Do we like them?

Do we like Clinique?

Dermatologist-styled skincare and makeup brand, founded in 1968 and based in New York, part of Estée Lauder Companies.

Our score: 5 out of 10. A well-known brand with no major recent scandal that we found. Its parent's job cuts and its sales in China, where animal testing can be required, hold the score at the middle.

Clinique is one of Estée Lauder Companies' skincare and makeup brands. We're judging it mostly through its parent, because the search results had little on Clinique's own conduct.

Stéphane de La Faverie took over as Estée Lauder CEO on 1 January 2025 from Fabrizio Freda. Coverage describes a turnaround plan called "Beauty Reimagined". It moves sales away from US department stores and towards online platforms like Amazon and TikTok Shop.

The cost is jobs. Reports say the company is cutting 9,000 to 10,000 roles, about 17.5% of its workforce, as part of the restructuring.

Clinique has faced false-advertising class actions, mostly from 2012 to 2015. Plaintiffs argued its science-heavy claims, like rebuilding collagen, implied drug-like effects. Truth in Advertising's tracker says several suits were voluntarily dismissed. We didn't find how the others ended.

On animals, Good On You rates Clinique "Not good enough". Clinique sells in mainland China, and its own FAQ says it tests on animals "when required by law". The score is a middling 5.