5 reasons to add natural makeup to your beauty bag

Leading an environmentally friendly lifestyle should extend beyond the kitchen and the closet. Head to the bathroom and plan to give your makeup bag a thorough cleaning. Why? Because natural makeup is a healthier way to enhance your beauty.

Next time you shop the cosmetics aisle, keep these five tips in mind. If you’re sensitive to wheat, gluten, eggs, or any number of food allergies, it’s best to choose simple makeup made with few ingredients. For example, mineral makeup is often created from three or less ingredients so you won’t get caught slathering your skin in something that will cause an allergic reaction.

Check all makeup labels for a list of possible allergens before trusting any claims of its natural status. Mother Nature is quite the artist and offers a rainbow of natural colors. Naturally sourced makeup made from minerals and plant matter is a renewable, environmentally friendly option when you’re looking for natural makeup.

Look for the following ingredients: coconut oil, jojoba oil, beeswax, and herbal oils. Cosmetics made with mineral oil, a byproduct of crude oil production, are not from renewable sources. Although perfume makes you smell nice it doesn’t need to be infused into your makeup.

Fragrant eyeliners and mascaras can easily cause eye irritation and a sensitivity to the makeup. Nobody wants to sport raccoon eyes due to a reaction to the ingredients in makeup. Instead, choose makeup that is free off all synthetic additives, including perfume.

There’s no telling what’s in synthetic dyes created in a lab. Instead, choose makeup tinted with natural elements. Look for lipstick tinted with the naturally occurring dye in berries, or shimmery eye shadow made from mica, a shiny mineral often mistaken for gold. When you use natural makeup you’re allowing your skin to breathe and be nourished.

Plant-based oils are filled with vitamins that enhance the skin making it soft, smooth, and hydrated. Plus, this type of makeup isn’t filled with heavy, pore-clogging ingredients that can leave you with pimples or a rash.

OK, so you’re ready to make the change, but, where does a girl find natural cosmetics? It’s easy, search the Internet, ask the professionals at cosmetics counters, and first and foremost read labels. Some natural products aren’t labeled as such. And, others that claim to be natural are anything but with their long ingredients list of unpronounceable additives.

Talk to girlfriends for recommendations, and once you find a few natural makeup brands you love, stick with them. Supporting the growing natural makeup industry ensures you’ll have access to healthy beauty products for a long time.