STYLE : Counter Points
If the unwary cosmetics shopper is like most people and tries before she buys, she can go home with more than a new look for her face. She might also wind up with a viral infection she hadn’t bargained for. Luckily, more and more manufacturers are concerned about their customers’ health as well as their appearance, so they’re taking steps to make sampling cosmetics as safe as possible.
Even so, some of the most prestigious makeup manufacturers have some of the poorest makeup counter practices. They display mascara wands that, after being touched by hundreds of people, are likely to breed germs. Just as dangerous are common sponge-tipped or bristled eye shadow applicators used several times with no sterilization or intermittent cleaning. Others provide disposable applicators so that only the clean tip touches the shadow. Still, many in-store makeup artists forget to use a fresh applicator for each lid so that skin-to-skin contact is truly limited.
Dr. Anita Highton, director of the Dermatology Center at UCLA, worries that some viral infections, including conjunctivitis, are easily transmitted to the warm, moist environment of the eye’s surface. “Herpes simplex is extremely dangerous when located in the eye, and contaminated eye makeup is a good way to catch it,” she says.
For that reason, consumers are also cautioned to pass up using in-store mascara wands and eyeliner pencils. And under no circumstances should they apply display makeup to the delicate rim of their lower lids. But if that new shade of plum kohl is simply irresistible, then the pencil should, at the very least, be sharpened before use. That way, the customer is getting the next-best thing to a fresh pencil.
Lipsticks, too, are cause for concern. Recently, there have been stories about dismayed store patrons who contracted virulent cold sores and other dermatological disasters after applying lip color at a makeup counter. It’s a good idea to wipe the tip of a lipstick with a tissue and then apply the color with another tissue or a disposable lip brush.
Better yet is Ultima II’s solution: Customers can pick among several different lip shades from a small machine that looks something like an old-fashioned movie-ticket dispenser. The “ticket” peels away from its plastic front and allows one to test the color inside by rubbing it across the lips or hand. So far, most Ultima II colors, including the popular neutral series, The Nakeds, are available in this form.
Perhaps the best solution comes from Lancome. To protect each of its customers, the company provides a small, sealed packet. Inside are disposable brushes for lips, cheeks and eyes, and clean sponges for applying foundation and cream blush. “The customer can take them with her if she wants,” says a Lancome representative at Bullock’s, Century City, “or we can throw them away when she’s done.”
Highton, who tests cosmetics for herself on the backs of her hands, is pleased with this strategy. “I think it’s great that some companies are beginning to offer their customers this service, and I suspect that, as our knowledge of how infections are transmitted and our awareness of the consequences increases, more manufacturers will follow suit.”
