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The 10 best vegan and cruelty-free mascaras to curl, lengthen and volumise your lashes
For all you green fingered gals out there.
Vegan moisturiser? Check. Vegan cleanser? Check. The skincare industry is packed to the brim with brilliant vegan and cruelty-free products. But did you know, there are a whole lotta options when it comes to your makeup, too? Particularly with everyday products, like mascara.
Beeswax is a common ingredient in many mascara formulas but the below options have found clever alternatives, such as rose wax, bayberry fruit wax and carnauba wax – all of which do a brilliant job at sweeping lashes into a curl and helping to keep them there. If you have droopy or mega straight lashes (I fall into the latter), then you could always pair your mascara up with a handy eyelash curler.
Aside from brimming with good-for-the-planet ingredients, they're packed full of vitamins and natural oils to nourish, are a dream to apply, don't clump and don't leave you with panda eyes come 3pm. Some are even waterproof – winning, we'd say. Also, thanks to innovations in cosmetics technology, these mascaras come with specially-designed mascara wands which have been created with clever bristles that grab even the tiniest of lashes, without fear of smudging onto your eyeshadow. I mean, don't you just hate it when that happens?!
From cult classic like Milk Makeup's Kush Mascara and Too Faced's Better Than Sex Mascara to Beauty Pie's Wrap Star and Rare Beauty's Perfect Strokes Universal Volumizing Mascara, these are the top 10 worth writing home about.
Beyoncé's make up artist's go-to mascara for faking falsies, Kush has earned a cult status within the beauty community thanks to its clever, heart shaped fibres that fix onto and boost each lash. As the name suggests, one of the core ingredients is cannabis oil, something that gives the formula its wondrous slick.
Super cute name aside, Wrap Star wraps (soz) every lash in its glossy, smudge-proof colour for ‘locked and loaded’ lengths.
And thanks to its clever tubing formula you can expect each lick to coat and define every single individual hair. No, I'm not exaggerating.
There is nothing worse (read: first world problems) than mascara that transfers. But thanks to Selena and her lab team, one need not worry with Perfect Strokes.
The thick bristle brush coats each individual lash making for extra voluminous lengths.
If you're not already familiar with this award winning mascara, then, like where have you been?! This really does everything and more: curls, lengthens, volumises, thickens. Not to mention it has the blackest formula around and is also full of collagen and fibres to fluff up your flutter.
Inspired by traditional Ayurvedic ingredients and Japanese charcoal, this luxe lash builder is a serious treat. Organic beeswax, sweet almond oil and castor oil make the formula thick but easily malleable, so you can wave goodbye to clumps for good.
Short, brittle lashes need this fortifying formula, ASAP. Enriched with vitamin B5, candelilla wax and antioxidant kakadu plum, it helps keeps lashes healthy and conditioned with each and every use.
Wear one layer of this glossy mascara or build it up for a bolder look-at-me lash. Sunflower oil and vitamin E protect and strengthen, whilst the blacker-than-black pigment means you're guaranteed definition every time.
Tarte Lights, Camera, Lashes™ 4-in-1 Mascara
With over 4,000 5-star reviews, there's a reason this mascara has been heralded the best vegan mascara EVER. The stellar line up of lash loving ingredients include vitamins B5 and C, olive esters and rice bran wax to moisturise while they magnify each lash. Dreamy.
If you're looking to stretch and lengthen your lashes, give this one a go. It contains rose wax that not only conditions each lash but also delivers an impressive volumising effect. Plus, the formula is made with super dark black pigment to make lashes appear thicker, too. Win, win.
Eyeko Beach Waterproof Mascara
As well as its vegan and cruelty-free credentials, this Eyeko mascara is waterproof. Its soft bristles swoop lashes up into a fluttery curl while also coating even the tiniest lashes without a risk of clumping.
Gaby is the Senior Beauty Writer here at Cosmopolitan.com/UK. Her favourite hobbies include sleeping, eating cake till she can't move and uncontrollably hoarding beauty products.
Lia Mappoura (she/her) is the Beauty Writer at Cosmopolitan UK, with over four years of experience reporting across the brand's print, social, video and digital platforms. Lia covers everything from emerging trend analysis to viral celebrity hair and makeup moments, making her an expert at spotting the season’s next big beauty look (before it takes over social media feeds).
In 2025, she was named The Rising Media Star at the Love Perfume Awards with The Perfume Shop, recognised for her outstanding digital fragrance content and for building genuine authority within the space. She is passionate about challenging outdated beauty stereotypes, championing inclusive representation in beauty, and educating readers on the trends, products and conversations shaping the industry today. Follow her on Instagram or find her on LinkedIn.
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