Do you feel face bare without lipstick? Then you are not alone. For many, a little color is a must, they put the pen to work every day. And every time you wear it, a little of the lipstick moves from your mouth to your stomach. Ökotest knows up to 57 milligrams a day. Calculated over the year, that’s five whole lipsticks. But what exactly are we actually eating? Ökotest has critically examined red lipsticks and made a devastating verdict.

The testers chose a rather unusual way of evaluating the lipsticks - namely as food. Stricter guidelines apply to food than to cosmetics in terms of ingredients. According to the Ökotest, this is appropriate when you consider how much of the lipstick ends up in the body. 18 products were tested, the best are just "satisfactory". Ökotest does not want to recommend a single one.

This is mainly due to the ingredient titanium dioxide. The white dye is now banned from food. He is suspected of being mutagenic. The substance is permitted in cosmetic articles, which manufacturers also take advantage of. It could be detected in two thirds of the lipsticks, as well as in all six products from the natural cosmetics shelf. "Especially in lipsticks, we see it as a risk for reasons of preventive consumer protection and devalue it in cosmetic products that are taken orally," says Ökotest

In addition to titanium dioxide, the lipsticks were also tested for petroleum components. Aromatic mineral oil hydrocarbons could be detected in three conventional products, "among which there may be carcinogenic components". The testers were also not happy when they found certain dyes such as tartazine, which can cause intolerance reactions.

The products in the test that were at least satisfactory include the red lipstick from Dm "Alverde Matt Lipstick, 10" (2.95 euros), which is certified as natural cosmetics, and the conventional lipstick "Essence Hydra Matte Lipstick, 406" from Cosnova (2.45). Bitterly bumps into what the big brands delivered. The expensive luxury lipsticks from Artdeco (12.50), Chanel (39.99) and Dior (41.99) are among the test losers and are only "unsatisfactory".

For the first time, Ökotest also asked for proof of the origin of the glitter pigment mica, which is sometimes associated with child labor in mining countries. The drugstore chain Dm, which was the only one to present complete documentation of the supply chain for the products in the test, was exemplary. "Fortunately, child labor and other human rights violations during mining can be ruled out here," says Ökotest.

You can view the entire test for a fee at test.de.