Posted in Health, Savvy Mailbag | Thursday, May 27th, 2010
This question came from blog reader Marrissa who was curious about my makeup reggie.
Hey Savvy,
I have been reading the site for a while now. You posted something on curly nikki in the forum and I came on over. Here is my question for you–do you wear makeup? I assume you do not. Most ladies I see that are natural are still packing on make-up filled with all the harsh chemicals. I guess they have not made the connection that your skin can be chemical free too. I stopped wearing make up when I started transitioning. I started transitioning because of health reasons. I decided to stop relaxing when watching black in america 2′s segment about triple negative cancer rates in black women. So my sister and friends were excited to get all my mac products but did not want to hear the reason why.
- Marisa
Yes Marrissa! I absolutely wear makeup, but I chose to wear healthier versions of it. Many people think I don’t wear makeup, but I do. (I swear! See pics below). I just like a more natural look. My makeup is 99% free of parabens, sulfate, synthetic dyes, synthetic fragrance, mineral oil, petro-chemicals and phtalates. The only thing I don’t usually wear is blush because it makes me break out and I don’t wear eye shadow because I have NO CLUE how to apply it!
Here’s what I use almost every day:
Foundation – Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals Original Mineral Foundation 100% Pure mineral powder with an SPF of 15 $25 
Color: Deep
I lightly brush this all over my face and it instantly evens out my skin tone. I have noticed, however, that I do have to re-apply before the end of the day if I’m goin out. )I’ve been told that topping off the foundation with BE Mineral Veil will give my makeup it more staying power, but I haven’t tried that yet. The titianium and zinc powders are what provide the sun protection. Positive: Great coverage, it comes in any color for any complexion and the stuff lasts forever. (You’ll need to replace your brush before you need to replace the powder) Negative: It’s messy. Because there are no parabens, it’s basically loose powder and it can get everywhere if you’re not careful. To find out what shade you are stop buy a makeup place like Sephora and they’ll help you find your color for free!
Ingredients:
Titanium Dioxide 12.6%, Zinc Oxide 21%. Inactive Ingredients: Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, Iron Oxides, Zinc Oxide, Titanium Dioxide
Buy Bare Minerals SPF 15 Mineral Makeup at the Savvy Shop
Concealer – Korres Wild Rose Concealer $20
Color: Mocha (WRC6)
Ingredients: Water, Isocetyl Stearate, Butylene Glycol, Octyldodecanol, Sorbitan Stearate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Isohexadecane, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Polysorbate60, Silica, Phenoxyethanol, Glyceryl Stearate, Glycerin, Acrylates/C10-30 Alkyl Acrylate Crosspolymer, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Sorbic Acid, Caprylyl Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Hexylene Glycol, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Xanthan Gum, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Tocopherol, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Rosa Canina Fruit Extract, Laminaria Digitata Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, (+/- (May contain) Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxides, Ultramarines, Chromium Oxide greens, Chromium Oxide green.)
This comes in a neat tube with a brush at the end, that allows you to brush the concealer right on. Positive: Goes on light with great coverage, lasts a long time, and comes in a recyclable container. Negatives: this is the darkest shade they have, and it has a little dimethicone in it. (I don’t use it in my hair because of the sulfates needed to wash it out). It won’t kill you, but I’m also experimenting with mixing some of the BE with water and using that as a concealer.
Buy Korres Wild Rose concealer at the Savvy Shop
Lipliner – MAC Lip Pencil
Color – Chestnut
This is the only product I’m using that is not natural. (What can I say? I’m a work in progess.) I’m looking to replace this ASAP, but I haven’t found a natural lipliner out there in this shade.
Any suggestions?
Lipgloss – Kiss My Face Sheer Organic Shine (SOS) lipgloss* $5.27
Color- Garnet
Ingredients: Castor Seed Oil, Beeswax (Apis Mellifera), Canola Oil (Glossamer), Jojoba Oil, Shea Butter, French Vanilla Flavor, Chocolate Flavor, Peppermint Oil, Cocoa Butter, Tocopherol (non GMO), Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Stevia
This is what you’ll see me in 99% of the time and what I’m wearing in the pic below. Postitive: It goes on easily with a nice tint that blends well with my lipliner. Negative: need to re-apply often, and only 5 colors
*I’ve also used Bare Escentuals I.D. Buxom Healthy lipgloss, which also has natural ingredients but has a stronger color.
Buy Kiss My Face Sheer Organic Shine Lipgloss at the Savvy Shop
Eyeliner – Sephora PURE Eyeliner $6 (it used to be $12!)
Color: Black
At the time of this posting, I could not find the exact ingredients to this product, but the entire Sephora PURE line is made without parabens, sulfate, synthetic dyes, synthetic fragrance, petro-chemicals and phtalates and claims to have 10% ingredients. Positives: It goes on smooth and creamy, great for my sensitive eyes (I wear contacts) Negatives: it runs a bit when it’s warm
Buy Sephora PURE Eyeliner at the Savvy Shop
Mascara – Sephora PURE Mascara $8 (it used to be $16!)
Color: Panther Black
Ingredients: Lavandula Intermedia Flower/Leaf/Stem Extract*, Beeswax*, Glycerin, Hydrolyze Corn Starch, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax*, Sucrose Polystearate, Maltooligos Gyllucoside, Stearic Acid, Arginine, Beheny Alcohol, Glyceryl Caprylate, Hydrogenate Starch Hydrolysate, Polyglyceryl-10 Laurate, Silica, Sodium Stearoyl Glutamate, Glyceryl Stearate, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil*, Citrus Medica Limonum (Lemon) Peel Oil*, Tocopherol, Lonicera Caprifolium (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Lonicera Japonica (Honeysuckle) Flower Extract, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Sterols, Phospholipids, lsopropyl Myristate, Cetearyl Olivate, Sorbitan Olivate, Bentonite, Bisabolol, Water, Citric Acid. May Contain: Mica, lron Oxides (Cl77491, Cl77492, C l77499), Titanium Dioxide (Cl 77891), Carmine (C|75470).
* Ingredients from Organic Farming.
I LOVE this mascara! It doesn’t bother my contacts, and it goes on and stays on. It’s great. And you can’t beat the price and it comes in and comes in a recyclable container. I don’t have any negatives to post about this product.
Buy Sephora PURE Mascara at the Savvy Shop
the Results:
no makeup
with makeup
About Savvy Brown
I believe being healthy doesn't have to be complicated, being green can be easy and being broke isn't an option!
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Thank you for posting. I am considering buying make-up…
Great post! I’m in the process of replacing my old make-up, so this is right on time for me. I also use Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals make-up. I have the foundation, two eye shadows (go to Sephora and ask them to do a Bare Minerals eye shadow demo on you), and an eyebrow fill-in powder. I have used it for about five years and often get compliments on my skin. I think it looks better as the day goes on, as I begin to look more *dewy* in the afternoon.
I’ve yet to find a great natural lip color line that I love. As much as I want to love it, Burt’s Bees tends to flake on me, or it’s too thick. I’ll check out Kiss My Face.
I had no clue that sephora made chemical free (or mostly) makeup. That will be on my list of products to try. Actually, I’m going on their website now to see if they have a non-pencil form of the PURE eyeliner, which is by far my go to item (eyeliner in general) when I want to wear makeup.
You look great, by the way
I adore makeup! I use Ada Cosmetics, they are an African American owned company out of Baltimore, MD. They have such a wide range of selections and if you order a sample pack, they’ll send you an absolutely gorgeous selection of powders. I use the foundation, eyeshadows, blush, mineral veil and sometimes bronzer when I don’t use the foundation!! I LOVE IT! Can’t stop talking baout it and have introduced all of my friends to Ada Cosmetics.
I LURB Bare Minerals! I do not like having to re-apply my makeup so, for me, sunscreen applied 10 minutes before my make-up, helps it to stick. We should be wearing a full spectrum sunscreen (blocks UVA and UVB rays). I use b.e. True Gold mineral eyeshadow (yes, GOLD! but I don’t apply too much and it is not super flashy and glittery) I apply it to the crease in my eyelid, put on mascara and apply a lip stain. I like Tarte natural lip stain because it is SO moisturizing! I also frequently use sukicolor cheek and lip stain in vermilion, which, sadly is discontinued. I still have not mastered eyeliner; I don’t know if I ever will….
Your makeup is so pretty! It looks like it’s not there and that’s the best kind!
I forgot one thing! A friend who is a makeup artist taught me to mix a bit of Bare Minerals Powder with a bit of oil to make concealer. Grape seed oil works for me. It is ultra light, astringent and noncomodogenic!
Looks fabulous! All of these really accentuate your stunning natural beauty. This post is right on time…I was looking for some nontoxic (inexpensive) lip glosses for the summer.
@misslycia Aww. Thanks so much!
I am going to the Ada website now! Thanks for all the product recommendations.
I’ve been wearing my hair natural for ten year; it never occurred to me I needed to find more natural makeup lines.
Savvy,
I jumped over from following you on Twitter. I’ve signed up to read all your posts in my Google Reader because I don’t want to miss anything else! This post is awesome. Although I’m not as brave as you (my natural hair is still at the TWA stage so makeup is my friend) these products make sense and I’m going to check them out. Thanks.
So pretty!
I’m also a big fan of the Sephora PURE line
@Lily Sienna Really? Which products do you use?
Very helpful, thanks.
[...] stopped by Sephora the other day because I was out of my Korres concealer, (otherwise I would not have been caught dea in that store during the holidays), and I was really [...]