We’ve personally tested and investigated dozens of clean Natural Makeup Brands. Our editors’ top picks are non-toxic, organic, and natural-looking.
Spotless beauty is more than a trend: It’s a movement toward safer, healthier, and more sustainable skincare and Makeup. Non-toxic and organic beauty products prioritize high-quality, naturally derived ingredients and avoid harsh chemicals like parabens, phthalates, and synthetic fragrances. These formulas are intended to be gentle on the skin, eco-friendly, and often cruelty-free, making them a conscious choice for beauty lovers who care about what they put on their skin.
Whether you’re looking for Makeup with skin-loving botanicals or organic formulas that nourish your skin while enhancing your natural glow, we’ve searched high and low for the best organic makeup brands and clean skincare products that are truly clean and cruelty-free, ranging from price to product. Many of these brands offer makeup products to help you attain a natural, no-makeup makeup look for a fresh-faced, everyday look!
What are the aids of switching to clean Makeup?
Unfortunately, for decades, Makeup has been riddled with toxic materials that can have serious consequences for our fitness. Ingredients comparable PFAS, formaldehyde, parabens, and SLS are common in many of our precious makeup products and can be absorbed into our skin and cause adverse reactions like allergies, eye damage, or worse.
Luckily, many clean makeup brands are leading the way in making effective and safe makeup products that won’t harm your health. (And they work just as well, if not better, than your regular makeup products!) Clean makeup brands avoid harsh chemicals and formulate their cosmetics with clean, organic ingredients like berry and vegetable colors, aloe vera, and cornstarch, which are gentler and harmless for our skin. Clean Makeup also prioritizes animal welfare and environmental initiatives, as countless are vegan, cruelty-free, and use sustainable wrapping that minimizes harm to animals, the planet, and ourselves.
What must you look for in a clean makeup brand?
So, what ingredients must you look for and avoid regarding makeup brands? Sticking with makeup products with transparent, safe ingredients and certifications from trusted sources is best. It can be challenging to control which ingredients are safe and which aren’t, so we endorse checking out Perelel’s Unclean15 list, which discloses the most damaging substances in cosmetics. You can also compare makeup products you own or are interested in using INCIDEcoder, which lets you snap a photo or copy and paste a product’s ingredients to help you understand the purpose and safety of each ingredient.
We also like using CosDNA to analyze a product’s ingredients for comedogenic, irritant, and safety ratings, and CosIng, an online tool created by the European Commission that distinguishes ingredients from substances (usually toxins) in cosmetics. Finally, The Beauty Brains podcast is a great resource where scientists update us on the latest hot topics in the cosmetic industry.
Some of the crucial ingredients to avoid include:
- BHA/BHT: BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole) and BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) are synthetic preservatives commonly used to extend the shelf life of makeups by preventing oxidation. They should be avoided because they can cause hormonal changes skin irritation, and may have carcinogenic properties.
- Parabens and Phthalates: Ingredients like methylparaben and propylparaben can potentially disrupt hormones. Phthalates are often hidden in “fragrance” labels and can act as endocrine disruptors.
- Synthetic Fragrances: These are best avoided because they often contain undisclosed chemicals that can cause allergies or skin sensitivity. It’s important to note that many factors influence how well synthetic fragrances are absorbed into your skin. (Most skin care products aren’t designed to absorb fragrance into your skin, as their effects are designed to sit on the surface for you to smell.) This doctor explains everything you need to know about fragrance in skin care.
- Heavy metals: Ingredients like lead and cadmium can build up in your body over time and have toxic effects.
- Talc: This powdered ingredient is often contaminated with asbestos, a known carcinogen.
Our Criteria:
Our editors have used spotless beauty brands with natural, non-toxic ingredients for years. After extensive research, testing, and reading thousands of customer reviews, here are our favourite clean makeup brands that are gentle adequate to add to your everyday routine. We’ve personally tested every brand on this list and have included images and notes on how to use them below. Whenever possible. We regularly update this list with new favourites that meet our criteria:
- CLEAN/ORGANIC | These makeup brands are expressed with non-toxic. Organic ingredients that are safe for even the most delicate areas of our faces.
- PERFORMANCE | The brands on this slant offer everything from natural “no-makeup” looks to highly pigmented products you can wear for a night out, and they all last for hours.
- AFFORDABLE | We’ve comprised clean makeup brands that are effective and budget-friendly.
Don’t miss our guides to clean skincare brands, organic foundations, non-toxic lipsticks or lip balms, and organic mascara! And for our future readers, these pregnancy-safe makeup brands have your back every trimester.
1. ILIA
The best makeup brands combine natural, effective ingredients with nourishing vitamins and oils. That’s where ILIA comes in. This natural cosmetics line crafts formulas from cut to ensure your Makeup is as clean as possible while committing to sustainability and ethics at every step. We love the collection of travel-friendly multi-sticks and compacts. You can read our review of the ILIA Super Serum Tinted Serum here.
2. Jones Road
Makeup pioneer Bobbi Brown created Jones Road four years after leaving her eponymous company. “Why can’t I find makeup products that are clean and perform and don’t sacrifice one for the other?” she asked herself. Jones Road aims to fill this gap in the market with versatile, easy-to-use products that can be used to attain any look, from a natural no-makeup look to a high-impact, ultra-glam look. With guidelines that are even stricter than the EU, the carefully curated range of balms, bars, and creams is the best for high-impact, clean beauty.
3. Well People
People are your brand if you’re looking for the perfect no-makeup look. This collection’s natural, cruelty-free cosmetics are designed to nourish and soften your skin while giving you the colour and coverage you desire. Our editor says she loves how nourishing and versatile their lip oils are! Plus, the line includes plenty of vegan products that we love. We love how versatile and affordable Well People’s handmade cosmetics are, especially since over 100 products are EWG-certified. (You can find Well People at major drugstores!)
4. Merit Beauty
Merit does precisely what we need—no more, no less. The Los Angeles-based beauty brand offers a curated line of “well-edited essentials” (including an expansion mascara and a brightening balm) free of over 1,400 potentially harmful ingredients. Instead, their products feature skin-friendly formulas that include plant-derived squalane, vitamin B5, kaolin clay, and sea daffodil extract. Their shipping packaging is recyclable, reusable, or biodegradable, and Merit also partners with, donates to, and supports the nonprofit Baby2Baby. Be sure to check out our in-depth editor review of Merit Beauty.
5. 100% Pure
100% Pure aims to make the world’s purest line of all-natural Makeup, beauty, and skincare products. The brand’s vegan cosmetics are formulated with high-performance antioxidants, natural vitamins, and essential oils to benefit your skin. They even offer soaps, shampoos, and conditioners for your (non-toxic) beauty routine! Affordable, safe, and unforgettable.
6. RMS Beauty
RMS Beauty is renowned worldwide, and it’s easy to see why. The brand’s cosmetics collection is made with raw. Organic, and food-grade ingredients that hydrate and brighten your skin while enhancing and improving your beautiful complexion. RMS is dedicated to transforming how people use makeup, creating non-toxic and non-GMO products, and healing and nourishing them. We tested RMS Beauty on the skin of people aged 65 and 38.