When Anne Lamott said, “Joy is the best makeup. But a little lipstick is a close runner-up,” we’re sure all women felt that.
Nothing truly beats finding the perfect shade of red, coral pink nude, or even deep burgundy that makes you feel put together, even if lipstick is the only thing you have on.
But when it comes to choosing your lipstick, you need to look beyond just finding the ideal lip colour. First off, do you pay attention to the ingredients that are in your lipstick?
This is important since you’re practically ingesting the stuff when you let it sit on your lips the whole day. In fact, studies show that the average lipstick-wearing woman will ingest 4 to 8 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime!
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The Hidden Dangers Lurking in Your Lipstick
Without you knowing it, your ordinary tube of lipstick might be giving you the kiss of death with the amount of potentially harmful chemicals and metals it contains. Here are some toxic ingredients that some manufacturers put in lipstick that you need to steer clear of:
- Parabens: They come in many forms—methylparabens, butylparabens, propylparabens, or polyparabens, to name a few—and are used as a preservative and antifungal. Parabens are easily absorbed by the skin, and while the body easily flushes them out, they carry a possible cancer risk.
- Synthetic dyes: Most commercial lipstick available uses petroleum- and aluminum-based artificial dyes that are potential carcinogens. Some pigments may even be contaminated with lead, a metal that accumulates in your body over time and poses reproductive and neurodevelopmental problems.
- Tocopherol acetate: This is vitamin E mixed with acetic acid. While it’s not toxic, it may cause your lips to burn, itch, or peel.
Thankfully there are plenty of better alternatives out in the market. We’re rounding up our list of recommended natural and organic lipsticks to try.
1. 100% Pure Fruit Pigmented Pomegranate Oil Anti-Aging Lipstick
100% Pure makes cruelty-free and vegan makeup blended with natural ingredients. We love their Fruit Pigmented line of lip colour, which comes in many lovely shades and are made from natural fruit-derived pigments combined with nourishing and wholesome vitamin E, shea and cocoa butter.
2. Kosas Weightless Lip Color
Kosas comes highly recommended by makeup artists and beauty bloggers for its active botanical formulas. Try their Weightless Lip Color (Rosewater is a crowd favourite), which are made from a non-toxic formula (no parabens or phthalates) and are chock-full of wholesome all-natural ingredients like mango seed, cocoa seed, and shea butter and botanical oils from green tea seed, rosehip seed, orange, and jojoba. It’s cruelty-free, gluten-free, and vegan-friendly to boot!
3. Vapour Beauty Organic Siren Lipstick
Here’s another brand that’s quickly becoming a favourite among the clean beauty crowd. Vapour Beauty’s lipstick collection features a potent blend of botanical ingredients, pure mineral pigments, and organic oils and antioxidants.
Aside from its show-stopping shades and pigments, we’re also fans of the brand’s commitment to being environmentally responsible. They use recyclable packaging (you can send them your empties) and use only biodegradable ingredients in all their formulations.
4. Axiology Natural Lipstick
Vegan-friendly and cruelty-free makeup brand Axiology hates harmful chemicals as much as we do, so they make all their products using only all-natural ingredients, calling them “evil-free” makeup.
The essence of clean makeup, each Axiology lipstick is made up of only 10 ingredients, all of them 100% natural, including organic coconut oil, avocado oil, organic castor oil, and kokum butter.
As an added bonus, Axiology makes their tubes from post-consumer recycled plastic, and their boxes are handmade from recycled paper by a Bali-based women’s cooperative.
5. Beautycounter Sheer Lipstick
If you’re looking for an everyday lipstick that comes in shades you can wear both daytime and night, look no further than Beautycounter Sheer Lipstick.
We’re obsessed with these natural vanilla-scented lipsticks that are creamy, non-drying, and give lips just the right touch of color and shine. Jojoba esters, castor oil, and carnauba wax are just a few of the natural ingredients you’ll find in each stick.
Beautycounter is a cruelty-free and vegan makeup brand. They’re also transparent about product ingredients and whether their packaging can be recycled.
6. W3LL PEOPLE Nudist Lip Butter
All-natural makeup brand W3LL PEOPLE touts it as the “Vegan Lovechild of a lipstick and a lip balm.” Its Nudist Lip Butter line delivers moisture, shine, and a subtle colour payoff minus the toxic ingredients. And, as with all W3LL PEOPLE products, it’s vegan, gluten- and cruelty-free.
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7. Colorganics Hemp Organics Lipstick
Colorganics has been in the business of making pure, sustainable lip colour for 20 years.
Their Hemp Organics Lipstick collection contains USDA-Certified organic ingredients like castor oil, plant waxes, hemp seed oil, jojoba oil as well as natural mineral pigments. It It comes in 37 shades, all hand-poured and made in small batches. With its non-toxic formulation free of parabens, nanoparticles, FD&C dyes, synthetic fragrances or preservatives, Hemp Organics Lipstick are as clean as they come.
8. Juice Beauty Phyto-Pigments Satin Lip Color
Vegan and cruelty-free skincare and cosmetics brand Juice Beauty takes its name from its products’ main ingredient, organic botanical juice. Organic ingredients ensure only the purest products free of toxins, petroleum, synthetic fragrances or preservatives.
Its Phyto-Pigments Satin Lip Color is packed with the antioxidants vitamin C and E to give your lips some much-needed TLC. Besides giving you vibrant colour, it also has botanically sourced hyaluronic acid that gives you fuller-looking lips.
9. RMS Wild with Desire Lipstick
Founder Rose-Marie Smith created RMS with the vision of making clean beauty the standard in the cosmetics industry. That means products that are non-GMO, non-nano, soy free, gluten free, and cruelty-free.
Its Wild with Desire Lipstick collection is created with a blend of plant-based organic and wildcrafted ingredients that not only offer richly pigmented shades but also heal and nourish your lips.
10. Ecco Bella FlowerColor Natural Lipstick
Ecco Bella’s FlowerColor Natural Lipstick packs a one-two punch. It offers the nourishing and hydrating properties of lip balm with the flattering colour of lipstick. Best of all, it’s got one of the cleanest ingredient lists around, comprising only eight ingredients, and no gluten, FD&C dye, petroleum, and artificial fragrances.
11. Kjaer Weis Lipstick
Its name sounds like a mouthful, but the ingredients in its products are not. Luxury beauty Kjaer Weis puts a premium on natural, pure, organic ingredients free of parabens, synthetic fragrances, and artificial dyes.
Its Lipstick line is no exception. It’s gluten- and cruelty-free, and is formulated with organic, plant-based ingredients such as jojoba seed, sweet briar seed, and sweet almond oil. Try Adore, a classic red shade that comes alive with the warmth of your lips.
Another thing we love: Kjwaer Weis lipstick tubes are refillable. Yay for sustainable packaging!
12. Nude by Nature Moisture Shine Lipstick
Cruelty-free makeup brand Nude by Nature is 100% transparent about what goes in each of their products. That’s how confident they are of the purity of their products, which are all plant derived.
Their Moisture Shine Lipstick feels like a spa for your puckers with its rich, nourishing formula containing plant-based hyaluronic acid, jojoba oil, kakadu plum, shea butter, and vitamin E. The result? Lips that look fuller and noticeably hydrated.
13. Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner
Calling this a tinted lip conditioner rather than a lipstick sounds just about right. More than giving your lips color, ILIA’s Tinted Lip Conditioner leaves your lips feeling rejuvenated and supple with just one swipe.
Active ingredients include sunflower seed oil, cocoa butter, and orange peel wax. All organic, without artificial fragrances, dyes, parabens, and phthalates.
14. Inika Certified Organic Vegan Lipstick
It’s vegan, it’s cruelty-free, and it’s organic—what more can you ask for?
INIKA Organic’s Certified Organic Vegan Lipstick is made of 78% organic ingredients, including avocado, jojoba, and argan oil. Each swipe delivers a velvety satin finish that fills your lips with moisture and nourishment. If you’re not a fan of satin, it also comes in three matte shades too.
15. Lily Lolo All Natural Mineral Lipstick
This UK-based skincare and makeup brand promises only 100% plant based, vegan, gluten-free products. And that’s what you get—and more—with the Lily Lola All Natural Mineral Lipstick.
Each of the seven shades in this collection has a just-right matte finish but goes on the lips smoothly. Its plant-based formula of castor oil, jojoba oil, sunflower oil, and rosemary extracts keeps your lips hydrated all day.
16. Alima Pure Velvet Lipstick
We’ve raved about how this brand has been setting the bar high for cosmetics companies with its planet-friendly philosophy. Now we’re here to heap praise on its lipstick too.
The Velvet Lipstick collection comes in five semi-matte shades, all offering superior hydration. It’s got sea buckthorn, avocado oil, and squalene, which work to nourish and moisturise lips.
As with all other products, the Velvet Lipstick is cruelty-free and is free of gluten, fragrance, palm, canola, parabens, artificial preservatives, sulfates, carmine, phthalates, dimethicone, petroleum, talc, bismuth oxychloride, and nanoparticles.
17. Nudus Certified Organic Lipstick
Australian lipstick brand Nudus has perfected the natural lipstick. Calling it “Lip Euphoria,” their exclusive formula contains 27 active naturals comprising super foods, antioxidants, vitamins, and essential fatty acids as well as anti-aging ingredients.
A few of the natural ingredients Nudus uses include pumpkin, kiwi fruit, raspberry, pomegranate, argan and moringa. The result: supple, soft, and moisturised lips.
Doing their bit for the environment, Nudus crafts each batch by hand and comes out only with limited quantities of each shade.
With their clean, natural ingredients, you certainly won’t be afraid to lick your lips with any of these lipstick on. Go ahead, pick your favourite shade and put your best face forward!
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