"I switched to vegan beauty products to see if they would improve my skin,” admits events management student and eye makeup enthusiast, Kier Murray, 20.
"I suffer from eczema so I was interested to see if they'd stopped my skin from flaring up.” Here, Kier shares the surprising results of her sensitive skin vegan skincare switch-up with GLAMOUR.
“I have looked into becoming vegan before as the cruelty-free aspect is important to me, but never got round to giving it a go. But after noticing a rise in vegan beauty products on Instagram and different blogs, I thought I’d try them for myself. I’ve always steered clear of beauty brands that did animal testing, so it felt like an easy switch.
"I'm often limited in what I use because of my eczema. It's usually perfumed products and non-natural products that can cause my skin to flare-up. So, I have a very simple skincare routine. I tend to stick to just a moisturiser and I cleanse and exfoliate with a gentle mitt rather than risk more products. So, to test the ground, I started with vegan makeup.
"Before I buy anything, I always research on Google so I started to search #veganskincare and #crueltyfree. I bought the Urban Decay Naked Skin Concealer [£19.50] for use under my eyes, as that's an area where I get quite bad flare-ups. It went on smoothly, gave good coverage and looked great and I haven’t had a flare-up there since.
"I also discovered the Foundation Stick [£24.99] from cruelty-free brand, Iconic London. And I use the TooFaced Better Than Sex [£23] vegan mascara.
"The results I noticed encouraged me to continue and I discovered cruelty-free and part vegan brand, MeMi. I love their primer [Perfecting Radiance Primer, £16 ] as it’s simple to apply, there’s no perfume and it feels nice on the skin. I also tried out their Miracle Moisturiser [£20]. It keeps my skin really hydrated as it tends to be dry, but it's the one product in the range that's not 100% vegan as it includes beeswax.
"I’m going to carry on using vegan products as I noticed the difference both in the quality and the effect on my skin. My skin looks much healthier and it hasn’t flared up. It feels really great and now I often go without makeup. Friends have noticed it, too, so I wouldn't be surprised if they give it go."
