5 skincare brands leading the clean beauty movement

The Soothe’s favourite organic skincare products available in Singapore to add to your skincare regime for that glowy skin and organic beauty

Text: Koh Chuin Wei

Credits: Marie Veronique

Finding bona-fide clean beauty products and organic skincare brands in Singapore you can trust is tricky. As much as we scour the packaging for signs of harmful beauty ingredients, details on the formulation, safety seals, non-toxic claims and transparent classification all play a pivotal role in setting a product apart. 

If you’re looking to clean out your cabinet and are searching for some effective organic skincare staples to build the foundation of a new clean beauty skincare routine, here are our current picks of non-toxic and organic skincare brands in Singapore heading up the clean beauty movement that are worth adding to your skincare regime for glowy skin and organic beauty. 

MARIE VERONIQUE

With a vision to deliver superior, non-toxic skincare through innovative and science-backed formulations, Marie-Veronique Nadeau, a chemist and trained esthetician, founded her skincare brand in 2002 from the lack of effective solutions in the beauty market to combat her rosacea. 

Heralding the clean beauty movement with her daughter Jay Nadeau, a physicist and biomedical engineer, they offer superior, non-toxic skincare with the help of nature and science. Always educating their customers on the benefits and advances of cosmeceuticals, they advocate the importance of the health of your skin microbiome to target issues like dermatitis, eczema, acne and more. They also shed light on topics relating to ingredients, sun protection, and ageing. With additional efforts to reduce packaging waste, all products come in glass bottles with no outer packaging. 

Available for international shipping at Marie Veronique’s official site.

AO SKINCARE

Born in New Zealand and grounded by ‘Kaitiaki’, a Maori word meaning “guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land”, AO (short for Aotearoa, a northern island in New Zealand) skincare champion healthy skin over anti-ageing, placing care for the health of the skin and planet at the forefront of the brand. 

Founded by dermatologist Dr Mark Gray, the line is made without parabens, sulfates, mineral oils and fragrance. Accompanying each listed product, add these to your clean beauty routine and you’ll find a fully dissected ingredients list with each one rated for transparency and health, as depicted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) cosmetic database scale. Each AO product is cold-pressed to retain the maximum benefit in every active ingredient, and formulated with barrier friendly and moisture control ingredients to encourage skin health. A personal favourite is the ingredient Astaxanthin — harvested from red algae, this potent natural antioxidant is up to 6000x stronger than Vitamin C and works to reduce sun damage, wrinkles and age spots. 

Ticking all the boxes of being clean beauty (in our books) and cruelty-free, they also adhere to the Leaping Bunny and PETA cruelty-free programs. One percent of AO skincare revenue also goes back to environmental nonprofits. 

Available for international shipping at AO Skincare’s official site.

Credits: May Lindstrom Skin

MAY LINDSTROM SKIN

May Lindstrom Skin began as one of few pioneer brands leading organic, clean beauty, with their products maintaining cult status today — ‘the blue cocoon’, ‘the honey mud’ and ‘the problem solver’ are clean beauty classics. Growing up highly susceptible to rashes, blisters and eczema, it was May’s sensitivities to synthetic fragrance, preservatives and irritants that led her down the path of harvesting potent plant medicine, minerals and herbs, formulating them into herbaceous, indulgent beauty essentials.

Made in micro-batches, the collection is free from parabens or preservatives and instead comes nutrient-rich, organic, biodynamic, wild-crafted, cruelty-free and sustainably harvested. Never tested on animals, each product is packaged in Miron violet glass which offers protection against visible light, lengthening the stability and potency of each formulation. 

Available at The Naturally Better Company.

Credits: Luxe Botanics

LUXE BOTANICS

Founded by a biological scientist Jené Roestorf, she combined clinical research and a passion for conscious innovation to bring us clean skincare brand Luxe Botanics. Always pushing for transparency, they present three targeted skincare solutions, each one designed around unique botanical oils and extracts that combat common skin concerns — think brightening, hydrating and correcting. Winning awards for their product lines and green chemistry formulations, the range is certified organic, wild-harvested, vegan, cruelty-free and advanced CosmEthically Active. 

Housed in reusable, refillable, and recyclable packaging with minimal plastic use, Luxe Botaincs’ gives back to the communities that ensure fair trade, and harvest and process their core botanicals throughout Africa and South America. Additionally, their partnership with Buy1Give1 enables them to give back meaningfully to the communities in Africa with every purchase. 

Available at Bud Cosmetics.

ESSE SKINCARE

Understanding the importance of prebiotics and probiotics in your skincare regime, Esse Skincare is built around the importance of the health of your skin’s microbiome. They use organic biotechnology to make functional changes to your natural skin biodiversity to combat ageing and maximise skin health. Armed with a Masters in organic chemistry, Professor Siegfried Drewes channelled his passion for chemistry in Africa’s plants, beginning with the very potent antimicrobial and antioxidant kigelia africana fruit, known to be able to reduce skin damage and ageing. 

A favourite is the Resurrect serum, which benefits from a Namibian plant known as the ‘Resurrection Plant’ to provide intense hydration, reduce fine lines, and firm and lift the skin. Certified organic, cruelty-free and vegan, Esse Skincare supports fair trade and makes conscious efforts to minimise its carbon emissions. 

Available at The Organic Room.

About Chuin Wei 

With a keen interest in clean beauty as well as propaganda relating to the cosmetics, meat and dairy industry, Chuin Wei started a conscious beauty site where she had the privilege of interviewing clean beauty founders about the ‘how’s and whys’ of their brand, ingredient sourcing and product formulation. She is currently a product strategist in a homegrown company whose portfolio includes numerous beauty and F&B brands. 

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