diff --git a/packages/postcss-purgecss/src/index.ts b/packages/postcss-purgecss/src/index.ts
index 2461f0a1..7c901126 100644
--- a/packages/postcss-purgecss/src/index.ts
+++ b/packages/postcss-purgecss/src/index.ts
@@ -32,6 +32,10 @@ async function purgeCSS(
 
   purgeCSS.options = options;
 
+  if (options.variables) {
+    purgeCSS.variablesStructure.safelist = options.safelist.variables || [];
+  }
+
   const { content, extractors } = options;
 
   const fileFormatContents = content.filter(