When the summer hits, heavy foundations and cakey powders just won’t cut it. What you need is light, breathable, eco-friendly makeup that enhances your glow while standing up to desert heat. Luckily, a wave of conscious beauty brands are here to keep you radiant without compromising on clean ingredients or sustainability.
So, without further ado, here’s your guide to our favourite eco-makeup heroes you need in your beauty bag this season.
Skin Story – UAE-Born Clean Beauty
Founded by sisters here in the UAE, Skin Story champions vegan, cruelty-free, toxin-free makeup tailored to desert life and diverse skin tones. Their Color Stick in Bold (AED160) is the ultimate summer multitasker. Swipe it across cheeks, lips, and lids for an instant, heat-proof sun-kissed glow without layers of product. It’s s made with Avocado oil, Camellia Japonica seed oil and Marula oil and comes in eco-conscious packaging designed to minimise waste. Clean, quick, and made for on-the-go days in the city or at the beach.
Manasi 7 – The Slow Beauty Pioneer
This Swedish label calls itself a ‘conscious beauty hybrid.’ All products are organic, wild-harvested, and sustainably sourced, with refill options to cut down on packaging. Their award-winning bestseller All Over Colour Pot in Ikura (AED 178) brings a coral-red blush and doubles up as a lip tint or eye shadow, perfect for keeping your makeup bag minimal and powerful. Made with Almond Oil, Castor Seed Oil and Carnauba Wax, the creamy formula glides on smoothly for a lasting, effortless and shimmer-free effect.
19/99 Beauty – Playful Precision
Designed for everyone, at every age, 19/99 has become a go-to for beauty editors. Their sleek pencils are made in small batches with cruelty-free, vegan formulas. We love the versatile Precision Colour Pencil in Barna (AED 100) – a best-seller that works as eyeliner, brow definer, and lip liner all in one. That means fewer products in your beauty bag and less waste overall.
Drunk Elephant – Skincare Meets Sustainability
While famous for skincare, Drunk Elephant is also deeply committed to biocompatible ingredients and recyclable packaging. The viral D-Bronzi Anti-Pollution Sunshine Drops (AED 232) not only deliver a golden glow but are infused with antioxidants to help protect against pollution. Mix a drop into your SPF or moisturiser for an instant bronze glow that looks like a holiday in a bottle. The ultimate summer hack.
Smashdoll – Pop of Fun
Smashdoll is all about fun colour with clean credentials. Their award-winning Glass Lip Oil (£16/ AED 79) is a fan-favourite for a reason, 100 per cent vegan, cruelty-free, and made with lightweight, nourishing oils like sunflower and moringa that absorb quickly for a glassy, non-sticky shine. Swipe on for a shine that stays put through rooftop evenings or beach parties. The brand also uses responsibly sourced mica to avoid the child labour that taints much of the beauty industry.
Ere Perez – Botanical Brilliance
One of the original natural makeup brands, Ere Perez has been making botanical-based, cruelty-free products for over 20 years. Made in Australia, this brand is all about plant-powered performance. The Oat Milk Foundation (AED 229) swaps petrochemicals for skin-loving plant ingredients like skin-conditioning Vitamin E, soothing Oat Milk and hydrating Peach Extract. Light, breathable, and buildable, exactly what you need when the humidity rises.
Lily Lolo – Mineral Glow
A pioneer in clean mineral makeup, UK-based Lily Lolo has built a reputation on talc-free, vegan mineral powders with recyclable packaging. Perfect for achieving a natural summer radiance, their Cream Illuminator (AED101) is the summer glow tool you didn’t know you needed. This vegan-friendly balm, infused with ultra-fine mineral pigments, delivers a dewy, lit-from-within finish that’s perfect for sun-drenched days. Rich in nourishing botanical oils, including jojoba, grape seed, safflower, argan, and sunflower, it hydrates while reflecting light beautifully
RÓEN Beauty – Shimmer Without Compromise
RÓEN’s cream eyeshadow palettes are pure summer magic. Vegan, talc-free, and formulated with clean ingredients, they deliver high-shine shimmer that won’t crease in the heat. A swipe of golden or rose-toned shadow instantly lifts your look for balmy nights out. We love the global bestselling 11:11 Eyeshadow Palette (AED 185) four cream-to-powder shades in glistening metallics that won’t crease, even in desert heat. Made without parabens, nanoparticles and fragrance, and made with responsibly-sourced Mica pigments, it’s refillable palette also reduces plastic waste.
Chado – Parisian Effortlessness
Swiss-made with a French soul, Chado is committed to clean formulations free from parabens and mineral oils. Le Soin Duo SPA Brow + Lash Mask & Serum (AED256) is a standout. This two-in-one treatment pairs a black clay ‘oxygen mask’ that detoxifies and purifies, with a thermal-infused serum that hydrates and strengthens fragile hairs. Made without parabens or sulfates and cruelty-free, it transforms brows and lashes into healthier versions of themselves, ideal for combating pollution and heat.
