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Western grad lubing lips the natural way

Organic beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Unsatisfied with the makeup available to her from cosmetic wholesalers, Western graduate Stefana Karadjamirli began mixing her own lipsticks after her graduating in 2008.

The result of the endeavour was Cherry Crush Cosmetics — a company committed to creating a “natural, vegan, luxe lipstick,” as described on the website.

“I only found out about two years ago about the chemicals that go into standard cosmetics,” Karadjamirli said. “I randomly stumbled about it in passing and did a lot more research. I found [most lipsticks] included lead, petrolatum and other harmful chemicals.”

Cherry Crush Cosmetics is one of several cosmetics companies that have hopped on the organic bandwagon.

“We do get some requests for [all-natural cosmetics],” Monika Gokstorp, owner of Beautiful Creatures Makeup — a professional makeup service. “It’s getting bigger and bigger as people start to worry about the concentration of chemicals in their skin.”

Gokstorp recommended people with exceptionally sensitive skin should look into natural products. However, she added: “It’s really something I can’t assess or recommend unless I meet the person and assess their skin type.”

Caitlin Neal, a second-year social science student at Western, noted she’d rather have natural oils in her cosmetics than animal byproducts.

“I think people will be willing to pay for good quality as long as it’s not extremely expensive,” Neal said.

Karadjamirli acknowledged the appeal of low cost cosmetics.

“I think the most important thing that separates me from other companies is that it’s affordable,” Karadjamirli said. “I found there was a lot of natural cosmetics out there, but nothing was affordable.”

Karadjamirli also emphasized the importance of quality control. As all products are made in her basement, she has full supervision on what products are sold.

“I have seen some success in the past month, but it’s been growing slowly,” she said. “Now I’m hoping to grow it more and maybe sell it to companies and in stores.”

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