38 Refillable Products to Try for a Less Wasteful Beauty Regimen
![Variety of skin care and makeup products on a mauve background](https://media.allure.com/photos/622a71245b7fb3f315cfb300/16:9/w_320%2Cc_limit/3-09-best-refillable-products.jpg)
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The beauty industry is constantly evolving — and so is our reporting. Check out this story to learn more about why refillable products might not be the waste-reducing solution we've been searching for — yet. And to learn why Allure has banned other buzzwords like "recyclable" and "biodegradable," scroll through our Sustainability Pledge.
What once felt like an impossible-to-achieve ambition in the quest for more sustainable beauty-product packaging has, as of late, become a rapidly increasingly reality: More and more brands are launching products with options to refill the original container. As we predicted, companies at every level — little-known indie lines, designer skin-care creators, drugstore staples, and more — have heard the call to reduce waste, and they're not ignoring it.
"The benefits of refillable packaging are a net decrease to the amount of plastic that is produced," Sonya Lunder, senior toxics advisor for Sierra Club's Gender, Equity & Environment program, tells Allure. "Only nine percent of the plastics made have ever been recycled, and I am motivated to reduce my environmental footprint where possible."
Olga Kachook, senior manager of GreenBlue's Sustainable Packaging Coalition, tells Allure that reuse is considered a more environmentally preferable way of managing materials than recycling and composting. "That's because the energy and materials required to manufacture a package are only expended once," she says. "Consumers are also increasingly interested in participating in refillable and reusable programs, so this is a way for brands to meet the needs of their customers."
Kachook also notes, however, that while the concept is so new that hard-and-fast data on exactly how many cycles of reuse would result in markedly less waste in the long run — it's likely around 50 to 100 times, depending on the product and refill mechanism. That's serious commitment to any one formula.
According to Lunder, however, the onus to engage in refillable packaging shouldn't fall solely on the shopper. "While refillable packaging may be effective in reducing plastic pollution on an individual consumer level, this 'shopping our way out of the problem' — telling individuals what to buy and not buy — shifts attention away from corporate responsibility and government protections, which are the most equitable and effective ways to protect the environment and reduce plastic production," she explains, pointing to the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act, which was reintroduced in Congress in March 2021. The bill focuses on producer responsibility to shift to refillable, returnable containers to reduce plastic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
Another benefit of refillable products to consider is one that directly affects your budget: More often than not, the refill for any given product is less expensive than the full bells-and-whistles originally-packaged product.
But either way, it's a meaningful trend worth trying, and we've got 38 options for you to start with. Hopefully, there will be many, many more as it evolves from fad to fundamental.
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Glow Recipe
Glow Recipe Plum Plump Refillable Moisturizer
One of Glow Recipe's latest launches is also one of its most sustainability-conscious. Plum Plump Hyaluronic Cream, a gel-cream moisturizer offshoot of the brand's beloved serum of the same name, features complexion-brightening plum and multiple molecular weights of hyaluronic acid in its pretty purple jar — a jar you can refill with a convenient $33 refill pod.
- 2/38
Milk Makeup
Milk Makeup Sunshine Under Eye Tint + Brighten Light Coverage Concealer
One of the most special things about Milk Makeup's Sunshine Under Eye Tint + Brighten — aside from the fact that it's one of those few-and-far-between concealers that blends right in whether or not you're wearing other makeup — is its antimicrobial glass application ball, which glides the skin-care-like liquid onto undereye skin with comfortable ease. Instead of getting a new one each time you run out, refill the clever design with one of its waste-saving replacement tubes for $24.
- 3/38
Kiehl's
Kiehl's Creme de Corps
Even the classics are getting in on the refillable game. Winning Allure awards as far back as the '90s, Kiehl's Creme de Corps comes in a variety of sizes, including a one-liter pump bottle; and now there's a resealable one-liter refill pouch ($82) you can keep on hand so you don't have to get an entirely new container and pump mechanism every time you run out of the non-greasy body lotion.
- 4/38
Glossier
Glossier Monochromes
Glossier Monochromes are ideal for anyone who loves one particular eye-shadow color so much that they can't get enough of it in just one finish; they're palettes of a single shade in three different finishes. And if you're really committed to your chosen color, you can keep refilling the cute little tin with an $18 refill of the same trio — or one of the other 10 monochromatic threesomes. And should you ever decide you're done with the tin, you can pop the mirror out to keep when you recycle the case.
- 5/38
The Organic Pharmacy
The Organic Pharmacy Carrot Butter Cleanser
A legendary cleanser among long-time fans of natural skin care, The Organic Pharmacy Carrot Butter Cleanser recently got even more Earth-loving with a refillable jar and sleek refill pods ($50) that reduce waste by 70 percent. As always, you'll get a rich, efficient makeup-removing formula full of nourishing, antioxidant-packed oils and extracts like that of jojoba, sunflower, rosemary, and of course, carrot root and carrot seed.
- 6/38
Sisley
Sisley Paris Phyto-Rouge Shine
Luxury and sustainability are not mutually exclusive, and Sisley Paris's Phyto-Rouge Shine is proof. It offers the powerful color impact of a lipstick and the moisturizing shine of a gloss, and all 12 shades — it's almost impossible to pick a favorite, but Sheer Blossom, seen here, is stunning — are available as $48 refills that you can pop right into the chic gold and white case.
- 7/38
Trinny London
Trinny London Reveal Yourself AHA Exfoliant
Trinny London Reveal Yourself AHA Exfoliant is people with two goals: radiant skin and a better relationship with the planet. Lactic and malic acids ensure that skin shifts in a more even-toned, smoother direction, while the refills ($40), which pop right into the original bottle, ensure less garbage. The glow you'll see will be from alpha hydroxy acids, but you can probably attribute a little of it to feeling good about cutting back on waste, too.
- 8/38
Revlon
Revlon Oil-Absorbing Volcanic Stone Roller
Yes, even drugstore makeup powerhouses are starting to go refillable. Revlon is taking a step toward greater sustainability with its Oil-Absorbing Volcanic Stone Roller. Already an innovative ideal before factoring in the refillability, this clever tool is a portable, powder-free shine stopper. "I witnessed my own oily spots (mostly located on the center of my forehead and in the crevices around my nose) disappear after passing the rollerball back and forth over them a couple of times," said Allure news editor Nicola Dall'asen in her review. And instead of tossing the whole tool, you simply replace the balls.
- 9/38
L'Occitane
L'Occitane Almond Shower Oil
You may not think an old-school beauty brand like L'Occitane would be leading the charge for a more refillable future, but as the brand pushes 50, it's now offering pouches and pods for dozens of its body, hair, and skin-care products. One of its most celebrated products, Almond Shower Oil, is its best-selling refill — a 17-ounce pouch for $40 that saves 78 percent of packaging waste when you opt for over another new bottle.
- 10/38
FaceGym
Face Gym Supreme Restructure Firming EGF Collagen Boosting Cream
Aside from lowering plastic production and usage, refills usually have the extra perk of being a few bucks less than the originally packaged product. And in the case of Face Gym Supreme Restructure Firming EGF Collagen Boosting Cream, you really save. The refill pod of this moisturizer, which is packed with vegan epidermal growth factor and barrier-replenishing ceramides, goes for $95 — about 20 percent less expensive than the initial jar.
- 11/38
Victoria Beckham Beauty
Victoria Beckham Beauty Matte Bronzing Brick
Available in five two-tone combos, the Victoria Beckham Beauty Matte Bronzing Brick is elegant both on the skin — it blends like a dream for a stunningly natural finish — and in its plastic-free compact. Even if you weren't going to refill it with the bronzer, you'd want to keep it as a purse mirror, but of course you're going to want to refill it with the bronzer. Its moringa oil and cocoa butter-infused formula is one of the smoothest you'll ever use.
- 12/38
Youth to the People
Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser
Winner of three Allure Readers' Choice Awards, the Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser continues to impress with what contributing editor Brennan Kilbane calls "incredible." In addition to earning its fanbase with antioxidant-rich ingredients like the kale, green tea, and spinach proudly plasted in all-caps on the bottle, that bottle needn't be thrown out. Instead, you can replenish your supply with an extra-large refill. (You can even subscribe to refills through the brand's site.)
- 13/38
Danessa Myricks
Danessa Myricks Yummy Skin Serum Foundation
Danessa Myricks hit the ground running with the makeup artist brand's first foundation, Yummy Skin Serum Foundation, making it refillable right off the bat. One of the latest foundations fully thrilling Allure editors with its skin-care-esque ingredients, it's "the very definition of luminous," according to Allure associate news editor Gabi Thorne, who also appreciates the the easy-to-use refills ($24).
- 14/38
Tula
Tula Balancing Act Purifying Toner & pH Balancing Toner Pads
It's hard to not think of any single-use pad or wipe as wasteful, but Tula's Balancing Act Purifying Toner & pH Balancing Toner Pads actually cut back on waste in a couple of ways. First of all, the pads — which are doused in lactic acid, niacinamide, and other brightening, smoothing ingredients — are biodegradable and compostable. Secondly, instead of having to buy an entire new jar, you can order a 60-count pad pod to refill it.
- 15/38
Ries
Ries The Essential
Ries is the BYOP (bring your own product) refillable. This clever brand knows you are a) not going to bring full-size products with you when you travel by plane and b) reluctant to buy single-use-plastic minis of products you don't even like that much — and The Essential is the solution. Each cute, TSA-friendly, reusable container allows you to bring along your favorite products instead of purchasing wasteful travel sizes. They come with a variety of debossed labels like shampoo and SPF (as well as blank), and while they go for $18 each, you can also snag sets.
- 16/38
Fenty Skin
Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen
Fenty Skin Hydra Vizor Invisible Moisturizer Broad Spectrum SPF 30 Sunscreen's name may be long, but it doesn't even begin to cover how advanced this protective day cream is. In addition to its cast-free sun filters, it also features brightening niacinamide and a pink tint that adds radiance to any skin tone. You'll definitely find yourself reaching for the $30 refill again and again (because you know how important it is to use sunscreen year-round).
- 17/38
Jane Iredale
Jane Iredale PurePressed Base Mineral Foundation
Considering how equally pretty and practical compacts can be, it's mind-boggling that more makeup brands don't make refillable ones. Jane Iredale has been offering its PurePressed Base Mineral Foundation in a refillable compact for years — long before other brands started getting hip to the idea. After your first order of the weightless, mattifying pan of sheer, SPF-enhanced powder in the compact, you can continue filling it with your shade of choice for $44.
- 18/38
Emma Lewisham
Emma Lewisham Illuminating Brighten Your Day Crème
With awesome Australian import Emma Lewisham Illuminating Brighten Your Day Crème, the proof is in the pudding — or the potent formula, rather — and the pretty purple jar is just a bonus. The brightening, clarifying, and hydrating mixture of must-have acids of the hyaluronic and both alpha and beta hydroxy varieties make it a must-replenish pick, and the refill pods save you a couple bucks and lots of otherwise wasteful packaging.
- 19/38
Olika
Olika Hydrating Hand Sanitizer Spray 3-Pack
Olika mastered the art of non-drying hand sanitizer long before they became more in-demand than ever, and its Hydrating Hand Sanitizer Spray makes hygiene cute as hell. You'll never want to toss the little bird-shaped bottle, and you won't have to thanks to the brand's refill pouches in a variety of scents, like mint citrus and cucumber basil.
- 20/38
Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte Tilbury Brow Cheat
The angled tip of this superfine eyebrow pencil lends itself to filling in brows so naturally, you'll reach for it every day. So thank goodness Charlotte Tilbury decided to make Brow Cheat refillable. For $15 — $10 less than the initial purchase — you get a highly precise pencil refill in one of eight shades while getting to hold onto the spoolie-tipped original packaging.
- 21/38
Ouai
Ouai Detox Shampoo
Virtually all of Ouai's shampoos and conditioners have refill pouches, but we can't think of a formula we'd go through more quickly than the Detox Shampoo. Ideal for anyone who uses a lot of styling products, deals with hard water in their shower, or gets an oily buildup from working out or simply sweating in the summer, this apple-cider-vinegar-spiked cleanser — and its value-sized $60 refill — will have you using dry shampoo far less frequently.
- 22/38
Secret
Secret Refillable Anti-Perspirant
Antiperspirant is one of those personal-care products that we seem to fly through faster than most others, which means tossing plastic packaging with unfortunate regularity. With Secret's Refillable Anti-Perspirant, you still get the sweat protection you've always relied on, plus the peace of mind that comes with paperboard-packaged refills of the lavender-scented solids.
- 23/38
The Handmade Soap Company
The Handmade Soap Company Anam Lotion
Long before a growing number of people were looking to refill products for environmental reasons, some of us sought to hold onto and refill certain containers simply because they were beautiful. The Handmade Soap Company's Anam Lotion is definitely aesthetically pleasing with its gold-etched glass pump bottle, but instead of refilling it with just anything for the sake of keeping it, you can easily replenish the coriander seed, geranium, and vetiver-scented hand and body moisturizer with the brand's $18 compostable refill packets. (That's less than half of the initial purchase price!)
- 24/38
Humanrace
Humanrace Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator
Every celebrity beauty brand is launched with different priorities. In addition to encouraging glowing skin, Pharrell's Humanrace also emphasizes sustainability with its refillable — and downright adorable — packaging. Among the options is the Lotus Enzyme Exfoliator, which addresses dulling dead skin cells three ways: the titular enzymes, alpha hydroxy acids (with an emphasis on glycolic), and physically scrubbing (but gentle) rice particles. The $42 refill lets you plop a new inner container right into the green outer container and continue keeping it in your routine with less plastic waste.
- 25/38
Kate McCleod
Kate McLeod Daily Stone Body Moisturizer
Part of the joy of using the Kate McLeod Daily Stone is how different the entire experience is from any other body moisturizer. Resembling a round bar of soap more than body lotion, it's packed with skin-softening neroli, rose, and frankincense essential oils, and it's packed in a beautiful, refillable bamboo canister that you would likely hold onto for trinkets or paperclips if you weren't definitely going to replace your Daily Stone as soon as you use it up.
- 26/38
Tata Harper
Tata Harper Water-Lock Moisturizer
It should come as no surprise that Tata Harper, a brand that has always appreciated what the planet's natural resources can do for our skin, is showing that appreciation by helping the planet through sustainability efforts. The Water-Lock Moisturizer combines hydration-retaining peptides derived from orange blossom with plumping hyaluronic acid to create a day cream that's both fresh and refreshable. Simply pop a refill pod in the beautiful green and gold jar any time you run out of the lightweight, skin-smoothing concoction.
- 27/38
Isle of Paradise
Isle of Paradise Self-Tanning Water
Even self-tanner is getting on the refillable train, and Isle of Paradise is making it super easy with its Self-Tanning Water. All three depth levels of the face-and-body formula are available in $22 pouches, saving more than 30 percent of the plastic you would have used if you'd simply bought another spray bottle. So you'll glow on the outside and a little on the inside from that warm do-gooder feeling.
- 28/38
MOB
MOB Eyeshadow
MOB's super sleek eye shadow singles come in more than two dozen high-payoff shades that, instead of coming in a new black compact every time, can be purchased as just pans. In fact, the only excuse you have to get multiple MOB Eyeshadow compacts instead of consistently refilling your favorite color is if you're understandably in the market for multiple shades — in which case, just get one of the brand's eight- or 12-pan customizable palettes. (Also refillable, of course.)
- 29/38
Yves Saint Laurent
Yves Saint Laurent Pure Shots Y Shape Firming Serum
As you've seen, refillable packaging isn't just for crunchy little indie brands, and even the most luxurious of companies are getting in on the movement. Yves Saint Laurent's Pure Shots Y Shape Firming Serum is one of the several skin-care products the brand now makes available with refills. This daily treatment, made with peptides and hyaluronic acid to address elasticity and hydration, loses none of its high-end luster with its $70 re-upping cartridge.
- 30/38
NatureLab
NatureLab Tokyo Perfect Shine Conditioner
This NatureLab Tokyo conditioner may provide your hair with "perfect shine," but it also presents the perfect opportunity to start using refillable products if you aren't yet. Already affordable at $14, the bottle's twice-the-size refill pouches are only $22. And whether the pearl extract-enhanced formula comes to you in the original pump packaging or in the less wasteful baggie, you're going to end up with gorgeously glossy hair — a win for you, your wallet, and the world.
- 31/38
Dove
Dove 0% Aluminum Refillable Deodorant
If for no other reason, try Dove's 0% Aluminum Refillable Deodorant because it's just so damn cute. But there really are plenty of other reasons — among them being its stink-stopping power, fresh scents, and, of course, refillability. In fact, your first one comes with a refill right in the same box, and when you're ready, you can snag a two-pack of the most adorable little solids for only $10.
- 32/38
Skyn Iceland
Skyn Iceland Nordic Renewal Pre + Probiotic Cream
Made with a mission to wake up dull skin, Skyn Iceland Nordic Renewal Pre + Probiotic Cream employs mineral-rich thermal water, hydration-holding hyaluronic acid, and, of course, the titular prebiotics and probiotics to promote balance and brightness. And thanks to its little $40 refill pods, which plop right into the transparent jar, it also promotes a more sustainable skin-care routine.
- 33/38
Hourglass
Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim High Intensity Refillable Lipstick
It's only fitting that one of the most elegant lipstick presentations, like, ever isn't intended to be thrown out after its color has been whittled away. Hourglass Confession Ultra Slim High Intensity Lipstick offers an incredibly luxurious lip-color experience, not only because of its sumptuous shades and formula, but its pointed golden case, too. And instead of tossing the tiny work of art, you can replenish your favorite color or try one of about 30 others for $22.
- 34/38
Dermalogica
Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant
Dermalogica's Daily Microfoliant is a classic, award-winning exfoliator that's been around for years, so you can only imagine how many bottles of it have seen the inside of a blue recycling bin. Launched in late 2020, however, the refill pouches are making this gentle, must-have scrub — made even more effective with enzymes and salicylic acid — much more environmentally friendly.
- 35/38
Bathing Culture
Bathing Culture Mind & Body Wash
Bathing Culture Refillable Mind & Body Wash has one of those keep-it-conspicuous bottles you want every guest who enters your bathroom to see. And thanks to an absolutely massive gallon refill jug, that beautiful bottle can always be full of the earthy-scented cleanser. Not that you'll necessarily go through it quickly — packed with organic olive, coconut, and sunflower oils, the moisturizing formula only needs a little drop to do a lot of cleansing.
- 36/38
Elate
Elate Universal Crème
We love a multitasking makeup product we can use on both cheeks and lips — especially when it comes in a gorgeous, refillable bamboo compact. That's exactly what Elate's Universal Crème offers. Once the recyclable aluminum pan is bare, simply order another to replace it. The magnetic lid ensures the creamy formula stays fresh and ready to give you hydrating boost of color.
- 37/38
Brush On Block
Brush On Block Mineral Sunscreen
You don't throw away your brush every time you finish a blush or a highlighter, so why would you throw away powder-sunscreen packaging with its own built-in brush? Brush On Block allows you to hold onto its clever all-in-one format by selling refills of its Mineral Sunscreen, which simply pours into the handle for easy, portable application of its SPF 30 defense.
- 38/38
Australian Glow
Australian Glow 1 Hour Express Self Tan Mousse
It takes only one hour for Australian Glow 1 Hour Express Self Tan Mousse to develop, and not even one minute to refill its bottle with the easy-to-pour pouch. The streak-free, orange-avoiding formula turns from liquid to foam once dispensed, and your skin turns golden faster than you can say dihydroxyacetone.