Table of Contents
About Beautycounter
Beautycounter is a skincare and cosmetics brand that is on a mission to create safer makeup for both you and the planet by restricting over 1,800 toxic ingredients from its product formulas.
Counting over 480K followers on Instagram, this multiple-time Allure “Best of Beauty” winner has been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, and Happi Magazine, and many other publications.
Looking for clean beauty products? You may be on the right track. To find out for sure, have a read through this Beautycounter products review. We’ll give you a rundown of the brand and its bestsellers, check out promotions and discounts you can take advantage of, and reveal what customers have to say about the brand to help you shop with confidence.
Overview of Beautycounter
For decades, makeup and skincare products used synthetics and toxic ingredients to prolong their shelf lives and to serve as fillers. But concern for what we put into and onto our bodies, not to mention the planet, has raised the bar for beauty. Today, clean ingredients are now the number-one need expressed by consumers.
Enter Beautycounter. Founded in 2013 by entrepreneur Gregg Renfrew, whose successful bridal registry The Wedding List became the first acquisition of Martha Stewart Living, the brand has a passion for all things earth-friendly, and pushes the boundaries for cleaner formulas and more planet-loving practices.
Located in Santa Monica, California, Beautycounter sells through certified consultants. If you meet the qualifications, you can become a consultant through their training program.
Before we head into the brand’s product lineup, this Beautycounter products review will fill you in on the company’s pros and cons.
Pros
- Wide range of self-care products, from makeup to skincare to beauty tools
- More than 1,800 toxic ingredients are excluded from product formulas
- Brand has pledged to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to use sustainable packaging exclusively by 2025
- Transparency in ingredient lists
- Brand customer service resolves issues in a timely manner
- Installment payment option available via Klarna
- Sign up to the mailing list to get 20% off your first order
- Members get access to tons of perks
- 60-day return window, even on used products
Cons
- Certain products do use some synthetic ingredients
- No international shipping
With its inclusive collection of makeup, skincare and body-care products, and beauty tools, Beautycounter is determined to revolutionize clean beauty. In the next section of this Beautycounter products review, we’ll focus on some of the best-loved Beautycounter makeup and skincare products.
Beautycounter Products Review
It’s one thing to enhance appearances, but in today’s world, we need more out of our makeup. The bestselling Beautycounter products featured below are formulated to enhance your natural beauty while protecting your skin and the planet at the same time.
Beautycounter Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm Review
Skin is naturally vibrant, but pollution, stress, and a poor diet can all cause it to look a little lackluster. The Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm swoops in with powerful plant moisturizers like jojoba, avocado, and mango seed butter to hydrate and brighten dull-looking skin. Use this soothing balm night and day to boost your skin’s glow.
A 2.5 fl oz jar of this radiance-boosting Beautycounter cleansing balm is $72.
Beautycounter Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer Review
Get your shine and protect yourself from the sun with the Beautycounter Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer. This lightweight cream works to boost your skin’s natural glow and correct uneven tone using black currant seed oil and peony root extract, while skin-loving vitamin C steps in to brighten your skin’s appearance and protect it from free radicals.
Best of all, the formula includes a reef-safe SPF 20 mineral sunscreen to shield you from the rays and guard against damage. Available in six shades ranging from fair to deep, the Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer is $45.
Beautycounter Counter+ Charcoal Facial Mask Review
Charcoal has been used in traditional medicine for centuries: it has the incredible ability to draw out toxins to purify and cleanse the body, skin, and even teeth. But the Counter+ Charcoal Facial Mask isn’t your everyday charcoal mask—no sir!
Using salicylic acid and lactic acid to slough off dead skin, peppermint extract to invigorate, and apple extract to soothe, this renewing Beautycounter charcoal mask detoxifies and then some!
It also has an incredibly rich consistency—it’s as if Beautycounter literally ground up charcoal and made it into a paste. (And judging by the minimal ingredients, that doesn’t sound too far off from how the brand actually made this—except that it added in a handful of beauty-boosting extras as well.)
The Counter+ Charcoal Facial Mask comes in a 60ml tube, and sells for $45.
Beautycounter Countertime Ultra Renewal Eye Cream Review
There is beauty in aging, but it can often be hard to think of getting older as a gift instead of a curse. Skin loosens, wrinkles form, dark spots emerge—and since our skin is thinnest around our eyes, those are the first places to show those telltale signs of age.
The Countertime Ultra Renewal Eye Cream uses bakuchiol, Swiss Alpine rose extract, and Persian silk tree extract to hydrate, tighten, protect, and brighten skin. Use this twice a day (morning and night) and prepare to turn back the clock. You can get this age-defying Beautycounter eye cream for $69.
Beautycounter Satin Powder Blush Review
Blush is an incredibly versatile form of makeup, with roots dating back to ancient Egypt. It’s the perfect touch for a dewy, summery look, but it’s equally pleasing in the fall and winter months, when it can accent soft curls and cozy, chunky knit sweaters.
Beautycounter’s Satin Powder Blush comes in seven shades to complement a range of skin tones and seasons. It glides on to your cheekbones evenly and blends invisibly with your natural tone, with the matte finish giving your skin a soft, natural glow look.
This top-shelf Beautycounter blush can be yours for $30.
Beautycounter Volumizing Mascara Review
We’ve all been there: whether it’s spidery, tacky, smudgy, or a dozen other brands of bad, there’s nothing like poor mascara to drop your cosmetic-boosted self-confidence right back down.
But then a hero comes along, with the strength to make you carry on and cast your fears aside—a Beautycounter mascara with staying power that lengthens but doesn’t clump, is made with natural fibers, and won’t flake off throughout the day. It’s called the Volumizing Mascara, and it’s got all of the above and easy removal to boot.
When you feel like hope is gone, look at your Volumizing Mascara and be strong. Your new cosmetics hero retails for $30.
Beautycounter Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30 Review
It’s hot out there, but UVA and UVB rays don’t need heat to harm your skin. Depending on your skin type, you could begin taking on damage within 5-10 minutes of being exposed to sunlight at any time of the year.
The Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Lotion SPF 30 is lightweight and fast-absorbing. Thanks to the non-nano zinc (which won’t penetrate your skin) and California poppy, this mineral sunscreen won’t dry out or leave skin greasy as other brands do.
Protecting yourself should never mean putting others at harm, which is why this lotion is reef-safe to prevent coral bleaching and harm to vital algae. Providing coverage for up to 40 minutes in the water, this body- and ocean-friendly Beautycounter sunscreen is $40.
Beautycounter Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist SPF 30 Review
Did you know that aerosols contribute to global warming by depleting the ozone? And did you also know that we don’t need aerosols for a spray bottle to work? It’s true, and the Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist SPF 30 proves it.
This user-friendly spray bottle allows for even and all-over application to ensure you’re completely covered. With the same formulation of non-nano zinc oxide and California poppy as the brand’s classic sunscreen, this reef-safe spray lasts double the time in water: a full 80 minutes!
Stay protected with the Countersun Mineral Sunscreen Mist SPF 30 for $36.
Beautycounter Flawless in Five Review
With everything you need to get impeccable beauty in five minutes, this six-piece set is completely customizable to your skin tone and preferences. Assemble your kit with the following steps:
- Choose between the Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer or the Skin Twin Featherweight Foundation and pick your color
- Pick your shade of the Skin Twin Creamy Concealer
- Select whether you’d like the Color Define Brow Pencil or Brilliant Brow Gel and choose your color
- Pick the Volumizing Mascara or Lengthening Mascara (black only)
- Choose your Satin Powder Blush shade
- Select your desired color of Beyond Gloss
Beautycounter makes suggestions based on the shade of foundation you choose, so don’t worry if you’re not sure which color of brow pencil or blush is best for you. But if you want to swim against the current and opt for a darker or lighter shade than the one recommended, you do you!
Tailor your beauty regimen to your own unique needs with Flawless in Five, a $190 value that you can get for just $150.
Is Beautycounter Good For Aging Skin?
The brand has a line specifically for aging skin called Countertime. Though all Beautycounter products include skin-nourishing ingredients, the items in this collection are specially formulated to tighten, brighten, and even out skin tone to reduce the signs of aging.
Is Beautycounter Really Clean?
Take a peek at any Beautycounter ingredients list, and you’ll see how clean this brand really is. Although some of its products do contain synthetics and chemicals, these are used infrequently or in very small amounts or seldomly.
An analysis of Beautycounter on the site I Read Labels For You confirmed that the brand does not use a ton of ingredients considered high-risk and controversial, as well as no formaldehyde-releasing toxins. That said, the toxin phenoxyethanol is present in some items, and others use synthetic colors.
Does Beautycounter Use Hyaluronic Acid?
Certain Beautycounter products use Hyaluronic acid, such as the Countermatch Intense Moisture Serum. This item actually uses two different types of the moisture-sealing acid to hydrate and protect skin.
Who Is Beautycounter For?
Beautycounter has a range of products for all types of skin. From acne control serums to youth-regenerating eye creams, the brand offers skincare solutions for women from 20 to 70+.
The brand goes for a rather mature look in its packaging and presentation, using sleek gold lettering and smooth, muted colors rather than the bubble letters and neon used by brands that target those in their teens. That said, although this is a feminine-looking brand there’s no reason men can’t use it as well.
Comparison: Beautycounter vs. LAWLESS
Clean makeup is all the rage. No one wants toxic chemicals and harsh irritants in their beauty products anymore. So it comes as no surprise that other brands on the market offer products that closely match Beautycounter’s.
In this section of our Beautycounter products review, we’ll be comparing our featured brand to LAWLESS—a similar clean beauty brand whose major difference from our primary subject is that it does not offer skincare items.
LAWLESS offers a broad spectrum of makeup for face, eyes, and lips. All product ingredients are listed in full on their respective webpages. Beautycounter does this as well, and goes a step further by including information on its products’ toxicity tests.
LAWLESS points out that some of its product packaging is recyclable, that its makeup is cruelty-free, and that some items are vegan. But this isn’t a patch on Beautycounter, which puts its social and environmental responsibility front and center.
Beautycounter is very strongly opinionated about how it impacts the world. In addition to sourcing its ingredients sustainably and striving for carbon neutrality by 2030, the brand also aims to offer completely biodegradable and recyclable packaging by 2025.
We compared the LAWLESS One and Done Volumizing Mascara with the Beautycounter Volumizing Mascara to see how the products stack up against one another.
- LAWLESS’s mascara is $25 and boasts vegan ingredients, results from clinical studies, and recyclable packaging
- Beautycounter’s product is $29, its webpage shows results from clinical trials, and it includes clean ingredients and comes in recyclable packaging.
The differences between the two are pretty negligible, so if you’re looking to save a few bucks and want a vegan product, LAWLESS is the one to choose. If you’d rather go with a brand with a more potent sustainability mission, Beautycounter looks to be the better bet.
Beautycounter Reviews: What Do Customers Think?
When you buy anything, especially makeup, you want to know if it works. Products can claim a million and one things, but how they hold up to in-person use is what makes or breaks them.
If you came to this Beautycounter products review hoping to read about real customer feedback, then you came to the right place. In this section, we’ll reveal our findings after a web search for only the most helpful customer reviews. Let’s get to it.
Hitting up the brand’s website first, we rounded up ratings for a few of its bestsellers and compiled them in the handy little list below:
- Beyond Gloss—4.9/5 stars from 1,900 reviews
- Countersun Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30—4.8/5 stars from 1,287 reviews
- Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer—4.8/5 stars from 2,704 reviews
- Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm—4.9/5 stars from 2,209 reviews
- Counter+ Charcoal Facial Mask—4.9/5 stars from 1,953 reviews
As you can see, we found a ton of consistently excellent ratings for the brand’s products, and a wealth of choices for customer feedback. We decided to check out reviews of the Counter+ Lotus Glow Cleansing Balm, as this product makes some pretty bold claims.
Does it hold up to the test? Customers say it does. “It cleanses, softens and keeps my skin supple. Often cleansers will dry out my skin, but this one has the right balance for me!” reads one representative review. Reports of great smell and feel, as well as miraculous healing powers, are also common in the comments section.
What didn’t buyers enjoy about the cleansing balm? Mainly that some have difficulty with rinsing it off their face because of its oily consistency. The formula is a balm and designed to be hydrating, so it’s very possible that this can happen. Some shoppers suggest using a washcloth to help take it off.
A skeptical Beautycounter products review on The Healthy Maven (a clean beauty and wellness blog) recounted the reviewer’s experience of using a selection of the brand’s makeup and skincare products. Although the reviewer states that she was not expecting to find any pros about the brand, after 30 days she’d compiled a lengthy list. Here are a few highlights:
- “Vast” product selection
- “Decent quality”
- The brand actually cares “about cleaner products”
As for the cons, because The Healthy Maven is all about non-toxic products, the fact that Beautycounter’s isn’t squeaky clean was a major disappointment. “I believe they use more synthetics to increase the shelf-life, which I understand but personally prefer products that use fewer and less synthetic ingredients,” she concludes.
That said, for anyone new to green beauty, Beautycounter is a great place to start due to its wide selection of products.
Next, this Beautycounter products review buzzed over to the Better Business Bureau to see how well the brand deals with customer issues. We found that Beautycounter has an A+ score and just 15 complaints, due to the fact that its customer service responds to buyers quickly and has resolved all issues pertaining to the complaints.
So to sum up this section of our Beautycounter products review, it appears that the brand deals with customer complaints promptly, makes products that do what they claim, and uses mostly clean ingredients.
Is Beautycounter Worth It?
We think so, yes. Some Beautycounter products can be pricey, but all high-quality skincare is. The brand takes care in deriving ingredients from sustainable sources, and while its products aren’t vegan, they do help the planet out in other ways such as recyclable packaging and carbon neutrality.
If you’re extremely picky about ingredients, Beautycounter may not be right for you due to its very limited use of synthetics and artificial colors. But if you want a one-stop shop for mostly clean, quality, effective beauty products, then this Beautycounter products review suggests you give this brand a try.
Beautycounter Promotions & Discounts
The cost of beauty products can really add up, and every little discount helps. While compiling this Beautycounter products review, we searched high and low on the brand’s website for deals. Here’s what we discovered:
- Get a 20% off Beautycounter promo code to use on your first order by signing up to the mailing list
- Become a member and receive:
- Free welcome gift
- Discounts
- Free shipping on orders of $100 and over
- 10% credit
Where to Buy Beautycounter
You can buy Beautycounter products directly from beautycounter.com, or from one of the brand’s consultants. Select items are also available at Sephora.
FAQ
Where is Beautycounter made?
Beautycounter states that most of its products are made in the US, while others are made in various locations around the world. For example, the brand’s pressed powders are made in Italy, and its makeup brushes are manufactured in China.
What is Beautycounter’s Shipping Policy?
Beautycounter offers the following shipping options:
- Standard (5-14 business days): $7-$30
- 2-Day (2-4 business days): $13-$40
- Next Day (1-3 business days): $20-$45
Processing time is typically 1-2 business days. Once your order ships, you’ll receive a confirmation email with a tracking link that you can use to follow your package’s progress.
What is Beautycounter’s Return Policy?
You can return your Beautycounter products within 60 days from the date of purchase, even if they’ve been used. The return process is pretty straightforward, and is outlined below:
- Head to the returns page and enter your order number and shipping zip code
- Go through the steps listed and print your prepaid return shipping label
- Pack up your item in its original packaging and attach the label
- Drop off the return package at the nearest USPS location
How to Contact Beautycounter
We hope that you found all of the information you came looking for in this Beautycounter products review. If you still have questions, you can give the company a call at 1-888-701-9899, or use the contact form on the brand website.
Beautycounter customer service hours are Monday-Friday, 6am-6pm and Saturday-Sunday, 9am-2pm.
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