Buying Skincare in Bulk (1 to 20 L): How to Fill Your Own Bottles

Buying skincare in bulk means ordering a finished, tested formula in a 1 to 20 L container, then filling your own bottles or using it at your back bar. It's the cheapest way to buy a formula per millilitre, and our bulk sizes have no minimum order. The catch: the bottles you fill from bulk are yours to label, so once you fill and sell them, hygiene, shelf life and the label are your job.

Who is bulk skincare for?

• Salons, clinics and studios buying back bar skincare for treatments. Many products come in a 1 L pump bottle.
• Brands filling their own packaging in small batches.

Want finished bottles with your label on? White label from 10 units is simpler, and our guide to starting a skincare brand covers the bigger picture.

How many bottles does a litre fill?

Divide the volume by your bottle size and round down.

Bulk size	30 mL	50 mL	125 mL	500 mL
1 L	33	20	8	2
2 L	66	40	16	4
5 L	166	100	40	10
10 L	333	200	80	20
20 L	666	400	160	40

These are full fills, so plan on a few fewer after losses. Measure fills accurately: trade measurement law says the average contents of your bottles can't be less than the quantity on the label, and only a small shortfall is allowed in any single bottle.

What bulk costs per unit

Comparing wholesale skincare in Australia? Look for a clear price per litre. Most of ours sit in five price groups, from $39 a litre (Essentials) to $139 (Peptide), with 5% off per litre at 2 L, 12% at 5 L, 20% at 10 L and 30% at 20 L. Here's our Hyaluronic Acid Serum, a bulk serum in the $64 Core group:

Size	Price	Price per litre	30 mL bottles	Serum cost per bottle
1 L	$64	$64.00	33	$1.94
5 L	$282	$56.40	166	$1.70
20 L	$896	$44.80	666	$1.35

Prices in AUD including GST, from our bulk pricing page, November 2026. Cost per bottle is price ÷ full 30 mL fills, before losses.

That's the formula only: add your bottle, closure, label, filling time and losses. For comparison, the same serum as white label is $10.99 a unit (30 mL, 10 to 49 units), including the bottle, label printing and application, and GST. Bulk is cheaper; white label saves the work.

Hygiene and GMP when you decant

Every product we make is microbiologically tested before release. Once you open the container, keeping it clean is up to you:

• Clean, then sanitise, every jug, funnel and pump that touches the product, and let it dry fully.
• Fill new, clean, dry bottles. Don't reuse bottles or top up part-used ones.
• Pour or pump product out, never dip fingers or tools in, and recap the container straight away.
• Don't dilute it or add anything. Our testing and documents only cover the formula as supplied.
• Keep a fill record: batch code, date opened, date filled and units filled, so every bottle traces back to our batch.

We operate to ISO 22716 GMP principles; our introduction to GMP and cosmetic preservatives explain more. Keep each product's SDS and CoA from our document library with your records. We don't recommend refilling customers' own containers: you can't control how they were cleaned, and every container you sell still needs the full ingredient list on it.

Shelf life and storage

Bulk has its own rules, set out in the Shelf Life section of our product pages:

So choose a size by how fast you'll use it once opened. 20 L is cheapest per litre, but only if you can fill and sell up to 666 x 30 mL bottles within 6 months. Your customers then have 6 months from opening, so if you add a period-after-opening (PAO) symbol, make it 6M, not the 12M on our finished bottles.

Labelling your filled bottles

The bottles you fill from bulk carry no label from us. (Want your own label on 1 L to 20 L bottles? Ask us about custom labelling.) When you fill them for sale, you become the packer, so in Australia each bottle needs:

• The full ingredient list on the container, exactly as on the product page. Its order follows the Consumer Goods (Cosmetics) Information Standard 2020, so don't edit or reorder it.
• The net quantity in metric units, such as 30 mL, on the main display panel.
• Your name and street address as the packer, or the business it was packed for. Trade measurement law requires a street address in Australia, not a PO box, email or website.
• The original batch code, as our shelf life rules require.

Copy the product page's directions and any product-specific statement, plus our standard precautionary statement from the label guide, word for word. Keep claims cosmetic: claims about treating acne, eczema or psoriasis, healing damaged skin, or antibacterial or antiseptic activity are likely to make it a therapeutic good, which generally must be on the ARTG before supply (see cosmetic or therapeutic?). Our cosmetic labelling checklist and label guide cover the rest, but the guide is written for our finished bottles: for bulk, use 6M instead of 12M and add the batch code yourself.

Do you need AICIS registration?

AICIS regulates the import and manufacture of industrial chemicals, which include almost all cosmetic ingredients. It says you don't need to register to re-sell products bought in Australia, or to blend ingredients bought only within Australia. So filling our Australian-made bulk without changing it generally needs no registration. Add an ingredient bought from overseas, such as a fragrance oil, or import bulk yourself, and you must register first, whatever the quantity, then categorise each imported ingredient and submit an annual declaration. See AICIS registration for skincare brands.

Packaging compatibility

We don't sell empty packaging on its own, so you'll need a supplier. Match the pack to the formula:

• Protection: opaque or amber packs for light-sensitive formulas, airless bottles for air-sensitive ones.
• Materials: ask what every part touching the product is made of, including pumps and caps.
• Testing: fill and store a few test units, then check look, smell and pump action over several weeks. This is a basic check, not a stability test: our shelf life applies to product stored as directed, and whether your packaging suits the formula is your responsibility.

Hypochlorous acid needs extra care: it reacts with metal and breaks down in light, so use metal-free packaging (check pump springs), ideally opaque white HDPE. Read why HOCl packaging must be metal-free before buying bulk Hypochlorous Acid Facial Spray, and see types of cosmetic packaging for everything else.

When to use our filling service instead

Our filling service fills your own bottles, jars or tubes with a white label or custom formula. We fill, cap, label and batch code, check fill accuracy and seal integrity, and ship to you or your fulfilment partner. Filling starts from 500 units (custom formulas typically from 1,000).

Option	Minimum	Who fills and labels	Best for
Bulk, 1 to 20 L	1 unit	You	Back bar, small batches
White label	10 units per product and size	Us, in our packaging	A fast branded launch
Filling service	500 units	Us, in your packaging	Larger runs in your own packaging

Frequently asked questions

Is there a minimum order for bulk skincare?

No. You can order a single 1, 2, 5, 10 or 20 L unit.

How many 30 mL bottles does 1 L fill?

33 full bottles, using 990 mL. Expect a few fewer after filling losses.

Can I put my own label on bulk products?

Yes. The bottles you fill from bulk are yours to label. As the packer, you need the ingredient list exactly as supplied, the net quantity, and your name and Australian street address.

How long does bulk skincare last once opened?

Open it within 12 months of ordering, then fill and sell all units within 6 months. Customers use them within 6 months of opening.

Do I need AICIS registration to fill bulk skincare?

Generally no, if you bought it in Australia and add nothing. You do if you import products or add an ingredient bought overseas.

This article is general information, not legal advice.

Sources: AICIS, What is registration and who must register? (updated 24 July 2026); AICIS, Personal care, skincare, make-up and other cosmetic products (updated 7 February 2025); AICIS, Introductions that don't require categorisation and registration (updated 10 September 2024); National Measurement Institute, Guide to the sale of pre-packaged goods (updated 27 November 2025); ACCC Product Safety, Cosmetics ingredients labelling mandatory standard; Therapeutic Goods Administration, Determining if your product is a cosmetic or therapeutic good (updated 3 July 2026).

See bulk prices  |  Filling service  |  Read the full launch guide