Additional Ingredients I’m Avoiding

In my first post on ingredients to avoid, I mentioned parabens and sulfates.  Here are two more ingredients I’m trying to avoid or use sparingly and some reasons why.

Silicone (and other “cones”) 

A Broken Maybelline EyeStudio Eyeshadow and How I Saved It

Let me start out by saying that I broke the eyeshadow, it’s not Maybelline’s fault at all.  Here’s the only pic I have of it before I dropped it:

The unfortunate victim is

Tarte Friends & Family Sale – 30% Off!

Tarte’s Friends and Family sale just started today and runs through next Monday, August 15th.  Just use the code

Urban Decay Friends & Family Sale – 25% off!

Use code “FFSUMMER11” to get 25% off your order – unfortunately it won’t work with the Naked Pallette, but it’s still a great deal for everything else!  Happy Shopping 🙂

June Birchbox & Pi Phi Convention in Orlando!

This month’s box is all about travel!  Here’s what the company has to say about it:

We’ve got a serious case of wanderlust — we’re dreaming of tropical isles with deserted white sand beaches and exotic cities filled with colorful bazaars. Is it any surprise that this month’s box is all about travel? We’re excited to share our favorite vacation-ready products and jetsetter tips.

This theme couldn’t have come at a better time because tomorrow I’m headed to Florida for 5 days!  I’ll tell you more about that later 🙂  So, without further ado, I bring you the June Birchbox…

**warning – pic heavy & a video too**

group shot

Kate Spade Twirl perfume – this flirty scent feels carefree and joyful

Laura Geller Baked Blush N’ Brighten in Honey Dipped – dust your cheeks or use the lighter shades as a highlighter (FULL SIZE! a $29.50 value!!)

May Birchbox

To celebrate Mother’s Day, Birchbox included lots of items that will never go out of style – just like Mom.

First up, Bulgari Mon Jasmin Noir Perfume – the Italian fragrance house’s latest winner has waves of ripe fruit with a base of heady jasmine

Next, a card from Tiny Prints – adorable, customizable greeting cards, from birthday wishes to thank you notes

Wordless Wednesday

(click to enlarge)

Christmas came early!

I never could’ve guessed that this Monday morning would have been so exciting!  I came into work to find a Christmas card, a plate of cookies, and a small assortment of makeup waiting for me at my desk!  I have some of the best coworkers 🙂

Mirror and mini brush set

Jasmine La Belle eyeshadow palette

Ulta lipgloss palette

Then, once I started settling back into work, I realized that today is the huge Urban Decay sale on Hautelook!  I was all ready a few minutes before it started and luckily I was prepared.  I managed to grab a lot of goodies but most of the brushes had already sold out!  Here’s a rundown of what I picked up (everything was $2! TWO!):

Loose Pigments in Gunmetal, Baked, Rockstar, Smog, X, Yayo, Shag, and Protest.

Smoke Out Eye Pencil in Maui Wowie, Mary Jane, Purple Haze, and Green Goddess.

Big Fatty Colored Mascara in Indigo, Electric, Flipside, and Black Cherry.

XXX Shine Lip Gloss in Quickie and Joyride.

and one Good Karma Crease Brush!

It won’t be delivered until the first week in January, but wow, I still can’t get over how much I saved…  I picked up an extra Joyride lip gloss for my coworker, so in total I saved $312!  That’s not a typo either, I spent $40 and saved $312 on Urban Decay, INSANE right??

I hope you had time to check out the sale too and hopefully picked up an old favorite or something new to try.  If not, here’s an invite to HauteLook 🙂

PS – can you see the snow on this page? Do you like it?

 

All Urban Decay images from UrbanDecay.

Ingredients I’m Avoiding

Below are descriptions of two of the ingredients I am trying to avoid or use very minimally.  As you can see, there are various health concerns associated with each one and I believe that any small step I can take to limit my exposure to these chemicals is worth it to me.

Parabens

Parabens are a class of chemicals widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries. Parabens are effective preservatives in many types of formulas. These compounds, and their salts, are used primarily for their bactericidal and fungicidal properties. They can be found in shampoos, commercial moisturizers, shaving gels, personal lubricants, topical/parenteral pharmaceuticals, spray tanning solution and toothpaste. They are also used as food additives.

Their efficacy as preservatives, in combination with their low cost, the long history of their use, and the inefficacy of natural alternatives like grapefruit seed extract,^[1] probably explains why parabens are so commonplace. They are becoming increasingly controversial, however, because they have been found in high concentrations in breast cancer tumors. ^[2] Parabens have also displayed the ability to weakly mimic estrogen (a hormone known to play a role in the development of breast cancer).^[2] No causal link between parabens and cancer has been established, however.^[3]

-from Wikipedia

SLS’s

Both Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and its close relative Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are commonly used in many soaps, shampoos, detergents, toothpastes and other products that we expect to “foam up”. Both chemicals are very effective foaming agents, chemically known as surfactants.

In fact, SLES is commonly contaminated with dioxane, a known carcinogen.

A report published in the Journal of The American College of Toxicology in 1983 showed that concentrations as low as 0.5% could cause irritation and concentrations of 10-30% caused skin corrosion and severe irritation.

In the same way as it dissolves the grease on car engines, sodium lauryl sulfate also dissolves the oils on your skin, which can cause a drying effect. It is also well documented that it denatures skin proteins, which causes not only irritation, but also allows environmental contaminants easier access to the lower, sensitive layers of the skin.

Perhaps most worryingly, SLS is also absorbed into the body from skin application. Once it has been absorbed, one of the main effects of sodium lauryl sulfate is to mimic the activity of the hormone Oestrogen. This has many health implications and may be responsible for a variety of health problems from PMS and Menopausal symptoms to dropping male fertility and increasing female cancers such as breast cancer, where oestrogen levels are known to be involved.

-from Natural Health Information Centre

More SLS information – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_lauryl_sulfate

Are you aware of a lot of the ingredients in your beauty products?  Is there anything you try to avoid?

Project 10 Pan Update

On my last update, I told you about how I had actually only finished nine products instead of ten.  Well since then, I’ve finished up TEN more products and I’m back to tell you about them.  Only one is a repeat and that is Herbal Essences Totally Twisted scrunch gel so I won’t mention that one again. Here is the list:

COVERGIRL LashExact mascara in black brown

Clean & Clear Grapefruit body wash

Clinique Toner level 3

Almay SmartShade SmartBalance light

Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash

Garnier leave-in conditioner curl & shine

Rimmel Eye Makeup Remover

Philosophy Chocolate Cookie Body Wash

Reviva Labs Vitamin E Stick

Philosophy On a Clear Day Oil-Free Moisturizer