Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic

Welcome to our weekly column on the YOU magazine website, www.you.co.uk  Below you will find the current question and our advice, with a list of where to source the products mentioned.  To look at past columns, click here. And for lots more solutions to your beauty dilemmas, visit Q&A, just click here.

August 29th, 2010: Ingredient labelling on beauty products

Q Hi, I've asked countless assistants at Boots but no one who is selling No 7 Protect & Perfect Serum can tell me what is in the product! I want to be able to compare the beneficial agents with other products. Also why doesn't it contain a sunscreen? I was told it's because people have allergies to it but is this really true?

A We’re a bit mystified by this as the ingredients in the Protect & Perfect range are listed on the outside packaging (not the bottle) and also on the Boots website. 

According to Dr Christopher Flower, Director of the Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA), and himself a toxicological chemist, ‘the consumer must be able to see the ingredients in every cosmetic product before they make the decision to buy.  So the list must be on the outside of the packaging.  When the packaging is discarded, the ingredients must also be listed on the product, or if that’s too small, say, on an inserted leaflet or a label.  The essential point is that the consumer must have access to that information.’

What is never given, however, for any product is the exact quantity of each ingredient. This is omitted for reasons of commercial confidentiality.  The ingredients are however listed in descending order of quantity.  (So, in many/most, you will find ‘aqua’ – water – at or near the top…)

The P&P serum is designed to be used at night but the Protect & Perfect Day Cream does contain SPF15.  It’s possible that the assistant was trying to tell you that for some sensitive people, chemical sunscreens can trigger an allergic reaction.  WE always recommend avoiding chemical sunscreens and opting for physical ones, such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, if you know you are prone to skin irritation.

The CTPA has a consumer information website, www.thefactsabout.co.uk, which includes detail about ingredients so you might find that interesting too.

We . . . Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick, £7.99.  Until now, rich intense colour on the lips meant a rich, intense texture – which at this time of year is still just too heavy to wear.  So we’re enjoying the light-as-a-feather airiness of this lipstick innovation, which delivers lots of colour with a single comfortable swipe. Fave shades?  Rosy Nude and Soft Rose would suit pretty much any skintone, we’d bet.  But all shades have been hand-picked by make-up genius Gucci Westman, so they’re all pretty darned gorgeous, spanning deep Plum to Baby Pink, a dozen shades in all. (And the ‘quilted’ packaging’s dead sexy, for an inexpensive lipstick.  Or a lipstick at any price, come to that…)

Where to Find Products

Revlon ColorBurst Lipstick, £7.99, is available to purchase on-line from www.boots.com.

Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic Archive

August 22nd 2010 - Safety of essential oils in pregnancy
August 15th 2010 - Skincare for combination skin with blackheads
August 8th 2010 - Concealing Varicose Veins
August 1st 2010 - Treating Hives
July 25th 2010 - UV Skin Protection
July 18th 2010 - Light Foundations
July 11th 2010 - Consequences of Chemotherapy
July 4th 2010 - Eyebrow makeovers
June 26th 2010 - Weak nails
June 20th 2010 - Cleanser for acne
June 13th 2010 - Frown line fillers
June 6th 2010 - Body Lotions
May 30th 2010 - Holiday Hair Care
May 23rd 2010 - Cleanse and tone
May 16th 2010 - Hair protection
May 9th 2010 - Weak nails
May 2nd 2010 - Calming hair products
April 25th 2010 - Skincare for PCOS
April 18th 2010 - Tinted Moisturisers
April 11th 2010 - Stretch Marks
April 4th 2010 - Red Veins
March 28th 2010 - All-Over Sensitive Skin
March 21st 2010 - Foundation Recommendations
March 14th 2010 - Ingredients
March 7th 2010 - Laser hair removal
February 28th 2010 - SPF Moisturisers
February 21st 2010 - Eyelash enhancers
February 14th 2010 - Night-time skincare
February 7th 2010 - Moisturisers
January 31st 2010 - Concealers
January 24th 2010 - Primers
January 17th 2010 - Choosing skincare products
January 10th 2010 - Parabens free make-up
January 3rd 2010 - Cosmetic Dentistry

Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic Archive 2009