Lipstick Crayons & Balms
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September 1, 2022
By Lisa Petrison
The lip crayons, butters and balms listed on this page include some of my own personal makeup favorites.
They provide a substantial amount of lip color that is not quite as saturated as that of most conventional lipsticks, along with some nice hydration benefits.
TOP PICKS
♣ Living Clean Superstars:
+100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Lip Glaze ($26)
Bobbi Brown Art Stick ($29)
Clinique Chubby Stick Lip Color Balm ($19)
Honest Demi-Matte Lip Crayon ($13)
Honest Lush Sheer Lip Crayon ($13)
Ilia Balmy Tint Hydrating Lip Balm ($28)
Jane Iredale PlayOn Lip Crayon ($20)
♦ Additional Possibilities:
+Burt’s Bees Lip Crayons ($9)
Tarte H2O Balm Lip Tint ($21)
W3LL People Lip Butter SPF15 ($15)
♠ Trash Can:
MAC Glow Play Lip Balm ($20)
Maybelline Green Edition Balmy Lip Blush ($8)
Mineral Fusion Lipstick Butter ($14)
Physicians Formula Organic Wear Tinted Lip Treatment ($10)
Rose Inc. Lip Sculpt Clean Lipstick ($26)
♥ Lisa’s Choice:
Clinique Chubby Stick Lip Color Balm ($19)
Notes:
1) Living Clean Superstars – Products with high scores on both Performance Rating (5) as well as Ingredients Rating (4/5). + Clean Pick (Ingredients Rating = 5).
2) Lisa’s Choice – Products that I would purchase for my own personal use. √ Lisa’s Favorite
100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Lip Glaze – $26
♥ Lisa’s Choice
♣ Living Clean Superstar
Overall Rating: 
(5 / 5)
Performance Rating: (5 / 5)
Ingredient Rating: (5 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: None
Processed Fragrance: None
This is one of my favorite products from 100% Pure and has been really enjoyable to use.
I think that this lip product looks very nice on my lips and is also pretty moisturizing.
The main ingredients are avocado oil and cocoa butter, both of which are favorites of mine in lip products.
The product has a nice texture and taste, and it has held up for me for a number of months without going rancid.
The colors are all natural and derived from fruits. I have a shade called Sultry (“a warm peach brown”) and think that it is lovely.
The ingredients list looks good and the product feels clean to me. The taste is slightly fruity and quite pleasant.
I might buy another one of these lip balms at some point, though probably I will keep my eye out for good sales since the full price is pretty high.
Size: 0.088 oz.
100% Pure Rating: 4.6 Stars (1491 reviews)
Credo Clean: Meets Criteria
Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
Think Dirty Rating: 1 (green)
EWG Product Rating: 2 (green)
EWG Ingredient Rating: 2 (green)
EWG Problem Ingredients: None
Fragrance Ingredients: Pomegranate, Rose petal flower powder, Lavender flower/leaf/stem, Cinnamon bark, Rosehip oil, Mango seed butter
All Ingredients: Avocado Butter, Cocoa Seed Butter, Contains All or Some of The Following Extracts of Cherry Fruit, Plum Fruit, Cabernet Grape Fruit, Raspberry Fruit, Blueberry Fruit, Blackberry Fruit, Peach Fruit, Apricot Fruit, Tomato Fruit/Leaf/Stem, Pomegranate, Cocoa, Rose Petal Flower Powder, Lavender Flower/Leaf/Stem and Cinnamon Bark, Shea Butter, Rosehip Oil Seed Oil, Mango Seed Butter, Vitamin E , Vitamin C, Rice Starch, Mica
Bobbi Brown Art Stick – $29
♣ Living Clean Superstar
Overall Rating: (5 / 5)
Performance Rating: (5 / 5)
Ingredients Rating: 
(4 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: None
Processed Fragrance: None
Although I have found almost all of Bobbi Brown’s lip products to be unacceptably toxic (both in terms of their ingredients lists and my experiences with them), these art sticks are a noteworthy exception.
The art sticks are somewhere between a lip pencil and lipstick in consistency but are quite large in size (5″ long and about the width of a standard highlighter) compared to either. Each comes with its own sharpener, which is much bigger than any other makeup sharpener that I have ever encountered.
I think these art sticks make it pretty easy to draw a precise lip outline and then to fill it in with color. If I add a little lip gloss on the top, the result is a plump lip look that lasts for quite a while.
According to EWG criteria, the art sticks have an acceptably clean ingredient list other than the artificial colors and a chemical called myristyl myristate (which is also used in quite a few “clean” brands and which hasn’t seemed to be a problem for me).
Five colors are currently available. I have Bare (“a nude flesh tone”) and Dusty Pink (“a soft neutral pink”). The latter is a little brighter than I would have expected from the description, but it is pretty and softens up if I put lip gloss on top.
I like both of these and would be interested in trying out additional colors.
Size: 0.2 oz.
Bobbi Brown Rating: 4.5 Stars (182 reviews)
Credo Clean: Meets Criteria
Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
Think Dirty Rating: 3 (green)
EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients: Myristyl Myristate (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Red #6 (6), Red # 7 (6), Blue #1 (7), Red #30 (5), Red #22 (5), Red #21 (5), Yellow #6 (7), Red #27 (5), Red #33 (4), Red #27 (5), Orange #5 (4)
Fragrance Ingredients: None
All Ingredients: Castor Seed Oil , Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride , Glyceryl Ricinoleate , Candelilla Wax, Beeswax, Myristyl Myristate , Carnauba Wax, Cetyl Alcohol , Shea Butter, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate , Lecithin , Tocopherol , Ascorbyl Palmitate , Tin Oxide . May Contain: Mica , Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 7, Blue 1, Red 30, Red 22, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Manganese Violet , Red 6, Red 27, Carmine, Bismuth Oxychloride, Red 33, Red 28, Orange 5, Red 21
Burt’s Bees Lip Crayons – $9
Overall Rating: (4 / 5)
Performance Rating: 
(3 / 5)
Ingredient Rating: (5 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: Very mild (taste)
Processed Fragrance: None
These lip crayons have a pretty clean ingredient list that does not mention the “natural flavor” that I find problematic in many Burt’s Bees lip products. Only natural coloring agents are used.
The crayons have a good consistency and allow me to easily draw on a nice neat mouth, without a lot of smearing.
They feel pretty hydrating, do not require me to put on a lip conditioner before using them, and have not been irritating to my mouth.
The reasonable price is also a plus.
I purchased two of these crayons – Outback Oasis (a light nude) and Tahitian Sunset (a cheerful orange-red).
Unfortunately, I have not been very impressed by the color of either of these crayons. They look a little muddy to my eyes.
In addition, I feel intuitively reluctant to wear these lip crayons and always end up wiping them off right away if I try putting them on.
Although the taste is not great, I think it is more that they just don’t feel good to me and wonder about the possibility of contamination of one or more of the ingredients.
Amazon Rating: 4.4 Stars (2,205 reviews)
Credo Clean: Meets Criteria
Sephora Clean: Meets Criteria
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
Think Dirty Rating: 0 (green)
EWG Product Rating: 1 (green)
EWG Ingredient Rating: 3 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients: Titanium dioxide (3). (Also contains soybean oil.)
Fragrance Ingredients: Rosemary leaf extract
All Ingredients (Gloss): Castor seed oil, diheptylsuccinate, candelilla wax, jojoba seed oil, carnauba wax, shea butter, beeswax, sunflower seed oil, olive fruit oil, capryloyl glycerin/sebacic acidcopolymer, aleurites moluccanus seed oil, tocopherol, soybean oil, rosemary leaf extract. +/-: mica, titanium dioxide, carmine, iron oxides
All Ingredients (Matte): Castor seed oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, jojoba seed oil, candelilla wax, beeswax, carnauba wax, shea butter, hydrogenated vegetable oil, aleurites moluccana seed oil*, olive fruit oil, sunflower seed oil, rosemary leaf extract, tocopherol, lecithin, silica, soybean oil. +/- : titanium dioxide, mica, carmine, iron oxides. *kendi oil
Clinique Chubby Stick Lip Colour Balm – $19
♣ Living Clean Superstar
Overall Rating: (5 / 5)
Performance Rating: (5 / 5)
Ingredients Rating: (4 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: None
Processed Fragrance: None
Although many Clinique products include a variety of problematic ingredients, the Clinique Chubby Sticks are surprisingly clean and have become favorites of mine.
The regular line of the Chubby Sticks lip products offers 15 shades, each providing just a light wash of color to the lips.
The Intense versions are basically the same formula but with substantially more pigment. Eight shades are currently available.
These crayons are all somewhat hydrating and have color that lasts for a reasonably long time.
I especially like the fact that I can draw a neat mouth without the product smearing or looking messy. The slight waxiness of the crayon provides some definition without requiring a lot of fuss (or, for the most part, even a mirror).
EWG lists only the food colorings as problem ingredients, and no flavoring agents are used. The product has not irritated my skin at all, and I think it tastes okay.
I also appreciate the fact that these crayons have held up well through a lot of use, rather than getting smashed or misshapen as many of my other lip products have.
I’ve tried on most of the Chubby Stick colors and think that almost all of them have looked nice on me.
I especially like Richer Raisin (which is similar to the Clinique Almost Lipstick Black Honey shade), Two-Ton Tomato and Whole Lotta Honey in the regular line, as well as Curviest Caramel and Chunkiest Chili in the Intense line.
Size: 0.10 oz.
Ulta Rating: 4.6 Stars (2974 reviews)
Credo Clean: Meets Criteria
Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
Think Dirty Rating: 6 (yellow)
EWG Product Rating: 4 (yellow)
EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients:Blue #1 (7), Yellow #6 (7), Red #6 (6), Red #7 (6), Yellow #5 (6), Red #22 (5), Red #30 (5), Red #28 (5), Red #33 (4), Titanium dioxide (3). (Also contains Vegetable oil, Soybean oil, Sunflower seed oil)
Fragrance Ingredients: None
All Ingredients (Regular): Castor Seed Oil, Vegetable Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Candelilla Wax, Beeswax, Ozokerite, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Shea Butter, Jojoba Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Shea Butter Extract, Mango Seed Butter, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Soybean Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, [+/- Titanium Dioxide, Yellow 5, Iron Oxides, Yellow 6, Red 7, Red 6, Bismuth Oxychloride, Carmine, Red 22, Red 33, Red 28, Mica, Blue 1, Red 30
All Ingredients (Intense): Castor Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Vegetable Oil, Candelilla Wax, Beeswax, Ozokerite, Shea Butter, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Shea Butter Extract, Mango Seed Butter, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Soybean Oil, Sunflower Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Olive Oil, Tocopherol, [+/- Titanium Dioxide, Red 7, Iron Oxides, Red 33, Red 6, Mica, Blue 1, Yellow 5, Red 22, Red 30, Carmine, Bismuth Oxychloride, Red 28, Yellow 6
Honest Demi-Matte Lip Crayon – $13
♣ Living Clean Superstar
Overall Rating: (5 / 5)
Performance Rating: (5 / 5)
Ingredients Rating: (4 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: None
Processed Fragrance: None
These soft matte crayons from Honest have an unusually clean ingredients list, with just a few artificial colors being of any significant concern. They also taste and feel quite good to me.
These crayons are highly moisturizing, with infusions of jojoba seed oil, murumuru butter and shea butter.
The flavoring agents are all-natural extracts from real fruit (raspberry, blackberry, apple and grape) and real vanilla.
The colors are designed to be fully saturated and to give the look of regular lipstick.
I have the shades Marsala and Fig, both of which are in the burgundy family. Although these are both dark lip colors, I think they have worked okay on me and are pretty.
The main downside is that these lip crayons are so creamy and hydrating that they tend to be kind of messy going on. It seems to me that no matter how careful I am at applying this product, some of it gets on the skin around my mouth and then needs to be touched up.
I will say that once the lipstick is properly on my mouth that it does stay mostly in place and lasts a bit longer than I would have expected, though.
Size: 0.105 oz.
Ulta Rating: 4.6 Stars (30 reviews)
Credo Clean: Unclear
Clean at Sephora: Unclear
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
EWG Product Rating: EWG Verified (some shades) or 1-3 (green/yellow);
EWG Ingredient Rating: 5 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients: Yellow #5 (3), Red #6 (6), Blue #1 (7), Titanium dioxide (3)
Fragrance Ingredients: Raspberry fruit extract, Blackberry fruit extract, Apple fruit extract, Grape fruit extract, Vanilla planifolia fruit extract
All Ingredients: Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Jojoba Seed Oil, Silica, Candelilla Wax, Beeswax, Carnauba Wax, Sunflower Seed Wax, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Triethyl Citrate, Raspberry Fruit Extract, Alcohol, Blackberry Fruit Extract, Apple Fruit Extract, Grape Fruit Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Water, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Shea Butter, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Tocopherol, Sunflower Seed Oil, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, May Contain (+/-): Iron Oxides, Carmine, Red 7, Yellow 5, Blue 1.
(Information is for Mulberry and Marsala versions.)
Honest Lush Sheer Lip Crayon – $13
♣ Living Clean Superstar
Overall Rating: (5 / 5)
Performance Rating: (5 / 5)
Ingredient Rating: (4 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: None
Processed Fragrance: None
These lip crayons from Honest are sheer and moisturizing, with a clean ingredients list.
The flavor is a fruity vanilla, derived from real fruit (raspberry, blackberry and grape) and real vanilla extract.
So far, I have only tried the Blossom shade (peachy-pink). Several other shades have been available in the past, but they have been out of stock for quite a while.
The product comes in crayon form in a twist-up plastic tube and goes on the lips easily, with a relaxed vibe and a very slight shimmer.
The crayon is soft enough that the one that I own has gotten a little misshapen with use, but I have not found that to be a substantial problem.
I would consider buying additional shades in this product if any become available.
Size: 0.105 oz.
Ulta Rating: 4.6 Stars (30 reviews)
Credo Clean: Meets Criteria
Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
EWG Product Rating: EWG Verified
EWG Ingredient Rating: 5 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients: Yellow #5 (3), Red #6 (6), Titanium dioxide (3)
Fragrance Ingredients: Astrocaryum murumuru seed butter, apple fruit extract, raspberry fruit extract, vanilla planifolia fruit extract, blackberry fruit extract, grape fruit extract
All Ingredients: Castor Seed Oil, Glyceryl Ricinoleate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil/Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Polyglyceryl-10 Decaoleate, Candelilla Wax, Cetyl Ricinoleate, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Carnauba Wax, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sunflower Seed Wax, Coconut Oil, Polyglyceryl-10 Pentaoleate, Beeswax, Garcinia Indica Seed Butter, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Triethyl Citrate, Shea Butter, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Alcohol, Apple Fruit Extract, Raspberry Fruit Extract, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Water, Blackberry Fruit Extract, Grape Fruit Extract, Tocopherol, Sunflower Seed Oil, Titanium Dioxide, Carmine, Yellow 5. May Contain: Mica, Iron Oxides, Red 6.
(Information is for Raspberry, Blossom, Rose and Petal versions.)
Ilia Balmy Tint Lip Balm – $28
♣ Living Clean Superstar
Overall Rating: (5 / 5)
Performance Rating: (5 / 5)
Ingredient Rating: (4 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: None
Processed Fragrance: Vanillin
Ilia was originally founded with the goal of creating a clean lip balm, and this product is an updated version of the company’s original product offering.
Although I wish that artificial vanilla (vanillin) had not been used, otherwise the ingredients list looks pretty clean (with only a few artificial colors being of any substantial concern).
Sunflower seed oil (which has some potential of going rancid) is the third ingredient, but I have had one of the company’s lip balms for more than six months and it still seems okay to me.
Although $28 seems like a lot of money for a lip balm, these products do have a good bit of saturated color and provide the look of a light lipstick.
I have the Hold Me (“warm peachy nude”) shade and think it looks very nice on me.
Size: 0.15 oz.
Sephora Rating: 4.7 Stars (496 reviews)
Credo Clean: Yes
Clean at Sephora: Yes
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
Think Dirty: 4 (yellow)
EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients: Rosa canina seed oil (3), Tocopheryl acetate (3), Red #7 (6), Red #30 (5), Titanium dioxide (3), Red #40 (6). (Also contains Vanillin.)
Fragrance Ingredients: Rosa canina seed oil, Orange peel wax, Vanillin, Rosemary leaf extract, Acacia decurrens flower wax, Salicornia herbacea extract
All Ingredients: Castor Seed Oil, Beeswax, Sunflower Seed Oil, Octyldodecanol, Shea Butter, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Candelilla Wax, Mica, Rice Bran Extract, Jojoba Esters, Rosa Canina Seed Oil, Jojoba Seed Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sunflower Seed Wax, Cocoa Seed Butter, Orange Peel Wax, Olive Fruit Oil, Avocado Oil, Sunflower Extract, Vanillin, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Tocopheryl Acetate, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Tocopherol, Acacia Decurrens Flower Wax, Polyglycerin-3, Salicornia Herbacea Extract. May Contain (±): Red 7, Red 30, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Manganese Violet, Red 40
Jane Iredale PlayOn Lip Crayon – $20
♣ Living Clean Superstar
Overall Rating: (5 / 5)
Performance Rating: (5 / 5)
Ingredient Rating: (4 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: None
Processed Fragrance: None
This creamy lip pencil from Jane Iredale requires manual sharpening but allows me to draw on a neat lip that looks nice on its own and that also can be used as a base for lipstick or lip gloss.
I have the color Blissful (“shimmering sheer nude”), which I think is very pretty.
However, I think that the formula of this lip crayon is likely especially well-suited to darker or brighter colors since the lack of smearing would be a real positive with those.
The crayon fits into a standard large-size makeup pencil sharpener (such as the one that I bought from Jones Road to use with their face pencils and eyebrow pencils).
It includes two ingredients – myristyl lactate and diethylhexyl adipate – that EWG thinks are mildly problematic (4 on their 1o-point toxicity scale) and that I have rarely seen in other products.
I think that this lip crayon feels okay to me though.
There are no fragrance ingredients mentioned in the ingredients list and I am not detecting any smell/taste at all.
The main downside that I see to this product is that it might have the potential of being used up quickly, especially if it is sharpened frequently to keep the tip pointed.
I do like this product and would like to try it in a brighter shade, though.
Size: 0.10 oz.
Amazon Rating: 4.4 Stars (180 reviews)
Credo Clean: Unclear
Clean at Sephora: Unclear
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients: Myristyl lactate (4), Diethylhexyl adipate (4), Titanium dioxide (3), Yellow #5 (6), Yellow #6 (7), Red #6 (6), Red #7 (6), Red #30 (5)
Fragrance Ingredients: None
All Ingredients: Castor Seed Oil, Octyldodecanol, Candelilla Wax, Isopropyl Lanolate, Synthetic Wax, Myristyl Lactate, Polybutene, Lanolin Oil, Cetyl Alcohol, Cetyl Acetate, PPG-3 Myristyl Ether, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Copernicia Cerifera Cera, Wheat Germ Glycerides, Diethylhexyl Adipate, Acetylated Lanolin Alcohol, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Carmine, Manganese Violet, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Red 6, Red 7, Red 30
Size: 0.1 oz.
Tarte H2O Balm Lip Tint – $21
Overall Rating: (4 / 5)
Performance Rating: (5 / 5)
Ingredient Rating: (3 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: None
Processed Fragrance: Flavor
This vegan product is described by Tarte as being an “all-in-one lip liner, primer, balm and lipstick, formulated without petrolatum or lanolin.”
It contains a number of hydrating ingredients, including small amounts of shea butter, jojoba seed oil, coconut oil, squalane, sodium hyaluronate, and a collagen complex.
The ingredients list looks pretty clean, with only the artificial colorings and the ingredient listed simply as “flavor” being a concern for me.
Although I’ve not been able to find any further information about what kind of flavor might be included, I am just tasting peppermint and feel like the taste is a pleasant one.
Why products can receive a Clean at Sephora designation without revealing whether they include synthetic flavor is perplexing to me though.
In any event, I have this lip product in the color Salt Lyfe (a neutral mauve) and think that it looks nice on me.
The hydration benefits have been particularly pleasant.
Size: 0.1 oz.
Sephora Rating: 4.3 Stars (21 reviews)
Credo Clean: Yes
Clean at Sephora: Yes
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients: Flavor (4), Tocopheryl acetate (3), Aloe vera (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Red #7 (6), Blue #1 (7), Red #6 (6), Yellow #5 (6)
Fragrance Ingredients: Flavor, laminaria ochroleuca extract, sargassum pacificum thallus extract, gardenia taitensis flower extract, calendula officinalis flower extract
All Ingredients: Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Polyisobutene, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Octyldodecanol, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Polyethylene, Triisostearin, Candelilla Wax, Sorbitan Isostearate, Caprylyl Glycol, Aluminum Hydroxide, Flavor, Tocopheryl Acetate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Shea Butter, Jojoba Seed Oil, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Coconut Oil, Bisabolol, Squalane, Tremella Fuciformis Sporocarp Extract, Soybean Oil, Castor Seed Oil, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopherol, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Laminaria Ochroleuca Extract, Sargassum Pacificum Thallus Extract, Gardenia Taitensis Flower Extract, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract. (+/-): Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 7, Blue 1, Red 6, Yellow 5
W3LL People Lip Butter SPF15 – $15
Overall Rating: (4 / 5)
Performance Rating: (4 / 5)
Ingredient Rating: (4 / 5)
Lisa Irritation Level: Mild (Taste/Skin)
Processed Fragrance: Carrot Seed Oil, Spearmint Oil, Limonene
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Size: 0.07 oz.
Credo Rating: 4.3 Stars (44 reviews)
Credo Clean: Yes
Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria
Drunk Elephant Clean: No
EWG Ingredient Rating: 4 (yellow)
EWG Problem Ingredients: Zinc oxide (3), Limonene (5)
Fragrance Ingredients: Raspberry seed oil, Carrot seed oil, Vanilla planifolia fruit oil, Spearmint leaf oil, Green tea leaf extract, Limonene
All Ingredients: Zinc Oxide, 10%; Castor seed oil, octyldodecanol, sunflower seed oil, jojoba esters, jojoba seed oil, carnauba wax, oleic/linoleic/linolenic polyglycerides, candelilla wax, sunflower seed wax, mica, raspberry seed oil, dibutyl lauroyl glutamide, caprylic/capric triglyceride, tocopherol, sweet almond oil, ethylhexylglycerin, acacia decurrens flower wax, polyglyceryl-3 polyricinoleate, polyhydroxystearic acid, lecithin, isostearic acid, polyglycerin-3, carrot seed oil, vanilla planifolia fruit oil, spearmint leaf oil, green tea leaf extract, limonene.
Shopping List
This section lists products that seem that they may have potential and that I am hoping to try in the near future.
Readers are highly encouraged to bring other relevant products that they have tried to my attention so that I can add them to this list.
Chantecaille Le Matte Stylo – $38
Haus Labs Le Monster Lip Crayon – $22
Juice Phyto-Pigments Lip Crayon – $22
Roen Elixir Tinted Lip Oil Balm – $32
Trash Can
MAC Glow Play Lip Balm ($20): Because I like the regular MAC lipsticks, I decided to try this lip balm. I liked the look and texture of the lipstick quite a lot, but found the taste to be unacceptable. EWG gives the product a 7 (red), citing as problematic flavor (4), titanium dioxide (3), blue #1 (7), red #6 (6), red #7 (6), red #21 (5), red #27 (5), red #28 (5), red #30 (5), red #21 (5), red #27 (5), red #28 (5), red #30 (5), red #22 (5), red #30 (5), red #33 (4), yellow #5 (6), and yellow #6 (7).
Maybelline Green Edition Balmy Lip Blush ($8): This product was introduced in early 2022 and is stated as supposedly being relatively clean and natural. Squalane is listed as the second ingredient and I do really like the hydration benefits of this product. However, I have found it to be unusable and believe that this is primarily due to the use of canola oil (which is routinely contaminated with substantial amounts of glyphosate) as the first ingredient in the formula. The product also has a strong fragrance that I found to be highly unappealing (and that I believe is synthetic). EWG gives the formula a 9 (red), citing the following ingredients as problematic: linalool (3), limonene (5), benzyl alcohol (6), citral (5), benzyl salicylate (5), fragrance (8), red #7 (6), red #22 (5), red #28 (5), titanium dioxide (3), yellow #6 (7), yellow #5 (6), and blue #1 (7).
Mineral Fusion Lipstick Butter ($14): I really liked this product at first, especially in terms of its all-natural ingredients list and taste. However, the product went rancid to the point that I was unable to use it at all within three months of opening. This was especially disappointing since the product was stored in an environment that was climate-controlled and mostly in the dark. Sunflower seed oil (which goes bad very easily) is listed as the first ingredient and a few other fragile oils (including sesame oil) also are mentioned. EWG gives this product a 3 (yellow) and mentions only titanium dioxide (3) as being potentially problematic.
Physicians Formula Organic Wear Tinted Lip Treatment ($10): This conditioning product contains a number of organic ingredients and looked nice on my lips (especially for the price), but it also had an unpleasant chemical-type undertone taste that made me unwilling to wear it. EWG gives the product a 4 (yellow), flagging the following ingredients as problematic: natural flavor (4), potassium hydroxide (3), glyceryl myristate (3), and glyceryl palmitate (3).
Rose Inc. Lip Sculpt Clean Lipstick ($26): This is a highly pigmented matte lip crayon that provides a good deal of hydration to the lips. I found both the smell and the taste to be quite odd, and also object to the inclusion of sucralose (Splenda) since this is thought to be able to cause negative effects on the microbiome. EWG rates the product as a 6 (yellow), flagging the C13-15 alkane (3), rose extract (3), titanium dioxide (3), red #7 (6), yellow #5 (6), red #6 (6), and blue #1 (7).
About This Website
The Living Clean in a Dirty World shopping website is designed to provide guidance to those seeking out products that are relatively low in toxicity and that provide generally positive user experiences.
Although the skincare and makeup sections have a particular focus on products appropriate for women who are in their 40’s or beyond, the information provided may be useful for other people as well.
The products are curated by Lisa Petrison, who has been focused on helping people to improve their health by avoiding toxicity since 2008 and who heads the Paradigm Change organization.
Her Living Clean in a Dirty World blog site discusses a variety of topics of relevance to those who are working to pursue a more natural lifestyle with less exposure to harmful toxicity.
Lisa is the author of several books, including A Beginner’s Guide to Mold Avoidance (co-written with Erik Johnson).
She also runs the Paradigm Change website (focusing on issues related to toxic mold illness) and the Mold Avoiders Facebook group (designed for the discussion of all topics of interest to those pursuing the mold avoidance approach described in the Beginner’s Guide).
Lisa was born in August 1964 and has yet to try cosmetic surgery, Botox or other cosmetic treatments requiring interactions with a physician, or beauty products containing retinoids.
In her former life, Lisa worked as a business school professor, as a marketing consultant to a variety of large companies, and as a reporter covering the advertising industry.
She holds a Ph.D. in marketing and social psychology from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University as well as B.S./M.S. degrees from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern.
Lisa would like to extend a special note of appreciation to Ellen Kleiman-Redden for her help in trying out products and discussing issues related to this project.
She also would like to thank the many members of the Mold Avoiders community who have shared suggestions of products to be included here.
About The Products
Products that I have tried or researched and that I have not found to be acceptable from a toxicity standpoint have been omitted entirely from the discussions on this website.
However, since a goal of this project is to introduce people to a range of options in terms of price and functionality, some products discussed on this site include ingredients that may not be appropriate for everyone.
It’s my hope that all individuals making their way to this site will find at least a few options from each product category that meet all of their own needs and wants from a variety of perspectives.
The vast majority of cosmetics marketers now offer affiliate programs in which Internet content creators may earn commissions if people who are referred to the companies’ sites by clicking on links end up making purchases.
I participate in quite a few individual affiliate programs as well as in the Sovrn/Viglinks program (which automatically converts regular links into revenue-generating links).
Links on this page that may result in affiliate income may include – but are not necessarily limited to – those from the following companies: 100% Pure, Amazon, Beautycounter, Bobbi Brown, Burt’s Bees, Clinique, Credo, Glossier, Goop, Honest, Ilia, Jane Iredale, Jones Road, Juice, Maybelline, Mineral Fusion, Pharmaca, Physicians Formula, RMS Beauty, Rose Inc., Sephora, Tarte, Ulta, Vapour, Vitacost, Westman Atelier
Reader comments (positive or negative) about products discussed on this website are very welcome.
Thoughts may be shared either by posting them in the comments section at the bottom of this page or by sending them directly to me at the following email address:
info at paradigmchange dot me
Companies that would like to offer me complimentary products to try out may contact me at this address as well.
Individuals who are seeking out less-toxic products or who are interested in pursuing a cleaner and healthier lifestyle may want to sign up to receive occasional email newsletters from Living Clean in a Dirty World.
Those signing up will receive a free PDF copy of the book Back From The Edge (describing the extraordinary life of mold avoidance pioneer Erik Johnson) and also will be automatically entered in sweepstakes giving away a variety of cleaner products.
Thanks very much for visiting the Living Clean in a Dirty World shopping site!
Links on this page are in orange (no underlining).
