Late to the makeup party...
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I hopped on the makeup bus late in life, but you know who didn’t? My 13 year old. At this very moment she is locked in her bathroom after declaring that a “heavy makeup session is going down”. Good for her. Unlike me, she won’t be nearly 50, struggling to figure out what blush to use, how to use it, only to give up in despair and revert back to a “natural look”. So experiment away, as long as my two makeup rules are respected: be tactful...there will be no “Pretty Women” leaving this house and be safe.
Not wanting your daughter looking like a clown or a hooker is easy enough to understand but what does being safe mean? Turns out that the personal care and cosmetics industry is completely unregulated. Since World War II, over 80,000 chemicals have been introduced into commerce and yet less than 10% of them have been tested for human safety. In fact, 1938 was the last time that Congress passed a law regulating the cosmetics industry. “Natural, Plant Based, Vegan, Cruelty Free, and Hypoallergenic” mean nothing in this unregulated industry and they certainly don’t always mean safe. What this does mean is that the vast majority of our skincare and cosmetics contain harmful ingredients like heavy metals, hormone disrupting chemicals and aren’t sourced safely or tested continuously to ensure safety.
“So what?” (says your teenager who just wants to put the latest James Charles Youtube video into practice). Here’s why safer matters. Heavy metals in your makeup can lower your IQ; cause heart, lung and kidney damage; have negative reproductive effects (sperm damage, birth defects, and miscarriages); cause allergic reactions, tiredness and headaches and have a huge adverse impact on your nervous system. And if you have an autoimmune condition (like over 50 million Americans do) and MTHFR (like I do), it’s critical that you avoid heavy metal exposure because your body can’t properly detoxify. Sadly, I know that this list is still not enough to prevent many teenagers from wanting everything at Sephora, but it’s enough for me. Because when you know better, you do better.
CLEANING THINGS UP
Before you fall into despair thinking that the toxic damage has already been done and there’s no hope or that you have to spend hundreds of dollars to redo your makeup bag or that you’ll never get the look you’re used to (or your teenager is used to) because you’re doomed to a lifetime of natural, hippie makeup that doesn’t perform as well, STOP! There’s hope!
Researchers provided teen study participants with personal care products labeled free of chemicals such as phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone… Analysis of urine samples before and after a three-day trial in which the participants used the lower-chemical products found significant drops in levels of these chemicals in the body…The researchers noted that cosmetics and personal care products are not well-regulated in this country, and that getting data about health effects from exposure, particularly long-term ones, is difficult. But they say there is growing evidence linking endocrine-disrupting chemicals to neurobehavioral problems, obesity and cancer cell growth. [source]
The bottom line is that reducing your exposure to ingredients like Fragrance, Parabens, Phthalates, Triclosan, Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)/Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), Toluene, and Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives (FRP’s) can lead to a significant drop in levels of hormone-disrupting chemicals in the body. If reducing your exposure were easy, why wouldn’t you do it? The easiest way to check the safety of your products is to use the free Healthy Living app from the Environmental Working Group. It has safety ratings for more than 78,000 cosmetics and other personal care products. Personally, I go for a “3” or less rating and have never been at a loss for options!
How do you clean up your cosmetics without breaking the bank and replacing everything? Start with your most used and the most toxic products. If you’re a lipstick wearer, start here. In 2007 The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics tested 33 lipsticks. Nearly ⅔ of them contained lead and ⅓ exceeded the limit for lead in candy (the FDA has limits for lead in food but not in cosmetics). The next most contaminated cosmetic product to replace is another colorful product - eyeshadow. Heavy metals can be introduced in the manufacturing and packaging process but for the most part, they’re coming from the earth. Most companies aren’t knowingly putting heavy metals into their products, they just are there naturally. Which is why you need to opt for companies that test and then test again and again for safety. Beautycounter screens every single batch of color cosmetics three times for heavy metals and all their 1,500 Never List ingredients.
And before you say “safety be damned, nothing can perform like my NARS, Fenty, MAC or Urban Decay!”, check out Beautycounter’s 4Ps:
Payoff – one swipe color intensity; artist grade pigments without questionable ingredients
Precision – triple milling process to the perfect and precise particle size each time for silky smooth powders that blend beautifully
Performance – long wear, using Butter Powder, a natural binder that goes on smoothly and last all day
Purity – each batch of powders are tested for heavy metals, so these high performing powders are significantly safer
Since I’m still a makeup newbie, I have had to look to others for expert opinions when it comes to makeup performance. Christy Coleman is Beautycounter’s head of creative design and curator of all things beautiful. For decades, Christy’s work has been featured in Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, and Vanity Fair and in advertising campaigns for Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Victoria’s Secret. She had already gone organic with food and switched to safer cleaning products but it wasn’t until she lost her father to Lou Gehrig’s Disease that she realized how harmful the ingredients in our everyday personal care products and traditional makeup can be and dedicated herself to creating better and safer products to use on her clients. She met with Gregg Renfrew, Founder and CEO of Beautycounter and the rest is history. Between Christy and fellow Beautycounter teammate and professional makeup artist, Genevieve Blair, I’ve learned so much and if there’s hope for me, you’ve definitely got this! Check out their work and see for yourself how Beautycounter delivers SAFER long-wear, color intensity, texture, shimmer and harmless glitter that goes head-to-head with other high-performing makeup companies and comes out on top!
Some Favorites…
When I wasn’t ready to dive into the giant sea of makeup, I decided to just stick my toe in with this one product. Beautycounter’s Dew Skin is a lightly tinted moisturizer with SPF and, for me, it was my chance to wear makeup but not really wear makeup, if you know what I mean. It provides sheer coverage that can be worn alone (old me) or under makeup for a luminous dewy glow. It also includes black currant, peony flower root extract, and vitamin C to enhance skin brightness and sodium hyaluronate to promote firmer, smoother-looking skin, because who doesn’t want that?! And it protects from oxidative damage (wrinkles and age spots!) from the blue light that we're getting from sitting in front of screens all day.
After realizing that I wasn’t shocking anyone with my huge makeup transformation when I was just wearing Dew Skin, I stepped a bit deeper into the makeup waters with Flawless In Five. It’s the perfect step when your life is so busy that most mornings you don’t have time to brush your hair. Six safer, high-performing products that even the most novice makeup artist (like me) can do in under 5 minutes. Extra bonus points for its value ($231 value for $150).
I admit that this is where I reach for my life jacket. My 13 year old can do amazing things with this set, but since eyeshadow still intimidates me, I’m taking a bit longer to go for a swim with Get The Look (though I admit that I’m completely smitten with bronzer). I host a ton of get together’s for moms with a makeup artist and every single time, the #1 question asked is “how do I use eyeshadow?” Apparently I’m not alone. Here’s my pro-tip…pretend you’re a teenager and watch a few Youtube videos. This one is my favorite!
