Posts tagged lipstick
FDA Report: Lead Levels on Lipstick Study
12 years ago
A new report came out from The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concerning lead content on many brands of lipsticks currently on the market. This report is very troubling since it contains 400 different lipsticks from brands such as Maybelline, Cover Girl, NARS, Avon, L’Oreal, Burt’s Bees, and many others.
In spite of the findings the FDA does not consider the lead levels they found to be unsafe.
Is there a safety concern about the lead levels FDA found on lipsticks?
No. We have assessed the potential for harm to consumers from the use of lipstick containing lead at the levels found in both rounds of testing. Lipstick, as a product intended for topical use with limited absorption, is ingested only in very small quantities. We do not consider the lead levels we found in the lipsticks to be a safety concern. The lead levels we found are within the limits recommended by other public health authorities for lead in cosmetics, including lipstick.
What are FDA’s next steps for lead in lipstick?
Although we do not believe that the lead content found in our recent lipstick analyses poses a safety concern, we are evaluating whether there may be a need to recommend an upper limit for lead lipstick in order to further protect the health and welfare of consumers.
This issue is debated between different organizations, while the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is pushing for limits on lead levels, the Personal Care Products Council – a trade group representing the cosmetics industry – agrees with the FDA that the lead levels are not threathening.
Lead is not an ingredient in the formulations, but can be unintentionally added by using color additives approved by the FDA that are mineral-based and may contain trace levels of lead that is naturally found in the soil, water and air.
Looking at the list, red shades are the most likely to contain traces of lead. These are the top 10 brands from the study:
- Maybelline Color Sensation in Pink Petal (Lead content: 7.19 ppm)
- L’Oreal Colour Riche in Volcanic (Lead content: 7.00 ppm)
- NARS Semi-Matte in Red Lizard (Lead content: 4.93 ppm)
- Cover Girl Queen Collection Vibrant Hues Color in Ruby Remix (Lead content: 4.92 ppm)
- NARS Semi-Matte in Funny Face (Lead content: 4.89)
- L’Oreal Colour Rich in Tickled Pink (Lead content: 4.45)
- L’Oreal Intensely Moisturizing Lipcolor in Heroic (Lead content: 4.41)
- Cover Girl Continuous Color in Warm Brick (Lead content: 4.28)
- Maybelline Color Sensational in Mauve Me (Lead content: 4.23)
- Stargazer lipstick in shade ”C” (Lead content: 4.12)
Click Here to look at the complete list and see if your lipstick is on it
I checked my own lipsticks against the list and I’m glad to say Illamasqua was not in it since I just love my red lipstick! Click here to check a previous review I made on Illamasqua.
My Perfect Red Lipstick by Illamasqua
12 years ago
I’m not sure how it happened, but lately my party wardrobe is very 50’s style oriented. Wait! I do know how it happened, it’s all Style Bust’s fault! I read an interview with Kimo of Effie’s Heart, checked out their website and ended up buying the Dolce Vita dress (click here to see interview). After that I bought another dress in a similar style, then another and tomorrow I’ll be picking up a custom-made one. It just snowballed.
I already have the black hair going for me and in order to get those curls that look like waves I’ve been using a clipless curling iron. To complete the look I just needed the perfect red lipstick. This is one of the most difficult colors to shop for, I currently own 8 different red lipsticks I don’t use because they were just not right. Too dark, too light, too orange, too pink, too glossy, etc.
I got all dressed up, hair, makeup, the works except for the lipstick. Went to Sephora and put myself in their hands. It didn’t take too long to find a lipstick that was perfect for me, but it was fun to try several of them. Here are the ones that I liked, but didn’t make the cut.
Illamasqua – Maneater (matte classic red)
Bite – Zivoli (brick red)
NARS – Shanghai Express (semi matte warm brick red)
The ultimate winner was a lipstick by Illamasqua.
Known for their intense colors and dramatic makeup, Illamasqua is your go-to brand for nighttime makeup—whether it’s an evening out at the opera or the dance club. Conceived amidst the dark drama of Berlin in the 20s, Illamasqua was developed by professional makeup artists and launched in 2008 in the U.K. Embraced by celebs and alternative cultures alike, their colors allow you to express your most daring, boldest, and most intense sides with professional nighttime makeup that’s richly pigmented and long lasting.
It glided on very smoothly and since I was already dressed up I met some friends at an Irish Pub, where I had two beers, one glass of water and later one coffee without having to re-apply the lipstick and without feeling the lipstick dry or flaky. My red color is called Box.
Because this color has blue undertones it also brightens my face and teeth. I adore it! This is the perfect red lipstick for me. Here’s a pic of me wearing the color, didn’t do a close up of the lips, but you can still see the effect.
Don’t loose hope, your perfect red lipstick is out there waiting for you to discover it! Have fun looking!
Here’s an update to this post. A week after I bought the lipstick I did a photo shoot just for fun using my cute dresses and lipstick and wouldn’t you know it, my photographer took a close up of my lips.
NARS Spring 2011 Collection
13 years ago
Even though I love the spring/summer weather and fashion, my favorite colors come with the autumn/winter collections. But looking at some of the upcoming Spring Collections, I’m starting to reconsider. NARS Cosmetics Spring collection is full of awesome colors, in his own words:
Spring 2011 is the epitome of minimalism, reaching a sensual peak with fresh, forward color. Jeweled earth tones are infused with a metallic finish that lends a subtly sleek finish. Cool compliments of sheer and sparkling lips pair with unexpected accents of parrot green and vivid blue.
And here is what part of the collection looks like, not sure if I can pull off Parrot Green on my eyelids, but I’m definitely going for the Golden Desperado Nail Polish and the Deep Purple Nana Lip Gloss.
All About the Lips
13 years ago
Being blessed as I am with tiny lips, I depend on products that will help me put them out there and as it is for everything that has to do with cosmetics, the choices are endless. Beginning with the choice of which product to use, a lip gloss, lipstick, lip stain or lip plumper. So let’s see what options are out there.
If you want some color on your lips without actually putting on color, then a Lip Gloss is your best bet. They keep your lips looking moist and you can find them in clear, translucent, or other shades. They can be worn alone, especially in the daytime or on top of your lipstick to give it an extra kick. The only thing about lip glosses is that you run the risk of looking like you have honey on your lips, subtlety is always best. My favorites are the ones with wands, like this one from NARS.
Or the Vitamin-Infused Lip gloss from Tarte.
This one from the Sephora Collection is one of my favorites. I bought one for my sister and her Chihuahua bit it, really hard. She thought it was a goner, but even though those little teeth really dug in, the plastic resisted, not a drop spilled out. And that little dog has destroyed quite a few things.
Lip stains are designed to stain the lips with long-lasting color which will resist wear, the difference with a lipstick is that a lip stain doesn’t contain wax. The end result can be matte and once the stain dries its very long lasting. The lip stain can be combined with lip gloss, although some of the products in the market will add a moisturizer, like this one from Laura Mercier.
Of course, we have our good ol’ Lipstick. Throughout time the use or lack of use has symbolized freedom, sluttiness, rebellion, femenism and more. Lipstick contains pigments, oils, waxes, and emollients that applies color and texture to the lips. Every cosmetic brand has a line of different color lipsticks, and to me, there’s just something sexy about lipsticks. Like Private Lipstick from DuWop.
Or Full-Finish Lipstick from Benefit.
Last, but not least, Lip Plumpers. I just love to feel pouty lips and even though the effect is temporary, its way better than doing collagen injections or anything like that. My personal favorite is Avon’s Beyond Color Plumping Lip Color.
And for plumping lip glosses nothing is better than Buxom Lips.
As I said before, so many choices and only or two can be used at a time, not fair!
Orange Lips
13 years ago
I would love to be a girl that wears lipstick, but every time I put some on, I feel like a clown! A recent visit to Sephora changed everything! I tried on a Makeup Forever lipstick in a shade called Nasturtium, which is a shade of tangerine (Makeup Forever has all sorts of orange hues to choose from). Surprisingly, the tangerine shade worked well and I didn’t look or feel silly!
The orange lipstick trend was shown at the runway at the Spring 2010 Prada show and has been seen on the red carpet. Orange shades work well with pretty much any hair color. If you’re blond you should try an orange-tangerine shade, brunette, opt for an orange-sherbet color and for dark hair, wear a red-orange shade.
To get the complete looks pictured above, I recommend you do the following: apply a bronzer, add golden or copper eye shadow, a few coats of mascara, minimal eyeliner and orange lip gloss. And voila, you’ll be rocking the orange lips without looking like Bozo!
Where to buy: MAC (MAC makes 2 orange-ish shades that are perfect for achieving the look…MAC Morange and MAC Meltdown), Sephora, and your local Drugstore. I recommend going into Sephora to see a full assortment of options, this way you can try on different shades and brands. If you don’t want to spend $15 or more on a lipstick, check out go your nearest drugstore – you won’t have as many options, and you can’t try it out…but you’ll spend about $6 and feel less guilty.