NATURAL BEAUTY, DEFINED

Today we launched our new Natural + Organic initiative, for which we defined exactly what natural means to Sephora. As you probably know, the term "Natural" is not regulated by the FDA (meaning any beauty product can use that term, no matter what it contains!), so we formed an internal committee that worked hard to set our own Natural standards.

And here are the results: Our Natural products contain fewer to no parabens, petrochemicals, phalates, sodium lauryl sulfate, and synthetic fragrances and dyes (For definitions, visit our Natural Glossary). Most contain high concentrations of some or all of the following: Antioxidants, botanicals, essential oils, fruit extracts, minerals, and vitamins. Meet our Natural brands: Boscia, Carol's Daughter, Caudalie, Decleor, Korres Natural Products, L'Occitane, LaVanila, Ojon, Ole Henricksen, Phyto, REN, Rene Furterer, Skyn Iceland.

The term "Organic" refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed. Organic ingredients are grown free of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides and their production must be certified as organic by an independent organization (like the USDA, BDIH, EcoCert, or the Soil Association) to claim this on their labels. In the US, The USDA's National Organic Program (NOP) regulates organic ingredients used for personal care products. There are four levels of USDA Organic certification, based on percentage of organic ingredients. At Sephora, the products in our organic section must contain 70-100% organic ingredients, and/or be certified by one of the organizations mentioned above. Meet our Organic Brands: Juice Beauty, CARE by Stella McCartney, Nvey Eco. 

Keep in mind that this is what Natural means at Sephora only. Until there are definitive international standards formed to govern this term, we can't vouch that it means the same elsewhere. In the meantime--read your ingredient labels! They are the best indication of whether a product is natural or not.

P.S. On Sephora.com, you'll find a selection of purely pretty mineral makeup (made without preservatives) from Bare Escentuals, Urban Decay, Laura Mercier, Tarte, Sephora Brand, Philosophy, Amazing Cosmetics, The Balm, Cover FX, Hourglass, Laura Geller. EDITOR NOTE: Only the mineral makeup offerings from these brands are in our Natural Section on Sephora.com. We are currently still defining our Natural selection for color cosmetics.

SEE ALL OUR NATURAL BEAUTY COVERAGE, HERE >