There should be a word for that overwhelming feeling one gets when attempting to read the ingredient list on a beauty product — the sheer number of syllables in some of those ingredients is enough to have us tongue-tied.   It takes a lot of science (not to mention naming conventions) to create the modern products we adoringly apply to our bodies. And for some of us, the seemingly foreign nature of these ingredients can feel scary and unsafe.   So if the idea of your makeup being natural, organic, and nontoxic simply makes you feel more secure, we totally get it.  

How we define “natural”

  Unfortunately, defining “natural” in beauty products is a bit like trying to nail jello to the wall. In fact, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has never defined the term, nor has it established a regulatory definition for it in cosmetic labeling.   “Unfortunately, terms like ‘natural’ and ‘organic’ are often marketing speak — so many brands falsely claim to be natural and organic so it takes away from the meaning,” says Angelina Umansky, owner of San Francisco’s Spa Radiance.   That’s why it’s important to do your research and be extra discerning when you go out shopping for natural makeup. A great place to start is the clean beauty store Credo, which created specific standards for the products it carries because of the absence of overarching industry regulations.       Here are three things to consider when deciding if a product or brand is right for you:  

• Does the brand say where they’re sourcing their ingredients?
• Do they include sustainable / recyclable packaging?
• Do they use synthetic preservatives?

          With all that information in mind, here are 19 natural makeup products that meet either the strict standards set forth by Credo or the Environmental Working Group (EWG).   For the purposes of this roundup, we included brands that use natural packaging methods when possible and applicable (think: recyclable and eco-friendly) and we specifically looked for products that use non-synthetic ingredients, including non-synthetic fragrances. BIPOC-owned brands