Lipstick Iced Iris vs SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick: which is safer?
Burt's Bees Lipstick Iced Iris is the clear pick. Maybelline SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick carries a failing PFAS grade, and we never recommend buying a failing product.
Our pick
Burt's Bees
Lipstick Iced Iris
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
PossibleFragrance allergens and essential oils
PossibleFormaldehyde releasers and preservatives
PossibleRancidity and microbial growth in wax-oil base
Maybelline
SuperStay Matte Ink Liquid Lipstick
PFAS grade
Overall grade
Verdict
Hazard flags
Material
Confidence
Possible1,4-dioxane (trace solvent contaminant)
ReportedFragrance allergens (unlisted components)
PossibleFormaldehyde releasers in film-forming polymers
Where these two actually differ
- We flag Fragrance allergens and essential oils, Formaldehyde releasers and preservatives and Rancidity and microbial growth in wax-oil base on the Burt's Bees and not on the Maybelline.
- We flag 1,4-dioxane (trace solvent contaminant), Fragrance allergens (unlisted components), Formaldehyde releasers in film-forming polymers and Volatile solvent inhalation risk on the Maybelline and not on the Burt's Bees.
- The Burt's Bees is wax, oils, pigments (standard lip color base) where the Maybelline is Liquid ink with film-forming polymers, waterproof binders, which is most of the difference in these two grades.
- The gap is 45 points, wide enough that this is not a close call, and the Burt's Bees is the one to buy.
- We are less certain about the Maybelline grade, at 45% confidence against 78%, because it discloses less.
Both products run through the same public rubric: materials, coatings, brand disclosure, lab findings, and recalls, plus a beyond-PFAS hazard analysis. Grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests. How grades work →
More lip balm & long-wear lipstick: see the full ranking