Tag

Microdermabrasion

April 13, 2014

Ipsy Glambag April 2014

Ipsy Glambag April 2014

Cailyn Tinted Lip Balm

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 2Cones rule this one out for me personally. Otherwise though it ranks a 2 with the cosmetics database so it’s not unhealthy for you.

Urban Decay 24/7 Velvet Glide-On Eye Pencil Travel Size

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 1dimethicone is the first ingredient. Again this is natural but cones have without a doubt caused major acne breakouts for me. Again another one that ranks well with the cosmetics database that I just can’t use. This one ranks a 1.

Demeter Jasmine Perfume Oil Roll On

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 3From the Demeter website: “…some Demeter Classic fragrances are all natural, we do use some synthetic ingredients in most Classic fragrances. Generally speaking, the ingredients in our fragrances are at least 95% derived from natural and sustainable sources, and we use no artificial color or Phthalates or parabens.” Since synthetic fragrances rank poorly when it comes to your health, 5% is still not natural enough for me for a fragrance. They do have a small natural fragrance line that they say “Demeter Naturals fragrances are completely natural.” But I also know that they are allowed to put things into products in very small quantity without adding it to the label so I think I would rather go with some essential oils than trust a brand that primarily makes a synthetic fragrance line. The Jasmine Perfume Roll on is NOT part of the naturals line. It does only rank a 3 though which is below my usual threshold for trying something … torn on this. The only purpose is scent and it’s synthetic…

dr. brandt® microdermabrasion

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 6no cones, no parabens, no phthalates, etc etc. It does have synthetic fragrance added though. The current skin deep cosmetics database report ranks it a 6 HOWEVER the ingredients on that report are wrong and don’t match the current product ingredients. So I did a custom report and it ranks a … 6 still. Oh well. This is higher than I want to go on a product that scrubs skin off my face. Particularly with the synthetic fragrance added.

Elizabeth Mott pop! goes the shadow in champagne

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 1Cones again rule this one out for me but it ranks well and is only a 1 with the skin deep cosmetics database.

 

So this month was a bit of a bust in my opinion on the Ipsy bag for me. Nothing I can use but there are some good products in here nonetheless.

Ipsy Glambag April 2014

 

I looked at the other products that people were sent and there wasn’t anything I was too excited about.

Ipsy Glambag April 2014 did not receive

I would have loved another Coastal Scents eyeshadow brush simply because I love the one I have. I haven’t bought another because of the shipping is more than the brush. The Classic Shadow Medium Natural brush is only $2.49… heck I’m just going to go ahead and buy a couple more since my other eyeshadow brushes have seen better days and it’s currently 25% off. Oh and my other problem is that I look at their other brushes and want to try them and before I know it I have 20 other brushes in my cart when I just thought I was going to go buy one… 🙂

 


Sign up for Ipsy: 
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http://www.ipsy.com/?refer=u-h051sec1kqq5g8p
{affiliate link – I get 250 points which points equal products but it’s still a little unclear how many points to the dollar}

 

July 17, 2013

July 2013 Birchbox vs Ipsy

Unboxing video for both the July Birchbox as well as the July Ipsy:

In my July 2013 Birchbox:

  • Marcelle BB Cream Golden Glow – perfume free is a pro on this one … but there are two forms of dimethicone in this. Some good ingredients in this and some ingredients I recognize to not be so healthy. I can’t find the ingredient list online to copy and paste and it’s rather lengthy so I’m not going to run it through the cosmetic database for a score (it’s not in there without the custom report.)  staremptystaremptystaremptystaremptystarempty 0/5 stars
  • Dr. Jart+ Ceramidin Cream – I don’t know how accurate or current this ingredient list is but it does say there is dimethicone which rules it out for me personally. There are too many ingredients here for me to type it all into the cosmetic database for you to check the score to see if it is otherwise healthy for you. Generally it doesn’t look too bad but for me this is a  staremptystaremptystaremptystaremptystarempty 0/5 stars  (Can more companies or Birchbox start posting full ingredient lists online in a way that’s more accessible? This gets frustrating even outside of Birchbox at times.)
  • Beauty Protector Protect & Shampoo – fragrance and two types of dimethicone. Custom cosmetics database report on the ingredients brings it up as a 6 which is not exactly healthy either. staremptystaremptystaremptystaremptystarempty 0/5 stars
  • Beauty Protector Protect & Condition –  fragrance and  dimethicone. Custom cosmetics database report on the ingredients brings it up as a 5 so again not exactly healthy either. staremptystaremptystaremptystaremptystarempty 0/5 stars
  • FRAIS™ Towelettes Individualsamazing ingredients but I think this has to be one of the most expensive per use products to date. Cosmetics database ranks it a 2 which is excellent and there are a lot of healthy oils and other ingredients in this AND it’s supposed to remove waterproof mascara. However most makeup remover, moisturizing facial towelettes come in packages of 30 for between $6-$10 (so at most about $0.33 each.) This is $8 for a package of 7 towelettes! ($1.42 per use!) Since it’s individual packets I do think this might be good for travel but … I just can’t see using this regularly. Then again Birchbox hooked me on the LA Fresh nail polish removers for $0.50 a pop when regular bottles of nailpolish removers are only a couple of dollars and last an untold number of uses. So we shall see. Since I haven’t docked any others for price I’m going to leave this at starstarstarstar 5/5 stars

In my July 2013 Ipsy:My July 2013 Ipsy bag - cute hot pink!

  • POP Beauty – Pouty Pop Crayon in Coral Crush – No dimeticone but it does use fragrance and petrolatum and mineral oil. A custom cosmetics database report brings it up as a 4. Between that and the fact it doesn’t have dimethicone I’m going to give it a try. It’s not super healthy but it’s … ok. If the manufacturer would skip the fragrance it would bring it’s score down quite a bit and be healthier even though it still would still not count as a natural product. I have tried this on and the shade is a little odd on me … I’m still undecided on it. starstarstarstaremptystarempty 3/5 stars
  • BH Cosmetics California Collection Eyeshadow Sample – mineral oil, talc, parabens. Meh moving on. I know I don’t want to use it. staremptystaremptystaremptystaremptystarempty 0/5 stars
  • COOLA Mineral Face SPF 20 Unscented Moisturizer –  I checked out this company’s full line back when I received the COOLA Classic SPF 30 Cucumber Moisturizer for Face back in the May Birchbox and pretty much everything looked awesome. So good in fact that I bought the unscented sport sunblock already but had been hoping to try the unscented face spf at some point. Scents right on your face can get a little old quickly if you aren’t in love with them and I wanted to see if this was something that worked better for say somewhere you might be out all day that isn’t the beach. starstarstarstarstar 5/5 stars
  • Sexy Hair – Weather Proof Humidity Resistant Spray – at first glance I thought “well it’s only the fragrance I’m annoyed about. Then I ran it through a custom report 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 cosmetic database and ended up with a 10 … TEN out of ten for highly hazardous ingredients. Bah! Ten is the worst possible score! But no dimethicone in this one… ugh. staremptystaremptystaremptystaremptystarempty 0/5 stars
  • derma e – Microdermabrasion Scrub – 100% vegan, cruelty-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, mineral oil-free, glycol-free, lanolin-free, gluten free, GMO-free. No dimethicone or synthetic fragrance either (it does have a natural scent to it that smells fairly lemony.) And it ranks a measly 2 with the cosmetic database so this is a winner for being a healthy product and I look forward to trying it. Fingers crossed! starstarstarstarstar 5/5 stars

Birchbox 05/25 stars = 0.2 stars total staremptystaremptystaremptystaremptystarempty
Ipsy 13/25 stars = 1.92 stars total starstarstaremptystaremptystarempty

If I had to choose between the two boxes, month after month Ipsy has been winning hands down for me personally. It’s just those occasional gems and finding out about new brands along with Birchbox’s points system…. and well basically all the things I wrote about in this post that’s keeping me with Birchbox. It is what it is. 🙂

Hilary's July Birchbox vs Ipsy review and video

PS – my fun and funky straw fedora came from Kohl’s. Since Birchbox mentioned Power Plays being “A move that puts an individual in a position of victory and strength and/or maximizes one’s happiness or confidence and allows for extreme freedom”… I would have to say this hat would be my current power play. I hate having to dry my hair in the summer and this hides the fact that I keep washing and running or going to the pool and then not having styling tools with me… or for today it was an instance of not washing so I could make it to an early morning meeting and then my hair looking a little frazzled by the end of the day but I still wanted to get this video done so I plopped on the hat. I also wore it to Forecastle Music Festival so my forehead and ears didn’t get burned (with or without sunscreen my forehead seems to burn if out way too long) but I do think I need to find a hat that has a bit better ventilation because this one has a tendency to heat up when it’s 85+ degrees outside! 🙂