Let’s be honest. When it comes to product labelling it can all be a bit of a minefield. From funny little graphics to the use of marketing buzzwords it’s not always easy to cut through the jargon – especially when trying to make more environmentally-conscious choices when it comes to buying beauty products.

One of the most frequent questions we’ve been asked at EX1 Cosmetics is - Are your products vegan? And the good news is – YES! It was an important move for us as a company, but also let’s face it if we can avoid animal-derived ingredients then we should. But, what does that really mean?

Before you think we’ve packed our foundation full of kale, being vegan doesn’t mean we have to change the whole formula, it just means we created it without the use of certain ingredients. Thankfully by eliminating these from our formula it didn’t affect the quality – we are still the number one match for olive skin.

But, you can also rest assured you will never find any of the below in our range –

Lanolin – or wool wax, is secreted by wool-bearing animals such as sheep

Collagen – a protein mainly sourced from beef or fish

Biotin – mainly sourced from meat, fish and eggs

Snail mucus – the bodily secretion from a snail

Gelatin – derived from the collagen taken from animals

Squalene – a compound commonly taken from shark liver oil.

Silk Powder -taken from a silkworm’s cocoon

Honey/Beeswax – due to how honey and beeswax is harvested it is not considered vegan

Carmine - derived from cochineal beetles