I'll be honest, I've always meant to buy refillable beauty products. While I have my best moisturisers for dry skin and my go-to best shampoos for curly hair, popping those single-use bottles in the recycling is often met with a slight pang of guilt - especially when a bottle has an option for a refill insert that's just a bit out of my budget.
Which is why I was genuinely giddy when L'Oréal Groupe announced the biggest edition yet of its #JoinTheRefillMovement campaign, timed to World Refill Day (that's today, 16th June, if you needed the nudge). Because this isn't a token gesture from a single brand, it's 18 brands and 28 products across skincare, fragrance, haircare and makeup, all making a case for refillable beauty at the same time.
And some of the names involved are ones we all already use and love.
The L'Oréal sustainable beauty refills I'm actually excited to use
Why refillable beauty actually makes sense now
For a long time, refillable options in beauty felt like a niche, slightly awkward thing - not always available in your usual shops, and not always covering the products you'd actually want to repurchase. That's changed. L'Oréal's campaign is specifically designed to close the gap between wanting to shop more sustainably and actually doing it, by making refills more visible, more accessible and, crucially, better value.
The packaging savings alone are worth paying attention to. Opt for a Lancôme Absolue Longevity Soft Cream Refill instead of repurchasing the standard jar - a solid addition to any skincare routine - and you're reducing 100% of the glass, 95% of the metal, 42% of the plastic and 36% of the cardboard. Those are real, immediate reductions, not vague future pledges.
The campaign spans L'Oréal's full portfolio, from luxury to high street. On the luxe end, brands like Lancôme, YSL, Prada and Helena Rubinstein are involved - including some of the best cleansers and best face moisturisers in the business. At the more accessible end, Garnier is joining for the first time with refills across two of its Ultra Doux haircare collections, which feels significant for anyone who wants to shop more sustainably without spending a fortune.
Meanwhile, La Roche-Posay, Vichy and CeraVe are entering the refill space for the first time, which is a big deal for anyone whose routine relies on dermatological skincare. If you've been loyal to any of these brands for years - our beauty team definitely have - the fact that you can now refill rather than repurchase feels like a genuine step forward.
There's also movement on the professional side, with Redken and L'Oréal Professionnel scaling up globally, so if you colour your hair and rely on professional aftercare products, that's worth knowing too.
For those of us who've been trying to build a more considered skincare collection over the years, it all adds up to a moment where choosing a refill genuinely feels like the easier, smarter option for your budget and your skincare routine - not a compromise.
