All Eyes On Her

I recently caught wind of the Rare Minerals acne-fighting mineral powder concealer by Bare Escentuals, and now I see that it’s been voted a Sephora best-of.

I’ve always wanted to avoid anything by BE, since they are notorious for including the chemical bismuth oxychloride in their formulations.  (Many people are quite allergic to bismuth, and it causes a rash-like reaction that takes ages to clear up.  I’m not eager to find out whether I should count myself in those ranks or not!)  And bismuth aside, this stuff definitely has some other ingredients (like dimethicone) that would aggravate my breakouts.

However, the idea of making a powder concealer that contains acne-fighting ingredients definitely intrigues me.  I’ve been trying to figure out a good BHA solution for ages and ages, and concealers that help dry up and bust blemishes definitely appeal to me.  And since my problem with salicylic acid was always figuring out how to get it to dissolve in a liquid base, the idea of being able to leave it in its powdered form is a definite bonus!

I’m going to try this out with my Everyday Minerals concealer set.  I’ll mix the shades that best match my skin for covering blemishes, and I’ll add a few drops of manuka essential oil (gentler than BE’s tea tree oil, and less stinky), and a bit of powdered salicylic acid.  I may also try adding some powdered zinc oxide, both for extra sun protection and for its soothing properties.  (I just have to make sure it doesn’t lighten the mix too much.)

If I can track some down, I might also add powdered sulphur, since that’s the acne-fighting ingredient that always shows me great results on individual blemishes.  However, sulphur’s smell really turns my stomach, so it may be worth while to leave that out of the mix.  It looks like I’ll be making up to four different batches to test this idea out, so I’ll post updates soon.  Thanks for the great idea, BE!

In the spirit of doing some more long-awaited 100% Pure reviews, here are my first impressions on their Fruit Pigmented Cheek and Lip Tints (in Sugar Plum).

Personally, I’m not much of a lipstick girl, so this didn’t do much for me in that arena. And oddly enough, the color looks totally weird on my lips — way more coral, and opaque enough to look weird but sheer enough to not quite pull off a lipstick-like look. For whatever reason, it just didn’t do it for me in that context, but I like it as a blush stick.

I only got this color for cheek use because at the time, it was the only shade on the 100% Pure website that wasn’t shimmery. (I already got hooked on Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer for my shimmery blush.) They sell more colors on QVC that aren’t shimmery, but they only sell them in trios, and I didn’t want to buy three. (Plus, they only had certain items on QVC and certain other ones on 100% Pure — still so frustrating! — and 100% Pure had more things I wanted, plus a free shipping minimum.)

I got lucky in the shade I picked, because it’s just like my natural flush color. I wouldn’t say it’s similar to Benetint on everyone, necessarily, but the end result looks the same for me, and this stuff is easier to apply. However, I do find that it goes on best if your skin is freshly moisturized, and I sometimes find that I like to blot with a tissue after applying it. I also don’t think it has fabulous lasting power, so a bit of loose powder on top is necessary to help set it. I also sometimes use it underneath my Too Faced blush for a look that’s both flushed and shimmery.

I’m a *tiny* bit worried that the cocoa butter in it clogs my pores or makes me a bit more prone to breaking out on my cheeks. But since I’m theoretically using both Retin-A and my Clarisonic, I should be fine — I think it’s only a problem when I’m not consistent about those two items.

All in all, I like this item — it’s the most natural-looking blush I’ve ever found, and it never has any risk of looking unnatural or dry (which are my main objections to most powder blush formulations). And after I started using Retin-A, Benetint had a weird way of sticking to my skin right where I first applied it — I think it clung to the dead skin cells that Retin-A left behind, so it would always look blotchy no matter how quickly or thoroughly I blended it. But that never seems to happen with my Sugar Plum stuff, so I’m a happy camper!

So I’ve been using Devita’s Solar Protection Creme 30 for a couple years now, and it’s still treating me well.  Despite concerns about the actual level of sun protection, this product is the most cosmetically elegant and skin-friendly sunblock that my picky skin has ever found.

Turns out, there’s an even cheaper way to enjoy it! The company came out with a body block formula that’s nearly identical to their facial sunblock, but is significantly cheaper.

The body block also comes in smarter packaging (a bottle rather than a jar) which makes it more hygienic and therefore increases its shelf life. Sure, it’s no amber glass vacuum-sealed pump bottle*, but they can’t all be winners. I’m pleased to find a way to make this sunblock a bit more user-friendly.

Devita products can be tough to track down, though. I’ve found that the best prices are at Internatural, though they haven’t yet caught on to the fact that this sunscreen’s growing popularity means they might want to maintain a larger product stock — they frequently run out and take forever to get a new supply in. But at 15-20% cheaper than the rest of the Web, plus free shipping for larger orders, they’re the best vendor I’ve found.

Fair warning to those of you who get inspired to try other Devita products: they’re not all golden like this one! Devita sure did hit a home run in the sun care department, but I’ve found their other creams to be mediocre at best, and I have serious beef with their body wash and their allegedly alcohol-free acne pads (which are, in fact, chock full of alcohol — sensitive complexions beware!). So much so that I don’t trust anything else they formulate. So experiment at your own risk, but don’t say I didn’t warn ya!

*And in fact, the packaging shown on the Devita site is not accurate. Instead of a nice cosmetically sound pump bottle, it’s in a flip-top plastic bottle. Still functional, but not quite as elegant and a wee bit harder to use.

I’ve been working on a DIY beta hydroxy solution that doesn’t contain any alcohol, and I pestered the chemist over at The Personal Formulator about solubility, and they were pretty informative:

Salicylic acid is only slightly soluble in water, one gram dissolves in 460mL water. To incorporate salicylic acid to a formulation, the following methods can be used:

1) it can be added to the oil phase of the emulsion and heated to 80-85C

2) it can be added to a water phase containing sodium phosphate, borax, alkali acetates or citrates to increase its solubility in water

3) it can be combined with a glycol, such as propylene glycol

Since I’m not gung-ho about using borax, glycols or any other unnecessary chemicals, I went ahead and tried to dissolve it in oil alone. However, the crystals seem to re-crystalize once the oil returns to room temperature. I’ve been shaking the solution vigorously and applying it anyway, and I haven’t had any problems — but I’m just not convinced it works well.

Blast it, I wish I knew more about solubility and other basic chemistry concepts! Next time, I’ll be trying to add it to a lecithin-emulsified solution to see if that helps. If any other skincare gurus have ideas, please share them!

I’ve been enjoying my 100% Pure products for some time now, and I keep meaning to formalize my thoughts in a review. What better time than 12:48 AM? Since I have a TON of products to comment on, I’m breaking them into individual posts. First up — their Organic Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream. My six-month-plus search for the perfect eye treatment is finally over!

This stuff is rich and thick, but doesn’t feel too slick or balm-like on my skin. It sinks in fairly well, but still leaves a moisturizing feel. I can use it under makeup without it being too crazy and oily-feeling or looking.

It hasn’t caused milia or irritation for me as of yet, though it does occasionally clog my pores where my crows feet join my temples. (Nothing a little Retin-A/Clarisonic can’t handle, though.) It seems to contain a bit less caffeine than my oldy-but-moldby Best Bath Store eye cream, but I still notice a bit of a plumping effect. It can sting a bit if I get it directly in my eye, but that’s true of almost any product when it comes to my sensitive peepers.

Plus, I LOVE that it comes in a glass pump bottle instead of a jar, so it can’t go bad as quickly. (I just wish they’d make it dark glass so the product would hold up better, but hey, that’s a small complaint amidst a sea of raves!)

And best of all, and the delicate vanilla scent is so enjoyable, and I can smell it for quite some time after I apply it. (This might be a drawback for some users, but I adore it — most of my fragrance choices have vanilla notes to them, so it blends well in my case.) All in all, I’m super-happy to have found this — I’ve even gotten a couple of friends hooked on it!

I think my Clarisonic and my Vitamin C Serum might sorta be canceling each other out.

A few EDS members expressed concerns that C serums gave them really obvious blackheads, in weird places like their cheeks. And I believe the theory here is that vitamin C oxidizes the gunk in your pores, so it makes it all the more obvious.

And, of course, the theory behind the Clarisonic is that it helps *remove* the gunk from your pores. (Amongst other things.) I think it helps a little, with this and with maintaining a smoother and evener complexion. But I’ve always been of the philosophy that some people just get blackheads, and some don’t, and there’s very little you can do to change that.

Anyway, I’m going to bail on using C-Serum after I finish up this bottle of PSF, and see if my blackheads don’t improve a bit more. At $48 a bottle, I don’t think I can justify the “maybe” results anyway!

One of the most frustrating skincare myths (according to my very naturally-biased views) is that Cetaphil is a wonder cleanser. Every beauty magazine and schticky dermatologist seems to endorse this crap, claiming it’s one of the gentlest things out there. I call BS on you, Beauty Industry!

This stuff is chock full of filler ingredients that are irritating and drying. I’m sick of hearing people claim how great it is, and I’m frustrated when friends and acquaintances approach me for skincare advice after using Cetaphil and seeing less than wondrous results.

It’s true that soap-free, creamy or milky, non-foaming cleansers are often better for your skin than harsh sudsing ones which strip your natural moisture. But there are creamy, milky formulations that don’t contain a bunch of junk guaranteed to stress out your skin, and there’s something for every price range. It’d take up an entire blog post just to list them all!

Read the rest…

I’ve been wanting to add a good beta hydroxy acid product to my regime, but I’m having a lot of trouble finding the right one. I’ve read before that salicylic acid (the main BHA in cosmetic formulations) is only soluble in alcohol or oil, and I’m not interested in using alcohol-infused products on my sensitive and dryness-prone skin.

So of course, I started keeping an eye out for BHA products that were oil-based instead… but I haven’t found a single one. Nearly every BHA product out there is chock-full of harsh alcohol that this picky complexion just won’t tolerate.

One BHA product I found which doesn’t seem to contain large amounts of either alcohol OR oil is Juice Beauty’s Blemish Clearing Serum. However, this stuff is weaker than I’d like at only 1% salicylic acid, and the texture is kind of unbearable. It goes on incredibly sticky and the sticky feeling never really leaves you.

So my search has continued. I was thrilled when I found Devita’s Acne Solution Pads, since they claimed to be 3% salicylic acid but completely alcohol free, which is obviously a rare find.

I was a little skeptical, since I’d read those solubility claims elsewhere, and since I know witch hazel (the main ingredient in these puppies) can often be chock-full of alcohol even if it isn’t listed in the ingredients. But I figured that since they make a specific point of calling out the glaring absence of alcohol, then these must be safe.

And boy, was I wrong. I opened up the jar, and one whiff nearly knocked me out. These pads CLEARLY contain alcohol, and quite a lot of it — I haven’t been able to use them on my face at all. (I still use them to exfoliate after trimming my bikini area or shaving my underarms, because the BHA helps prevent ingrown hairs. But I had intended to use them on my face, and this is simply not an option.) Normally, being the consumer-hound that I am, I’d be more frustrated that these products are using deceptive marketing. But instead, I’m just still focused on finding a dang BHA product that I can use!

Years ago, I had used Aveda’s Botanical Kinetic Exfoliant, so I looked into going back to that stuff. But my older and now wiser self noticed that this stuff also has a high witch hazel and alcohol content, so that’s out (now that I know better). It would seem that everything in a toner-like consistency is completely off the table as far as alcohol concerns go. Read the rest…

So I was finally able to try out my new Clarisonic last night.  I didn’t really want to internalize all the information about how to program it to scrub at different speeds or for different lengths of time, so I kind of just plugged it in and hit go.  My first impression?  …Underwhelmed.

I used the thing on my forehead, nose, chin and cheeks like it suggested, but I guess I was expecting it to be “scrubbier.”  Instead, it’s fairly gentle, and kind of tickles — the same way the Sonicare toothbrush did before I got used to it.  It was particularly ticklish to use it on my nose, as the vibrations kind of resonate even more through the bony bridge… but it wasn’t unbearably ticklish, just kind of odd.

When the auto-cycle was done, I wound up firing it up and using it for another couple minutes, because it didn’t feel like I needed to “take a break” or anything.  And I didn’t even get to my neck or decolette, so I think I’ll try using it in the shower today to see how badly it tickles my throat.

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that it feels so, well, subtle — the company (and many users) specifically point out that it’s less irritating than traditional “scrubbing” forms of exfoliation.  And I definitely do feel a result the next day — my dry, patchy Retin-A-crazy skin feels smoother and more eve and calm.

I can tell it’s going to take some time to really get a feel for how this thing does, and what kinds of results it produces.  For now, I’m hanging on to the receipt just in case… but I suspect I’ll fall in love with it sometime soon.  I’ll keep you posted!

Turns out vitamin C did more for my skin than I thought! I used my PSF sample faithfully for almost a month, and I noticed tiny changes but nothing massive. But now that I’ve suddenly stopped using it, my skin seems so much rougher, patchier, and less generally happy.

I’m actually kind of happy to note this — it’s nice to see a product that really does work and show results, ya know? I can tell my skin isn’t any worse off than before the C regimen began — if anything, it’s better, thanks to the Retin-A I’m still using. But the C seemed to really chill out any negative effects from the A, so maybe those vitamins just need to work in tandem? Who knows!

All I know for sure is that I’m definitely going to purchase a full-sizer of PSF’s Vitamin C Serum. And based on how fab this stuff was, I just might have to give some of their other products a try!

I usually order whatever I can from Essential Day Spa, since I get loads of high-end samples and freebies, plus a discount for forum participation. If it weren’t for all that, I’d make sure to order directly from PSF so they could keep that profit. I try to make a point of doing this for smaller companies, if there isn’t a good reason not to. But I can’t resist the EDS goodies!