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In my experience, perfume isn’t often an ethical buy. Barely any of the big names in perfume are considered cruelty free, and traditionally a lot of perfumes use animal secretions to enhance the longevity of fragrance.
Not to harp on about the negatives, but the bad news doesn’t end there. Plenty of perfumes also contain animal-derived musk (mostly from deer or beavers), and these ingredients are never clearly labelled.
Fear not though, you can still smell sweet with some ethical purchasing. There are some amazing UK based perfume companies that are totally vegan and cruelty free. There are also some well known brands that do vegan ranges, like The Body Shop. So here’s my pick of the bunch for 2023…
Floral Street: Wonderland Peony
- Scent: Peony, berry, violet and cedarwood
- Cost: £64 for 50ml (+gift sets available)
Floral Street is my favourite perfume company. The bottles are beautiful (seriously beautiful), the scents are subtle and fresh, and there is a huge range to choose from.
I recommend the ‘Wonderland Peony’ perfume – it’s light, fresh, floral and sweet (but not too sweet). If you like to try before you commit then there are numerous tester options.
I found Wonderland Peony through the ‘Mini Discovery Set – Light’, which is only £14 for 8 tiny testers. All ingredients are sustainably sourced and the packaging is recyclable and all Floral Street products are cruelty free and vegan. They also have a beautiful store in Covent Garden, London if you fancy having a real life sniff before you buy!
Eden Perfumes: Daisy
- Scent: Violet, strawberry, jasmine and musk
- Cost: £24 for 50ml (+gift sets available)
Eden Perfumes is based in Brighton and like Floral Street are 100% cruelty free and vegan (a rarity in the perfume world).
While their bottles aren’t as attractive as Floral Street’s, this company has a real USP. You can type in your ‘normal’ perfume and it offers you a recommendation.
My ‘go to’ perfume before I went cruelty free was Marc Jacob’s Daisy. Eden’s No. 309, conveniently called ‘Daisy’ is SUCH a close match to the original – it’s much cheaper too.
Eden has stores in London and Brighton, a HUGE range of fragrances and ethically-source all ingredients.
The Body Shop: White Musk Eau de Parfum
- Scent: Musk, jasmine and clean aldehyde
- Cost: £22 for 30ml (+gift sets available)
I’ve been buying White Musk Eau de Parfum since I was a teenager, and the smell evokes a lot of nostalgia. This is on the lighter/cleaner side of the musk spectrum, and is worth layering up if you want it to last all day.
The bottle is made from recycled glass, and is completely recyclable.
This perfume is from the vegan range, but not all Body Shop products are vegan, so always check the label.
Read our review of The Body Shop and its ethical credentials.
Ghost: Purity
- Scent: Floral: freesias and rose
- Cost: £40 for 50ml (often on offer)
Ghost recently registered 10 of its fragrances with the Vegan Society, and has confirmed its cruelty free status.
The signature ‘Ghost: The Fragrance’ is one of the 10. But we’ve chosen the sister fragrance ‘Purity’ which has:
- Top notes: Mandarin oil, freesia, sugar loaf pineapple
- Middle notes: Dewy rose petals, violet, casa blanca lily
- Base notes: Sandalwood, musks, meringue accord
You’re able to pick this up in high street stores like Superdrug and Boots, or online.
Floral Street: Arizona Bloom
Arizona Bloom is an equally fresh, but richer eau de parfum that consists of:
- Top notes: Black pepper and coconut extract
- Middle notes: Jasmine petals and pig leaves
- Base notes: Cashmere woods, oakmoss, salted musk
Again the bottle is seriously striking. And this dry, floral amber delivers a unique, layered scent that’s sweet, spicy and woody.
This perfume has got a kick – perfect for going ‘out out’.
- Scent: Coconut, jasmine petals, salted musks
- Cost: £64 for 50ml (+gift sets available)
Ravenscourt Apothecary: Jane Eyre
- Scent: Rose, bergamot and clary sage
- Cost: £30 for 10ml
Ravenscourt Apothecary cares about the most important things in life: cruelty free beauty and books.
This perfume is romantic (of course) and uses wonderful UK-sourced ingredients like rose, bergamot and clary sage.
Ravenscourt also sell a ‘Mr Rochester’ for men if you want to go all-out as a couple.
The packaging is also a treat – it comes in box with a custom wax-seal. A perfect gift for literary and scent lovers.
Lush: Sun
Lush has a big range of vegan perfumes. I haven’t tried any of the really expensive ones, but the midrange ones are good value for money.
‘Sun’ is a fruity scent, perfect for – you guessed it – summer. Or, for bringing a bit of light to a winter’s day.
- Scent: Orange, sandalwood and mimosa
- Cost: £20 for 30ml
Dolma: Compassion
Dolma is another company that is totally vegan and cruelty free and 100% made in Britain. It has a large range of perfumes for both men and women.
The ‘Compassion’ is a lovely, warm and comforting perfume, with slight floral notes.
If you’re struggling to choose a scent, then we’d highly recommend trying the Discovery Set.
The discovery set has Dolma’s whole range (12 perfumes) and is also available to buy on Amazon.
- Scent: Ylang-ylang, lemon and ginger
- Cost: £45.50 for 50ml
Gallivant: Los Angeles
This award-winning perfume is from ‘Gallivant’ – a high-end independent fragrance company.
The Los Angeles scent is described as ‘a hot and sensual woody floral, cooled with a marine breeze’ – dreamy.
The blend of ingredients certainly make the most unique cruelty-free perfume on this list. All of Gallivant’s perfumes are made to be unisex too.
- Scent: Eucalyptus, clary sage, mandarin and pineapple
- Cost: £65 for 30ml
Flaya: Flaya Rose
Flaya is a UK based company that hand-make all its perfumes in small batches.
It’s great value and does male scents too. From the perfume selection, ‘Flaya Rose’ stands out.
Given how complex some of the ingredient blends, it’s refreshing to have such a simple, perfectly executed option.
- Scent: Fresh, floral, rose
- Cost: £26.99 for 30ml
Dedcool: Milk
I haven’t said ‘dead cool’ for years. Moving on… This LA based brand is fiercely cruelty free and vegan, and have some amazing unisex fragrances.
The only catch is, there aren’t many Dedcool stockists in the UK. Liberty currently has the limited edition ‘Milk’ fragrance, which is subtle, elegant and extremely popular (AKA often out of stock)
Dedcool itself doesn’t have great international shipping options, but if you’re patient, it’s worth the wait.
- Scent: Bergamot, white musk and amber
- Cost: £85 for 50ml
Wrapping Up
Loads of these perfume companies do cheap samples, so you don’t have to buy ‘blind’ online. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I wholeheartedly recommend Floral Street – it has a beautiful range and insanely beautiful packaging.
How do we choose the best cruelty-free perfumes?
All perfumes in this list had to be:
- Cruelty free, either certified by PETA or via a cruelty free guarantee
- Vegan. While not all the brands are vegan, all the products featured here are
- Good quality and readily available to buy (a true necessity)
- Tried and tested by me (Adelle)
Cruelty-Free Perfume FAQs
The Body Shop, Lush, Floral Street, Eden, Elementary, Dolma, Gallivant, Flaya, Ravenscourt Apothecary, Dedcool, Superdrug (own brand).Note – all of these brands have vegan products, but not all products are guaranteed to be vegan (always check yourself).
Almost any big or designer brand that produces perfumes or colognes tests products on animals or uses musk from animals in its products:
Marc Jacobs, Dior, Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, Chloe, Dolce & Gabanna, Donna Karen, Clinique, Elizabeth Arden, Escada, Estee Lauder, Fendi, Givenchy, Gucci, Guess, Hugo Boss, Issey Miyake, Jimmy Choo, Micahel Kors, Prada, Ralph Lauren, Tom Ford, Versace, Vera Wang, Jo Malone, Juicy Couture, Lacoste, YSL.
No Chanel perfume is not cruelty-free. Chanel either personally test products and / or ingredients on animals or work with third party suppliers who do.
It also sells products in China and could be subjected to post-market animal testing.
No YSL perfume is not cruelty-free. YSL may also test ingredients or products on animals and / or work with suppliers who do.
It too sells products in China and could be subjected to the same form of post-market testing.
No Gucci perfume is not cruelty-free. It either tests ingredients and products on animals personally, works with suppliers who do and sells products in markets where animal testing could occur by law.
LVMH perfume is neither cruelty-free nor vegan. LVMH is well-known for testing products or ingredients on animals and selling in markets where animal testing could occur by law.
No Carolina Herrera perfumes are not cruelty-free. Whilst it claims to be a cruelty-free brand and it may not test products or ingredients on animals itself, it may be paying other third parties to do so on its behalf and selling in China.
My top three recommendations for perfume companies to check out are:
1. Floral Street: best for floral scents
2. Eden Perfumes: best scent-matching
3. Dolma: best unisex
