Lipsticks

There were worrying levels of arsenic in four brands. Against the limit of 2 mg/kg set by Indian Standards, Coloressence Mesmerising Lip Color was found with 9.59 mg/kg, 7 Heaven’s Super Matte Lipstick with 9.28 mg/kg, Tian Nuo with 9.22 mg/kg, and Makeover Professional with 8.28 mg/kg.

In all the brands the lead element was within the IS limit of 20 mg /kg. However, those that had high levels of arsenic also had high lead content. In Tian Nuo, lead was 4.97 mg/kg. (See table for details.)

Conclusion: The logic that products that are expensive are safe and good is correct, but the opposite is not true. For example, the price of Passion was the lowest (Rs 20) but it got a good score of 84 per cent. It had such low quantities of arsenic and lead that these could not be measured.