6 Best Vegan Blushes for a Stunning Face

So it’s high time you started making conscious choices for your skin. Here, we’ll discuss better choices concerning blush.

Blush is the perfect cosmetic for giving your cheeks a healthy glow and putting your best face forward. Even if you aren’t necessarily feeling fabulous.

In a Hurry? Here’s Our Quick List of Top Picks

• Better’n Ur Cheeks Mineral Blush
• Au Naturale Pure Powder Blush in Plum
• Show Me Your Cheeks Powder Blush
• Gabriel Cosmetics Blush Petal
• BaeBlu Pressed Powder Blush for Face – Dusty Rose
• Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush-Peach

Why You Should Read More Than Just Your Food Labels

You know there are nasty ingredients in processed food, and some of those aren’t represented on the labelling.

You take time to read over ingredients and make informed choices about what you eat and are pretty diligent about it. But do you do the same for your personal care products? Does it matter?

In a word, it should. Your skin absorbs everything you put on it, including the environment.

Do you really want to purposefully put more nastiness on your skin? This roundup will arm you with more knowledge and help you make better choices about your makeup.

Lead

Now, you’re probably thinking LEAD? This can’t possibly still be an issue in modern cosmetics, right?

Sadly, it is. Lead is a neurotoxin linked to a myriad of maladies. While there are laws restricting and banning the addition of lead into consumer products, contamination is still prevalent.

The culprit in cosmetics is often found in color additives. And, as we’ve stated in the highlighter guide not all “natural” color additives are vegan. Look for plant-based colorants from fruit such as beets, pomegranate, and carrot.

Quaternium-15

Quaternium-15 is one of many types of Formaldehyde releasing preservatives. Formaldehyde? Like that foul-smelling swill you still have nightmares about from high school biology? Yep. The same stuff. Is that something you really want to willingly put on your face? Didn’t think so.

These types of preservatives are often found in pressed powders, i.e. that adorable compact you’ve had since college.

It’s time to toss those and fill your makeup bag with products that use rosemary, tea tree oil, grapefruit seed extract, and vitamin E to preserve them instead.

Talc

This innocuous sounding ingredient is one difficult to choose sides on. For many years, talc has been given the boot when it comes to cosmetics and personal care products.

It was once highly likely to be contaminated with asbestos, which is obviously not something you want to sprinkle on the bum of your baby, or your own face.

However, talc is making a natural and asbestos-free comeback and is lauded with its ability to absorb oil and keep your skin acne free.

It has become one of those ingredients that might be difficult to use, based on its sordid past.

We’re skeptics here, so we use with caution and encourage you to make your most informed decision about ingredients. Always check with the manufacturer if you have any concerns.

BHT, BHA

Another nasty preservative you want to avoid in your, well, EVERYTHING!

These types of preservatives are linked with skin allergies (seems silly to put that in a product intended for your skin, doesn’t it?) and are known endocrine disruptors. They are banned in Europe, yet continue to be used elsewhere, including the US.

These preservatives accumulate over time, on your skin, and in the atmosphere, leading to health concerns, such as cancer.

Skip it, and look instead for preservative free products, or plant-based preservatives such as aspen bark extract and vitamin E.

Phenoxyethanol

A substitute for the commonly known ingredient to avoid, Parabens.

Parabens have become a public pariah and most people know to avoid them. Many companies have taken to using this to replace parabens in their products.

However, this replacement isn’t much better, and has been linked to life-threatening allergic reactions and long-term skin problems like eczema.

Again, look for plant-based or preservative-free cosmetics. They’re much more abundant and readily available than you might think.

6 Top Picks for Vegan Blushes

The fun part about blush is that you can get high quality products that are cruelty and yucky ingredient free, and they aren’t going to blow your beauty budget.

No, these aren’t drugstore prices, but your skin is better than bargain basement junk.

These blushes will do their part to give you a natural flush and won’t leave you feeling guilty about harmful ingredients.

Better’n Ur Cheeks Mineral Blush

Better’n Ur Cheeks (such a cheeky name!) mineral blush in Petal is a perfect pink for light to medium skin tones.

Its micro-slip formula goes on smooth like a cream, but it’s silky powder. It won’t sink into your pores and contains natural age defying antioxidants and moisturizers.

Your cheeks will be contoured and flushed with a healthy, radiant glow. Your skin will be caressed and cared for.

It might even look better than before you used this! The secret is in the ingredients! Skin-friendly botanicals will convert even the most vehement anti-blush wearers.

Au Naturale Pure Powder Blush in Plum

Au Naturale’s Pure Powder Blush in Plum is a refreshing break from the usual pinks, without being outrageous or outlandish.

It’s described as a “mulberry pigment with rose undertones.” It is really pretty, and appears surprisingly natural, especially on medium to dark skin tones.

The loose powder goes on smoothly, but it’s a different application than a pressed powder. It takes some practice to get it just right.

If you’re used to mineral-based loose powders, you might not have any challenges at all, but for us newbies… just a heads up.

The color is super flattering, lightweight and wispy. It looks air-brushed, yet natural, if that makes any sense at all! Suffice it to say, with a light hand you aren’t going to look like a clown (unlike every day of my teen years).

Show Me Your Cheeks Powder Blush

Another contender with a super cheeky name! I love this peachy pink shade. It’s super flattering on pretty much every skin tone.

It’s also just shimmery enough to look gorgeous, without looking garish or over-the-top. It works for all ages too, which is not an easy feat.

Colors that flatter young skin don’t always work for more mature skin, so that’s definitely a plus in my book.

The natural pigments are buildable, making it easy to go from a neutral daytime look to a more dramatic nighttime look, if that’s your jam. No need to carry more than one blush in your bag anymore.

Gabriel Cosmetics Blush Petal

Gabriel Cosmetics’ neutral petal shade of blush is very flattering and easy to wear. It’s especially perfect for a muted, natural look.

It can be layered for a bolder appearance, without worry about a cakey or powdery buildup. The application is smooth and intuitive, leaving a soft glow that is nearly impossible to mess up.

Gabriel’s products are mineral-based and 100% natural, with ingredients that don’t take up a huge portion of the packaging.

This blush has less than 15 ingredients! What drugstore blush can say that? None. Don’t waste your time trying to find one. They don’t exist.

BaeBlu Pressed Powder Blush for Face – Dusty Rose

This dusty rose shade is perfect for medium to dark skin tones, adding a radiant glow to your cheeks without looking fake.

The powder is creamy and smooth, not flakey. It doesn’t flick into the air when you swirl your brush into it. Which is really a selling point for distracted people like me. Less waste, more on your face.

BaeBlu is committed to creating products that are good for your skin and the environment. This woman-owned company is dedicated to making sure you feel fabulous in your own skin.

They offer personalized color-matching services and a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

They’re just an amazing, fun, and innovative company. We also love how they’re striving to be completely organic in the next couple of years. What a fantastic commitment!

Too Faced Sweethearts Perfect Flush Blush-Peach

Too Faced’s compact is just so freaking cute! Seriously, I would buy this just for the cute factor.

I’m a sucker for adorable packaging (I’m a merchandiser’s dream, y’all!) and this doesn’t disappoint.

The heart shaped compact looks so sweet and innocent and the beautiful blush hidden inside is just the icing on the cake.

Three perfect shades to swirl together, or to swipe individually for your own individualized color.

I love to use the shades for my eyes, as well as cheeks, so it’s a great multi-use product as well.

The subtle shimmer adds a hint of glamour, while the sweet shades exude innocence and romance. This stuff is like a Harlequin novel in your makeup bag! Irresistible!

Top Choice for the Best Vegan Blush

All these blushes are incredible and a far cry from the crud I used to smear on my cheeks long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away.

Something to note, blush compacts don’t seem to come with brushes anymore, which is probably a good thing, since they were usually crappy anyway.

So, invest in a (animal hair free of course) set of makeup brushes or at the very least a blush brush.

My favorite of all these is the Too Faced Sweethearts Flush Blush in Peach.

I love it mostly for the multiple shades, and the cute compact is a winner as well.

The three shades make it a multi-tasker in my makeup bag, and I do love a product that can be used for more than one purpose.

I’m also pretty fair skinned, but tan easily, so this is a great shade for the lighter end of the skin tone spectrum.

I don’t have to buy another shade to use in the summer, but if your skin is darker, it might not work well for you.

All in all, blush (and blush application) is a very personalized experience. In the past, I’ve chosen to just skip it, because I just had flashbacks of bad blush days of middle and high school.

But blush has come a long way, baby! It’s a simple and fun way to add a little healthful glow back to your face.

So, if you’re timid about trying new things, or just feel like you’ll end up looking like a clown, I encourage you to put those negative thoughts aside.

These blush products make it easier than ever to get a radiant glow! What are you waiting for?

Get glowing, you gorgeous thing you!