Trash Can (Makeup)

Buy From Anastasia Beverly Hills

Anastasia Tinted Brow Gel – $22

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Moderate

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Size: 0.32 oz.

Sephora Rating: 4.2 Stars (2617 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

EWG Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Phenoxyethanol (4), Triethanolamine (5), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Water, Alcohol Denat., Mica, Vp/Va Copolymer, Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Carbomer, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol, Disodium Edta, Tin Oxide, Triethanolamine, May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide.

Aveda Feed My Lips Pure Nourish-Mint Liquid Color Balm – $29

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Moderate

This Aveda product felt unusually toxic to me, to the point that I never have been able to bring myself to wear it.

EWG’s “Build Your Own Report” function gives it a 9 (out of 10 total) in terms of toxicity, citing a long list of problematic ingredients – licorice root extract (4), flavor (4), geraniol (5), eugenol (5), limonene (5), citronellol (4), linalool (3), citral (5), cinnamal (5), benzyl benzoate (5), titanium dioxide (3), yellow #5 (6), red #6 (6), red #7 (6), blue #1 (7), orange #5 (4), yellow #6 (7), and red #33 (4).

I suspect that the benzyl benzoate may be particularly problematic, especially in a lip product.

Size: 0.34 oz.

Aveda Rating: 3.5 Stars (24 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

EWG Rating: 9 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Licorice root extract (4), Flavor (4), Geraniol (5), Eugenol (5), Limonene (5), Citronellol (4), Linalool (3), Citral (5), Cinnamal (5), Benzyl benzoate (5), Titanium dioxide (3), Yellow #5 (6), Red #6 (6), Red #7 (6), Blue #1 (7), Orange #5 (4), Yellow #6 (7), Red #33 (4)

All Ingredients: Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Silica, Kaolin, Octyldodecanol, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Sterols, Tribehenin, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax\ Copernicia Cerifera Cera \Cire De Carnauba, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Jojoba Esters, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Aleurites Moluccana (Kukui) Seed Oil, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil, Vegetable Oil\Olus\Huile Vegetale, Bixa Orellana Seed Extract, Garcinia Mangostana Peel Extract, Polyglyceryl-10 Heptahydroxystearate, Hydrogenated Castor Oil/ Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Phytosteryl/Octyldodecyl Lauroyl Glutamate, Phytosterols, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Caprylyl Glycol, Tocopherol, Tocotrienols, Linoleic Acid, Linolenic Acid, Oleic Acid, Flavor (Aroma), Geraniol, Eugenol, Limonene, Citronellol, Linalool, Citral, Cinnamal, Benzyl Benzoate, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090), Orange 5 (Ci 45370), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Yellow 6 Lake (Ci 15985), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200)]

Aveda Petal Essence Eye Definer – $30

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Very Mild

Problematic Colorants: Ferric Ferrocyanide, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Blue #1, Ultramarines

Contains Silicone: No

Type: Wooden Pencil

The description of this product reads, “Line, define and accent eyes and brows with this creamy, blendable smooth formula. Aromatic flower waxes from the petals of jasmine and the leaves of geranium create a petal-soft texture that provides vibrant color while respecting the delicate skin around the eye.”

I purchased a couple of these eye pencils a few years ago after getting my hair cut at an Aveda salon but didn’t feel that I ever had much success with them.

In trying them on again, I feel like they went on with considerably difficulty, resulting in a thick and smudgy line. Possibly this is partially due to the fact that my pencils are getting older, but I don’t recall them being any easier to use when they were new.

They also contain hydrogenated cottonseed oil and several coloring agents that EWG believes are problematic.

My eyes were definitely irritated a little by this product, though not quite as much as with some other eye pencils.

On the plus side, the product does seem to be pretty smudge-proof once it actually goes down on the skin.

The product is currently available in three colors. I have tried Sepia (which is a very nice taupe shade) and Cacao (“a rich chocolate brown”).

Size: 0.04 oz.

Aveda Rating: 4.5 Stars (281 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EU Compliant: Meets Criteria

EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Hydrogenated cottonseed oil (5), Titanium dioxide (3), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Blue #1 (7), Ultramarines (3)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Mango Seed Oil, Candelilla Wax, Glyceryl Caprylate, Carnauba Wax, Pelargonium Graveolens Wax, Jasmine Flower Wax, Cymbidium Grandiflorum Flower Extract, Matricaria Extract, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Sunflower Seed Oil. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Manganese Violet, Yellow 5, Chromium Oxide Greens, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Bismuth Oxychloride, Blue 1, Ultramarines

Aveda Petal Essence Eye Shadow – $27

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Mild

Silicone Level: Moderate

Problematic Colorings: Ferric ferrocyanide, Ultramarines, Blue #1, Yellow #5, Chromium Oxide Greens, Chromium Hydroxide Green

I bought a few of these eyeshadows a couple of years ago, back when I was buying makeup only as impulse purchases after getting my hair cut at Aveda salons.

The shadows available only in refill-type pans and require the purchase of an Aveda compact (or some other kind of magnetic holder) to be used.

I found them to be very hard and difficult to apply, to the point that I never was able to get a good look from them.

In addition, they irritated my eyes to a noticeable extent.

I think there are many other better choices in this product category, therefore.

Size: 0.08 oz.

Aveda Rating: 4.2 Stars (102 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

Clean at Sephora: Unclear

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Dimethicone (3), Phenoxyethanol (4), Titanium dioxide (3), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Ultramarines (3), Blue #1 (7), Yellow #5 (6), Chromium oxide greens (6), Chromium hydroxide green (4)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Isopropyl Isostearate, Zinc Stearate, Magnesium Stearate, Dimethicone, Silica, Corn Starch, Lauroyl Lysine, Methicone, Magnesium Myristate, Ethylhexylglycerin, Cymbidium Grandiflorum Flower Extract, Jasmine Flower Wax, Pelargonium Graveolens Wax, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Bismuth Oxychloride, Manganese Violet, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ultramarines, Blue 1, Yellow 5, Chromium Oxide Greens, Chromium Hydroxide Green.

Aveda Petal Essence Face Accents – $26 + Case

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (4 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Mild (Itching)

Silicone Level: High

Problematic Colorings: Ultramarines, Red #7, Yellow #6, Red #33, Blue #1, Red #34, Yellow #6, Ferric ferrocyanide, Red #6

This blush from Aveda goes on quite smoothly and looks pretty on me.

I suspect that the use of the dimethicone (silicone) and squalane in the formula is in large part responsible for this.

Unfortunately, I have found that this blush is mildly but consistently irritating to my skin and so am not going to be using it again.

In looking at the ingredients list, nothing is really jumping out at me in terms of substances that I think have been problematic for me in other products. I therefore am not sure what the issue is with this product.

The other negative about this product is that it is sold just in a pan without any sort of case.

It is intended for use with the Aveda Refillable Makeup Compact ($30), which is not only expensive but gets very poor reviews and also often is out-of-stock.

The previous metal version of the compact gets better reviews than the current plastic one and may still be available in some Aveda stores or on eBay, though.

The fact that this blush is available to sample in many Aveda salons and that (as an Estee Lauder company) Aveda seems to be very good with regard to taking back products also may make this blush still worth considering for some people, even though I found it not to work for me.

Size: 0.30 oz.

Aveda Rating: 4.7 Stars (237 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredient Rating: 7 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Dimethicone (3), Linalool (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Ultramarines (3), Red #7 (6), Yellow #6 (6), Red #33 (4), Blue #1 (7), Red #34 (5), Yellow #6 (7), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Red #6 (6)

Fragrance Ingredients: Jasmine flower wax, Rose geranium wax, Lavender oil

All Ingredients: Mica, Dimethicone, Squalane, Zinc Stearate, Magnesium Stearate, Silica, Magnesium Myristate, Rice Starch, Cymbidium Grandiflorum Flower Extract, Jasmine Flower Wax, Rose Geranium Wax, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Soybean Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Ethylhexylglycerin, Methicone, Lavender Oil, Linalool, Sodium Dehydroacetate. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Ultramarines, Red 7, Manganese Violet, Yellow 5, Bismuth Oxychloride, Red 33, Blue 1, Red 34, Yellow 6, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Iron Oxides, Red 6

Aveda Pure Nourish-Mint Lip Gloss – $27

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

I have a couple of these lip glosses but never have been able to bring myself to wear them.

EWG’s “Build Your Own Report” function gives them an 8 (out of 10 total) in terms of toxicity, citing a long list of problematic ingredients – peppermint leaf (4), licorice (4), geraniol (5), eugenol (5), limonene (5), citronellol (4), linalool (3), citral (5), cinnamal (5), benzyl benzoate (5), phenoxyethanol (4), titanium dioxide (3), red #7 (6), red #33 (4), red #6 (6), yellow #6 (7), yellow #5 (6), orange #5 (4), orange #5 (4), and blue #1 (7).

In addition, I found these lip glosses to be overly thick, sticky and shiny.

Size: 0.34 oz.

Aveda Rating: 3.6 Stars (33 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

Clean at Sephora: Unclear

EWG Ingredients Rating: 8 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Peppermint leaf (4), Licorice (4), Geraniol (5), Eugenol (5), Limonene (5), Citronellol (4), Linalool (3), Citral (5), Cinnamal (5), Benzyl benzoate (5), Phenoxyethanol (4), Titanium dioxide (3), Red #7 (6), Red #33 (4), Red #6 (6), Yellow #6 (7), Yellow #5 (6), Orange #5 (4), Orange #5 (4), Blue #1 (7)

All Ingredients: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil, Oleic/Linoleic/Linolenic Polyglycerides, Hydrogenated Castor Oil/ Sebacic Acid Copolymer, Jojoba Esters, Oryza Sativa (Rice) Bran Wax, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Sterols, Tribehenin, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Seed Oil, Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Persea Gratissima (Avocado) Oil, Orbignya Oleifera (Babassu) Seed Oil, Aleurites Moluccana (Kukui) Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Vegetable Oil\Olus\Huile Vegetale, Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract, Bixa Orellana Seed Extract, Garcinia Mangostana Peel Extract, Phytosterols, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Menthol, Tocotrienols, Linolenic Acid, Linoleic Acid, Tocopherol, Oleic Acid, Alumina, Silica, Flavor (Aroma), Geraniol, Eugenol, Limonene, Citronellol, Linalool, Citral, Cinnamal, Benzyl Benzoate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Phenoxyethanol, [+/- Mica, Titanium Dioxide (Ci 77891), Iron Oxides (Ci 77491), Iron Oxides (Ci 77492), Iron Oxides (Ci 77499), Red 7 Lake (Ci 15850), Red 33 Lake (Ci 17200), Red 6 (Ci 15850), Yellow 6 Lake (Ci 15985), Yellow 5 Lake (Ci 19140), Orange 5 (Ci 45370), Manganese Violet (Ci 77742), Blue 1 Lake (Ci 42090)] <ILN46746>

Bare Minerals Gen Nude Patent Lip Lacquer – $20

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (4 / 5)

This liquid lip color felt toxic to me and tasted unpleasant to me in a chemical-like way.

EWG gives the product a 5 (yellow), citing as problems titanium dioxide (3), red #7 (6), red #30 (5), and yellow #5 (6).

However, there are quite a few chemicals listed in the ingredients list that EWG apparently does not feel are dangerous but that nonetheless seem like they are not something that I would want to eat, and I think I must be picking up on one or more of these in terms of my distaste for this product.

Ulta Rating: 3.8 Stars (169 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

EWG Product Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Ingredient Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Titanium dioxide (3), Red #7 (6), Red #30 (5), Yellow #5 (6). (Also contains Vanillin.)

Fragrance Ingredients: Vanillin

All Ingredients: Hydrogenated Polyisobutene , Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride , Octyldodecanol, Carnauba Wax, Jojoba Seed Oil , Alaria Esculenta Extract , Smithsonite Extract , Saccharomyces/Copper Ferment , Ethylhexylglycerin , Vanillin , Silica , Disteardimonium Hectorite , Polyethylene , Propylene Carbonate , Hydrogenated Polycyclopentadiene. May Contain: Mica , Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 7, Red 30, Yellow 5

Bare Minerals Mineralist Lip Gloss-Balm – $20

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

Although this lip gloss is not quite as bad as the Aveda lip gloss, it nonetheless is not something that I would want to put on my lips voluntarily since it feels toxic and tastes unpleasant to me.

Ulta Rating: 4.7 Stars (291 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria

EWG Product Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Ingredient Rating: 7 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Glyceryl behenate (3), Flavor (4), Linalool (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Blue #1 (7), Red #7 (6), Red #28 (5), Yellow #5 (6).

Fragrance Ingredients: Punica granatum flower extract, Hippophae rhamnoides oil, Flavor, Linalool

All Ingredients: Diisostearyl Malate, Phenyl Dimethicone, Triisostearyl Citrate, Glyceryl Behenate, Sunflower Seed Wax , Jojoba Seed Oil, Punica Granatum Flower Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Oil, Prunus Domestica Seed Oil, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Calcium Stearate, Polyglyceryl-2 Triisostearate, Flavor, Linalool. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Blue 1, Red 7, Red 28, Yellow 5

Bare Minerals Strength & Length Brow Gel – $22

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (3 / 5)

Unlike most of the eyebrow gels that I have tried, this one seemed to have plenty of liquid product in the container and was not dried up at all.

It went on easily with the plastic applicator and coated my brows nicely.

Unfortunately, this stuff felt really toxic to me and irritated my eyes (and also gave me a mild headache).

I see two kinds of acrylates on the ingredients list and even though EWG is not flagging all of them as especially toxic, when I looked them up my conclusion was that they have not been studied sufficiently for anyone to be concluding that they are safe.

Supposedly this product helps eyebrows to grow better. I don’t know if that is true or not since I was unable to wear the product enough to find out.

I also feel like the shade range with this product is lacking. There are only three colors (plus clear), and I don’t think that any of them would be right for me. Honey was too light, and it looks like the other colors are too dark or too reddish.

I will say that it was nice to have a product that went on so easily and wish that it did not feel so toxic to me, though.

Ulta Rating: 4.4 Stars (237 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

EWG Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Saccharomyces/Zinc ferment (3), Polyacrylamide (4), Amonomethyl propanol (4), Laureth-7 (3), Phenoxyethanol (4), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Water (Aqua/Eau), Vp/Va Copolymer, Dipropylene Glycol, Glycerin, Butylene Glycol, Panthenol, Ribes Nigrum (Black Currant) Seed Oil, Saccharomyces/Iron Ferment, Saccharomyces/Magnesium Ferment, Saccharomyces/Zinc Ferment, Saccharomyces/Silicon Ferment, Saccharomyces/Copper Ferment, Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate, Trifolium Pratense (Clover) Flower Extract, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, Dextran, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Polyacrylamide, Aminomethyl Propanol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Citric Acid, Tin Oxide, Laureth-7, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain/Peut Contenir: Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).

Bare Minerals Strength & Length Serum-Infused Mascara – $22

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (3 / 5)

Although some people appear to really dislike the plastic applicator supplied with this product, I found this mascara to go on easily and look nice on me.

Unfortunately, the mascara did irritate my eyes to a substantial extent, as soon as I applied the product and until I took it off.

Size: 0.27 oz.

Ulta Rating: 4.1 Stars (794 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: Unclear

EWG Product Rating: 2 (green)

EWG Ingredient Rating: 3 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Acacia senegal gum (3), Saccharomyces/zinc ferment (3), Polysorbate-60 (3)

Fragrance Ingredients: Rosemary leaf extract

All Ingredients: Water , Synthetic Beeswax , Candelilla Wax, Palmitic Acid , Stearic Acid , Butylene Glycol , Acacia Senegal Gum , Aminomethyl Propanediol , Carnauba, Vp/Eicosene Copolymer , Glyceryl Stearate , Clover Flower Extract , Sunflower Seed Oil , Rosemary Leaf Extract , Black Currant Seed Oil , Saccharomyces/Copper Ferment , Saccharomyces/Iron Ferment , Saccharomyces/Magnesium Ferment , Saccharomyces/Silicon Ferment , Saccharomyces/Zinc Ferment , Panthenol , Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3 , Caprylyl Glycol , Ethylhexylglycerin , Isopropyl Titanium Triisostearate , Capric Acid , Lauric Acid , Myristic Acid , Polysorbate 60 , Dextran , 1,2-Hexanediol , Disodium Phosphate , Hydroxyethylcellulose , Sodium Phosphate. May Contain: Iron Oxides

Benefit Gimme Brow – $24

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

This product caused substantial irritation for me.

It includes aluminum powder as well as a number of other especially problematic ingredients.

Size: 0.1 oz.

Ulta Rating: 4.7 Stars (16,027 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

EWG Ingredient Rating: 7 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: PEG-100 stearate (3), Polyacrylamide (4), Laureth-7 (3), Sodium benzoate (3), Yellow #5 (6), Blue #1 (7), Aluminum powder (9), Ultramarines (3), Chromium oxide greens (5), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Ferric ammonium ferrocyanide (4), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Water, Mica, Glyceryl Stearate, Polypropylene, Magnesium Aluminum Silicate, PEG-100 Stearate, Polyacrylamide, Phenethyl Alcohol, C13-14 Isoparaffin, Glyceryl Caprylate, Laureth-7, Panthenol, Glycerin, Silica, Althaea Officinalis Root Extract, Citric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate. May Contain: Yellow 5, Blue 1, Aluminum Powder, Ultramarines, Bismuth Oxychloride, Chromium Oxide Greens, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Iron Oxides, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Manganese Violet, Titanium Dioxide.

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Benefit They’re Real! Tinted Eyelash Primer – $25

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

This eyelash product irritated my eyes substantially.

It contains a number of artificial colors and other ingredients that do not seem like a very good idea for use in a mascara product.

Size: 0.3 0z.

Ulta Rating: 4.6 Stars (1204 reviews)

EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Steareth-21 (3), Phenoxyethanol (4), Steareth-2 (3), Acacia senegal gum (3), Yellow #5 (6), Blue #1 (7), Ultramarines (3), Chromium oxide greens (5), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Ferric ammonium ferrocyanide (4), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Water, Glyceryl Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Polybutene, C1836 Acid Triglyceride, Candelilla Wax, PVP, Steareth-21, Stearic Acid, Palmitic Acid, VP/Eicosene Copolymer, Nylon-12, Carnauba Wax, Phenoxyethanol, Steareth-2, Aminomethyl Propanediol, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Caprylyl Glycol, Panthenol, Algin, Acacia Senegal Gum, Serine. May Contain: Yellow 5, Blue 1, Ultramarines, Bismuth Oxychloride, Chromium Oxide Greens, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Iron Oxides, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Manganese Violet, Titanium Dioxide.

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Bobbi Brown Highlighting Powder – $50

Performance Rating: Not Rated

Ingredients Rating: (2 / 5)

Although Bobbi Brown does not in any way have a reputation as being a clean brand, there have been a few products – including these powder highlighters – that previously have had ingredients lists that have not looked too bad to me and that I have enjoyed using.

It has been my hope that as time went on, this brand might gradually introduce new products or change its formulas so that the products that it offers became more clean.

Unfortunately, the opposite seems to have occurred with these highlighters, which were reformulated in 2022.

The new ingredients list looks considerably worse than the old one (and has a lower EWG rating).

Of particular concern to me is the addition to the ingredients list of aluminum powder, which is rated as a 9 (red) “with good evidence” by EWG and which I do not think should ever be included in any makeup products.

The really problematic ingredients in these highlighters are in the “May Contain” section of the ingredients list, which means that there may be some shades of the products that do not include the ingredients.

Sometimes in the past, when I have written to Bobbi Brown and asked for the exact ingredients list for a particular shade, they have supplied it to me.

However, when I have asked a question like “Which shades of your eyeshadow sticks contain aluminum powder?” they have been unwilling to answer that question. Rather, the rules seem to be that they will only answer questions about one shade at a time.

It is unfortunate that they make the information so difficult to obtain, since if I could figure out which shades were less problematic, I could share that information on this website.

As it is, I will not be purchasing any of these new highlighters myself and cannot suggest that others do so either.

Size: 0.28 oz.

Sephora Rating (Old Formula): 4.6 Stars (744 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

Think Dirty Rating (Old Formula): 4 (yellow)

EWG Ingredient Rating (New Formula): 7 (red)

EWG Ingredient Rating (Old Formula): 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients (New Formula): C12-20 Acid Peg-8 Ester (3), Polysorbate-80 (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Yellow #5 (6), Blue #1 (7), Ultramarines (3), Aluminum powder (9), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Chromium oxide greens (5), Ferric ammonium ferrocyanide (4), Ferric Ferrocyanide (4)

EWG Problem Ingredients (Old Formula): C12-20 Acid PEG-8 Ester (3), Polysorbate-80 (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Blue #1 (7), Ultramarines (3), Yellow #5 (6).

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients (New Formula): Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, C12-20 Acid Peg-8 Ester, Glycerin, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Squalane, Polysorbate 80, Chondrus Crispus (Carrageenan) Extract, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Dicalcium Phosphate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Tin Oxide, Silica. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Yellow 5, Bismuth Oxychloride, Blue 1, Ultramarines, Manganese Violet, Carmine, Aluminum Powder, Bronze Powder, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Chromium Oxide Greens, Copper Powder, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Ferric Ferrocyanide.

All Ingredients (Old Formula): Synthetic Fluorphlogopite , Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate , C12-20 Acid PEG-8 Ester , Glycerin , Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer , Squalane , Polysorbate 80 , Carrageenan, Ethylhexylglycerin , Caprylyl Glycol , Dicalcium Phosphate , 1,2-Hexanediol , Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate , Calcium Sodium Borosilicate , Tin Oxide , Silica. May Contain: Mica , Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Manganese Violet, Bismuth Oxychloride, Blue 1 , Ultramarines, Carmine, Yellow 5

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Burt’s Bees Eyeshadow Primer – $10

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (4 / 5)

I ordered this product directly from Burt’s Bees, but it arrived too dried-up to be used.

Size: 0.25 oz.

Ulta Rating: 4.6 Stars (50 reviews)

EWG Ingredients Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Natural fragrance (8), Phenoxyethanol (4), Citronellol (4). (Also contains soybean oil.)

All Ingredients: Kaolin, coconut alkanes, undecane, sunflower seed wax, mica, tridecane, castor seed oil, rhus verniciflua peel wax, shorea robusta resin, trihydroxystearin, coco-caprylate/caprate, sunflower seed oil, polyhydroxystearic acid, tocopherol, soybean oil, stearoyl glutamic acid, iron oxides, jojoba esters, fragrance*, phenoxyethanol, citronellol. *Natural fragrance

Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss – $10

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (4 / 5)

Although this Burt’s Bees lip gloss is not as bad as the one with the avocado oil listed below, I still found it to feel unpleasant to the point that I have no interest at all in using it.

Possibly it is just the natural flavor/fragrance that is the problem, though I’m not sure about that.

Vitacost Rating: 4.3 Stars (101 reviews)

Credo Clean: Yes

EWG Ingredients Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Natural fragrance (8), Natural flavor (4), Titanium dioxide (3), Zinc oxide (3)

All Ingredients (All shades except Summer Twilight, Starry Night, Evening Glow): Castor seed oil, oleic/linoleic/linolenic polyglycerides, beeswax, flavor*, silica, sunflower seed oil, olive fruit oil, jojoba esters, ammonium glycyrrhizate, tocopherol, soybean oil. May contain: bismuth oxychloride, tin oxide, iron oxides, mica, carmine, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide. *Natural flavor

All Ingredients (Summer Twilight, Starry Night, Evening Glow): Castor seed oil, oleic/linoleic/linolenic polyglycerides, beeswax, flavor*, sunflower seed oil, silica, olive fruit oil, jojoba esters, ammonium glycyrrhizate, tocopherol, soybean oil. May contain: bismuth oxychloride, tin oxide, CI 77491, iron oxides, mica, carmine, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide. *Natural flavor

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Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss with Avocado Oil – $6

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (2 / 5)

I found this lip gloss (in the Flushed Blush shade) to taste unpleasant and to feel toxic.

Ulta Rating: 4.7 Stars (249 reviews)

Credo Clean: Yes

EWG Ingredients Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Glyceryl rosinate (5), Natural flavor (4), Glyceryl behenate (3), Linalool (3)

All Ingredients: Castor seed oil, sunflower seed oil, oleic/linoleic/linolenic polyglycerides, polyhydroxystearic acid, beeswax, silica, flavor*, shea butter, glyceryl rosinate, avocado oil, hydrogenated apricot kernel oil, hydrogenated apricot oil unsaponifiables, apricot kernel oil unsaponifiables, tocopherol, cocoa seed butter, olive oil unsaponifiables, jojoba esters, sunflower seed wax, soybean oil, acacia decurrens flower wax, citric acid, glyceryl behenate, polyglycerin-3, alumina, linalool. May contain: carmine, titanium dioxide, iron oxides. *Natural flavor

Burt’s Bees Matte Stick – $7

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

I found this lipstick to taste especially unpleasant and also did not like the way that it looked on me.

Ulta Rating: 4.1 Stars (290 reviews)

Credo Clean: Yes

EWG Ingredients Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Natural flavor (4), Linalool (3). (Also contains soybean oil.)

All Ingredients: Rice bran wax, castor seed oil, beeswax, jojoba seed oil, methylheptyl isostearate, sunflower seed oil, undecane, carmine, silica, stearyl alcohol, tridecane, caprylic/capric triglyceride, jojoba butter, theobroma grandiflorum seed butter, radish seed extract, garcinia indica seed butter, cocoa seed butter, coconut oil, mica, triheptanoin, polyglyceryl-6 polyricinoleate, titanium dioxide, iron oxides, flavor*, alumina, tocopherol, soybean oil, rosemary leaf extract, linalool. *Natural flavor

Burt’s Bees Lipsticks – $9

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (4 / 5)

Although the Burt’s Bees lipsticks look good according to EWG criteria, I have found them to have an unpleasant taste that I think is associated with some kind of laboratory-produced chemical, accompanied by the usual Burt’s Bees fruity-type “natural flavor” that I also don’t like very much.

I had hoped that the reformulation of the Satin versions in early 2022 would address this problem, but the one that I purchased tasted the same as the lipsticks did before the reformulation.

Although the Glossy versions have a different ingredients list, the taste seems to be similar to me.

The lipsticks contain no artificial colors, which some people may find to be appealing.

However, after trying four different lipsticks from this brand (including some that are appropriate shades for my complexion), it’s my conclusion that they are having a hard time getting the colors right.

They certainly don’t look like what I have come to expect from higher-end natural lipstick brands, at any rate.

Other than the critical aspects of color and taste, I think that these are okay lipsticks.

They go on easily and smoothly without my having to put on lip balm first; feel cushiony and nice on my lips; and last for a pretty long time before I need to reapply them.

Unfortunately I still cannot suggest considering them though.

Size: 0.12 oz.

Burt’s Bees Rating: 3.9 Stars (803 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Product Rating: 2-4 (green/yellow)

EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Linalool (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Natural flavor (4). (Also contains Hydrogenated vegetable oil, Soybean oil.)

Fragrance Ingredients: Natural flavor, Linalool

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Burt’s Bees Nourishing Mascara – $13

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (5 / 5)

I purchased this mascara directly from Burt’s Bees, but unfortunately it arrived too dried-up to use.

Ulta Rating: 4.0 Stars (182 reviews)

EWG Ingredients Rating: 2 (green)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Acacia senegal gum (3). (Also contains Trehalose.)

All Ingredients: Water, beeswax, glycerin, candelilla wax, stearic acid, galactoarabinan, jojoba seed oil, sodium stearoyl lactylate, pullulan, hectorite, sorbitol, acacia senegal gum, xanthan gum, coco-glucoside, mica, trehalose, p-anisic acid, glyceryl caprylate, glyceryl stearate, levulinic acid, sodium levulinate, potassium stearate, stearoyl glutamic acid. May contain: iron oxides.

Burt’s Bees Overnight Intensive Lip Treatment Passion Fruit – $9

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (4 / 5)

This product tasted quite unpleasant to me, to the point that I don’t feel that I can suggest that others consider it.

Size: 0.25 oz.

Burt’s Bees Rating: 4.8 Stars (51 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria

EWG Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Glyceryl behenate (3), Natural flavor (4), Titanium dioxide (3), Citronellol (4), Eugenol (5), Hydroxycitronellol (6), Limonene (5), Linalool (3)

Chanel No. 1 De Chanel Revitalizing Foundation – $70

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (2 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Mild

Processed Fragrance: Fragrance (Botanical and Synthetic)

Coverage Level: Light/Medium

The description of this product reads, “A buildable foundation with a luminous finish. Enriched with Red Camellia Oil and moisturizing ingredients, the formula softens skin and helps protect against environmental aggressors. The complexion appears plump and naturally more beautiful. Day after day, skin takes on a youthful glow. At the heart of the collection is the Red Camellia flower, whose revitalizing powers and extraordinary energy give it perennial youth. Red Camellia Oil delivers comfort and helps maintain skin’s barrier function.”

This foundation (released in early 2022) is available only through Ulta and the Chanel website, and the product is stocked only in larger Ulta stores.

I had an in-store makeup artist at one of these stores apply the product to my skin so that I could give it a try.

I thought that the product looked very nice on my skin. The coverage was sheer but pretty, with a slightly dewy finish that did not entirely dry down after being applied.

Especially considering that it does not contain any silicones, it did not seem to emphasize my wrinkles much at all. It more looked like I was not wearing makeup, but with just a little bit of blurring.

Unfortunately, I found the product to be irritating to my skin, with itching and slight redness occurring.

In addition, the product has a perfume-y fragrance that I found to be mildly offensive.

“Fragrance” is listed as one of the ingredients. Chanel responded to my request for specifics by stating that the product contains synthetic as well as botanical fragrance.

My suspicion is that the synthetic fragrance caused my face to react to the product, though perhaps other ingredients were problematic as well.

I tried the shade BD21 (“light-medium shade, golden undertone”). It was slightly darker than my natural skin tone but there is not a lighter shade in this line that leans warm.

Size: 1 oz.

Ulta Rating: 4.3 Stars (48 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

Clean at Sephora: Unclear

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EU Compliant: Meets Criteria

EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Tocopheryl acetate (3), Chlorphenesin (3), Fragrance (8), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Water, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, C9-12 Alkane, Glycerin, Silica, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Dextrin Isostearate, Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Magnesium Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Camellia Japonica Seed Oil, Caesalpinia Spinosa Fruit Extract, Kappaphycus Alvarezii Extract, Polyglyceryl-2 Isostearate, C8-12 Acid Triglyceride, Trihydroxystearin, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Tocopheryl Acetate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Myristoyl Glutamate, Chlorphenesin, Fragrance, Isostearic Acid, Aluminum Hydroxide, Tocopherol. May Contain Ultramarines, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Mica.

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Clinique Powder Pop Flower Highlight – $35

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Very Mild

Processed Fragrance: None

Silicone Level: None

Problematic Colorings: Yellow #5, Red #22, Red #30, Chromium Oxide Greens, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Red #33, Red #28, Blue #1, Red #34, Yellow #6, Red #7, Red #6, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ultramarines

The description of this product reads, “Long-wearing, silky-smooth highlighter for a soft, luminous glow. Weightless powder goes on smoothly, lasts all day. Enriched with luminescent pearls to adjust to your skin’s undertone. Leaves skin with buildable, natural-looking color and a dewy finish. Apply wherever you want a subtle shimmer, such as the high points of the face: cheekbones, bridge of the nose, and center of the forehead and chin.”

I really like the Clinique Powder Pop Bronzer and so thought that I would try this highlighter as well.

I feel that this highlighter (which turns out to have a quite different ingredients list from the bronzer) has been a little irritating to my skin though.

I also don’t feel like the look of the highlighter on my skin is anything particularly special and so I am not motivated to use it for that reason.

The pressed flower design of the product is certainly pretty though.

Size: 0.31 oz.

Clinique Rating: 4.5 Stars (25 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EU Compliant: Meets Criteria

EWG Ingredient Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: C12-20 Acid PEG-8 Ester (3), Polysorbate-80 (3), Yellow #5 (6), Red #22 (5), Red #30 (5), Chromium oxide greens (5), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Red #33 (4), Red #28 (5), Blue #1 (7), Red #34 (5), Yellow #6 (7), Red #7 (6), Red #6 (6), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Ultramarines (3). (Also contains Carrageenan Extract)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Mica, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, C12-20 Acid PEG-8 Ester, HDI/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Squalane, Glycerin, Ethylhexylglycerin, Caprylyl Glycol, Carrageenan Extract, Dicalcium Phosphate, 1,2-Hexanediol, Polysorbate 80, Silica, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Manganese Violet, Yellow 5, Red 22, Red 30, Chromium Oxide Greens, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Carmine, Bismuth Oxychloride, Red 33, Red 28, Blue 1, Red 34, Yellow 6, Red 7, Red 6, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Ultramarines

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Clinique Quickliner For Eyes – $22

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Very Mild

Problematic Colorants: Blue #1, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Yellow #5, Chromium Oxide Greens, Ultramarines, Ferric Ferrocyanide. (Note: Quickliner for Eyes Intense versions also contain aluminum powder and likely should be avoided.)

Contains Silicone: Yes

Type: Twist-Up Pencil with Smudger

The description of this product reads, “Twists up. Glides on. Smudges to a smooth blur of transfer-resistant colour. Needs no sharpening. Silky eyeliner pencil lines and defines with ease. Delivers long-wearing color: transfer-resistant, water-resistant, smudge-resistant. Inspires creativity: smudge tool on opposite end helps create a variety of looks. Gives you time to play: formula allows 60 seconds for blending and smudging before setting.”

These twist-up pencils go on nicely, allowing me to draw a smooth thin line right next to my eyelashes or build up to a thicker line.

They also smudge out well but then set firmly until I remove them with cleanser and warm water.

They are available in many different colors, including some softer ones like blue-grey and khaki that have worked well for me.

I’ve not found that I have needed to sharpen the pencils and have not had them break on me.

(I do make sure never to extend the tip more than the absolute minimum amount needed to use the pencil to prevent breakage from occurring, however.)

I have found these pencils to be a little irritating to my eyes.

They include some artificial coloring agents, as well as cyclopentasiloxane (a cyclic silicone) and BHT (a fat preservative).

I felt quite concerned for a while that the ingredients list for the product includes aluminum powder, which seems to have been a problem for me in other products that I have used on my eyes and which is a source of concern for EWG (rated as a 9 on their 10-point toxicity scale).

However, when I asked Clinique about this, a customer service representative offered to investigate and then informed me that no aluminum powder was included in any of the existing shades of the regular Clinique Quickliner for Eyes line.

These colors are True Khaki, Roast Coffee, Smoky Brown, Slate, New Black, Dark Chocolate, Violet, Black Brown, Blue Gray, Grape, and Really Black.

Now that I have found some other acceptable choices that do not seem to irritate my eyes at all, I probably will not be buying these Clinique pencils again though.

Ulta Rating: 4.4 Stars (1996 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EU Compliant: Meets Criteria

EWG Product Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane (3), BHT (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Blue #1 (7), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Yellow #5 (6), Chromium oxide greens (5), Ultramarines (3), Ferric ferrocyanide (4).

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Synthetic Beeswax, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Arachidyl Behenate, Microcrystalline Wax, BHT. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Mica, Blue 1, Bismuth Oxychloride, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Yellow 5, Manganese Violet, Chromium Oxide Greens, Carmine, Ultramarines, Ferric Ferrocyanide

(Information provided is for the following shades: True Khaki, Roast Coffee, Smoky Brown, Slate, New Black, Dark Chocolate, Violet, Black Brown, Blue Gray, Grape, Really Black. Other shades may include aluminum powder.)

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Clinique Quickliner for Eyes Intense – $20

Performance Rating: Not Rated

Ingredients Rating: (2 / 5)

At one point I considered buying one of these eyeliners, but was concerned to find that this formula contains perfluorononyl dimethicone (an ingredient similar to the active one in Teflon).

Although this particular ingredient apparently has not been the subject of many research papers, PFAS chemicals in general have been the subject of enough general concern that the U.S. Congress has considered banning them entirely in cosmetics.

The ingredients list also lists Aluminum Powder (9) as possibly included, but a Clinique representative wrote me that aluminum actually was not used in any of the currently available shades (including Intense Midnight, Intense Plum, Intense Chocolate, Intense Ivy, Intense Charcoal, Intense Black, Intense Ebony, Intense Aubergine, Intense Peridot, Intense Clove).

Although some of these colors look pretty, I am concerned enough about the PFAS that I have not tried this product.

Size: 0.012 oz.

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredient Rating: 7 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane (3), PEG/PPG-19/19 Dimethicone (3), Perfluorononyl Dimethicone (4), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Yellow #5 (6), Chromium oxide greens (5), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Titanium dioxide (3), Blue #1 (7), Ultramarines (3)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Isododecane, Cyclopentasiloxane, PEG/PPG-19/19 Dimethicone, Synthetic Wax, Hydrogenated Polydicyclopentadiene, Nylon-12, C20-40 Alcohols, Perfluorononyl Dimethicone, Polyglyceryl-4 Diisostearate/Polyhydroxystearate/Sebacate, Polyethylene, Tocopherol, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate,. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Mica, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Manganese Violet, Yellow 5, Chromium Oxide Greens, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Carmine, Bismuth Oxychloride, Titanium Dioxide, Blue 1, Ultramarines.

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Estee Lauder Double Wear Infinite Waterproof Eyeliner – $29

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (2 / 5)

I have one of these pencils and have found that even though the ingredients are not exactly the same, it seems indistinguishable to me from the Clinique Quickliner eye pencils in terms of the performance.

I have found this product to be mildly irritating to my eyes, which is unfortunate since otherwise it has performed pretty well.

The presence of aluminum powder in the ingredients list is a particular concern to me.

I own this pencil in the Sapphire (dark blue/gray) shade and did like the color of it.

I will not be buying any more of these eyeliners unless they change the formula though.

Ulta Rating: 4.3 Stars (478 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

EWG Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Titanium dioxide (3), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Aluminum powder (9), Ultramarines (3)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Synthetic Wax, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Hydrogenated Poly (C6-14 Olefin), Calcium Sodium Borosilicate, Polybutene, Silica Silylate, Silica, Rhus Succedanea (Japan) Fruit Wax, Ethylene/Propylene Copolymer, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-Di-T-Butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Carnauba Wax, Tin Oxide, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate. May Contain: Mica, Ultramarines, Titanium Dioxide, Carmine, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Bronze Powder, Aluminum Powder, Iron Oxides, Iron Oxides

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Glossier Generation G – $18

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

I found this silicone-based lipstick to have an unpleasant taste that felt quite toxic to me.

In addition, the lipstick had an odd flat look that made it look dated to my eyes.

Size: 0.1 oz.

Glossier Rating: 3.8 Stars (3291 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Rating: 7 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane (3), Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone (3), Phenoxyethanol (4), PEG-10 Dimethicone (3), PEG/PPG-20/15 Dimethicone (3), Isoceteth-10 (3), Laureth-4 (3), Cyclotetrasiloxane (8), Tocopheryl acetate (3), Benzyl alcohol (6), Titanium dioxide (3), Red #6 (6), Red #7 (6), Red #30 (5), Red #33 (4). (Also contains Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Cyclohexasiloxane, Isopropyl Alcohol.)

Fragrance Ingredients: Aroma/Flavor

All Ingredients (Cake): Cyclopentasiloxane, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Polyethylene, Ethylhexyl Stearate, Sunflower Seed Wax, Octyldodecanol, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Dimethicone/Vinyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, C10-18 Triglycerides, Stearoyl Inulin, Synthetic Beeswax, Mica, Disteardimonium Hectorite, C30-45 Alkyl Cetearyl Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Lecithin, Phenoxyethanol, Aroma/Flavor, PEG-10 Dimethicone, PEG/PPG-20/15 Dimethicone, Propylene Carbonate, Pomegranate Extract, Silica, Cyclohexasiloxane, Stearic Acid, Polyalkylene Oxide, Isoceteth-10, Laureth-4, Cyclotetrasiloxane, Safflower Seed Oil, Isopropyl Alcohol, Agave Tequilana Leaf Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Benzyl Alcohol. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 6, Red 7, Red 30, Red 33.

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Glossier Lidstar – $18

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (2 / 5)

This eyeshadow looked pretty on me but caused my eyes to become irritated.

I suspect that the aluminum powder was responsible for this.

When I wrote a user review stating my experiences, the company responded that they were not planning to change the formula to eliminate the aluminum powder but automatically refunded my money without my needing to request it.

Size: 0.15 oz.

Glossier Rating: 3.9 Stars (1137 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredients Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Titanium dioxide (3), Aluminum powder (9), Ultramarines (3), Ferric ferrocyanide (4)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Isododecane, Mica, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Synthetic Fluorphlogopite, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Diisostearyl Malate, Hydrogenated Styrene/Isoprene Copolymer, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Polyethylene, Trihydroxystearin, Polymethylsilsesquioxane, Silica, Propylene Carbonate, Lauroyl Lysine, Pentaerythrityl Tetra-di-t-butyl Hydroxyhydrocinnamate, Titanium Dioxide. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Bronze Powder, Aluminum Powder, Copper Powder, Carmine, Ultramarines, Ferric Ferrocyanide.

(Information is for all shades except Branch and Bun.)

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Honest Honestly Healthy Brow Gel – $15

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (5 / 5)

I ordered this brow gel directly from Honest and it arrived so dried up that I could not even see any color when I tried rubbing the wand on my hand.

This is too bad since the ingredients listed look fairly clean.

I noted at the time in the product reviews that many other people had the same complaint.

However, all of the reviews of the product now have been removed from the site without any comment being made that a previous problem had been addressed.

Although I have had good experiences with other Honest products, the way that this situation was handled makes me question the company’s business practices.

Versions available are Taupe, Brunette and Soft Black.

I purchased the product directly from Honest.

Honest Rating (Deleted): 3.4 Stars (25 reviews)

Credo Clean: Yes

EWG Product Rating: EWG Verified

EWG Ingredients Rating: 3 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Titanium dioxide (3). (Also contains Hydrolyzed corn starch, Hydrolyzed vegetable protein)

All Ingredients: Water, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Carnauba Wax, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Bayberry Fruit Wax, Cellulose, Glycerin, Coconut Alkanes, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Hydrolyzed Corn Starch, Castor Seed Oil, Silica, Propanediol, Methyl Dihydroabietate, Clover Sprout Extract, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein, Decyl Glucoside, Lauryl Glucoside, Hydroxyacetophenone, Xanthan Gum, 1,2-Hexanediol, Caprylyl Glycol, Trisodium Ethylenediamine Disuccinate. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides

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Honest Vibeliner Pencil Eyeliner – $13

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Very Mild

Problematic Colorants: Blue #1, Ferric Ferrocyanide

Contains Silicone: No

Type: Wooden Pencil with Smudger

The description of this product reads, “This vegan, Jojoba Oil infused pencil eyeliner delivers gorgeous color payoff in one swipe. The creamy formula blends seamlessly to define and effortlessly smudges out for all over color. Create endless eyeliner to eyeshadow looks with five matte and metallic shades that match your vibes.”

This is an affordably priced eye pencil that I found to be slightly irritating to my eyes, though not nearly as bad as a few of the other pencils mentioned on this page.

I also had a little more difficulty applying it to my eyes than has been the case with many of the other pencils that I have tried.

The product is EWG Verified, which means that Honest paid a fee to have EWG evaluate the product based on additional information provided by the company rather than just on the ingredients list.

I’m not sure what specific information caused EWG to determine that the problematic ingredients (hydrogenated cottonseed oil and a few artificial colors) should not be considered a concern with this product.

One thing that I do really like about this pencil is that it includes a smudger.

The product is available in five shades. I tried the Harmony (bronze) color.

Amazon Rating: 4.2 Stars (257 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EU Compliant: Meets Criteria

EWG Product Rating: EWG Verified

EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Hydrogenated cottonseed oil (6), Titanium dioxide (3), Blue #1 (7), Ferric ferrocyanide (4)

Fragrance Ingredients: Matricaria flower extract

All Ingredients (Black): Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, Mango Seed Oil, Candelilla Wax, Glyceryl Caprylate, Carnauba Wax, Macadamia Integrifolia Seed Oil, Matricaria Flower Extract, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Mica, May Contain: Manganese Violet, Titanium Dioxide, Blue 1, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Iron Oxides.

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Ilia Essential Brow Natural Volumizing Brow Gel – $26

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (4 / 5)

Although I have liked all the other Ilia products that I have tried, their brow gel product seems to be rather a disaster.

It seemed almost totally dried-up and deposited quite a few flakes into my brows without actually coating the hairs with product.

I also am not crazy about the wand, which seemed too fat to be used properly.

Most other people rating this product online also have found fault with it, and so my experience with it was not an unusual one.

Currently available colors are Blond, Medium Brown and Dark Brown.

I have the blond shade and probably that would have been okay for me if the product had worked.

I purchased the product via Credo.

Size: 0.13 oz.

Sephora Rating: 2.7 Stars (54 reviews)

Credo Clean: Yes

Clean at Sephora: Yes

EWG Ingredients Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Sodium benzoate (3), Aloe vera (3), Sodium hydroxide (4), Titanium dioxide (3). (Also contains Corn Starch, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer.)

All Ingredients: Water, Coconut Alkanes, Glycerin*, Bentonite, Corn Starch, Methyl Dihydroabietate, Gluconolactone, Sodium Acrylates Copolymer, Polyglyceryl-6 Polyricinoleate, Xanthan Gum, Hydrogenated Polydecene, Sodium Benzoate, Sunflower Seed Oil, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Phospholipids, Polyglyceryl-10 Stearate, Silica, Shea Butter*, Tocopherol, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Phytate, Sodium Citrate, Calcium Gluconate. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides.

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Jane Iredale Longest Lash Mascara – $35

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (4 / 5)

I found this product to be very irritating to my eyes, to the point that I needed to remove it within a few minutes.

In looking through the Ulta and Amazon ratings, I am not finding many other people who reported irritation issues, however.

I thus wonder if the issue could be that the algae extract that is listed as the second ingredient might have been contaminated with cyanotoxin or something similar.

Maybe this would explain why I might have reacted to it when others didn’t, since this is something that may only be sporadically present and that likely would bother me more than it does most people.

I do think that this mascara went on pretty easily and seemed to be fine in general apart from the irritation issue.

Size: 0.42 oz.

Ulta Rating: 3.8 Stars (259 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria

EWG Ingredient Rating: 3 (green)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Titanium dioxide (3), Ultramarines (3). (Also contains algae extract.)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Water, Algae Extract, Beeswax, Copernicia Cerifera Cera, Cellulose, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Hydrolyzed Algae Extract, Radish Root Extract, Tribehenin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Panthenol, Oleic Acid. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Ultramarines.

Buy From Jane Iredale

MAC Eye Kohl – $19

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (2 / 5)

I found this eye pencil (which I purchased in a special edition teal shade) to be brighter in color than most of my other eye pencils and to irritate my eyes.

The ingredients list includes aluminum powder and a number of other artificial coloring agents.

Ulta Rating: 4 Stars (189 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

EWG Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Titanium dioxide (3), Aluminum powder (9), Blue #1 (7), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Chromium oxide greens (5), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Ultramarines (3), Yellow #5 (6)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Hydrogenated Coco-Glycerides, Triethylhexanoin, Beeswax, Castor Seed Oil, Dipentaerythrityl Hexahydroxystearate/Hexastearate/Hexarosinate, Carnauba Wax, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Ozokerite, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Lecithin, Citric Acid. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Aluminum Powder, Blue 1, Bismuth Oxychloride, Carmine, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Chromium Oxide Greens, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Manganese Violet, Ultramarines, Yellow 5

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Maybelline Green Edition Balmy Lip Blush – $8

Overall Rating: (1 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Moderate

This is a new product (introduced in 2022) from Maybelline that is supposed to have cleaner ingredients than many of the other products offered by the company.

The Maybelline website states: “Green Edition is built on 4 pillars: (1) formulas that contain a minimum of 70% natural-origin ingredients, (2) formulas that are vegan, meaning they have no animal-derived ingredients, (3) formulas that are clean, meaning they don’t contain certain ingredients some consumers are trying to avoid**, and (4) packaging that includes a mix of new and recycled materials. We consider an ingredient to be natural-origin if it‘s unchanged from its natural state or has undergone processing yet still retains greater than 50% of its molecular structure from the original natural source. The remaining ingredients ensure its sensoriality and color cosmetic performance.”

I would like to see larger cosmetics companies offering cleaner products and therefore really wanted to like this product.

On the positive side, this lip product is extremely hydrating, with squalane as the second ingredient listed and a very small amount of mango oil also included. The texture feels very good on my lips and it also looks quite pretty on me.

Also listed is unspecified “fragrance,” and this does smell synthetic and unpleasant to me. The product also has a mild chemical-type taste that may be due to the fragrance but which also could be from some of the other objectionable chemicals (including benzyl alcohol and benzyl salicylate) in the formula.

I think that my real problem with this product is the canola oil that is listed as the first ingredient, though. This is an oil that (unless organic) can be assumed to be substantially contaminated with Roundup/glyphosate, which is a chemical that is highly disruptive to the microbiome and has been shown to have other negative health effects. My health has improved substantially since I started avoiding dietary sources of this chemical, and my body now seems to be able to identify it immediately based on just a bite of contaminated foods and to recoil from it.

I get that same feeling from this lip product – that it is something that I absolutely do not want to have on my lips, to an extent that is totally disproportionate to the taste/smell of it. I believe that the canola oil (which I have rarely seen used in products from specialty companies focusing on clean beauty) is responsible for this.

Of course, if people are regularly consuming glyphosate-contaminated foods, then the relatively small amount of exposure that they may get from a glyphosate-contaminated lip product may not be that acutely noticeable or make that much difference.

Still, all in all, this is not a product that I am willing to use myself and I cannot suggest that others purchase it either.

Size: 0.06 oz.

Amazon Rating: 3.6 Stars (4 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

Clean at Sephora: Unclear

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredient Rating: 9 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: 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), Blue #1 (7). (Also contains Canola oil, Soybean oil.)

Fragrance Ingredients: Fragrance

All Ingredients: Canola Oil, Squalane, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Bis-Behenyl/Isostearyl/Phytosteryl Dimer Dilinoleyl Dimer Dilinoleate, Sunflower Seed Wax, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Candelilla Wax, Alumina, Tocopherol, Soybean Oil, Linalool, Limonene, Sunflower Seed Oil, Mango Seed Oil, Aluminum Hydroxide, Benzyl Alcohol, Citral, Silica, Benzyl Salicylate, Citric Acid, Fragrance, [May Contain Iron Oxides, Mica, Red 7, Red 22, Red 28, Titanium Dioxide, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 1]

Buy From Maybelline

Buy From Walmart

Milk Makeup Kush Fiber Brow Gel – $20

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (3 / 5)

This product left a lot of what looked like lint in my eyebrows and also did a poor job of coating my eyebrow hairs.

Possibly this would not have been as noticeable if my brows were not as sparse, but I still don’t think that the product is performing as intended based on the information provided on the website.

Rather, I think that it is on its way to being dried up.

I also feel that a number of the included ingredients are concerning to me.

The product is available in seven different shades. I have MJ (“cool blonde”) and the color seemed okay.

I bought this product directly from Milk.

Sephora Rating: 4.4 Stars (1380 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

EWG Ingredients Rating: 5 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: PEG-100 stearate (3), Phenoxyethanol (4), Polyacrylamade (4), Laureth-7 (3), Sodium benzoate (3), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Water, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, PVP, Cannabis sativa seed oil, Nylon-6, silica, magnesium aluminium silicate, glycerin, panthenol, phenoxyethanol, galactoarabinan, glyceryl caprylate, polyacrylamide, C13-14 isoparaffin, laureth-7, sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate. May Contain: titanium dioxide, iron oxides, mica.

Buy From Milk Makeup

Buy From Mineral Fusion

Mineral Fusion Eye Pencil – $18

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Rating: Mild

Problematic Colorants: None (Note: The Touch (brown) color includes aluminum powder and likely should be avoided.)

Contains Silicones: No

Type: Wooden Pencil

The description of this product reads, “Velvety smooth Mineral Fusion Eye Pencil is so slick, so easy, you’ll be a master of that smokey eye in no time. Even better: a soothing mix of Chamomile, Meadowfoam, and Vitamin E show the delicate skin around your eyes some love.”

The peculiar thing to me about this eye pencil line is that the Touch (dark brown) shade includes aluminum powder, an ingredient that EWG rates as a 9 out of 10 on its toxicity scale and that I have had unusually bad experiences trying in other products.

Considering that Mineral Fusion is billing itself as a natural and clean brand, I don’t think that any of their shades should include this toxic substance as an ingredient.

The company offers five shades total of this product. I tried the Azure (“navy blue”) color.

I found it pretty easy to draw a thin line with this product and thought that it looked okay on me at first.

However, the product continued to smudge for a long time after I applied it, rather than drying down and becoming more budge-proof as many other eye pencils do.

Even though this shade supposedly does not have any aluminum powder in it, it irritated my eyes more than most of the other supposedly cleaner eye pencils that I have tried.

Although EWG seems to think the product is pretty clean, it does contain cottonseed oil.

I don’t see any reason that regular cottonseed oil would be any less contaminated with agricultural toxins than hydrogenated cottonseed oil and wonder why EWG would consider them to be different.

I don’t see myself buying eyeliner from this company again.

Size: 0.04 oz.

Mineral Fusion Rating: 4.2 Stars (138 reviews)

Credo Clean: Yes

Clean at Sephora: Meets Criteria

Drunk Elephant Clean: Meets Criteria

EU Compliant: Meets Criteria

EWG Product Rating: EWG Verified

EWG Ingredient Rating: 3 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Titanium dioxide (3). (Also contains Cottonseed Oil.)

Fragrance Ingredients: Matricaria flower extract

All Ingredients: Jojoba Seed Butter, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Meadowfoam Seed Oil, Cotton Seed Oil, Mango Seed Oil, Candelilla Wax, Glyceryl Caprylate, Carnauba Wax, Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil, Tocopherol, Silica, Matricaria Flower Extract, Ascorbyl Palmitate. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Mica, Titanium Dioxide.

Important Note: This information applies to all colors except for the “Touch” (brown) color, which contains aluminum powder and thus is not suggested as a good option.

Buy From Pharmaca

Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Or – $39

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

This French shimmer oil contains synthetic fragrance, with the smell being really objectionable to me.

This is unfortunate since the other ingredients look generally clean and the product was pretty on me.

Size: 1.6 oz.

Amazon Rating: 4.3 Stars (332 reviews)

EWG Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Fragrance (8), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Isopropyl isostearate, macadamia ternifolia seed oil, dicaprylyl ether, coco-caprylate/caprate, sweet almond oil, hazel seed oil, mica, camellia oleifera seed oil, silica, parfum/fragrance, tocopherol, titanium dioxide, borago officinalis seed oil, olive fruit oil, iron oxides, sunflower seed oil, rosemary leaf extract, hypericum perforatum flower/leaf/stem extract, solanum

Peter Lamas Lash Masque – $28

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

This product was quite irritating to my eyes.

It contains retinyl palmitate (a form of retinol that EWG rates as a 9) and some other problematic ingredients.

Amazon Rating: 3.9 Stars (451 reviews)

EWG Ingredients Rating: 7 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Comfrey (4), Retinyl palmitate (9), Aminomethyl propanol (3), Phenoxyethanol (4)

All Ingredients: Water, PVP, Panthenol, Polyquaternium-28, Plantago Lanceolata Leaf Extract*, Malva Sylvestris (Mallow) Flower Extract*, Spirulina Platensis Extract*, Symphytum Officinale Leaf Extract*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil, Biotin, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein PG-Propyl Silanetriol, Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein/PVP Crosspolymer, Caprylyl Glycol, Diglycerin, Phenyl Trimethicone, Ethylhexylglycerin, Carbomer, Isostearyl Alcohol, Hexylene Glycol, Alcohol*, Aminomethyl Propanol, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Phenoxyethanol, Potassium Sorbate, Iron Oxide (CI 77499).

Buy From Physicians Formula

Buy From Peter Lamas

Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Bronzer – $15

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

This product gets quite good reviews on Ulta and is from a company that uses many natural (and in some cases organic) ingredients, and so I was surprised at how much I disliked it.

A good part of the problem is likely the fragrance, which is pretty strong and seems to me to contain synthetic ingredients. (Many of the Ulta raters rave about how “wonderful” it smells, which should have been a tip-off that there was a problem here.)

Apart from the fragrance, this does not feel like a very clean product to me. I wonder how much effort they are making to ensure that the talc is not contaminated with asbestos, for instance.

Compared to other bronzers that I have liked, this one is very soft and has the tendency to go on much too heavily.

Although I tried four different shades of this product (as a result of purchasing a couple of Physicians Formula palettes), I never found a version that I thought looked good on me. The colors all looked pretty much just like different intensities of muddy brown to me, without the slight pinkish or peachy undertone that I think is better suited to my skin.

It therefore seems to me that, all in all, this product is just designed for people who have much different goals than I do with regard to makeup products and does not work for me at all.

Ulta Rating: 4.4 Stars (2037 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredients Rating: 8 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Fragrance (8), Talc (8), Phenoxyethanol (4), Dimethicone (3), Red #7 (6), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Talc, Synthetic Sapphire, Mica, Dimethiconol Stearate, Isostearyl Neopentanoate, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Fragrance, Astrocaryum Tucuma Seed Butter, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Oleate, Glyceryl Stearate, Lauroyl Lysine, Lecithin, Polybutene, Tin Oxide, Tocopherol, Aluminum Hydroxide, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Red 7 Lake, Titanium Dioxide.

Buy From Physicians Formula

Physicians Formula Murumuru Butter Highlighter – $12

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

This product contains a strong fragrance that seems to be synthetic and that I found to be highly objectionable.

In addition, I did not like the way that the shades that I tried (in a Physicians Formula palette) looked on my skin.

Physicians Formula Rating: 4.6 Stars (1302 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

Clean at Sephora: Unclear

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredients Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Dimethicone (3), Phenoxyethanol (4), Fragrance (8), Titanium dioxide (3). (Also contains Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer.)

All Ingredients: Isononyl Isononanoate, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Alumina, Vinyl Dimethicone/Methicone Silsesquioxane Crosspolymer, Ethylhexyl Isononanoate, Dimethicone, Silica, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Sorbic Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Fragrance/Parfum, Tin Oxide, Astrocaryum Murumuru Seed Butter, Astrocaryum Tucuma Seed Butter, Shea Butter, Sunflower Seed Oil, Theobroma Grandiflorum Seed Butter, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, Tocopherol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Propylene Carbonate, Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-12, Sodium Hyaluronate. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Mica, Titanium Dioxide.

Physicians Formula Organic Wear Tinted Lip Treatment – $10

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

This product is stated as containing a number of organic ingredients, but it still felt and tasted problematic to me.

Unspecified “flavor” is mentioned on the ingredients list, and so maybe that is the main problem here.

Size: 0.15 oz.

Physicians Formula Rating: 4.5 Stars (260 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

EWG Ingredients Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Flavor (4), Potassium hydroxide (3), Glyceryl myristate (3), Glyceryl palmitate (3)

All Ingredients: Coconut oil*, jojoba seed oil*, polyhydroxystearic acid, beeswax*, rice bran protein, flavor, carnauba wax, sucrose tetrasterate triacetate, glyceryl stearate, tocopherol, glyceryl myristate, glyceryl palmitate, glyceryl ricinoleate, shea butter, glyceryl eicosanedioate, sunflower seed oil, dextrin palmitate, alkanna tinctoria root extract, beet root extract, ascorbic acid, potassium hydroxide. May contain: annatto, carmine, iron oxides, mica, titanium dioxide. *Ingredient from organic farming.

Buy From Physicians Formula

Rose Inc. Brow Renew Tinted Shaping Gel – $26

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (4 / 5)

Although this product did not arrive totally dried up, I still had significant problems getting it to work for me.

It didn’t seem like there was enough product in the container to easily coat each of my eyebrow hairs. I had to really work at it to get any coverage at all.

In addition, it deposited a good bit of lint in my brows, and when I let it dry for a few minutes and then used my spoolie to try to remove the lint, all the color from the product seemed to disappear entirely.

The product also gave my eyes a little bit of the heavy achiness that some of the most toxic brow products especially seem to give me.

I bought this product from Sephora.

Size: 0.2 oz.

Sephora Rating: 4.5 Stars (95 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Yes

EWG Ingredients Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: C13-15 alkane (3), Sodium hydroxide (4), Sodium benzoate (3), Titanium dioxide (3). (Also contains Citric acid.)

All Ingredients: Water, Glycerin, Squalane, C13-15 Alkane, Bentonite, Cetearyl Alcohol, Sodium Polyitaconate, Isopentyldiol, Isomalt, Methyl Dihydroabietate, Jojoba Esters, Gluconolactone, Pea Sprout Extract, Panthenol, Tocopherol, Lauroyl Lysine, Sunflower Seed Oil, Sodium Phytate, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Benzoate, Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid, Sodium Citrate. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides.

Buy From Rose Inc.

Rose Inc. Lip Sculpt Clean Lipstick – $26

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Moderate (smell/taste)

This product (released in 2021) is designed to provide a highly pigmented, matte lip color in an easy-to-apply crayon.

It also contains a number of skin conditioning ingredients – including squalane, sodium hyaluronate, ceramides, hemp oil and moringa oil – and feels quite hydrating.

The product is currently available in four colors. I tried Beams (“plum”) in a full-size lipstick and two additional shades from a sample card.

I think that the product feels hydrating and looks fairly nice on my lips.

However, the lipstick has a distinct odor that I am having difficulties placing but that seems a little like a mix of chocolate and vinegar.

The taste of the lipstick is something that I would describe as slightly chemical-sweet, which I believe is from the sucralose (the main ingredient in Splenda).

In the Sephora reviews, there are quite a few people who complained forcefully about the smell (including several who expressed suspicions that the product had gone bad). Fewer negative comments were made about the taste.

I don’t know what that smell is or whether people should be concerned.

I will have to say, though, that I do not think that sucralose is a good thing for people to be ingesting because (to my understanding) it kills off certain good bacteria and thus alters the microbiome.

All in all, I have gone back to try this lipstick on many different occasions, but always end up wiping it off because I just don’t feel good about having it on my lips.

So I can’t suggest that others consider purchasing it.

Size: 0.11 oz.

Sephora Rating: 3.8 Stars (26 reviews)

Credo Clean: Meets Criteria

Clean at Sephora: Yes

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredient Rating: 6 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: C13-15 alkane (3), Rose extract (3), Titanium dioxide (3), Red #7 (6), Yellow #5 (6), Red #6 (6), Blue #1 (7). (Also contains Sucralose.)

Fragrance Ingredients: Rose extract

All Ingredients: Isononanoate, Octyldodecanol, Lauryl Laurate, Polyhydroxystearic Acid, Polyglyceryl-10 Pentaisostearate, Silica, Candelilla Wax, Carnauba Wax, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Squalane, Cannabis Sativa Seed Oil, Ceramide NP, Sodium Hyaluronate, Moringa Oil/Hydrogenated Moringa Oil Esters, C13-15 Alkane, Tocopherol, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Isoamyl Cocoate, Sucralose, Rose Extract. May Contain: Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Red 7, Yellow 5, Red 6, Blue 1.

Buy From Rose Inc.

Saie Brow Butter – $20

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (4 / 5)

This product (which I ordered directly from Saie) arrived so dried up that I could barely get any of the cream to show up on either my brows or my hand.

In addition, after I worked for quite a while to get the small amount of cream on the spoolie to show up on my brows, they started to ache in the way that they have when I have used certain conventional eyebrow products.

EWG flags as potentially problematic only the glyceryl hydrogenated rosinate and titanium dioxide.

There are quite a few other substances listed on the ingredients list that I consider to be suspect, however.

Size: 0.04 oz.

Sephora Rating: 3.8 Stars (249 reviews)

Credo Clean: Unclear

Clean at Sephora: No

EWG Ingredients Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Glyceryl hydrogenated rosinate (5), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Isohexadecane, Coconut Alkanes, Mica, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Glyceryl Hydrogenated Rosinate, Dextrin Palmitate, Beeswax, Candelilla Wax, Bis-Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate-2, Rice Bran Wax, Propylene Carbonate, Sucrose Tetrastearate Triacetate, Carnauba Wax, Polyglyceryl-2 Isostearate/Dimer Dilinoleate Copolymer, Silica, Jojoba Esters, Shea Butter, Polylactic Acid, Coco-Caprylate/Caprate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Glyceryl Undecylenate, Cocoa Seed Butter, Butylene Glycol, Water, Dextran, Acetyl Tetrapeptide-3, Clover Flower Extract. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide.

Buy From Saie

Buy From Suzanne Organics

Suzanne Organics Sheer Satin Lipstick – $40

Overall Rating: (3 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (5 / 5)

I am a big fan of Suzanne Somers, in part because she wrote an excellent book on mold illness – called Tox-Sick – in 2016.

So when she launched her organic cosmetics enterprise at about that same time, I purchased quite a few different items, including some makeup, some haircare, and some skincare.

Unfortunately, the two lipsticks that I bought were severely irritating to my lips. I don’t really understand that since they are stated as being organic and I have basically never had problems like that except with conventional cosmetics containing lots of chemicals.

The other products that I bought were okay, but I found that I had to force myself to keep using them up rather than really enjoying them.

I do still have a lip liner that I bought at the time and think it is about as good as any other lip liner that I currently own, but the company does not currently sell lip liners.

I would be willing to try the lipsticks again to see if anything has changed, but spending $40 to do so seems pretty expensive.

So for the time being, I cannot recommend that others try this product line. Which is too bad because I still think that Suzanne Somers is a great person and would like to support her.

Size: 0.15 oz.

Suzanne Organics Reviews: 5.0 Stars (44 reviews)

Credo Clean: Yes

EWG Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Orange oil (5), Titanium dioxide (3)

All Ingredients: Shea Butter*, Castor Seed Oil*, Candelilla Wax, Sesame Seed Oil*, Cocoa Seed Butter*, Behenyl Olivate, Avocado Butter, Sunflower Seed Oil*, Hydrogenated Glyceryl Abietate, Tapioca Starch*, Orange Fruit Oil, Goji Berry Oil*, Tocopherol, Potassium Sorbate. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide. *Certified organic ingredient

Tom Ford Fiber Brow Gel – $54

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (1 / 5)

This brow gel contains PTFE/Teflon, which I believe should not be used in any beauty products.

It made my eyebrows ache in the same way that some other brow gels containing problematic ingredients have.

Size: 0.2 oz.

Sephora Rating: 4.4 Stars (27 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: No

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EWG Ingredients Rating: 8 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Tocopheryl acetate (3), PTFE/Teflon (5), Phenoxyethanol (4), Titanium dioxide (3), Black #2 (10), Chromium hydroxide green (4), Ferric ferrocyanide (4), Chromium oxide greens (5), Ultramarines (3), Yellow #5 (6)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Isododecane, Water, Dimethicone Silylate, Sorbitan Olivate, Trisiloxane, Quaternium-90 Bentonite, Sorbitan Tristearate, Silica Silylate, Polyisobutene, Diisopropyl Adipate, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Panthenol, Pantethine, Carnauba Wax, Cholesterol, Trihydroxystearin, Microcrystalline Wax, Propylene Carbonate, Caprylyl Glycol, Nylon-6, Tocopheryl Acetate, Methicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Hexylene Glycol, Silica, Ptfe, Magnesium Salicylate, Phenoxyethanol. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, Black 2, Chromium Hydroxide Green, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Bismuth Oxychloride, Manganese Violet, Chromium Oxide Greens, Ultramarines, Yellow 5, Mica.

Buy From Beautylish

Buy From Thrive Causemetics

Buy From Tom Ford

Thrive Causemetics Instant Brow Fix – $24

Overall Rating: (1 / 5)

Performance Rating: (1 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (2 / 5)

This eyebrow gel was one of the most problematic makeup products that I have tried while working on this project.

It went on very nicely, as much so as any of the other brush-on eyebrow colorants that I have tried.

However, within about 15 minutes of applying the product, my eyebrows were aching and I was feeling much more bleary-eyed.

It took me a whole day to get totally over the exposure.

In looking at the ingredients list for the product, I am uncertain why EWG is not flagging more of them as problematic.

For instance, many people do not consider any kind of PEGS to be acceptable, and the presence of acrylates is potentially problematic as well.

Probably the idea that this is a “semi-permanent” hair dye should have dissuaded me from buying the product to begin with, since that does not sound like something that ever could be really clean.

I have the color Audrey (“dark blonde to medium brunette”) and it was a nice one for me.

I will not be using this product again though.

Size: 0.12 oz.

Thrive Rating: 4.3 Stars (2679 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

EWG Ingredients Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Lactic acid (4), Phenoxyethanol (4), Titanium dioxide (3) (Also PEG-7 trimethylolpropane coconut ether, Acrylates copolymer)

All Ingredients: Water, glycerin, hydroxyethyl acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, acrylates copolymer, caprylyl glycol, polyisobutene, panthenol, PEG-7 trimethylolpropane coconut ether, schinus terebinthifolius seed extract, sorbitan isostearate, lactic acid, phenoxyethanol, iron oxides, titanium dioxide, mica

Ulta Matte Eye Primer – $12

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredient Rating: (3 / 5)

This eye primer from Ulta irritated my eyes substantially.

It contains several kinds of silicone, including some cyclic silicones, as well as some other ingredients that I have rarely seen used in other makeup products and that seem like they may be questionable to me.

Size: 0.3 oz.

Ulta Rating: 4.4 Stars (1288 reviews)

EWG Rating: 3 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane (3), Titanium dioxide (3). (Also contains Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Cyclohexasiloxane, Triethoxycaprylylsilane)

All Ingredients: Isododecane, Mica, Cyclopentasiloxane, Disteardimonium Hectorite, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Synthetic Beeswax, Cyclohexasiloxane, Quaternium-90 Bentonite, Sorbitan Sesquioleate, Trihydroxystearin, Propylene Carbonate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide3.

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Victoria Beckham Future Lash Mascara – $28

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Mild

Tubing Mascara: Yes

The description of this product reads, “Smudge-free, lifting mascara. An ultra-black, lengthening and defining mascara that conditions lashes like hair with VB’s proprietary C2 Complex. Delivers smudge-free, sweat-proof, long-wear performance that won’t quit. Longer, lifted lashes instantly; stronger, silkier lashes over time. Rinses away effortlessly with just warm water. No cotton pads, no remover, no problem. Luxury performance, clean beauty. Long-Wear, Smudge-proof, Flake-proof, Humidity-proof, Sweat-proof, Dermatologist Tested, Ophthalmologist Tested, Safe for Contact Lens Wearers, Vegan, Hypoallergenic, Gluten-free, Soy-free.”

This product went on very easily and gave my lashes a natural look, without any clumping or smearing at all.

In addition, it seemed to curl my lashes a bit, even without the use of an eyelash curler.

Unfortunately, within a couple of minutes I realized that the product irritated my eyes quite a bit, and so I have not been able to continue using it.

It contains a couple of ingredients – glyceryl behenate and laureth-21 – that are considered problematic and that I have seen in very few eye products. Perhaps one or both of those is the issue.

I also wonder about the acrylates that are included.

As suggested in the description, the product does come off the eyelashes very easily with just a washcloth soaked in warm water.

All in all, I’m rather sorry not to be able to use this one since I do think that the performance was just about ideal for me otherwise.

Size: 0.16 oz.

Victoria Beckham Rating: 4.0 Stars (1676 reviews)

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: Unclear

EWG Ingredients Rating: 4 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Glyceryl behenate (3), Laureth-21 (3), Sodium hydroxide (4). (Also contains Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate Copolymer, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer.)

Fragrance Ingredients: None

All Ingredients: Water, Acrylates/Ethylhexyl Acrylate Copolymer, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Behenate, Glycerin, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Pullulan, Sodium Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Shea Butter, Ethylhexylglycerin, Hydroxyethyl Acrylate/Sodium Acryloyldimethyl Taurate Copolymer, Jojoba Esters, Polyisobutene, Polyglycerin-3, Laureth-21, Potassium Sorbate, Glyceryl Caprylate, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Hydroxide, Bentonite, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Caprylyl/Capryl Glucoside, Sorbitan Oleate, Sorbitan Isostearate, Mastic Gum, Acacia Decurrens Flower Wax, Sunflower Seed Wax, Cellulose Gum, Chondrus Crispus Extract, Carob Gum, Sucrose, Niacinamide, Panthenol, Sodium Carbonate, Tocopherol, Iron Oxides.

Victoria Beckham Satin Kajal Liner – $28

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Lisa Irritation Level: Mild

Problematic Colorants: None

Contains Silicone: Yes

Type: Sharpenable Pencil with Smudger

The description of this product reads, “Lashline, waterline, winged, or smudged—Satin Kajal Liner is a creamy, highly-pigmented pencil that delivers every look with ease and waterproof wear that lasts all day. Luxury performance, clean beauty.”

These expensive eyeliners contain several different kinds of silicone and are described by some beauty influencers as being among their favorite makeup products.

I tried the product in Cocoa (dark brown) and thought that it went on smoothly but heavily, making it difficult for me to create anything other than a dark smokey eye.

I would have tried it in a different color (such as bronze or khaki), but I also found it to be mildly irritating to my eyes.

Although Victoria Beckham is stated as being a “clean” brand, this product does include some ingredients – including isoceteth-10 – that to my understanding would make it ineligible to be sold in Credo.

Size: 0.042 oz.

Credo Clean: No

Clean at Sephora: Unclear

Drunk Elephant Clean: No

EU Compliant: Yes

EWG Product Rating: 2/3 (green/yellow)

EWG Ingredient Rating: 3 (yellow)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Dimethicone (3), Tocopheryl acetate (3), Isoceteth-10 (3). (Also contains Stearyl dimethicone, Trimethylsiloxysilicate/dimethiconol crosspolymer, Dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer.)

Fragrance Ingredients: Matricaria flower extract

All Ingredients: Dimethicone, synthetic wax, silica, stearyl dimethicone, caprylic/capric triglyceride, trimethylsiloxysilicate/dimethiconol crosspolymer, mica, octadecene, dimethicone/vinyl dimethicone crosspolymer, pentaerythrityl tetra-di-t-butyl hydroxyhydrocinnamate, tocopheryl acetate, panthenol, matricaria flower extract, isoceteth-10, iron oxides

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Buy From Violet Grey

W3LL People Hydrolip Gloss – $14

Overall Rating: (2 / 5)

Performance Rating: (2 / 5)

Ingredients Rating: (3 / 5)

Although I really like the strong clove taste of this product (from the eugenol), it has an unpleasant chemical undertone and seemed to be a little irritating to my mouth.

It contains quite a few problematic ingredients that I do not much want to ingest.

Ulta Rating: 4.3 Stars (93 reviews)

Credo Clean: Yes

EWG Overall Rating: 7 (red)

EWG Problem Ingredients: Grapefruit peel oil (3), Cinnamon leaf oil (3), Peppermint oil (4), Aloe vera (3), Sodium benzoate (3), Citral (5), Linalool (3), Limonene (5), Benzyl benzoate (5), Cinnamal (5), Cinnamyl alcohol (4), Coumarin (5), Eugenol (5), Titanium dioxide (3), Red #6 (6), Yellow #6 (7)

All Ingredients (Nude Rose): Ricinus Communis Seed Oil/Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Castor Isostearate Succinate, Butyrospermum Parkii Butter/Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Simmondsia ChinensisSeed Oil/Simmondsia Chinensis(Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Candelilla Cera/Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Polybutene, Silica Dimethyl Silylate, Tocopherol, Synthetic Beeswax, Citrus Paradisi Peel Oil/Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Extract, Helianthus AnnuusSeed Oil/Helianthus Annuus(Sunflower) Seed Oil, Cinnamomum Zeylanicum Leaf Oil, Mentha PiperitaOil/Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil, Aluminum Hydroxide, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Maltodextrin, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Citral, Linalool, Limonene, Benzyl Benzoate, Cinnamal, Cinnamyl Alcohol, Coumarin, Eugenol, [+/-]: Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Red Iron Oxide (CI 77491), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Yellow 6 Lake (CI 15985). *Organic ingredients.