The famous French quote, “Il faut souffrir pour être belle” (“You must suffer to be beautiful”) shouldn’t apply to your makeup. While conventional products may make shoppers feel more attractive, they are wreaking havoc below the surface. If your customers experience eye, skin and lip irritation or other uncomfortable reactions from makeup, tell them to use what their skin, lip and eyes are crying out for: natural make-up.

What to Expect From Natural Products
Whether it is the eyes, lips or facial skin, using natural makeup will not only be gentler, but will also nourish these delicate areas. Natural make-up products offer a blend of nutrients and mineral pigments to provide colors that work best for customers while making skin even healthier. Here’s what to look for when buying natural make-up.

Eye care. Plan to boost your makeup section with several different types of eye care products including mascara, eye shadow, eyeliner and make-up remover.

Mascara can be extremely irritating for the eyes, so tell your shoppers to look for products that leave out the shellac, synthetic chemicals, alcohol, mineral oils and other harsh ingredients. Stock your shelves with mascaras that use flower or vegetable wax, avocado butter or natural oils; some products even include vitamin B5 to promote eyelash growth and thickness (1).

Eye shadow may seem intimidating to stock, since there are so many color options available. Is your shelf space at a premium? Choose a few neutral shades that work well with various skin tones, and consider stocking palettes made with multiple shades that give women some variety. Eye shadows must also be FD&C dye free to avoid irritation of delicate skin, so look for shadows made with fruit extracts and mineral pigments rather than harsh chemicals. For instance, ferric ferrocyanide is a mineral salt that has a rich blue color, ultramarines are used as a mineral pigment and mica is a “colorless silicate that provides luster and adhesion” (2). One natural company uses pomegranate, white tea, red tea and sea kelp in certain eye shadows to “to soothe skin and defend against free radical damage” (3). Concerning eyeliners, tell your shoppers to look for products made with jojoba oil, vitamins, chamomile, carnauba wax and meadow foam oil (1–3). The will help line the eyes without irritation.

When it’s time to clean up, be sure to stock safe and natural make-up removers made with natural oils and butters such as coconut, avocado and pomegranate, as well as botanicals that nourish the eye area like aloe, chamomile, cucumber and green tea. One company includes eyebright to help protect against irritation (4). Tell your shoppers to also look for products that are fragrance free.

Lip care. Whether it is a gloss, lipstick or lip liner, make sure your customers look for the right ingredients before applying anything directly on their lips. Many regular products contain chemicals that can be ingested every time the tongue touches the lips, which is why your shoppers must be careful and aware of the synthetic components filling up their conventional products. Remind them to look for products that don’t contain any synthetic wax, artificial color, parabens, fragrance, mineral oil or synthetic  pigments.

Many industry companies offer gluten-free lipsticks, with ingredients like shea butter, jojoba and aloe to lock in moisture and antioxidants like vitamins C and E to protect the lips against free radical damage (1–3).

Skin care. Conventional primer, blush, foundation and other skin care products are usually filled with parabens, alcohol and sulfates, and your shoppers should know to stay away from them. Tell them to look for products that use high-quality natural liquid foundations that are packed with botanicals like aloe vera, sesame seed oil and other natural ingredients. Many products that contain vitamins A, C and E will energize and protect skin from damaging free radicals. Loose powders are often colored with mica and some contain antioxidants and soothing licorice root, aloe vera and cucumber (1–3). Many mineral products offer some sun protection with titanium dioxide for UV defense.

BB creams are another category you should consider stocking. These multitasking skin products hydrate, brighten, protect and rejuvenate the skin while imparting natural color. Many BB creams act as a concealer, foundation, protector and moisturizer in one, while incorporating titanium dioxide, zinc oxide and octinoxate for sun protection. Many include antioxidants, vitamins, wrinkle-reducing peptides, skin-firming ingredients and coloring agents for a healthy glow (4). BB creams can be found in various tones or in one color that adjusts to the skin once applied. WF

See wholefoodsmagazine.com/HBC for more coverage of the HABA category.

References
1. Gabriel Cosmetics, http://gabrielcosmeticsinc.com, accessed Feb. 24, 2015.
2. Alima Pure, www.alimapure.com, accessed Feb. 24, 2015.
3. Mineral Fusion, www.mineralfusion.com, accessed Feb. 24, 2015.
4. derma e, www.dermae.com, accessed Feb. 24, 2015.

Published in WholeFoods Magazine, April 2015