If you haven't already noticed, I've updated the Where to Shop portion of my page! Finally. I have been working on it forever now and I'm really happy with it.
Since I first compiled this list, I have learned so much about blogging and the green industry that I knew this page needed a serious update. In the process of my Spring cleaning, I learned some major lessons on the subject of green makeup. I thought that just because a company was cruelty free, this meant it was cruelty free for the human body. For those who care about the safety of animals should also care about the safety of humans. I wish I knew then, what I know now, a lot sooner. More often than not, cosmetics are filled with tons of poisonous chemicals that may be approved under FDA regulations, but are no longer approved under my person standards. Anyone of the chemicals permitted under the FDA standard is really only acceptable if makeup is thought to be worn once a year, but this is almost never the case.
I stumbled across this blog, The Green Beauty Team after doing a typical search in Google, "Is Tarte Cosmetics really natural?" Now, I know Google doesn't always yield the most honest results, but the first site that appeared was this one. My search lead me to a very interesting blog post on "Green Washing." If you don't want to read the post, green washing is essentially when companies claim to be natural when they are by no means natural at all. As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, the cosmetic industry is completely self-regulated, so to claim "all natural" doesn't have much credibility because there is very little evidence as to what is natural and what isn't. Of course, upon reading this, I conducted my own research using their Toxic Ingredients List and searched every listed ingredient for every single cosmetic company that claimed to be natural.
After doing my homework, I was most disappointed to find the Aesop claimed to be a natural and toxic-free company, when in fact most of their products contained a chemical called Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate (SLS and SLES), a foaming agent which is linked to all kinds of terrible things. The only reason this is even in our beauty products is to create the "sudsy" effect as to feel "more clean." The irony is you're only dirtying yourself more when you use products that contain toxic chemicals.
Photo by: @plantmakeup
DIY Lip Gloss by: Imagine Create Repeat
So whatever your cosmetic of choice is, I always check the ingredients in my products on the Environmental Working Group site and check to see which companies are cruelty free via the Cruelty Free Kitty.
If you want to know where to buy all new makeup, here are two shops that I trust to carry entirely green, vegan, and/or cruelty free products: The Detox Market and Credo Beauty. You can always find more on my new and improved, Where to Shop beauty page!
Jane Iredale Eyeshadow | W3LL People Blush | May Lindstrom Mask | RMS Beauty Oil | Ilia Lipstick | W3LL People Mascara | African Botanicals Face Oil | RGB Nail Polish