Lipstick Smackdown – Natural vs Mainstream

If you’re putting it on your lips, you’re going to end up eating it. So your lipstick needs to have awesome ingredients! Today’s smackdown is between a Lavera natural lipstick, and a Revlon one.

Lavera Natural Lipstick in Matt ‘n Red

Ingredients: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax*, Rhus Verniciflua Peel Wax, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Capsicum Annuum Fruit Extract, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter)*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter*, Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis (Sweet Almond) Oil*, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil*, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil*, Dipotassium Glycyrrhizate, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Extract*, Malva Sylvestris (Mallow) Flower Extract*, Tilia Cordata Flower Extract*, Rosa Centifolia Flower Extract*, Hydrogenated Lecithin, Tocopherol, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Alcohol*, Flavor (Aroma), Limonene**, [+/- Mica (CI 77019), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Carmine (CI 75470), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Iron Oxide (CI 77491), Silica] (* Ingredients from Certified Organic Agriculture, ** Natural Essential Oils, *** Fair Trade)

Price: $26.95 (Buy at Hello Charlie)

The only ingredients that jump out are limonene and flavour. Limonene in this case is a component of essential oils, but according to INCI rules, it must be listed separately. I don’t have a problem with it when it’s from essential oils. I can see what essential oils are used, and I can avoid any that I have a problem with.

The flavour or scent is one that I usually try to avoid. However, as Lavera is a reputable company that doesn’t use synthetics, I’m happy enough with this, too. The lipstick is NaTrue certified, by the way.

Finally, any vegetarians or vegans should be aware of the carmine. Carmine is also known as cochineal. And cochineal is squished up bugs. So it’s natural, but it’s not vegan. Here’s a handy hint: if you want a really red lipstick, you’re either going to have to synthetic, or go with bugs. There’s nothing else that gets that truly red.

I use Lavera lipstick myself, so I can tell you that the ingredients are good (and natural). And it performs well, too. The colour stays on, but it’s nice and moisturising, too.

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick Cherries in Snow

Ingredients: Trioctyldodecyl Citrate, Ozokerite, Polybutene, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Pentaerythrityl Tetraisostearate, C10 30 Cholesterol/Lanesterol Esters, Bis Diglyceryl Polyacyladipate 2, Cera Microcristallina (Microcrystalline Wax), Capric/Caprylic Stearic Triglyceride, Beeswax (Apis Mellifera), Silica, Synthetic Wax, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C), Aloe Vera (Aloe Barbadensis) Extract, Serica (Silk Powder), Pentaerythrityl Tetraethylhexanoate, Caprylyl Glycol, 1, 2 Hexanediol, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Iron Oxides (CI 77491, 77492, 77499), Red 33 (CI 17200), Yellow 5 Aluminum Lake (CI 19140), Yellow 6 Aluminum Lake (CI 15985), Blue 1 Lake (CI 42090) (CI 49020), Red 6 Lake (CI 15850), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Bismuth Oxychloride (CI 77163), Carmine (CI 75470)

Price: $22.95

Ingredients taken from Priceline.

This Revlon lipstick doesn’t score very high on the EWG Skindeep database, but there are still lots of ingredients that I’m not happy about using. FD&C and D&C colours are coal tar derivatives. Those are Red 33, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Red 6, Red 7 and Red 27. There are other petroleum products, too, like the cera microcristallina and ozokerite.

There are a lot of synthetics, like octyldodecyl neopentanoate, pentaerythrityl tetraisostearate and synthetic wax, to name a few.

Vegetarians and vegans take note, there’s carmine in this one, too.

It is, however, fragrance free, so Revlon gets bonus points for that!

Verdict:

No question for me on this. The Lavera lipstick really is a natural one. The Revlon lipstick might not be full of toxic ingredients, but there are a lot of synthetics and petrochemicals. So that rules out Revlon for me!

If I’m going to be eating my lipstick, I want it to have the best ingredients possible.

What’s your favourite natural lipstick? Let us know in the comments!