Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Coconut-free Makeup?

A question I often discuss with many of you offline via email is MAKEUP!

Most make-up companies usually don't list the ingredients for the world to see. So, if you want to go to the drug store to shop for make-up, you will probably find it to be a frustrating and mysterious experience.
However, I have had great success and patience from workers at Origins stores, since they have their own storefront for just their brand.  However, don't try to get much from their online representatives.  All of my requests for ingredients have been redirected to the point of being completely ignored if I try to get them emailed to me.  Also, a good Mary Kay representative will be able to go into their personal computer system and search for ingredients that you are allergic to and see which products use them.  This has been how I get the only makeup I have found to work for me.  But, believe me, I really don't use much makeup anymore.

MASCARA= No, thank you.
I remember the first allergic reaction I had to some mascara (all mascara that I have found has SLS in it or something coconut related to make it slippery).  About a half hour after I put it on, it made me feel like my eyelids were being peeled back over the top of my head.  It burned!  This was, most likely, a sign as a teenager that I had a coconut allergy.  Mascara is just so risky if you're allergic to coconut.  If you MUST glam it up in the eyelash realm and aren't sensitive to adhesives, try some falsies.  They really are fun, can look pretty natural, and actually in fashion right now (well, depending on where you live in the country).  If you live in a big city you can even find salons who will glue them on for you!

LIQUID FOUNDATION= Avoid it.
Another makeup item to watch out for is cover-up or foundation.  In its liquid form, it contains SLS as well.  A good alternative is pure mineral makeup.

LIPSTICK= Take time to sort through them.
I find that about half of lipsticks have coconut ingredients.  Look for lipstick that you can sharpen with the big pencil sharpener, rather than the extra creamy stuff in the regular lipstick tubes.  Many of the pencil lipsticks still have Coco-something or rather.

EYELINER= Maybe, maybe not.
Liquid eyeliners, like lipsticks, tend to have more allergenic ingredients.  So, stick with the ones that are in pencil form, and research labels carefully.

EYE SHADOW= Yes, please!  But only if powder.  Still double check, but I haven't ever found a powdered eye shadow that had anything coconutty in it.  Cream eye shadows would be more iffy.

FACE POWDER- Safe :-).  This may be your go-to makeup item.  Powders usually have very few ingredients, mostly talcum, minerals, and tints.  Not usually anything coconut-related.

BLUSH- Usually safe, if powder

As you can see, most of the purely powdery makeup is safe.  You can make it work better if you skin is dry by applying a moisturizer that you aren't allergic to (nutrogena seems to work well) right before you put on the powder to help it stick.  You can even mix your powder with your moisturizer.

Experiment, and let me know what you've been able to come up with!  Let us all know what your favorites are.