I’ve found treating others with kindness and tolerance makes them consider veganism more seriously in the long run

Nicole Whittle is the award-winning vegan beauty blogger behind Vegan Beauty Girl. She offers ethical, affordable and sustainable alternatives to your favourite beauty products. Having been vegan since 2007, Nicole knows how confusing the beauty industry can be and is here to help you sift through the green-washing and champion the truly ethical brands.

You can also find her writing regular beauty content for Plant Based News, the world’s leading multi-award-winning health, environmental, vegan media & education platform.

Meatless Movement recently had the opportunity to chat with her.

Nicole told us that veganism is hugely important to her. She has considered it a big part of her identity since making the change in 2007. She loves animals. She doesn’t want to harm them. She doesn’t want to eat them. She doesn’t want my cosmetics tested on them. She doesn’t want to visit them in a zoo. She doesn’t want to win big betting on a horse race.

Please tell us more about yourself, please

My name’s Nicole and – lucky for me – I’m a London vegan!

I’m a veteran! I’ve been vegan now for over 15 years and made the swap when I was just 13. I was already a vegetarian and once I understood the cruelties of the egg and dairy industry I decided to go vegan overnight.

This was long before most people had even heard the word ‘vegan’ let alone understand it! A lot of people expected me to get pale, gaunt or maybe even stop growing. Fortunately, all they saw was my skin clear up and my running times improve during PE. One girl in my class became anaemic and I remember one teacher saying, ‘Odd! I would’ve expected that to happen to Nicole!’

What difficulties do vegans face when dining out?

Anyone else remember when it was impossible to eat vegan at the airport??
Nicole • Vegan Beauty Girl

Fortunately these days it’s really easy to dine out in London. When I go abroad though, I tend to do a lot of research in advance. Happy Cow is my favourite website and I love to pin all the vegan friendly restaurants to my google maps – that way I can always find somewhere I can eat nearby!

It’s a big part of me. I feel proud that I stood up for my beliefs back before it was cool or easy. Nowadays I spend my time on social media trying to be the friendly, helpful vegan I wish I had around to help me out back in the day.

To everyone that’s making vegan choices because it all adds up. progress, not perfection. joy, not restriction
Nicole • Vegan Beauty Girl

I learnt long ago never to tell anyone to do anything. I just lead by example and wait for them to come to me. I share a lot of meals and recipes online and influence subtly like that.

For anyone that’s asking directly for advice, I’d tell them to figure out if it’d suit them better to go vegan slowly or overnight and move forward from there. For those that like to go slow – buy a vegan cookbook and try a new recipe every week. Swap to non-dairy milk. Do meatless Mondays. Try out your local vegan restaurant. Just make goals. Big or small.

I hate it when people feel like we’re ‘sacrificing’ to go vegan. Like we’re taking one for the team. I sincerely believe that my life is better as a vegan – my diet is more varied, it does wonders for my health and it keeps me so thoughtful in other areas of my life too.

Remember why you’re doing this. If you need to, watch the documentaries – they should be enough to put you off of meat.

On a more positive note, enjoy it! Focus on the things you can eat rather than the things you can’t. Try new recipes and have fun veganising your old favourites. Eat well!