Clean Cosmetic Brands (and Where to Find Them)

These days, more and more people are turning to cleaner, healthier makeup and skincare brands to improve their well-being. But when so many cult favorites include potentially (or proven) harmful ingredients, it’s hard to find clean brands you can trust, especially if you’re new to the clean beauty space.

That’s why I searched the internet for the best makeup, skincare, haircare, and fragrance brands that exclusively use clean ingredients. Let’s dive in.

What Makes a Cosmetic Brand “Clean”?

“Clean” is a tricky term when it comes to cosmetics. Everyone has their own concerns and preferences and even their own definitions of what “clean” means.

Generally, cosmetics brands that claim to be clean are free of ingredients and processes that have some evidence or theory of causing some type of harm to users, whether that’s endocrine disruption, skin irritation, or even the inclusion of carcinogens.

Some of the ingredients often excluded from clean beauty brands include:

• Parabens
• Formaldehyde
• Synthetic fragrances
• Phthalates
• Heavy metals (lead, mercury, etc.)
• Petroleum distillates 

It’s important to note that “clean” makeup does receive criticism for creating a stigma around some ingredients that may not necessarily be harmful. For example, parabens are common preservatives used to prevent mold and bacteria from growing in cosmetic products, and they’ve earned a reputation of being “bad” when in product formulas. The studies showing they are hormone disruptors have since been debunked, yet the stigma remains, and some cautious buyers would rather be safe than sorry, choosing to shop “clean” only.

Clean Cosmetic Brands at a Glance

Brand	Best For	Price Range*	Bestsellers	Where to Buy
KLUR	Luxury skincare	$40–$150	Powers of Ten eye serum, Supreme Seed mask, Gentle Matter cleanser	Credo Beauty, Goop
4AM Skin	Lazygirl skincare	$16–$120	Clean Sheets, undereye masks, Rise serum	Target, Thirteen Lune, Bloomingdale’s, Amazon
Ensō Apothecary	Bodycare	$7–$150	Massage Body Bar Soaps, Shavasana Bath Soak, Body Exfoliating Wash Net	Thirteen Lune, wholesale retailers
Ilé Olomu	Fragrance	$10–$130	Verdant, Milora	Stéle, Thirteen Lune
Jones Road	“No makeup” makeup	$24–$103	Miracle Balm, Just Enough Tinted Moisturizer, What the Foundation	Liberty London, Walmart, Amazon, physical storefronts
Prose	Haircare	$14 (with subscription)–$56	Customized shampoo, conditioner, and masks	Exclusive to their website due to customizations
Burt’s Bees	Affordable clean beauty	$3–$25	Lip balm, hand salve, nourishing body oil	Major drugstores or big-box stores

*Note: Pricing verified at time of writing, not including sales or other promotions. Subject to change.

The Brands in Detail

KLUR

Best for luxury skincare

If you’re looking for a downright luxurious experience with skincare that only uses clean ingredients, try KLUR.

This clean skincare brand, created by an esthetician with more than 15 years of experience, is designed to inspire a careful daily routine for improved skin quality over time. Every skincare product from Klur is free from parabens, fragrance, phthalates, and dyes.

Their serums, creams, and oils are formulated from natural ingredients like plant-derived extracts and clay, like their popular Powers of Ten Eye & Line Support serum and their Supreme Seed Delicate Purification Mask that’s formulated from cacao and bentonite clay.

You can find this brand at online retailers like Credo Beauty and Goop. 

Ballpark Price Range: $40–$150

4AM Skin

Best for lazygirl skincare

Now, if you’re more the type who’s lucky if you remember to use a makeup wipe before you fall asleep, 4AM Skin may be more your speed. And this brand is going viral right now for good reason: They offer low-effort, all-in-one skincare for the laziest versions of ourselves. 

All of their products (which include only two serums, makeup wipes, and undereye patches for now) are cruelty free, vegan, pH balanced, dermatologist tested, and free from harmful chemicals.

Their most popular product is their makeup wipes, called Clean Sheets, which are “ultra-saturated, serum-infused cleansing wipes that remove makeup, sunscreen, sweat, and daily grime.” They provide a full skincare experience in one wipe, removing makeup, cleansing skin, and infusing it with vitamin B and centella asiatica for hydrated, balanced skin.

4AM Skin is available in many places, including online at Thirteen Lune and Amazon and in stores at Target and Bloomingdale’s.

Ballpark Price Range: $16–$120

Ensō Apothecary

Best for bodycare

For clean beauty from head to toe, Ensō Apothecary is a “holistic self-care boutique” with ethically sourced and produced soaps, body butters, and bath salts.

Started in the founder’s kitchen, Ensō Apothecary offers products that are made using only natural, plant-derived ingredients and are cruelty free, vegan, ethically sourced, and eco-friendly.

Their biggest sellers are their Massage Body Bar Soaps, made from just a few all natural ingredients: coconut oil, charcoal powder or bentonite clay, and natural essential oils (depending on the scent). It’s gentle enough for sensitive skin but effective enough to fight acne, and it features a textured design with large, raised bumps for a soothing massage effect.

This brand is more difficult to find (outside of their website) for the average consumer, as they primarily sell wholesale to small businesses that want to carry their product in store. They do, however, offer a subscription and a few different beauty bundles, and they have some items available for individual purchase at Thirteen Lune.

Ballpark Price Range: $7–$150

Ilé Olomu

Best for fragrance

If you’re looking for your signature scent for the season, look no further than award-winning fragrance house Ilé Olomu.

Created to “capture the essence of West Africa,” this clean fragrance brand features rich, botanical notes like green plantain, Milo chocolate, and ginger. Plus, Ilé Olomu is crafted in Switzerland, which means it’s subjected to rigorous European Union cosmetic safety regulations, which ban and/or heavily restrict more than 1,600 potentially harmful chemicals (a longer list than the U.S.).

Their most popular scent, Verdant, is a warm, spicy, woodsy scent with green plantain accord as one of the top notes. Another bestseller, Milora, leans more floral and gourmand, with golden bergamot at the forefront. 

You can find these iconic scents at Stéle or Thirteen Lune. 

Ballpark Price Range: $10–$130

Jones Road

Best for “no makeup” makeup

“No makeup” makeup is having a moment right now, and no clean brand is doing it like Jones Road, which offers products that can be used as part of an overall look or on their own for light coverage and a touch of color.

Their bestseller is the Miracle Balm—a highlighter, blush, or bronzer, depending on what shade you choose—designed to be worn to add a natural glow on top of a base layer or on its own for a natural look. The shade selection warrants mentioning, as clean beauty brands often have a small range of shades available. Offering bronzers/highlighters/blushes for deeper skin tones, as they do, makes the brand more accessible for a wider audience.

All of their products are free from sulfates, parabens, phthalates, PEGs, cyclic silicones, EDTA, BPA, and more. Their products are cruelty free, and although some of their products are formulated with beeswax and carmine, there are some vegan products available as well.

You can buy Jones Road at one of their multiple physical locations or at Walmart, Liberty London, and Amazon.

Ballpark Price Range: $24–$103

Prose

Best for haircare

Another viral clean beauty brand is customized haircare brand Prose. 

Prose offers truly unique formulas of shampoo, conditioner, and hair masks created specifically for your hair based on an in-depth quiz about your hair type and concerns. 

All products are free from parabens, phthalates, GMOs, alcohol, and, importantly, cruelty. It’s also suitable for all types of hair as it’s sulfate free, non-stripping, and keratin and color safe.

Prose is intended to be a subscription service where customers sign up for auto-shipments, but they do offer one-off purchases for a higher price. The products are only sold on their direct website.

Ballpark Price Range: $14 (with subscription)–$56

Burt’s Bees

Best for affordable clean beauty

Last but not least is longtime drugstore favorite Burt’s Bees.

The first clean brand many of us were probably introduced to, Burt’s Bee’s offers more than just natural beeswax lip balm. Aside from balms, other lip products include shimmers, glosses, and tinted oils. They also offer skincare including acne solutions, cleansers, moisturizers, and even sun protection.

All of Burt’s Bees products are free from phthalates, parabens, petrolatum, and sodium lauryl sulfate. They’re also considered a sustainable and eco-conscious brand. While they are cruelty free, most of their products use beeswax (hence the name), so they aren’t considered vegan.

Burt’s Bees is available at every major drugstore and retail store in the U.S., including Walgreens, CVS, Target, Walmart, and more, as well as their own site and Amazon.

Ballpark Price Range: $3–$25

What’s the Best Clean Cosmetic Brand?

Considering everyone’s needs and goals in terms of cosmetics are different, it’s hard to say if there is just one best clean brand.

When it comes to clean beauty, there are options at every price point for every need. Brands like 4AM Skin, KLUR, Ensō Apothecary, Ilé Olomu, Jones Road, Prose, and Burt’s Bees offer a variety of beauty products that are free from harmful chemicals, giving you the opportunity to enhance your glow with a more natural approach. 

Luckily, clean beauty is no longer as hard to find as it used to be, and there are options readily available both in person and online. Brick-and-mortar stores like Ulta and Bluemercury make clean shopping accessible for a wide market, while online retailers like Thirteen Lune can tailor their curated selections to their mission of being globally inclusive. 

No matter where you get your clean products, if they’re from one of the brands I included here, you can feel confident about trusting the ingredients you’re putting on your skin.