Where to find the list of ingredients for a cosmetic
It’s a requirement in the United States and around most places in the world that cosmetic products have their ingredients listed on their label. We’ve previously written about cosmetic product labeling and if you are curious about the rules, I’d encourage you to go check that post out. 
While cosmetic ingredient lists are useful for consumers to figure out if a product contains an ingredient that they are allergic to, sensitive to or otherwise find objectionable, they are also helpful for savvy cosmetic chemists who want to duplicate a competitive product. They’re also helpful for seeing what type of feature ingredients are hot in the cosmetic market.
So it is beneficial for you as a cosmetic chemist to find the list of ingredients of your competitors or other products that you may want to copy. In the old days we used to have to go to stores and either purchase the products or write down the ingredient lists at the store. Or you could do as I did and use the list as a challenging memory exercise.
But these days there are lots of sources for ingredient lists online. If you are tasked with working on a project that requires you to make a product superior to your competition, here are some great sources for finding ingredient lists.
Cosmetic Ingredient List sources
Drugstore.com - This one is my favorite. Not only can you find the ingredient lists, you can also get claims and a picture of the product. Excellent for standard store brand products.
Ulta.com - Another excellent source for ingredient lists. You get more premium beauty products here than at the previous website.
Beauty.com - I bet they paid big money for that domain name! Anyway, this website is a partner to drugstore.com but they have more upscale brands. It’s very nicely laid out and ingredient lists are easy to find.
BeautyBar.com - This one is a lot like the first but they have different and more higher end brands.
Beautysage.com - Here’s one when you’re looking for smaller obscure brands. If you are looking for some inspiration in the natural cosmetics realm this is a good place to go.
Benefit - It’s all their products but they do list the ingredients. Unfortunately, they are not in an easy to cut-and-paste format. But if you’re looking for these products they have them here.
Boots - If you’re looking for UK and EU brands, you might find the LOI over at Boots.
Sephora - If they sell it here you can find the ingredient list. Good for higher end products.
Amazon.com - They don’t have ingredient lists for all the products they sell but they do have some. If you’re having a tough time finding an ingredient list, do a search on Amazon.
eBay.com - Here’s a little gem that is mostly overlooked. eBay has people from around the world selling beauty products. If there is a brand in a country outside of your own and you can find it anywhere else, try eBay. Even if the seller doesn’t list the ingredients you can send them a message and ask for it. They usually provide it when asked.
Check the brand’s website - Not every beauty product brand will list their ingredients on the website but many will. When you’re working on a project and need an ingredient list that isn’t on one of the other sources, look to the brand’s website.
So there you have it. Our favorite sites for finding ingredient lists. Have we missed any? Leave a comment below and let us know.
