There is a wealth of information about what NOT to include in your life. There are countless articles on which ingredients are bad, which chemicals to avoid, what foods not to eat. Great, that is a good start, but begs the question…”What do I use instead?” Here is an offer in answer this question about natural cosmetics.
I started adding product reviews to this site thinking that I may not be the only person looking for better solutions. Really, the challenge is not to find out what to avoid, it is to find out what to use instead. I put in a lot of time into researching, reading labels, searching for reviews and trying to find better options. Hopefully what I have discovered might be helpful to others None of these product reviews are sponsored. I am just a regular person purchasing these items like everyone else.
Ok, let’s talk natural cosmetics. I do not wear makeup very often. Now that I don’t work in an office and find few occasions where I feel the need to wear makeup and typically lip balm is my only embellishment. Recently, I was scheduled to attend a convention for work and wanted to be able to wear makeup, but wanted non-toxic products.
I had a long list of toxic cosmetic ingredients to avoid, yet no idea what products to actually use. I spent many days researching products and their respective ingredient lists. I checked goodguide.com, read blogs, researched reviews, visited make-up store sites, read labels and cross-referenced ingredient lists.
Here is my list of criterion for beauty products:
- Paraben-Free
- Contain no Petroleum distillates (Ethyls)
- Benzoate-Free
- Sulfate and Sulfite-Free
- Nitrate and Nitrite-Free
- Fragrance-Free
At last, I found a product line that looked promising: 100% Pure Cosmetics
100% Pure is a line of products specializing in fruit pigments instead of synthetic dyes and colorings typically employed in the industry. Their philosophy looks good, the company seems ingredient conscious, committed to being cruelty-free and have a encouragingly short ingredient list. Their product line seems interesting, offering acai tinted lip gloss and strawberry face scrubs. They have a full line of bath and body products, skin care and cosmetics. Price point is in line with Sephora and department store prices, or maybe just under. The company offers a 30 day guarantee on all products, which I talk more about below.
- Fruit Pigment
- Cruelty-Free
- Minimal ingredients
- Preservative-Free
- Fragrance-Free
- No synthetic chemicals
- No artificial fragrances
- No petro chemicals
- No chemical preservatives
From Manufacturer’s Website:
What are Fruit Pigments?
Fruit pigments are what makes strawberries red, what makes blueberry skin blue – fruit pigments are fruit colors. All 100% Pure cosmetics are colored from fruit and vegetable pigments. All the antioxidants and vitamins are found in the pigments. 100% Pure fruit pigmented patent-pending technology takes those healthy fruit pigments and puts it into our cosmetics. That is why we have blackberry mascara (mascara colored from blackberries), pomegranate wine lip gloss (lip gloss colored from red wine and pomegranate) and cranberry cheek tint (cheek tint colored from cranberries). The great thing with 100% Pure fruit pigmented cosmetics is that you’ll be applying all the healthy fruit antioxidants and fruit vitamins directly onto your skin.What does 100% Pure Mean?
There are many toxic chemicals in cosmetic products that have been clinically proven to cause cancer, tumors, irritation and many different skin disorders. 100% Pure products are truly 100% Pure. That means there are no synthetic chemicals, chemical preservatives, artificial fragrances, artificial colors, harsh detergents or any other unhealthy toxins. Truly health food for your skin.
This is what I purchased
1) Tinted Moisturizer
2) Cheek and Lip Tint
3) Lip Glaze
Tinted Moisturizer:
I was very happy with the tinted moisturizer. I have tried many, many tinted moisturizer products and have found a wide variation in the product from brand to brand. Laura Mercier is the king of this particular product, but contains parabens and many chemicals. The 100% Pure Tinted Moisturizer is not quite as thick or stiff and provides lighter coverage than Laura Mercier, but is also nice for these reasons. I felt that the coverage was adequate, if a little sheer for my personal tastes. It is suitable for daily wear, but does not contain SPF like many in the category, so you will need a separate sunscreen. It is not too moist or sticky (a problem in other brands). The color looks natural and not too orange on oily skin. Overall I am thrilled with this product, though I feel the packaging is a little overdone for a eco-conscious product.
Lip Glaze:
I read the product description on the site for each item pretty thoroughly before making the purchase. Upon receiving the Lip Glaze I felt that the site description may not have accurately described the product. I was given the impression that the Lip Glaze was a glossy product that had more tint than lip gloss, like a cross between lipstick and lip gloss. The Lip Glaze, to me, is more like a traditional lipstick in texture and opacity. I might have just gotten the wrong impression from the description on the site, but if I had understood the product better from the description I would have ordered something else.
Lip and Cheek Tint:
I feel bad about saying that I was disappointed with this product. This product is raved about online and is like their flagship product. For me it just did not work. I felt that the base for the tint was waxier and “stiffer” than I would have preferred, like rubbing a candle on my face. It was heavy and felt uncomfortable on the skin. The packaging seemed cheap and flimsy, like a Wet N Wild or Tinkerbell kids cosmetic product at a hefty price point.
I took the company up on their return policy and sent back the cheek tint and lip glaze. They sent me a refund after a few days. I took this opportunity to reorder and purchased mascara and and another style of lip gloss. I liked the mascara, but was not impressed with the heavy gloss texture and the flimsy applicator stick on the lip gloss. I current review of their product line shows that they have phased out both lip products that I had tried and did not prefer.
UPDATE – Four years later I am still using 100% Pure Cosmetic for my foundation. I have found no better product on the market for my skin. I have expanded my product usage.
2nd Skin Foundation – This is a serum foundation, which has been having a moment in the beauty circles. It is very water and thin in texture, but provides a medium coverage. Many of the serum foundations use silicon, which is not good for my skin, but this one uses olive squalene as a base. I like the texture and finish, but found that the red coverage is not great. You will want to use a concealer for red spots, but this gives a nice velvety finish.
Healthy Foundation – This product is a miracle for oily skin. It has remarkably full coverage and a very smooth texture that is low moisture. Upon application it feels so nice you forget to even apply finishing powder. The coverage is more than I would want for a day to day foundation, but I only wear makeup for occasions, so this is my go to make up most of the time now. I have read some complaints that this foundation is too dry for some people, I would agree. This is perfect for oily skin, however. You will love this product.
After recently having an allergic reaction to another product line, I am more devoted than ever to 100% Pure products.
Check out their full product line on their website, 100PercentPure.com. Spotty product availability through Amazon. To me it looks like their production numbers are relatively low and they often sell out on products and rotate their formulas frequently.
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