B00AFU6252 EBOK (19 page)
Authors: Jessica Alba
Eyeliner is what keeps your smoky eye looking sharp, not sloppy, but the key is not to overuse this powerhouse. If your eyes are small or closely set, just line the outer third of your lid, to make the eyes look larger and wider, says Lauren. Tarte makes a nice fat crayon liner called Smolder with a good smudging tool on the other end. I also adore Hourglass liquid liners—they have one called Calligraphy, which is almost like a felt-tip pen and perfect for smoky lines, as well as one called Script Precision, which is great for lower lids.
This is a category where the eco-brands are still working out the kinks. When I need totally smudgeproof, lasts-forever lashes, my favorites are still conventional brands like L’Oréal Voluminous and Diorshow. But 100% Pure and Hourglass have solid organic formulas. Hourglass Film Noir Lash Lacquer is an inky black topcoat with a really dramatic look.
I prefer to use a nonsharpening brow pencil and always go a shade lighter than my actual hair color—it makes the whole operation way more foolproof. The goal here isn’t to draw a whole new brow. Just comb your brows and use the pencil to shape and fill in bare spots.
FOUND IN:
Mascara and some face paints
WHAT IS IT?
A preservative that prevents bacterial growth
WHY IS IT SKETCHY?
Mercury is a known neurotoxin that can also cause allergic reactions or skin irritation, plus it’s easily absorbed through your skin and accumulates in your body. As a result, it’s one of the few cosmetic ingredients that the FDA does restrict—mercury can only be used in eye makeup in very small amounts and only “if no other safe and effective preservative can be found.” Gosh, that’s a big loophole! I think we can do better.
For everyday, I’m all about glosses (Koh Gen Do’s glossy lip gloss is a favorite, along with Korres Lip Butter Glaze). For a fancy night, I love a glam red pout—and for that, you need to go old school with lipstick. But be careful—red is the lipstick color most likely to contain high levels of lead (see the
Dishonest Ingredient box
) according to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, so it’s especially crucial to shop around for a trustworthy eco-brand here; Hourglass, Tarte, and 100% Pure make great ones, from orange reds to deep reds to purple reds. For more low-key days, if you do nothing else to your face, dab on some tinted lip balm. It’s so easy—you were probably going to use lip balm at some point, right? A little color just wakes up your whole face. Try Korres Lip Butters as a base and then top with the Korres Lip Butter Glaze. Use a matching shade, or play around and layer them.
FOUND IN:
Lipsticks and some children’s face paints
WHAT IS IT?
Lead and other heavy metals such as cadmium and nickel are contaminants (which naturally occur in some pigments). Detectable levels of lead were found in 400 lipsticks tested by the FDA in 2010!
WHY IS IT SKETCHY?
There is no safe level of lead exposure: It’s a known neurotoxin and can play a role in the development of learning delays, autism, and other neurological problems for babies and children. It also can reach a developing fetus, so if you’re pregnant or thinking about it, you want to avoid lead, full stop.
- To keep your red lip from feathering out on you, apply foundation all the way around the lips, to the outer edge.
- Line your lips, starting from the inner crease.
- Even out any mess by retracing the line.
- Completely fill in your lips with liner, then top with a matching lipstick. If you want, use a brush for greater accuracy. Lauren also likes to go in and clean up the edges with a Q-tip; she’ll even use a small brush and some concealer to make the edges really crisp.
FOUND IN:
Nail polish, strengtheners, and cuticle treatments
WHAT IS IT?
A clear, colorless solvent that helps suspend little particles of color throughout your nail polish and form a smooth finish
WHY IS IT SKETCHY?
As your polish dries, toluene evaporates into the air so you (and your manicurist) breathe it in. This can cause nose, throat, and eye irritation as well as headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. At high levels of exposure, toluene is toxic to your kidneys and liver and may also damage reproductive health, so pregnant women need to avoid it.
Nail polish is super frustrating because it’s one area we thought we had sorted—back in 2006, almost all of the big mainstream polish brands promised to reformulate their products and remove the “toxic trio” (formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate or DBP). But in 2011, the California Environmental Protection Agency tested a bunch of nail polishes from local salons and found that 10 out of 12 products claiming to be toxic-trio free actually contained some or all of the chemicals. This is a perfect example of why we need better regulations: Someone needs to be checking that companies are actually doing what they claim.
That being said, of course I’m still wearing nail polish. I love corals and reds, or sometimes (if I’m feeling sort of rocker-glam!) blue. Zoya and Priti NYC are two excellent three-free natural brands. I also love Priti NYC’s Soy Nail Polish Remover Wipes because they are far more effective than any other soy polish remover I’ve tried and so convenient for travel. Dermelect ME Anti-Aging Colored Nail Lacquers also promise to be three free and last forever.
I’ve come to accept that almost every little girl loves to play beauty parlor. We’ll let Honor have her nails painted for a treat, but we always make sure to use a kid-safe water-based polish—I love Hopscotch Kids WaterColors, which is the little sister brand of Scotch Naturals. It contains none of the chemicals found in regular nail polish but still holds up pretty well. I even make sure to bring our own polish and remover if I take Honor with me to the nail salon.
I generally skip perfume—between body wash, lotions, and shampoos, perfume isn’t really necessary, and it’s one less product to layer on and fuss with. But sometimes I do like to have a special scent, and I’ll create my own by adding a couple drops of essential oils—gardenia and jasmine are my favorites—to a body oil. (Play around, but be careful about getting into the patchouli and such, unless that’s your move—the goal is to still smell like yourself.) For special nights out, I can’t get enough of the Honoré des Prés fragrance line by Olivia Giacobetti; it’s completely phthalate—and other sketchy fragrance ingredients—free and smells
ah-mazing.
Her Vamp à NY is my favorite scent.
