The Best Replacements for your Beautycounter Products

If you’re looking for alternatives for your Beautycounter products, I’ve got you covered. (Ulta has a FEW things left, so check there first)

I’ve been using Beautycounter alongside a handful of other brands for a few years now. And while I haven’t found anything (yet) that truly measures up to the All Bright C Serum or Countertime Supreme Cream, I HAVE found pretty amazing alternatives for the majority of the Beautycounter products you know and love.

Fingers crossed we’ll get our Beautycounter favorites back later this year after Beautycounter gets sorted out, but until then, the show must go on for our skin, ha! (Here’s a post about what happened to Beautycounter.) I’m only including replacements for products that I’ve actually tried and used, so the jury is still out for a few Beautycounter favorites that I can’t seem to find a swap for (yet!). Like many of you, I was about to restock my Beautycounter when the site closed. I’ll keep this blog post updated as I find more alternatives, and if you have a favorite please leave a comment.

I know that it’s a LOT simpler to order from one place vs. multiple retailers, so I tried to focus the recommendations on Colleen Rothschild, Oliveda, or ILIA since that is currently making up the majority of my routine that I love. If you aren’t familiar with those brands, I have a review of Colleen Rothschild here and a review of Ilia here. I also have an Oliveda review here that gives you some brand background and explains why it’s such a great clean skincare option.

The Best Replacements for your Beautycounter Products

Countertime

Countertime Cleansing Oil

I haven’t found another cleansing oil that I like yet, so for now I’d recommend using the Colleen Rothschild Cleansing Balm in place of the cleansing oil. I have a full review of the cleansing balm here.

Countertime Essense

I loved the Beautycounter Essence so it’s going to be VERY hard to find a good swap, but my friend sent me a link to the Urban Calm Soft Skin Essence and said it’s amazing. Since it’s only $18, that’s the product I’m ordering when I’m out of the Essence, which will happen soon.

Countertime Radiance Serum

I wasn’t a fan of the Beautycounter Radiance Serum anyway, and I was using the Colleen Rothschild Age Renewal Super Serum instead (which I LOVE). However, I just got the Oliveda Green Retinol Face Elixir a few weeks ago and I’m honestly blown away by it. The texture is more of an oil which my dry skin appreciates. (I used the CR one in the morning and the Oliveda one at night.)

Countertime Soft Cream

I liked the Soft Cream but it wasn’t a ride or die product for me. I was always looking for a good day cream. The best one I’ve found is the Colleen Rothschild Extreme Cream. It’s meant for PM use, but since I have really dry/aging skin, this works well for me in the day time. I also like Elemis, but I prefer the one without SPF because it’s less drying. But if you want SPF built in, get the Elemis Pro-Collagen Marine Cream.

Countertime Supreme Cream

I’m so sad about this one and was about to order it myself since I just ran out. I’ve been using the Colleen Rothschild Extreme Recovery Cream day AND night.

Countertime Eye Cream

I actually started using the Elemis Pro-Collagen Vitality Eye Cream a few nights ago and I LOVE it. However, during the day time I really like the Colleen Rothschild Illuminating Tinted Eye Cream. It has all of the properties of an eye cream that I love (de-puffing, hydrating, etc), but it also has pearlized pigment that cuts the dark circles and brightens.

Countermatch

Countermatch Foaming Cleanser

I haven’t found a perfect alternative for this, but my content manager uses the Colleen Rothschild Purifying Cleanser and loves it. She has sensitive, breakout prone skin but Colleen Rothschild forumulated that cleanser to work well on all skin types meaning it doesn’t strip the skin of it’s natural oil but still gets everything super clean. I tried the Oliveda Corrective Cleansing Gel last week too. It’s great, but since it’s a gel, I know it will feel a bit different than the Countermatch Foaming Cleanser.

Countermatch Toner

I have two recommendations for this: Colleen Rothschild Clarifying Solution or Oliveda Activating Facial Toner.

Countermatch Serum

Colleen Rothschild Hyaluronic Serum is the best swap. I love this SO much.

Countermatch Adaptive Moisturizer

The most similar in terms of benefits is the Oliveda Anti-Aging Face Cream but it will feel different. The consistency feels much thicker, but it’s not heavy on the skin. Use a TINY amount. The Colleen Rothschild Sheer Renewal Cream will feel similar to the Adaptive Moisturizer but it does have a bit of a scent.

Countermatch Eye Cream

The best eye cream option for de-puffing and brightening is the Colleen Rothschild Illuminating Tinted Eye Cream. It contains hyaluronic acid to help reduce the appearance of wrinkles and caffeine targets puffiness and water retention. I wouldn’t use this at night though, since it also has coverage that you wouldn’t want to waste. For PM, try the Colleen Rothschild Complete Eye Cream.

Countercontrol

Like I mentioned above, my content manager uses Colleen Rothschild Gentle & Clear line. It’s designed for breakout prone skin, but it’s balancing and gentle, a lot like Countercontrol. I don’t have breakout prone skin, so I haven’t tried these products, but I feel good about recommending them since Hannah has used them for months and loves them.

Countercontrol Cleanser

The Colleen Rothschild Purifying Cleanser is a really great cleanser for breakout prone skin. It’s made with micro silver and charcoal to reduce and prevent skin imperfections, and also contains bromelain enzymes to break down dead skin cells and unclog pores. But since it has allantoin and marine extracts in it too, it balances the ton and texture of your skin so it doesn’t feel dried out.

 Countercontrol Toner

Colleen Rothschild Clarifying Solution is a toner designed for acne/breakout prone skin. It contains salicylic acid which helps shed the layers of dead skin cells and impurities that can clog pores. It also contains a blend of chamomile and burdock root extracts which are soothing and calming for super sensitive skin. The best of both worlds!

Countercontrol Serum

The Colleen Rothschild Overnight Treatment contains a mix of azelaic acid and licorice root and is enriched with witch hazel. You can apply it all over your skin, but it also works well as a spot treatment.

Countercontrol Spot Treatment

You can use the Colleen Rothschild Overnight Treatment for a spot treatment. (Or the Colleen Rothschild charcoal mask.)

CounterControl Gel Cream

The Colleen Rothschild Weightless Moisturizer is super basic. It hydrates your skin without clogging pores or feeling too heavy.

Other Favorites

Cleansing Balm

I preferred the Colleen Rothschild Cleansing Balm anyway. I’ve been using it for years. I have a full review of the CR Cleansing Balm here.

Sunscreen

Supergoop Glowscreen is my favorite face SPF, but it’s not a zinc-based sunscreen. If you want zinc, then the Colleen Rothschild Triple Defense Sunscreen is a great alternative, but it does leave a slight white tint. (This post with non-toxics sunscreens has even more ideas.)

Overnight Resurfacing Peel

I just ordered the Oliveda F83 HT + Vitamin C so we’ll see if it’s as good as my beloved Overnight Resurfacing Peel. It’s sold out now, but I should restock soon. However, if you’re not pregnant or nursing, I HIGHLY recommend the Colleen Rothschild Retinol Supreme Night Oil.

AHA Mask

I actually didn’t love the Beautycounter AHA mask as much as I already liked both the Colleen Rothschild Dial Enzyme Polish and Oliveda Honey Enzyme Face Mask. They’re similar, so just order whichever is easiest to throw in your cart with other things. They both give the same results (or better, honestly) but with a better texture. I hated the gel-like formula.

Bamboo Face Polish

There’s nothing like this! I’m so sad! I will treat the bottle I have like gold now. But, I do have the Oliveda Olive Core Face Peeling, which is also a physical exfoliator, so I’ll report back.

Vitamin C Serum

I’ve tried Colleen Rothschild Vitamin C Brightening Serum and IMAGE VITAL C hydrating anti-aging serum and they’re good but I just looooved the smell of Beautycounter’s Vitamin C. I’m having a hard time deciphering if Beautycounter’s truly worked better than the others, or if the smell and color just made me think it did.

The Clean Deo

All natural deodorants tend to stop working for me after about 12 months, including the Clean Deo. This is actually an issue that women commonly run into if they use natural deodorants, since our body chemistry changes over time. (It’s also why some clean deodorants work for some people but not others. For example, I CANNOT use Native but some people love it.)

Anyway, when one stops working, I switch to a new one. The one that has worked for the longest amount of time is the Nécessaire The Deodorant Gel. I’ve used it for 6 months without stank.

(If you do get stank with a natural deo, use the Bella Skin Probiotic Underarm Toner and it will help a LOT! I use it just once a month or so.)

Body Lotion

Wink Llama All Over Lotion, hands down. Yes, it’s a kids lotion but it’s so good. Tommy and I have both used it for years since it smells just as good as the Beautycounter Body Lotion (although it is a different scent) and it’s more affordable.

Shampoo / conditioner

I’ve been using the Colleen Rothschild Shampoo and Colleen Rothschild Conditioner for over a year now. The Colleen Rothschild hair mask is legit too. I use it in place of my conditioner a few times a week.

Body wash

Primally Pure Citrus Mint Body Wash is a 10/10. So hydrating and smells amazing.

Makeup

Skin Twin Foundation

The ILIA Skin Rewind Complexion Stick is SUCH a good foundation, but if you want a liquid foundation, the ILIA True Skin Foundation is a good option (I have an ILIA foundation review here).

Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer

I wasn’t in love with the Dew Skin tinted moisturizer anyway (it too drying as my skin aged), but I DO love the ILIA Super Serum Skin Tint SPF 40 because it’s more hydrating. I have a full review of the Skin Tint on the blog here.

Cheeky Cream Blush

I’m super sad to loose the Beautycounter blush but the ILIA Multi Stick is just as good.

Cream Bronzer

I hate it because Beautycounter was set to launch new bronzers that I had tried and they are SO GOOD. I haven’t found an alternative yet, but the Tarte Shape Tape Contour works well as bronzer if you use just a touch and blend it out. I also love their Tarte Park Avenue Princess powder bronzer if you want to go that route.

Mascara

As much as I wish I could wear a regular, oil-based mascara, they always smudge on me. So I always shop for tubing mascaras that are water soluble. (Read more about tubing mascaras and how they work here.)

However, if you were a Beautycounter mascara fan and it didn’t smudge on you, you’ll really like the Tarte Maneater mascara. If you need a good tubing mascara recommendation, you can’t beat Tarte’s Tartelette Tubing mascara (read my Tartelette Tubing Mascara review here).

Concealer

The ILIA Concealer is a great (super clean) alternative. My preference is the Tarte Shape Tape Radiant concealer though since I only really use it under my eyes.

Lip Sheer

I just got the Ravie Beauty Effortless Lips in the mail a few weeks ago and they are UNREAL! They apply very much like the Lip Sheer (actually, better). See how each Ravie Beauty shade looks on me in this video. Go for Dahlia for the best everyday shade.

Lip Intense

I like the ILIA Colorblock Lipstick. It’s not quite as good as the Beautycounter lipsticks but it’s similar and a clean option. My all-time favorite lipstick is Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk.

Brow gel

ILIA Brow Gel is very similar to Beautycounter’s brow gel, but it doesn’t dry out as quickly.

Discount Codes

One silver lining to trying new products is that you can typically get a discount on your first order (and I believe all of my codes work on every order).

• Colleen Rothschild – Use code TERILYN20 for 20% off
• Tarte – Use code terilyn15 for 15% off
• Wink – Use code TERI for 15% off
• Primally Pure – Use code TERI for 10% off

Oliveda doesn’t have a promo code, but they do have good perks.

1. A freebie when you take the Oliveda skincare quiz and order 2+ of the recommendations. 
2. Free shipping on $50+ orders (ALWAYS!)
3. 365 day product guarantee.

Okay, that’s all I have for now! Like I mentioned above, if you have good recommendations for Beautycounter swaps, please drop them below!

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