Top model and Kardashian half-sister Kendall Jenner has been known totoutEstee Lauder’s Drop Dead Red shade of lipstick.
Jenner followers take note: the lipstick has ingredients that, according to health and beauty app Think Dirty, could be harmful. Think Dirty scans cosmeticslabels andrates thelipstick a 7- or three points short of the dirtiest grade on a 1-to-10 scale. The putative culprit:polyethylene, a polymer commonly used in cosmetics that Think Dirtysays could cause allergies in some people. (Estee Lauder Cos Inc. says polyethylene is not a known allergen.)
In shopping centers around the world, shoppers benton finding out what they’re putting on theirbodies are scanning everything from lipstick to skin cream. Canada’s Think Dirty,America’sEWG Healthy Living and France’s Yuka are among dozens of apps that zero in onallegedly unsafe ingredients inside cosmetics. “We don’t care what the label looks like or what your brand is called,” says Lily Tse, the founder of Toronto-based Think Dirty. “We just care about the ingredients list.” Her company’shome screen asks: “Is your bathroom Kardashian-filthy?”a jab at products recommended by the Instagram-happy TV clan. (A Jenner representative didn’t respond to a request for comment.)
Thebeauty industry takes a dim view of the apps, arguing that they provide a distorted and alarmist picture of their products.Estee Lauder Inc., Clarins Group, Procter & Gamble Co.and L’Oreal SA all saytheir products have been tested, are safe and comply with regulations.
Not so long ago, consumersconcerned about the potential for cancerogenic or irritating ingredients in their beauty routine had to memorize long lists of unpronounceable compounds and squint at labels. The extra effort to verify the makeup oftoothpaste or shampoo meant that this remained a niche pursuit for obsessives;most shoppers were willing to trust the productmanufacturer. Think Dirty and its ilk have made the process as easy as scanning a label.The apps are free but say they’re starting to monetize their services by consultingfor brands and charging those that comply with their standardsfor an official seal of approval.
“Before the apps there didn’t use to be a simple way to check the ingredients,” says Julie Raphanel, a 30-year-old Frenchwoman who started mixing her own beauty products at home after becoming more concerned about certain ingredients that were still common in natural brands. “I wasn’t able to find totally clean products, even with organic labels.”
Cosmetics companies have spent decades ginning up new chemicals in an effort to createalluring slippery-smooth conditioners and soaps that smell like a Tahitian waterfall. And while the industry spends millions to verify product safetyand says it hews to government regulations,some shoppers feel the standardsare insufficiently strict.
The mistrust has only grown as companies race to add—and advertise—natural ingredients without bothering to remove ones considered toxic. L’Oreal, which was founded by a chemist and sells dozens of popular brandsfrom Armani perfume to Garnier shampoo, has struggled to maintain growth in the U.S. even as“clean”beauty startups race ahead. The company has responded by launching its first organic, plant-based hair dye and by expanding its Garnier Whole Blends line, whose “nature-inspired” shampoos feature pictures of avocados, papayas and berries.But the products still includechemical compounds clean-beauty adherents consider potentially toxic, suchas benzyl salicylate and phenoxyethanol,which some believe cause allergies and disrupt hormones.
Last month Bloomberg went on a Paris shopping expedition armed with the Yuka app. Products touting natural formulations with oatmeal and honey surprisingly failed to pass muster. “Matte Moisturizer”from the naturally marketed skincare and makeup brand Origins, which is owned by Estee Lauder, flashed a “Bad”rating and a bright red dot because of its titanium dioxide coloring, which the app says can cause cancer. A moisturizer from high-end Clarins got a 0 out of 100 score because it contained synthetic mineral oils—which some people suspect cause cancer—while P&G’s Old Spice deodorant, a drugstore staple with a tangy chemical smell, earned a green light for the absence of aluminum salts.
“We want brands to become more transparent and make cleaner products, so we’re pushing them in that direction,” says Kahina Benhebri, the 32-year-old, self-described “cosmetics hacker “who founded the app CompoScan. “All the green washing has made consumers distrustful and it needs to stop.”
ClarinsChairman Christian Courtin-Clarins warns that scanning app results can be inconsistent and scientifically unfounded. “It’s like every app is coming up with their own ingredient to ban,” he said in an emailed response to questions.
The app makerssay they rely onscientific studies for much of their information. For example, several useCosIng, the same European database cosmetics brands use to showwhether ingredients are allowed or banned, and under what conditions (maximum concentration for instance). In some cases, apps cite scientific reports, such as oneissued inSeptember by Breast Cancer Prevention Partnersthat flagged a number of common ingredientslinked to cancer, hormonal dysfunctionor harm to the reproductive system.