Microbiological control of cosmetic products is always of interest to the industry, since microbial spoilage can lead to product degradation and be a potential human health hazard. Preservatives are added to control microbial spoilage, increase shelf life of product and prevent infection in humans. However, their safety and in some cases their environmental impact have been questioned often. There is a growing interest to develop 'Preservative - free' or 'Self - Preserving' cosmetic formulations. In self preserving products, the traditional preservatives are replaced by 'Multifunctional' cosmetic ingredients which apart from delivering their main functional property also exhibits antimicrobial property. This paper explores the use of combination of multifunctional and other cosmetic ingredients in leave - on skin care products to deliver microbiologically safe product. Products studied are emulsion based Cream, Lotion and Vanishing cream. MIC of 69 cosmetic ingredients were screened for antimicrobial property and compared with known preservatives. 17 skin care ingredients were shortlisted and in various combinations used to prepare 69 cream, 51 lotion and 19 vanishing cream formulations. They were evaluated for their efficacy to preserve the product against microbial challenge by Preservative Challenge Test (PCT), as 6 multiple weekly challenge. Formulation with preservative was used as control. Of the formulations screened, 11 cream, 24 lotion and 4 vanishing cream formulations passed our criteria, which was similar to control formulation with preservative. It is possible to develop different options of self preserving skin care products which are as efficacious as products with preservative.