Our sense of smell is perhaps the most sensitive and effective sense we have.
Maybe the smell of the ocean brings you back like a time machine to childhood summers at the shore, or potatoes frying in oil takes you back to holidays at Grandma’s.
Our sense of smell is tied closely to the part of the brain that is responsible for emotional memories. Because of this, when you pick out a perfume to wear, it’s like choosing which emotions you want to evoke with your signature scent.
And, if you’re living a plant-based lifestyle, one of those might be compassion – you don’t want to give your hard-earned dollars to companies that choose to practice barbaric cosmetic testing on animals.
Luckily, there are plenty of vegan-approved perfume options on the market for any budget – making it a perfect gift for a vegan friend, or to add to your own collection.
Pick Your BudgetLow End Vegan Perfumes (Under $30)Mid-Range Vegan Perfumes ($30 – $75)High-End Vegan Perfumes (Over $75)
Low End Vegan Perfumes (Under $30)
Pacifica Beauty Perfume Spray
Our Top Pick Under $30
A household name in vegan beauty products, Pacifica’s perfumes come in beautiful, colorful packaging that looks beautiful displayed on a dresser or your bathroom shelves. The unexpected scents like Tunisian Jasmine Lime, Sugared Amber Dreams, and Indian Coconut Nectar make this our favorite brand out of this category. They offer traditional spray bottles, roll-on, and solid perfumes.
The Body Shop
The Body Shop eau de toilette is our favorite blend of qualities: affordable, marketed as vegan, and highly rated. The scents are exotic but not overpowering. It comes in a bottle small enough to tuck into your purse.
Aura Cacia
Marketed as “mists”, each of these extremely affordable and flexible scents can be used for the body, room freshener, or fabric spray. The fragrances come in 4-ounce spray bottles, and are available in nearly every scent from ylang-ylang to grapefruit & lavender to ginger & mint.
TerraNova
Adhering to the motto “truth + beauty,” TerraNova offers light, cruelty-free perfumes in a variety of sophisticated scents. At around $20 per bottle, you can choose from blends like China Lily, which uses hyacinth and jasmine, to Fig & Sambac, for a Mediterranean essence. The scents can be sprayed or dabbed onto pulse points.
Herban Cowboy
Using vegan ingredients and recyclable packaging, Herban Cowboy has a strong commitment to customers, the animals, and the Earth. While they are known mostly for men’s bath products, their blossom scent comes in beautiful packaging and is available in most drug and health food stores.
Aromi Beauty
With feisty names like “Sassy,” “Vixen”, and “Flawless,” Aromi’s solid perfumes are extremely affordable at just $12 a piece. The solid perfumes come in practical metal pots, so you don’t have to worry about anything leaking or breaking. They also offer roll-on oil for a few bucks more.
Flower Beauty Fragrances
A fragrance collection by Drew Barrymore, Flower Beauty’s scents are very feminine, relying on florals and fruits to create its signature scents. You can wear different scents together for a custom scent, and the bottles make for beautiful display pieces.
Bon Bon Sweet Vanillary Perfume
A 100% vegan company, Bonbon’s sweet vanilla perfume comes in a cream consistency rather than a spray bottle. This format is perfect for travel and keeping in a purse, as you don’t have to worry about breaking glass or leaking liquid.
H&M Eau de Toilette & Perfume
At just around $10 each, H&M offers a variety of types of perfume, from traditional spray to solid perfume and roll-on perfume oil. The packaging is sleek and minimalist and will look great displayed on your dresser or bathroom shelves.
Mid-Range Vegan Perfumes ($30 – $75)
Karma Solid Perfume by LUSH
Our Top Mid-Range Pick
With products handmade in Canada, Lush is our top pick for mid-range vegan-friendly perfumes. In addition to a wide variety of scents from sandalwood, violet, and spicy, citrusy signature scent “Karma”, Lush also offers fragrances in spray and solid form. Lush stores are located in several countries, so you can purchase in store or online.
Abercrombie & Fitch
A&F’s signature women’s scent, “Fierce,” features blackberry leaves, peony, and beach woods for a light, feminine perfume. In addition to traditional spray perfumes, they also offer gift sets, body mists, and lotions in a variety of scents.
Lavanila
Known best for their line of non-toxic deodorants, Lavanila also offers a line of fragrance without any harmful chemicals. Dubbed “The Healthy Fragrance,” it is available in several vanilla-based natural scents like Vanilla Grapefruit, Vanilla Lemon, and Vanilla Blackberry. The perfumes are available in spray, rollerball, and fragrance oil applications.
Harvey Prince Organics Hello Perfume
Offering exotic fragrances like Kashmiri Saffron, Mysore Sandalwood, and Turkish delight, Harvey Prince’s perfumes are organic, light, and sophisticated. They come in sleek glass bottles that look as beautiful as they smell.
Ecco Bella Eau de Parfum
Ecco Bella uses only the essential oils from flowers, fruits, herbs, and spices to create their aromatherapy-inspired scents. The perfume is available in Ambrosia, Bourbon Vanilla, Organic Lavender, and Organic Lemon Verbena.
C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries
Available in traditional sprays and roll-ons, C.O. Bigelow Apothecaries offers a wide array of fragrances. Their scents evoke emotions and experiences, using descriptors like “ethereal,” “seductive,” and “earthy.”
The 7 Virtues
Natural perfume with a message, The 7 Virtues sources all its fair-trade ingredients from countries that are being rebuilt after the destruction of war. The fragrances are available in beautiful and exotic scents like Patchouli of Rwanda, Afghanistan Orange Blossom, and Vetiver of Haiti.
A Perfume Organic
A Perfume Organic’s signature scent is GREEN, a juicy herbal concoction using rose, black truffle, chamomile, and ylang-ylang, however, it also offers several other scents including “White Magik,” made with white flowers and jasmine, and “Mejica,” a blend of three vanillas. All scents are vegan, and USDA certified organic.
Lotus Wei.
Made from completely vegan and natural ingredients, Lotus Wei’s fragrances are inspired by flowers used in stress-relieving aromatherapy. The scents are named after the moods they strive to create, from “Inner Peace” to “Inspired Action.”
California North
These fragrances are influenced by the scents and aura of Northern California. Their fragrances are available for both men and women and are inspired by California vineyards, the Pacific Ocean, and fresh citrus. The perfumes come in sleek glass bottles.
High-End Vegan Perfumes (Over $75)
D.S. & Durga
Our Top High-End Pick
With varying sizes from tiny “pocket perfumes” to full-size spray bottles, D.S. & Durga creates small-batch fragrances that are 100% vegan and cruelty-free. Inspired by old Americana, these fragrances can be described as earthy, woodsy, and natural. While many perfumes can get old, focusing on the same floral and citrus scents, D.S. & Durga’s perfumes are a refreshing change from most of the products on the market.
Tsi-La Organics
In addition to being natural and vegan, Tsi-La’s fragrances are 100% organic. Packaged in beautiful glass bottles, Tsi-La is committed to being friendly to the planet, as well as light and luxurious. Most scents are unisex and can be worn by men and women alike.
Jack Black
With signature blue packaging, Jack Black’s perfumes are fresh and exotic. Their Blue Mark Eau de Parfum is an intoxicating infusion of watermint, cilantro, and bergamot. Many scents work well for both men and women.
TOVA
Taking inspiration from art and luxury, TOVA combines the goodness of nature with the innovation of science. Their fragrances come in sleek, glass bottles with a signature bow on the cap, and can be purchased as single bottles as well as in gift sets.
Pour le Monde
Marketed specifically as vegan, cruelty-free fragrances, Pour le Monde is committed to using only natural ingredients in their products. With fragrances like “Empower” and “Together” you can request samples on their website to test the scents before purchasing a whole bottle.
Honoré de Prés
Honor de Pres provides natural fragrances that are made without the use of any synthetic ingredients or animal products. Perfect for people who are looking to use only natural ingredients in their food and beauty products, these fragrances come in scents like Love Coconut, Love les Carrotes, and signature Green.
My Daughter Fragrances
Based in Alberta, Canada, My Daughter Fragrances creates 100% natural perfumes without phthalates or parabens. The fragrances are handmade in France and derived from essential oils, resins, and absolutes. It’s available in “Joyful” and “Always Loved” scents.
Arquiste
The fragrances in Arquiste’s collection are inspired by history and designed to transport you to various places and time periods. In 2013, the company won the Fashion Group International’s Rising Star Award for best Beauty/Fragrance Entrepreneur brand.
Osmia Organics
While Osmia is not a certified organic company, they do their best to use certified organic ingredients whenever possible. Committed to conscious, eco-friendly beauty, the company does not use synthetic colors, parabens, or phthalates in its fragrances. They offer a limited but varied collection of scents, from floral to woodsy.
VERED Organic Botanicals
With an established line of natural, organic beauty products, VERED’s perfumes are made from all-natural essential oils. Their featured scents include Blue Violet, Deep Citron, and their signature scent, a blend of citrus, vanilla, rose, and jasmine.
Cruelty-Free Fragrances
With so many fragrances available in a variety of applications, scents, and budgets, replacing your chemical laden, animal-tested perfumes with vegan-friendly alternatives is a piece of cake. Many of these companies offer samples through their website or can be tested in store at a beauty retailer like Ulta or Sephora.
Depending on your budget and preferences, you can choose from affordable collections of perfumes in fun, exotic fragrances, all the way to high-end, small-batch perfumes inspired by geographic locations and periods of history. No matter your preferences or budget, one thing is constant – cruelty-free perfumes are more accessible than ever.
Can you recommend a cruelty free perfume that smells like the ocean (or something similar/light). Thanks, in advance!!!!
Hey Kelly.
Take a lot at the California North perfume on the list. That scent is inspired by the California vineyards, the Pacific Ocean, and fresh citrus.
Good Luck!
Hello! I was wondering if the Nest Fragrances company is cruelty free..
NEST has a FAQ page where they say they do not test on animals. Here’s the link: http://dev.nestfragrances.com/faq/
However, we have not seen any verbiage about the company being vegan and can not verify that. I hope that helps.
Hello. Anyone have a suggestion on a good smelling, sweet, light, perfume for men? Which is not containing any animal products or are tested on animals?
Thx for the help 🙂