Is Drugstore Mascara Doable?

Realizing that I am in desperate need of a new mascara, I decided to check out the selection at CVS while I was picking up tissues for a Winter cold. I really wasn’t sure whether I would find anything to even purchase, as I am quite skeptical of most mass market cosmetic brands. Most are owned by the same major parent companies that dominate the beauty industry (a topic I recently covered on another website), and are all too concerned with their bottom lines.
I have been impressed at how quickly these companies have been formulating gluten out of their products (and some say that topical gluten has no effect, really?!), and I have for years been watching as natural-ish brand Physicians Formula has continued to make waves in the beauty industry by offering affordable makeup with at least fewer chemicals.
But with the risk of eye infection caused by bacteria grown in products without the use of synthetic preservatives, is a mass market cosmetailer even capable of producing a healthier mascara?–Funny how frequently that word (healthy) is now tossed about in the cosmetic industry–I found two “healthy” mascaras that EWG rates moderate-to-high 6 and 7s for safety–. And considering the ingredients listed on products that claimed to be “healthy” what in the world do they mean by it? Certainly not “free of chemicals that can be damaging to your body.”
To be honest, I personally am intimidated by the idea of developing a mascara, with the risk of bacterial development in a natural product so great, the challenges would be many. So in the meantime here is what I did purchase:

Physicians Formula: Organic Wear Mascara

Ingredients(in layman’s terms): Orange Hydrosol, glycerin, iron oxide, microcrystalline cellulose (cellulose fibers), glyceryl stearate (more glycerin), water, beeswax, jojoba esters, tapioca starch, carnauba wax, stearic acid (fatty acid often from animal source), glyceryl caprylate (glycerin and caprylic acid), aloe juice, cellulose gum, cucumber extract, soybean oil (probably a form or Vitamin E for preserving), hydrolyzed rice protein, radish root ferment filtrate (from fermented radishes, antimicrobial), magnesium aluminum silicate (mineral derived complex silicate), olive leaf extract. May contain: titanium dioxide.

The good news, is that all ingredients appear to be gluten-free, and none of of the ingredients appear to be from our list of the Top 10 Toxic Ingredients. And generally, this appears to be a safer mascara product.

What I don’t like is that it contains water, as water breeds bacteria, so when water is in a formula, preservatives are more vital. But they do seem to do a good job of using natural preservatives like Vitamin E rich soybean oil, and antimicroial radish rood ferment filtrate, and antibacterial, antifungal olive leaf extract and stay completely away from nasty parabens. And while I also do not love that they use stearic acid which can come from animal sources, the fact that the product is cruelty-free leads me to believe that in this case, it is a plant source.

So, I gave it a shot. It doesn’t seem very different from most mascaras, but it also didn’t make quite the impact that I am accustomed to. I was, however, able to build the coverage to a point that I felt comfortable with. And I actually prefer the firm plastic, recyclable brush.

As yet, I would say that it’s a great buy. So only one thing left to check–what does EWG say about it?

I was unable to find the product already in their database, so here are the results of a report generated when I manually entered the ingredients–I’m actually pretty pleased. The Magnesium Aluminum Silicate came up with a rating of 4, bringing the score up to a 3, and there were some 2s, 1s, and 0s, but for a mass-market product that is under $15, I’m pretty darn impressed!

Tags: Gluten Free Makeup, Natural Makeup