Here are the Australian and New Zealand beauty brands offering refills
IMAGE VIA @odesse /INSTAGRAM
WORDS BY FASHION JOURNAL
Fill me up.
There’s something distinctly satisfying about reaching the end of a favourite beauty product. It’s the satisfaction of knowing you really did reach for it all the time, scraping the dregs of that wondrous cream – or oil, or balm, or blush – ’til the very end. Good for your bank account, better for the planet.
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Now, what if I told you there was an option to take that packaging and fill it right back up again? Following the rise of climate-positive beauty initiatives, there’s a new market for refillable skincare and beauty. Reducing carbon emissions by up to 74 per cent, these are the local beauty labels doing their part.
Odesse
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If (like us) you’ve been waiting patiently for a refillable fragrance, Odesse might be it. Designed for refill, not landfill, the brand’s Refillable Solid Perfume Vessel can be filled with your choice of six heavenly scents – also available in bundles, if you like to switch it up.
Remi
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Championing Australia-made solid skincare, Remi is a circular beauty innovation house with the aim to restore ourselves and our planet. Its hero product, the Daily Moisturiser Stone, is a golden orb packed with potent bioactive and native botanicals that glide on to your skin.
Raaie
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We’re big fans of New Zealand skincare brand Raaie’s gorgeous stone packaging and high-potency formulations (think vitamin C and retinol serums) so when we saw they introduced a refill for the Cocoon Ceramide Cream, they had our attention.
Melio Skincare
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We love a tight edit, and Melio’s one (refillable) hero product, The Serum, has been designed to answer most skincare needs of all ages and genders. Founded by an Australian makeup artist and biochemist, The Serum is a concentrated, 90 per cent natural formula high in mangosteen extract, vitamin C, hyaluronic acid and ferulic acid.
Hunter Lab
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Founded in Melbourne in 2015, Hunter Lab is working to redefine gender-inclusive skincare. Its products are formulated in sync with nature and without synthetic or harsh chemical ingredients. The innovative range of body, hair and skincare is available to purchase as glass ’forever bottles’ that can then be topped up with refills.
Emma Lewisham
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New Zealand-based natural skincare label Emma Lewisham has brought its distinctive pink-and-purple packaging to a range of refillable skincare products. Purchase top-ups of the brand’s face oils, moisturising creams, eye treatments and more.
Foile
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Freshly launched skincare brand Foile was created for ease, expression and good skin. The range of vegan skincare products is designed to champion natural, nourishing ingredients; with each formula housed in its own glossy green or blue glass bottle. Refill pouches are available for each product, so you can use the adorable packaging again and again.
Go-To Skincare
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Australian beauty brand Go-To Skincare introduced eco-friendly packaging options this year with a refresh of bright peach, recyclable packaging. Manufactured in Australia, the brand is known for its simple, effective products that are gentle on the skin. with the aim of being gentle on the skin. Their Very Light Moisturiser, formulated for oily, combination and acne-prone skin, is now available with their very first refillable packaging pod.
Sabbia Co
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Australian skincare brand Sabbia Co was created after its Founders Katie and Dave witnessed a devastating amount of single-use plastic items while holidaying on a remote Sri Lankan beach. As ocean lovers passionate about skin health and wellbeing, starting an ethical, refillable beauty brand to try to combat this issue seemed like a no-brainer. Sabbia Co’s products are also sustainable, biodegradable and Australian-made.
Eye of Horus
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Designed in Byron Bay, luxury beauty brand Eye of Horus has released a number of products with refillable packaging. Refill and exchange the pans in the brand’s sleek face and eyeshadow compacts when you have used one up, or order a refill of its Seven Seed Sacred Oil for the face. The brand also offers some compacts empty, so that you can use the refill pans to build your own palette.
Ere Perez
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Ere Perez committed to making their beauty brand sustainably packaged by 2023, listing a number of goals including 18 refillable products. The label now has a range of bronzers, blushes and eye colours with refillable pans, available in many shades.
Asuvi
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Asuvi is a toiletry brand dedicated to natural science and eco-conscious thinking. The brand has a focus on sustainable ingredients and eco-friendly packaging, including a refillable deodorant with multiple options for scent.
Ethique
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Instead of offering plastic or glass containers to be refilled, Ethique makes 100 per cent plastic-free, climate-positive solid hair, body and skincare. The brand’s range of solid bars includes serums, lip balms, shampoos, conditioners and more, made to be stored on trays or the Ethique Saver Bag (ideal for travelling).
Koko and Kush
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Australian-made natural skincare brand Koko and Kush heroes hemp seed oil as the key ingredient in its nourishing cleansers, moisturisers, serums and face masks. Totally fragrance-free and vegan, the full product range is refillable.
Azur
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Sydney-based beauty brand Azur offers skincare with a focus on organic ingredients, effective formulations and zero-waste packaging. Refills are available for all products, including the award-winning Swell Face Wash, Blue Tansy Face Oil and Marine Minerals Moisturiser.
Fluff Cosmetics
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Casual cosmetics brand Fluff is back with a limited drop model, re-releasing its loved Cloud Compacts for the first time in two years. The brand’s signature mirrored packaging is refillable, with its Lip Oil and Bronzing Powder (now in four shades) available in magnetic refill pans. Once used, these pans are totally recyclable.
Baresop
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Baresop’s Founder Prisca Ongonga-Daehn was inspired to start a sustainable beauty brand after she had a conversation with her daughter who expressed concern about the planet’s future. Realising that single-use plastic is one of the primary issues in the beauty industry, she created Baresop, a waterless, zero-waste and refillable skincare brand.
Grown Alchemist
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Organic Australian-born beauty brand Grown Alchemist takes a “holistic scientific” approach to skincare, “identifying the mechanisms that regulate the aging process of the body and skin”. Loved by skincare enthusiasts across the globe (including Goop girlie Gwenyth Paltrow), the brand is innovative in its sustainability. You can shop Eco Refills for its best-selling products.
Zero Co
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Zero Co is on a mission to eliminate single-use plastic from Australian households, offering reusable products for your kitchen and bathroom needs. If you purchase the brand’s body products or hair care, you’ll receive a ‘forever bottle’ crafted from ocean, beach and landfill plastic. This ‘forever bottle’ can be refilled from Zero Co’s reusable pouches, which you can get delivered to your door.
Eco Minerals
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Byron Bay brand Eco Minerals creates 100 per cent cruelty-free, vegan and natural mineral cosmetics. If you’re after refillable makeup, this brand has you covered; its refill sachets are plastic-free too.
Leif
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Botanical beauty brand Leif creates simple, effective skincare formulas ‘designed to elevate the everyday’. Leif reflects the beauty of the Australian landscape in its use of native plant ingredients, with its formulas free from sulphates, parabens and animal cruelty. The brand offers different sizes of refills for all its products.
The Secret Skincare
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Made-to-order brand The Secret Skincare launched its Sustainability Range in a bid to make its products even more eco-friendly. The waste-free model means their products are dispensed in recyclable packaging that is designed to be refilled once it’s empty.
Aesop
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Aesop is in the process of implementing more sustainable packaging, with the aim of making all of its packaging refillable, compostable or recyclable by 2025. The brand has begun trialling a system for reusable packaging, starting with two of its Melbourne stores. The refillable products are the Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser, Resurrection Aromatique Hand Wash and Geranium Leaf Body Cleanser, each now available at the brand’s South Yarra and QV stores.
Kora Organics
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As of 2021, all new Kora Organics products will use recycled, recyclable or biodegradable materials in its packaging wherever possible. The skincare label is also working on replacing all existing products with sustainable packaging across the next few years, including refillable options. Kora currently has three refillable products – its Berry Bright Vitamin C Eye Cream, Active Algae Moisturiser and Tumeric Glow moisturiser – each of which arrive in a glass jar with a removable, recyclable pod.
Australian Skin Institute
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Australian Skin Institute is in the process of transitioning to 100 per cent recyclable and reusable packaging across its range, with its popular moisturisers now available in refillable capsules. Its circular packaging model is very user-friendly – the moisturisers come with a reusable pump that can be recycled at the end of its lifespan and a completely recyclable, removable internal capsule that can be replaced when it’s empty.
australianskininstitute.com.au
Adorn
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Creating luxury guilt-free products has always been a top priority for Adorn. It’s an ethos that encompasses everything from its cruelty-free, vegan formulas to ensuring the packaging its products come in doesn’t hurt the planet. The label has been championing sustainability since 2008, with refillable packaging and ‘naked’ products at the core of its zero-waste mission.
Medik8
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Medik8’s goal of ensuring all packaging is reusable, refillable or recyclable by 2026 has seen the label implement refillable bottles for two of its products. Because the pump dispenser contains various parts and mechanisms in order to function, creating a fully recyclable pump proves to be quite tricky. So, Medik8 has opted for refillable bottles that attach to a reusable pump – genius!
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