PRHS Student Hopes to Bring Awareness of Dangers
of Cosemtic Ingredients Through Poster Campaign

First Place

A Pine-Richland High School ninth grader took home top award in a national contest. Natalie Ficco won first place in the “Make Sense of Your Makeup” Braincake design contest and earned a $250 scholarship.

The contest was part of the Girl, Math & Science Partnership, through the Carnegie Science Center, an initiative aimed at engaging, educating and embracing girls as architects of change. Wo rking with girls age 11 - 17 and their parents, teachers, and mentors, the initiative draws organizations, stakeholders and communities together in an effort to ensure that girls succeed in math and science. 

More than 900 votes were cast in the poster contest. She won on overall online votes and final votes from the initiative’s judges. Online votes constituted 25% of the judging and the rest was based on judges’ opinions.

BrainCake is one of many programs that the Girls, Math & Science Partnership initiate. The initiative’s website at http://www.braincake.org allows leaders to reach girls from around the globe who are interested in changing the world with math and science!

Ficco says the poster stems from an issue she is very concerned with and hopes to see solved.

“I am really interested in this issue, because the amount of chemicals that companies put in makeup is unnecessary and harmful to our health,” Ficco said.  “It is important to teens like me and every woman as well. Pleas join me as we aim to have safer cosmetics.”

Ficco’s design will become the letterhead in the Compact for Safe Cosmetics campaign to major cosmetic companies and the FDA to let them know the harm from these chemicals. 

You can see Ficco’s poster and find out more about the program by visiting http://www.braincake.org and for more information on the ingredients found in cosmetics visit: http://www.braincake.org/files/Ingredients_to_Avoid_2.pdf.