There’s a lot to think about when shopping for eyeshadow. Beyond the seemingly endless options for unique shades, opaqueness, sparkles, and more, if you’re looking to shop more sustainably, there are quite a few additional things to think about.

Here’s the TLDR for what you should pay attention to: Products that have silica, iron oxide, xanthan gum, vegetable glycerin, plant waxes, magnesium stearate, and plant-based oils like jojoba oil are a ‘yay.’ Plant-based pigments are good too, like cocoa powder, beetroot, and annatto. Eyeshadow that is made with talc, polyethylene glycols, naturally-mined mica, and synthetic dyes are on the ‘nay’ list.

Our favorite eyeshadow options are packaged in plastic-free palettes and containers. Better yet, choose refillable containers or those made from post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic. Extra bonus points if the product is certified by PETA’s ‘Global Beauty Without Bunnies’ or follows the COSMOS Organic Standard (More on those below)!

Ingredients

Much like bronzers but with more pigment, most eyeshadows are made from a mineral base for smoother application, coloring that’s either natural or synthetic, and binders to help the powder stay put on your skin with some lasting power. Let’s break it down a bit more. 

A Mineral Base

Talc is a mineral substance used in a variety of cosmetic products, including eyeshadow. But just because it’s used widely in the industry doesn’t mean we want to use it. Despite its ability to absorb moisture and prevent makeup from caking, it can be contaminated with some nasty chemicals. At its worst, talc can contain asbestos, which is a known carcinogen, and has been found in products that were even marketed to children in the past. Yikes. All that being said, you’ll probably want to avoid products that have Talcum powder or Cosmetic Talc listed in their ingredients.

While it’s more common in cream or liquid formulas, polyethylene glycols (PEGs) may be used in some eyeshadows for several purposes, from extending shelf life, to retaining moisture, to providing a smoother application. Unfortunately, though, products that have PEGs are often contaminated with carcinogenic 1,4 dioxane – and there are currently no federal regulations banning the carcinogen from cosmetic products. As if the health implications weren’t bad enough, studies have linked PEG exposure to harming marine life. If possible, avoid them altogether and instead go for products that have natural alternatives like xantham gum (basically fermented sugar that is biologically sourced and, well, not derived from petroleum), vegetable glycerin, or plant-derived waxes.

India, China, and Madagascar are some of the biggest miners of mica, a mineral that gives eyeshadow that irresistible shimmer look. Unfortunately, there are some serious question marks here around sourcing, especially since exposés and investigations found child labor and inhumane working conditions in the mica supply chain. If you don't want to question whether unfair labor went into sourcing the mica for your eyeshadow, reach for products that use synthetic mica (not to be confused with synthetic dyes, which persist in the environment far longer and impact the health of humans and marine life alike), listed exactly as it is here on the product (or as “synthetic fluorphlogopite”). Also, yes, synthetic mica persists in the environment and is not a “perfect” choice, but it avoids the ethical crisis that persists in mining real mica. Real sustainability is all about acknowledging the trade-offs and making the best choices we can with the data we have!

Want to avoid the dreaded moment where your shadow seems to magically disappear from your eyelids before you even step out the door? Enter silica. Silica is used in eye shadow to absorb excess oil and provide a smoothing effect, so your makeup stays on and looks seamless. Go for silica as a better alternative to microbeads, which pass through wastewater systems and end up in marine ecosystems. In the future, keep an eye out for innovations like biogenic silica, which recently showed promising results for makeup suitability in a lab study (in this case, it was made from sugarcane ash; more generally, though, ‘biogenic’ means that it’s made from living organisms). 

‍Pigment / Coloring

If you want to achieve that sultry smokey eye, you’ll need to use a product that has some color in it. That’s where pigments come in. Iron oxide is a mineral pigment frequently used to achieve those deeper hues. It’s a naturally occurring mineral compound made of iron and oxygen, though often synthetic in makeup to ensure that it’s free from heavy metals or other contaminants. Look for brands that state they meet FDA, EU, or ISO regulations when iron oxide is present. Alternatively, you could look for plant-based pigments like cocoa powder, beetroot, or annatto, which are not quite as common but less resource-intensive than their synthetic counterparts. 

Speaking of synthetics – try to avoid eyeshadows that are made with synthetic dyes altogether. Synthetic dyes are different from pigments, and they can be tricky to catch – they're often either called something that sounds more “natural” than it really is, like “Yellow 5 Lake,” or they’re listed as technical names or Color Index (CI) numbers that don’t mean much to the typical makeup user. Nevertheless, they are endocrine disruptors, which can cause skin sensitivities, and can build up in the environment, causing harm to aquatic life. In fact, synthetic dyes that creep into the ocean through wastewater discharge block sunlight, disrupting photosynthesis in aquatic plants – which is pretty important to their survival. 

‍Binders 

Binders are what hold eyeshadow particles together, allowing them to be one cohesive product – and allowing you to apply it in a way that has staying power for a full day or night. For cream-based eyeshadows, look for products that have jojoba oil – it's fun to say AND it has anti-inflammatory properties. For powder products, choose products that are derived from plant-based oils, like magnesium stearate. 

Packaging and Such

Eyeshadow typically comes in plastic compacts which, despite their durability, are usually not recyclable and would take hundreds of years to decompose if/when they’re thrown in a landfill (aka you put it in your trash can when you’re done with it). Look for these options instead: 

• Compacts made with post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic helps support a circular economy, where materials are actually reused (in 2022, only 27.9% of plastic waste disposed of was actually recycled), and might help reduce the demand for more virgin plastic...though the verdict is still out about whether the industrial production of plastic will actually slow down. 
• While they can be a little harder to find, eyeshadows that are completely plastic-free, made of cardboard, wood, or metal, are far more likely to be recyclable and/or refillable than plastic. 
• If you’re struggling to find a totally plastic-free eyeshadow that works for you, look for eyeshadows, like Ilia’s, which give U.S. customers the opportunity to mail up to ten empty beauty products per month – from any brand – back to the company to help with more responsible disposal of harder-to-recycle beauty products. Just make sure you fully use up the product first, which is a best practice no matter what!
• With refillable palettes, you yourself can extend the life of the packaging, keeping it out of landfill for longer. Kjaer Weis and Zao Makeup have refillable eyeshadow options that look pretty solid. 

‍Certifications:

PETA’s ‘Global Beauty Without Bunnies’

This PETA program lists companies under animal test-free and animal test-free and vegan designations. The first recognizes brands that have verified they and their suppliers do not allow any tests on animals for their ingredients or products (and they never will), and the second recognizes brands that meet these requirements and have their entire product line free of animal-derived ingredients.

‍COSMOS Organic

COSMOS Organic is a standard-setting organization that has stringent organic- and sustainability-related requirements for cosmetic products. Certification bodies like Ecocert will certify products to the COSMOS Organic standard. Spoiler alert: you want these products. 

‍A (More) Sustainable Use Tip

We can all admit that the allure of those 50-shade, makeup artist-esque palettes is there. But, if you only use a few shades, you’ll end up wasting most of the palette, creating more product waste. If you know what shades you typically gravitate towards, try to opt for smaller palettes that are specific to the shades you know you like. 

‍Fun Fact

Long before our current era of seemingly limitless eyeshadow palettes with 40+ colors to choose from, the Ancient Egyptians used eyeshadow made from crushed minerals like green malachite (copper) and galena (a lead mineral). It wasn’t just for looks for them – its lead content was believed to help ward off evil and protect against eye infections. Maybe (more like definitely) not the best choice given what we know now about lead poisoning. The choices today still aren’t perfect, but we’ve come a long way since then.