Introduction

Reviews evaluate lipstick and lip gloss

Women have used lipstick in one form or another since ancient times. According to Meg Cohen Ragas and Karen Kozlowski in "Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick," Egyptian women were known to use both henna and a potentially poisonous plant called fucus to color their lips. Although lipstick has had its ups and downs in popularity, being frowned upon as vulgar and seductive during certain periods, it remains a cosmetic staple in society today; red is still the most popular lipstick color.

For the best reviews of lipstick, we turned to Paula Begoun, who regularly tests thousands of beauty products, including lipsticks, for safety and efficacy at her subscription-based website, Beautypedia.com. Several of these reviews are also available in her book, "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me," and at her online storefront, CosmeticsCop.com; neither source is updated as frequently as Beautypedia.com, however. Consumer Reports tests four long-lasting lipsticks and finds that drugstore brands work just as efficiently as expensive brands, for less than half the cost. Beauty magazines such as Allure, InStyle and Natural Health also test hundreds of products and choose the best lipsticks for their annual beauty awards. We found useful consumer reviews at MakeupAlley.com and TotalBeauty.com, where users rate lipsticks on their practical application.

Lipstick ingredients

Lipstick is made of a variety of waxes, oils, lubricating ingredients and, of course, pigments. In recent years, manufacturers have begun to add other ingredients, such as vitamin E, aloe vera, collagen, sunscreen and more, to soften and protect the lips. While lipstick is commonly sold in a tube, it's also available in non-stick form to be applied with a lip brush. There are a variety of lipstick finishes available, each of which contains slightly different components. The most common formulas are matte and cream.

According to Rita Johnson, writing in Chemical & Engineering News, matte lipsticks have more wax and pigment, or dye, and fewer lubricants. This formulation gives the color more texture than shine. Cream lipsticks, on the other hand, use more oils, giving them extra shine while still keeping some of the texture. Frosted and shimmer lipsticks are considered creams but have additional ingredients, such as mica, silica particles or pearlizing agents to add luster and glimmer. Sheers and stains use a lot of oil but only a medium amount of wax and a slight amount of color. Long-lasting formulas employ silicone oil to seal color to the lips.

Lip balms and glosses are also popular and can be used instead of or in addition to lipstick. Lip glosses contain more oils than wax and often come in liquid formulas sold in jars. Glosses generally contain little to no pigment for a more sheer but shiny look. Lip balms are typically used to moisturize and protect lips, although some contain a hint of color as well. Balms are more hydrating than lipsticks and contain ingredients such as lanolin, shea butter and cocoa butter.

Rumors about the safety of lipstick have spread wildly across the Internet since a 2007 study conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics found that more than half of the lipsticks it tested contained lead. One concerned consumer writes to Paula Begoun in the "learning" section of CosmeticsCop.com, asking, "Should I be concerned about lead in lipstick?" Begoun, however, disputes the rumors as "misleading." She explains that lead is not added to lipstick but is a byproduct of manufacturing and is present in some of the Food and Drug Administration-approved dyes used in cosmetics as well as food. She goes on to explain that it is virtually impossible to eliminate trace amounts of lead because it is found in the ground as well as the air that we breathe. Begoun says that if you're worried about lead exposure, you'd be better off testing your home's water, soil and paint than "opening your makeup bag in fear that adding color to your lips will spell certain doom."

One rumor that fuels the safety concerns of lipstick is that women ingest up to six pounds of this cosmetic over the course of an average lifetime. While a portion is undoubtedly swallowed, Paula Begoun dispels this rumor as a myth. She explains that an average tube of lipstick contains just 0.15 ounces of product, meaning that a woman would have to eat 530 whole tubes in order to ingest five pounds. Begoun quotes UrbanLegends.com as saying that "the average woman isn't even likely to own [530] lipsticks during her lifetime, let alone use them right down to their nubs," and that doesn't account for the lipstick that is rubbed or kissed off.