eyeliner

October 17, 2014

Birchbox October 2014 unboxing & ewg scores

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

Lord & Berry Paillettes Eye Pencil soooooo this was the item I picked out this month and somehow it wasn’t in my box. I posted a photo on instagram and did contact Birchbox customer service and they’re shipping one out to me but it will be 10 days before I might get it. So without having it in hand to review let’s look at why I chose it. It doesn’t have cones (I break out with cones) and some of the other nasties I normally see. However I missed the parabens when I was checking this out and choosing it. So lets see how this scores with 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 database scores it. OUCH. Wow. I did horribly in picking this out. It’s a solid 10 from the cosmetics database. On a scale from 0 to 10 with 0 being the healthiest. UGHHH! And I thought this was going to be maybe a 4 based on skimming through the ingredient list and was the product I was most looking forward to trying!

Harvey Prince Petaly Noir – nope. Just no. No synthetic fragrances for me. Worse, I can smell the Harvey Prince perfumes just by opening the box and they typically give me a headache without opening them. I REALLY really hope that Birchbox will give us the option to opt out of perfumes. I particularly dislike the Harvey Prince products they have been on a roll with sending me each month too. September I complained about this. August same complaint. You aren’t going to win me over. Headaches just make me mean. Stop it. Pretty please?

ModelCo Party Proof Lipstick in Kitty – well another I had high hopes for but it fails. No cones but there’s fragrance. Also one of the ingredients that isn’t harmful I tend to avoid and that’s mineral oil. So with the EWG cosmetics database rating of a 9 I don’t think I’ll be trying this one. Do you know how much lipstick/lipgloss you accidentally eat? Ew.

BeeKind™ Body Lotion – The website claims “The BeeKind™ Collection features Gilchrist & Soames’ Signature formulations, which contain no parabens, phthalates, petrol-derived ingredients, mineral oil, urea, DEA, TEA or propylene glycol.” The bad news for me is that it has dimethicone in it which rules it out for me. Since I couldn’t find the ingredient list online I typed it up from the back of the sample:

INGREDIENTS: water; ceteryl alcohol; cocos nucifera oil; glycerine; ceteareth 20; helianthus annuus seed oil; parfum; dimethicone; honey; trifolium pratense flower extract; calendula officinalis flower extract; chamomile recutita flower extract; Cymbopogon schoenanthus exctract; citric acid; glyceryl dilaurate; steric acid; benzyl alcohol; dehydroacetic acid; acrylates/ c10-30 alkyl acrylate crosspolymer; sodium hydroxide; tocopheryl acetate; citral; citronellol; geraniol; hexyl cinnamal; limonene; linalool

If they dropped the added fragrance that would do a lot to make this a healthier product. Despite all of the things it doesn’t have in it, it’s a 4 with the skin deep database. This is not terrible but it’s also not as healthy as they might be leading you to believe.

dr. brandt® Exclusive Clean Up Nice Kit – This is actually just “pores no more cleanser” as the sample. Paraben, paraben, paraben. If they just went with a healthier preservative this would be a healthier overall product. As it is right now it’s a 6 with the ewg cosmetics database.

So I’m a little underwhelmed with the products in this month’s box. Since Birchbox started giving us a choice of one product in our boxes I can’t believe I picked something that unhealthy out of what was available (and I can’t remember what the other options were.) Anyway…

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September 19, 2014

Ipsy glambag September 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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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August 16, 2014

Ipsy Glambag August 2014 unboxing

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Subscription boxes

Glamglow Youthmud® Tinglexfoliate Treatment – eeee it’s a 5 with ewg’s cosmetics database. The big negative is the fragrance. I’m not sure yet if I’m going to try this one or not. It’s right there on the edge. A bit higher than I would like on the ratings but for using maybe once or twice I might consider it. I like a good mask…

Urban Decay Perversion Mascara not waterproof or even water resistant. Therefor not my cup of tea. BUT it is a healthy 2 with the ewg skin deep cosmetics database so it does have that going for it. I just have now found some healthy AND waterproof mascara so I’m not even really interested in trying anything that isn’t waterproof.

Jersey Shore Sun Mongongo Lip Conditioner Uber healthy ingredients and ranks a 1 with the cosmetics database. No cones, no synthetic fragrances. Basically a healthy chapstick, no color. Plain, simple, healthy. Should be great for winter or for after the pool where the chlorine dries out my lips some.

Lord & Berry Silk Kajal Kohl Eye Pencil no cones, no fragrances but it does have parabens. This is the most unhealthy product I think I’ve been sent in awhile, ranking an 8. It is also the smallest black eyeliner sample I’ve seen. I went to check the price just to see if there was some reason the sample was so small but their online store is offline. So if you want to take advantage of the ipsy discount promo code right now you can’t.

Manna Kadar Cosmetics Sheer Glo dimethicone rules this one out for me. It also uses parabens. It also ranks an unhealthy 6. This looks pretty similar to the e.l.f. Essential Shimmering Facial Whip but at $30 a bottle instead of $1. I will admit that since I’m not going to try this one there’s a chance that it may actually have more staying power than the elf product since the ingredients aren’t an exact match so it may be worth the money.

Given the other products that people were sent this month, I don’t think there were really better options. The few things that looked like I might be interested were ruled out by cones for me.

So some good chapstick. A little underwhelmed this month. But it does also come with a cute polka dot tube shaped makeup bag. 🙂

July 22, 2014

August 2014 Birchbox sample choice –
how they stack up based on ingredients

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Makeup / Cosmetics, Subscription boxes

I was impressed last month when Birchbox gave us a choice of colors on the nail polishes we received. They decided to extend that this month and let us again have a choice on one of the sample items in our boxes but this time it’s bigger than just the color. This time they’re going to let us choose between four products.

So I thought I would go ahead and do 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 database reports for each of these products now in case anyone wanted factor how healthy they are into their decision making.

* * * * SPOILER ALERT * * * *

ModelCo Bronzer (full size retails for $22.00) Keeping in mind that they often send sample sizes, this one would still be the most expensive to try on your own. This IS free of cones, parabens, and fragrance and other nasties and it ranks a healthy 2 with the cosmetics database.

Laura Geller Beauty Cool Lids Cream Eyeshadow (full size retails for $19) color me impressed. This is another healthy item at 2 out of 2 ranking a 2 with the cosmetic database. This is a shimmery cream eyeshadow in “silver sands.”

theBalm® cosmetics Stainiac (full size retails for $17.00) this is one of those products that many many people fall in love with that I just wasn’t personally enamored with it. I’ve had this as a sample before and I just didn’t use it. It’s a dual purpose stain and I stick with bronzers for my cheeks so that might be part of it. But it’s a top seller so…

The link in the cosmetics database may be missing some of the ingredients or might be using an older ingredient list so I decided to do a custom report. It does contain fragrance and parabens and but it ranks somewhere between a 3 (using the report above) or a 5 based on the custom report I did using the ingredient list off of the nordstrom website. The ingredient list wasn’t available though birchbox’s website nor through theBalm site. I didn’t want to go dig out my sample because it may actually be old and might not have the current ingredients either… so it’s somewhere between a 3 and a 5.

Noir Long-Wear Eyeliner (full size retails for $15.00) I actually already own this. It’s a good black eyeliner pencil but I’ve found I’m the weird one who can apply a gel liner faster and better than most pencil liners so I prefer those most of the time. So although I don’t need a backup of this, I’ve kept this one around because it’s a good black pencil liner and it’s a super healthy 1 with the cosmetics database.

So I own the last two already. And the first two are a tie when it comes to the ingredient ratings… Surprisingly all of the options are good choices when it comes to the ingredients (theBalm’s stainiac is the only iffy one and it still isn’t horrendous.)
… Decisions decisions….
Which one do you think you’ll choose? 🙂

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* * * * UPDATE – even more choices! * * * *

Screen Shot 2014-07-24 at 1.17.38 PM

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.)

Still not signed up for Birchbox?

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June 12, 2014

Ipsy Glambag June 2014

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Be A Bombshell Lash Out Mascara – parabens, no cones (an ingredient that rules out makeup for me personally), but it’s not waterproof. Mascara as I’ve said before I will accept a little less healthy for the waterproof tradeoff. This is a 4 with the skin deep cosmetics database (reminder: low numbers are healthier! with 10 being the worst.)

DERMAdoctor DD Cream Dermatologically Defining BB Cream with Broad Spectrum SPF 30 – cones rule this one out for me. Ingredients aren’t too bad though with the skin deep consmetics database ranking it a 4.

Marc Anthony Dream Waves Beach Spray – no cones, but it has added fragrance. This ranks a 5 with the cosmetics database … and would rank lower if they hadn’t added the fragrance. I’m debating giving it a try anyway since I’m curious how it compares to the old discontinued John Frieda Beach Blonde Ocean Waves.

Nicka K New York Shimmer Eyeliner – cones rule this one out for me. It’s fairly healthy though since it ranks a 3 with the cosmetics database.

NYX Butter Gloss in Eclair – no cones but it has added fragrance. I’ll probably give it a shot since it’s only a 4 with the cosmetics database. It would be MUCH healthier if they hadn’t added the fragrance though.

(And a very cute patterned Rebecca Minkoff cosmetics bag!)