Bluemercury Is Doubling Down On All Things Clean Beauty — & We Got The Exclusive Details

If you've heard it once, you've heard it a million times: clean beauty is everywhere, and shows no signs of slowing down as people look to make mindful, healthy decisions when it comes to their skin care and beyond.

Following clean beauty-specific stores like Credo and Follain that carved out a formerly niche market, major retailers like Sephora, Urban Outfitters, and Target have all debuted dedicated sections to show off their best sustainable beauty buys that are both better for the earth and potentially your skin.

Bluemercury is the latest retailer to show clients that it means clean beauty business with its Conscious Beauty Program. Launching today, the boutique-meets-spa chain is unveiling its new seal of standards for shopping vegan and non-toxic products.

"Bluemercury’s mission has always been to be the best at giving honest, expert advice, so we set out to create a program that embraces our holistic approach to this category," Bluemercury co-founder Marla Beck exclusively tells Refinery29. That holistic approach manifests itself in a four-pronged guideline to what conscious beauty means to them.

"Over a decade ago, I noticed clients coming into stores saying, 'I love natural products, but I’m not seeing results,' and, 'I want products that have dermatologist-loved ingredients, like glycolic [acid] and peptides, but don’t want all the other added chemicals,'" Beck explains. Enter the first cornerstone of Bluemercury's certification: All products will be 100% vegan and cruelty-free. The rest of the program's pillars will require that products also be formulated with a minimum of 70% organic or food-grade ingredients and completely non-toxic.

One uniquely 2020 element of the program (and one that couldn't be more apropos during a period of time where we're all, in one form or another, being affected by the coronavirus pandemic) is a renewed focus on all things self-care. From skin-care tools to candles and more, Bluemercury's conscious program culminates with a focus on the convergence of wellness and beauty.

You'll be able to easily identify which products are part of the Conscious Beauty program since they'll be branded with the green seal here — which we're giving you an exclusive first look at!

"While the circumstances of today’s environment do not allow us to connect with clients in person, we are excited to launch a series of digital-first initiatives to bring this program to life," Beck tells us of the program unveiling that's taking place on screens instead of stores. "Our exclusive and limited edition kits, along our new brand partners, will be showcased through IGTV, Virtual Masterclasses, one-on-one beauty expert consultations, and more."

Hang on — did someone say, exclusive and limited-edition kits? That's right, two curated Conscious Beauty value sets are coming your way to celebrate the launch of the program. If you want to dip your toes into clean beauty, there's the $49 Discovery Set (valued at $194), which includes two full-size products from Lune + Aster (Bluemercury's in-house makeup brand), Ellis Brooklyn's Myth Eau de Parfum, and Skyn Iceland Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels, among many other goodies. For the clean beauty connoisseur, there's the Collectors Set, which is still a major steal at $99 (with a value of $340). That set includes products like the top-selling M-61 PowerGlow Peel, Lilah B. Lovingly Lip Tinted Lip Oil, and the African Botanics Botanical Hand Cream (which might already be in heavy rotation, given all the hand-washing you're doing).

"I’m excited to see the industry adapt to our standards," Beck says, adding that Bluemercury's own brands will continue to exemplify the new clean beauty restrictions put forth by the retailer. "I will continue to push the boundaries on ingredient and format innovation to provide the very best products for our clients."