Jargon.

Here's a quick little glossary of terms you might notice me using in future posts.

Vegan - Everything I make is 100% cruelty free. This means no animal testing on my end, no animal testing on any ingredients in my products, and no animal products or by-products. Popular animal by-products used in cosmetics include carmine, lanolin, and beeswax.

Base - Mixture of basic ingredients used to form a product (eyeshadow base, lipstick base, etc.) before adding colorants and additives.

Colorant - Powder or liquid pigments used to color a product. Colorants must be mixed with a base and other ingredients before they are to be used on the skin.

Additives - Additional ingredients used in products to improve specific characteristics, e.g. adhesion, texture, and shelf life.

Fillers - Transparent additives that offer no substantial improvement to the product. These are used by some cosmetic companies to "stretch" a color and save money. Colorants are expensive, and the more colorants you use in a product, the more expensive it is to make. Fillers are used to give a product the same appearance as a more highly pigmented product, but the quality is significantly exacerbated by the addition of fillers. I do not use fillers in any of my products.