FIRST BLUSH FROM PG 42
If you’re more of a website person (or you’ve refused to retire that handy flip phone) head on over to The Environmenal Working Group (www.ewg.org), where you can peruse the Skin Deep database, a cosmetics and personal care products safety guide launched in 2004 that, to date, has rated 80,000 personal care products with the same goal as Think Dirty; to educate and help people find safe products with fewer untested and potentially hazardous ingredients. Skin Deep provides information about regulations, toxicity, and safety ratings.
Products & Brands
They say necessity is the mother of invention, and that couldn’t be truer in the case of safe cosmetics and care products. Even as little as a decade ago it would’ve been nearly impossible to find all the products you love and use regularly in a safe, organic, toxic-free line, let alone a variety of lines and brands to choose from. Using only certified organic ingredients and/or a mix of natural and organic ingredients can be limiting, so most brands don’t go that far, and a lot of the standard, big names aren’t as all-natural as they claim to be. And honestly, it’s more about what these organic lines aren’t using that matters here: absolutely no unnecessary chemicals, parabens, fillers, preservatives, or additives. But ask and you shall receive! Us beauty lovers and product-hoarders have spoken, and with our demands we have noticed a surge in just how many great lines and brands there
are these days offering safe, harm-free cosmetics. Even big name brands are starting to roll out safer products one by one. Read on for my personal recommendations on which clean products, brands, and lines are worth your time, money, and consideration.
Nail It Down
The one beauty product that’s arguably seen the most change is nail polish. Even a number of high-end, prestige designer brands like Dior, Givenchy, and Chanel got on the bandwagon and made their nail polishes Five Free—free of formaldehyde, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), and toluene—plus formaldehyde resin and camphor. Check this list of chic, richly pigmented, luxe polish brands with lesstoxic or non-toxic formulas. As far as worrying about your friends stealing them, well, that’s another story. Acquarella Chanel Le Vernis Deborah Lippmann JINSoon Kure Bazaar Mineral Fusion NCLA Obsessive Compulsive Priti RGB Scotch Naturals SpaRitual TenOverTen Vapour Zoya
Other Safe Products to Love
• SW Basics Cream: face and body cream with only three ingredients—coconut oil, olive oil, and shea butter. • Heritage Store Rose Petals Rosewater: Use as a toner or face and body mist; gentle enough for children too. • Alpine Made Certified
Organic Unscented Goat Milk Soap: Extra gentle, great for sensitive skin. No parabens or anything synthetic whatsoever—all natural and pure. • Aura Cacia Avocado Skin Care Oil: Rich, skinrejuvenation oil; very high in oleic acid; excellent for massage or moisturizing post-shower. Be sure to check out these additional brands committed to clean beauty or browse Spirit Beauty Lounge (spiritbeautylounge.com): Afterglow Antonym Cosmetics Balanced Guru Bare Minerals Bite Beauty Caudalie Dr. Hauschka Ecco Bella Espa Ilia Josie Maran J.R. Watkins Juara Kjer Weis Kora Organics Korres May Lindstrom Origins Physicians Formula Pure and True RMS Beauty Seventh Generation Sappho Sircuit Suki Tata Harper Tracie Martyn Votre Vu Vapour Organic Beauty Zuii Organic 100% PURE Genevieve LeFranc holds a BA in writing, rhetoric and communication from James Madison University. She researches and writes about the beauty and fashion industries.
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