Affordable Vegan Makeup from Sainsbury’s Boutique.


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When reviewing and recommending vegan and cruelty free makeup, something very important to me is making sure that I promote brands that are accessible to people on all budgets. I think that everybody deserves to be able to pick up makeup that is free from animal ingredients that has not been tested on animals. Anyone who’s interested in experimenting with makeup colours, textures and different finishes of product should get the chance - without breaking the bank.

The good news is that gone are the days where vegan products are hard to source and ridiculously expensive. I love to hear about brands putting in the effort, time and money to investigate the ingredients they put into their products, making sure that they are definitely not tested on animals at any stage. Vegan makeup is becoming more affordable too - but a cheaper price point doesn’t necessarily mean the makeup is less effective or not as long lasting.


Sainsbury’s is a great example of this – with their Leaping Bunny certified affordable own-brand makeup line called Boutique. The line has some stand-out products which are genuinely very good and nothing in the line is over £6. My personal favourite is their £2.50 Eyebrow Defining Gel which is my daily go-to in my brow routine. It holds brow hairs in place MUCH better than any other gel I’ve tried (and trust me when I say, I’ve tried a lot of brow gels. Like, a lot.)

Another big bonus of Boutique is that the line is now entirely vegan. I attended the launch of their revamped makeup range a couple of years ago, where I had the opportunity to test out a few products – which lead me to fall in love with their brow gel and nail polish formulas. At the time of their re-launch, a couple of products had beeswax in the ingredients list – but now they’ve reformulated the handful of non-vegan products so that now everything is free from animal by-products! Exactly how we like it J

I tried a few products from the range & below are my thoughts on my favourites. Check out my recent vlog to see me create a warm-toned makeup look using some of my favs or read on for some bite-sized reviews of a couple of their stand-out products.



My Top Picks from Sainsbury’s Boutique

This lip gloss smells absolutely delicious – like vanilla cake and icing and basically childhood birthday parties. It’s also a joy to use as it’s  not sticky nor thick and actually feels more like a lip balm when you apply it. It’s almost whipped in consistency, so it’s very comfortable on the lips. If you’re averse to the stickiness of some more traditional lip glosses but you still want a gloss-effect: you’ll be a fan of these.

I picked up this shade because one of my long-time favourite nude lipsticks is the Boutique Moisturising Lipstick in the shade Mocha. I’m a big admirer of this colour because I find that it’s the perfect neutral nude for my skin tone (which is quite fair) without making my teeth look yellow (which can sometimes happen with cool toned or peachy nude shades… and is not really the look I’m going for…).

I tested this gloss in the video on my channel, so be sure to check it out to see how it applies. They’ve also launched new colours and there’s a bit of a selection to choose from if nude isn’t your thang.




You saw this one coming, didn’t you? I could be an ambassador for this gel. The road to finding the perfect brow product has been both long and expensive. But we got there in the end! I love this brow gel and use it every time I wear makeup - it holds brow hairs in place really well for the entire day, but still comes off easily with makeup remover and doesn’t make them feel crunchy or uncomfortable at all. The formula is clear and it’s great for adding texture and shape. The wand is the longest brow wand I’ve ever seen (bit off a weird statement out of context, that…). It’s the perfect length for quick application, because it’s also quite thin compared to other brow gels I’ve tried, which means you have more control over applying the product. This is great because it means that you don’t have to faff about going back over your brows – one swift swish over each brow and you’re good to go. The lazy person’s must-have in their makeup bag.

I am always tempted to try liquid blush but seem to shy away from using it. In theory it’s a great type of product to opt for to give a natural, sheer colour to the cheeks. In reality, I tend to be a bit heavy handed with the application and end up looking like I’ve had an allergic reaction rash across my cheeks…

That said, I was pleasantly surprised by these two liquid blushes. They are both thin & lightweight on the skin – not sticky at all. I picked up Terracotta (peachy shade) and Deep Pink (magenta-pink). They work best when warmed up on the back of the hand and then worked onto the cheeks with a blending sponge.

I’ve spoken about Boutique nail polish formulas in the past and even put them in my all-time favourite cruelty free nail varnish formula video. Affordable nail polish is quite common nowadays, but a good quality nail polish under £10 is not too common. Some cheaper options peel or chip really easily. Happy to report that this is not the case at all with the Boutique polishes – the colours are really opaque on one swipe (I do two coats just in case) and incredibly long lasting on the nails. The polish also dries really quickly – which is crucial when you’re as impatient and as easily distracted as I am J.

My personal favs are the shades Forever Red and Dusty Rose.

When I first saw this in store, I wasn’t sure whether it was a highlighter or a setting powder. After using it for a while, it’s more of an illuminating face powder or a natural highlight – which I like. I’m not an intense-blinding-highlight kind of gal, so this is a nice option for a natural glow (that isn’t glittery) & sets makeup without making the skin look flat.



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Thanks so much for reading! Let me know if you have any questions or need any recommendations in regard to Boutique.

It makes me really happy when I hear that more and more brands are taking the time to ensure their products aren’t tested on animals at any stage in the supply chain. Bonus points to Sainsbo’s for ensuring their makeup launch is cruelty free and vegan. Being able to pick up a vegan lipstick where you do your weekly (hopefully vegan) food shop… can’t get more convenient than that!

If ya wanna shop any of these bits, check out www.beautybyboutique.co.uk and look out for Boutique stands in Sainsbury’s superstores.

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