Why brands, not products
Most beauty coverage reviews a single product and stops there. That is useful for one purchase and useless for the next, because the thing that actually predicts whether you will like a brand's next launch is how the brand behaves: what it puts in its formulas, how much it tells you, who it makes room for in its shade range, and what it charges.
So we review the house. A Shelfproof score is a judgement on a company's whole catalogue and conduct, from the INCI list on the back of the bottle to the ownership structure behind it.
What a score means
Every brand is marked out of ten across five weighted criteria: formulation (30%), transparency (25%), range and fit (20%), value per use (15%), and ownership and ethics (10%). The weights never change between brands, and they are published so you can disagree with them.
- 8.6 and above — outstanding: we would recommend the house without a caveat list.
- 7.6 to 8.5 — strong: excellent in its lane, with known limits.
- 6.6 to 7.5 — mixed: real highlights sitting next to real problems.
- Below 6.6 — weak: buy individual products if they suit you, but the house as a whole does not hold up.
How we work
We read complete ingredient lists rather than marketing copy, check published concentrations against what a formula can plausibly deliver at that pH, and compare a brand's claims with independent testing where it exists. Screenshots in our reviews are captured by us from the brand's own public pages, so what you see is what the brand is currently saying about itself.
We do not accept payment, product placement or pre-publication review from any brand we cover. No company on this site has seen its review before you did.
What we are not
We are not dermatologists, and nothing here is medical advice. Cosmetic ingredients interact with individual skin, allergies, medication and medical conditions in ways no review can predict. Patch test, read the full ingredient list, and talk to a clinician about anything persistent.