When it comes to beauty products, becoming completely plastic-free is a tall order for even the most determined, but with Plastic Free July now upon us, there’s never been a better time for a makeup switch-up, starting with your favourite foundation…
Not so long ago, you’d have been hard pressed to find more than a handful of refillable makeup products on the market, but brands across the beauty spectrum are now coming up with clever makeup refills that make buying everyday beauty essentials more feel-good than ever.
As well as cutting plastic and landfill waste, refills reduce a huge amount of ‘invisible’ waste – as much as 70% on CO2, 65% on energy and 45% on water, according to some reports. So, although recycling where possible is a no-brainer, purchasing less plastic and packaging in the first place is the real game-changer.
“Our customers are a forward-thinking bunch, and have long been asking us for makeup refills,” says Lily Lolo founder, Vikki Khan. “It’s been a much more complex journey than any of our team had imagined, but our first foray into refills is finally here and we’ve started where we can make the biggest difference, on one of the products our customers repeat-purchase the most!”
Enter the brand’s first ever plastic-free makeup product, a paper refill of its original product and best-seller, the iconic Mineral Foundation, launching this month. Made entirely from paper, the new refill sachet contains no finishes or materials that recycling centres can’t deal with, making it simple to recycle and 100% biodegradable if you choose to bin it. Because the sachet is smaller and lighter than a plastic pot, it also uses less packaging and space when shipped. Plus, to really put the new refill into perspective, given that Lily Lolo sold a whopping 100,000 pots of its Mineral Foundation in 2019 alone, the brand’s new foundation refill promises to prevent a considerable amount of plastic from potentially piling up in landfill.
Want to make more of your life refillable? Thankfully, the choices are ever-increasing. Long-time Lily Lolo stockist and clean beauty pioneer, the London-based store Content Beauty, has an impressive choice of refillable makeup and plastic-free beauty products. Take your pick from clever solid shampoo bars and re-usable makeup remover pads, to biodegradable bamboo toothbrushes and much more, making it easy to swap to more environmentally friendly options in your makeup bag, bathroom cabinet and beyond.
For Lily Lolo, the future certainly does look refillable. “Now that we’ve nailed our foundation refills, we’re working on sustainable versions of our other bestsellers, starting with our much-loved Eye Palettes,” says Vikki. “This is a really exciting one, because here we can really go to town with the packaging and make it look and feel special, whilst being mindful of our footprint. It’s a win-win for our brand, our customers and the planet.”
PLASTIC-FREE PRODUCTS WE’RE LOVING…
TABITHA EVE REUSABLE MAKEUP PADS £12 - https://www.contentbeautywellbeing.com/products/t...
LILY LOLO MINERAL FOUNDATION REFILL £14 – https://www.lilylolo.co.uk/sp+Mineral-Foundation-SPF-15+001
KOHA BEAUTY SHAMPOO BAR £9.00- https://www.kohabeauty.co.uk/product-page/solid-h...