Tag

theBalm

April 23, 2015

My Ipsy Glambag April 2015 – and EWG scores

My Ipsy Glambag April 2015 - and EWG scores

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 4Hikari Cosmetics – Blush in Tango – I’m not much of a blush person because I’m naturally a bit pink. Add in talc and mineral oil and parabens and I’m even less of a blush person. A few of those aren’t harmful but they feel weird on my skin (talc and mineral oil.) I will say the packaging is sleek though. Simple and elegant on the packaging. No fragrance or parabens either. It ranks a 4 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. Not great but not the worst (0 is the best, 10 is the least healthy.)

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 4LATHER – ultra light face lotion – All the ingredients look good here at a glance. But bam, Vitamin A which increases skin sensitivity particularly to light. You know that Vitamin A is something I don’t mind in a peel and even an exfoliator, but maybe not something you want in a product you are going to wear all day… I’m half and half on this. I might try it as an overnight moisturizer still even though it ranks a 4 with the EWG cosmetics database.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 2theBalm Cosmetics – NUDE Dude Eyeshadow Single in flirty – cones rule this one out for me because they cause me to personally break out (allergy?) otherwise the ingredient list is pretty sound here. Usually theBalm products seem to rank as healthy but have cones I can’t use. And I’m right, it’s a healthy 2 with the EWG Cosmetics database. Too bad I can’t personally use this one.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 2MicaBeauty – Eye Primer –  no cones, no fragrances, no parabens, nothing bad here as far as I can tell. I’m excited to give this a try. I really loved the black micabeauty eyeliner I bought previously. The downside of the eyeliner though was that I tried to stock up and since it’s a natural product, it dried out. Even the one container I was using dried out before I was halfway through it. It’s something I keep thinking about re-purchasing but haven’t since I have kinda fallen for the Pacifica eyeliner and a few others. So back to the eye primer. I AM excited to try this one out. And it’s also a healthy 2 with the EWG skin deep cosmetics database.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 0Mullein & Sparrow – Mini Lip & Cheek Tint – two blushes in one bag? Well at least it looks like it would make a better lip tint anyway. 🙂 So this is again a very natural looking product. Nothing bad stands out on this ingredient list and many of the ingredients are organic (maybe all of them actually.) It’s as healthy as it can get, ranking a zero with the EWG skin deep cosmetics database. 🙂


Bonus time! Since I had enough bonus points to earn a reward, I chose to get the Pacifica natural mineral coconut eyeshadow in treasure. I received one of the other color previously and liked it but thought this color would actually be something I would use even more.

And cute bag right?

 


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February 14, 2015

Birchbox February 2015 “Rent the Runway” box including EWG Skin Deep scores for each of the products

This month I chose the “Rent the Runway” box because none of the other sample options were appealing and I really wanted to try the derma e glycolic scrub. I was also kinda crossing my fingers that there might be a beauty blender in the box that they hadn’t mentioned … but that wasn’t the case.

Birchbox February 2015 Rent the Runway box via ClothingCult.com - post includes EWG scores for each of the products here

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 2Sumita Color Contrast Eyeliner in Raina (a navy blue) – no cones, no frangrance, no parabens. It does have paraffin which I have mentioned feels weird on my skin … when it’s in blushes or eyeshadows or foundations but since eyeliner is such a small amount I’m fine with it as of of the ingredients here. So the other ingredient that’s a problem is one that I think may have been mistyped. “Isodecodane” seems to be a typo. The closest I get for that is “Isododecane” which is the ingredient that shows up for Sumita eyeliner on the Glossybox website. So this scores a very healthy 2 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. I’m looking forward to trying this one!

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 6derma e® Anti-Wrinkle Vitamin A Glycolic Scrub – so you know how I’ve mentioned that some of the scores should be taken with a grain of salt? This would be one of them. The “fragrance” in this case is from a natural source (oils) and the vitamin A … it’s supposed to be in this product. Your skin will be more sensitive after using this because it IS a scrub. So even though this ranks a 6 with the Cosmetics Database, I’m looking forward to trying it. In my opinion the fact that it was docked points for two ingredients isn’t a problem in this case. Yes, you should be aware you may more easily burn in the sun after using any scrub, exfoliant or peel.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 5Fekkai Blowout Hair Refresher Dry Shampoo  – no cones, no parabens but it does have added fragrance. The last dry shampoo I tried almost killed me with the fragrance. The ingredients are fairly simple though so let’s just check the ranking with EWG to see if anything else throws up red flags here. Isobutane which is what makes this an aerosol spray is also fairly toxic at a 7 on it’s own. So between the 8 it gets for fragrance and the aerosol delivery it brings the score down to a 5. Not the worst I’ve seen but also not the best I’ve seen. I may sniff and try this … but I’m not sure. It does make me think that surely someone could make a nice healthy dry shampoo though. One that also doesn’t turn brown hair white (which is another problem I’ve encountered with dry shampoos … throwing some corn starch into blond hair might work but not so much on brown hair.)

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 4Not Soap, Radio Body Wash  in “the stuff that Cupid dips his arrows in” – so no cones, no parabens BUT it does have fragrance added. And coloring (for a body wash is this really neccessary?) And DMDM Hydantoin (Formaldehyde releaser). So although the  total score is only a 4 I’m not jumping up and down to try this product.  Meh. Could be worse, could be better. Not going to be adding this to my daily staples anytime soon though.

ewg skindeep cosmetics database score 5theBalm® cosmetics Read My Lips™ Lip Gloss in “Bam! – Rose Pink” – no cones, no fragrance, no parabens. But it does have added flavor (usually these are going to be synthetic flavors) and it does have Vitamin A in it. In this case the product is left on the skin so having something that increases skin sensitivity and is worn doesn’t seem like a good idea to me. BUT it also contains a sunscreen (titanium dioxide) so maybe it kinda crosses itself out. This is the kind of thing that the EWG score doesn’t take into consideration. So I’m on the fence on this one. I’m not a fan of added synthetics anything in any product and I suspect that’s the case here with the “flavor/aroma.” So while I debate, feel free to make up your own mind. The EWG score for this is a 5. 

So there’s also a coupon code for $30 off a $75+ rental from Rent the Runway in here too. And you know what? They have accessories and purses which I don’t remember seeing the last time I checked out this company.


 Still not signed up for Birchbox? :D

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March 13, 2014

Birchbox unboxing March 2014

Birchbox unboxing March 2014

 I’ll come back soon and do cosmetics database reports on all of the products anyway. Some items with cones may still be healthy. Cones just cause terrible breakouts for me.

Gilchrist & Soames London Collection Body Lotion – cones rule this one out for me.

theBalm® cosmetics How ‘Bout Them Apples?™ – cones rule this one out for me

Curly Hair Solutions™ Curl Keeper – no cones. But it does use synthetic fragrance AND I received this from Birchbox once already back in August. The scent was so strong and it gave me a headache so I had to throw it out. UPDATE: Birchbox apparently noticed my mention of a duplicate and gave me 100 birchbox points (value $10) so I believe if you don’t have a blog but received a duplicate, you may want to contact their customer support.

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Jurlique Herbal Recovery Eye Cream – no cones, fragrances are from essential oils, this one I’m excited to try BUT this is like the amount for one use (or least the packaging makes that likely) and I’m a bit disappointed since this is so thin and small.

Jurlique Herbal Recovery Night Cream – another that I’m excited to try. Good ingredients, no cones. This one is a more reasonable sample size.

Ghirardelli Intense Dark Cherry Tango – chocolate … nom. Fine as an extra.

Sooo a little disappointing on this one this month since one of the samples I can try is super small, the chocolate extra was three bites, and then I have some night cream.

I’m a little concerned that since I’m turning 35 this year I’m going to have to go back and lie about my age to continue to get better boxes. I do not care how old I am but I’ve heard rumors that if you’re over 35, Birchbox seems to think all you need is wrinkle cream. I hope I’m wrong.


 Still not signed up for Birchbox? :D

Birchbox affiliate link
http://birchbox.com?raf=3l3e7
{ yes it’s an affiliate link, I get 50 points which equals $5 credit – share the love! }