How we choose
Fewer products, chosen with care
This is not a list of everything European. It is a short list of things we would recommend to a friend.
What gets listed
- A European company. Headquartered in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. We always state the country.
- A real alternative. It has to do the job of something people already use, at a similar quality.
- Claims we can check. Certifications, ingredient lists and privacy policies are checked against the maker’s own information and independent sources, and dated.
- Kinder by design. Cleaner formulas, no animal suffering, less waste, or respect for your data — ideally several of these.
What the badges mean
- Cruelty-free
- Animal testing for cosmetics has been banned in the EU since 2013. We add this badge only when the brand also states that its suppliers and non-EU markets are covered.
- Vegan
- The whole range is free from animal-derived ingredients. Brands that are only partly vegan do not get the badge; we say so in the text.
- Certified organic
- Independently certified by a recognised scheme such as COSMOS Organic or Ecocert.
- Certified natural
- Independently certified as natural cosmetics, for example by NATRUE or COSMOS Natural.
- B Corp
- The company is a Certified B Corporation, audited on social and environmental impact.
- Woman-founded
- Founded or co-founded by a woman.
- Open source
- The code is public, so anyone can check what it does with your data.
- Privacy-first
- Built so that your data is not the product: no ad tracking, minimal collection.
- Independent
- Not owned by a large conglomerate, and not funded by advertising.
Money
No brand can pay to be listed, to be featured or to change what we write. If we ever add affiliate links, they will be clearly marked and will never decide what we recommend.
Review policy
Reader reviews are published automatically as soon as they pass an automatic spam check (Cloudflare Turnstile) and basic rules: a star rating, a few sentences of text and no web links. A person then reads every published review. We keep positive and negative reviews alike, and remove reviews that are off-topic, abusive, promotional or that appear to come from the brand or its competitors.
We do not verify purchases. Reviewers confirm they have used the product themselves, but we cannot prove that every reviewer bought it. Star ratings are the simple average of published reviews.
We publish only your first name and, if you give it, your country. We do not ask for your email address when you leave a review. See our privacy notice.
Spotted a mistake?
Policies change and companies get sold. If something here is out of date, please tell us and we will check and correct it.