What the Allure Best of Beauty 2025 Winners Teach Us About the Future of Clean Skincare
This year’s Allure Best of Beauty Awards sent a clear message to the skincare industry:
Clean is no longer enough.
In 2025, the products taking home awards in the “clean beauty” category weren’t just free from controversial ingredients. They were scientifically advanced, performance-driven, and developed with the kind of testing and rigor you’d expect from top-tier labs.
And for emerging beauty founders, this moment is a wake-up call: if your formula is based on trends, shortcuts, or outdated assumptions, it will struggle to compete.
What “Clean Beauty” Means in 2025
Allure’s definition of clean is now centered around proof, not just promises.
Winners in the clean skincare category met these key standards:
Ingredient transparency (INCI-level clarity and clean sourcing)
Toxicologist-reviewed safety (pH, allergens, irritants)
Clinical or consumer-backed performance
Stability and shelf life integrity
This shift means that to be truly competitive in the clean space, your product must be safe, stable, and effective — not just “free from.”
Inside the Winning Formulas
Some of the most talked-about winners this year included:
A vegan serum that visibly reduced fine lines in under 2 months
A barrier-supporting exfoliating cleanser that respected the microbiome
A fragrance-free toner that showed dramatic hydration and redness reduction without any essential oils or alcohols
What these products had in common wasn’t just what they left out. It was what they did right and how they proved it.
For Founders: Why This Should Reshape Your R&D Approach
If you’re developing a product and hoping it stands out in today’s market, you need to ask:
Is my formula tested across real skin conditions (not just lab concepts)?
Does it respect the skin barrier — with optimized pH, no irritants, and ingredient synergy?
Is it built to hold up on shelf, in shipping, and in the hands of consumers?
Can I stand behind it with confidence, or just marketing copy?
These are no longer advanced questions — they’re entry-level requirements for the next generation of clean beauty.
How We Support This Standard at Vaulabs
At Vaulabs, we work with emerging and scaling beauty brands who want more than a private label or generic clean formula.
We offer:
Custom formulation with full ingredient strategy
pH balancing and compatibility testing
Long-term stability support
R&D guided by market demand and real-world application
Whether you’re building a barrier-safe serum, a performance-driven toner, or a calming cleanser — we don’t just help you formulate it. We help you get it right.
Ready to Build a Formula That Belongs on Next Year’s Winner List?
If you want to work with a lab that formulates clean beauty at award-winning standards, get in touch. We’d be happy to review your idea, advise on the development path, and support your product from concept to production.
Contact us at info@vaulabs.com or send us a message through the website.
Clean is no longer a label - it’s a responsibility.
Let’s build something your customers will believe in.