Founder of Popstar Cosmetics Donald Chiu explains why vegan lipstick, eyeshadow and other cruelty free beauty products are just as good, if not better then regular products
Whether you want to shop bags in Hong Kong, find the best lingerie or Korean make-up, this city is a shopper’s paradise that will cater all your needs, even when you’re looking for cruelty-free makeup. Popstar Cosmetics, created by Singapore-born, Hong Kong-based makeup artist and photographer Donald Chiu, is a vegan makeup line that creates a diverse range of pretty cruelty-free products. That’s why we had to find out more.
Popstar Cosmetics: Founded by Donald Chiu
Donald Chiu was born and raised in Singapore, the same place that he started his successful career as a makeup artist. After a move to Hong Kong and another 12 years working with top makeup brands from across the world, Chiu traded makeup brushes for the camera and started work as full-time beauty photographer.
After collaborating with Make Up Forever on the launch of a new HD foundation, Chiu was reminded of his dream of creating a cosmetics brand, and set about working on the launch of his own makeup line.
“Being a makeup artist for so many years, I know what women buy most: lipstick. Because I don’t have any investors, I wanted to create products that would definitely sell, so I started out with just eight lip colours,” says Chiu.
Cruelty-free vegan cosmetics
Popstar’s Velvet Matte Liquid Lipsticks are lightweight and waterproof, offering a smooth coverage thanks to an applicator that was especially designed for the brand. But best of all, the brand is vegan, meaning cruelty-free products for everyone.
“I knew that I might not be able to create all of the colours that I wanted if I made the products vegan, but I just did more research and found a Brazilian leaf that creates oil that I use instead of beeswax, meaning that the products are vegan,” Chiu explains.
As a vegetarian, it was very important to Chiu that the brand was completely vegan and cruelty-free, “I just don’t believe that we need to kill animals for me to be able to eat and live well, so I wanted to bring the same philosophy to my makeup line.”
Colourful lipsticks and eyeshadows
As well as the eight lipstick colours that Chiu launched with, more collections have since been added. After a trip to Japan, Chiu developed the Kokeshi Doll collection, a range inspired by the colours of the famous Kokeshi Dolls. And we’re excited to see all the new colours coming.
Popstar Cosmetics is available at www.popstarcosmetics.com. You can also shop the brand at Lane Crawford.
