Makeup Labs

Tag: low-waste beauty

  • The Best Refillable Makeup Brands to know in 2026: Our top picks

    The Best Refillable Makeup Brands to know in 2026: Our top picks

     

    Think about how much makeup packaging you’ve thrown away. Every empty lipstick bullet, every cracked powder compact, every foundation bottle, almost all of it plastic, almost all of it landfill. The beauty industry churns out billions of units of plastic packaging a year, and most of it is used once.

    Refillable makeup flips that. You buy the case once, then top it up with a refill when it runs out, keeping the bit that lasts and replacing only the bit that doesn’t. Less waste, less money over time, and increasingly, no compromise on quality. Here’s how it works and the brands leading the way.

    In This Guide:

    1. Why refillable makeup matters
    2. How refill systems actually work
    3. Our Sustainable Picks
    4. Is refillable actually cheaper?

    1. Why Refillable Makeup Matters

     

    Most makeup packaging is single-use plastic that’s difficult to recycle, because it mixes materials (plastic, metal, mirrors, magnets) that recycling plants can’t easily separate. So it’s landfilled or incinerated.

    Refillable systems cut that waste at the source. Instead of binning the whole product, you keep the durable outer case (sometimes for years) and replace just the pan or pod inside. One well-made compact can outlive dozens of disposable ones.

    2. How Refill Systems Actually Work

     

    There are three common formats, and they’re all simple.

    • Magnetic pans: an empty palette or compact holds refill pans of eyeshadow, blush or powder that click in and out.
    • Pods and cartridges: lipsticks and foundations where the colour pod slots into a permanent case.
    • Screw or twist refills: the inner product unscrews and a replacement screws in.

    In every case the principle is the same: buy the housing once, then buy cheaper, lower-packaging refills forever. Most brands tell you exactly how to swap them on the product page.

    3. Our Sustainable Picks

     

    Four brands doing refillable properly, from one dedicated pioneer to the big names now catching up. Drop your tagged links into the markers below.

    The dedicated pioneer: Zao Makeup. Launched in 2012 as the world’s first fully refillable makeup brand, Zao houses everything (foundation, powder, eyeshadow, lipstick) in refillable bamboo cases. The whole range is vegan, cruelty-free and Ecocert-certified organic, and refills cost noticeably less than the original. If you want a brand built around refilling from the ground up, start here.

    Try: the Zao Refillable Concealer (buy the refillable case once, then just the refill).

     

    The refillable foundation: Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation SPF 15. A British mineral foundation (vegan, Leaping Bunny cruelty-free) that comes in a refillable pot, top it up with a fully recyclable refill sachet instead of buying a whole new product. Clean, short ingredient list and a genuine zero-fuss refill.

    Try: the Lily Lolo Mineral Foundation SPF 15 (then reorder the refill sachets).

     

    The refillable lipstick: Zao Bamboo Refillable Lipstick. Zao’s lipsticks sit in a refillable bamboo case, when you hit the end, you buy just the colour refill and keep the case. Vegan, Ecocert-certified organic and far less packaging than a standard bullet.

    Try: the Zao Bamboo Refillable Lipstick.

     

    The build-your-own palette: MAC Pro Palette. MAC’s refill system lets you buy an empty magnetic palette and fill it with individual eyeshadow, blush and powder pans, so you replace only the shade you’ve hit pan on, never the packaging. Brilliant for cutting waste while keeping a pro-level shade range.

    Try: the MAC Pro Palette plus your choice of MAC Eye Shadow refill pans.

    4. Is Refillable Actually Cheaper?

     

    Upfront, refillable can cost a little more, you’re paying for a durable case built to last. But the maths works in your favour fast. Refills strip out the expensive packaging, so each top-up is cheaper than buying the product new, sometimes substantially so.

    Buy one good compact and refill it three or four times, and you’ve spent less than you would on three or four disposable versions, with a fraction of the waste. The case is the investment; the refills are the saving.

    A Small Change That Sticks

     

    Refillable makeup isn’t a gimmick, it’s the direction the whole industry is heading, and it’s one of the easiest sustainable swaps to make because nothing about your routine actually changes. Same products, same finish, just a reusable case and a cheaper, lower-waste refill.

    Start with one product you repurchase often, a powder, a lipstick, an eyeshadow, and choose a refillable version next time it runs out. For more easy wins, explore the rest of our sustainable beauty edit.

    Featured Products

    References

  • Ditch the Disposables: The Best Reusable Cotton Pads and Makeup Remover Cloths

    Ditch the Disposables: The Best Reusable Cotton Pads and Makeup Remover Cloths

    If you take your makeup off every night, you’re getting through a lot of cotton wool, and all of it goes straight in the bin. A single reusable pad can replace thousands of disposable rounds over its lifetime, which is better for the planet and far cheaper for you.

    The catch is that not all reusables are equal. Some are gentler, some last longer, and some (despite the eco marketing) actually shed microplastics. Here’s what to look for and the pads and cloths worth buying.

    In This Guide:

    1. Why ditch single-use pads
    2. What to look for
    3. Our Sustainable Picks
    4. How to keep them clean

    1. Why Ditch Single-Use Pads

    Disposable cotton pads seem harmless, but the scale is the problem. Used twice a day, they add up to hundreds per person per year, and conventional cotton is resource-intensive to grow. Multiply across a household and it’s a steady stream of waste for a few seconds of use each.

    Reusables turn that into a one-off purchase. Buy a set once, wash and reuse for months or years, and you stop the cycle, while saving the money you’d spend repurchasing cotton wool forever.

    2. What to Look For

    Two things matter most: material and washability.

    On material, natural fibres win. Cotton, organic cotton, lyocell and bamboo are soft, effective and (mostly) biodegradable. Avoid microfibre if you can: it removes makeup well with just water, but it’s a synthetic that sheds microplastics in the wash, which rather undercuts the point. Look for OEKO-TEX certification (tested for harmful substances) and, for bamboo, FSC certification (responsibly sourced).

    On washing, choose pads you can wash hot. A 60°C wash is the hygiene standard for face cloths, so pads rated only for 30°C are harder to keep genuinely clean. A set of around seven is ideal: one a day, then a weekly machine wash.

    3. Our Sustainable Picks

    Four reusables across budgets and cleansing styles. Drop your tagged links into the markers below.

    Best overall:

    LastObject LastRound. A set of seven dual-sided pads in a cotton-lyocell blend, machine washable at 60°C, rated for 200+ washes and stored in a neat reusable case. Soft, durable and naturally moisture-wicking, the closest thing to a disposable round that lasts.

    Best budget swap:

    Bamboo Reusable Cotton Rounds. A multipack of soft bamboo pads with a mesh laundry bag, usually for a few pounds. Biodegradable fibre, gentle on skin, and one pack retires thousands of cotton-wool rounds. The easiest, cheapest place to start.

    Best for water-only cleansing:

    Face Halo. A makeup-artist favourite that lifts makeup with just warm water, no product needed, thanks to its ultra-fine fibres. Hugely effective and reusable up to around 200 washes. One honest note: it’s a microfibre, so rinse it well after each use, and if microplastics are a dealbreaker, lean on the natural-fibre picks above.

    Best for a full cleanse:

    MakeUp Eraser Cloth. A soft reusable cloth that removes a full face (even long-wear) with water alone and replaces hundreds of wipes. Great for a deeper, all-over cleanse rather than spot removal. Like Face Halo it’s a synthetic fibre, so a hot wash keeps it fresh; an organic cotton muslin cloth is the natural-fibre alternative if you prefer.

    4. How to Keep Them Clean

    Reusables only work if you keep them hygienic, and it’s easy. Rinse each pad straight after use to stop makeup and oil setting in. Pop them in the mesh wash bag (most sets include one) and machine wash at 60°C with your towels, roughly once a week.

    Air dry rather than tumble to protect the fibres, and replace them when they start to thin or stop feeling soft. Treated well, a good set lasts months or years, paying for itself many times over.

    Stop Binning, Start Washing

    Switching to reusable pads is one of the simplest sustainable swaps there is: a one-off buy that quietly removes a steady stream of waste from your routine and saves you money every month. Choose natural fibres where you can, wash them hot, and you’ll barely notice the change, except that you’ll never run out of cotton wool again.

    Pick the set that suits how you cleanse, then browse the rest of our sustainable beauty edit for more easy swaps.

    Featured Products

     

    References