Counter is the clean beauty brand I can stand behind to recommend to my blog readers, and my reason for being a brand partner with Counter goes back for 7 years.
In summer 2025, the Counter soft launch is finally here! However, this company isn’t entirely brand new. Its predecessor had a history of over a decade leading the clean beauty movement in both US and Canada, and redefined the standards for beauty products to be good for our health and the environment. That’s when I first got involved.
My Beloved Clean Beauty Brand
The OG Clean Beauty Company
The original company was called Beautycounter. It was founded to change the industry and provide product solutions that did not exist before. After years of struggles with my health and illnesses, I needed products that were safe and effective and beautiful for myself and my family. When I discovered Beautycounter, it checked all of my boxes and more.
At that time, product safety wasn’t a thing in North America in the personal care industry. Beautycounter was the OG of clean beauty brands. Many companies today that have shifted their language and developed forbidden ingredient lists were following the footsteps of Beautycounter that first started this new kind of standard in 2013.
After I started using Beautycounter products, I fell in love with their scientific research and innovation, their high safety standards and efficacy, their focus on education, their political activism, and Beautycounter’s founder Gregg’s unwavering passion.
Beautycounter was a truly special and unique brand! It was the first of its kind to start the clean beauty movement and revolutionize the beauty industry across US and Canada. I wrote a blog post back then explaining my decision to join Beautycounter as an independent consultant in 2018.
The More I Knew, The More I Love
During the years I was a Beautycounter consultant from 2018 to 2024, I learned many things about the brand I deeply appreciated and was utterly proud of.
They were rigorously testing their products, including naturally occurring heavy metals in colour cosmetics to reach undetectable levels; they were completely transparent about their ingredients with an unparalleled dedication on health and safety, beyond what was required by the law; they were in partnership with universities to fund researches into the impact of harmful chemicals, such as endocrine disruptors, in personal care products on human health and reproductive systems; they constantly strived for more ethical sourcing and environmental packaging; and most impressively, they organized the consultants to meet with law makers in both US and Canada to advocate for safer laws around personal care products.
When it came to skincare, hair care and makeup, I used exclusively Beautycounter for myself and my family, because they fully earned my trust. I reviewed some of my favourites in these blog posts:
- my favourite safer skincare for sensitive dry skin
- how to choose a safe sunscreen + my review of the beautycounter sunscreens
- safer skincare products for rosacea from beautycounter
- why I switched to the beautycounter countertime regimen
From Beautycounter to Counter
Fast-forward to spring 2024, Beautycounter went out of business. This news came very unexpected to all of us consultants. What came down was that Beautycounter’s investor pulled out because the company wasn’t profitable. Rightly or wrongly, they only cared about the bottom line, but not the company’s founding mission. They had given up on Beautycounter as a business and forced the company into closure.
Beautycounter’s founder Gregg had 2 weeks of time to find new funding and purchased back whatever company assets she could. She had been a fighter to save the brand. She originally planned to relaunch a new company in fall 2024, but later pushed out the timeline to summer 2025, in order to do it right. Counter was born as the continuation and rebranding of Beautycounter.
Why I Continued with Counter
My Affiliates and Recommendations
Those of you who have followed my blog know that I take a holistic approach to wellness and healing. Beyond nutritious recipes, I also shared other products, modalities and ideas that optimize our health. From day one, I had been very firm about only recommending what I personally use and what I can stand behind. That’s something very unique about being a blogger!
I am not an employee of any company, my loyalty is to my audience by providing the best resources to you. At the same time, I am not a product review blogger who shares everything they are trying out. I like to be diligent with my research and share only well considered solutions. As a result, I have only a small handful of brands my blog is affiliated with.
The news of Beautycounter’s closure was impacting both what my family would use, and the recommendations I offered on my blog.
The Brand That Stands Out
Amid all the uncertainties in 2024, unsure of the timeline for the relaunch and what the consultant role would be like in the future, many consultants moved on to join other direct sales companies. I did not want to recommend alternative products I wasn’t using to my clients and readers at that time, and I was very clear with my intention to continue working with the brand should it relaunch. It was for a few reasons:
- There were more natural, organic, vegan, non-toxic brands out there in 2024, than when Beautcounter started the movement 11 years ago. But many were green-washing brands that weren’t truly clean. I would need to see the company backing up their ingredient labels, before I trust their claims.
- Many cleaner brands focused on fewer products, for example, only skincare, or only makeup, or only one kind of innovation. I really loved that Beautycounter was a one-stop shop, took the wisdom and innovations from multiple sources of research, and implemented a consistent safety standard across all product lines.
- I lived in Canada, and I have clients and blog readers in both Canada and the US. I am very mindful that if I offer suggestions, I would like them to be available in both countries.
- I am truly lucky to not needing to rely on my Beautycounter commission to support my family. I don’t need to pick another brand to sell to bridge my income gap. If I were to recommend brands, that’s because I am truly excited about them.
The Counter Business Model
In May 2025, as a previous consultant, I received an offer to sign up as a brand partner with Counter. I did it immediately without hesitation. Counter soft launched on June 25, and I was beyond excited that my favourite clean beauty brand is back to lead the industry once again! If you have just come across Counter for the first time, start with the never list to get to know Counter.
What’s New?
The new company has abolished the old Beautycounter’s consultant business model, which I believe is a good move!
The old structure resembled MLM which got a lot of backlash, despite the fact that most consultants built their business on sales instead of recruiting, and customers were free to shop without consultants as well as at physical stores. There was a lot of social stigma against companies that had a network marketing model, even though it was only part of the Beautycounter business.
In the years I was a Beautycounter consultant, I felt that the company’s achievements in quality, innovation and advocacy were in ways tainted by some negative views on the business model, therefore it was always an uphill battle for Beautycounter to prove that they were different. I am excited about the change to move away from the old way.
I also believe the new business model will be better for the company’s profit margin to keep Counter in business. It’s costly to research and produce high quality products that are good for our health, and to stay competitive in pricing to conventional brands. I am hopeful the new company will correct the profitability issue, because I will not want to be without their products for myself and my family.
How I Earn Commissions as a Counter Brand Partner
As for the Counter business model, this is an affiliate partnership where I earn commissions on sales and referrals. The way it works is very similar to every other affiliate program I participate in on this blog, including Amazon, perfect supplements and plum dragon herbs.
When you shop from my Counter link, cookies will be used to attribute your purchases to me. However, cookies do expire after a period of time, or being lost when you open a new browser, or being replaced when you click on another brand partner’s link. That means, unlike the old model, you do not have the option to enrol as a client under a particular consultant, you are free to shop via any brand partner’s affiliate link at all times or not shop with a brand partner at all.
FAQs
Do I pay more if I shop with a brand partner?
No, your pricing is exactly the same whether you use a brand partner’s link or not. If you shop from my link, the company pays a commission to me on that order.
How do I make sure my orders are attributed to a brand partner?
Make sure to use the brand partner’s link instead of the links in Counter’s company emails. I highly encourage you to bookmark my link in your browser, so that you can easily access it in the future. You can also access my links in my clean beauty newsletters, where I share Counter product and shopping tips. Contact me to be added to my clean beauty mailing list.
What if I forgot to use a brand partner’s link and still want my order to be attributed to them?
You can contact the company support line to fix attribution mistakes after the order is already placed. Only customers can call in to change order attribution, the brand partners do not have the ability to do so.
How to Become a Counter Brand Partner
Anyone who wants to share Counter products while earning a commission can sign up as a brand partner! There is no sign-up fee or sales quota for being a brand partner. Simply spread the words and share your links via email and text, on social media, or in person. If you would like to become a brand partner, I am happy to share tips and help you get started!
Get in Touch
I share about Counter products in my Facebook group, on Instagram, and to my clean beauty mailing list. Contact me to join my Counter mailing list or if you have a question.
Sounds like a great brand! I live in London, wish I could get access to this brand. Is there a global brand of the same calibre you can recommend?