August 28, 2017

As you might have noticed…

As you might have noticed I haven’t been around a lot lately. In fact my last post was October of 2016.

I’ll spare you the long winded pages and pages of apologies post that most fashion bloggers seem to do at some point or another. Let’s just leave it at many life changes and both of the household breadwinners being self employed. Me for 17 years. Tim for about a year and a half. And with me doing a LOT of the marketing for his biz to make that possible.

And my interest has waned in clothes and makeup as they feel like a  waste of energy at the moment.

Many of the issues I used to have like acne I’ve been able to resolve by laying off the products designed for acne (ironic, I know.) And removing cheap drugstore and toxic makeup from what I use. And finding out that cones were a problem.

Most days my face is clear enough to go without makeup though I do use an eyeshadow / eyeliner that makes me look like I tried and not like a slob.

And I’ve gone really minimalistic with clothes and jewelry as well. Plus the advent of Pinterest and Instagram have really changed the ways of sharing and storing inspirational ideas.

So for the moment, this website is and will remain more of an archive and a testing ground.

I DO actually use it to test plugins for my business because I would rather break this site than a client’s site.

I may pick it back up and do more with it again in the future but for now … this is REALLY not my focus.

Tada. That wasn’t so bad was it?

March 5, 2016

Ipsy ingredients didn’t match the bottle… :/

So the ingredients listed here on the ipsy site:

ipsy ingredients dont match whats on the bottle

Did not match the ingredients listed on the bottle.

The Theorie website ingredient list appears to be accurate and match the bottle:

Theorie argan oil ingredient list

Just a warning because I thought the ingredient list was a little more reliable on the website. I have allergies, ingredients I avoid and ingredients that cause painful zits for me so reviewing the ingredients and having the ingredients be accurate is of the utmost importance for me.

January 8, 2016

Everyday Minerals, I love your quality but I’m breaking up with you…

3 Everyday Minerals products I used DAILY you’ve now discontinued. It’s been over the last … 4 years but they were staples.

Last year the Everyday Minerals Sand Jojoba base foundation powder was labeled something that worried me (“vintage jojoba base”) and I swear someone assured me it would NOT be discontinued (they did – see the end of the linked to post.) Now it is discontinued despite assurances that it wouldn’t be. It’s NOT been merged with the current jojoba base line. And there’s no equivalent shade.

Everyday Minerals I love your quality but I'm breaking up with you
So despite your amazing quality, I think I’m going to have to break up with you. 
Changing foundations is such a headache. I still miss the pressed powder and raw sugar bronzer and now I guess I’ll miss the sand jojoba base as well. I hope you understand the breakup, I’m tired of being led to believe I found “the one” I can spend the rest of my life with (or a more significant portion of my life with) only to have it discontinued. I need reliability too. I just really hate that it’s come to this…

October 30, 2015

St Tropaz Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion – tanning lotion review


This is going to be a fairly quick review. I thought when I sniffed this in the tube that the fragrance might be ok (for my sinus allergies – though the fragrance was likely synthetic and not healthy) but as soon as I had some out of the tube onto my leg I was hit by the overwhelming scent. And it reminded me of old lady perfume (sorry, but that’s what it reminded me of.) WHAM – fragrance.

I immediately scrubbed it off … And I do mean scrubbed. I can still smell it lingering so … Even if I didn’t have allergies I don’t think I would want to use this and smell like it all day.

I have no idea if it gives a good tan because I immediately washed it off because I couldn’t take the overwhelming smell.

So here’s what I like: the concept. I like the idea of being able to put a tanning lotion on in the shower and waiting a bit for a gradual tan. This seems WAY easier than half of the other products out there (besides a spray booth.)

What would make it even better?

  1. a fragrance free OPTION (even if the company also wants to sell a scented version!) I know that the perfume might be covering up other smells but I would rather have natural smells than synthetic overwhelming scent. I can then CHOOSE a natural perfume if I want to use one.
  2. A DAILY BODY WASH bronzer. Something that was maybe even more gradual but you simply use daily or half the week to get to the bronze level you want.
  3. Ideally no standing naked in the shower for three minutes waiting without water because its COLD standing in the shower without water!! This would be epic!

Ok – maybe this is just wishful thinking but I figured I would throw it out there anyway. MAYBE someone will make it. Or maybe I should be googling for such a product (that doesn’t turn you orange!)

—–

UPDATE – no no …. WAY too much scent. Got it on one leg and quickly washed it off because I regretted it.

August 18, 2015

My Ipsy August 2015 & EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database scores for each of the products

My Ipsy August 2015 and EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database scores for each of the products
ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 5

Trust Fund Beauty Nail Polish in Elegantly Wasted – this is a slightly dusty light purple. Very interesting shade. One that I think may look better on than in the bottle. Something about it seems kinda 90’s to me and I’m not sure why. Not in a dated way but in a resurrection of a style way. This nail polish is 5-free. Since I ran the EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. score for the OPI that came in my birchbox, I’m running the EWG score on this too. So while this is “5-free,” the OPI is healthier. This comes in at a 5. Still going to try it because it’s nail polish.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 3

LATHER ultra mild face wash –  didn’t I get this recently in my birchbox? It seems familiar…Wait … nope. It was the face lotion not the wash and it was an ipsy glambag. Anywho. Nothing bad looking in here. Scores a 3 and none of the ingredients scream “run” so I may give this a shot. I am however very happy with soapless cleansers like the Liz Earle now so it would take a lot for this one to win me over.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 4

Hikari Cosmetics Lip Gloss in Salsa – Parabens, Mineral oil, I’m out even if this one has a healthy score. Lip glosses that use mineral oil just feel weird and wrong on my skin now. This comes in at a 4 – not horrible but I know better.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 3

Briogeo Blossom & Bloom ™ Ginseng + Biotin Volumizer – I really liked their conditioner and the ingredient list here looks excellent too. This scores a 3 and one of the ingredients it was docked for was over contamination concerns … so if they sourced that one well it isn’t really a concern right? Anyway – looking forwards to trying this one.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 2

Starlooks Luxe Longwear Eye Liner Pen – no fragrance and no cones or parabens. Looks good. Though I tend to personally aim for a waterproof eyeliner which seems to be the only downside. So the EWG score is only a 2 which is good. Might try it when I want a distinctive cat eye just to see…


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