Glam game-changers

Embrace the spirit of sustainability with refillables and multitasking make-up that cut back on waste

It’s January – a time for clean slates and good intentions. In that spirit I give you mottainai. It’s a word I heard at Shiseido’s 150th birthday conference last year amid its environmental goal to achieve 100 per cent sustainable packaging by 2025. Shiseido translates this Japanese word as ‘only what you need’ (though it also means ‘what a waste’ and has become a slogan for Japanese environmentalists).

Shiseido is certainly making efforts to be more eco. Its latest skincare launch, Bio-Performance Skin Filler Serum (2 €255; refills €220, shiseido.co.uk), is a reusable duo. This interesting bit of skincare tech essentially collapses hydrating hyaluronic acid molecules so they can penetrate via your night cream, and the daytime serum re-expands them, thereby delivering greater moisture and plumping benefits.

Finnish brand Lumene is big in the circular beauty arena, collaborating with food manufacturers to repurpose waste for use as beauty product ingredients. It’s also involved in the conservation of Finland’s forests and wetlands. Using 45 per cent lighter jars saves 40 tons of plastic annually and last year the brand introduced refills in its Lähde Nordic Hydra range (1 from

€17.50, marksandspencer.com).

Jo Loves, founded by Jo Malone, has introduced a refillable candle for its popular

Pomelo range – something she says she’s wanted to do since the brand was founded ten years ago (4 €62; refill €50, joloves.com). For a super-luxe option look to

Perfumer H, founded by Lyn Harris, whose glorious handblown candle jars (Honey is a current love of mine) can be refilled (3 from €92, perfumerh.com). Clients post back jars from around the world. The brand also offers a fragrance refill service (from €160).

Perfume, generally, is improving eco-wise. Lancôme

has just reconfigured the bottle for its modern floral classic La Vie Est Belle to make it refillable (5

100ml refill €99, boots.ie).

For make-up, I’m obsessing again about 90s classic the

Trish McEvoy Makeup Planner (6 from €55, libertylondon.com). It’s like a Filofax for cosmetics with each page containing magnets to simply clip on what you need without resorting to pre-selected palettes. Though there have been modifications over the years, and the pouch is now vegan leather, the Planner is largely unchanged and is the epitome of using – and buying – just what you need.

The spirit of mottainai is also at the heart of make-up brand,

Code8. Founder Sophia Chikovani told me recently it’s about a well-curated range full of multifunctional make-up options ‘so you can wear the same product from day to night, building a different look as desired’ rather than having multiple products. Try 5Secs Express lip and cheek tint (7 €33, codeeight.com) – also good on eyes – and the Blush Palette (8 €41), which acts as blusher, highlighter and eyeshadow.

The Japanese word mottainai means ‘only what you need’