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February 14, 2015

Ipsy glambag February 2015 including EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics database scores

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

CARGO Cosmetics Mini Lip Gloss in Anguilla – no cones, no fragrance added, no parabens. I have high hopes for this one and it’s not too bad at a 3 with the EWG skin deep cosmetics database. I’m looking forward to trying this one and it’s a really nice basic shade as well that looks like it would work well with a lot of skin tones – very neutral but maybe a little bit light depending on how opaque it ends up being.

Eva NYC Up All Night Volumizing Spray – dimethicone rules this one out for me. It also has fragrance though and diazolidinyl urea (formaldehyde releaser) though and this ranks a 7 with the EWG skin deep cosmetic database so I wouldn’t want to use this anyway.

Hey Honey Take It Off! Exfoliating Honey Peel Off Mask – the only negative ingredient I see on the list here is fragrance. Since all the other ingredients are all natural I decided to go see if I could find anything on the company site that might indicate natural or essential oils used as fragrance instead of synthetic (ingredient labels have certain requirements and lump all “fragrance” under the same label.) While they do have a very thorough rundown of the ingredients, fragrance is not specifically addressed in any of the main sections that would or could normally address this. Thus I’m going to have to assume it is in fact a synthetic fragrance. That said, there are some other ingredients that are “harmful” according to EWG that are included because this is in fact an exfoliating peel. A peel SHOULD take off some layers on purpose but because of some of the ingredients, it gets a higher score even though I would still consider this a fairly healthy product. It ranks a 5 with the skin deep cosmetics database. This is why I always take the EWG scores with a grain of salt. I’m going to give this one a shot … after sniffing it to make sure the scent isn’t going to trigger my sinus allergies of course.

ModelCo BLUSH Cheek Powder in Peach Bellini – no cones, no fragrance, no parabens. But it does have paraffin and talc … neither of which feels right on my skin anymore for some reason. BUT this ranks pretty well with the cosmetics database at a 3. So although I probably won’t be trying this, it is healthy. Also another reason I typically don’t jump for joy over blush is that I have naturally rosy cheeks so I tend to stick with bronzer. Blushes tend to make me look a little …. overdone or clown-like and that’s not even about the quality or shade but my own skin. It IS however a really nice shade so if blush is your thing you might want to give this one a shot.

“Pencil Me In” Cosmetics Natural Eye Liner Pencil in Amethyst (purple) – no cones, no fragrances, no parabens, everything is looking good. But apparently vitamin A brings this one’s score down – it ranks a 4 with the skin deep cosmetics database. This is yet another score I’m going to take a grain of salt. I’m going to try this product especially since I don’t think purple is going to be a shade I wear daily.

And the bag this month is super cute. 🙂

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December 23, 2014

Birchbox unboxing December 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Vasanti Kajal Extreme Intense Eye Pencil in rose gold – die dimethicone die! Why must you make my face break out? And yes this is an eyeliner and my eyes don’t break out but I can smear or the process of taking makeup off … yeah. Annoying. Because otherwise this isn’t that unhealthy and the color is gorgeous. It’s a 3 with the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.

Mirenesse iCurl Secret Weapon 24 Hour Mascara – more cones … and it’s not waterproof but it’s healthy. It ranks a 2 with the cosmetics database. And good reviews so you might want to try this.
ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 3 JUARA Turmeric Antioxidant Radiance Mask – 3 for 3 for me here with dimethicone again and my own personal problems with that. Not too bad on the rest though. This is a 3 with the cosmetics database. 3 for 3 is a 3! Hehe … SMH… nevermind.
W3LL PEOPLE Bio Brightener Stick – I believe I chose this one because of the healthy ingredients. It gets knocked down a notch unnecessarily for “unspecified oils” because of the essential oil blend. Granted it annoys me a little to not have a full list for allergy related reasons but it’s not enough to worry me with this brand. This ranks a surprising 4 with the cosmetics database. This is one of those “take it with a grain of salt and review the full report” situations in my opinion though.

ewg-skindeep-cosmetics-database-score-unknown Davines Replumping Shampoo & Conditioner – So the ingredient list on Birchbox for both is not accurate. There’s WAY more than “Essential petit grain oil, plum phytoceutical, gentle surfactants” in each of these. And I just don’t have the patience at the moment to type out the ingredient list for both of these at the moment. The bad: fragrance. The good: no cones, no parabens and nothing else that looks too bad. I’ve been wrong before but I think this would be pretty healthy and I do want to try it.

Davines Replumping Superactive – I couldn’t identify 2 of the ingredients but even so this ranks a 5 with the cosmetics database without those. Cones rules this one out for me but it’s also not very healthy.

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December 23, 2014

Ipsy Glambag unboxing December 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Beauty Without Cruelty A.H.A. 3% Facial Cleanser – No cones, no parabens, no fragrance. This is actually a fairly healthy product. It ranks a 3 with the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. I believe that the reason it is this high has to do with the acids that help turn over skin cells. Like a lighter version of a chemical peel, these may also cause skin irritation for those with certain skin sensitivities. But there are essential oils that should help calm and alleviate some of the irritation. Glycolic acid is in fact something that typically does good things for my skin. I haven’t used glycolic acids in awhile though due to the fragrances and other unhealthy ingredients in most of the products that contain it. I look forward to trying this.

CAILYN Cosmetics Just Mineral Eye Polish – with only three ingredients, this is a healthy 1 with the cosmetics database. This is one of those products that could be wonderful or it could have no staying power. It may also flake out which is what I had happen with some of the Jessi’s Girl eyeshadow pigments. Despite being named “orchid” it’s more of a neutral shade the reminds me of champagne with just a touch of ballet slipper pink. Point shoe … thats the color it reminds me of…

NYX Cosmetics Butter Lip Balm – dimethicone (makes me break out), fragrance, petrolatum. This is a cheap and cheaply made product and is a 5 with the cosmetics database. I won’t be trying it. The four colors they sent out are very appealing shades however.

Sexy Hair 450° Blow Out Heat Defense Blow Dry Spray Mini – Cones fragrance and this is an unhealthy 6 with the cosmetics database. Why is it so hard to find healthy and effective hair sprays? Particularly in drugstore products … even if they are higher end drugstore products.

tarte deluxe lights, camera, lashes™ 4-in-1 mascara – why does no one ever send waterproof mascaras? Aside from that, this is pretty good for a mascara. Just not great and there are better. No cones or fragrances or parabens and it’s a 4 with the cosmetics database.

November 29, 2014

Ipsy Glambag November 2014 unboxing & EWG scores

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Be A Bombshell Cosmetics Eye Base in the shade “Submissive” – no cones, no fragrance but parabens. This is a 4 with the EWG Skin Deep cosmetics database. If they were to find a healthier preservative this would be a really healthy product. I’m probably going to give this a shot just because that is the only thing in it that’s bad. Buuuuuttt … it has mineral oil in it … this not only doesn’t feel right on my skin but on my eyelids means it will probably crease badly. Meh. Anyone try this? Is it worth the effort or am I going to have an eyelid mess by the end of the day?

Elizabeth Mott you’re so FINE Eyeliner – no cones, no fragrance but parabens. Aluminium powder… hmmm… and this has some other unhealthy ingredients. This ranks an unhealthy 8 with EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics database.

Marc Anthony Oil of Morocco Argan Oil Volume Shine Hairspray – no cones, no parabens, but fragrance. And then some other unhealthy ingredients and it’s a spray so you’re more likely to breathe them in. This ranks an unhealthy 7 with EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics database.

tarte deluxe maracuja oil – two ingredients, nothing bad. They say “Not all oil is created equal” and I’m excited to try this hydrating skin oil. It’s high in omeg-3 fatty acids. This ranks a super healthy 0 with EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics database.

Wet n Wild MegaSlicks Balm Stain in shade “Lady & The Vamp”– no cones, no parabens, no fragrance but mineral oil. This is actually not that unhealthy. This ranks a not-so-bad 3 with EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics database. But mineral oil makes my skin feel weird so I tend to avoid it.

November 29, 2014

Birchbox November 2014 unboxing & ewg scores

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Chuao Chocolatier Assorted ChocoPod – it’s chocolate and I really like this brand. Nice extra. I got the Maple Bacon … mmmmm bacon…. 🙂

DevaCurl 3-Step System – This is a three part product so I’m going to review each piece separately. No cones, no parabens but there is fragrance added to these and there’s no indication that it’s from essential oils.

No-Poo™ – Cleanse: The ingredients don’t match the current EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics database listing for this so I went ahead and did a custom report. It’s still a healthy 2 with the custom report. Good news here and there’s no fragrance or other nasties.

One Condition – Hydrate: This is a not-so-bad 4 with EWG’s Skin Deep Costmetics Database. So we’re still hanging in there with the ratings. Since this is a system I think I should try the whole thing to really judge it. I really wish I could easily open these and check out scent and consistency without needing to use them immediately…

Light Defining Gel – Define: Again with a not-so-bad rating of 4 with EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. I think if DevaCurl would lose the synthetic fragrances this would be even better.

My last comment on the DevaCurl system is that while it’s a great sample to be one sample in my Birchbox, I wish it had come in mini bottles instead of packets you tear open. It’s always frustratingly difficult to keep samples like this if they are more than one use. Also I kinda wanted to sniff them and have Tim sniff them to make sure it wasn’t a scent either of us was outright allergic to and since you have to cut them open I can’t just twist off a top to check.

Gilchrist & Soames Spa Therapy Body Lotion in “Relaxing Sea Fennel” – no parabens, phthalates, petrol-derived ingredients, mineral oil, urea, DEA, TEA or propylene glycol. But I can’t find the actual ingredient list anywhere online. So I’m going to type them up:

Ingredients: water, cetearyl alcohol, cocos nucifera oil, glycerine, ceteareth 20, helianthus annuus seed oil, parfum/fragrance, macrocystis pyrifera extract, chondrus crispus extract, crithmum maritimum extract, fucus vesiculosus extract, ulva lactuca extract, citric acid, dimethicone, glyceryl dilaurate, stearic acid, benzyl alcohol, dehydroacetic acid, acrylates/C10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer, sodium hydroxide, tocopheryl acetate, alpha-isomethyl lonone, benzyl salicylate, butylphenyl methylpropional (lilial), citronellol, eugenol, hexyl cinnamal, limonene, linalool

So this has dimethicone in it which I can’t use. It’s not the worst product though as it ranks a 4 with the EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database.

theBalm® cosmetics Cindy-Lou Manizer® – this has dimethicone in it which makes me break out so this is a no go for me personally. Otherwise it’s fairly healthy. It ranks a 3 with the cosmetics database. It looks like it’s a nice color and should work well as a highlighter OR if you don’t like highlighters I would recommend trying it as an eyeshadow.

Not Soap, Radio Body Wash – fragrance and synthetic colors. I don’t think that synthetic colors in soap is really necessary. Actually the color is the only way I was able to tell which one I received. Since it’s yellow I received “Joy Inducing” Lemon + Sugar. Or to complicate things further, it’s “Pheonix” in the ingredients lists listed on Birchbox.com and “Bergamia (Bergamot) Fruit Oil” is not listed on the back of the bottle (I wish they would stop making me work so hard on these ingredients!) It’s a 4 with EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.

Royal Apothic Cuppa Cuppa Firming Tea Treatment Mask – no obvious nasties except for fragrance. Then Phenoxyethanol is a preservative used in cosmetics and personal care products and it’s not great either. If they would work on these then it would probably be perfect. It’s low enough that if it doesn’t make my nose itch though that I will be trying this. It’s a 4 with the cosmetics database.

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October 18, 2014

Ipsy Glambag October 2014 unboxing & EWG scores

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

Figs & Rouge Hand Cream in Mango Mandarin. So this is petroleum free, paraben and mineral oil free and all natural ingredients. Well that last one is a little fib because in my research carbomer is one of the few unnatural (but harmless) ingredients in many natural products. So the EWG score I’m going to cut some slack … because the fragrance in this instance is from natural ingredients. Soooo with the assumption that this is synthetic fragrances EWG scores it a 7. But if you assume as they say on the website that the fragrance is from natural ingredients then the score would be more realistically at … a 6? This still seems awfully high for the ingredient list. Bah. I don’t know … I’m thinking about trying it on my feet despite the score.

H2O+ Face Oasis™ Hydrating Treatment cones (rules this one out for me because cones break my skin out) but it’s the parabens and the synthetic fragrance that has me thinking this isn’t a healthy product anyway. Yup that would be an unhealthy 10 with the EWG skin deep cosmetics database.

NYC New York Color Big Bold Curl Mascara not waterproof is a deal breaker for me. Especially since I’ve found some good waterproof and healthy mascaras. So I’ll just check out the score for those interested here. 6 from the EWG skin deep cosmetics database. Could be healthier, could be worse.

Skyn Iceland Mini Glacial Cleansing Cloths I’m rather ambivalent on this – I don’t know that I really need a facial cloth, especially one with added fragrance. So this ranks a 5 with EWG’s cosmetics database.

Starlooks Lip Gloss in guilty pleasure – mineral oil and parabens … pass. Even thought this isn’t super toxic at a 5 it’s also not very healthy either.