Here’s How to Score $100 Worth of Free Beauty Products From Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market is hosting a clean beauty swap on Saturday at the Center City store. / Photograph courtesy Whole Foods Market

We’ve known for a while that, in order to be healthy, we have to pay attention to what’s in our food (even though we might not always be the most diligent about it — pizza’s just too scrumptious). But only in the past few years have more consumers started applying the same scrutiny to their skincare and makeup products. And there’s still a ways to go when it comes to awareness; Whole Foods Market recently conducted a survey of 1,000 adults and found that 59 percent don’t typically read the labels on beauty products before buying them — and about a third wouldn’t know which controversial chemicals to look for even if they did scan the ingredients.

That’s why Whole Foods is conducting its first Better Beauty Swap this Saturday starting at 8 a.m. At just five locations nationwide, including Philly’s Center City store, the first 200 customers to bring in an empty beauty or body care container will receive a free Beauty Bag containing more than $100 worth of Whole Foods­–approved beauty products. Items will range from Acure mini facial scrubs and Burt’s Bees sensitive facial towelettes to Evanhealy whipped shea butter chapstick. All the goodies are free of more than 100 potentially harmful ingredients that are often found in skincare products, including phthalates, triclosan, and BHT, thanks to Whole Foods’ strict quality standards. (Also of note: None of the beauty products are tested on animals.)

Whole Foods isn’t leaving out the smaller skincare brands either. Representatives from Franklin & Whitman and U-Bee-Well will be at the Center City Whole Foods at 8 a.m. on Saturday, too, to give demos and share their expertise with shoppers. In fact, Philly companies’ efforts to drive the skincare conversation forward played into Whole Foods’ decision to include our city in the Better Beauty Swap. “Philly has several local suppliers with beauty-forward trends and ingredients, making it a great fit for the Better Beauty Swap!” Shana Baty, a Whole Foods whole body regional associate coordinator, wrote in an email.

If you can’t make it out to Center City this weekend, don’t worry: Whole Foods’ Beauty Week sale — featuring makeup, facial care, hair care, nail polish, perfume, and makeup brushes at a 25 percent discount — kicks off on Wednesday and runs through April 2nd. (If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you’ll be able to snag an extra 10 percent off.) And you can buy the coveted Beauty Bags for $20 each in stores starting Friday the 29th, all of which makes it that much easier to make sure your beauty regimen stays as clean as your diet.

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