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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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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August 18, 2015

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

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

My Birchbox August 2015 and EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database scores for each of the products

St. Tropez Gradual Tan In Shower Lotion – no dimethicone (a personal issue) but it does have fragrance added. Which appears to be the worst thing in this. Overall score is a 5 with the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database score. It could be better but really as I said the worst thing is the fragrance. There are a couple of other things they could probably swap for something more natural for it to be healthier but this is probably one of the better tanning lotions score-wise … and from what I hear, it’s one of the better self tanners color-wise so I MAY give it a shot even though the score is a little higher than I would like. The scent will probably be the determining factor here for me. Things that cause me (or Tim if it doesn’t wash off) problems scent wise end up a no-go. I kinda like the form factor – that it’s a gradual shower lotion instead of something that you have to carefully put on, let dry and then wash your hands immediately.

dr. brandt® microdermabrasion skin exfoliant – fragrance, parabens, and a couple of other things that aren’t so healthy. No cones though. This ends up a 6 with the EWG skin deep cosmetics database. It’s the ingredients and not the score that’s going to keep me from trying this one.

OPI Venice Collection Amore at the Grand Canal – so instead of a score I’m going to check and see if it’s “5-free.” Does it any of the following:

formaldehyde – not in here
dibutyl phthalate – not in here
toluene – not in here
camphor – not in here
formaldehyde resin – not in here

For the heck of it I also ran an EWG report on this too … I don’t think I’ve ever run one on a nail polish. It came out a surprising 2!

This is a really nice rich red. The photo on the birchbox site does not do it justice. I think it will make a really nice fall color.

Rene Furterer LISSEA Leave-in Smoothing Fluid – this one I think I can smell through the container. The fragrance in this one makes it a no-go for me along with the dimethicone. It’s also not really that healthy coming in at a 5.

LAQA & Co. in Humble Brag – no cones, no parfum, no parabens, we may have a winner! BHT seems to be the worst ingredient here but the overall score here is a 2. So winner winner chicken dinner. 🙂

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July 22, 2015

Swatch & Review – Stila look at me liquid lipstick in Bella

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics

Stila look at me liquid lipstick in Bella (swatched below) is a matte neon lipstick that’s part of the stila’s stay all day liquid lipstick line. And although I didn’t wear this one all day … yet, this neon matte lipstick seems like it will have some staying power. I ended up using coconut oil to get it back off both my lips and my hand.

Swatch - Stila look at me liquid lipstick in Bella

Stila look at me liquid lipstick in Bella – Neon Matte madness!

Stila look at me liquid lipstick in Bella neon pink not so sure

I’m on the fence about this. I am kinda in love with the color … but I also feel like I look a bit freaky with it on. And I don’t wear a vibrant or deep lipstick … ever. I recently posted the EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. Skin Deep Cosmetics score on my Birchbox July post and it’s a little less healthy than I would normally go with but I don’t know of any natural equivalent to this. And this is not the type of color most people would wear daily!

I do think this would be pool proof and waterproof…. it does . not . budge . once it’s dry. Which is nice because one of the reasons I don’t wear a lot of dark or vibrant lipsticks is because they do smudge or come off on my teeth. This does not.

But that means you also have to be careful putting it on. You should use the wand to get the shape you want on both top and bottom lips, don’t press your lips together because that can make it look weird. Just apply and let it dry. I have no idea what lip liner you could even begin to use with this so apply carefully because Unevenness WILL show … you can kinda see that in the image below:

Swatch on lips - Stila look at me liquid lipstick in Bella

Final review of the Stila look at me liquid lipstick in Bella

I’m eyeing the other colors even though I’m not even sure that I will wear this one! The matte neon is very appealing to me. I don’t know why but it is. The fact that it stays put and also comes in a lipgloss tube is also appealing. I’m so torn!!!

July 21, 2015

Birchbox July 2015 and EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database Scores

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Subscription boxes

stila look at me liquid lipstick in bella – I thought this was one with dimethicone in it but in looking at the Birchbox listing, it isn’t (cones rule things out for me – allergy-like issue.) It does have parabens though. This MAY fall into a category of “unhealthy but use once in a blue moon” because the color just pops and is fun. Actually it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. It’s not healthy but it’s a 5. Right in the middle. Mostly because of Propylparaben. I think I may give this one a shot here. Just for those times when I want a super vibrant neon pink lip. 🙂

Juice Beauty® GREEN APPLE™ Peel Sensitive – I’m half and half on Juice Beauty products. Although most are SUPER healthy, I have found that only about half of them seem effective on me in doing what they claim. Juice Beauty’s oil-free moisturizer was one I used until I came across the Derma that trumped it. With that in mind, the ingredients here look good. It’s going to get docked some points with EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. for Vit A and maybe a few things that would make this a good peel … but it’s a PEEL. Yup right about where I expected it to be – it’s a 5 with Vit A causing a lot of that. Look over the ingredients and decide for yourself. I’m going to give this a try.

Keep in mind that with peels you don’t want to use them and then say go to the pool for a couple of hours. I like to use peels and exfoliators at night so I can apply some heavier moisturizers and give my face some time to heal.

Macadamia Professional™ Weightless Moisture Leave-In Conditioning Mist – Cones rule this one out for me personally but there are a lot of long ingredients in here that are throwing up warning flags as well. There is fragrance but no parabens. Let’s see what other ingredients get called out and why…. right off the bat “POLYQUATERIUM-37” doesn’t match anything. No obvious alternative name so going from there. Ah yes … an ingredient I’m starting to see more because people have become aware of parabens. Companies are choosing other preservatives that can be just as bad. In this case: METHYLISOTHIAZOLINONE So this ranks a 6 with the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics database.

Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Liquid – so not a “cone” by name but dimethiconol is a silicone polymer which rules this one out for me personally (personal issue with cones.) Two other ingredients were clearly misread by OCR “crosspolyrner” should be “crosspolymer” for example. Yet again with that tricky paraben preservative replacement – Methylisothiazolinone … what a mouthful. This ends up ranking a surprising 6 with the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics database.

English Laundry Eau de Parfum No. 7 for Her – synthetic fragrance. Headache and itchy nose without even opening it. Seriously I need them to realize that this HURTS me and makes me think each month I get a fragrance about quitting. And I would readily accept having one less product in my box if it meant not having to be exposed to synthetic fragrance samples that affect my allergies. And if you think “how do you live with people around you who use these products” to which I say “there’s a reason I don’t live in NYC or some of the other major cities.” And yes I have left places when someone’s perfume was overwhelming. Fragrance is an unhealthy 8. PRETTY PRETTY PLEASE BIRCHBOX GIVE ME A WAY TO OPT OUT OF FRAGRANCE SAMPLES! I know I may still get a scented shower gel I can’t handle but I would at least like to stop getting little vials of insta-headaches. PLEASE!!!

Stila in Bella below:

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July 21, 2015

Ipsy Glambag July 2015 and EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database Scores

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Ipsy Glambag July 2015 and EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database Scores via ClothingCult.com

Jelly Pong Pong Cosmetics 2-in-1 Shadow/Liner – no cones (cones rule things out for me personally – allergy maybe), no fragrance but it does use petrolatum, parabens and BHT. This is a 5 with the skin deep cosmetics database.

Crown Brush Professional Tweezers – nice! these seem pretty solid. We’ll see how they wear over time.

Octavio Molina Hair La Playa Salt Spray – fragrance/parfum. Sigh. So I’ll have to see if I can handle the scent. Can’t tell on this one without opening it which is a good sign. No parabens, no cones, nothing else that leaps out. Oh wait – a second frangrance hiding here. “Hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde” isn’t found by EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. by that name but is actually commonly known as “Lyral” – just noting it because I had to change it out in the ingredients to run the report. And another sigh – FD&C colors that are really unnecessary. So EWG gives this a 5. Not the worst, not the best. I think I may pass since I can make a healthier version of sea salt spray if I want it.

tarte deluxe Amazonian clay waterproof bronzer – dimethicone rules this one out for me personally – bah bronzers are one of my favorite things. None of the ingredients leap out as bad ingredients. No parabens, no fragrances etc. There are a couple that I can’t place though which is part of why I run them through the EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database – to learn more. This is a healthy 2 which makes it even more sad that I can’t try it! Ugh. Why must my skin react so badly to cones???

Vasanti Cosmetics Brighen Up! Exfoliating Cleanser – This one has killer perfume. I’ve received other things from this company before in either Ipsy or Birchbox and it gave me a headache then and it’s giving me a headache now. I can smell it without opening it which is the most annoying part about these things. The rest of the ingredient list looks sound though so if they were to drop the scent I might actually use it. This is a 5 and since fragrance is still the worst thing in here, if they were to drop that it would lower the score and I would try it. For now though it’s out of the question. I’m not using products that give me an obvious headache and I limit those that use synthetic fragrances as well just because they seem to over time have an effect on me.

July 21, 2015

Birchbox June 2015 and EWG Skin Deep Cosmetics Database Scores

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Skin Care, Subscription boxes

I’m a little behind on posting this – oops…

Marcelle Mini Waterproof Eyeliner – Ok I’m not believing the ingredient list on Birchbox. “C11-12 Isoparaffin. May contain: Ferric ferrocyanide, carmine” is not the full list of ingredients. The ingredients are printed on the side and it’s a much longer list. Tiny print but longer. I don’t see any cones, fragrance or parabens at a glance so I may try this but it also might be awhile before I type it all in to get a score.

TOCCA Eau de Parfum, Bianca – Fragrance, synthetic fragrance. Just a NO.

Dr. Jart+ Dermaclear™ Micro Water – I see nothing here that’s bad which is why this was my choice of product for this month’s box. That said, let’s see if EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. brings any other ingredients to my attention. “GALACTOMYCES FERMENT FILTRATE” is “natural yeast extract” but I still couldn’t get EWG to recognize that ingredient. It shows up as a healthy 2 however. I picked well. 🙂

ewg-skindeep-cosmetics-database-score-unknown

Kérastase Masque Chroma Captive – Treat – cones rule this one out for me. Lack of online ingredients for me to copy and paste rule out me bothering to look up what the EWG score is at the moment.

COOLA® SPF 50 Sport – Mango – Fragrance is the biggest downside to this. Coola is actually one of my preferred SPF options but I go for the unscented version. This ends up being a 6 with the fragrance. Without fragrance it would be a 4. Some of their other products rate a little bit better even then. This is still probably one of the healthier sunscreens out there. So much of it is super toxic.

Then add in the number that are now aerosol so you’re breathing it in as well (I know your kids are impatient and you feel the need to hose them down before they jump in the pool but please stop hosing down the rest of us.) Rant for another day…. 🙂

Pura Vida Lace Headband Set – My head is not the right shape for elastic headbands. Even one with a grippy backside won’t stay in place more than a few seconds on me. HOWEVER I think that I can cut this and turn it into some hair ties.

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