Clean Cosmetics

I just got one of my favorite emails of the year.  It’s that time again.  The Sephora spring sale.  And there is nothing I like better than replenishing my makeup supply.  Or maybe even trying something new.  Trying things that I might not have purchased originally but, now at 20 percent off, they are much more appealing.  I quickly head to the website because I fear that all of the items will be sold out immediately.  I am sure that this is not true, but why risk it?  I quickly start scanning skincare and makeup and I don’t know where to begin. There is just too much to sort through.  Of course, I want to look at everything.  Until I see a heading for Clean Makeup.  So, I look at the other sections to see if they too have a clean section.  To my excitement, there is a Clean Skincare, a Clean Haircare, and a Clean Fragrance section.  I am ecstatic.  Now I don’t have to try to figure out myself which are the clean products.  

Depending on who you are reading this, you might not know what a clean product is.  So, let me provide you with a brief description.  Generally, clean products are products that are made without ingredients shown or suspected to harm human health or that of the planet such as parabens, phthalates, sulfates, and synthetic fragrance. However, there is no clear consensus on the specific substances and chemicals that should be avoided.  The interesting thing that I have learned about beauty products since my original research is that there is no legal guideline or definition of what constitutes a clean product. However, currently, there are 11 ingredients that are banned from being used in cosmetics which you can find on the fda.gov website.  That might be daunting every time you want to purchase a beauty product, but what I also learned is that there are websites where you can look into the ingredients of a product such as Skin Deep from the Environmental Working Group.  They list the ingredients in the product and even give products a ranking based on certain health and safety factors.  

For now, I look to see how Sephora defines a clean product.  I notice that there are two types of green circle labels next to certain products. One says Clean at Sephora and the other says Clean and Planet Positive.  I look to see what the difference is because personally I would like to purchase both clean products and products that help the planet. If you read one of my earlier posts, you remember how when I first started investigating the safety of products, I did a massive purge of my products and threw out all of those with unhealthy ingredients.  

Okay so I start to do my research.  Luckily there were a few places on the website for me to click on and learn.  Definitely user friendly.  There is nothing worse than scrolling around a website for hours trying to find an answer.  Okay, so back to the task at hand.  What is a clean product at Sephora? Well, it says that a clean product is one that has been evaluated by Sephora to comply with certain standards which include transparency in formulation and sourcing and the avoidance of certain products.  Clean products do not include ingredients such as phenoxyethanol, butoxyethanol, formaldehyde, triclosan and about thirty other products that I cannot and would not even attempt to pronounce.  The list is continuously updated as new information arises.  Well, that is good to hear.   Before I leave, I notice an interesting question at the bottom of the page, “Trying to improve your environmental impact as well?”   Why yes I am Sephora.  Yes, I am. 

So, I head over to the section titled “What is Clean and Planet Positive at Sephora?”.  I for one certainly want to find out that answer.  They list all of the standards required to be met in order to qualify as Clean and Planet Positive.  Basically, its brands that fulfill the clean criteria above and that meet certain standards for climate commitments, sustainable sourcing, responsible packaging, and environmental giving.  For example, they must have at least one of the following climate goals: carbon-neutral operations, greenhouse gas emissions reduction, or corporate office and owned or leased operations powered by 100% renewable energy.  They cannot use microplastics, they must be designed with recycling in mind (no single use items), and they must donate at least 1% of their profits to certain environmental organizations.  So, while I do love a clean product, I think going forward my products will have to be Clean AND Planet Positive.

But before I leave these pages, a square box in the center of the page catches my eye.  It says “Beauty (Re) Purposed”.  So, I click on it to find out more.  As I am sure that you have figured out by now, my curiosity many times does get the best of me.  It turns out that you can bring your empty (and cleaned of course) products to Sephora and place them in a recycled bin where the product I learn will either: (1) be mechanically recycled into another product; (2) downcycled; (3) molecularly recycled (so that it can be used to create something else); or (4) converted into energy.  Sephora has partnered with a non-profit organization called Pact because most beauty products can’t be recycled in curbside programs and each year over 120 billion cosmetic packages end up in landfills. This program helps to prevent that.  From now on, as soon as I finish my products, I will be bringing them back to Sephora.  This seems pretty easy and takes no effort.  I am hoping most people take part in this but if not, I am going to share this post so that others become aware and take part in it also.    

I feel like I have learned a lot about Sephora and these products. Who knew that heading online to take advantage of a sale would have led to so much information. And by the way did I tell you that I also learned that all of the Sephora stores are powered by 100% renewable energy?  I love the way that this company is trying to help both its consumers and the planet.  And by the way, no this is not an advertisement for Sephora.  I am just genuinely impressed.  

It is time to finally check out my cart and in case you were wondering, I opted to purchase the clean and planet positive products.  I ordered a few Skinfix products (such as triple lipid peptide cream as the winter weather has killed my skin), a Brigeo hair mask (because along with my skin my hair is rather dry at the moment), some Caliray lip gloss oil (because you can never have too much lip gloss) and of course some Saie moisturizing face sunscreen.  Although it may not be summer yet, I need to be personally and planet positive prepared.