Lip Service: 11 Natural Lipstick Brands We Love
- Words by Peppermint
On 14 July 2019, hero to the people Dolly Parton tweeted these immortal words: “Grit and lipstick, two things you should never leave home without!” Oh, Dolly! If only you had known then what we all know now: how much grit we’d all need in the months and years to come (and how little we’d actually be leaving our houses). She was spot on about the lipstick though. Whether you choose to wear it for confidence, for beauty, for comfort, or even to support a worthy cause like Liptember, a splash of colour on your kisser can make your smile a little wider and your feelings a little brighter. Here, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite natural lipstick brands, sealed with a kiss!
Kester Black
Already beloved for their “12-Free” nail polishes, B Corp brand Kester Black also has a collection of cruelty-free, vegan lipsticks. Made in Italy using Certified Organic ingredients in matte colours, the peachy pink ‘First Date’ won Best Lipstick at 2020’s Clean Beauty Awards. Consider that love at first sight!
Eco Minerals
Inspired by the beaches and lifestyle of Byron Bay (the hometown of the brand), Eco Minerals lipsticks are paraben, beeswax and palm-oil free. Choose from five shades – including bright pink ‘Byron Bliss’, orange nude ‘Endless Summer’ and the dramatic and festival-ready ‘Splendour’ – to embrace your inner beach babe.
Lük Beautifood
Lük Beautifood lipsticks are made in Australia using organic essential oils, vitamin E, cacao butter and avocado oil. The 15 shades are designed to offer a “multi-sensory experience” with colours including ‘Guava Blush’, ‘Cranberry Citrus’ and ‘Vanilla Chocolate’. Good enough to eat (but try to resist)!
Axiology Beauty
Launched in 2014 in the US, Axiology Beauty’s vegan, cruelty-free lipsticks contain only 10 ingredients, including organic avocado and coconut oil, and are packaged in boxes hand-made in Bali from recycled rubbish. The collection of 20 pretty shades – with names like ‘Clarity’, ‘Ethos’ and ‘Worth’ – vary between medium and high pigment and can be layered or mixed to get your perfect shade.
Ere Perez
When you really want to party, Australia’s Ere Perez offers 14 vegan ‘Dress It Up’ lipsticks – think bright pinks and glossy reds with names like ‘Fiesta’, ‘Big Band’ and ‘Soiree’ – made with olive oil for moisture. The carbon neutral brand also has a more subtle ‘Daily Shade’ range in their Cacao Lip Colours and Wild Pansy Tinted Lip Bars.
Read more: Makeup Without the Breakup – Here’s Six Brands Leading Refillable Beauty
Dunkle
Dunkle uses raw materials – including organic castor oil and mango seed butter from India, Candelilla wax from Mexico and Damask rose oil from Victoria – across its five bold colours. Each shade is named after important places in the life of founder Molly Dunkle, from the peachy ‘Fort Collins’, her birthplace in Colorado, to the maroon of ‘Brisbane’, her new home.
Inika Organic
Founded in Sydney in 2006, Inika Organic’s award-winning vegan lipsticks and lip crayons contain Certified Organic ingredients like castor seed oil, shea butter and jojoba seed oil. Using carnauba wax to achieve a glossy finish, if it’s good enough for the runways of NYFW, it’s good enough for us!
Mented
A “nude” lipstick means a different colour to each of us, and the founders of Mented believe that everyone should be able to find their perfect shade. Made in the USA, the semi-matte vegan lipsticks range in shades from ‘Peach Please’ to ‘Dark Night’, and are blended with levels of browns and pinks to complement multi-hued lips.
Benecos
Benecos (from the Latin bene, meaning good) was founded with the aim of making “glamorous” makeup with organic ingredients. The vegan, natural matte lipstick – in shades like ‘Bloody Berry’, ‘Trust in Rust’ and ‘Coral Kiss’ – is made with Certified Organic castor seed oil and jojoba for moisture and cornstarch to create a matte finish. Molto bene!
Nude by Nature
Founded in 2008, Sydney brand Nude by Nature covers all your clean lippie needs with their Moisture Shine Lipstick, Creamy Matte Lipstick and Satin Liquid Lipstick. Made with natural ingredients like vitamin E, desert lime and Kakadu plum, the lipsticks are also cruelty free and dermatologist-tested.
Hurraw!
Not a lipstick as such, but a favourite in the Peppermint office, Hurraw!’s tinted lip balms (in ‘Black Cherry’, ‘Raspberry’ and ‘Hazelnut’) are made in the USA with 100% plant-based colours and Certified Organic safflower seed oil, coconut oil and cacao butter for extra moisture. These compact balms are perfect for days when you don’t want to wrangle lipstick on the teeth but are still after a dash of colour.
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Look, I don’t want to make anyone panic but IT’S DECEMBER!!! If you’re planning to give homemade gifts, you’re going to have to act fast. …
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This is a much-loved staple, created for Issue 50 in 2021. We love seeing the #PeppermintPaddingtonTop continually popping up in our feeds!
How stunning is our model Elon MelaninGoddessEfon – she told us it was one of the first times she had been asked to come to a shoot with her natural hair. 🌻
We worked with South African patternmaker Sarah Steenkamp of @FrenchNavyNow_ to create this wardrobe essential – the perfect puff-sleeve blouse. Raglan sleeves make it the ultimate beginner sew, plus the gorgeous back buttons let you add your own personal twist.
Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
Model: MelaninGoddessEfon
“In the 1940’s, Norwegians made and wore red pointed hats with a tassel as a form of visual protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Within two years, the Nazis made these protest hats illegal and punishable by law to wear, make, or distribute. As purveyors of traditional craft, we felt it appropriate to revisit this design.”
Crafters have often been at the heart of many protest movements, often serving as a powerful means of political expression. @NeedleAndSkein, a yarn store in Minnesota, are helping to mobilise the craftivists of the world with a ‘Melt The Ice’ knitting pattern created by @Yarn_Cult (with a crochet pattern too), as a way of peaceful protest.
The proceeds from the $5 pattern will go to local immigrant aid organisations – or you can donate without buying the pattern.
Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
#MeltTheIce #Craftivism #Knitting #CraftForChange
TWO WEEKS TO GO! 🤩
"The most important shift is moving from volume-led buying to value-led curation – choosing fewer, better products with strong ethics, considered production and meaningful stories. Retailers have real influence here: what you buy signals what you stand for. At Life Instyle, this means using the event to discover and invest in small-scale, planet-considerate brands that align with your values and your customer’s conscience. Consumers don’t need more things; they need better things, and retailers play a key role in selecting, contextualising, and championing why those products matter."
Only two more weeks until @Life_Instyle – Australia`s leading boutique retail trade show. If you own a store, don`t miss this event! Connect with designers, source exquisite – and mindful – products, and see firsthand why this is Australia’s go-to trade show for creatives and retailers alike. And it`s free! ✨️
Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
14-17 February 2026
ICC, Darling Harbour
Photos: @Samsette
#LifeInstyle #SustainableShopping #SustainableShop #RetailTradeEvent
Calling all sewists! 📞
Have you made the Peppermint Waratah Wrap Dress yet? Call *1800 I NEED THIS NOW to get making!
This gorgeous green number was modelled (and made) by the fabulous Lisa of @Tricky.Pockets 🙌🏼
If you need a nudge, @ePrintOnline are offering Peppermint sewists a huge 🌟 30% off ALL A0 printing 🌟 when you purchase the Special Release Waratah Wrap Dress pattern – how generous is that?!
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8 Things to Know About January 26 - from @ClothingTheGaps:
Before you celebrate, take the time to learn the truth. January 26 is not a day of unity it’s a Day of Mourning and Survival for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
It marks the beginning of invasion, dispossession, and ongoing colonial violence. It’s time for truth-telling, not whitewashed history.
Stand in solidarity. Learn. Reflect. Act.
✊🏽 Blog written by Yorta Yorta woman Taneshia Atkinson.
🔗 Link in bio of @ClothingTheGaps to read the full blog
#ChangeTheDate #InvasionDay #SurvivalDay #AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe #ClothingTheGaps
As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
