Looking at the Bottle and What's in It

New York Times
February 15, 2007

By Natasha Singer

Concerns about chemicals in cosmetics have prompted some consumer groups and researchers to conduct their own lab tests on beauty products.

Last month, Consumer Reports ShopSmart magazine published a report about eight consumer fragrances the company had tested for the presence of phthalates, a group of chemicals used as plasticizers in many consumer products. A few of these chemicals have been found to have a hormonal effect on lab animals; one chemical, DEHP, is banned from cosmetics in European Union nations. Read more...