Fashion : A SPECIAL REPORT: SPRING INTO FALL : Ecowear : New Cosmetic Refills Save Money, the Environment

Beyond no-frills packaging lies an old idea--refillable cosmetics. (Remember Granny’s ornate refillable compact?) Though cosmetic giants such as Estee Lauder, Guerlain and Clinique offer refillable compacts ranging in price from $25 to $125, with plastic-encased refills selling for $6.50 to $28, powder is no longer the lone refillable.

“A variety of companies are offering at least a few refillable makeup products,” says Diane Consalvi, cosmetic buyer for Nordstrom’s Orange County stores.

One company that combines makeup products in one component is Intelligent Skincare. It offers a refillable, customized system called the Selector. The purse-size case, available at Nordstrom, sells for about $15. A variety of makeup--sold separately and priced from $5.50 to $16--fits inside. There are slide-out blushes, eye shadows and face powders.

At Body Scents in Sherman Oaks, environmentally responsible customers often ask for refills of the shop’s personal hair and skin products, says Shirley Wilkoff, shop co-owner. Though such requests are infrequent, Wilkoff expects they will increase as environmental concerns grow.

“It seems like a good idea, ecologically speaking, but I think it is best to start with a new plastic bottle after the second refill,” says Wilkoff, explaining that freshness and consistency cannot be ensured without an absolutely clean container.

Susan Perry, district manager of the Canada-based, cruelty-free Makeup Art Cosmetics, agrees that reusing containers is problematic. Still, the firm is doing its ecological best to ensure its plastic containers are reused. It offers a free lipstick for every six empty Makeup Art containers the customer returns to its cosmetic counters--locally, in select Nordstrom stores. Makeup Art then transports the containers to public recycling centers.