Brand Rating:

Milk Makeup

Poor

4/10

Score 4/10

The Shifting Gaia rating evaluates brands based on sustainable practices, ingredients and materials, and social responsibility, among others. Below are a few factors influencing this brand's score:

Certifications

Leaping Bunny

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Rated: April 15, 2026
Category: Beauty care
Subcategory: Makeup

Overview:

Sustainability 4.0/10

Non-toxicity 5.5/10

Milk Makeup is a New York City-based clean beauty and makeup brand founded in 2016 out of Milk Studios, a creative hub in downtown Manhattan.

Highlights

Leaping Bunny certified cruelty-free
100% vegan
Clean at Sephora certified
Bans 2,500+ ingredients from formulations
Ethically sourced mica and sustainability-certified palm-derived ingredients

Sustainability

score : 4.0/10

Packaging

Milk Makeup has taken several steps toward more sustainable packaging. Since January 2021, the brand redesigned its e-commerce shipping system: shipping boxes are made in the USA and printed with plant-based inks, the inner bag is made from 100% post-consumer waste, and both are 100% recyclable. A limited number of products offer refillable formats: the Sunshine Skin Tint and Sunshine Under Eye Tint have refill cartridges that the brand claims reduce plastic by approximately 60% per refill purchase.

However, most products in the line still use plastic containers. The brand does not disclose specific PCR percentages for its primary packaging across the product line. There is no participation in a consumer-facing packaging take-back or mail-back recycling program. The brand does not use bioplastics, ocean plastic, or compostable primary packaging. There are no FSC certifications mentioned for paper components (unlike some competitors).

Ingredient Sustainability

Several products feature genuinely beneficial plant-based ingredient bases. The Lip + Cheek stick leads with castor seed oil, avocado oil, sunflower seed wax, candelilla wax, mango seed butter, and apricot kernel oil. The Skin Tint includes squalane, hemp seed oil, shea butter, and sunflower seed oil. The Jelly Tint is water-based with aloe, niacinamide, hibiscus extract, dragon fruit extract, and chlorella ferment. These represent strong plant-based ingredient foundations.

However, there are moderate concerns across the line. Fragrance (Parfum) with undisclosed components appears in multiple products. Benzophenone-4 appears in the original Hydro Grip Primer formulation as a UV filter with moderate concern, which is notable given the brand claims to blacklist chemical sunscreens. Phenoxyethanol appears across multiple products. Acrylates Copolymer (mascara) is a non-biodegradable synthetic polymer. Synthetic dyes (Yellow 5, Blue 1, Red 33) appear in the primer and other products.

Energy & Footprint

Milk Makeup does not publish any information about its energy use, carbon footprint, or greenhouse gas emissions. There is no sustainability report, carbon accounting data, emissions targets, or third-party verification. The brand makes no claims of carbon neutrality or carbon offsetting. There is no public disclosure of whether manufacturing facilities use renewable energy.

Waste Management

Milk Makeup's waste management strategy includes several meaningful initiatives. The brand has partnered with g2 revolution, a specialty recycling solutions program, for over a decade. Milk Makeup's freestanding stores in the US and Canada transfer unsold products and testers to g2 revolution for repurposing. In fiscal 2024, over 80,000 lbs of product were successfully reused or recycled through this partnership.

The main limitations are: only two refillable products currently exist, most primary packaging is still plastic, and there is no consumer-facing take-back or mail-back program. However, the g2 revolution partnership with quantified results (80,000+ lbs in fiscal 2024) is a genuinely meaningful production-side waste initiative.

Business Model

Milk Makeup operates a substantial product catalog. The brand releases new products regularly and participates in trend-driven beauty culture (the Cooling Water Jelly Tint went viral on social media). The brand participates in standard retail promotional ecosystems through Sephora and Ulta. The brand does not actively discourage consumption in its messaging, and its marketing centers on self-expression and creativity rather than environmental stewardship. The product line is expansive and trend-responsive.

Non-toxicity

score : 5.5/10

All products are Clean at Sephora certified. The formulations avoid the most dangerous categories of ingredients and are meaningfully safer than conventional beauty.

However, several ingredients raise moderate toxicity concerns across the product line. Fragrance (Parfum) appears in multiple products (Lip + Cheek, Jelly Tint, Matte Bronzer) without full disclosure of constituent chemicals. While Milk Makeup states its fragrance ingredients are not synthetic, the exact composition remains undisclosed, and disclosed fragrance allergens like Linalool and Limonene (known skin sensitizers) appear in the Lip + Cheek stick. Phenoxyethanol appears across multiple products as a preservative, which can cause skin and eye irritation. PEG-150 Distearate (Hydro Grip Primer) may carry trace 1,4-dioxane contamination. Benzophenone-4 (Hydro Grip Primer, earlier formulation) is a UV filter classified as a moderate concern, and its presence appears to contradict the brand's stated exclusion of chemical sunscreens. One third-party reviewer flagged Benzophenone-3 (oxybenzone) in the Holographic Stick, despite the brand claiming to exclude it.

One clean beauty reviewer gave Milk Makeup an especially poor rating (not recommended) based on allergen and toxicity concerns across the line, flagging fragrance, PEGs, and synthetic dyes as primary issues. The formulations are cleaner than conventional beauty but carry several moderate-concern ingredients, most notably the recurring undisclosed fragrance across multiple products. The presence of ingredients that appear to contradict the brand's own exclusion list (benzophenone in certain products) is a transparency concern.