted to see that vegan and cruelty-free makeup, beauty and skincare are gaining popularity. And we can't wait to hear about more incredible makeup and cosmetics brands that are vegan and cruelty-free in the future!
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Notes
This blog was based on data from Google Ads (Keyword Planner). To provide you with more insights, we describe the data in its raw form.
The keywords analyzed for this article (with average monthly searches) were the following: vegan beauty (500), vegan cosmetics (500), vegan makeup and vegan makeup UK (2600), vegan makeup brands and vegan makeup brands UK (850), vegan makeup brushes (150), cruelty-free beauty (80), cruelty-free cosmetics (200), cruelty-free makeup and cruelty-free makeup UK (2050), cruelty-free makeup brands and cruelty-free makeup brands UK (1250), cruelty-free makeup brushes (30).
Looking at the countries, we found these percentages and converted them to actual numbers to enable comparisons among popular search terms:
In England, the most popular search term was vegan makeup (UK) with 87% corresponding to 2262 average monthly searches. In Scotland, it was cruelty-free makeup (UK) with 7%, 143.5 average monthly searches. In Wales, it was cruelty-free makeup (UK) with 8%, 164 average monthly searches. In Northern Ireland, it was vegan makeup (UK) with 2%, 52 average monthly searches.
Looking at counties, we divided the searches into categories: vegan and cruelty-free. To keep it brief, we are providing percentage only. The search terms with the highest number of average monthly searches were: vegan makeup (UK) with 7% and cruelty-free makeup (UK) with 4% in Greater Manchester; vegan makeup (UK) with 15% and cruelty-free makeup (UK) with 11% in Greater London; cruelty-free makeup brands (UK) with 6% in Buckinghamshire; cruelty-free cosmetics with 3% in Suffolk; cruelty-free beauty with 5% in East Sussex; vegan makeup brushes with 6% and cruelty-free makeup brushes with 20% in West Sussex; vegan makeup brands (UK) with 39% and cruelty-free makeup (UK) with 4% in West Midlands; vegan makeup (UK) with 5% and cruelty-free cosmetics with 4% in West Yorkshire; vegan cosmetics with 4% and cruelty-free cosmetics with 3% in Hampshire; vegan makeup (UK) with 3% and cruelty-free makeup (UK) with 4% in Kent; vegan beauty with 5% in Surrey; vegan cosmetics with 3% and cruelty-free makeup brands (UK) with 7% and cruelty-free makeup (UK) with 3% in Essex; vegan makeup brands (UK) with 3% and cruelty-free makeup brands (UK) with 4% in Devon; vegan makeup brands (UK) with 2% in Lancashire; vegan makeup brushes with 43% in Warwickshire; cruelty-free makeup brands (UK) with 6% in Cheshire; cruelty-free makeup brushes with 12% in Bristol.
Lastly, we looked at the cities in the UK and the two categories: vegan and cruelty-free searches. These search terms were mostly popular (in %): vegan beauty in London (8%), Liverpool (4%), Ipswich (2%), Ashford (2%), Birmingham (2%); Vegan cosmetics in London (11%), Northampton (1%), Bristol (1%), Edinburgh (1%), Leicester (1%); vegan makeup (UK) in London (11%), Birmingham (3%), Rochdale (3%), Bristol (1%), Leeds (1%), vegan makeup brands (UK) in Brierley Hill (32%), London (9%), Wolverhampton (3%), Peterborough (2%), Maghull (2%); vegan makeup brushes in London (10%), Coventry (3%), Edinburgh (3%), Crawley (2%), Chester (2%); cruelty-free beauty in Altrincham (11%), Aberdeen (11%), North berwick (7%), London (5%), Aylesbury (5%); cruelty-free cosmetics in London (10%), Glasgow (2%), Colchester (2%), Edinburgh (2%), Bristol (2%); cruelty free makeup (UK) in London (9%), Bristol (2%), Glasgow (2%), Bicester (1%), Birmingham (1%); cruelty free makeup brands (UK) in London (6%), Aylesbury (4%), Newcastle Upon Tyne (3%), Crewe (3%), Heathfield and Waldron (2%); cruelty free makeup brushes in Aberdeen (14%), London (12%), Bristol (12%), Lisburn (11%), Stourbridge (9%).
Each brand listed in the blog was analyzed in terms of its popularity per city in the UK (in %). All related keywords to the brand keyword group were taken into account. For Sigma, Sigma makeup, Sigma makeup brushes and Sigma beauty – London (13%), Glasgow (4%), Birmingham (2%), Leeds (2%), Sutton (2%); for Makeup Revolution – London (11%), Birmingham (4%), Bradford (2%), Glasgow (2%), Bristol (1%); for Revolution Hair – Milford (50%), Kirkcaldy (18%), Coventry (14%), Altrincham (3%), Shrewsbury (3%); for Makeup Obsession – London (10%), Birmingham (4%), Shrewsbury (3%), Hitchin (1%), Aberdeen (1%); for Barry M, Barry M cosmetics, Barry M makeup – London (6%), Birmingham (5%), Manchester (1%), Leeds (1%), Bristol (1%); Anastasia Beverly Hills, abh, Anastasia makeup – London (13%), Birmingham (3%), Glasgow (1%), Liverpool (1%), Leicester (1%); for BH Cosmetics and BH Cosmetics UK – London (12%), Telford (7%), Nelson (5%), Ely (3%), Belfast (2%); for Milani and Milani makeup – London (14%), Glasgow (2%), Birmingham (2%), Aberdeen (1%), Belfast (1%); for Nabla and Nabla cosmetics – London (23%), Irlam (9%), Leeds (5%), Liverpool (4%), Londonderry (3%); for Physicians Formula – London (9%), Birmingham (3%), Huntingdon (2%), Manchester (2%), Chatham (2%); for Purito and Purito UK – London (28%), Wembley (3%), Coventry (3%), Milton Keynes (2%), Borehamwood (2%); for Eylure – London (12%), Birmingham (2%), Newcastle upon Tyne (2%), Southend-on-Sea (2%), Wolverhampton (2%); for Catrice, Catrice cosmetics and Catrice makeup – London (10%), Birmingham (3%), Newry (2%), Liverpool (2%), Glasgow (2%); for Australian Bodycare – London (5%), Birmingham (2%), Bristol (1%), Derby (1%) Kirkintilloch (1%); for Sugarpill, Sugarpill cosmetics, Sugarpill makeup and Sugarpill UK – Guildford (15%), Southport (15%), Caerphilly (13%), London (12%), Stroud (6%); for iUNIK – London (20%), Bristol (4%), Belfast (3%), Manchester (2%), Malmesbury (2%); for Glamlite and Glamlite cosmetics – London (74%), Bromsgrove (9%), Ipswich (6%), Redditch (2%), Birmingham (2%); for Milu and Milu skincare – Broadstairs (56%), Coventry (18%), Bath (12%), Salisbury (7%), Burton upon Trent (<1%); for OFRA Cosmetics and OFRA makeup – Huntingdon (28%), London (22%), Wednesbury (4%), Bristol (3%), Huddersfield (3%); for MGC Derma – London (56%), Slough (4%), Rochdale (2%), Aberdeen (<1%) Manchester (<1%); for LA Girl Cosmetics and LA Girl makeup – London (33%), Strabane (26%), Cambridge (23%), Penrith (1%), Edinburgh (1%); for Ben & Anna – Stafford (15%), London (5%), West Bromwich (<1%), Tring (<1%), Cambridge (<1%); for West Barn Co – Glasgow (7%), Gateshead (7%), London (7%), Fareham (6%), Durham (5%); for Essence, Essence makeup, Essence makeup UK, Essence cosmetics and Essence skincare – London (9%), Leicester (3%), Croydon (2%), Newcastle upon Tyne (2%), Leeds (2%).