Image courtesy of Aveda
What’s on your lips? Dead beetle eggs? No, actually, dead beetle eggs. Allow us to explain, at least for the sake of your daily dose of TMI: Many lipsticks are stocked with carmine pigments, a red color taken from the dried and crushed shells, wings, and eggs of the female cochineal beetle. Yum. It’s hard to freak out about this, considering this has been the case since Cleopatra first puckered up, but if sexy beetle lip isn’t your thing, Aveda’s Nourish-Mint lip color hits the stores this weekend ($14). The all-natural lipstick promises to be insect-free, and we’ve got plus ingredient breakdown just so we could understand where this stuff actually comes from. Because, if you think about it, we should kind of care. It is on our mouth and all.
Raspberry wax, derived from raspberry leaf.
• Purpose: hydration and smoothing.
• Vegan high-five: used in place of beeswax.
Capuacu butter, derived from Brazilian fruit.
• Purpose: moisture.
• Related to: chocolate.
Jojoba oil, derived from jojoba nut
• Purpose: moisture, cushioning.
• Green factor: tested for use in biodiesel fuel in the past.
Bilberry oils, derived from bilberry fruit, used for antioxidants.
• Purpose: antioxidants.
• Trivia points: said to be used as an herbal remedy for lowering blood sugar and treating diabetes.
—Sharon Clott
