I almost exclusively use the ShadowSense eye makeup, so it was a very big shock to me when I purchased a few eyeshadow palettes and found listed on each box "not intended for use around the immediate eye area." In an eyeshadow palette - What?
I have only ever bought one eyeshadow palette before, the same once twice, in fact, and I didn't read the packaging. I mean honestly, how many people do? Not most makeup users I know! I tried the palette on display at Sephora, fell in love with the shade "Funny Girl" and used my birthday gift card on this $50 palette for one shadow.
No one seems to take notice or talk about this, so I went to conduct my own research.
The initial shock turned into disbelief, but did result in a much better understanding how makeup and its regulations work.
After first reading this, my shock wave made it to my Snapchat and it went to all my closest friends and family, as I was trying to Sherlock my way into some answers.
During my Snapchat adventure, I thought "This can't be right! Can it?" So I took to the internet as it is a wealth of knowledge! The first person and brand that came to mind were Jeffree Star Cosmetics. He always prides himself on having transparency and honesty with his customers, so I knew I would find what I needed and quickly before my mind traveled faster down the rabbit hole than Alice herself. Off I went and I headed straight for his newest palette release, Blood Lust.
In the description, it states: "Please see the last image for a full list of ingredients!" So I did, and I noticed nine colors in the palette had an asterisk next to its name, then I found the asterisk.
"Attention: Shades with an "*" are not intended for use around the immediate eye area."
I sat, shocked, confused and feeling a lot like this little emoji: 🤯What do you mean that eye shadows are not safe for use around the eyes? It has "eye" in the name! Why are they giving us this? Why are we allowed to use it? Tumbling down and down I went. Remaining calm, and trying to stop the falling, I grabbed the palette boxes, my ShadowSense, the SeneGence product book, and armed myself with my laptop and a Word Document. I needed answers, and I needed them now.
Immediately I found a few articles and blog postings and came to realize, most shades not safe are actually pressed pigments. These have a higher chance of staining skin, even if temporary, or containing an ingredient that has a higher chance of an allergic reaction. I was no longer frantic and things began to make sense to the logical and scientific side of my brain.
Soon, some of my friends began chiming in with their answers and opinions. One said it was because of allergic reactions, another said it was based on the staining factor and both were things I'd just discovered, so I was feeling pretty confident. One of my closest makeup-obsessed friends like me said that as long as you used a concealer or primer on your eyelids, neither should happen. She also said that "immediate eye area" would be referring to your inner corner or waterline. Then advised me that if I were nervous, to call the company or to avoid use in those areas.
My brain wasn't satisfied - I needed concrete answers.
My newest adventure was beginning - down the rabbit hole I went!
Palette in Question: The Berries palette by Juvia's Place.
Color 1, Color 5 are not intended for use around the immediate eye area.
After understanding why some colors have ingredients that require this warning to be placed, I did some research on what makes it apply to these two colors. Nerd alert, a lot of science and research to follow! "The future is now, thanks to science!" - Clemont, Pokemon X & Y
I spotted the first difference between the two listed with the warning versus the other four: pressed pigment. "EyeShadow" had its own description, but the colors listed were both pressed pigments. So those are the culprit behind the warning!
Straight from the package, here's the ingredients list!
"Pressed Pigment: Talc, Mica, Dimethicone, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Nylon-12, Magnesium Stearate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tin Oxide, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin. May Contain: Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Manganese Violet (CI 77742), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850), Ultramarines (CI 77007), Iron Oxide Black (CI 77499), Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)."
Here are the listed approved ingredients for use in cosmetics according to the FDA website.
The definitions of (5) and (6) from the FDA Website:
5. Color additives that are permitted for general use may not be used in the area of the eye, in injections, or in surgical sutures unless such use is specified in the color additive listing regulation. Currently, no color additives are listed for use in injected products (such as tattoos or permanent makeup).
6. Color additives that are permitted for external application may not be used in the area of the eye, in injections, or in surgical sutures unless such use is specified in the color additive listing regulation. Currently, no color additives are listed for use in injected products (such as tattoos or permanent makeup). Some color additives that are permitted for external application also may be permitted in mouthwashes, dentifrices, or lipsticks in limited amounts specified in the color additive listing regulations.
Unlisted on FDA Website: Dimethicone, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Nylon-12, Magnesium Stearate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tin Oxide, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin. (found listed as D&C Red No. 27) Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850).
Research on unlisted Ingredients (all linked to their health information): Dimethicone, Octyldodecyl Stearoyl Stearate, Calcium Aluminum Borosilicate, Hydrogenated Polyisobutene, Nylon-12, Magnesium Stearate, Isononyl Isononanoate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Tin Oxide, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Red 27 Lake (CI 45410), Red 7 Lake (CI 15850)
The two ingredients that have the highest possibility of an allergic reaction are the two listed in purple, while the Red No. Colors are found listed as "D&C Red." Of course, I am no scientists nor expert on the subject, so I'm not quite sure what the difference between "Lake" and "D&C" colors could be, but I do know that only one of them was listed on the FDA's website.
Immediate Eye Area Definition: As far as the information I found, the most common definition of this is actually contrary to what a lot of bloggers and friends were saying. A lot of people refer to the immediate eye area as the waterline and inner corner, but the immediate eye area seems to actually mean the eyelid itself. As it's one of the thinnest areas of skin on your body and covering a vital organ, the warning could also mean your eyelid as they stain and/or damage more easily if not protected. The reality is though - until the makeup industry and the medical field defines what "immediate eye area" means and the risks that truly exist for those areas, we only have our best hypotheses.
That's a whole lot of information, all to say, unless you have a chemistry degree or understand what their definition of of "immediate eye area" is - as long as used carefully, they seem to be safe.
Now, onto the good stuff, the results of my personal fact hunt and trial.
This palette is full of stunning colors and they have beautiful application.
If used with concealer to protect your eyelid, I believe these are safe and mainly refer to the possibility of very light and temporary skin staining. By any means, this does not mean throw caution to the wind, as you do only have one set of eyes, but to use warning colors with your personal discretion.
I have longed for the colors in this palette, dreamt of them honestly. As ShadowSense is my go-to eye makeup of choice and is perfectly eye-safe, my color range is small and has expanded as their collections have but is still fairly limited.
Why Juvia's Place?
I'm a Glow Baby, A.K.A. a huge Nikkie Tutorials fan, and her makeup style and technique really helped me develop my own. Before discovering her channel, and binging every video, I had decent makeup skills, but I wanted them to grow. I wanted to be fierce and make the looks in my mind a reality.
Of course, my first attempt at following along to one of her videos left me looking like roadkill of a raccoon and I cried, but I had to start somewhere right? I slowly began using brushes, learning how to work with my hooded eyelids, and how to properly apply concealer.
Fast forward and that brings us to this video, her rainbow eye look inspired by GottMilk. All of it done with Juvia's Place palettes, and girl, they were on sale! And Nikkie has a discount code? Count me in!!
So I bought two out of three palettes she had listed for this look, and then the Berries palette just because I fell in love with the colors on the website. If I was ever going to dabble in palette makeup, why not in Quarantine? If it ended up terrible, I figured only my husband would see me, and I could just wash it right off! Plenty of time to play, no stress of needing to rush because I was expected somewhere, and just some pure makeup creativity.
The Result.
I'm OBSESSED.
I was very cautious while applying these colors, and did use one of the "*" colors for my waterline and the other on my lid, but I did use it underneath my eyeliner and on top of my concealer.
I used five out of six shades for my look, and each one was gorgeous!
Shade 1* was placed in my lower crease and lid.
Shade 2 was used to blend my crease toward my brow.
Shade 6 was then used for the outer corner/wing area.
Shade 3 was used for my inner corner, which worked best when swatched on my finger, but with these claws - that doesn't work! So I did use a small precision brush to apply that.
Shade 5* was then used after my eyeliner was applied and on my waterline blending into Shade 6 on the outer corner/wing.
The rest of my look.
Because I'm obsessed, I thought I'd share the details of my makeup.
Lips: Star Garnet and Purple Reign LipSense with Glossy Gloss.
Lashes: LashSense VolumeIntense Mascara.
Highlight: Glazed Donut - NIKKIETUTORIALS by Ofra.
Foundation, Concealer, Primer, and Contour: L.A. Girl - Foundation: Bisque, Concealer: Vanilla, Contour Stick: Suede, and HD Pro.Prep Primer.
Blush: Paaarty by Tarte.
Bronzer: So Radiant bronzer in light golden by Julep.
In Conclusion & Removal:
Are pressed pigments safe? I would say yes. They're used for magnificent color payout and if used carefully, they seem generally safe. Almost all ingredients (of these two colors in question) have little to no risk of cancer or an allergic reaction.
What if I'm concerned? When in doubt, trust your gut. Don't use those shades or don't buy it at all! If you have sensitive skin or a lot of allergies, I would say avoid pressed pigments until there are more regulations or definitions in place. You could always try swatching it on your forearm to check for reaction in a store. If you do have any kind of itching or burning or even severe color staining - discontinue use immediately and try to contact the company to see if you can receive a refund or credit.
Removal:
Personally, I used the Foops Makeup Remover from Senegence and that takes off anything I've ever put on to my skin faster and more effectively than anything else. That being said there has only been one time my eyelids were ever stained from the combination of makeup use and this remover - and it was when I thought I'd get creative and use a ColourPop liquid lipstick as part of my eye look. Oops! However, Shade 1 did leave very, very slight staining on my eyelid and Shade 5 did the same on my waterline. The color residue was very faint even after my remover and nightly face wash - but was gone by the time I looked in the mirror the next morning. If that's enough to deter you from Shades 1 and 5, I would say it was probably due to the Red 27 Lake and Red 7 Lake ingredients.
Would I use them again? Will I try other pressed pigments? Yes and yes. I'm confident in knowing my skin and my allergies as well as my ability to decide if I should discontinue use. Does it still make me a bit anxious to leave the comfort bubble of my ShadowSense? Most definitely! However, it's not enough discomfort to deter me from exploring and wearing pressed pigments from time to time.
In the end, it is your face and you only get one set of eyes! So when it comes to using these kinds of products, I leave you with my favorite farewell - "Make good choices!"
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