Beauty that cares for you, for others and for the planet

Today, almost all make-up (conventional or natural, liquid, powder or solid) uses mineral pigments to give the product its colour. It is the only technically viable natural option: synthetic colourants come from petrochemicals, while plant pigments (plants, flowers) are too unstable and impossible to blend into oil-based formulas. What is said far less often is how hard it is to find high-quality, pure and traceable pigments.

The mineral industry is often very opaque, and it took us months of research to bring our ethical standards into line with the realities of formulation. Here we share the choices we have made for our products.

1 · Zero titanium dioxide

It is the most widely used white pigment in the world, including in natural make-up. Given the growing controversy over its impact on health and the environment, we decided to ban it completely. To give our balms opacity and coverage, we selected a French zinc oxide, guaranteed nanoparticle-free, of a specific grade that makes it 100% harmless to aquatic ecosystems.

Check your labels for: CI 77891 or Titanium Dioxide (absent from Terres d'Ocre products, which use Zinc Oxide instead).

2 · Raw pigments, with no synthetic coating

To make them easier to incorporate into formulas, the vast majority of industrial mineral pigments are “coated” with silicones or palm oil derivatives. We chose to use raw iron oxides, with no coating and no hidden additives.

Check your labels for: Polyglyceryl-2 Tetraisostearate, Triethoxycaprylylsilane, Methicone, Dimethicone (absent from Terres d'Ocre products).