Everything you need
to know about refill

Are refillable products better for the planet?

Yes. Refill cartridges are usually designed with minimal packaging and embellishment, which means fewer raw materials are used to make them. Brands are also creating refillable products that are more like beautiful objects, encouraging people to use them as something decorative – not just as a functional dispenser. For example, this exquisite Dries Van Noten fragrance bottle or Hermès and La Bouche Rouge’s elegant refillable lipsticks. Of course, not all refills are born equal, and some designs are more waste-efficient than others. But as time goes on and demand grows, refill technology continues to become more effective. Therefore, buying them also encourages brands to invest more in creating refillable solutions.

Where do I get my refills?

You can purchase both refillable products and refill cartridges in our Beauty Halls, or online in our Refill edit. For an extra-special refill experience courtesy of D’Otto, refill at their fragrance fountains in our London store. Le Labo have also reintroduced their refill offering across all Selfridges stores, meaning you can visit them and have your fragrance poured right then and there. The brand will also print a personalised label for your bottle, making it look brand new.

What are the brands to look out for?

The list keeps growing, but for now, here are a few key players. For refillable fragrance with a 90s aesthetic, try BY FAR, whose scent bottles dangle on decorative keychains designed to hang from your bag. For haircare, OUAI and Oribe are leading the way for refillables. To give you an idea of how much plastic you can save, using OUAI’s refill pouches means that every 100ml of product is made with 60% less plastic versus the original bottle. 

Celebrity make-up artist Charlotte Tilbury’s namesake brand offers many of her bestsellers as refills, including Charlotte's Magic Cream. As mentioned, Dries Van Noten’s lipsticks and fragrances read more as objets d’art than beauty products. Other notable names include Augustinus Bader, Hourglass and Giorgio Armani. And you can add some colour to your bathroom shelf with Byoma’s pastel-packaged skincare range, which is all entirely refillable, too.

Can I save money by refilling?

Because of the lack of extra packaging and the fact that refill cartridges often come in larger sizes, buying refills can also be a more cost-effective way to shop your favourite products. You can also get 20 percent off when you purchase a Le Labo fragrance refill.