Vegan Makeup and Cosmetics – The Business of Cruelty Free Beauty

Beauty – A Matter of Perspective

Beauty, a term we are all associated with, is something every person wants. Now, the definition of beauty can be different for each one of us. It can be defined from the kind of products including vegan makeup and cosmetics you wear on your face, your body or any kind of accessory that you might like. Moreover, the definition of feeling beautiful keeps on changing with time. You might feel beautiful in a pair of peep toe heels one day and then the other, a casual track suit and a pair of flip flop might be the one you are looking for. So, beauty is all about your perspective and your choices.

Why do women use cosmetic products?

Cosmetics give you the liberty to experiment and explore the myriad looks that you want to achieve. This enhances your confidence and makes you feel good about yourself. The cosmetic products can help you define a new meaning to your existence and hence, can be a very powerful tool. Therefore, cosmetics hold a strong power over the concept of beauty. Currently the buzz word around is vegan makeup and cosmetics.

Historical importance of cosmetics for women

The industry is quite old and dynamic, and innovations have been going on for ages. Cleopatra used to crush bugs to make lip paints that could give her the red rouge that she desired. Since then bugs have been replaced, thankfully, and there are other substitutes that can give amazing pigmentation for any kind of look that you desire.

However, over time, some toxic chemicals have found their way into the products. For example, paraben a common form of preservative is a carcinogenic product. New alternatives have been discovered for substituting it. However, the economic aspects pose a series of difficulties in using them. There are a number of other such challenging issues that exist.

Combining my love for Cosmetics and the Environment

I believe I am someone with big dreams and ambitions, who can do anything to achieve them. I like to move forward one step at a time. This keeps me motivated and focused on what needs to be done. Apart from this, I have always been a very experimental person. Probably that, along with my love for our environment pushed me into research. I love to find beauty everywhere and when I was exposed to the cosmetic sector, I immediately fell in love with it.

As a researcher I have published a number of research papers related to the environment. However, I had always been attracted to the beauty industry. While I was researching on climate change, I was also working on safe cosmetic formula developments. I observed how the industry is harming everyone and creating an imbalance in our ecosystem and hence developed vegan makeup and cosmetics.

Cosmetics Business and the Environment

I have always felt the need for a cosmetic company to care about me, my health and our environment. In my research in the environmental aspects of plastics and other materials, I realized that all these companies keep on selling products wrapped in bubble wraps and all kinds of plastics, but, not even one of them care enough about the issues that are making the planet toxic. At my organization, to de-clutter the world from plastics, we are trying to reduce its usage with new innovative packaging options.

Animal Cruelty free Cosmetics

During my research I realized, to my horror, that the cosmetic products that I used were tested on animals. This did not fit well with me. I wanted my products to be safe and cruelty free. That is how Moraze was conceptualized – to make vegan makeup and cosmetics. From the very inception I wanted to tackle issues one at a time because there’s a simple idea that I believe in, ‘If not now, then when?’

Why Vegan Cosmetics?

This is the most important and top asked question these days. Vegan is a way of life. You choose not to use any animal product or derivative in your daily life. This protects the animals from all cruelty and exploitation. Vegan makeup and cosmetics is a revolution in this industry wherein no ingredient has been derived from animals or birds and no product has been tested on animals.

Why should women use vegan makeup and cosmetics?

Apart from saving the animals from cruelty, vegan cosmetics are much better for your skin. Several beauty products contain ingredients that are harmful for your skin. These ingredients may affect our health now and in future. Vegan makeup and cosmetics give you a way out. Ingredients used such as paraben and sulfates can cause cancer, irritation and rashes.

At Moraze, in a bid to revolutionize the cosmetics industry, we bring a range of vegan makeup and cosmetics. This gives you the option to look beautiful, without having to use harmful products. This can help you be stress free and use animal cruelty free products as you want. Our focus is on safe beauty with good skincare.

Me and my team worked on the development of products that not only make you feel beautiful, but also help you in protecting the environment with no cruelty to the animals. We are a beauty brand of cruelty free vegan makeup and cosmetics that focuses on clean and safe beauty for everyone. I launched this business because we care about our environment, our animals and the community. We want to ask the questions that we have to ask and take on issues that not many others are taking on!

Running a vegan makeup and cosmetics business

Let me share a few things from my experience of running an animal cruelty free and environment friendly vegan cosmetics business. Firstly, manufacturing has been a challenge due to the lock-down. Secondly, because of our initial low volumes, the ride hasn’t been easy. But, during a consumer survey, the women were excited for our products. To get such type of response has been amazing and gives us a lot of hope for the future.

In hindsight, I must confess that I did not expect these many hurdles. Launching a startup isn’t a painless, joyful ride. However, at the end of the day, when you see what you have done, it motivates you to work harder.

Launching Moraze was a tough choice. Being a woman engineer, I was expected to pursue MBA after my engineering. However, I am passionate about what I feel and what has to be done. Hence, I launched this business of vegan makeup and cosmetics for women. I don’t think there’s any decision that I regret taking, as of now. Each decision has taught me something valuable.

Inspiration for Vegan Lifestyle Choices

Outside of business, I try to challenge myself to achieve things that I don’t like to do, which can make a great impact on my life and can inspire other people too. For example, currently I am accommodating to a vegan diet with an organic lifestyle. Moreover, I am not into sports at all. So, I am trying to push myself into learning to play lawn tennis. I believe everyone should focus on themselves apart from the business and inspire people to be better. I hope my experiences will inspire you to help prevent cruelty to animals and embrace vegan products, across all aspects of your lifestyle, not just vegan makeup and cosmetics.

Editor’s Note:

If you enjoyed reading this article you may also want to read more on entrepreneurship at Story of Sweaterletters and about lessons learnt from the pandemic – a 5 steps ready reckoner on How to Avoid Crisis in Business in future.

About The Author

Chhavi Aggarwal is a graduate of Delhi Technological University (formerly Delhi College of Engineering) with a number of research papers to her credit.

She enjoys cooking, painting and reading. She loves to learn new things all the time and likes to explore new cuisines. Chhavi is the founder of Moraze – a startup dealing in a range of vegan makeup and cosmetics.