Pretty Dangerous: Making Educated Beauty Choices

Every woman has her beauty staples and favorites. Personally, even if I'm in a rush to get out of the house, I never appear in public without a little CoverGirl LastBlash mascara, a touch of Clinique Blushing Brush Powder, and a spritz of DKNY Be Delicious. This has been my routine since I could drive myself to Macy's — simple enough.

However, what's decidedly not simple about my favorite beauty products isn't their use or application: it's their ingredients. With a little curiosity and the help of Google search, I found out that my morning ritual routinely exposes me to parabens (preservatives that have been linked to disruption of the endocrine system), triethanolamine (a known carcinogen) and propylene glycol (a moisture-carrying ingredient that is also found in anti-freeze and is connected to kidney damage and liver abnormalities).

Yikes!

While many of us don't have the resources necessary to throw our make-up bags out the door and fill our cabinets immediately with only non-toxic beauty products, we're all capable of becoming more educated concerning the cosmetic and beauty products we purchase and the possible side effect their repeated use has on our bodies, the environment, even the economy — and that isn't expensive at all!

DROP-DEAD GORGEOUS

Kim Erickson was ahead of her time when she penned her disturbing review of the cosmetics industry, Drop Dead Gorgeous: Protecting Yourself from the Hidden Dangers of Cosmetics, back in 2002. A longtime Shoestring staff favorite, Erickson's work will provide you with more information than you possibly care to know about the truly dangerous ingredients that are so ubiquitous in our cosmetics industry, including an easy-to-understand list of "Nine Deadly Ingredients" that should always be avoided. Instead of scaring you away from cosmetics all together, Erickson offers simple, easy DIY recipes for sought-after products as well as long lists of safe, effective, and quality products that you can feel good about buying and using. Natch, since publishing her best-selling book, she also launched her own organic and natural skin care line, Kim Erickson's Everyday Organics.

THE STORY OF COSMETICS

If life doesn't give you time to read an entire book, you can quickly educate yourself by watching The Story of Stuff's latest video, The Story of Cosmetics. In under 10 minutes and supported by interactive FAQ's, "The Story of Cosmetics" takes you through the basics of what you need to know and avoid when choosing your beauty products, as well as additional resources for further exploration.

Got even less time? Enviroblog has a great quick list of ingredients to kick to the curb, and our resident Queen of Green, Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, keeps an updated Big List of Things That Suck on her sustainable style website, EcoStiletto.com.

Story: Copyright 2010, Shoestring LLC. Image: iStock.