▎❝ Affordable cosmetics & the quest for clean beauty. ❞

Anyone that knows me personally knows that I strive to achieve a certain type of put together elegance and that extends beyond the clothes that I wear and while this blog is fashion focused, I promised to cover content related to all things style which includes makeup and beauty. Keep in mind, I am not a makeup artist or beauty guru of any kind. I am just a girl looking for something pretty to paint on my face whenever I have to go somewhere nice, okay?

Now is the perfect time to discuss some low cost makeup brands that I’ve recently found since throwing away all my expired makeup. I hadn’t known how many toxicants it contained when I purchased it—especially when the brands claimed to be “clean” or use safe ingredients. I foolishly took their word for it rather than consulting with the google gods and I encourage anyone in the market for beauty products to not just rely on the marketing but to do your own research to find out just what you’re investing in.

Out with the old and in with the new! I needed to discard my expired goods anyway but now that I knew just how harmful those products were, I went in search of some affordable and truly clean alternatives to not only ensure my health but my overall wellbeing. I could’ve been depressed about it and maybe even a little embarrassed for not knowing any of this sooner but instead I decided to turn it into teachable content to save others the same headache. In a world that professes to be leaning towards natural products and nature, it’s still so easy to be fooled and if you’ve been duped like I have, you’re not the first and sadly you won’t be the last!

Toxic beauty

When it comes to makeup and cosmetics, many consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the potential harm posed by certain toxic ingredients. One of the most common culprits is parabens, a group of preservatives used to extend shelf life. While effective in preventing bacterial growth, parabens have been linked to hormonal disruptions and reproductive issues. Another concerning ingredient is phthalates, often found in nail polishes and hair sprays, which are known to disrupt endocrine function and have been associated with adverse effects on development and reproduction.

Additionally, heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury are sometimes present in cosmetics, particularly in lipsticks and eyeliners. These substances can accumulate in the body over time, leading to serious health concerns, including kidney damage and neurological effects—I suppose this is where the expression, “beauty is pain” came from, yes? Furthermore, formaldehyde and its releasing agents are frequently used in some hair straightening treatments and nail products, raising alarms due to their classification as known carcinogens. Tumors and cancer have also been linked to certain types of substances like Hydroquinone and Petrolatum..

Synthetic fragrances, commonly used to enhance the scent of beauty products, often contain numerous undisclosed chemicals, some of which can trigger allergies or respiratory issues. Similarly, the use of Talc in powders is under scrutiny, especially when it is contaminated with asbestos, which is a known carcinogen. Talc has also been linked to ovarian cancer. The growing trend towards clean beauty has prompted consumers to seek out products free from these harmful ingredients, highlighting the demand for transparency and safety in the cosmetics industry. As the conversation around clean ingredients continues to evolve, it is crucial for consumers to educate themselves about the potential risks associated with the products they use daily.

Now that I have discussed different types of harmful substances found in our makeup, I’ll be referring to them collectively throughout the rest of this post as simply toxins broadly to save time, but now you’ll know the kinds of things I’m talking about. Understanding these toxins empowers us not only to seek safer alternatives but also to advocate for transparency and regulation within the beauty industry. Consumers are beginning to demand cleaner, more sustainable products, which has forced many brands to rethink their formulations and the way they market them.

Strawberry hair & sensitive skin

My relationship with makeup has been somewhat challenging because I struggle to find the right products and always have. Trends that seem to flatter everyone else never seem to work for me—what’s effective for others rarely offers the same results for me. For instance, a foundation I tested in the store and thought was a perfect match unexpectedly oxidized while I wore it, turning orange on my skin—like stop traffic orange, ya’ll! For years, I’ve faced difficulties finding makeup and beauty products that cater to my needs for various reasons, but two particular challenges stand out to me as particularly relatable, so I’d like to share them publicly.

Firstly, I have sensitive skin, and not all beauty products are suitable for it, even if they claim to be. Spoiler alert: they’re not! I’m one of those rare individuals who only needs to hear about a rash across town, and I’ll end up with one myself! I’m frequently prescribed different medications than those commonly recommended because I’m part of the “1 in 5” people who experience adverse reactions, as mentioned in the last 3 seconds of commercials for the latest miracle drug. Science confirms that this is a real phenomenon, sometimes linked to the red hair gene—so to my fellow redheads who might wonder if they’ve been cursed without realizing, you’re not alone. I’ve had to be cautious about everything I apply to my skin and face at all times.

Ultimately, I have very fair skin with cool undertones, which means I need to find the right balance between a decently pigmented shade that’s not going to look chalky and straight up clown makeup. Listen, it is what it is! I come in a naturally strawberry blonde package complete with freckles and skin prone to burn—it’s just my reality. My complexion makes it quite challenging to find products that enhance my features instead of making me look like I just gnawed my way out of an asylum. I need to be mindful of contrast, and I know I’m not the only one. No matter what color your skin is, we’ve all come across this issue at least once in our beauty journey whether you’re super fair like me or dark like my auntie who has expressed the same concern. We’ve all shamefully carried a membership for the sisterhood of the wrong shade club at least once before and gotten shaded for it. Finding the right products is such a game changer!

Although we’ve made significant strides in promoting inclusivity in cosmetics, it can still be challenging to find shades that complement your skin tone, non-toxic products, and affordable options that deliver good performance. I’ve encountered only a handful of brands that meet all three of these essential criteria, but I recently had a fortunate breakthrough that I’m eager to share with you below.

Drugstore danger

We all probably know the drug store divas already. These would be your; Covergirl, Revlon, Maybelline, Neutrogena, Rimmel, E.l.f, and Nyx to name a few. I have tried most of these brands at one point or another and haven’t been too disappointed. I have recently switched all my skincare to E.l.f which I will cover in it’s own separate post about clean skincare at a later date so stay tuned! It’s important to note that there are lot of beauty gurus far and wide who frown upon cheap makeup such as these companies but not many people can afford the luxury brands that they wear or create themselves. This is worth mentioning because price plays a huge factor in the products we reach for first.

Drugstore makeup is heavily advertised, and I constantly see promotions for it whenever I’m roaming the great wide internet. However, I’ve come to realize that these brands don’t always live up to their clean beauty claims, and their ethical practices seem stuck in the past. While some may be cruelty-free, many still include chemicals linked to cancer and other health issues. It feels ironic that these potentially harmful brands are sold in “drug stores,” where people go to buy medicine for their well-being. I don’t like it, if I’m honest. It reenforces the false sense of security we shoppers often fall into especially when we’re working with a budget and trying to spend practically.

According to my quick research, common drug store brands linked to toxic materials in their products are; L’oreal, Nyx, Maybelline, Neutrogena, Olay, Rimmel, Garnier, Burt’s Bees, and some Covergirl products but not all, to name a few. None of these brands are considered “clean” or “completely clean” by my google inquiries. Most of my information came from Conscious Bunny for anyone interested. Revlon would’ve been included in this list but in 2014, they vowed to eliminate most of the toxins from their makeup so who even knows what’s going on over there anymore though they at least seem to be doing better than their drug store competitors. I think a few of their products are clean but not all which is a common theme with these companies and it’s a concern we should all be giving our attention to.

To summarize, the only top drugstore brand I found that was advertised as being truly and fully clean is E.l.f. The rest have sorted pasts with their ingredients. There was no major tea on E.l.f that I could find or I would’ve spilled it here. Since I first started writing this post, I have begun incorporating E.l.f products into my beauty regiment and have been very happy with the results. Maybe it’s all psychological at this point but I do feel healthier since making the switch. All of these companies using harsh chemicals is such a depressing thought when you think about how much marketing goes into these drug store brands alone. Who didn’t want to grow up and be a Covergirl? Maybe it’s not Maybelline after all! Maybelline’s Sky High Mascara was recently scrutinized for having toxins and the market for it was teenagers.

To be clear, I am not saying that all of these products are toxic or that all of these brands are toxic, I’m saying that they have been linked to the use of harmful chemicals in the recent past (the last 10 years or so) and some have even been sued for saying they were “clean” when they were not. None of the ones I’ve named are currently listed as clean at the time of this post except E.l.f. I am not calling these companies bad or saying that every item they sell is dangerous or harmful to you, I’m simply explaining that they might not be as safe as we think and trying to raise awareness about health as it relates to the makeup industry. Please do your own research and form your own opinions. Check all of your favorite products yourself! Don’t take my word for it!

For my own personal opinion, I would suggest staying away from these brands or at least doing some heavy research before you decide to invest in their items because I don’t trust them as much as I once did. Keep in mind that each product has their own ingredients list so while one thing might not be anything to worry about, another thing just might be—one might have parabens while the other is advertised as paraben free. If you like these brands (and they’re affordable so I don’t blame you), it’s worth checking in to see if they have specifically clean or vegan lines to shop. For instance, I love Garnier’s rose micellar water and even though Garnier isn’t listed as a clean beauty brand, the micellar water I’ve been using does not contain any harmful substances in it’s ingredient’s list so I may continue to use it.

Whether these brands have actually changed their formulas like Revlon claimed to or not, it’s never good to bet on a company that already exposed their customers to harmful chemicals once and not been transparent about it but that’s just my opinion. Shop their clean and vegan sections if you want to and they offer them. If you’re trying to shop these brands and you can’t find clean or vegan options clearly advertised in their products, it’s probably safe to assume they’re not a makeup brand you’d want to wear anyway and that’s the rule that I use. You can check the safety of individual products at Skin Safe Products, my new best friend.

I know I didn’t get to all the makeup offered in drugstores but I tried to cover the most popular labels in hopes of spreading the awareness that I didn’t have before I started this cosmetic crusade. Toxic makeup could be it’s own separate post but it’s just so disheartening and admittedly difficult for me to write about for a variety of reasons when you think of how many women this affects and has already affected.

Painfully popular

The last time I found myself in the midst of a huge makeup purge a few years ago, I dove into the products from Revolution Beauty because I thought they were affordable, fairly safe, and pretty. I liked the packaging, okay? Don’t judge me—we don’t judge here! It was cute and they were the only brand that had a foundation that was a perfect match for my skin! It didn’t oxidize! I stayed pale this time! It was spectacular! I was so happy to find them and I ordered everything that I needed and several other items to try like the curious cat that I am.

I liked their products and was a loyal customer until I found out that this brand was being investigated for their eye makeup ingredients along with several other companies. Suddenly I wasn’t as excited for the pretty packaging or the shimmery eye shadow palettes anymore. I needed to throw all of my makeup out anyway because it had expired but I couldn’t replace the things I liked with the brand I’d grown used to. I just didn’t feel comfortable doing so. To be fair, Revolution Beauty claims to be clean from what I’ve seen advertised but is it trustworthy or just another gimmick? Are they clean or just saying that they are?

In preparation for my next makeup purge, I asked someone an acquaintance who is a makeup artist what brands she would recommend since I was obviously in the market. She recommended the popular brand, ColourPop. The brand seemed harmless, the name was sweet, they were affordable, and they had all the colors I was looking for to replace my Revolution Beauty products. She even used a ColourPop palette on me for a fundraising event I attended. It lasted, the pigmentation was good, and I was happy!

Well I was happy until I found out that ColourPop was sued in California for selling eyeshadow and eyeliner “not safe for use around the eye.” I think that the case was later dismissed but the whole situation still left me confused and shocked? As recently as July 2024, they were still rated by Conscious Bunny as not being a clean brand which makes the claims of potential harm more real to me. This is super concerning because of how well received this brand has become—to think I almost invested in all this makeup only to realize I would’ve had the same problem with all new items that I had with the old ones! God is good that I didn’t spend any of money on makeup until I did the research and realized what the truth was.

Morphe is a brand I looked into, largely because of its extensive marketing and partnerships with beauty influencers. I was curious to find out whether it truly lived up to the social media buzz. Unsurprisingly, they’ve faced legal issues and aren’t a clean beauty brand. It seems yet another popular beauty label glosses over the realities of their formulations to promote potentially harmful makeup directly to consumers. Isn’t that reassuring? It’s comforting, right? Don’t you feel safe?

All of these brands are popular and all of them have been sued, listed as not clean, or linked to harmful ingredients. It’s unfathomable to me. I guess I just assumed with all the overregulating that happens these days that companies like this wouldn’t be able to slip through the cracks so easily but I was wrong. Oh so wrong. Wrong enough to sit here and write about it so others don’t make my mistakes and we call all be a little more honest about what we’re exposing our skin to.

Shades of gray

In the world of “clean beauty” and “not clean beauty”, there are sometimes outliers that fall in the gray area between—makeup limbo, if you will. The two brands I’m going to mention are ones that I haven’t been able to completely confirm or deny as clean beauty brands though I’ve yet to find any major issues advertised with them either. For these two, I’ll be relying on Skin Safe Products to help me out where google searches have failed to give me a more solid answer.

Profusion Cosmetics appears to be clean or mostly clean. I haven’t been able to confirm it is completely clean but I haven’t seen anything saying it’s not either. They advertise vegan and cruelty free items on their website as well as a commitment to safe makeup overall. Many of their products are advertised as free of harmful ingredients and Profusion has high safety ratings on Skin Safe Products. I haven’t seen anything indicating there were or are outstanding issues with this brand so I decided to give it a try with their Citrine eyeshadow palette.

It is just as pigmented as my Tintark palettes and I purchased it for $8 on Amazon. My first palette arrived broken beyond use due to poor packaging. Apparently there is a bubble wrap shortage that I was not aware of. I had to request a new one after unleashing my redhead rage on Amazon support which took twice as long to get here—but whose counting days. Amazon sent me a new one free of charge because the original palette was so badly damaged that I didn’t even know how to try and send it back without getting powder everywhere. Packaging issues aside, I was happy when it came and I swatched it! The colors are true to the pan and I’m excited for this palette all over again! The safety rating was 100% on Skin Safe so I feel comfortable endorsing it.

I like Milani makeup but it is not considered a “completely clean” brand. I guess this means that it’s better than the super toxic ones but also not completely harmless either. Who even knows? This is a dark hole I’ve fallen down and I’m just waiting for a rope to pull myself out at this point. Like Profusion Cosmetics, Milani currently has high safety ratings on Skin Safe Products but of course my favorite blush was rated low so away it goes. I suppose for these two brands that may not be fully committed to clean beauty but also not necessarily overly harmful either, it’s best to go by individual product ratings rather than the brand as a whole. That would be my best advice. Honestly it’s just a big gray area and there’s no other way I can describe it.

The Citrine palette that I got from Profusion Cosmetics has a high safety rating and good reviews. If I order anything else from them in the future, I’ll be making sure I only purchase items with the same type of reputation and that goes for Milani as well though I’m more likely to order from Profusion. I’d say tread carefully but don’t necessarily side step these brands altogether if they have a safely rated product you’d like to get. If it looks shady or you can’t confirm any safety ratings, don’t get it—better safe than sorry.

Clean makeup kit

Now that we’ve ventured into makeup hell and crawled through makeup limbo, we emerge on the other side not only enlightened about the true dangers of cosmetics but hopeful that there truly are “clean” beauty brands waiting out there for us in makeup heaven. I have found salvation in the form of some newly discovered beauty brands that appear to really be clean this time and not only that, they’re affordable too!

Believe Beauty is a clean beauty brand found at your local Dollar General of all places! I know, how magical! I stumbled upon this brand totally on accident long before I ever decided to purge my old makeup. It happened to be sitting there by the counter in a beautiful, small eyeshadow palette of all my favorite colors to wear—those coppers, peaches, and golds. It was on sale so I decided to give it a go. I will admit that I didn’t take it seriously because it was from the Dollar Store and I have been burned before by cheap products but when I got it home, I expected it to be patchy or lacking pigment but I was wrong! For the price, I was amazed at the quality!

My Believe Beauty products are the most pigmented clean beauty products that I have found to date and this includes the highlighter palette I got which out performed Revlon by a mile. I would definitely recommend this brand and I haven’t been disappointed by them yet. Their eyeshadow was so true to color that I had to blend for a good 10 minutes because I thought it wouldn’t transfer as well as it did and I got carried away. I learned my lesson and I also learned that Believe Beauty is the real deal.

My only complaint is that you can only get it at Dollar General which means I have to go in person to retrieve my items and hope my local store has what I need—it also requires mingling with locals which is not my favorite thing. I will caution you to double check all the safety seals BEFOREHAND because I have purchased makeup from there that I was sure was sealed until I got it home and saw how creative other customers were about still finding a way to open the product so there’s that. Gross, but true. If you’re one of these people, don’t do that. You’ll get bad karma and will never be able to find your right shades again. Aphrodite herself will spit on you. Also, not all the colors are in the right order because people pick things up and put them back in the wrong place without thinking—shopping poltergeists. As a Libra, this offends me deeply and to no end. Be considerate, not common.

Tintark is another clean beauty brand that I found on Amazon through prime day. Yes, Tintark is very good! I like them! I have been pleased with the palette pigmentation and like the color options that they provide. I ordered the Peach Please and Cloudy with a Chance of Sprinkles palettes to get me started because I had never tried this brand before. Each palette was under $12 which was a steal. Again, I was a bit surprised by how pigmented these powders were. I thought that the price would reflect the quality but nope! The reviews are great and in my opinion, the palettes are too!

I couldn’t wait to get into Peach Please when it came and I already find it to be such a versatile palette that blends well and mixes easily with my other Believe Beauty shadows. The shipping was quick, both palettes came undamaged and well wrapped, and they were exactly as advertised. Did I mention the packaging is pretty too? I’ll be ordering more from this brand and while they don’t have as big of a selection as their competitors, I like their products so far. If I write about makeup again, maybe it’ll include a deeper review of this brand.

Physician’s Formula, Catrice Cosmetics, Honest Beauty, and Undone Beauty are four more brands that I’ve seen advertised as clean and cost affective for your shopping consideration. Any others that I find in my travels, I will list here and I’ll be trying their products myself soon, especially because Physician’s Formula is supposed to be super hypoallergenic! There’s so much more I could write about this topic and I feel like each of these clean beauty brands deserve an individual review where I can go into more details but at least I’m able to give you some names to look into until I can try them all.

Beauty shouldn’t be pain

Despite being disheartened, I have managed to find some affordable clean beauty brands to fill my makeup arsenal. I know that there are others out there but these were the ones I got my hands on in a pinch and I wanted to focus on the low cost ones for practicality. I’m not someone who likes to spend a lot of money on makeup, though I do like makeup. I just feel like it shouldn’t be as expensive as it’s become these days and I don’t like participating in the racketeering that’s become commonplace.

Beauty shouldn’t be pain and we shouldn’t feel the need to settle for toxic substances in our products just to feel better or pretty. Brands feed on our insecurities to try and sell us magical products that are supposed to make us feel like a better version of ourselves and only end up doing us more harm than good in the long run and we don’t need to participate in that kind of cannibalistic vultureism.

Beauty standards have never been higher than they are today and the pressure to be “pretty” is excruciatingly real. Social media, plastic surgery, and new cultural standards make being a woman in the modern age increasingly difficult but that does not mean that we should ever put our own safety at risk. Lest we forget that one of the greatest women in history, Queen Elizabeth I of England, was felled by her own toxic lead makeup that she wore on her face to cover her small pox scars. Another woman with insecurities desperate to make them go away at any cost, though Liz didn’t have google to see just how dangerous her makeup was.

If you haven’t gone through your makeup in awhile, do it. If you don’t really know what kind of threats lurk in your makeup kit, check the ingredients lists. If you’re in the market for a new makeup brand, make sure they’re clean and have good reviews. Humanity is too old to be suffering the same problems over and over. Please take care of yourself and prioritize healthy self care. I hope this was helpful. If I missed anything about the brands I explored here, let me know and if I find any changes, I will update accordingly. Stay safe, beautiful, and healthy out there!

Author’s Note: I have recently discovered the Profusion Cosmetics does in fact claim that they are a clean and mostly vegan brand that prioritizes ingredient transparency which I am thankful for because they have many products I’d like to try! If there are any more changes or I find anything else to the contrary of what I’ve already written, I will add it here until such a time when I have enough new information to consider revising this post in it’s entirety.