Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Style and beauty

Looking for style advice? Chat all about it here. For the latest discounts on fashion and beauty, sign up for Mumsnet Moneysaver emails.

Original poster

organic, chemical free make-up- decent brands out there?

43 replies

elliemay80 · 24/02/2012 08:39

is there a decent range of organic, chemical free make-up with good concealers, mascaras, blusher etc? i remember as a teenage vegan venturing into this and being disappointed as the pigments were always rubbish so it wore off after an hour. i swiftly returned to rimmell and 17!

have things changed? i want to cut down the amount of chemicals i put on my skin and have begun to do so with moisuriser etc.

any advice welcome...

OP posts:
BikeRunSki · 24/02/2012 08:41

Origins. A bit £££ but gorgeous.

autumnchild · 24/02/2012 08:42

i use Lily lolo - they are a cruelty free mineral make up company and I have been really impressed by them. i have ultra sensitive skin and they don't irritate it at all. I don't know if they are classed as organic though.

Hope that helps.

Himalaya · 24/02/2012 08:51

Elliemay - everything is made out of chemicals - even your own body. So anybody selling you "chemical free" make up, is a huckster making unreliable claims.

Organic refers to the way that something is grown - so if a cosmetic has a plant-based or animal based ingredient (oil, fragrance etc...) then that part could br organic, but a lot of the pigments and carriers in cosmetics are not plant-based, so again knowing that a product contains some organic ingredients doesn't tell you if it is environmentally friendly, or non-irritating.

thepureemporia · 24/02/2012 10:17

Try BareEscentuals or Nvey

AgathaFusty · 24/02/2012 10:31

I've been using this for the last 6 weeks or so -
paraben free mascara

  • it doesn't go on a thickly as the one I would normally use, but it's bliss not having itchy eyes at the end of the day, and as an unexpected bonus, I have noticed in the past couple of weeks that my eyelashes are noticably thicker and longer.
MissFoodie · 24/02/2012 10:59

Origins is not actually, they use parabens as well as silicones.
Here are some I've tried:
bit.ly/wW0hr7
bit.ly/x9MYRG
bit.ly/yx6LRW

QueenCess · 24/02/2012 12:26

Elysambre. Lead and paraben free. Brilliant lipsticks.

BWC is ok. Very good for loose powder and blusher. Certain lipsticks are O.K. -such as Toffee Apple and Coppernob. Foundation is poor as it clogs and even the palest is a vibrant orange. The mascara is useless too as it is really watery and doesn't thicken in the least. Eyeshadows are well formulated but limited in colour. The lipgloss is good as is the nail varnish.

I have heard good things about Nvey but haven't tried it.

Original poster
elliemay80 · 24/02/2012 13:10

Thanks all

Himalaya I suppose I mean that I want to avoid things like lead, silicone and parabens and I guess by 'organic' I sort of mean 'probably available in Whole Foods' and plant based! Probably not the best word to describe what I'm after!

It was BWC I used as a teenager Queencess. Was not impressed but cruelty free make-up wasn't as widely available back then. I guess the market has expanded now.

Will investigate suggestions.

Origins is owned by Estee Lauder so I wouldn't be too sure of their credentials. I do love some Origins stuff though...

OP posts:
Trills · 24/02/2012 13:15

If you don't want any "chemicals" then you'll have to have an empty pot.

No, wait, air has chemicals in it too.

I guess you'll want a pot that has a vacuum inside.

But then when you open it air will get in and so your pot will be full of chemicals anyway.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 24/02/2012 13:17

Google "big green smile ', they are a nice worthy company and sell makeup as well as other earth friendly goodies.

MissFoodie · 24/02/2012 14:43

Trills, really? no need

Ellemay, I've reviewed quite a few on my site, and yes, anything on the ground floor of a dept store is either Estee Lauder Group or L'Oreal, so full of silicones and parabens! (John Lewis is probably the exception)

What's your budget and which items?

Original poster
elliemay80 · 24/02/2012 14:59

CheersMissFoodie, I just ignored. Clearly Trills read the title only and didn't bother with reading any subsequent posts. I personally only comment on posts if I have something to add to debate but then I have a life.

I am learning from my brief time on Mumsnet that there are some people who scan post titles in order to add something 'witty', sarcastic or in some cases offensive. Leave them to it, I say.

What is the name of your site? Budget is not that much of a concern- no more than £20 for a moisturiser, £10 for cleanser. That kind of price I s'pose.

Thanks again!

OP posts:
Original poster
elliemay80 · 24/02/2012 15:00

Oh, MissFoodie even! Damn that sticky space bar!

OP posts:
Original poster
elliemay80 · 24/02/2012 15:02

Just realised I'm on make-up here not moisturisers! (which I'm also trying to overhaul)

Make-up wise, I only use concealer, blusher and mascara really so that's what I'm after

OP posts:
MissFoodie · 24/02/2012 15:11

ok, let me have a think.........there are a few of each on
yumetecetera.com

lavera is within that price range and I think you can get samples online from naturisimo (or one of those websites), other good one is green people and I think they do trial sizes on their website, their mascara and pressed powder are good, concealer is rubbish, Lavera mascara is naff, lipgloss is quite nice

Living Nature is a good brand they also do make up, their pressed powder is really nice, concealer I've tried recently, comes in a tube, good coverage, but they only have 3 shades so might not work under your eyes if you're v pale?

if you like powder you could always try lily lolo mineral foundation, it's only £12 but the brilliant thing is you can buy sampels of shades for £1.25 to try beforehand.

I would get a day cream, then at night just use oil, something like jojoba which is nice and light, you can get cold pressed organic from amazon or fushi

will come back later!

MissFoodie · 24/02/2012 15:13

btw you could also use jojoba oil or sweet almond oil as a make up remover/cleanser, with hot cloth/flannel works brilliantly!

Original poster
elliemay80 · 24/02/2012 15:22

Thank you very much MissFoodie I will look into those options. I have been thinking about using an oil at night instead of moisturiser. I buy the big bottles of sweet almond oil from Holland and Barret when they have the penny sale on so have plenty hanging around! Also need day cream with spf. That's another issue. I have Elemis and Liz Earle lined up to use but the more natural ones never seem to come with SPF. There is a thread about that on here though so I'll have a look.

Have seen Lavera make-up about so will have a look in my local health food store to see if they stock it. Will investigate your website too.

Thanks again.

OP posts:
MissFoodie · 24/02/2012 15:24

John Masters Organics do a good spf30, but I think its £28, doesn't Green People do one? I think they do a spf 15 or 25?

btw their suncreams are really good, you can also get unscented

LolaAnn · 24/02/2012 15:32

I've been looking into this too and Dr.Hauschka has popped up a number of times in my searches. Apparently the foundation is meant to be really good, I'm not sure what bad stuff it's got in it but the website lists all the ingredients for all of their products.

Coconut oil is a great moisturiser!

MissFoodie · 24/02/2012 15:39

yes, I did a feature on coconut oil as a cleanser :)
Dr H is good, but is pricey

franke · 24/02/2012 15:53

I use Dr Hauschka. Their website is comprehensive in terms of its product information - they even give info about each individual ingredient. I use their tinted moisturiser, even though it has quite a strong smell. Also lipsticks and concealer are good. I think I wasn't overly impressed with the mascara last time I used it. I'm not sure about their actual organic credentials but they make a big deal about their natural ingredients.

And yes, there is the issue with the lack of spf in the moisturizers - Rose Cream is lovely but offers no sun protection at all.

Trills · 24/02/2012 16:52

The point I was (in a joking kind of way) trying to make is that everything is chemicals.

If there are certain things that you want to avoid putting on your skin or in your hair it's probably a good idea to work out
1 - what it is exactly that you are avoiding
2 - why you want to avoid it
rather than just saying "chemicals" as if that's a defined group of substances.

Trills · 24/02/2012 17:03

The point I was (in a joking kind of way) trying to make is that everything is chemicals.

If there are certain things that you want to avoid putting on your skin or in your hair it's probably a good idea to work out
1 - what it is exactly that you are avoiding
2 - why you want to avoid it
rather than just saying "chemicals" as if that's a defined group of substances.

Trills · 24/02/2012 17:04

Sorry - MN went wonky and said it hadn't posted.

feelinghappynow · 24/02/2012 17:10

Dr Haushka Concealer is fab, love UNE for their lip sticks and blushers..Love Neals Yard Lip Glosses.....Neals Yard are lauching a brand new make up range next month so should be interesting. Their moisturisers are excellent too...