teal

March 25, 2015

Ipsy Glambag March 2015

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

March 2015 – FLORAL FANTASY

Mary Kay At Play® Eye Crayon – first ingredient is dimethicone so this product is out for me personally. Reminder, cones cause my skin to break out for some reason. No parabens, no fragrance but it does contain aluminum powder. It ranks a 4 with the EWG skin deep cosmetics database. Not great but not bad.

Coolway Glow Oil Treatment – second ingredient is dimethicone, also out for me. Along with dimethicone it also includes fragrance and ranks a 5 with the EWG skin deep cosmetics database. There are a lot of better oil and hair treatment options out there. Also one of the things about cones (for those that aren’t allergic) they may make your hair look good the first few uses but they can be not so great for your hair over time.

NYX Cosmetics Butter Lipstick – no cones, no parabens, but it does have fragrance/parfum. It also doesn’t have mineral oil or parafin which, although not toxic, are ingredients that don’t feel right on my skin. So I could technically use it but it’s also a VERY purple shade. Going back to 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 score on this one and it’s just not healthy. It’s a 7 due to many of the other ingredients used. So nope, not using this one.

LANEIGE BB Cushion – more cones so again this one is out for me. No parabens but it does include fragrance again. When I started to run it through the cosmetics database custom score builder I ended up with it having problems finding the following:

CROSSPOLYMER
ETHYLHEXYL
POLYRICINOLEATE
ACRYLATES/STEARYL
ACRYLATE/DIMETHICONE
DIMETHICONE/VINYLDIMETHICONE
CROSSPOLYMER

So the score does not reflect these ingredients. And yet still it’s a horribly unhealthy 9. Nope, nope I would not use this product.

skyn ICELAND Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels – no cones, no parabens, no fragrances/parfumes added. So far so good here. And an EWG skin deep report shows this as a healthy 2 and a closer look at the ingredients and everything looks pretty good. Healthy and gentle is something you want with the more delicate skin around the eyes. Definitely going to give these a try.

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November 17, 2013

Color Club Baldwin Blues swatch

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Nail Polish, Subscription boxes

I’ve taken Color Club “Baldwin Blues” swatch photos and videos and linked them below.

Color Club Baldwin Blues swatch nail polish video below:

Color Club in “Baldwin Blues” is listed as “a sophisticated not-quite-navy blue” but I think it has just enough of a touch of green to call it a “sophisticated deep deep teal” that I think is perfect for fall and winter. It is a color with a lot of depth to it from its glossy sheen to its creamy, no frost, no frills, no nonsense bold color. And it is BOLD – I love it. Somehow despite the unusualness of this shade, I think it will go with plenty of fall outfits.

You absolutely need to wear a base polish with this nail polish. I painted a couple of nails really quickly when it first came in and even in the couple of hours I had it on without a base coat, it looked like it had stained my nail a bit. And a top coat would also be a good idea because several of my nails have wear marks on them already because I was lazy last night and just didn’t want to wait one more round of drying time.

I must admit … I’ve been watching “Pretty Little Liars” lately and Color Club’s Baldwin Blues share reminds me of a color that the character Aria might wear (I should go back and screen capture nail polishes I like from that show … or is that a little too weird and obsessive?) 🙂

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November 16, 2013

@Birchbox unboxing and reviews November 2013 #moregood

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

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

Mox Botanicals Bath Milk in Vanilla and Coconut – “All Mox Botanicals products contain no parabens, sulfates, chemical preservatives, synthetic fragrances or dyes.” YES!!! So excited. I’ll list out the ingredients for the Bath Milk for those who have strange allergies, since I couldn’t find that info online but the company’s philosophy rocks! Ok … not on the product packaging either so I’ll have to email the company… More than likely these would rate a 1 … but that’s just guessing! 🙂

Ahmad Teas Assorted Teas – ok it’s tea, I’m good, not wowed but I suspect the quality will be good on these (though coffee would win though if you pit in a fight to the death against each other.) English Tea No. 1, Raspberry Indulgence, and Jasmine Romance. Probably not going to review these here late. 🙂

Chella Highlighter Pencil in Ivory Lace – I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this. I got this in one of my ipsy bags back in June and I’m actually running low on this and needed to reorder. It’s a great multitasker. It’s a concealer, it’s a light highlighter, it blends well AND it’s super healthy!!! When I saw this was a possible product in this month’s box I got super excited … not only at the possibility of getting one in my box but I was hoping that at the very least I could snap a few more up with the free shipping that typically accompanies products included in a specific month. It has lasted about 4 months which is not bad for a multitasking product I use a LOT. I’ll be ordering more of these!! See my Chella Highlighter Pencil Ivory Lace swatch and review here as well as the EWGEWG Environmental Working Group - an organization focused on research to make informed choices and live a healthy life in a healthy environment. cosmetics database review (it’s a 2!)

Miss Jessie’s® Original Leave-In Condish – the only major negative with this is the fragrance… pretty good on the ingredient list otherwise. It still ends up a 4 with the cosmetic database … synthetic frangrance really takes it’s toll folks! (And I’m not just going on what I’m told, reducing the number of synthetic fragrances in my life has been one of MANY factors in reducing my allergies.) I may give this a try still as long as it doesn’t make my nose immediately rebel (there are some that are more intolerable than others… heck I don’t even do well personally with some natural florals.)

Nope nope – Miss Jessie, the scent killed this one for me. Tim gaged and coughed when I walked into the room and said I smelled like an old lady and I thought it smelled like VERY strong laundry. I started to feel like I wanted to get away from the scent after about 15 minutes but I couldn’t because it was ON my head so there was no getting away. I ended up drying my hair just to see if heat would help remove some of the scent and it didn’t. It felt like if I had let it air dry I would have had amazing curls though. But the overpowering scent led to me washing my hair three times and still smelled like it but at least it was more tolerable. If they got rid of the scent I would try it again.

Allergies and synthetic fragrance toxicity aside, if I wanted to wear a perfume of my choosing, this product would obliterate that as well. Why do companies feel the need to so much scent in everything? I know that scent is tied to emotion and can make some products more desirable but there’s really a limit how far you should take that.

And please please please … if you’re going to tout natural, paraben free etc. maybe think about the scent being natural as well please! SO close on this product!

Color Club® Harlem Lights Collection in Baldwin Blues – I don’t think I’ve met any Color Club nail polish that I didn’t like. This collection has a few standout colors. The Baldwin Blues is one that was my top pick and Sugar Rays is an interesting subtle holographic shade that looks like it will change based on the angle you look at it (I might go back and buy this one.) The Baldwin Blues looks a little bit more blue online but in person it’s a little more teal. Like a perfect deep deep creamy teal perfect for fall and winter. I’m already in love with this one! Swatch video coming soon.

So my top pics from the November 2013 Birchbox are …

the Chella Highlighter Pencil in Ivory Lace and the Color Club nail polish in Baldwin Blues. I think I may like the bath milk as well but I’m not big on taking a lot of baths.

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Did you get one of the Color Club nail polishes?
Do you like the color? Have a photo to share?

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April 8, 2013

What I wore: breezy spring Turquoise & Jeans

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Clothing, OOTD, Shoes

I’m very much a jeans girl. The darker, the better (but not black, black shows cat hair too much.) Deep deep navy, no distressing. HOWEVER when I’ve been wearing the same jeans for awhile they do in fact become somewhat faded which is the case with what I had on today. These are actually the lightest blue blue jeans that I own.

What I wore in these photos (this is really all over the place):

Top: Turquoise Shirt / Blouse / Tank from TJmaxx picked up last fall
Jeans: Walmart (ugh – yes, Walmart) from a few years ago
Shoes: Sandals / Flip Flops in red and tan with silver and crystal embellishment from a boutique in Bowling Green KY
Shrug / short sleeved jacket: Target from a couple of years ago
Necklace: long silver necklace from Chicos (really long ago)
Earrings: basic silver round hoops with a flattened edge from Talbots (also long ago … but I’m not sure how long because I have two pairs of the exact same earring bought at different times.)
Toenail polish: Zoya “Lo” … I need to repaint my fingernails.

I’ve been meaning to share more outfits of the day like this but just haven’t gotten around to it. I do however wear jeans a lot and I do re-wear a lot of the same outfits which means that sometimes what I wore just is not that interesting … or I think it wouldn’t be. We’ll see if I can make this more of a habit. Though don’t worry, I will probably not be posting every single day. You can see a pattern in the colors I tend to like photographing though. Lots of turquoise and teals and aqua… I swear I have other color shirts in my closet!

AND I’m sorry, these last couple of days I’ve been feeling rather prolific. I promise I will not keep this double posting nonsense up (I’m going to post something about coral and yellow jeans in a bit.) 🙂

February 15, 2013

Silk Feel Paisley Pashmina Shawl / Wrap / Scarf Review

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Accessories, OOTD, Scarves

I ended up going to a bollywood themed charity event recently and wanted a quick accessory that would add a touch of bollywood to a dressy outfit. Since I wanted something I could wear afterwards without looking like I was going to a costume party, I ended up buying a couple of these $10 paisley scarves from Amazon.com. I’m really happy with them & ended up wearing the turquoise gold one to the event (left).

These are excellent quality for the price but there are some minor imperfections on close inspection. Not anything anyone would notice while you’re wearing it though. No idea if it’s real pashmina (probably not) but the fabric feels wonderful anyway.

It can be worn as a wrap or styled as a thicker looking scarf. The fabric IS lightweight but there’s a lot there. Definitely not a summer weight.

Turq/Gold – It actually looks pretty true to the manufacturer’s photo in natural sunlight though on second look, maybe not quite as vibrant. One side has the bottom band gold, the other side has the bottom band turquoise. I got a better photo of this one than I did of the pink/turquoise one.

Pink/Turquoise – the lighting in my photo could be better. It actually looks pretty true to the manufacturer’s photo in natural sunlight. One side has the bottom band pink, the other side has the bottom band turquoise.

July 30, 2012

Color Club Blue-ming nail polish

Posted by By Hilary Baumann

Posted in Nail Polish

I like it but I’m not as crazy about it as I thought I was going to be. The color DOES grab people’s attention and get good comments. Since I took it off my finger nails and left it on my toe nails, I’ve liked it a bit more so maybe just on all nails it’s a bit too much.

It also might have been that I kept needing to go to meetings and it didn’t seem appropriate and now that I’m on the beach it makes more sense.

Second photo I have the antique gold crackle on my thumb over this.