It’s not every day a lip gloss earns unofficial royal status. But back in 2019, Catherine, Princess of Wales was photographed at Wimbledon holding what appeared to be a pink tube of Clarins Natural Lip Perfector—and the beauty world took notice.
The shade? Rose Shimmer. The moment? Immortalized by fans and beauty editors alike. Since then, this soft, flattering gloss has gained a loyal following—and, yes, the Rose Shimmer shade is currently out of stock on the Clarins US website (I checked). It is however available on the Amazon storefront (affiliate link).
But before you dispatch your royal aide to hunt one down, there’s one question worth asking: Is it clean enough for your royal routine?
A Gloss Fit for a Future Queen
It’s easy to understand the appeal: it’s a gloss-balm hybrid that delivers a soft shine, natural tint, and pillowy texture, perfectly aligned with the Princess’s fresh-faced, polished style.
Of course, that was five years ago, and we can’t say for certain it’s still in her makeup bag. Royals, like the rest of us, are allowed to rotate their favorites.
Note: Some media outlets have reported that the shade worn by Kate Middleton may have been Clarins Lip Perfector in ‘Candy Shimmer’, not ‘Rose Shimmer’ as initially speculated. The ‘Candy Shimmer’ shade is currently available on clarinsusa.com. A nice perk of ordering directly from the site is that you get to choose three complimentary samples at checkout.
So… Is It Clean?
While it may look and feel lovely, this gloss doesn’t quite meet the bar for “clean” beauty.
Here’s why it wouldn’t make the clean list:
| 🚫 Not Clean-Friendly | ✅ Clean-Friendly |
|---|---|
| Petroleum-derived ingredients (mineral oil, paraffin, polyethylene, microcrystalline wax) | Shea Butter |
| Silicones & PEGs (e.g. cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 dimethicone) | Tocopherol (Vitamin E) |
| Synthetic fragrance (“Parfum”) | Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride |
| BHT (a controversial preservative) | — |
| Carmine (a non-vegan pigment) | — |
Although it contains a few nourishing ingredients like shea butter and tocopherol (a form of vitamin E), the formula leans heavily on synthetics and petroleum-based compounds. For anyone prioritizing clean, vegan, or fragrance-free beauty, it misses the mark.
From Palace to Production: What ‘Clean’ Really Means
Clean beauty isn’t just about ingredients, it’s also about transparency in sourcing and manufacturing. According to its official website, Clarins manufactures its products in France, offering some visibility into production standards.
While royal approval gives products like Clarins an air of credibility, clean beauty standards prioritize transparency over tradition. Knowing where a product is made is part of a larger push for accountability in the supply chain. It’s not just about the label or who’s wearing it; it’s about how and where it’s made. A product may be elegant and even vegan, like some mass-market brands, but if it’s produced under opaque conditions, it still falls short of clean beauty’s transparency standards.
Royal Favorites, Clean-Adjacent Formulas
Queen Elizabeth was known to favor (favour) classic brands, notably Elizabeth Arden, whose lipsticks held a royal warrant and were a staple in her beauty routine, according to Town & Country. Though Arden’s lipsticks include natural ingredients like aloe, passionfruit oil, and ceramides, they don’t meet strict clean beauty standards due to petroleum-derived waxes (ozokerite, paraffin, microcrystalline wax), synthetic fragrance, polyethylene, and in some cases BHT. These formulas are clean-adjacent at best—similar to Clarins, another reported favorite—blending botanicals with conventional cosmetic ingredients.
Visit the official Elizabeth Arden Website
View Elizabeth Arden on Amazon Storefront (affiliate) $30
Prefer a Cleaner Alternative?
If you’re looking for a lip gloss that feels a bit like Clarins but acts like clean beauty, consider these clean beauty favorites:
- Biossance Pro-Peptide Lip Perfector – Triple-Treat Vegan Lip Balm.
- Posh Balm – Nourishing Lip Shine – Nourishing and ultra-wearable.
The Final Word
Clarins Lip Perfector in Rose Shimmer may be Princess-spotted, but it’s not one you’ll find on a clean beauty shelf. It’s comfortable, flattering, and timeless, but for ingredient purists, it doesn’t hold court.
That said, the fact that Rose Shimmer is often sold out says something. Sometimes, a beloved beauty staple reigns for reasons beyond the INCI list.
So if you’re chasing a clean alternative fit for a modern duchess, or just looking for a new lip obsession your options are plentiful, and thankfully far more ingredient-conscious than they were five years ago.
Editorial Disclosure
This post contains affiliate links. Should you choose to make a purchase through these links, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you.
