Every few months a headline links an everyday chemical to heart disease, and cosmetics are often mentioned in the same breath. Phthalates, heavy metals and so-called hormone disruptors all turn up in articles about makeup safety, and it is easy to come away thinking that your foundation or perfume might be harming your heart. There…
Open a lipstick, a foundation or a setting spray and there is often a faint scent: vanilla, roses, fruit or just something clean. Makeup is not perfume, so why do so many products smell of anything at all? Fragrance is added to makeup for a few main reasons. Many raw ingredients such as oils, waxes,…
Paraben-free is one of the most common claims on skincare and makeup. For many shoppers it has become shorthand for safer or gentler, and some people avoid parabens entirely. But what does the label actually tell you, and is a paraben-free product always the better choice? Paraben-free means a product does not contain parabens, a…
Two foundations in the same shade can look completely different on the skin. One looks velvety and blurred, another looks flat and heavy, and a third looks glowing or even slightly sparkly. Much of that difference comes down to something you cannot see on the label: the size and shape of the particles in the…
You open a moisturiser and find a layer of oil on top, or shake a foundation that has settled into a thick paste at the bottom and a clear liquid above. Is the product ruined, or is this just what happens to creams over time? Most creams, lotions and liquid foundations are emulsions: tiny droplets…
Soft focus, blurring and airbrushed are some of the most common claims on primers, powders and foundations. They promise the smooth, slightly hazy look of a flattering photo filter, with pores, fine lines and uneven texture looking less obvious. The soft-focus effect is an optical trick. Soft-focus products contain spherical or finely milled particles, such…
Why does a lip stain leave colour on your lips long after the gloss has gone, while a pressed eyeshadow wipes away with a cotton pad? The answer usually comes down to whether the colour comes from a dye or a pigment. Dyes are colourants that dissolve in water, oil or alcohol. Because they dissolve,…
When people say a makeup product is highly pigmented, they usually mean it gives strong colour in one swipe. When they call something chalky or patchy, they often blame fillers. Both words get used loosely, and fillers in particular have picked up a bad reputation they do not entirely deserve. Pigments are the ingredients that…
Almost every highlighter, shimmer eyeshadow, glowy foundation and lip gloss that catches the light owes its effect to one ingredient: mica. It appears on labels as mica, CI 77019 or sometimes as part of a coated pigment, and it is one of the oldest ingredients used in cosmetics. Mica creates shimmer because it forms extremely…
Clumpy mascara is one of the most common makeup frustrations. Instead of long, fluttery lashes, you end up with spiky clusters, blobs at the tips or lashes stuck together in groups. It can happen with an expensive mascara as easily as with a budget one. Mascara clumps when too much product builds up on the…
If your foundation pills, streaks or slides off by lunchtime, the problem may not be the foundation itself. It may be the combination of products underneath it. One of the most common reasons makeup layers badly is mixing products with different bases, especially silicone-based and water-based formulas. Silicone-based cosmetics list a silicone such as dimethicone,…
Clean beauty has become one of the biggest trends in cosmetics. Retailers have clean sections, brands carry clean seals and many shoppers now look for the word clean before anything else on a label. Yet two clean products can have very different ingredient lists. A clean-label cosmetic is a product marketed as being made without…
Emollient is one of those words that appears on moisturiser labels, in dermatologist advice and in ingredient guides, often without much explanation. It is worth understanding, because emollients are one of the three building blocks of almost every moisturiser. Emollients are ingredients that soften and smooth the skin by filling in the tiny gaps between…
Hypoallergenic is one of the most reassuring words on a makeup label. It suggests the product is gentle, safe for sensitive skin and unlikely to cause a reaction. For many shoppers with sensitive or allergy-prone skin, it is the first thing they look for. Hypoallergenic makeup is makeup that the manufacturer says is less likely…
Talc is one of the most common ingredients in face powders, blushes, eyeshadows and setting powders. It is also one of the most debated. If you break out after wearing powder, it is natural to wonder whether talc is the culprit. Talc itself is not considered strongly pore-clogging. It is a soft mineral that absorbs…
You put on mascara in the morning and by mid-afternoon there are grey smudges under your eyes. Some mascaras seem to stay perfectly in place for one person and transfer within hours for another, even when both use the same tube. Mascara smudges when something softens the formula after it dries. The most common causes…
A glossy, glass-like finish is one of the most requested makeup looks, but the usual advice is to pat facial oil over everything. That works for some people, yet it can feel greasy, break down foundation, slide around by lunchtime and leave oily or acne-prone skin looking shiny rather than fresh. You can create a…
Foundation labels describe finish as matte, soft matte, satin, natural, dewy or radiant, and it is not always obvious what separates them. The finish you choose affects how your skin looks in daylight and photos, how long your makeup lasts and how comfortable it feels. A matte finish has little or no shine. It controls…
Lipsticks, balms, cream shadows, cleansing balms and many sticks are held together by wax. Glosses, facial oils, cleansing oils and liquid highlighters rely more on oils. Both are part of the same family of oily ingredients, but they behave very differently on your skin and lips. A wax base uses ingredients that are solid at…
Mixing makeup is one of the easiest ways to get exactly the finish you want. A drop of illuminator makes a matte foundation glow, a little moisturiser turns full coverage into a skin tint, and two shades combined can give a better match than either alone. But not every mix works, and some can make…
pH has become a selling point in skincare, with labels promising pH-balanced cleansers and low-pH toners. Behind the marketing is a real idea: the surface of healthy skin is slightly acidic, and products that push it too far in either direction can cause problems for some people. The skin’s surface is mildly acidic, with research…