There are hundreds of various makeup products available all over the market. Products vary in ingredients, colours and formulas. A lot of people actually don’t even know what type of ingredients are in their products and how damaging they can be to the skin. It’s important to know the exact ingredients that can be found in regular makeup products. Before we get into detail on that, let’s analyze the different makeup categories and what they’re used for.
Makeup categories
Primer – primer is used before foundation and helps it apply smoothly. It helps with minimising the appearance of pores and controls the skin’s oil production. It also helps keep your makeup on longer.
Foundation – it’s mainly used to even out the skin tone and to cover blemishes. It also creates a nice smooth canvas and base under other makeup products. Foundation comes in different finishes, from matte to more illuminating formulas. They can also be more light coverage or heavy coverage depending on your skin type.
Concealer – this conceals imperfections, blemishes, red spots, dark spots or under eye bags. It comes in a liquid formula that is thinner in consistency while thicker, creamy formulas provide more coverage.
Powder – this product sets everything in place – powder can come in a loose or pressed form and helps give the skin a blurred effect. It also helps mattify the skin or illuminate it depending on the type of finish it is.
Bronzer – bronzer darkens and warms up the complexion – it gives the skin a nice tanned “summer” look. It is mostly used during the warmer months, but can be used all year round. It gives the face dimension and shape.
Blush – blush give the skin a youthful and healthy appearance – it gives the cheeks some colour. It also comes in different formulas and typically in pink or peach shades.
Contour Powder – contour adds dimension to the face and is mostly applied to the hollows of cheeks, tops of the forehead, and the nose. It makes the face look slim and defines cheekbones.
Highlighter – it gives a glow and illuminated face. Highlighter comes in various formulas: cream, powder, loose and liquid. It’s typically applied to the high points of the face: the tops of cheekbones, cupid’s bow, bridge of the nose, and sides of the forehead.
Eyeshadow base – this is used under eyeshadow to help keep them in place all day and blend the colours better and keep the eyeshadow in place. This step is helpful for those with oily eyelids.
Eyeshadow – there are thousands of different eyeshadow colours, formulas and finishes. Eyeshadow brings out your eye shape and colour and allows you to play around with colours on your lids.
Mascara – mascara elongates the eyelashes by applying tiny fibres onto them with the brush. It makes the eyes appear bigger and wider. It’s comes mostly in colours like black and dark brown.
Eyeliner – this product shapes the eyes and can be used to create different eye looks such as a smokey eye or cat eye. It mostly comes in black, but can be found in many different colors. Some people use a beige or white liner to line to bottom waterline.
Eyebrow – pencils, pomades and shadows are some products you can use to fill in brows. You can go for a more natural look by lightly filling them in with a pencil or use a pomade for more intense, carved brows.
Setting eyebrow/eyelash gel– this product keeps all of your hairs in place for many hours.
Lipstick- a classic product that comes in many colours, including the iconic red lipstick. It makes your lips stand out and gives them color.
Lip gloss- lip gloss also gives the lips colour and shape, but leaves a layer of shine on them. It makes them appear a lot fuller.
Lip liner- lip liners define the lips shape and also enhance the shape and size of the lips.
Ingredients to avoid
A lot of makeup contains harmful ingredients that are not only bad for both your skin and the environment. Your skin is your body’s largest organ and it should be treated with care and respect. Here are some ingredients to avoid when buying products:
- Parabens– preservatives that are used to prevent the growth of bacteria in makeup products. Once the skin absorbs them and are transmitted into the bloodstream, they can cause early puberty and breast cancer.
- BAK- a preservative found in mascara and eye products that can be toxic to the epithelial cells of the eyes. This is a bad word that doesn’t have the most way of being in the way.
- Heavy metals– chrome and nickel are two heavy metals found in different types of makeup, especially green or metallic colours. They are neurotoxins that can be linked to brain damage and lung cancer.
- Ethanolamine compounds– these contain chemicals called nitrosamines that can potentially cause cancer. Avoid the letters TEA, MEA and DEA.
- Carbon black– a powder that can be found in eye products. It’s been linked to cancer and organ system toxicity and is typically shown on the label as acetylene black, carbon black and channel black.
- Titanium dioxide– this ingredient is only safe when it’s in powder form. It can be found as TiO2.
- Retinyl acetate- a form of vitamin A that has been linked to reproductive toxicity and cancer.
Avoiding chemicals
It’s hard to completely avoid these unsafe ingredients. The best way to be sure you’re using products that are good for your skin is to switch to organic makeup brands. These brands use all natural ingredients that are nice and beneficial for the skin. When it comes to all natural makeup products, there are many brands to choose from:
Au Naturale
This brand was found by a nuclear analyst looking for safe cosmetics that are nourishing for the skin. All of their products are vegan, non-toxic, gluten-free, and paraben free. Their products should feel as if you have nothing on your skin. It should only feel refreshing and non-irritating. Their specialty are bold lip colours that feel amazing on the lips.
Vapour
This brand offers products that contain only natural, healthy, minimally processed ingredients. They also use only recycled packaging and are cruelty-free. They mostly offer multi-use products which is great for those looking for minimalistic products.
Alima Pure
Their products are formulated with the minimal amount of ingredients and have the highest quality. They never use artificial or synthetic dyes. They are also cruelty-free, carbon-neutral and use recycled paper packaging. One of their bestsellers is their powder foundation that was created for all skin-tones.
Juice Beauty
This brand creates organic and natural clinically-validated skincare and vibrant plant-pigmented cosmetics. All of their products are vegan and cruelty-free, they utilize sustainable energy sources for production, and they’re USDA certified organic.
Lilah b.
Their brand is all about creating simple, multipurpose beauty products with clean formulas. None of the products contain gluten, sulfates or parabens and are only packed with beneficial ingredients such as aloe and botanicals. The products make your skin feel luxurious, nourished and all around amazing.
Real Purity
They only use the highest quality botanicals and plant-derived ingredients in their products. They are naturally good for you and have extremely affordable prices. Their true desire is to replace toxic ingredients with real ones that work great for every skin type- including sensitive skin. They’re also eco-friendly, cruelty-free and offer mini samples to try out before purchasing the full product.
W3LL PEOPLE
This brand stands for minimalism and natural, cruelty-free ingredients. Their products soothe and nourish your skin while also covering your blemishes and creating an even complexion. They are a very affordable brand with versatile products that can be used for different purposes. Their multi-cream stick can be used as a blush, lipstick or eyeshadow.
RMS Beauty
Their cosmetics are produced with raw, food grade and organic ingredients for a natural product that nourishes, moisturises and illuminates the skin. They want to transform the way women use makeup by creating products that is not only non-toxic, but that actually heals and nourishes the skin. A fan favourite of theirs is the concealer.
Afterglow
Afterglow was the first certified gluten-free makeup line and offers a huge range of natural cosmetics with pure organic ingredients. They’re perfect for people with sensitive and problematic skin since they are very delicate on the skin. Each product is uniquely blended with natural pigments and minerals. They’re soy-free, cruelty-free, gluten-free and fair trade. Most of their products are also vegan.
Lawless
This brand offers the cleanest formulas while providing the most amazing quality. Their liquid lipsticks are formulated without any toxic, carcinogenic or hormone disrupting ingredients. Their packaging is also chic and minimalist.
Kjaer Weis
A cosmetic line that combines minimalism and aesthetic while also creating makeup that works beautifully on the skin. They use only certified organic ingredients from all around the world in all of their products. Every batch of makeup is inspected by hand and contains zero parabens, synthetic fragrances, silicones or petrochemical emulsifiers.
Bite Beauty
Most people forget that this incredible makeup line is natural and organic. Their lipsticks are super creamy and moisturising and come in many amazing colours. Their priority is high-quality products using the most organic ingredients.
Ilia Beauty
Ilia Beauty focuses on creating pure, organic products with bio-active botanicals that soothe the skin. They create lipsticks, eyeshadows and many multi-use products. One of their most popular products is the Fade Into You powder that feels super light and soft on the skin. It contains passion fruit and aloe leaf. Their shadows are also stunning and have the best pigmentation.
It’s good to invest in natural makeup products – they are safe, beneficial and better for the environment. They are also very affordable and you have a wide range to choose from.
