As I wrote this blog, I felt like I was walking across a worn torn battlefield, used brushes and empty bottles of foundation littering the ground.

*queue Wonder Woman Movie*

My weapons, a half used wand of mascara and compact of blush. I stand alone, waiting for others to join me in the fight as I sound the battle cry.

*Maaaaaaakkkkkkeeeeeeuuuuuuppppp*

I’m coming for ya….

So let’s talk makeup. I feel that in society, this has become a touchy topic. Either you go oh natural, letting your inner beauty shine forth, or you wear all the makeup to quote “highlight your best features”. I really don’t belong in a camp, finding my days jumping around between the two, and I don’t think there is a wrong or right answer to either option.

This blog isn’t about to wear makeup or not to wear makeup. Instead, I want to talk about what’s in those makeup products that we buy, something I was enlightened to only a few months ago. You may think “really, you just now realized that?”… All those mass marketed and mass produced brands are bad for you? Yup, because my husband saved the day simply by googling the ingredients. *Ugh, using google as a verb still gets me.*

It all started one fine day, the rain clinging to our damp jackets when we took a stroll into Ulta because I was out of mascara. I refused to go back to my favorite brand since rumors of their animal testing practices were coming to light. (I apologize for all the benefit mascara I gave as Christmas presents one year.) So there I stood, gazing upon the packaged tubes of ultra black Tarte mascara, reading their loud words of amazing results and exciting length. I picked a few, putting them down, coming to a final decision when wait…. My husband, forever on his phone in these moments turns and says “I wouldn’t do that”. “Why?” I asked, confused and wondering as to his words. Did we not have the money for this pricey $26 tube of gunk?

Nope. Curiosity led him down a rabbit hole ending in the discovery that some of the ingredients in the tube in my hand could have adverse, cancerous effects. We can’t have that now, can we?

Upon further research, I now refuse to buy Kat Von D and Tarte, two highly encouraged brands by my trusted vegan sources. From this point on, my goal is to stay below a toxicity level of 3, which some of Tarte’s products do fall into, but not a lot. Kat Von D has lipstick ranked at a toxicity ranking of 7 out of 10. Just typing that makes my skin crawl. The skin is our biggest organ, I’m sure you’ve heard this before, so I want all my products to be a zero if possible. And you don’t have to believe the ranking sites. Just google the ingredients yourself and you’ll come to the same conclusion.

Now, let’s look at the common brands. CoverGirl, a widely accessible brand that many use, averages out in the 7s. Revlon, another brand that is found in every store, ranges from 7 all the way up to 9. People get away with selling this stuff? I want to support a brand that pushes natural clean makeup. And who knows if the so-called ‘safe’ chemicals don’t come back in the future classified as deadly?

Sadly, the age of trusting companies is gone, though I doubt we ever could since the mom and pop shops of yesteryear have died out. All they want is a quick buck, large profits, and consumers begging for more. So, will you take the pledge with me and start going chemical free? Take a moment, look into what you’ve been using, you might be overall shocked.

But don’t rush right now and throw everything you have away. I’m not. Just stop for a moment before you buy that next lipstick or foundation, look into something new, or better yet, check back here. As I find new brands I like, I’ll do a blog on them to let you know how I’m faring in this new realm of chemical free makeup.

Already have a brand that you know and love? Comment below and let me know. I would love the insight.

Love Kait