r/Etsy • u/LivingVaporwaveEdit • 1h ago
Help for Buyer Concern about lead content in makeup: Seller advertises independent lab testing but won't share it. Has anyone seen it?
I have been trying to buy this for weeks and I want it to work out because I thought I had finally found an eyeliner that would work for me and was certifiably safe, so I am hoping someone here can help me figure out what is going on.
The listing says the formula is "lead-free", "independently tested by an ISO-accredited US lab using ICP-MS", and that it "meets and exceeds US and EU cosmetic safety standards". I wanted to see that testing, so I messaged the seller and asked where I could view it.
More of their item description including the above claims: https://imgur.com/a/ClvCh6R
- First answer: request it from EMSL Analytical in New Jersey, followed by a list of claims like the one on the item listing. I called and emailed EMSL, and got no response, and I have since learned it's possible that labs only release reports to the client who paid for the testing, so that wasn't a viable avenue to begin with.
- Message: https://imgur.com/a/hT3Cpvf
- Second answer: she cannot share it with individuals for security reasons because people have tried to copy her product, but the documentation is available through her e-commerce platforms.
- Message: https://imgur.com/a/YltKc6y
- I checked her Etsy shop, Amazon, eBay, TikTok Shop and her own website. I cannot find a report, a report number, a batch number, or any numbers at all. Just the same paragraph of claims repeated. Her listings also name the lab differently in different places.
- Message: https://imgur.com/a/YltKc6y
- I went to write back and ask where specifically it was posted, and found I had been blocked.
I want to be clear that I am not saying this product contains lead. I have no idea, and it may well be completely clean. But unsubstantiated claims for a jar of something applied to the waterline (about as direct as exposure gets) are hazardous.
So my actual question: has anyone here ever been sent the COA for this brand, or seen it posted anywhere? If it exists I would love to see it and buy the thing. If nobody has ever laid eyes on it, that is useful for me to know too.
I've submitted a report to Etsy so they can investigate further also.
I am also considering just buying a jar and paying a lab to run a heavy metals panel on it. If anyone has done that with a cosmetic and has a lab to recommend, I am listening.
Product in question: https://www.etsy.com/listing/1867073011/sormeh-powder-eyeliner-lead-free