Finding it a struggle to build a sustainable beauty routine that doesn’t compromise on your skin goals? Here is the simple tool that our beauty director uses. Plus, her eco-friendly shopping list (with 20 per cent off) from Cult Beauty’s iconic Cult Conscious collection…
April is Earth Month, meaning it’s the perfect time to reassess how sustainable your beauty routine really is. However, finding products that are actually eco-friendly can be a struggle. Not only is the marketplace flooded with products, so many of them are shouting about being ‘green’, ‘natural’, or ‘clean’, which can be confusing – and not legally defined.
To help make the process of building a sustainable beauty routine a little easier, our beauty director has been trying out Cult Beauty’s fact-checked sustainability edit – Cult Conscious. Read on to discover how it works and to take a peek inside her shopping list. There’s even 20 per cent of the range with the code GOGREEN, so you can really shop to your heart (and the planet’s) content.
In partnership with Cult Beauty
Cult Conscious tried-and-tested: How to build a more sustainable beauty routine
The simplest way to build a more sustainable beauty routine is to make sure you know what you are buying in the first place. That means looking for proof that what a brand is claiming can actually be backed up. Traditionally, you’d have to do that brand-by-brand, which is more than a little time-consuming, and means you might have to order your different products from different locations. Nowadays, however, digital retailers are making it much, much easier.
I’ve recently been trying out Cult Conscious – Cult Beauty’s simple yet effective sustainability checker, who have partnered with Provenance (a software that helps evaluate cosmetic claims). It really does make getting the sustainable information you need simple.
You access the Cult Beauty website as usual and just scroll down on each product’s page, where there’s a full Cult Conscious section beneath the description. Here, you can check if the product (and the overall brand) has the verified claims you might be looking for – from organic to cruelty-free. Plus, because Cult carries such a wide range of brands, you can add lots of different, award-winning products to your basket all in one place.
“Cult Conscious eliminates uncertainty with at-a-glance impact claims that help me shop with confidence – beauty priorities and values intact,” agrees the head of sustainability and social causes at Cult Beauty, Alicia Hickey. “From whether a product is vegan and cruelty-free to whether it’s housed in recyclable packaging, simply look for the tick to establish each product’s credentials.”
Then, once you have finished your chosen products, Cult Beauty has you covered too. The retailer has teamed up with recycle:me app – a free UK-based recycling scheme that allows you to recycle hard-to-recycle beauty products – like mascara tubes, fragrance bottles, and skincare packaging with ease. Instead of just discarding of them, you can earn rewards in the process. Download the app, scan five qualifying empties, and book a collection from your home. You’ll then get £5 towards your next shop on-site. Shopping with a conscience.
Our beauty director’s favourite Cult Conscious products
Credentials: vegan and Leaping Bunny-verified cruelty-free
This vegan and cruelty-free cleanser is the deep clean your skin has been waiting for. Melting from a balm to an oil as you gently massage it in, the formula transforms into satisfying lather on contact with water, lifting away stubborn makeup and dirt with ease. Best of all, its not drying, it smells absolutely amazing, and you can use it to remove your mascara without leaving your eyes red and sore.
Credentials: widely recyclable packaging, PETA Cruelty-Free & Vegan and Leaping Bunny Cruelty Free
Turns out that The Ordinary isn't just a leader in affordable skincare (that really works), it marks highly for its sustainability credentials too. If your skin is in need of some hefty hydration – and you care deeply about our animal friends as well – this easy-to-use, no-nonsense cream uses natural moisturising factors including ceramides and hyaluronic acid to keep your skin hydrated, plump and bouncy.
Credentials: vegan, widely recyclable packaging, PETA Cruelty-Free & Vegan
Skin need an instant pick-me-up before an event or after a few too many late nights? This mask is exactly the product to have in your routine. A big multitasker, it hydrates, firms and brightens in one fell swoop, with stabilised vitamin C, retinol, concentrated hyaluronic acid and skin-soothing pre/postbiotics all working together to revitalise your complexion.
Credentials: Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free and PETA Cruelty-Free, BCorp
Sunday Riley is known for its potent, results-driven formulas, especially for brightening your skin, and there's more than a dose of sustainability incorporated into the brand as well (for extra buy-worthy points). This moisturiser works on the premise that hydrated skin really glows, with vitamin C and gently exfoliators also on hand to get your skin super glowy.
Credentials: vegan, widely recyclable packaging, Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free
Incredibly highly rated out of all Cult Beauty products – let alone the sustainable ones – this toner will help you banish visible pores once and for all – plus get rid of uneven texture and congestion. The blend of PHAs and BHAs (plus hyaluronic acid and antioxidants) provides a super smooth skin finish so that any makeup you wear just glides on afterwards.
Credentials: vegan and refill solution, BCorp, carbon measured, living wage employer
L'Occitane has long been a leader in luxurious sustainability, and the list of credentials for the brand really do prove it. This classic creamy lotion (which smells incredibly moreish) is a treat for dry limbs – especially after a bath or shower – and that's also why it makes a lovely pamper day gift too.
Credentials: ECOCERT Natural and Organic Cosmetic, PETA Cruelty-Free, Cosmos Organic, Cosmos Natural
Born from the namesake founder's organic farm in Vermont, Tata Harper has committed to showcasing its sustainability credentials with plenty of accreditations. That means you can be confident that when applying this editor-approved serum, you aren't just benefitting from its ability to smooth and plump your skin over time (which it really does), but it is also helping you do your bit for waste reduction in beauty too.
Credentials: Soil Association Organic, The Vegan Trademark, Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free
All the products from Pai are designed with sensitive skin in mind (something the founder knows all about) and that's why the brand is so committed to soothing organic and vegan formulas. This nourishing cream won't cause reactions even for irritation-prone skin, due to its hero ingredients: healing chamomile and rosehip, to keep your skin looking and feeling calmer.
Credentials: vegan, widely recyclable packaging and Leaping Bunny Cruelty-Free
Beauty editors love The Inkey List's transparent approach to really good skincare and if you are looking for a great entry way into the brand, this cleanser is that. Brimming with oat kernel oil, the face wash easily breaks down make up, SPF and impurities, while keeping any irritation at bay, making a deep skin clean feel stress-free.
Credentials: vegetarian, NATRUE Natural, Zero Plastic Inside, B Corp, Living Wage employer
We swear every beauty insider has a tube of Weleda somewhere in their beauty routine – the brand's Skin Food is really that good for vanishing away dry patches on your face, elbows, knees etc. including for little ones. The company is also celebrated for its approach to sustainability as it attempts to be eco-friendly throughout its supply chain.
Shop now
CF readers can get 20% Off the Cult Beauty Cult Conscious Range with the code GOGREEN – valid until the end of April 2025. Brand exclusions apply. SHOP NOW at Cult Conscious.
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Lead photo credit: Cult Beauty
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