There are several major cosmetic brands out there and all of them claim that they are the best. But, it’s really a matter of preference and not necessity. Whichever brand you decide to use, you’re sure to find natural cosmetic brands that will be just as effective as, if not better than your store brand counterparts. So, what are the top three? The ones that most people agree are great cosmetics for the best skin of their bodies.
One of the most popular natural cosmetic brands is L’Oreal. They have been around forever and are one of the most well known. L’Oreal cosmetics contain only natural ingredients. They are completely void of synthetic chemicals and are also free of parabens, dioxane and triclosan. They are also one of the few cosmetic companies that don’t use petroleum-based oils in their products. They only use plant based oils and waxes.
The next brand that comes to mind when most people think of organic ingredients is Maybelline. This is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the business and they have remained on top of the game by consistently providing us with innovative new cosmetic products year after year. Not only do they use organic ingredients and pesticides, but they actually pay the farmers who produce these products a living wage. They have also signed the compact for global sustainability.
One of the newest members of the big cosmetic and personal care brands club is Luxe, which owns the following cosmetic and personal care brands: Pure Too, Vanishing Polish, Burt’s Bees, and cruelty-free skincare products. Luxe was created by an innovative artist and mother who wanted to create a line of cosmetics that was purely organic. She believes strongly that chemicals and toxins in our environment are harming our children and future generations.
The Compact for Safe Cosmetics promises that all of their products are cruelty-free and all of their ingredients come from renewable resources. They go on to say that they have rigorous tests and quality control measures in place to ensure that their products are safe and of the highest quality possible. However, it is hard to find any major cosmetics company that is not signed onto the Compact for Safe Cosmetics’ initiative. Many major cosmetic companies such as L’Oreal, Revlon, and Estee Lauder are all said to be supporting the initiative.
Another one of the more organic cosmetic companies that has joined the Compact for Safe Cosmetics is Unilever. They currently own the following cosmetic and personal care brands: Basis, Cellex, Dermalogica, Elemis, H&M, Kiehl’s, Nature’s Miracle, and Scranton. Unilever operates through the Unilever organization, which was founded to “promote healthy and fair business practices.” The organization claims that they do not test their products for purity and use only natural ingredients. The only synthetic ingredients they use are recycled materials.
The last company to be affiliated with the Compact for Safe Cosmetics is Estee Lauder, who owns the following cosmetic and personal care brands: Armani, Benefit, Chanel, Dior, Estee Lauder, Maybelline, Neutrogena, Origin, and Philosophy. It should be noted that Estee Lauder does not sign onto the Compact for Safe Cosmetics initiative, but they are an individual company and do operate separately from the other companies listed above. So technically, they are not signed, but they are still a part of the cosmetics industry, albeit a small one. They also happen to make the majority of their cosmetics products in the US.
Hopefully, you can see how the consolidation of these four cosmetic companies has had a negative impact on the independent makeup industry. This consolidation is not good for the environment, and it means fewer opportunities for smaller, cruelty-free companies to produce organic, safer products. The larger cosmetic companies are doing all they can to monopolize the organic market so it will be difficult for smaller companies to enter. If you want to support small, cruelty-free businesses, you have to be careful of what ingredients you choose to use in your cosmetics and personal care products. You don’t want to support companies that use toxic chemicals in order to create a synthetically manufactured organic cosmetic brand.
