Safe make up & beauty products

Hello gorgeous!  Looking for some lovely beauty products without the nasty chemicals?  Then this article is for you!

Feeling and looking beautiful should not come with the price tag of our health.  It’s important for makeup companies to know that we want beauty products that don’t hinder our wellbeing in any way.  I vote with my money, and will purchase products that are free of:

• Benzophenones (oxybenzone) – Can have photoallergic reactions and is a hormone disrupter.
• Paraben (butylparaben, ethylparaben, methylparaben, propylparaben) – The most widely used preservative in cosmetics and personal care products.  It can mimic estrogen in the body, may disrupt hormones and possibly increase the risk of breast cancer.  (see this video -http://envirocancer.cornell.edu/research/endocrine/videos/makeup.cfm)
• Phthalates – A chemical additive that can disrupt the endocrine system, mimic estrogen, cause thyroid problems, allergies and asthma.
• Sulfates (sodium laurly sulfate SLS or sodium laureth sulfate SLES) – This thickening, lathering agent is a skin irritant (despite being used in products that you put on your skin!) and can mimic estrogen.  SLS has been linked to cancer causing carcinogens.

A resource is the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.  Just type in your make up brand and it will give you the lowdown on that product http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/  My complaint with this site is that it does not state why some products don’t get better marks than others.  So, use it.  But sometimes question how they came to their conclusions.

Here’s what is in my makeup bag!  I am very happy with all of these safe beauty products:

• Zuzu liquid eyeliner
• Gabriel foundation
• Mineral Fusion lipstick
• Badger lip tint & shimmer
• Pacifica Hawaiian Ruby Guava perfume

What products do you use and love?