What do Venus Williams, Miley Cyrus and Natalie Portman all have in common? The title of this post gives it away, so yes, it’s veganism. No longer a fringe movement, plant-based diets are increasingly catered for through all sorts of food outlets, from mainstream supermarkets to high street food chains. Its highlight of the year: January, when 10 years ago a British couple decided to launch Veganuary. Now a global phenomenon, this annual event challenges people to follow a vegan lifestyle for the most depressing month of the year (cold, cark, cash-strapped). This didn’t deter over 700,000 people making the pledge last year, and that doesn’t account for the many who took part informally. Regardless of your dietary preferences, this can be an opportunity to re-assess your beauty and wellbeing routine: are there any switches you’d be up for this Veganuary? Here are my top 5 beauty and wellbeing brands and products for this month and beyond.  

1. The Body Shop Second Skin Multi-Tasking Skin Tint

The Body Shop is most well known for being certified cruelty-free and campaigning for animal rights, but this year it’s become the first global beauty brand to be certified 100% vegan. This is quite a feat considering that, unlike smaller niche brands, it has a wide selection of products ranging from skincare, body care and haircare to makeup and fragrance. In 2021, 60% of its products were vegan certified, so re-formulating the remaining 40% of their range in just a couple of years is quite the project. The move was mainly motivated by a predicted growth in vegan cosmetics sales, as well as 1 in 10 18-24 year olds saying that ’vegan’ is an important factor in their health and beauty purchase decisions (source: YouGov GB Profiles dataset). This brand always features in some way or another on my shelf, most recently in the form of their Skin Tint. Low coverage, but with a good hint of colour to lift that winter skin.

2. Pai The Impossible Glow

A regular feature on Fresh Beauty Fix thanks to my girl crush on its founder Sarah Brown, Pai always impresses me with its high quality, kind-to-skin formulas. From their bestselling rosehip oil – a skincare staple – to their gentle cream cleanser with one of the best face cloths I’ve tried, I genuinely can’t find fault with their offering. For the bleakest month of the year I’d recommend adding a subtle dose of instant radiance, all the while feeding your dehydrated skin with hyaluronic acid. Just add a drop of Pai’s The Impossible Glow in Champagne to your moisturiser or serum for a quick fix just-had-a-holiday glow.

3. NailKind

This has become my favourite nail polish brand, in part due to its cruelty-free and vegan certifications, but mostly because of its ultra wearable colour palette. Having reviewed 5 of their collections, I can confidently say that they just don’t have a dud colour. With a product range that is up to 85% bio-sourced, the award-winning Danish brand has built a strong reputation for gentle formulas offering great performance. Nail Kind have managed to combine gentle mineral and plant-based formulas (we’re talking ingredients such as potato, corn and wheat) that deliver vibrant colour and honestly last as long as standard nail enamels. Their pale pink shades Cashmere Kiss and Sahara Dreams give a polished look paired with soft oatmeal winter knits. 

4. Vegum Fish-free Omega-3 Gummies

Vegum’s supplements were developed with a plant-based diet in mind: it can be tricky ensuring you get the right amount – and a wide breadth – of vitamins with a restricted diet. Their certified vegan gummies make it easy to ensure you get a good dose of essential vitamins such as B12, D, B6, Selenium, Iodine and Iron. For vegans, a challenging supplement to source can be Omega-3, which is often derived from fish, whereas these are derived from algae. For anyone who remembers gagging at the taste of fish oil, these will go down much better thanks to a natural orange flavour (with sugar cane), so the whole family can enjoy these little treats while maintaining healthy eyes, skin, heart and brain. Of course it’s always best to eat the rainbow (not the Skittles variety), but if you’re giving veganism a go for the first time and still finding your way around a balanced diet, these gummies can help.

5. Fushi Turmeric Juice

Like Pai and now The Body Shop, Fushi is fully certified vegan, meaning that every single product is free from animal-derived ingredients (including beeswax and honey). To support your wellbeing and vitality throughout the winter, a daily shot of Fushi’s 100% raw and pure cold-pressed, unfiltered turmeric super juice will make the perfect addition to your Veganuary health-kick. Throw back a 30ml shot neat every morning, or blend it into your smoothie. A bottle of juice will give you 16 shots, and as it’s glass you can then reuse it to store some homemade lemonade.

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