The Ingredients In Colour Cosmetics - Make Up

I made it my mission to go through the ingredients of cosmetics, so I somewhat neglected to list a colour cosmetics ingredients. Why? You can say I was focusing more on the wild claims made by skincare brands on how different your life would be if you bought into some of those claims.

Colour cosmetics don’t make such claims, not the ones that will stop you from ageing and the like, they do some different ones which I’ll cover at a later date.  Mascara and foundation, I’ll be looking at you soon!

The colour pigments that are used in making the colour cosmetics are the most regulated in the world. Different countries have different rules, but generally you’ll find Japan to have the most stringent safety regulations for cosmetics. The EU and USA are behind and you’ll find that most breakthrough make up innovations come from Asia these days.

The colours come into two groups: organic and inorganic.

Inorganic are the mineral pigments (I bet this inorganic and organic matter confuses people) that are found around the Earth as compounds of transition metals. The inorganic colours are:

Iron oxides (reds, browns, black and yellows that can be mixed and blended together), chromium oxide, (green), ultramarine (blue, purple), titanium dioxide/zinc oxide (white and uv protection).

Organic pigments are organic molecules that start with N or S or similar (not the names but their chemical or dye name). They are anthraquinone (green), AZO colourants (red and yellow), Triarylmethane (blue and green), Xanthenes (red, orange), and some natural colourants such as caramel, caretonoids etc. The problem with these natural ones is that they very often stink and they are unstable.

Then we have fillers and finishers. Those are the ones that make the product “glide” and spread evenly. The most usual of those are talc (a widespread mineral) and mica (potassium aluminum silicate – another mineral).

Fillers and finishers also include emulsifiers, preservatives, fragrance, and so on.

In a nutshell, that’s it. I’ll come back later to discuss mascaras. If any of you want to experiment with making your own lipstick or eye shadow , please make sure that the pigments you use are safe to be used either around eyes or lips!

Summer Make up and Colours

Summer, and by that I mean the proper summer with sunshine and not what we are punished with at the moment in UK, is made for bright make up.

There is nothing like some colour against a lightly tanned skin (man made or natural). The light is different and that makes colours stand out.

I gather that a lot of people are scared of brights or at least have little confidence when faced with something not in their comfort zone. But fear not, I have some fool proof suggestions to help you out.

Very bright eyeshadow can be scary, especially when you look at some highly pigmented ones from professional make up ranges that are, well, aimed at professional make up artists. We like well pigmented colours, makes our job easier as we can layer them and make them strong or sheer. But, for a consumer, the super pigmented colours, especially bright eyeshadows, are sometimes not the best idea.

Most of the time you’ll want a slight “wash” of colour. If you’re over the age of 25 and in a “regular” job (by "regular" job I mean not working at MAC or Illamasqua) that’s pretty much what you’ll want. So pick a product from a non-professional make up range for your eyeshadow. 

Bright green, yellow, lavender and blue look surprisingly good on eyes as a subtle colour wash. Apply the colour only on lid, so not to the crease. Cream products work especially well and they are naturally sheerer. And you can have fun and apply the colour with your fingers.

Try a bright eyeliner too. That can look soooo nice, it's simple to do with an eye pencil and you’re still injecting some colour into your look.

Another way to cheer up the summer make up is by using blusher. Especially the cream variety. And try to find a watermelon colour, it’s very flattering to most skins and very summery.

Lipstick is of course the easiest to experiment with. Sheer varieties, semi-glossy tints and stains are they are easier to wear, but my personal favourite is bright orange. It's so much fresher than both red and bright pink. 

Disclaimer: The above advice works especially well for women over a certain age, so please try, you won't be disappointed.