Lifestyle
What is the difference between vegan and cruelty-free cosmetics?
Short answer
Cruelty-free means: not tested on animals. Vegan means: no animal ingredients (lanolin, carmine, beeswax, collagen). A product can be one without the other.
Look for both: Leaping Bunny / Cruelty Free International plus the ingredient list or a vegan logo. The EU bans cosmetic animal tests, but sales into markets that required testing (historically including China) complicate global brands.
Toothpaste with propolis, lanolin lip balm, carmine lipstick — classic “cruelty-free but not vegan”.