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We’ve all been told the one golden rule: never leave your makeup on overnight. But there’s a new beauty brand that’s making their products an exception. Formulated with biobased ingredients, Youthforia claims their makeup is so safe you can sleep in it. But more than being good for your skin, it’s better for the planet too.
Fiona Co Chan came up with the idea of sleep-friendly makeup during the pandemic. Spending far more time at home, Chan kept thinking about how great it was to put on makeup to go out with friends and “sometimes that meant forgetting to take your makeup off”. That’s when she decided to develop makeup products that can be safely left on skin overnight.
‘Life’s messy but your makeup isn’t’
According to Youthforia, their entire range of products is certified 98% biobased by USDA BioPreferred, which means it isn’t made from fossil fuel ingredients. The brand has two flagship products: BYO Blush and Dewy Gloss. Both are suitable for vegans and contain no animal-derived components.
Made with 20 plant-based ingredients, BYO Blush is a colour-changing blush oil that reacts to each individuals’ pH to create the most flattering colour tone. It’s also infused with rich “Skin Chi” blends of plant extracts that help nourish, hydrate, and promote blood circulation.
To prove it works, Chan tested BYO Blush and slept in it for two whole months. She claims the patch of skin she tested on actually looked better afterward.
Dewy Gloss, on the other hand, uses castor oil as its base to replace all fossil fuel-derived ingredients that are commonly found in mainstream lip glosses. It’s 100% biobased and again, formulated with “Skin Chi” plant ingredients that nourish your skin. According to the brand, life might be messy but their makeup certainly isn’t.
Good for skin, good for the planet
By using biobased alternatives and ditching plastic and other polluting ingredients, Youthforia says that ultimately, their makeup is better for the planet.
“Having fun and being young shouldn’t trash your skin or the planet,” says the brand. “A big thing we think about is reducing our Down the Drain Impact.”
According to the brand, conventional products on the market contain a whole load of plastic-derived chemicals. On average, if a person uses around 15 makeup products, they’re washing down 500 pollutants down the drain.
Youthforia says that their range is completely free from some of these common pollutants, like butoxyethanol, 1,4 dioxane, formaldehyde, and hydroquinone. Their products also contain zero parabens, phthalates, or SLS.
Transparency with clean beauty
While Youthforia is clear that their range is 98% and 100% biobased, they want to make sure that consumers don’t confuse it with being 100% synthetic-free.
“For us, our highest priority is skin health and choosing skin-friendly ingredients,” explains Chan, in a recent blog post. “We prioritize following Green Chemistry principles and choose to formulate without fossil fuels as much as we can.”
“As a brand owner, my approach is not to demonize chemicals or synthetics but to be very transparent in our formulation philosophy and to explain why we choose the ingredients we use,” she continues.
An example of a chemical that Youthforia doesn’t shun is butylene glycol, which is widely used in the cosmetics industry. Youthforia simply sources them from plants rather than using fossil fuel-derived butylene glycol.
“I actually think synthetics are really important for achieving nice textures and colors in makeup, but we go out of our way to source plant-based options because it’s better for the planet and our skin,” Chan says.
Want more on the latest sustainable beauty brands and products? Check out zero-waste vegan skincare pastille brand Mono and Izzy’s new reusable and carbon-neutral mascara.
All images courtesy of Youthforia.
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