The green cosmetics trend is riding high. But behemoth makeup retailer Sephora has taken a particularly dopey approach to the trend with its "natural standards" initiative.

Filed under the heading "naturally gorgeous," Sephora's manifesto claims that products sold in its stores that bear a green seal meet "high internal standards" and contain "the purest, most efficacious ingredients Mother Nature has to offer." Sephora's Web site boasts more than 1,400 products from more than 30 different brands with the "Naturally Sephora" seal.

The Web site astutely observes that "the term 'natural' is not regulated by the FDA," and thus the company "created (its) own standards for the natural products" it sells. You bet it did.

Turns out dozens of products Sephora considers "naturally beautiful" contain high levels of harmful chemicals and cancer-causing agents, according to the Environmental Working Group. The nonprofit organization provides information on virtually every cosmetic company, listing their products' ingredients and ranking them on a zero-to-10 scale based on the health threat they pose.

While this contradiction seems particularly ham-handed, it's difficult to believe that Sephora doesn't realize that many of its "green" products are anything but. After all, a cursory search reveals the truth about these products. Tarte's Vitamin-Infused Lip Gloss in "liquid sunshine" shade ranks a 6 at the Environmental Working Group's cosmetic database, putting it nearly at the "high hazard" level. At least 15 shades of Cargo's PlantLove lipstick line rank 5 on the group's hazard scale, putting it at a "moderate" level.

While this score is certainly not any worse than a conventional product, shouldn't a line whose mantra is "Red lips. Green conscience" and whose packaging bears a promising green "natural seal" be better than conventional so-called nongreen makeup?