Style clinic

Dear Style Clinic

I am looking for beauty and makeup products that are refillable, so I can do my bit to minimise wastage. Which brands are offering this?

An increasing number of beauty brands are looking at offering refillable products. Lush, of course, has always led the way but others are also stepping up to try to save the planet from a mountain of plastic packaging.

L’Occitane has become a sustainable champion over the past few years and has now teamed up with TerraCycle to recycle all beauty empties – not just its own products – in-store, so you can take them there.

The French brand’s own packaging uses 90 per cent less plastic than most, using eco refill pouches, and it is working on replacing protective cellophane with a compostable alternative.

In terms of luxury brands, the new La Prairie Pure Gold Collection, quite possibly the most precious and costly skincare in the world, inspired by the golden hour of the Swiss Alps, using real gold particles on the skin for instant radiance and also infusing with a steady release of the active ingredients, comes in brushed metal casing designed to be kept while the inner glass vials are replaced by new ones. The refills cost the same as the original jars (£683) and the money saved goes to pioneering research into glaciology.

If it’s make-up you are after, Hourglass has come up with a fantastic refillable lipstick, the Confession Ultra Slim High Intensity Lipstick, which comes in 29 high-pigment shades, with the refill £22 as opposed to the original refillable wand at £33. Happy recycling.