Brand Breakdown: Is Milk Makeup a Clean Beauty Brand?
Background on Milk Makeup
Milk Makeup was founded by Milk co-founder Mazdack Rassi, product developer and COO Dianna Ruth, seasoned Milk Girl and creative director Georgie Greville, and beauty + fashion editor and E! News correspondent Zanna Roberts Rassi. The brand is cruelty-free, paraben-free and 100% vegan. Styled as clean, cool beauty and can be found on the shelves at Sephora label “clean”, the brand has won multiple awards including Allures Best of Beauty and Teen Vogue Beauty Game Changers.
Is Milk Makeup as clean as they claim to be? We reviewed the brand to find out.
How we Rank the Brand
Green Heart – We approve of this brand’s products and they contain zero known toxins.
Yellow Heart – We approve of most ingredients in this brand’s products, they might contain some toxins or known allergies.
Red Heart – We suggest you proceed with caution and limit your exposure and use to this brand’s products as there are toxins present.
Ingredients of Milk Makeup
Milk makeup states, “We start with good ingredients. Turn those into effective formulas.
And that results in easy-to-use makeup that’s 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and paraben-free…Always.” They provide a “NO” list that contains over 2,500+ “no” ingredients which include: Parabens, sulfates, BHA, BPA, plastic microbeads, talc, urea, retinyl palmitate, mercury or mercury-containing ingredients, resorcinol, formaldehyde, aluminum salts, and mineral oil.
Milk Makeup states quite a few times on their site how clean they are and what there initiatives are with responsibility towards ingredients.
Below you will see a snapshot of their Hydro Grip Primer.
Breaking Down the Ingredients
Milk makeup contains some ingredients that we would say are allergenic, toxic, and/or some would need to be cautious of.
Phenoxyethanol
Phenoxyethanol is a preservative that’s used in skincare products to prevent bacteria growth. It’s considered safe for use in small concentrations, but some people may be sensitive to it as it can cause irritation to skin, eyes, and lungs.
Propylene Glycol
Propylene Glycol may cause allergic and irritant contact dermatitis.
Artificial / Synthetic Dyes / Colorants
Dyes such as Yellow 5 Lake(CI 19140), Yellow 6 Lake(CI 19585), Blue 1 (CI 42090), RED 33 (CI 17200),
RED 22 LAKE (CI 45380) and RED 7 LAKE (CI 15850) are in quite a few of their products. These synthetic dyes are very common in beauty products, even those labeled clean because the percentage is usually less than 1% but still may pose a threat to those with allergens.
Paraffin
Parrafin is a type of wax that is derived from petroleum, coal, or shale oil, it has been found to contain known carcinogens (cancer-causing agents) such as benzene.
Fragrance / Parfum
Fragrance is usually a combination of numerous ingredients, some of which can be allergenic and endocrine disruptive especially those like Citronellol, Geraniol, or Linalool, Limonene if they are not derived from pure essential oils. Also, phthalates are likely to be present. There are several different phthalates and some of them are possible carcinogens and hormone disruptors such as styrene.
Glyceryl Rosinate
Glyceryl Rosinate is a monoester of glycerin and mixed long chain acids derived from Rosin which can cause allergic reactions.
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Cocamidopropyl Betaine can cause irritation in some and it can be a potential environmental toxin, being toxic to aquatic life.
Polyethylene glycols (PEGs)
PEGs are manufactured with carcinogenic ethylene oxide whose traces may remain in the final product.
Heavy Metals /PFAS
Our understanding is that Milk makeup does not test their products for Heavy metals/ PFAS. With no concrete evidence that they don’t contain PFAS, we have to assume they do. PFAS are a toxic class of chemicals linked to a number of serious health conditions
Going Beyond Beauty
Sustainability
Milk Makeup believes in social responsibility and sustainability which is why they’ve created more sustainable shipping boxes and bags and has started offering refills on some of their products. They also partner with How2Recycle and g2 Revolution for recycling programs.
Giving Back
Milk Makeup believes in “uplifting creativity and self expression” which is why they partner with The Center and The Fashion Scholarship Fund. Offering a 1% Pledge to The Center to support the LGBTQIA+ community.
Cruelty- Free/ Vegan
Milk Makeup is Vegan, Leaping Bunny Certified, and Cruelty-Free.
Certified Organic
Milk Makeup is not certified organic.
Where is it Manufactured
Milk makeup is made in the USA.
Parent Company
Milk Makeup is owned by a parent company called Waldencast Partners LP.
Final Rating:
Milk Makeup is definitely not on the front-row list of Clean Beauty Brands we would recommend. With quite a few ingredients highlighted for their allergens or toxicity levels, we have given this Brand a red heart. We believe there are better brands out there that can provide quality makeup and skincare with minimal toxic ingredients.
At this time we would not recommend this Brand.
Want to Read Another Brand Breakdown? Try Reading This One On Ilia Makeup!
