Fashion + Beauty

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

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Applied Lipstick Lately? You Could Be Eating Nine Pounds of Lead.

sarah_jane_morris_rachel_sarnoff_lips_against_lead_petition_ecostiletto2

sarah_jane_morris_rachel_sarnoff_lips_against_lead_petition_ecostiletto2

Apply. Lick. Repeat. That’s my mantra when it comes to lips. Before meeting, after eating and, dangerously, while driving, I spend a lot of time applying lipstick or lip gloss to my lips. And according to the Environmental Working Group, all that licking means that I, an average woman, will eat more than nine pounds of the stuff over my lifetime.

Nine. Pounds.

All grossness aside, this fact wouldn’t be so alarming if it weren’t for another: In 2007, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a division of the EWG, found two-third of lipsticks contained lead, a known neurotoxin that has been linked to brain damage and miscarriages, among other horrors.

Nine. Pounds. Containing. Lead.

That’s enough to make me sit up, take notice, and dump the contents of my makeup bags into the trash (fearful all the time that I should be disposing of the stuff as hazardous waste).

But the news has gotten better: This year, Canada banned lead in lipstick. In August of 2008, a single vote in the State Assembly barred a similar ban in California. With a new introduction of the bill on deck for 2009, the geniuses at Teens Turning Green launched a clever “Lips Against Lead” petition, in which people are encouraged to apply lead-free lipstick and kiss an organic cotton petition, that will then be sent to the Assembly when the teens show up to shame them into passing it.

Last week, Sarah Jane Morris (“Brothers and Sisters”), Katie Gill (“Drillbit Taylor”), Kristen Renton (“Days of Our Lives”), Carolyn Hennesy (“General Hospital”) and eco-lifestyle expert and author Anna Getty slicked up with organic, paraben-free Terra Firma Longevity Lip Stain in gorgeous, berry-red Rosalie to “sign” the petition at my second-annual EcoStiletto Green Girl’s Night Out at Intuition for Dress for Success.

That's me with Sarah, after doing my part and kissing the petition. After which I re-applied, licked my lips, and breathed easy.

Have you looked at the ingredients in your lipstick lately? Check your brand at www.cosmeticdatabase.com, then tell me what you think!
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From the Community…

Comments 1-8 of 8
  • 80'sgirl's Avatar
    Posted by 80'sgirl Tue Mar 17, 2009 3:27pm PDT

    dang.... I just did (applied lipstick that is)

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  • aaru's Avatar
    Posted by aaru Tue Mar 17, 2009 5:42pm PDT

    how would u know which lipsticks do not have lead? i dont think it would b written in the ingredients. Please tell me how to find out. btw i tried looking at cosmeticdatabase site, but I cant read all those 10000+ lipsticks ingredients! There should be an easier way!

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  • Donna Care Anymore's Avatar
    Posted by Donna Care Anymore Tue Mar 17, 2009 8:47pm PDT

    The lipstick of long ago are safer...we'll have to try making our own out of organic fruits: cherries, strawberries...everything we buy nowadays are dangerous to our health.

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  • None's Avatar
    Posted by None Wed Mar 18, 2009 6:08am PDT

    Um I do NOT lick my lips if I have lipstick on! Not to mention whale parts, I can't believe it! Lipstick is evil!

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  • HuneysuckleLuv's Avatar
    Posted by HuneysuckleLuv Wed Mar 18, 2009 11:17am PDT

    woa woa woa, I'll need to see more backup on this one. Women have been wearing lipstick for many many many many years, and I've got grandma's in their 90's who are still slicking on their favorite lavendar shade of Chanel lipstick. And they go to their 90's....so either this isn't true...or....I dunno. Yeah, we often lick, drink or eat off our lipstick...its going to happen. We will do the same with that blistex we wear in the winter. ITS GOING TO HAPPEN. Why do we panic NOW? Everyone calm down...its only beauty. LOL.

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  • sun2go's Avatar
    Posted by sun2go Wed Mar 18, 2009 2:27pm PDT

    The fact that there are nasty metals & chemicals in makeup should concern women. The fact that if they do contain such garbage, you're paying for it, and those chemicals & other ingredients have probably been tested on innocent animals too. It doesn't paint a pretty picture, and there are so many choices now that you don't have to support such companies. It's a choice.

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  • CarolB's Avatar
    Posted by CarolB Fri Mar 20, 2009 12:43pm PDT

    There has also been evidence of some ingredients (chemicals) in cosmetics disrupting hormones in teenage girls. Check out my posts here on Shine I have written several articles about the hazards of chemicals in skin care, how skin care products are labeled to be decietful, etc.

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  • Alexandra's Avatar
    Posted by Alexandra Mon May 11, 2009 1:39am PDT

    Try Juice Beauty. All organic...and looks and feels like real lipstick!

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