In 2018 I swapped a swag of makeup and toiletries over to brands with 100% natural ingredients. Some swaps even had organic ingredients. I'm winning the fight against man-made chemicals in my body (because the long-term health effects are not known for thousands of new chemicals that hit the market every year). I believe natural lipsticks are just as effective as mainstream or big-brand synthetic lipsticks – it’s just that brands are racing for unique advantage and for profits - so synthetic, man-made chemicals became widely used because they are either cheaper, or give a unique fashionable effect, or both.
Sadly, the cosmetics industry is self-regulated, meaning there is rarely independent testing. Sometimes not-for-profits do the good work and the results are usually very concerning. In Australia, cosmetic companies fill in a government form saying the new chemical ‘poses no unreasonable risk to the public or workers’ and its non-hazardous. In 2017, over 6000 new cosmetic chemicals were exempt from the government chemical register. Cosmetics that claim a therapeutic effect like healing, go through another area of government reserved for medicinal chemicals. Recently 10% were tested and caught out, and only a drop in the ocean were tested compared to market changes.
Don’t believe me that your beauty bag is so deadly? In 2016, Johnson & Johnson was ordered to pay $72 million dollars in damages for an ovarian cancer death that was caused by the talc in their baby powder. They also used cancer-causing formaldehyde in their baby shampoo until 2008. This shi*mer is real. If one of the biggest players in the world is fine about making us sick or dead, because linking cause and effect is so difficult, then I’m becoming an educated consumer. Now, if you look at the formaldehyde or powder example above, this means potentially cancer-causing new chemicals take decades to become identified. Then it’s potentially too late for millions of people. That’s why I’d rather put on my pout a natural vegetable oil that hasn’t been played around with too much by humans. Wouldn’t you?
Did you know that the average woman puts 168 chemicals on her body on a daily basis? In 2007, The Telegraph reported women’s bodies are absorbing 2.3 kgs of chemicals a year. OMG! In the case of lipstick, it’s not just lathered on but eaten! Now I like pretty lips that brighten up my face and give me a healthy look, it’s scientifically proven after all. But why would I eat lipstick that I wouldn’t spread on my morning toast?
Here are five natural lipsticks I have rated for lip performance, ecological performance, and price.
NU EVOLUTION
Natural and organic lipstick
Colour: Allure
$46.50 (30 USD) for 4.5g / $10.33 per gram
Made in the USA
PERFORMANCE
It was moisturising with a thick coating that makes my lips look fuller. Who doesn’t want that? After two hours, just a little clumping of colour occurred where my lips meet, the rest of the lip still smooth and covered nicely.
Main ingredients: organic castor oil, organic beeswax, carnauba wax, and candelilla wax.
Yay for organic ingredients that are grown without man-made cancer-causing agrochemicals like Roundup.
ECO-RATING
100% Natural YES
Vegan NO (uses beeswax)
Organic YES (14 of 20 ingredients are organic including two main ones)
Cruelty free YES
Local manufacturing NO
Sustainable packaging NO (no confirmation)
No petroleum chemicals CORRECT
No parabens CORRECT
No synthetic fragrance CORRECT (naturally derived fragrance of vanilla)
No synthetic dyes CORRECT
NU Evolution also says ‘No Bismuth Oxychloride, Phenoxyethanol, Propylene Glycol, BHT, or Dimethicone.’
In fact here is their online commitment – impressive!
PRICE
The most expensive at $46.50. It’s double the price per gram (or more) of all the other four lipsticks here! The two founders are ‘glamazons’ from New York with ‘true passion for high fashion’ so expect top shelf for their brand identity. At least the container feels high quality and glamorous in shiny black on a shelf where many packets are brown ecological colours, oh wait, I think this container was the least sustainable and least recyclable.
OVERALL
Does NU Evolution really need 20 ingredients to be a ‘toxin-free’ lipstick? (their words not mine) 9 ingredients seem to be essential oils for aroma and anti-microbial action so I’m ok with that. One founder says, ‘Knowing that more than 60% of what you apply to your skin is directly absorbed into your bloodstream, we set out on a quest to find alternatives.’ I hear ya sister!
NEEK Skin Organics Australia
Satin nourishing lipstick
Colour: Sunsets
$26 for 4.5g / $5.78 per gram
Made in Australia
PERFORMANCE
Good pigment coverage with a lightweight, moisturising effect that is smooth across the entire lip and lasts well.
Main ingredients: organic jojoba seed oil, organic castor seed oil, mica and organic carnauba wax.
Keep the organic ingredients coming! Neek also says ‘with avocado oil and shea butter.’ This is angel dusting because they are low on the list of carrier ingredients. I hate being greenwashed. However, I do love jojoba and it’s the main ingredient! Jojoba is the closest plant oil to our natural body oil, which in my view means it has a good chance of being the most effective.
ECO-RATING
100% Natural YES
Vegan YES
Organic YES (6 of the 12 ingredients were organic including the main two)
Cruelty free YES
Local manufacturing YES
Sustainable packaging KIND OF (bamboo container)
No petroleum chemicals CORRECT
No parabens CORRECT
No synthetic fragrance CORRECT
No synthetic dyes CORRECT
No silicones, lead, phthalates either.
NEEK says online ‘Carmine can make some amazing shades, but crushed beetles really aren’t our thing.’ Not my thing either, thank you Neek!
PRICE
Neek natural lipstick is the third cheapest price and at $26 won’t make you cry or your mascara run.
OVERALL
I’d totally buy this lipstick again, the main ingredient is my favourite of all the plant oils – jojoba oil - and I’d rather eat organic lipstick (without man-made pesticides or herbicides) than natural lipstick that still got field spray. Neek had the most organic ingredients of all five lipsticks tested. Although there was a packaging fail, the nifty the bamboo lid lost its ability to stay snug on top. I don’t want to get a messy surprise reaching into my handbag. A bonus is head office is in Burleigh Heads, Queensland – I’m so proud.
Karen Murrell
Natural lipstick
Colour: Peony Petal
$32 for for 4g / $8 per gram
Made in Australia (and designed in New Zealand)
PERFORMANCE
Pigments were bright but lipstick wasn’t moisturising enough and immediately clumped with patchy colour. The worst performer of all.
Main ingredients: Karen Murrell was the only brand of the five here to not list ALL its ingredients online. What have they got to hide? A stockist’s website says the main ingredients are: castor seed oil, candelilla wax, three chemicals derived from jojoba, and carnauba wax.
Karen Murrell online says ‘Active ingredients: candelilla wax, evening primrose oil and castor oil’ and ‘with avocado oil.’ I can see why they don’t list jojoba as an active ingredient, it’s like the ghost of jojoba oil. Again, these claims are angel dusting to seduce the shopper, as avocado oil is the 10th largest ingredient, evening primrose 16th. They may not be very active in these small quantities.
ECO-RATING
100% Natural YES
Vegan NO (uses beeswax)
Organic NO
Cruelty free YES
Local manufacturing YES
Sustainable packaging YES (vegetable based inks and forest friendly paper)
No petroleum chemicals CORRECT
No parabens CORRECT
No synthetic fragrance CORRECT (‘cinnamon, sweet orange and limonene’ which have natural aromas)
No synthetic dyes CORRECT (‘pigments do not contain any coal tar. We use mica and iron oxide’)
PRICE
The second most expensive natural lipstick and the most expensive locally-made product.
OVERALL
I like to support local but this just didn’t compete on performance with any of the other natural lipsticks. The artwork on the packaging and online store is divine which probably is irresistible to impulse buyers, but this doesn’t save KM from my buying values! Karen Murrell’s lack of transparency online, compared to the other fully transparent products, makes me as annoyed as a bee that had my beeswax taken away. 11 of the 22 ingredients (on a stockist website) I didn’t recognise, meaning they are isolated or highly industrialised chemicals that occur in nature. Does Karen Murrell really need 22 ingredients to make a natural lipstick? I think not.
Burt’s Bees
100% Natural lipstick
Colour: Blush Basin
$20 for 3.4g / $5.88 per gram
Made in the USA
PERFORMANCE
I’m really happy with this lightweight, glossed lipstick that still has a moisturising feel.
Main ingredients: The main ingredient and third main ingredient I do not recognise (Google says they replace silicone and form a film – yum). The other two main ingredients are castor seed oil and beeswax (of course).
Burt’s Bees says, ‘formulated with moringa and raspberry seed oils’ Which I have no idea if that’s good? They do not elaborate on why. I think I see an angel dusting again. These two delightful sounding oils list as the 13th and 14th least ingredients. I didn’t recognise the chemical names of 9 of the 20+ ingredients. Again, it appears you need 20+ ingredients to make a natural lipstick.
Ingredient 10 is hydrogenated vegetable oil and I don’t want to eat trans fats no matter how small the amount! In 2013, the American FDA proposed changing trans fats classification to no longer be "generally recognised as safe to eat." (and the FDA is pretty relaxed compared the European standards so that’s saying something concerning). Plus, this was the only lipstick so far with an aroma flavouring, the others used essential oils or derivatives of them. Again, aroma is a lab-extracted chemical but totally legal to eat in the food industry, so I don’t really have the right to call this one out, do I? I’d rather a lipstick that is natural as in closer to nature! (sigh) All the Burt’s Bees ingredients like aroma are cheaper than ‘less processed’ natural alternatives like essential oils.
What’s my stance on lanolin as a natural ingredient? Well if we are ok with shaving sheep for wool, then using the oil that is washed off the wool, is also a good thing to do, in a sustainability sense. If you don’t think any animals should live in domestication, then you won’t agree with me.
ECO-RATING
100% Natural YES
Vegan NO (uses beeswax, lanolin from sheep’s wool, and carmine colour from cochineal insects)
Organic NO
Cruelty free YES
Local manufacturing NO
Sustainable packaging YES (made from 60% recyclable materials and can be recycled again (this I like!)
No petroleum chemicals CORRECT
No parabens CORRECT
No synthetic fragrance CORRECT
No synthetic dyes CORRECT
Also ‘no parabens, phthalates, petrolatum or SLS.’
PRICE
It feels like value for performance until you read the ingredients list compared to the other lipsticks, then you feel a little ripped off, like after a Happy Meal.
OVERALL
The brand is 30 years old and has obviously stopped being a pioneer over profits. These days the brand has 180 products. This is mass production. Plus, the bees in Burt’s bees means it will never be vegan. For $20, I’d rather invest a little more to eat less industrialised stuff mentioned above. After all, it was proven that altered states of natural ingredients still cause health problems, think trans fats that got out there for years deep frying your French fries, and then got banned.
Burt’s Bees
100% Natural gloss lip crayon
Colour: Bordeaux Vines
Made in the USA
$17 for 2.83g / $6 per gram
PERFORMANCE
Ok, I tested it on a melting hot, summer day and the colour just seemed to disappear after an hour or so. Literally, slid off. The marketing says 8-hour coverage – massive fail. The crayon shape is also more difficult to apply on lip edges compared to a tradition lip ‘stick’.
Main ingredients: castor seed oil, a chemical I don’t recognise (Google says it’s a texture enhancer - yum), candelilla wax and jojoba oil.
I do love it when jojoba makes it into the top ingredients. However, I am disappointed to see this lipstick did not have the four main ingredients as natural oils or waxes. Therefore, it is the most industrialised version of natural lipstick. This ‘texture’ main ingredient would be to keep the cost down. Burt Bee’s says it’s ‘infused with kendi oil.’ What is this stuff? It turns out it’s another name for candlenuts. Even the Indonesians use this tree nut in their curries. It’s the 11th ingredient so it’s in low quantities, for it to be mentioned up front and centre in the marketing. Lovely, shea butter is the 6th main ingredient compared to kendi oil’s no.11 but got a last mention. I hear angel wings.
ECO-RATING
100% Natural YES
Vegan NO (uses beeswax, and carmine colour from cochineal insects!)
Organic NO
Cruelty free YES
Local manufacturing NO
Sustainable packaging YES (recyclable plastic)
No petroleum chemicals CORRECT
No parabens CORRECT
No synthetic fragrance CORRECT (‘no added flavour or fragrance’)
No synthetic dyes CORRECT
Also ‘no parabens, phthalates, petrolatum or SLS.’
PRICE
Very affordable, the cheapest of all five natural lipsticks tested. However, by the gram, the other Burt’s Bees natural lipstick is slightly cheaper.
OVERALL
This Burt’s Bees lipstick has redeemed the brand in my view compared to their other above. It doesn’t use lanolin; the oil from sheep’s wool. Also, there are only 3 of 14 ingredients I don’t recognise the chemical name. It still uses carmine red bugs though, a shame.
THE VERDICT
Here are the results of my year of 2018 swapping mainstream, synthetic lipsticks for 100% natural lipsticks (and organic-grown as well where possible). I was surprised that even the term ‘natural’ is still highly industrialised chemical derivatives extracted from basically natural trash by using in some cases toxic solvents and other industrial extraction chemicals. It certainly starts to take the shine off my glamorous lipstick purchase.
The natural lipstick winner for value for money and for eco-goodness: NEEK
Not only did NEEK rate much stronger than all other lipsticks. It was the only vegan lipstick and had some organic ingredients. NU Evolution also had organic ingredients but its performance against price let it down. I vote NU Evolution natural lipstick 2nd place – silver is so glam.
Karen Murrell ranked second for eco-goodness but was the worst performer for doing its only job: making my lips more attractive. I threw it in the bin and emailed KM encouraging a formula-revisit, because I really want to support brands doing the most for health.
Both Burt Bee’s lipsticks' eco-ratings are as high as luxurious NU Evolution, but are less than half the price, which is savings in your pocket from Burt Bees being such a large company. The lip crayon is an adequate-performing, entry-level natural lipstick that you should work your way up from, for example, away from bug tint and towards mineral colour. The other Burt Bee’s lipstick, I wouldn’t buy again because I can get ‘cleaner’ lipsticks for little over $20. In fact, I definitely feel greenwashed that I bought this natural lipstick in the first place, after reading that two main ingredients are highly industrialised natural extracts a co-polymer and an acid, and there’s trans fats. I’d rather jojoba oil thanks.
Thou shalt not pass! My lips!
Cover image by Ian Dooley