Allergic to My Makeup!

Who knew that eyeshadow – yes eyeshadow – could have fragrance in it?! I’ll never understand the need for beauty products to contain fragrance – or at least ingredients which can cause irritation.

I have suffered from contact dermatitis and was hospital tested a few years ago to find out what was causing it.  Sadly, the main cause was a chemical found in most fragrances called citral, and its derivatives, geraniol and limonene. So that meant I couldn’t wear perfume on my skin without it causing irritation.  I am also allergic to balsam of Peru, another chemical with is closely allied to vanilla. Now happily that doesn’t mean I can’t eat vanilla, it simply means I can’t put it on my skin.

Now you wouldn’t think vanilla would be in many makeup products, but sadly it appears that it is.  So I’ve set out below a list of the makeup products I found in my collection which contain either citral and its derivatives, Peruvian balsam, or the generic term fragrance which simply means the brand hasn’t bothered to list what fragrances it actually contains and therefore a no-no for me.

As we age, and particularly when we are well into our sixties and seventies, our skin thins and we are much more prone to allergies, so if you think you might be reacting to a makeup or skincare product, it’s worth checking the ingredients in case there may be potential irritants in the product.  I have a handy factsheet on fragrance free makeup and SPFs which you can download.

So here are the makeup culprits – the surprisingly fragranced makeup that I have had to declutter:

 

Tarte

Tartelette L’il Juicy palette

This beautiful palette smells very strongly of vanilla – in fact it, if you were blindfolded you’d swear you were niffing a vanilla pod!

Tarte Shape Tape Contour concealer

Tarte Shape Tape Concealer

And here’s another surprising fragranced product by Tarte: the ultra-creamy shape tape.  I bought this about a year ago not thinking I’d need to check the ingredients, because I’d never come across a makeup product with fragrance before – a real shame as it’s a great concealer, especially for mature skins.

Milk Makeup cheek sticks

Milk Makeup cheek sticks

Now here are two lovely blushes by Milk Makeup which you can use for cheeks and lips. Beautiful shades and easy to apply, but fragranced. Interestingly I also have their stick bronzer, but that doesn’t contain fragrance.

Max factor miracle glow

Max Factor Miracle Glow and Born to Glow

Two highlighters which sadly contain fragrance are the Max Factor Miracle Glow which is a dupe for the Charlotte Tilbury airbrush Flawless filter and the Born to Glow by NYX – both gorgeous but both contain fragrance.

Trinny London blusher

Trinny London blusher

As do this Trinny London blushers – such a shame as they are gorgeous colours – strangely, Trinny’s bronzer doesn’t!

Pillow talk packshot

Charlotte Tilbury Pillow Talk lipstick

Oh Charlotte, why have you put fragrance in your lipsticks? These two Pillow Talk lipsticks contain fragrance, and I believe all Charlotte’s lipsticks do, so that’s them crossed off my list, sadly.

Beauty Pie Lip Balm
Beauty Pie wonder gloss lip oil

Beauty Pie Lip Products

And here are a couple of Beauty Pie lip products containing fragrance, Beauty Pie Super Healthy Skin Nourishing Lip Balm and Beauty Pie Wondergloss Collagen Lip Oil. I just don’t understand the impetus to put fragrance in skincare!

If you’d like to find some makeup products as well as some SPFs which don’t contain fragrance, simply download my factsheets here, Fragrance Free makeup and Fragrance Free SPFs.

 

Before you toddle off, I’d be super grateful if you’d subscribe to my monthly newsletter –below – it’s’ not just a rehash of what’s in the blog – there’ll be plenty more useful intel on things that interest me, and hopefully you!

Dez

xoxo

 

 

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woman with makeup brush between her teeth

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