“Can you make this formula clean?”

This is a common request cosmetic manufacturers receive from beauty brands. But before formulation begins, one important question needs to be answered:

Which Clean Beauty standard should the product follow?

Different retailers and brands may have different ingredient requirements. For example, Sephora uses Clean at Sephora, Ulta Beauty uses its Made Without List™ under Conscious Beauty, and IPSY has developed The IPSY Clean Standard.

For brands developing color cosmetics, defining the target standard early can help reduce unnecessary reformulation and make communication with the manufacturer much clearer.


Is There a Universal Clean Beauty Certificate?

One common question from emerging beauty brands is: “Can you provide a Clean Beauty certificate?”

There is no single universal Clean Beauty certificate that automatically confirms compliance with every retailer or Clean Beauty program.

Major retailers and platforms establish their own criteria, and a beauty brand may also have its own Restricted Substance List (RSL). Therefore, a more useful question is:

“Can you review this formula against the retailer standard or RSL that our brand needs to follow?”

This gives the formulation and regulatory teams a clearer development target.


What Should Brands Tell Their Cosmetic Manufacturer?

A clear development brief can save significant time during formulation. Before starting a Clean Beauty project, brands should ideally provide:

  1. Target market: For example: United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Japan, or multiple markets.
  2. Target retailer: For example: Sephora, Ulta Beauty, IPSY, or another retailer.
  3. Required Clean Beauty standard or RSL: Provide the latest version whenever possible.
  4. Additional brand requirements: For example: vegan, cruelty-free, talc-free, silicone-free, or other ingredient restrictions.
  5. Product performance expectations: Such as high payoff, soft-focus effect, long wear, silky texture, glow, skincare benefits, or specific sensory preferences.

Why Is Clean Beauty More Challenging in Color Cosmetics?

Color cosmetics often rely on the interaction of many raw materials. For a pressed powder, blush, bronzer, highlighter, or eyeshadow, formulators may need to consider:

  • Pigments
  • Pearls
  • Fillers
  • Binders
  • Surface-treated powders
  • Texture modifiers
  • Functional ingredients
  • Preservatives where applicable

Changing or removing one ingredient can influence:

  • Texture
  • Pigment dispersion
  • Pressability
  • Payoff
  • Adhesion
  • Wear
  • Slip
  • Blurring performance
  • Stability

This is why developing Clean Beauty color cosmetics should not simply be treated as removing unwanted ingredients from an existing formula. It should be approached as a full formulation development project with a clearly defined target standard.


Clean Beauty Is a Balance Between Requirements and Performance

For brands, the goal should not only be: 
“How many ingredients can we remove?”

A better question may be: 
“How can we meet our target ingredient requirements while still delivering the product experience consumers expect?”

This balance is especially important in powder makeup, where changes in raw materials can directly affect pickup, payoff, adhesion, texture, pressability, and long-term stability.

Successful Clean Beauty product development therefore requires collaboration between the brand, formulation team, regulatory team, and manufacturer.


Developing Clean Color Cosmetics with YCY Cosmetics

YCY Cosmetics is a Taiwan-based color cosmetics OEM/ODM manufacturer with more than 30 years of cosmetics manufacturing experience. Our OEM/ODM process covers product concept, formulation, packaging, sample approval, manufacturing, filling and packing, quality inspection, and delivery.

When a customer requests a clean-concept product, the development discussion should begin by understanding:

  • Target market
  • Retailer requirements
  • Restricted Substance List (RSL)
  • Additional ingredient or claim requirements
  • Expected texture and product performance

Depending on the project requirements, development directions may include:

  • Pressed powder
  • Blush
  • Bronzer and contour
  • Highlighter
  • Eyeshadow
  • Loose and setting powder
  • Foundation and complexion products
  • Other color cosmetics

Rather than treating “Clean Beauty” as one universal formulation category, we believe the development target should first be clearly defined so that ingredient requirements and product performance can be evaluated together.


Planning a Clean Beauty Color Cosmetic Project?

If your brand is developing a product for a specific retailer, market, or Restricted Substance List, share your target requirements with our team.

YCY Cosmetics can review your project requirements and discuss suitable formulation and product development directions.


Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a universal Clean Beauty certificate?
No. There is no single universal Clean Beauty certificate that covers every retailer or brand standard. The applicable retailer criteria or brand RSL should be identified first.

Can a cosmetics manufacturer follow a brand’s own RSL?
Depending on the formulation and requirements, an OEM/ODM manufacturer can review a brand-specific Restricted Substance List during product development and evaluate the requested restrictions.

Can Clean Beauty makeup still have strong performance?
Yes. However, ingredient restrictions can affect texture, payoff, adhesion, stability, wear, and other performance characteristics, so formulation development and testing remain important.

Should brands decide on the retailer before formulation begins?
Ideally, yes. Knowing the target retailer and its current ingredient requirements early can reduce unnecessary reformulation later.

Does meeting Clean at Sephora mean the product also meets Ulta Beauty requirements?
Not necessarily. Each retailer establishes its own criteria, so formulas should be evaluated against the specific standard required for the project.


Official References

Note: Retailer Clean Beauty requirements may change over time. Brands should always refer to the latest official retailer or brand requirements before beginning product development.