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A crucial question for which we do not necessarily have the answer. We’re not talking clothes here. What’s in that moisturiser you slapped on? What’s that pink lipstick you used today, laced with? Or in the eye shadow you wore to the concert last night?

We aren’t really big readers of labels and ingredients. But that’s probably because what’s on the ingredient list sounds like gibberish if you don’t have the patience to cross-check names.

Take for example what people found out after they shelled out 3.99 pounds (roughly Rs. 320) for the Boots facial spray in London — that it was just 100 per cent water. The “Expert Sensitive Refreshing Facial Spritz” contained only “aqua” (always used to describe water as the ingredient in any product). Apparently, the product also claimed that it was “the definitive answer to those everyday health and beauty problems we all suffer from, but keep putting off”. “Hypoallergenic and fragrance free, it instantly cools and freshens the skin, helping to protect it from the drying effects of central heating and air conditioning.” What else do you expect when you spray a fine mist of water on your face?

Is reading the ingredient label high on your mind while buying makeup? “The only thing I check for is whether there’s been any animal testing of the product. Otherwise, I have no idea what the bad ingredients are,” says businesswoman Reema Mahant, echoing the general consensus. Cosmetics and make-up are the only things she buys when she travel abroad and they include eye liners, shadows, blush, lip gloss, lipstick, hair sprays, creams lotions and perfumes. “I have my favourites after doing some trial and error. I have no idea what ingredient may be carcinogenic (cancer-causing), but I assume a brand protects its customers... I’m one of those gullible customers that blindly trusts a brand.” She also doesn’t ever do a patch test (do any of us do it??) that most products usually recommend. “I’m pretty thick-skinned and it doesn’t bother me.”

Most users go by a general instinct and a trust of the product put under a broad umbrella term “Quality”. A big brand name spells re-assurance; a belief that they use “quality” ingredients. Sniggering at a local brand as “cheap” or “untrustworthy”, and reaching out for the imported (that you pay for through your nose) at the mall is common practise. What those ingredients may contain, is an altogether different and horrifying story. Prathibha Shanker, a 20-year-old degree student, regularly buys eyeliners, lipgloss and balms, face washes and nail enamels. “The only time I read a label is when I’m buying sunscreen,” she admits. “If it’s a well-known brand, I trust it to be safe,” she concludes. “I usually stick to one brand and am rarely influenced by advertisements for new products. I also tell myself ‘A lot of people are using it, so if nothing’s happened to them…’,” she trails off.

Designer Seema Bagaria says she ends up experimenting a lot with her makeup when she travels abroad (which is almost thrice a year). “What most products don’t warn you about is that they are not suited to certain weather conditions, like our tropical weather,” says Seema. She usually goes in for lip colours, eye colours, blush-ons, night creams

She had picked up a new range of mushroom-based products with a heavy base, when she was in New York, and her skin erupted every time she used it back home in India. So she just stopped using it and was given an exchange on the entire range, when she explained her situation. “It is important to read labels. You may not be familiar with a lot of names and terms, but you can always ask questions. Otherwise you could end up with the wrong product.” But she also wonders whether in India salesgirls are trained to give information across the counter or answer customer queries.

With the bane of oily skin, Ayesha Deane, a 23-year-old artist, tried out many face washes, cleansers and creams — “anything that came on TV” — but found they dried her skin up. After a consultation with her dermatologist, she finally settled down with what her doctor recommended. “I prefer organic and natural products…If it’s a chemical product I look for the presence of glycolic acid…” Ayesha says she regularly reads up on the net to check what suits her skin type. “You have to do some background research. After all, you are going to put the stuff on your face.”

*The first ingredient is what is present in the largest quantity in the product; the rest are listed in descending order.

*The fewer the ingredients, the lesser elements you need to worry about.

*If you have a regular brand of makeup you use, you can always look up the contents on the internet.

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