Category

Nail Polish

July 13, 2014

Birchbox unboxing July 2014

Birchbox unboxing July 2014

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 1Cynthia Rowley Beauty Eyeliner – cones rule this one out for me personally. Actually what’s odd is that some of the colors of this eyeliner use cones and some don’t so I had a 50/50 chance of being able to use this. They sent me the black which gets a healthy 1 with the cosmetics database. Which means it sucks that I react to cones by breaking out badly.

RUFFIAN Nail Lacquer – Ambrosia – This shade is a metalic orchid / purple shade. I don’t think it’s a good summer color but I do think I will wear it come fall and winter.

RUFFIAN Nail Lacquer swatch Ambrosia
ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 4RUFFIAN Dressing Room Nail Lacquer Remover Towelettes – while not horrible (no nail polish remover will rank a zero and this isn’t bad at a 4 with the cosmetics database) the added fragrance AND no added healthy oils means I will likely stick with the LA FRESH® Eco Beauty Acetone-Free Nail Polish Removers. They are also a 4 but they have aloe, rosemary extract, vitamin E and a few other things that I’ve liked.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 4Naobay Body Radiance Lotion – no cones, no parabens, and many of the ingredients are organic. I’m excited to try this one. One caveate … fragrance (parfum) is hidden in there and I don’t know if it’s from essential oils or not. The description says no synthetic dyes but it doesn’t say no synthetic fragrances. If they want to be truly natural, that needs to be clarified. In the meantime, “Fragrance” gets them some point docked both by myself as well as on the cosmetics database report making this a 4. Still not bad but it would be SO much better if fragrance were from essential oils. And it might be which would mean this would rank better than a 4 if that were the case. It’s just not clear from anything on the Birchbox OR the company website whether or not the fragrance is synthetic or from natural ingredients.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 2Real Chemistry Luminous 3-Minute Peel – no cones, no fragrances, no parabens… but I don’t expect this to rank well simply because almost no face peels rank well. So keeping that in mind… wow this actually ranked low! It’s a surprising 2 with the cosmetics database! I love peels and exfoliators so I will likely try this.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 2100% Pure Gingerade Shower Gel (Honey Cream Wash) – no cones, excellent ingredient list and is a 2 with the cosmetics database. I’m excited to try this one though I hate little packages like this for the shower. I have to remember to cut them open before I get in the shower because they are nearly impossible to open otherwise particularly after you get your hands wet.

There’s also a magazine subscription bonus in here. A year’s subscription to Women’s Health and it doesn’t look like there’s any strings attached! (I’ll have to read the fine print in a bit.)


 Still not signed up for Birchbox? :D

Birchbox affiliate link
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{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

 

June 19, 2014

Healthy, Natural and BIRCHBOX!
Ingredient conscious picks category added to their website

Birchbox has added an “ingredient conscious picks category” to their website. I’m so happy! Granted it doesn’t take care of my personal issue with cones / dimethicone (we’ll just call it an allergy until I start seeing people step up and say it’s causing acne for them as well.) BUT it is a MEGA step in the right direction! We put makeup and skin CARE products on daily, shouldn’t those be healthy?

Check it out here: http://www.birchbox.com/shop/featured/ingredient-conscious-picks

Healthy, Natural and BIRCHBOX ingredient conscious category

April 16, 2014

Birchbox unboxing April 2014

Birchbox unboxing April 2014

Anastasia Beverly Hills Clear Brow Gel

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 6I have brows that are already thick and pretty much stay put so this isn’t a very useful product for me. You could however probably also use this as a very natural-look mascara though. But it does have parabens in it and it ranks a 6 with the cosmetics database.

Color Club Gala’s Gems Collection in Gold Rush

Always welcome Color Club nail polishes and they are 3-free. The colors this time are neither here nor there though. The one coat I applied was only ok looking. They look like pastels online but are actually a frost shade. Gold rush is a frosty white with the tiniest touch of warmth and pink to it.

Davines Oi / Shampoo

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 5Cones rule this one out for me. And then there are the ingredients that it’s not finding that are messing with the report. But even without those unknown ingredients, the report comes back a 5. This is pretty high for a shampoo and if you could figure out those other ingredients, they might make this an even less healthy product. I think I would pass.

Davines Oi / Conditioner

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 6Again more cones rule this one out for me. This doesn’t have any unknown ingredients like the shampoo but it ranks a 6 with the cosmetics database. Not healthy enough.

KIND Healthy Grain Bars

Sugary but WAY better than a candy bar! 🙂 Kind is a good brand. nonGMO and gluten-free. I wish brands would stop using soy lecithin so much but it’s an emulsifier and I get why they do … (not the same as soy protein which is what most people can have a problem with) so I’ll cut them some slack on this. Heck, I was trying to avoid soy but soy lecithin is in most chocolates too so oh well. Great extra.

Gilchrist & Soames Spa Therapy Body Wash

ewg-skindeep-cosmetics-database-score-unknownThe Gilchrist & Soames website says “…contain no parabens, phthalates, petrol-derived ingredients, mineral oil, urea, DEA, TEA or propylene glycol. They do contain food-grade, naturally derived USP glycerin and natural conditioning agents from honey and the brassica plant. We’re also committed to cruelty-free development and vow to never test our products on animals.” But there are no ingredients listed on either the Birchbox site for this nor on the company’s website. I really wish companies would get their ingredients online both for transparency as well as for those of us who have some allergies they need to check. 9 times out of 10, when all of the ingredients aren’t posted, the product probably isn’t healthy for you (unless there’s simply no product info online yet.)

Birchbox unboxing April 2014

So a bit of a miss on this month’s Birchbox as well for me. :/ Oh well – sometimes they are a perfect fit and others not as much. 🙂


 Still not signed up for Birchbox? :D

Birchbox affiliate link
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{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }

 

March 26, 2014

NailSnaps – Instagram Photos for your nails!
{kickstarter – funded}

You know how Instagram works right? And nail decals right? Meet a way to have your instagram images printed onto nail decals – NailSnaps! How cool is that? So cool that I actually funded this at the $35 level which will get me 4 of my own images on nail details. IF they reach their funding goal in the next 5 days. Which I want. So I’m sharing. Watch the video to see how it works and for more details. 🙂

Screen Shot 2014-03-26 at 6.28.08 PM

Click on over

It may be August before I can actually get my images on the nail decals and there is some risk with any Kickstarter project, BUT I think this is likely to make it to production and I look forward to seeing my own images on my nails!

March 6, 2014

#CSMTKO
Sally Hansen Nail Polish Complete Salon Manicure
{influenster}

#CSMTKO Sally Hansen Nail Polish Complete Salon Manicure

I was sent:

  • “Red my Lips” which is a bright red basic red
  • “Pat on the Black” which is a rich black with undertones of insanely deep dark purple
  • “Jaded” which is a basic mint
All three are creams. No shimmer. No glitter. And that’s just it. The shades are super basic. They’re good but they’re verging on boring. But I think that was the point of the colors that they chose to send us, there’s nothing outright to dislike about them.
Sally Hansen Nail Polish Complete Salon Manicure swatches

I went through the colors listed online and there aren’t a lot I’m super excited about. OR they are a match for something I already own like Jungle Gem which is a deep teal.

“Please sea me” or “Water Color”  are the most appealing of the available shades to me.  But both seems like a summertime color … and we’re not yet at summer. 🙂 The red I’ll probably wear around Christmas.

The quality is good and the nail polishes do last well though. I just wish they were a little more adventurous in their colors.

The good news is that these are “3 Free” when it comes to ingredients

Sally Hansen COMPLETE SALON MANICURE: INGREDIENTS
COLOR SHADES INGREDIENTS: MER, n-BUTYL ALCOHOL, TRIPHENYL PHOSPHATE, GLYCIDYL C8-11 ACIDATE/TRIMETHYLOL PROPANE/PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE COPOLYMER AND BUTYL ACETATE, AQUA/WATER/EAU, ISOSORBIDE DICAPRYLATE/CAPRATE, POLYURETHANE-11, ETHYLENE/VA COPOLYMER, DIACETONE ALCOHOL, ETOCRYLENE, KAOLIN, ACRYLATES/DIMETHICONE COPOLYMER, CORALLINA OFFICINALIS EXTRACT, DIMETHYL ISOSORBIDE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, PHOSPHORIC ACID, TRIMETHYLSILOXYSILICATE, DIMETHICONE, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, STYRENE/ACRYLATES COPOLYMER, POLYBUTYLENE GLYCOL/MDI COPOLYMER, POLYVINYL BUTYRAL, CARTHAMUS TINCTORIUS (SAFFLOWER) SEED OIL, MACROCYSTIS PYRIFERA (KELP) EXTRACT, BUTYLENE GLYCOL, HYDROLYZED CONCHIOLIN PROTEIN, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, TIN OXIDE, [May Contain/Peut Contenir/+/-:MICA, TITANIUM DIOXIDE (CI 77891), ULTRAMARINES (CI 77007), ALUMINUM POWDER (CI 77000), D&C RED NO. 6 BARIUM LAKE (CI 15850), BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE (CI 77163), D&C RED NO. 7 CALCIUM LAKE (CI 15850), IRON OXIDES (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499) (CI 77491), D&C RED NO. 34 CALCIUM LAKE (CI 15880), FD&C YELLOW NO. 5 ALUMINUM LAKE (CI 19140), FERRIC AMMONIUM FERROCYANIDE (CI 77510), MANGANESE VIOLET (CI 77742), D&C BLACK NO. 2 (CI 77266), D&C VIOLET NO. 2 (CI 60725)]. CLEAR’D FOR TAKEOFF INGREDIENTS: ETHYL ACETATE, BUTYL ACETATE, ADIPIC ACID/NEOPENTYL GLYCOL/TRIMELLITIC ANHYDRIDE COPOLYMER, NITROCELLULOSE, ACETYL TRIBUTYL CITRATE, ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL, TRIPHENYL PHOSPHATE, ISOSORBIDE DICAPRYLATE/CAPRATE, ETOCRYLENE, GLYCIDYL NEODECANOATE/ PHTHALIC ANHYDRIDE/TMP CROSSPOLYMER, ACRYLATES/DIMETHICONE COPOLYMER, TRIMETHYLPENTANEDIYL DIBENZOATE, AQUA/WATER/EAU, KAOLIN, CETYL PEG/PPG-10/1 DIMETHICONE, DIMETHICONE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, TRIMETHYLSILOXYSILICATE, D&C VIOLET NO. 2 (CI 60725).