Makeup Brand Directory
10 Sustainable Makeup Brands
The Bad News: TikTok can make a popular brand like ColourPop seem like a great purchase, but they could be cleaner and more sustainable!
The Good News: Some makeup brands have started to change their habits to be cleaner and more sustainable.
If you want to make an impact, here are ten of the most popular sustainable brands on the market!
1. ILIA Beauty
MISSION: Create products that strive to give your skin the very best. This includes the formula they use in their products, which is a combination of natural and safe synthetic ingredients.
FREE FROM: Parabens, sulfates, and synthetic fragrances can cause skin irritation, inflammation, and reactions, .
FRAGANCES? They do use fragrances, but they are each communicated and made from natural ingredients like essential oils.
PACKAGING: Ilia’s website claims that they hope to achieve more sustainable packaging through the use of recycled aluminum, glass, and responsibly sourced paper. They have also created a free recycling program for residents of the United States, allowing customers to mail in their empty beauty products for recycling, including brands outside of Ilia.
Shop
Shop Ilia Beauty: https://iliabeauty.com/
Shop Ilia Beauty – Sephora: https://www.sephora.com/brand/ilia
Shop Ilia Beauty – Nordstrom: https://www.nordstrom.com/browse/beauty/makeup?filterByBrand=ilia
2. Kjaer Weis
Shop
Shop Kjaer Weis: https://kjaerweis.com/
Shop Kjaer Weis – Nordstrom: https://www.nordstrom.com/browse/beauty/makeup?filterByBrand=kjaer-weis
3. RMS Beauty
Founder of RMS Beauty, Rose-Marie Swift states that “Education and understanding, foremost, is the key to sustainability. One step at a time is better than no steps.”
MISSION: RMS Beauty, launched in 2009, has since been advocating and improving the packaging and formulas of its products.
FREE FROM: Talc, and all ingredients are communicated with full transparency.
FRAGRANCES? Stopped containing fragrances since 2018 when they updated their formulas.
PACKAGING: Their products are packaged in recyclable glass jars, aluminum tubes, and since 2022, the lids have transitioned to 100% PCR (post-consumer recycled content). In 2021, they began testing with refillable packaging, saving plastic percentages.
Shop
Shop RMS Beauty – https://www.rmsbeauty.com/
Shop RMS Beauty – Nordstrom https://www.nordstrom.com/brands/rms-beauty–13481
4. Well People
MISSION: A plant-powered, crulety-free, and vegan, removing pearl powder, organic beeswax, and carmines from all their formulas.
INGREDIENTS: Plant-powered ingredients included in their ingredient list contain green tea, pomegranate, rosehip, and broccoli seed oil
fun fact: rosehip oil is one of the best plant-based oils for the skin, helping to brighten and reduce inflammation.
FREE FROM: parabens, silicones, phthalates, lead, and fragrances.
PACKAGING: Printed on FSC-certified paper, and they are working with fair trade facilities to ethically source their ingredients.
Shop
Shop Well People – https://www.wellpeople.com/
Shop Well People – Target https://www.target.com/b/well-people/-/N-q643leu2iat
Shop Well People – Ulta https://www.ulta.com/brand/well-people
5. Rare Beauty
MISSION: Since 2021, they have been striving to create a more sustainable foundation and there has been serious improvement
PACKAGING: 100% recyclable boxes made from responsibly sourced, FSC-certified materials, and printed with water-based ink.
– Shipping boxes and everything inside are also sustainable. Including materials like recycled fiber, recyclable tape, a corn-based foam that dissolves with water, and a reusable drawstring bag made of durable cotton.
INGREDIENTS: Completely transparent with the formulas they use and their testing. They are also cruelty-free, vegan, and dermatologist-tested.
Shop
Shop Rare Beauty – https://www.rarebeauty.com/
Shop Rare Beauty – Sephora https://www.sephora.com/brand/rare-beauty-by-selena-gomez
6. Saie
MISSION: Implementing sustainable measures to create positive change for their users and the planet.
CHARACTERISTICS:
– Leaping Bunny Certified: not conducting or commissioning any animal testing for any of their products or working with companies who do.
– Carbon Neutral Club: offsetting their team’s carbon footprint by funding forest conservation projects
– The Saie Pact: Partnering with Pact Collective, a nonprofit organization that works toward improving the beauty industry’s packaging problem, Saie is doing its best to conquer the nation’s recycling system.
PACKAGING: Customers can give their empty products a thorough cleaning and once they have at least five empty, clean products, they can fill out a form to send in their containers for recycling through Pact Collective
INGREDIENTS: They include a variety of beneficial ingredients that they use in their formulas as well as harmful ingredients that they are passionate about keeping out of these formulas
Shop
Shop Saie – https://saiehello.com/
Shop Saie – Sephora https://www.sephora.com/brand/saie
7. Juice Beauty
MISSION: By farming plant oils and sustainably sourced plant waxes for their products, Juice Beauty has avoided 10 tons of endocrine synthetic fragrance chemical use and 26 tons of petroleum over the past decade.
INGREDIENTS: 100% vegan and cruelty-free, utilizing no animal byproducts, synthetic dyes, or fragrances. They use authentically organic formulas with high antioxidants. They limit their pesticide and synthetic fertilizer use on their farm to protect not only customers but the environment,
PACKAGING: To eliminate the use of virgin plastic resin produced using natural gas and crude oil without recyclable materials, they are converting their plastic materials to recycled plastic.
Shop
Shop Juice Beauty https://juicebeauty.com/
Shop Juice Beauty – Ulta https://www.ulta.com/brand/juice-beauty
8. 100% Pure
MISSION: Replace all of their packaging with recyclable materials by 2024 and incentivize recycling by gifting those who in-store recycle with a free trial-sized product.
PACKAGING: Shipping boxes are made of recyclable materials and the packing peanuts are made from cornstarch
INGREDIENTS: 100% biodegradable, naturally pigmented, cruelty-free, and stripped of any harsh or toxic ingredients.
CERTIFICATION: 100% Pure has been awarded the “Green Business Certification” for planting hundreds of thousands of trees with Trees for the Future
Shop
Shop 100% Pure – https://www.100percentpure.com/
9. Mango People
MISSION: To thoughtfully create higher-performing beauty essentials that are kind to our skin and the planet. They design their products to be multi-tasking, reducing the number of products consumers need in their makeup routine, and simultaneously decreasing packaging waste.
CHARACTERISTICS: The company is minimizing its carbon footprint by funding reforestation, farm power, and landfill gas captures to remove carbon from the environment.
INGREDIENTS: The formulas are rich in pigmentation and made to last a long time, minimizing the need to repurchase. Ingredients are water-free and made without petrochemicals and petroleum byproducts, allowing toxins to be eliminated naturally
PACKAGING: Made from recycled aluminum, which is one of the most sustainable building materials in the world. It can be recycled and reused infinitely without losing its properties. The cartons, shipping boxes, and filler material are recyclable and biodegradable.
Shop
Shop Mango People – https://mangopeopleofficial.com/
Shop Mango People – Sephora https://www.sephora.com/brand/mango-people
10. Fitglow Beauty
Fitglow Beauty is an entirely women-owned and women-led company.
INGREDIENTS: Ethically sourced, plant-based ingredients, free of heavy oils, silicones, and waxes that could cause clogging in the skin. They are dermatologist-tested- plant-based, and cruelty-free.
PACKAGING: Recyclable aluminum, sugarcane packaging, and post-consumer recycled plastics. Their formulas are also refillable to reduce product waste and carbon footprint
Shop
Shop Fitglow Beauty – https://fitglowbeauty.com/