In an industry defined by luxury and ritual, refillable packaging is emerging as the next frontier for beauty brands. Across high-end perfumes and everyday skincare, refillable packaging can deepen consumer engagement and create long-term value for beauty companies. 

Still, success across refillable formats depends on the details: consumers need packaging that’s durable and travel-ready, and a refill process that rivals the convenience of single-use. Currently, six pioneering companies are leading the way. 

How Brands Turn Up the Momentum

Refills might still feel new to brand managers, but with more options across brands, consumers are increasingly familiar with the offering. A recent survey of 2,251 women found the majority (59%) had purchased at least one refillable beauty product in the past 12 months. These women had experience with and were open to various types of refillable packaging — 44% preferred refills that can be poured into reusable containers, like lotions and fragrances, while 38% preferred refills that are inserted into the original packaging, like compact replacements. 

Recyclability Can Fall Short

What about recyclability for beauty packaging? While it remains important to consumers, in practice, it hasn’t worked out the way brands or consumers have hoped. Right now, pumps, caps, tiny formats, and multi-material packs still end up in the trash. It’s why the Sustainable Packaging Coalition has identified Beauty as a key focus for reuse strategies. To achieve meaningful sustainable gains, the industry needs to shift its attention to refillable packaging. From perfumes to shampoos, refillable packaging offers a way to cut waste, deepen consumer engagement, and reimagine how beauty products are delivered. 

Learning from Successful Brands

Here’s what we can learn from the pioneering brands paving the way for a new era of sustainable beauty packaging:  

Six pioneering brands that are getting refills right. Here’s how:

1. Making It Timeless: La Bouche Rouge 

As one of the first beauty brands to offer refills, La Bouche Rouge brings a “designed to last” approach to their products. The compacts, lipsticks, and perfumes are designed to be endlessly refillable, with a timeless leather design that builds on the idea that beauty products can be classic. 

2. Making It Buzzy — Prada Paradoxe from L’Oréal 

L’Oréal has gone big with refills, working to build cultural momentum by inviting consumers to join them in a new refill movement. Part of the strategy involves establishing refills as “the new cool” with the help of media activations and celebrity endorsements. With Emma Watson demonstrating just how easy it is to refill Prada Paradox, the brand’s first refillable perfume, refills become the fresh, modern choice for consumers. 

3. Making It Luxurious—Kjaer Weis 

Another pioneer offering refills since 2010, the Kjaer Weis brand seems built on the marriage of beauty and sustainability. Their signature packaging uses zamac, a durable alloy of high-strength metals that creates a luxurious outer compact meant to be shown and kept like a piece of jewelry. This tactic not only builds the durability needed for repeat uses, but it also creates new aesthetic value for consumers. 

4. Making it convenient— Izzy 

Not all refillable beauty needs to be at a premium price. With its under $20 refillable mascara, Izzy meets everyday consumers on price while satisfying a desire for convenience. Their “clean beauty on repeat” program offers a simple solution to beauty waste: choose your products, pick your refill schedule, then send back the empty in a prepaid, reusable mailer. They’ll clean and reuse it, doing all the extra work. 

5. Making it rewarding — Kiehl’s 

Consumers want to be able to get their favorite everyday products in refills, without being asked to switch to new brands. Kiehl’s delivers on this key need, offering their most popular and essential products, like facial cream, moisturizer, soap, and shampoo, in refillable pouches. The pouches can be used to refill their jars and reward consumers with a “per ml” discount. 

6. Making it travel-ready —Uni

Refills can deliver new value to consumers by giving them “travel-ready” versions of their favorite products — because refillable inserts can double as the product consumers take with them when traveling. Australian body care brand Uni has designed all of their products in refillable aluminum packaging, with smaller mini travel versions that are easy to pack and easy to refill. 

Gaining Ground

What do these six pioneers have in common? They’ve figured out refillable packaging that elevates consumer benefits without forcing compromises. They’ve elevated high-quality materials, new formats and sizes, and a focus on new norms that make refill more convenient, cooler, and more beautiful than single-use formats. Across Beauty, refills are gaining ground and recyclability is lagging. Brands that invest in value-creating refillable packaging today will own tomorrow’s loyalty.

About the Author
Olga Kachook is SPC Director at GreenBlue, where she leads the Sustainable Packaging Coalition in supporting its members’ packaging initiatives with resources and collaborations around innovation, policy, packaging design, and recovery. Her background includes expertise in reusable and refillable packaging, compostable materials, bioplastics, and food waste recycling. Prior to joining GreenBlue, she led corporate sustainability and waste initiatives at World Centric, Etsy, Cascade Designs, and Cascadia Consulting. Kachook has a master’s degree in environmental management from Yale University’s School of Environment, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Washington.

Photo: Adobe Stock/ shahjalal (Generated with AI)