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Optical illusion: the eyeliner guide

REVLON, L’ORÉAL, COVERGIRL, PUR MINERALS

Oh, sure, drugstore eyeliners will include a few natural ingredients like beeswax and castor oil. Most, however, contain unsustainable petrochemicals as well as aquatic toxin cyclopentasiloxane and, very often, estrogenic preservatives like butyl and propyl parabens. The biggest greenwasher of the bunch, Pur Minerals, contains all of the above. Its eyeliner, like that of most makeup brands, contains pigment-rich mica, a mineral dogged by child labour controversies in india, where most mica is mined. L’Oréal supplier Merck says it now does monthly mica mine audits in India.

SCORE: N


TRADITIONAL KAJAL/KOHL

Around the world, many women get that sultry dark-eyed look from kohl, aka kajal, aka surma, aka tiro. But beware: the stuff can contain “large amounts of lead,” according to the U.S. FDA, and has been linked to some lead poisoning cases in children. It all depends on what ingredients are used to make it. Ground up galena (or lead sulfide) is definitely ill-advised and often unlisted. Others use the soot from burnt herbs. A bunch of brands imported from India, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been detained in the U.S. and recalled in Canada in recent years. While a lot of mainstream American and Euro makeup brands now say they sell “kajal” eyeliners, they’re really just referring to a shade and haven’t been part of the recalls.

SCORE: N


ZUZU LUXE LIQUID

Sometimes I feel like I’d have an easier time performing open-heart surgery than applying liquid liner. But of all the natural liquid eyeliners I’ve tried, ZuZu’s is by far the best-performing. It’s water- resistant, vegan – made mostly of minerals in a water/veggie wax/jojoba oil base – and the brush makes smooth application pretty effortless (not so for Sante’s liquid liner). Comes in fun colours, too. ZuZu says it tests to confirm that lead contaminants fall below Health Canada’s 10 parts per million cap. To top it off: all its mica comes from Colorado, avoiding child labour concerns. $15

SCORE: NNN


VAPOUR ORGANIC, ZUII ORGANIC

It’s rare for even health store makeup to be certified organic. Zuii and Vapour are two exceptions. Vapour cosmetics are made in New Mexico at a wind-powered plant and are all 70 per cent organic.

It has stricter heavy metal testing policies than most (Vapour’s come in below federal standards, under 1 ppm). It gets its mica via Merck, which does monthly mine audits in India. None of its minerals are irradiated. Zuii Organic is also high in certified organic content. It ships from further away (Australia) but says it does not source mica from india. $22, $25

SCORE: NNN


MARIE NATIE

Hard to beat a locally made eyeliner with high organic content. This Canadian beauty company offers a made-in-Toronto, all-natural cosmetic collection, including lovely eyeliners. The base is greener than many big-name natural eyeliners like Dr. Hauschka. It contains organic jojoba oil and beeswax as well as candelilla wax, but isn’t so oily that it smears and melts away like many others. This stick’s actually got decent staying power. Its mica is mined in the U.S., and it’s free of controversial palm-oil-derived ingredients, too. Nothing shady here. marienatie.com. $15

SCORE: NNNN

Don’t miss: how to make your own eyeliner

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