ILIA Lipstick

I discovered makeup in a black leotard and white tights. My ballet studio's nutcracker performance was approaching, and dress rehearsals required swirls of rouge and sticky hair gel. From that first swipe of magenta lipstick, I was hooked.

But ever since that first brush, lipstick has dried out my lips. I'll slather my lips with balm exponentially more on days I wear lipstick. Have you ever tried the 24-hour wear varieties? Those are the worst. And they accumulate in the corners of your mouth. Gross.

Conventional lipsticks, like Cover Girl, contain ingredients that will dry out your lips. Cover Girl also contains fragrance (is that really necessary in a lipstick, people?), synthetic dyes and even sugar. Some of Cover Girl's lipsticks were even found to contain lead by the FDA. ILIA Beauty, on the other hand, has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and doesn't contain a single questionable ingredient.

ILIA lip conditioner

ILIA lipstick doesn't last 24 hours. But it is the only brand I have ever tried that moisturizes like a balm. It's a result of the formula, which contains jojoba oil, sesame seed oil, cocoa seed butter, and the exotic jasmine oil. And surprisingly, it does last a long time. Much longer than your average lipstick; through eating and too many kisses.

ILIA lip conditioner in Shell Shock

I bought the color Shell Shock, a pretty-in-pink kind of hue. Somehow it avoided an overly girly quality (quite an accomplishment on my face) or that frosty pale pink faux pas. Instead, it was just light enough to make my lips appear to have more volume.

Wearing ILIA lip conditioner in Shell Shock

ILIA uses iron oxides to pigment their sticks, rather than synthetic dyes. Their lipsticks contain 85% organic ingredients. No phenoxyethanol or alternate ugly preservatives show their faces. While this stick is no more expensive than NARS, it can be a daunting number compared to Cover Girl. But because you swallow some of the lipstick you apply, it's worth it to invest in non-toxic ingredients for your precious pout.

I'm currently trying to hold myself back from buying a True Red stick from ILIA, and their berry magenta tone entitled Ink Pot.

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Ingredients in ILIA lip conditioner in Shell Shock: Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil*, Jojoba (Simmondsia Chinensis) Seed Oil*, Beeswax (Cera Alba)*, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Sesamum Indicum (Seasame) Seed Oil*, Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter*, Tocopheryl Acetate (Natural Vitamin E), Pomegranate (Punica Granatum) Seed Extract, Grape (Vitis Vinifera) Seed Extract, Citrus Aurantium Ducil (Orange) Fruit Oil, Jasminum Officinale (Jasmine) Oil, Vanilla Planifolia Fruit Oil. May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dixoide, Iron Oxide (CI 77499, CI 77492, CI 77491), Red 7 CI15850, Red 28 CI45410, Yellow 5 CI19140. *Organic ingredients.

Images courtesy of: 
1- 4. Me

I sought out this product and was not compensated monetarily or otherwise for this post.