In my quest this past year to switch over my beauty routine to be primarily clean, I have tried a lot of clean beauty products and clean beauty brands. But a lot of clean makeup and skincare can be really expensive. That being said, you can find great products that perform well at a variety of price points and I’ve done the leg work to bring you the best formulas at the best prices. Today’s post is dedicated to the best affordable clean beauty products that are all under $50 and been tried and tested by me.
If you’re less familiar with clean beauty brands, you can read about how to get started in the category here. But know that the U.S. is far less regulated when it comes to toxins and potentially harmful chemicals in our beauty products. These toxins and chemicals can get into your blood stream or be ingested if you’re using harmful traditional skincare, body care, makeup or hair care.
The products below are not only cruelty free but also free of sulfates (SLS and SLES), parabens, phthalates, and other potentially harmful and toxic ingredients. A lot of them are also vegan and cruelty free and feature natural, organic ingredients or are entirely certified organic.
Best Affordable Clean Beauty Products
1. Youth to the People Superfood Cleanser.
This skin care brand loves to harness plant based ingredients and this is one of my favorite cleansers for making skin feel super clean and super fresh in the morning. Skin is more glowy immediately following use. I love almost everything I’ve tried by this skin care brand.
2. One Love Organics Enzyme Cleansing Oil.
A clean cleansing oil that really goes to work gentle yet effectively to remove all traces of makeup, oil and dirt from the skin.
3. Necessaire Body Wash.
A dreamy body wash that you’ll look forward to using! This gel-oil hybrid body wash combines three luxurious oils—marula, cacay, and meadowfoam—with plant-derived surfactants to gently cleanse skin. If you don’t love scent, get the fragrance-free version but Eucalyptus is my personal favorite. Offers a far more luxurious experience than your average drugstore body wash.
4. Youth to the People Dream Mask.
A creamy, dewy overnight mask that’ll leave skin hydrated and plump by the next morning. Don’t want to commit? The brand offers a mini size, too!
5. Youth to the People Superfood Moisture Cream.
This light as air moisturizer applies like a dream and dries with a matte finish making it perfect as an A.M moisturizer you apply before makeup. Thanks to its formula featuring superfoods and antioxidants your skin will be better protected and hydrated with daily use.
6. Summer Fridays Lip Balm.
This clean and vegan lip balm is silky smooth with no sticky texture. It hydrates and soothes parched lips while sealing in moisture for lusher-than-life lips on demand day or night. Wear it overnight as a lip mask.
7. Saie Dew Balm.
Made from 100% natural ingredients, this super cool highlighter adds dewiness and luminous to the skin and I personally love it layered underneath a powder highlighter. Read my Saie Beauty Review to find out more about this clean makeup brand.
8. Saie Glowy Super Gel.
I am obsessed with this stuff and I wear it almost daily with two other favorites for super radiant skin. It’s a featherweight gel highlighter that gives skin a gorgeous shimmery sheen. The luminescent gel absorbs instantly into skin and can double as a primer under foundation or SPF.
9. Caudalie Detox Mask.
I always reach for this clean mask when my pores feel clogged and overly congested. I recommend using it after taking a hot shower. Skin will feel healthier and look better after just one use.
10. Caudalie Beauty Elixir.
A cult-status multi-tasker that I love to use as a mid-day pick me up, a makeup setting spray, a refresher on travel days and before I ice roll my face. Pick up the mini before committing to the larger size.
Related: Caudalie Skincare Review
11. Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask.
This is a favorite mask for extra hydration quickly. I wear it on most long-haul flights but also at home on days where my skin is feeling parched. I particularly love the mini size. This mask is also a makeup artist favorite to prep skin for makeup.
12. Caudalie SOS Cream.
Holy-grail status for me all Winter long when my skin gets extra dry. This silky cream goes to work in just one use. You’ll see a noticeable difference in the morning! And a little goes a long way.
13. Caudalie Gentle Buffing Cream.
If you have sensitive skin but want a good scrub, reach for this gentle buffing cream that rids skin of excess dead skin to look more revived without irritation. Skin feels super soft afterwards.
14. Indie Lee Resurfacing Mask.
A quick yet satisfying clean mask that delivers instant benefits for lackluster skin. It’s one of my favorite clean masks.
15. Biossance SPF.
This super sheer SPF 30 passed my test for every day wear. It’s 100-percent non-nano zinc sunscreen that both protects and hydrates making it great for daily use. There’s no whitecast but rather skin looks plumper and more dewy after application.
16. Supergoop Zinc Screen.
A non-nano mineral SPF that’s lightweight without any whitecast. It delivers broad-spectrum protection and lightweight hydration and is great for all skin types. My go-to face sunscreen!
17. Ilia Beauty Multi-Use Pigment.
This was the first product that made me fall in love with Ilia Beauty. I absolutely love cream blushes (layered with a powder blush for more staying powder), and the Ilia Color Haze Multi Use Pigment also does double duty as it can be used as a lip product as well. This color goes on cheeks so easily and blends out beautifully into a dewy glow. The metal-tip applicator makes it pretty foolproof to apply to cheeks or lips. My favorite shades are Waking Up, Before Today & Temptation.
18. Rituel de Fille Lip Pigment.
Part lip balm, part lip stain, this is an amazing clean lip balm with a sheer wash of color for every day wear. I have shade Datura.
19. RMS Pressed Highlighter.
This highlighter is a great clean dupe for Becca Champagne Pop. It reflects light so well for an ethereal glow that you can build up or leave subtle.
20. RMS Swift Eye Shadow.
A clean beauty eye shadow that is nicely pigmented and lasts.
21. Ilia Beauty Brow Gel.
Buy this brow gel if you see it in stock as it keeps selling out! It is, in fact, that good. Instantly tame and build volume to your brows for a fuller finish that’ll awaken your face. I use shade blonde.
22. Ilia Brow Limitless Lash.
I get so many messages about how much you guys love this mascara, too! I have tried over half a dozen clean mascaras from a variety of brands and this is the only one that comes close to traditional mascaras I’ve loved in my opinion. It’s great even if you have sensitive eyes and I personally love that it is flake-free and the brush really separates and volumizes lashes noticeably. There’s also a Limitless Lash mini if you want to test it out before committing to a full tube.
23. Kosas Lip Oil.
This lip oil in the clear shade Jellyfish is great. Lips feel super, super hydrated after use. I also own and love shade Dip for use at home. Lips look instantly more plump and healthy after application.
24. Ilia Beauty Gel Eyeliner.
I love this gel eyeliner for lazy days. I personally think I look much more awake and together when I have eyeliner on and most days I’m too lazy to use a liquid eyeliner so I love that this one works like a pencil to apply super easily and quickly but has the longwear of a gel. You can also smudge it out if you like that look. I still love my Bobbi Brown gel eyeliner the most but this one is a great stand in when I want to apply eyeliner quickly.
25. RMS Pressed Blush in Lost Angel.
Holy grail for me this pressed blush gives the most gorgeous wash of color that’s perfectly pink/peach/golden all at once.
26. Lilah B. Virtuous Veil Concealer.
This concealer is so impressive. It’s the best clean dupe I’ve found for NARS matte concealer. It covers redness, blemishes and under eye circles quickly and easily and the coverage lasts.
27. Ilia Beauty Soft Focus Finishing Powder.
I was so glad when I discovered this finishing powder because it is as good as the Laura Mercier powder I used to love but discontinued my use of once I learned it had talc in it. I love that it weightlessly blurs, smooths, and cuts shine with a soft-focus finish that doesn’t leave you looking dusty or have any sort of whitecast.
28. Ere Perez Rice Powder Bronzer.
The best clean powder bronzer! Its rice starch helps to absorb oil and the dual colors make it suitable for multiple skin tones (or as your skin changes shades throughout the year). The color is builadble and super flattering. I use shade Roma.
29. Ilia Beauty Highlighter.
This is a great every day highlighter. It is also talc-free and gives an instant luminous glow to the skin that isn’t overkill. The powder is really blendable as it is is finely milled for a light-as-air metallic finish that you can build up if you want more luminosity. I like layering it over some of my favorite cream highlighters for more wattage at nighttime.
30. Ilia Beauty Eye Shadow Palette.
Clean eyeshadows you’ll actually want to wear! This eyeshadow palette features six talc-free, buttery, long-wearing eyeshadows that are elevated from your basic neutrals. The shadows offer a variety of finishes from matte, satin to metallic. Made with jojoba seed oil and vitamin E, these velvety, blendable shadows nurture lids while delivering highly pigmented, lasting color without the fallout. They’re the best clean eyeshadows I’ve tried to date.
31. Ilia Beauty Skin Tint SPF 40.
This clean, tinted mineral SPF 40 serum is so, so unique. It has the texture of a serum but a bit of coverage like a foundation. I wear it in Shade Balos and love the dewy glow it gives. If you don’t love makeup, you may very well love this product. I shared more about how I use it in this recent post.
31. Kosas Concealer.
A creamy concealer that actually brightens to improve skin’s appearance. Use it to conceal redness or dry circles.
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A few other items I like? This Honest Beauty mascara that is under $20, this W3ll People lipstick that’s just $15 and this Tower 28 tinted lip balm that you can also use on your cheeks.
Thank you for this post! I’ve been wanting to try clean beauty for a while, and this is so helpful.
So glad to hear it, Ju! Hope this sets you on a clean beauty journey!
Love this comprehensive list! I ordered the RMS blush from your recommendation and love it – SAIE is on my list next!
I am so glad you like my recs! Can’t wait to hear what you think of SAIE when you try it!
Such a great information. This is really very helpful for bloggers