Best Sustainable Beauty Products At Sephora
23 Best-Selling Sustainable Beauty Products From Sephora Because We Only Have One Earth
As POPSUGAR editors, we independently select and write about stuff we love and think you'll like too. If you buy a product we have recommended, we may receive affiliate commission, which in turn supports our work.
Not all natural, organic, or green beauty items are also sustainable. (Confusing, right?) While even some experts disagree on what clean beauty really means, sustainability is a bit more specific.
Sustainable practices include putting the environment first and working with natural products and resources (and renewable energy) whenever possible. That means beauty (and any other) products that are sustainable were made under conditions that consider and meet the needs of the present environment without compromising future generations.
So, while clean products aim to be free of harsh chemicals and synthetic ingredients, companies making sustainable products are concerned with those things . . . but they're also considering the environment and process in which their products are made. To break it down a bit further, companies can create huge amounts of waste and deplete natural resources, so sustainable production includes sourcing ingredients in ways that won't destroy ecosystems and don't use too much of one resource without replenishing it. For example, when Korres uses flowers as an ingredient in a serum, its sustainable operation means the unused parts go back in the soil as organic fertilizer for the next harvest.
From Guerlain partnering with a bee conservatory to sustainably source honey and royal jelly, to L'Occitane and its long-standing, fair-trade partnership with women in Burkina Faso to ethnically process shea butter, all these products have a sustainable story to tell. And you're not the only one showing you care by checking them out — these goodies are already best-sellers at Sephora. Check them out ahead.
Korres Golden Krocus Ageless Saffron Elixir Serum
Korres Golden Krocus Ageless Saffron Elixir Serum ($98) helps correct visible signs of ageing with its krocus flowers that bloom only one time per year in Kozani, Greece. These flowers are hand-picked and hand-separated to preserve their antioxidant properties. Then, the zero-waste, sustainable operation means the unused parts of the flowers are added to the soil as organic fertilizer for the following year's harvest.
L’Occitane Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Cream
L'Occitane Shea Butter Ultra Rich Body Cream ($44) is enriched with linseed, marshmallow, sweet almond, honey, and apricot oils, and is made up of 25 percent shea butter. Not only is this also a natural ingredient, L'Occitane has been working with the women of Burkina Faso who've produced shea butter in a sustainable and fair trade partnership since the 1980's. (There's also a top-selling 100 Percent Pure Shea Butter option.)
Guerlain Abeille Royale Youth Watery Anti-Ageing Oil
The Guerlain Abeille Royale Youth Watery Anti-Ageing Oil ($95-$135) uses honey and royal jelly from bees to nurture and repair skin. The company partnered with the Brittany Black Bee Conservatory to guarantee sustainable sourcing of these ingredients for this facial oil and the rest of the Abeille Royale collection, which also includes the best-selling Abeille Royale Radiant Ritual Value Set ($233) with an added serum and a lotion to the above oil.
Briogeo Colour Me Brilliant Mushroom + Bamboo Colour Protect Shampoo
"Briogeo Colour Me Brilliant Mushroom + Bamboo Colour Protect Shampoo ($28) and coordinating Colour Protect Conditioner ($28) help defend against dull or fading colour by using bamboo, a sustainable and natural source of silica to coat and protect hair. The product also includes a vegan keratin alternative — turkey tail mushroom extract — to support hair's strength naturally.
Biossance 100% Sugarcane Squalane
The Biossance 100% Sugarcane Squalane ($32) soothes redness in your skin and can add shine and tame frizz in your hair. Its squalane oil is 100 percent harvested from renewable sugarcane — and mimics the type of squalane produced by humans' bodies (that starts to decline in your 20's).
Kiehl’s Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado
The best-selling Kiehl's Creamy Eye Treatment with Avocado ($30-$48) uses natural ingredients including beta-carotene (an antioxidant found in many orange and red vegetables), shea butter (from the fruit of the African Karate tree) and avocado oil (from the fruit, of course). While 36 percent of their formulas contain at least one sustainable sourced raw material, Kiehl's is committed to upping this to at least 50 percent by 2020.
Bumble and bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil Balm-to-Oil Pre Shampoo Masque
Bumble and bumble Hairdresser's Invisible Oil Balm-to-Oil Pre Shampoo Masque ($43) hydrates hair with six signature oils: Argan, coconut, macadamia nut, sweet almond, safflower seed, and grapeseed. The silicone-free product begins as a solid and transforms into a liquid with the heat of your hands — and the sustainable palm oil that makes this happen is sourced from Honduras and Brazil.
Flora + Bast Age Adapting CBD Serum
Flora + Bast Age Adapting CBD Serum ($77) is an oil-only serum that contains more than 300mg of CBD. This now-popular ingredient helps to reduce redness and restore skin's youthful appearance. The serum is also free of sulphates, parabens, and formaldehydes, and the cannabis is sourced directly from farms that employ sustainable farming practices, and deliver a 100 percent water-free, food-grade CBD formula.
Dior Hydra Life Hydration Rescue Intense Sorbet Creme
Dior Hydra Life Hydration Rescue Intense Sorbet Creme ($69) nourishes and soothes dry skin on the face, eye contour, and neck, and even on hands, elbows, and knees. It uses mallow butter to support the skin's water retention and chamomile extract to calm irritation. What's more is it's eco-friendly, gentle on the skin, and even the cartons are printed with predominantly natural inks and produced using sustainable forest management methods.
Reverie Milk Anti-Frizz Leave-In Nourishing Treatment
Enriched with ingredients that come from natural sources like almonds, coconuts, and olives, the Reverie Milk Anti-Frizz Leave-In Nourishing Treatment ($42) moisturises hair without weighing it down. Its formula — which also includes 16 essential oils — is handcrafted in small batches with harvested, sustainable, and certified organic ingredients in California.
Clean Reserve — Skin
Clean Reserve — Skin ($98) is a cruelty-free, non-toxic fragrance with hints of musk and salted praline. At its centre is eco-conscious copaiba oil: Coming from the gum resin of trees found in South America, the company works directly with communities in the Amazon to provide financial and technical support to assure the sustainable sourcing of its copaiba oil.
Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate
Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate ($27-$125) does its work while you're sleeping. The lavender essential oil — when the plant is steam-distilled into a concentrated liquid essence — reduces blotchiness and inflammation from the day. The evening primrose oil is extracted from the ripe seeds of a flowering plant that blooms every other year, and works to maintain skin's elasticity.
The 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods Eau de Parfum
The 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods Eau de Parfum ($79) has notes of pear, rose, and vanilla, and is made with organic sugar cane alcohol to bond those fragrances together. What's more is that the fair-trade, organic vanilla comes from a sustainable cooperative in Madagascar that provides families with fair wages.
LASHFOOD Phyto-Medic Eyelash Enhancer
LASHFOOD Phyto-Medic Eyelash Enhancer ($78) aims to improve lash density, fullness, and length without synthetic dyes, fragrances or dangerous chemicals. In fact, 99 percent of the total ingredients are from natural origin, 25 percent come from organic farming, and even the packageing is made with sustainable materials.
Brigeo B. Well Vegan Omega 3, 6, 9 + Biotin Supplements for Healthy Hair
The Brigeo B. Well Vegan Omega 3, 6, 9 + Biotin Supplements for Healthy Hair ($38) are vegan-friendly, daily capsules to strengthen your hair follicles to help maintain fuller, less brittle hair. In addition to biotin, the product contains an algae-derived, omega-3 complex with Ahiflower — that's a sustainable, single-plant source for omega 3, 6, and 9 fatty acids.
ILIA Tinted Lip Conditioner
ILIA Tinted Lip Conditioner ($28) is a best-selling, organic lip tint coming in 16 shades — and several are made with 100 percent natural dye. All the colours are buildable, and free of toxins and harsh chemicals. ILIA is committed to adding natural ingredients whenever possible and, in this case, that includes hydrating cocoa butter and softening sesame seed oil.
Kiehl’s Calendula and Aloe Soothing Hydration Mask
The Kiehl's Calendula and Aloe Soothing Hydration Mask ($45) is a lightweight face gel with hand-picked calendula flower petals that are sun-dried without any artificial heat. These whole flower petals are the reason for the mask's golden colour, and also help to soothe the skin alongside hydrating aloe vera sourced from the leaf of the aloe vera plant.
KORA Organics Turmeric 2-in-1 Brightening and Exfoliating Mask
This KORA Organics Turmeric 2-in-1 Brightening and Exfoliating Mask ($48) helps to reduce the appearance of pores, and to improve uneven skin tone and texture. KORA Organics only uses naturally-sourced, sustainable, and environmentally-friendly exfoliants, like turmeric, rosehip seeds, Aspen bark, and papaya enzymes here.
MDSolarSciences Mineral Crème Broad Spectrum SPF 50 UVA-UVB Sunscreen
Inspired and developed by melanoma and skin cancer experts, the MDSolarSciences Mineral Crème Broad Spectrum SPF 50 UVA-UVB Sunscreen ($30) not only protects skin from the sun, it also includes antioxidants like green tea and pomegranate extract for radiant skin. The added zinc oxide is naturally derived and eco-certified, and even the outer packageing comes from a facility that uses sustainable wind energy.
Moon Juice Pearl
Moon Juice Pearl ($48) is traditionally used to stabilise emotions in Chinese medicine as a Shen tonic. It also contains 340 mg of calcium per serving — to give you an idea, a cup of milk has about 300 mg — for strong bones and nails. The pearl itself comes from sustainable freshwater farms and is ground into a powder that can be added to drinks like smoothies and coffee, or even brushed onto your skin directly.
