Skincare and makeup products are only as effective as they claim to be.Hence, picking up the right kind of product that gives you the best for your buck is the way to be. But, that can only happen if you know what’s written on the label. As a beauty newbie, chances are the labels you find your products intimidate you more than what they are intended to do – inform! But we’re determined to change that. Ahead is a list of labels and marking you often find beauty products and what they exactly mean. So before you head out on a shopping spree, read this out!

You can often find this little campfire on aerosol hairsprays, dry shampoos, sunscreens, nail polish, and nail polish remover. No surprise here: this indicates the product is flammable. We know it's obvious — but if there's one symbol you really need to know, this is it.

If the Ecocert Organic symbol appears on a product that signifies that at least 95% of its plant-based ingredients and at least 10% of all its ingredients by weight are organic. If the Ecocert Natural symbol appears on a product, that signifies that least 50% of its plant-based ingredients and at least 5% of all its ingredients by weight are organic.

In case you didn’t know, majority of the beauty products you find in the market are tested out on animals before they’re approved for human use. Tragic, we know! Thanks to the ethical beauty community, who constantly promoted using cruelty-free products, we now have the “Leaping Bunny” organization. This label, stands for a license issued by PETA Or CCIS (Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics) that certifies brands that makes cruelty-free products.

How many times has it been that you had to chuck out a seemingly old lipstick or any other makeup product because you didn’t know how much it cost? Yup, far too many. In times like these, flip your product and find the batch number – it is usually alphanumerical. Enter this on checkfresh.com, and you’ll have the exact expiry date.

In times as testing as ours, it is important to preserve and conserve. While makeup and skincare makeup a lot of plastic waste, you can always use products that has strong eco-friendly values. If you’re on the eco-friendly drive too, look for the symbol above. By itself the sign means the container is recyclable. The number denoted inside the loop refers to one of the seven types of plastics used to create containers—numbers 2, 4 and 5 are the only ones recommended for reuse.

This one is as simple as it gets. When you see a finger pointing like this, do as it bids. It is usually found on tiny bottles. The labels simply denotes that you need to peel off the layer to reveal the product.