Non-Toxic Makeups That Actually Work
At Think Dirty, we work with a huge variety of brands in the clean beauty space, brands that make every type of product from haircare to skincare and body care to cosmetics. We, however, are always particularly excited to find and try out new makeup products because as much as we love skincare, clean makeup finds are rare!
Whether it is because they are more difficult to formulate or the competition from toxic brands is too strong, finding cosmetics sans-harmful ingredients is more difficult than you may think. It’s recently become easier with programs like Clean at Sephora (affiliate link). These initiatives showcase some of the brands working to develop products without the usual roster of questionable ingredients like talc, phthalates, and artificial fragrances.
Cosmetics from mainstream and drugstore brands tend to contain some pretty unsavory ingredients. For example, the pigments in cosmetic products such as foundations, blush, and eyeshadows are usually made from coal tar dyes. Coal tar dye is basically an umbrella term for the hundreds of chemicals that go into creating a dye of a given color. There’s no way to tell what kind of chemicals are in a dye, so some wind up being pretty toxic.
That brief explanation brings us to the main event of this article: Fitglow Beauty. I first discovered Fitglow Beauty when I started working at Think Dirty, and honestly was blown away by their products. I (naively) assumed that all non-toxic makeup brands fell into the “natural” beauty stereotype — i.e. the products feel nice but do nothing more than lend a slight dewy glow to your skin. Enter Fitglow: a makeup (and skincare) brand that at first glance could fit right in on the shelves of Sephora.
The founder of Fitglow Beauty, Anna Buss, was first inspired to launch her brand by her own sensitive, rosacea-prone skin. Like many of us, she found that products containing unknown chemicals and synthetic ingredients irritated her sensitive skin. Natural products often contained oils and waxes that would further irritate it. She decided to take matters into her own hands and create products to meet her needs and the concerns of others who shared similar skin issues.
To create her products, Buss researched plant-based ingredients for over a decade. She consulted with doctors and chemists to further perfect her formulas and ensure the highest level of efficacy. She wanted to make sure that her products didn’t just sit on the skin, but provided deeper nourishment for the skin cells below the surface.
All of the time and effort that was put into creating Fitglow shines through in the quality of the products. It takes a lot for me to abandon my tried and true Sephora products, especially products like concealer and eyeshadow where factors like coverage, color, and texture are key. Pigment-heavy products tend towards not-so-great ingredient lists, but you don’t always get the same payoff with non-toxic ingredients. Fitglow seems to have cracked the code.
There’s no time like the present to play around with makeup. Even though we have nowhere to go, for the time being, creating different looks when you have free time is great practice for when we can show it off! Plus it’s fun.
While you’re checking out their makeup, be sure to take a look at their equally effective skincare line! Their products are great for sensitive skin or those looking for a little anti-aging action.
Here are some favorite Fitglow products:
(P.S. Fitgow is offering 15% off right now with code SPRING15)
This concealer is perfect for anyone looking to make the jump over to a cleaner beauty routine, because it feels exactly like a high-end concealer on skin. The coverage is medium to full, and very blendable.
This lip serum has the nicest feel and smell of any lip product I’ve used in a long time. And it comes in 16 different shades!
This is the perfect palette to experiment with and test out different looks. The shades are flattering on a wide range of skin tones and eye colors.
Check out Youtube tutorials for extra inspo:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9vDqF8QwUY
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4W5AgZqycA
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CG_M2j1Rno
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The Best Non-Toxic Makeup was originally published in Think Dirty on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.