The Makeup Database I Use To Check If Products Are Safe

I use the best makeup database I know of: EWG Skin Deep at https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/. Whenever I am considering a new beauty product, I run it through their website to see whether it rates as safer, moderate, or higher concern. Makeup is expensive, and I have avoided a lot of products that way. I usually buy mine at Walmart Canada to save money, or when items are on sale at Shoppers Drug Mart. I have also ordered through Avon Canada.  I am more of a skin care type of gal.  Less is more when it comes to makeup.  I only use eyemakeup and lipstick normally.  When I get fancy then I will use some mascara too.  

Checking products before I buy has become a regular habit for me. Personal care items sit on our skin for hours, and some ingredients can raise questions about long-term exposure. Regulations in Canada require cosmetics to be safe and properly labelled, and Health Canada maintains a Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist of prohibited or restricted substances. Still, the system relies heavily on manufacturers notifying the government and listing ingredients. There is no requirement for every ingredient to undergo the kind of extensive pre-market safety testing that drugs receive. That is why an independent database like Skin Deep is useful: it pulls together information from many scientific and regulatory sources so ordinary shoppers can make more informed choices without needing a chemistry degree.

EWG (Environmental Working Group) rates products and ingredients on a scale that reflects known or suspected hazards and the amount of available safety data. Scores generally run from 1 (lower concern) to 10 (higher concern). A product’s overall score considers the ingredients present, how they are used, and how much research exists on them. The database also notes data gaps—ingredients that simply have not been studied much. I look for products that score in the lower range and have reasonable data availability. EWG also has an EWG VERIFIED mark for products that meet their stricter standards for ingredients and transparency. Those are easy to spot in the database.The process is simple. I go to the Skin Deep site, type in the product name or brand, and check the rating. If the exact product is not listed, I can look up individual ingredients from the label. 

Common things I watch for include certain preservatives, fragrance mixtures (which can hide many chemicals under one word), some colourants, and ingredients that have raised concerns in scientific literature about hormone disruption, irritation, or other effects. I do not treat every moderate score as an automatic ban—context matters, and concentration and how the product is used count—but I prefer to steer clear of the moderate  ones when lower-scoring alternatives exist at a similar price. This habit has saved me money and frustration. Makeup and skin-care items add up quickly, especially if you try something, dislike how it feels or performs, or later learn it contains ingredients you would rather avoid. By checking first, I skip products that are more likely to be problematic for me. I have passed on mascaras, and lip products that looked appealing on the shelf but scored poorly. Over time that adds up to fewer impulse buys and fewer bottles sitting unused in a drawer.

Price matters to me, so I stick to places that keep costs down. Walmart Canada is my go-to for everyday items because their prices are usually lower and they stock a wide range of drugstore and some mid-range brands. I check the EWG rating before I put anything in the cart, even the cheaper options. Shoppers Drug Mart is useful when they run sales or have Optimum points promotions; I watch for those and then verify the product online. Avon Canada has been another option for me—convenient for ordering from home, and some of their products have acceptable ratings. 

I still look each one up rather than assuming a brand is automatically fine.A few practical tips if you want to try the same approach:

• Read the full ingredient list on the package or the brand’s website. Search both the product name and key ingredients in Skin Deep.
• Pay attention to the hazard score and the data-availability note. A low score with good data is preferable to a low score with almost no information.
• Fragrance is often listed simply as “fragrance” or “parfum.” That single word can cover many compounds, some of which have higher concern ratings. Unscented or fragrance-free options are easier to evaluate.
• Look for the EWG VERIFIED mark when it appears. Those products have gone through extra review.
• Remember that “natural,” “organic,” or “clean” on the label does not automatically mean lower hazard. Always check the actual ingredients.
• Canadian rules require ingredients to be listed in descending order of concentration (with some exceptions for ingredients present at 1% or less). That order can help you judge how much of a questionable ingredient is actually in the product.
• Patch-test new products if you have sensitive skin, and stop using anything that causes irritation regardless of the rating.

I do not claim this method is perfect. Science changes, new studies appear, and databases update. Skin Deep is one tool among others; some people also look at the Cosmetic Ingredient Review findings or Health Canada’s Hotlist. But for everyday shopping it is practical, free, and far better than guessing. It has helped me choose products that perform well enough for my needs without spending extra money on items I later regret.Makeup does not have to be complicated or expensive. 

Checking a product takes a couple of minutes, and those minutes can prevent both wasted cash and unnecessary exposure to ingredients I would rather limit. I keep using Walmart Canada for regular purchases, catch sales at Shoppers when the timing works, and order from Avon Canada when it suits me.

In every case the first step is the same: open the EWG Skin Deep page and look it up. That simple habit has made my beauty routine more deliberate and less wasteful.If you are just starting, pick one or two products you already own or are thinking of buying and search them. You will quickly see how the ratings work and whether the information is useful for your own decisions. Over time it becomes second nature, and the money you save by skipping the duds can go toward things that matter more.