Skin Care

September 19, 2014

Ipsy glambag September 2014

Posted in Hair, Makeup / Cosmetics, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

Crown Brush Infinity Shadow/Crease Duet Brush – synthetic fibers double ended brush. I don’t have a preference over synthetic vs natural on brushes as long as it’s a good brush for the job. At first glance and feel this seems like a good quality brush and both ends I think I would be likely to use. I think the only thing I’m not sure about is that it’s double ended. I’ve been using brush guards on all of my brushes since I throw them in a bag. I don’t think I can use the brush guard with the double ended brush though. I’m excited to try this.

Hikari Lipstick in Cabernet – so one, I wear more lipgloss than lipstick. Two, I’m not big on red lipstick. It just looks weird on me (or maybe that’s just my imagination.) The good: No fragrance, no dimethicone. The bad: it has parabens and mineral oil. The mineral oil isn’t toxic but it feels weird on my skin so I avoid it. This lipstick is a 5 with the cosmetics database. Do you know how much lipstick and lipgloss you eat? Mmmm?

Pacifica Natural Water-Proof Eye Pencil in fringe (brown) – pacifica is pretty much a hands down winner brand in my opinion. A few products I can’t use because of cones but otherwise it’s a sure bet when it comes to healthy ingredients and a quality product. No cones in this (a reminder, cones aren’t unhealthy, they just break out my skin personally) so I’m excited to try it. Even better that it’s waterproof!! This is a healthy 1 with the skin deep cosmetics database.

Briogeo Don’t Despair, Repair!™ Deep Conditioning Mask – Let’s start with the fact that upfront they’ve said “This product is free of parabens, sulfates, phthalates, silicones, artificial fragrances, artificial dyes, and gluten. It is cruelty-free and contains organic ingredients.” WOW. A company that seems to get it. So let’s just check out the cosmetics database report on the full ingredient list. Sooooo EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. judges vitamin A just a little more harshly than I would and it gets an 8 … which makes this a 4 with the cosmetics database. I’m giving this one some slack since the vitamin A seems to be the worst thing here. My hair could use some deep conditioning mask after all of the swimming this summer.

LeeAnni Eco 3-in-1 Revolution Light – Toner, Serum, and Moisturizer in One … and I just ran out of my face moisturizer. No cones, no parabens, no synthetic fragrances, excellent ingredient list … done and done. The cosmetic database ranks it a 1. Trying this asap.

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September 19, 2014

Birchbox unboxing September 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

Harvey Prince Hello – Hello seriously? I just said last month that they should stop sending me fragrances and products from this brand. Synthetic fragrance is an 8. Nuf said. Moving on (and Birchbox PLEASE stop sending me Harvey Prince!!!)

TOCCA Crema da Mano Luxe – Hand Cream – I had high hopes for this one but oh well. Anything over a 4 and I usually start questioning whether I want to use it and I definitely don’t want to use it regularly if it has synthetic fragrance as an ingredient (which this does.) It’s a little too unhealthy for a lotion for my tastes as it ranks a 5 with EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment.’s skin deep cosmetics database.

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Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish™ Hot Cloth Cleanser Starter Kit – Ok so I chose this sample deliberately even though I’ve received it before. I looked at the things I could choose from this month and nothing was appealing so I figured I would add this and have a travel version. I’ve been re-purchasing and using the full size of this since the first sample I received last October and I LOVE it. Since I’ve never done the EWG ranking for it (it has crazy healthy ingredients) I figured I should go ahead and post that info now too. The few ingredients that cause this to be a 3 with the skin deep cosmetic database do not concern me. There are no parabens, no synthetic fragrances etc etc.

Skin&Co Roma SICILIAN LIGHT™ SERUM Vitamin C Brightening Face Serum – so this has dimethicone in it which rules it out for me (cones break out my skin). This is also a 5 with the cosmetics database with fragrance being one of the bigger bad ingredients.

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ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 5 TEMPTU S/B Highlighter – this has cyclomethicone which rules another one out for me personally. This is also a 5 with the cosmetics database.

ChapStick® Dual-Ended Hydration Lock Day & Night – Ok this one is going to be a weird one in that the two ends have completely different ingredients. At a glance the day side looks toxic to me and the night side looks healthy and perfectly fine to use. So let me run each set of ingredients through the cosmetic database separately:

Day side ingredients: is a 6 with the cosmetics database.

Night side ingredients: is a 2 with the cosmetics database.

So chapstick made half their product good and healthy. I’ll give that side a try. I’m not sure how much I’ll use it though because I don’t want to accidentally use the wrong side. Actually I’ve already solved this – I put some masking tape on the end I don’t want to accidentally use so it would be hard for me to make that mistake.

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August 16, 2014

Thought of the day: ingredients in your … razor?

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Skin Care

razor stock photo 839248_58527818 So I was thinking about this the other day, my skin seems to be reacting a tiny bit to my razor. It suddenly occurred to me that I’ve never checked the ingredients associated with my shaving razor. WHOA. Yeah. Think about it. That moisturizing strip on your razor, there can be some pretty scary ingredients there.

Most razors these days include a moisturizing strip so what healthy hair removal options are out there?

Natural razors? Nope. None that I’ve found yet. “Natural” is not a regulated term so there are still some pretty ugly ingredients on the list for most of these.
Using a safety pin to remove the moisturizing strip from your favorite razor? Maybe. Some are probably easier than others. With the Schick Hydro for example that moisturizer is embedded deep down in there. For some though that strip actually sits on top so some people seem to have had some luck with removing the moisturizing strip. I’m wondering if I could maybe soak the razor in warm water to remove the embedded kind. I haven’t tried that yet.
Go old school with a safety razor? Yes. Maybe. Ok yes this is an option but I’m still not sure about it because it seems to require more skill to shave without nicking yourself. And the bikini area … this scares me a bit. Modern razors have the ease of use thing down. I think I need to do some more research on this one. There’s definitely no moisturizing strip on this kind of razor.
Electric razor? Yes. The trick appears to be finding one that is meant for use on legs, bikini area, and underarms and doesn’t quit working after 6 months. Ideally waterproof and cordless. I’m open to suggestions from anyone who has a favorite brand/model.
Switch to another form of hair removal? Yes. Maybe. At least if you can find something that works well and works well for you personally.
- Epilator? Haven’t tried that yet and is maybe one of the more promising options. But I think the hairs have to be long enough and not too coarse.
- Sugaring? I haven’t been successful with that personally.
- Waxing? Maybe I need some tips but I always have hairs left.
- Threading? Is that even possible for legs? That seems like it’s not an option.

Most of the alternatives are extra time consuming. I don’t want something that takes too long either.

I’m absolutely not going to go all hippie granola on this one and go the “accept your body hair and don’t shave” route because I personally don’t like body hair. I shave because I want to not just because of what society says. I actually find armpit hair on guys rather gross too and I just try not to think about it. I don’t expect guys to shave their underarms but it does make me gage a little just thinking about it. So no. Not shaving is not an option (for me at least – what you do to your body is your business.)

So what kind of razor or hair removal method do you use?

Do you have any suggestions on hair removal options that are natural / healthy ingredients? Any tips on razors without the moisturizing strip? Any tips for women shaving with a safety razor? (I haven’t googled that yet so there may be plenty of resources out there I don’t know about yet.) 🙂

July 19, 2014

Ipsy glambag July 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Hair, Makeup / Cosmetics, Nail Polish, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

bareMinerals 5-in-1 BB Advanced Performance Cream Eyeshadow Broad Spectrum SPF 15 – holy cow, a BB cream with no dimethicone! YAY! Granted it’s eyeshadow instead of a foundation but I’m still excited. No fragrance or parabens etc. Ranks a healthy 2 with the cosmetics database. (ps: I have checked and the bareminerals foundation style bb cream has cones. As mentioned in the past, this might be a personal allergy but cones cause my skin to break out.) So the only negative here with the eyeshadow BB cream is that I can’t seem to find a shade name on what I received! I THINK I got the “Divine Wine” but since all of the shared are neutral and very similar it’s hard to tell (as I know print runs are not always perfectly accurate as well.) There’s a chance that I received Barely Nude as ipsy says “ipsy subscribers who receive this product will receive shades Divine Wine or Barely Nude.”

Befine Food Skin Care Daily Moisturizer with SPF 15 – another one I’m excited to try. Super healthy ingredients – so healthy it actually ranks a zero. Yay!

Hang Ten Dark Tanning Oil SPF 08 – no cones and again with the healthy ingredients! (Really hope we continue to see more brands using healthier ingredients!) But it does rank a 5 with with cosmetics database because of the OCTINOXATE and a couple of other ingredients (flavor? why does this need flavor? Or was the flavor for scent?) Octinoxate is NOT one of the top suncreen ingredients to avoid though. % could be worse but could be better when it comes to sunscreens. Check back to my previous article on sunscreens that includes the top ingredients to avoid: http://clothingcult.com/2013/05/19/find-a-healthier-natural-spf-sunscreen/ And EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. has a specific page to help you find healthy sunscreens here: http://www.ewg.org/2014sunscreen/

Pixi Beauty Mini Tinted Brilliance Balm in Unique Pink – no cones, no fragrance, no parabens. I’ve been really happy with about half of the pixi beauty products I have. Most wear really well but some shades are just really weird when applied which is the only reason I’m half and half on this company. I can’t remember which product looked chalky on me but one did. HOWEVER I have been regularly using the pixi pink lip balm I received in the May Birchbox which actually came as a surprise to me since usually I grab lip glosses over anything that’s a balm or lipstick. “unique pink” is a “pH reactive pink” but it seems to just be clear on me. Not sure if that’s just me or not. The cosmetics database ranks this as a 6. Mostly for the vitamin A and the limonen which are ingredients that don’t worry me as much personally. So although this ranks higher than I normally would go, I’m still willing to give it a try.

wHet Nail Polish in Facetious – this is a 3-free nail polish which is thankfully becoming the industry standard. It actually looks like it’s a dup for the color club Insta-This nail polish. We’ll see how well it wears!

Note on this month’s bag. When I opened my package I thought “what in here am I going to have to throw out?” It’s the cute scalloped bag itself that smells a little bit chemically and toxic. :/

Overall I’m really REALLY happy with this month’s ipsy glambag though! 🙂

July 13, 2014

Birchbox unboxing July 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Nail Polish, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

Cynthia 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.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 4 RUFFIAN 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 4 Naobay 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 2 Real 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 2 100% 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.)

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June 19, 2014

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

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Beauty & Skin, Hair, Makeup / Cosmetics, Nail Polish, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

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