by BR Amelia
At the risk of showing my age... I remember when the first Bin Inn opened. It seemed amazing to me that you could go to a shop with a container you already owned and fill it up with a product from a bulk dispenser that didn't match the product on the container. Wild! Radical! These days?, Totally the norm. Similar stores have been popping up all over the show as people and brands continue to embrace ways to reduce their waste. The beauty industry has slowly but surely getting on board as well, in fact recent data from The NPD Group stated that from January to the end of July 2022 in the UK there has been a 47% rise in people purchasing refillable products from prestige brands, with lipstick blush and bronzer being popular, along with fragrance.
Now as much as I try to do better, and always make a point of buying body wash and hand wash that can be refilled from smaller recyclable packaging, I've yet to delve into the world of refillable beauty products. Is it because New Zealand makeup sellers and distributors aren't promoting it all that much or is it simply not that much of an option here like it is overseas? A quick look at local beauty sites painted an interesting story...
The short answer... yes, and no. There is refillable makeup on the market, but you have to actively look for it. And, much like the data from The NPD Group stated, those on board were brands on the higher end of the beauty budget spectrum.
When it came to lipsticks the likes of Hourglass, Rose Inc and Lush all had refillable options, as did Dior, and Guerlain. In fact lipsticks were easily the product that had the most refillable options across the range of makeup products available.
Estee Lauder, Rose Inc, and RMS Beauty had refillable blushes. Charlotte Tilbury had a range of refillables, including a bronzer, an eyebrow product, lipsticks, as well as refill options of her popular Magic Cream range.
Refillable cushion foundations were relatively common, with Shiseido, MAC, Yves Saint Laurent, and Chantecaille, La Mer, all on board.
Love mineral makeup? Jane Iredale offers refillable powder foundation and bronzer. And Eco Minerals has refillable blush, foundation and illuminating powder.
As for skincare... Some of the brands I saw offering refillable options included Emma Lewisham, Lancôme, and Yves Saint Laurent.
In the fragrance realm we were well catered for if we want to refill our perfume rather than buy a whole fresh bottle.
So, yes, the products are there (and I'm sure I've missed some brands and products, but the selection was scattered across many websites), however I feel in the options I saw available were minimal compared to the range of beauty products available on the market, which means there's room to grow.
What I'd love to see next? Drugstore brands embracing the refillable ethos. Squeeze packs of cleanser that can be used refill my giant pumps rather than buying a new one. Smaller pottles of moisturiser that can be slotted into the bigger jars, with the old pottle able to be cleansed then recycled. Drugstore lippes becoming refillable as the norm. Same for blush and bronzer! However, until such a time that that happens, it's good to know there are more environmentally friendly options available... if you can afford it.
So, my beauty lovers, are you a fan of beauty refills? Which ways of refilling have you embraced? Or do you think this overseas trend is yet to catch on in little on EnZed, but the sooner it does the better?
I haven't seen anything that is a refill option with what I use besides shower gels. If more companies did this I would probably give it a go as do like to do my part with recycling etc