Our Product Review - Liners

Eye liner

Brand Name: Lavera Naturkosmetik

Product Name: Trend Sensitiv - Kajal Eyeliner - with organic Beeswax & organic Palm Oil - Colours: No.1, No.2, No.3, No.5

Cost: $18.99

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Natural health food store, Rainbow Natural Food (Ottawa), The Big Carrot (Toronto)

Tester: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 4.5

Comments: This is my current favourite - I have 4 colours and use them together for the soft smudge look. May contain some synthetic colourants - eg CI 77163.

Ingredients: HYDROGENATED PALM KERNEL GLYCERIDES, HYDROGENATED PALM GLYCERIDES, HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL, CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE, RHUS SUCCEDANEA FRUIT WAX, ELAEIS GUINEENSIS (PALM) OIL*, BEESWAX (CERA ALBA)*, TOCOPHEROL, ASCORBYL PALMITATE, [+/- MICA, IRON OXIDES (CI 77499), TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), FERRIC FERROCYANIDE (CI 77510), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491), IRON OXIDES (CI 77492), ULTRA MARINES (CI 77007), CARMINE (CI 75470), BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE (CI 77163)]

Brand Name: Ecco Bella Botancials

Product Name: Soft eyeliner Pencils - Bronze

Cost: $19.00

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Natural health food store, Rainbow Natural Food (Ottawa)

Tester: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 3.5

Comments: It might be my colour choice but I find that it does not stay on very long. Made from vegetable waxes with no synthetic petroleum oils.

Ingredients:Hydrogenated palm glycerides, hydrogenated palm kernel glycerides, hydrogenated coco glycerides, bees wax, carnauba wax, Japan wax, apricot kernel oil, ethyl cellulose, iron oxides, ultramarines, mica and titanium dioxide.

Brand Name: MAC

Product Name: Eye Kohl Crayon

Cost: $15.00

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Department store kiosk

Tester: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 3.5

Comments: I have used MAC products for years and have always loved the performance. As I started to look at my cosmetics and their ingredients and I began to move toward more natural cosmetic manufacturers, I questioned my MAC products. Although MAC eye pencils rate a “medium hazard” with a 3 out 10 on the toxic hazards scale by the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep cosmetic database, when I looked closer there is only 1 ingredient of concern - a synthetic colourants C177499. I won’t be chucking out my 2 MAC eye pencils just yet, but will use them intermittently with my pencils from Lavera.

Ingredients:HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL; HYDROGENATED COCO-GLYCERIDES; JAPAN (RHUS SUCCEDANEA) WAX; HYDROGENATED PALM GLYCERIDES; SYNTHETIC WAX; CETYL PALMITATE; STEARYL HEPTANOATE; HYDROGENATED CASTOR OIL; BUTYL STEARATE; STEARIC ACID; TRISTEARIN; CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE; TOCOPHEROL; ASCORBYL PALMITATE; MICA; IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499); ULTRAMARINES (CI 77007); TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891); FERRIC FERROCYANIDE (CI 77289); CHROMIUM HYDROXIDE GREENS (CI 77289); CHROMIUM OXIDE GREEN (CI 77288); MANGANESE VIOLET (CI 77742)

Lip liner

Brand Name: MAC

Product Name: Lip Kohl Crayon - Cranberry, Cedar

Cost: $15.99

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Department store kiosk

Tester: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 4.5 for performance / 2.5 for ingredients

Comments: I have used MAC product for years and have always loved the performance. As I started to look at my cosmetics and their ingredients and I began to move toward more natural cosmetic manufacturers I questioned my MAC products. But I was surprised to find that the lip pencils to be fairly “low hazard”, as rated by the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep cosmetic database. On a closer look at the ingredients and their toxic ratings, the ingredients of concern all relate to the colourants used (D&C Red Lake, FD&C Blue 1 Aluminum Lake, FD&C Yellow 4 Aluminum Lake, C177499). See our Colourants 101 page on our website for colourful facts. Since I use this product on my lips and may ingest, I have decided that these are “stand-bys” - only to use occasionally and will seek out lips pencils that use colourants from natural sources. FYI - MAC is not a signer to the EWG Compact for Safe Cosmetics.

Ingredients:CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC GLYCERIDES; CAPRYLIC/CAPRIC TRIGLYCERIDE; TALC; RHUS SUCCEDANEA (JAPAN) WAX; HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OIL; ASCORBYL PALMITATE; TOCOPHEROL; VEGETABLE OIL (OLUS); MICA; TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891); IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499); RED 7 LAKE (CI 15850); RED 6 (CI 15850); YELLOW 6 LAKE (CI 15985); BLUE 1 LAKE (CI 42090); YELLOW 5 LAKE (CI 19140); MANGANESE VIOLET (CI 77742); RED 27 (CI 45410)

Brand Name: MAC

Product Name: Lip Kohl Crayon - Cherry

Cost: $15.99

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Department store

Tester: Tamey

Rating (out of 5): 4.0 for performance / 2.5 for ingredients

Comments: Well I was very happy to see that my old stand-by received a Low Hazard rating of 2 in the Skin Deep Database. However, upon reviewing the ingredients of concern my happiness soon faded. But this is one of those products that at this point I am not willing to give-up and hey I only use it a few times a year.

Brand Name: Dr. Hauschka

Product Name: Lipliner - No. 3 Romantica

Cost: $20.95

Where did we get it? Where have we seen it?: Natural health food store, Lilou Organics

Tester: Patti

Rating (out of 5): 4.5

Comments: I use this lip pencil every morning. I line and fill in my lips and then coat with a lipstick - either the Dr. Hauschka or Lavera (see lipstick product review). I find that by lining and filling in the lips with a pencil, my lipstick either stays on longer or when it comes off, the lip pencil colour stays on. The pencil goes on easy and sharpens well. It’s a great alternative to pencils that use FD&C colourants.

Ingredients:(uniform declaration for lipliner 01-05) hydrogenated palm kernel glycerides, talc, hydrogenated palm glycerides, hydrogenated vegetable oil, caprylic/capric triglyceride, rhus succedanea, rosa gallica, solum diatomeae, anthyllis vulneraria, hamamelis virginiana, camellia sinensis, tocopherol, ascorbyl palmitate, rosa damascena [+/- mica, CI 75470, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 77742, CI 77891]