Fabulously Cheeky

Glossy vinyl looking lips are in! And, I must admit, I do love that look! But, however, innocent your lipgloss tube may look, it should actually come with a warning on it!

What you don’t know is that the glossiness of the lip gloss acts as a magnifying glass on your lips when the sun hits it, so it actually increases the effect of the UV on your lips.

The skin on your lips and upper chest and eyelids is thinner than anywhere else on your body, and is therefore more susceptible to sun damage than the rest of your skin. And, if you then add a shiny liquid with no sunprotection in it, you can easily end up with lip cancer (which is both dangerous and deforming).

Evidently, lip cancer is more aggressive and faster moving than many other cancers. So, this kind of lipgloss should be saved for evening looks only.

The first sign of trouble is if your lips are constantly chapped and dry, no matter what kind of lip balm you apply, so go and see a doctor if this is the case. And always look for lip balm or lip tint with SPF. You can even put some under your lipstick!

Tags: lip gloss

For any one who doesn’t know me, I want to make you aware that I make a completely natural skin care line called Green Beauty Cosmetics which rates at 0-1 in the cosmeticsdatabase.

I have been working like a busy bee since Christmas, reformulating my green beauty products after I found out that I had to change preservatives. I was lucky enough to find a new, natural preservative that is corn derived and ECOCERT certified. The cosmeticsdatabase rates it at a 1, and it is approved for use in USA, Japan, Europe, Australia and Canada. It is also a moisturizer, and it was found to increase the moisture levels in the skin during tests.

The bad news was that it wasn’t an emulsifier, like the last preservative I used, so some of the formulas became unstable when using the new preservative and therefore had to be reformulated. So, this took me on a journey through the internet until I found this wonderful organic farm that offered a long list of natural, plant based ECOCERT emulsifiers and viscosity builders, as well as natural and organic tinctures and extracts that I couldn’t find anywhere else. So, I bought lots of stuff, replaced my dry herbs with the new tinctures (no more herbal sediment in the bottles) and now I’m very happy with the results. The over all rating is still 0-1 in the cosmeticsdatabase, and I think that this transition has greatly improved the quality of my products.

On my journey through google, I also came across some really cool recyclable airless containers that will keep the products completely contamination free during use, and also increase their shelf life. So, I took the plunge and repackaged (and relabled) everything while I was at it (and my website has also been changed, in case you go in there…) A rediculous amount of work went into this, but I think it was well worth the effort.

If you go to my website (see permanent link on the left side of my blog), you’ll notice that most of the products are back up for sale (the rest will be available very soon), and one of the lotions with the old preservative and old label is on sale for about 1/2 price. CLICK HERE to check it out!

Tags: cosmeticsdatabase, safe cosmetics

The winter is so rough on the skin, it is like freeze drying! And when the skin dries up, wrinkles appear, and without moisture, the skin simply looks old. But there are things we can do to prevent some of this damage.

First of all, we have to be careful not to use products that strip the natural oils out of already stressed skin. That means no soap, no harsh cleansers and no alcohol based toners! All of these products just add to the problem.

So use a soap free cleanser and a non alcoholic toner first thing in the morning. The next thing is to use a good moisturizer, preferably a light serum. The only purpose of a moisturizer is to moisturize with ingredients that increases the water levels in the skin. So, it should contain first of all water, then hyaluronic acid, which can hold the water on the surface, and possibly also ingredients such as glycerin, lecithin, rose water, etc. Leave the moisturizer on the skin for a few minutes before adding anything else so the moisture can penetrate the skin properly.

After moisturizing properly, the moisture has to be sealed in, or it will simply evaporate as soon as you go outside in the cold. To do this, I recommend using a thick rich cream or some kind of face oil that can create an emollient barrier that protects the skin from the cold and keeps it moisturized.

Can you get all of this out of one product? I don’t think so. If you use a thick cream or balm, it won’t have enough moisture in it to actually moisturize the skin. It will definitely create a barrier, but a barrier isn’t enough in itself. Both are needed. That is why I prefer to use a light moisturizer first, and then add a barrier on top for cold protection.

The good thing about layering products is that you can add more of a barrier in the winter, and just use a simple moisturizer in the summer without a barrier on top.

Remember, the makeup can’t look good unless the skin underneath is looks good. So, take good care of your skin, especially in the winter time.

Tags: winter skin care

When menopause comes, moles often follow, especially if it is in your genes. Unfortunately, my family grow moles like other people grow carrots. I remember my grandfather’s brother before he died. He was so covered with moles that his whole face was spotted, and my grandfather wasn’t far behind. The last time my mom came to visit, she was full of moles as well, and looking down my own belly, I can see them coming! A big one under the bra strap, another big one right at the waist line, two on my chest, one on my neck, one on my face and another one near the bikini line, which always gives me trouble when I shave. And then, lots of little ones, of course, but the little ones don’t bother me. It is the big, raised ones that has to go, especially if they are in places that get irritated from the waist on my skirt, or the seat belt. So, I started searching the net for answers.

First, I came across a bloodroot cream from an herb farm, only $15.00. I bought it and used it for 2 weeks on one of the moles, with no effect whatsoever. Then I went back to the net again, looking for something better. I came across a horrible picture of a large wound caused by using bloodroot, and a big warning! Glad it didn’t happen to me!

Eventually, I came across something called WartMoleVanish, supposedly all natural and NOT containing bloodroot. Got super good reviews from everyone. There was only one problem – the price of about $90.00 for an amount of cream the size of a green pea. Yes, I know that it is cheaper than going to the doctor, but still…

So, I kept looking, and I found a company called molepaste.com that sells exactly the same formula for half the price. The formula consists of all natural plant extracts (and NO bloodroot), and is said to work after ONE 20 minute application.

I bought the product, and it scared me a bit because you have to scratch the moles with a needle to rough up the surface first, and then rub them down a bit with an emery board before applying the stuff. I followed all their instructions, applied the product and it was surprisingly painful! For about 10 minutes it stings like hell.

After 20 minutes, I washed it off, and the moles dried up and scabbed over. Now, about a week later, 2 scabs have fallen off and left a small pink spot where the mole used to be, so this stuff really works! So, if you are in the same position I was, and want to do something about it, this stuff is worth trying! CLICK HERE to go to their website! (Or, you can find it on ebay).

Tags: mole removal

What do you think about the use of nanoparticles in sunscreen? Here is a video interview with Professor Tilman Butz from Leipzig about this issue. He has done microscopic skin tests to find out whether nano particles such as titanium dioxide or zinc oxide penetrate the skin, and found that they actually don’t! What a surprise! They are actually safe to use on healthy skin! CLICK HERE to see the video.

Tags: nanoparticles, sunscreen

In one of the skin care blogs that I keep an eye on, they described a test that they had done about aging. They put a whole bunch of pictures of women of different ages in front of a group of people and asked them who were the prettiest. And, to everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t necessarily the youngest ones. They also found that some of the people with wrinkles were considered pretty, inspite of their lines. So, what was it that made them look pretty, regardless of age and wrinkles? They found that it actually had to do with skin texture.

Basically, people with nice skin texture were considered prettier than people with breakouts and dull skin texture or color, and it seemed that skin texture was way more important than wrinkles around the eyes.

Well, this is actually good news. Wrinkles happen over time, and there isn’t a whole lot you can do about it, unless you have a money tree growing in your back yard. But skin texture is something we actually can do something to improve.

The easiest way to improve skin texture is to exfoliate with a gentle type of scrub. Here, I have to add, that anything containing ground up apricot seeds, is NOT gentle! The apricot seeds will actually scrape up the surface of your healthy skin cells, and the result is redness and inflammation, which is not flattering in any way. What you need is more of a polish, and less of a scrub.

Just think of your furniture – you wouldn’t use sand paper to polish the wood, would you? Sand paper, unless it was very very fine, would scratch the wood instead of making it shine. Same thing with exfoliants; they have to be gentle, or the skin will rebel.

Makeup artist Carmindy swears by finely ground white sugar. In India, where they don’t believe in heavy scrubbing, they like using oatmeal and different types of milk. Herbalists believe in rose petals and orange peel. So, I took all these pieces of information and created my own oatmeal scrub. It contains oatmeal, goatsmilk, yogurt, rose petals, orange peel, sugar and lemongrass, and it is gentle enough to use daily to improve skin texture.

The fact is, that the more mature your skin is, the slower your cell turnover becomes. This makes the surface of the skin look dull, and eventually, the skin becomes thin and translucent. By exfoliating with the right kinds of products, the dullness is removed, but there is also another added benefit – exfoliation actually makes the skin thicker. Why? Because by removing some of the dead skin cells on the surface, the skin is stimulated to produce more new skin cells. So by exfoliating you are doing yourself a huge favor, not only by improving your skin texture and color, but also by helping your body increase its cell turnover, which basically means that it starts producing younger skin.

What about acid peels? They are hugely popular these days. Well, those are far from gentle. A phenolic acid peel done at a dermatologist’s office can actually make your heart stop if it is poured on too fast, since it has a tendency to enter your blood stream. And it can make you blind, too, if it accidentally enters your eyes. But, I’m sure they don’t tell you this… And, on top of the risk, you have to live like a vampire (away from the sun) for 6 months afterwards while you are growing a new face. And, yes, your skin will be less wrinkled, but at what price???

For people who are less obsessed with being eternally young, gentle exfoliation on a daily basis is a perfectly good alternative. And, besides, the oatmeal scrub (polish) that I created for Green Beauty Cosmetics contains sugar, which is a natural source of glycolic acid, and yogurt, which contains lactic acid, so it actually does have some natural acids in it, too. It may not work as fast as phenolic acid, but it does work, and over time you’ll see a difference.

To read more about Green Beauty Cosmetic’s Oatmeal Face Polish with Rose Petals, CLICK HERE

Tags: exfoliation, oatmeal scrub, skin texture

To make this statement completely true, I should say ALMOST nothing lasts forever. The body is definitely just a temporary place to live while we are here, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take good care of it!

Having a healthy body to live in means a lot when it comes to quality of life. This is why it is important to eat healthy food, exercise and avoid chemical polution as much as possible. But, it isn’t just about being healthy – being comfortable in the body and feeling good about oneself is just as important. And, this is where makeup, skincare and fashion comes into the picture.

Makeup and fashion is all about enhancing your best features, because by enhancing your best features, your less than perfect features can be carefully disguised. Almost nobody has a perfect figure, and even the ones that do, will no longer be perfect after a few babies, or after the aging process takes its toll. The fact is, physical beauty is bound to fade over time. This is just part of the natural cycles of life. However, we can still enhance our best features, no matter what age we are.

The first two places that show signs of aging are the hands and the face. The skin on our hands and face are always exposed to extremes of temperature, UV exposure, wind and water. These extremes suck the moisture out of the skin, leaving it extra vulnerable to sun damage, age spots and wrinkle formation. I guess we have all seen what happens to the skin of a peach if it sits on the counter too long. After a couple of weeks, the peach skin wrinkles all over. It is the same with the skin. If it doesn’t receive any moisture on the surface, it dries up, just like the peach did.

However, this process can be reversed to a certain extent, simply by adding moisture back onto the skin. The moisture plumps the skin back up and reduces the appearance of wrinkles, as well as slowing down or preventing the formation of new wrinkles.

How can you tell if you have a good moisturizer? First of all, it has to contain moisturizing agents, and not just fats and oils. Fats and oils are emollients, which means that it makes the skin soft, but it doesn’t moisturize the skin because it doesn’t contain moisture.

Moisture is basically water, or something that can hold water on the surface of the skin, like hyaluronic acid, or something that can draw water to the skin, like glycerin, honey or lecithin. These moisturizing agents should be suspended in a lite creamy base containing some oils and fats, but not too much. A serum is better than a thick cream because the serum can penetrate the deeper layers of the skin, while a thick cream just sits on top of the skin. The oils and fats in the moisturizer will soften the skin and create a thin barrier to protect from the elements, but the main purpose of a moisturizer is just to moisturize the skin. A thick, oily barrier can then be added on top of the moisturizer if extra protection is needed.

Another good thing to look for in a good moisturizer is some kind of anti-oxidant that will protect against sun damage from free radicals. Sun damage causes not just wrinkles and unstable skin cells, but it can even cause skin cancer. Examples of anti-oxidants that protects the skin are green tea, acai berries and vitamin E.

To read about Green Beauty Cosmetic’s moisturizing serum with acai and green tea, CLICK HERE.

Tags: acai berries, hyaluronic acid, moisturizing serum

My new skin care company, Green Beauty Cosmetics, signed up recently with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and is now in listed in the “Skin Deep Database.” Here is what they say about Green Beauty Cosmetics:
DETAILS OF YOUR STATUS
Compliance with the Compact for Safe Cosmetics

Full Member Status: This company is up-to-date on all requirements of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and meets minimum requirements for Full Member status. They are continuing to work toward fully substantiating the safety of their products as required in the next phase of the Compact.
• Provision 1: This company fully complies with the EU Cosmetics Directive.
• Provision 2: This company discloses all ingredients.
• Provision 3: This company has submitted and reviewed their Skin Deep listings.
• Provision 4: This company fully complies with ingredient prohibitions and restrictions under the Compact for Safe Cosmetics.
• Provision 5: This company has not submitted data to substantiate the safety of any of their products and/or ingredients. (Not required until Jan 1, 2010.)
• Provision 6: This company has been active in the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics during the last year.

All the products are rated between 0-2, which means they are all basically green (low health hazard), and therefore a very healthy alternative to toxic skin care products. To see the details about my products in the cosmetics database, CLICK HERE, or you can visit my website at http://www.greenbeautycosmetics.com

Tags: compact for safe cosmetics, green beauty products, green cosmetics

The fall is here, and temperatures are falling. Colder temperatures are always a problem for people with dry, sensitive or mature skin. Oilier skin types are often happy at this time of the year. They sweat less and with less sweating there is also less pimples and breakouts. But, for anyone who doesn’t have oily skin, we need to take better care of the skin the colder it gets.

The main thing for dry or mature skin is first of all moisture. The moisture can be added as a toner or a spritz, but to prevent the toner from evaporating, a moisturizer has to be layered on top for maximum benefit.

The moisturizer should be thin, like a serum, so it can easily penetrate into the deeper layers of the skin. You may have heard that dry skin needs a thicker, richer moisturizer. This is simply not true. A thick moisturizer will simply sit on top of your skin, and the skin will still be dry underneath. If you want to increase the moisture levels in the skin itself, it has to be a serum type moisturizer. Then – you need to put an emollient (skin softening) barrier on top of that.

Why layering so many products on top of each other? Can’t we just use one product with all the ingredients in it? No, it simply doesn’t work that way.

Layering actually makes perfect sense. What is the point of using a thick cream that contains moisturizing ingredients if it just sits on top of your skin? No point at all. The moisturizer has to be put on first because it needs to go into the skin, and the thick cream needs to be added on top as a barrier only. The thick cream doesn’t even have to contain moisturizers because the purpose of the cream is to just provide a skin softening barrier that stops moisture from evaporating. The fats in the cream also protects the skin from freeze drying in the winter or a strong wind, so it has multiple purposes.

Therefore, to get the most benefit from all the different ingredients you put on your skin every day, they simply must be layered because different products have different purposes. This makes so much sense that I think even the beauty industry will have to come to the same conclusion at some point in the future. What they are doing, making products for different skin types instead, doesn’t make any sense at all.

The main reason why their system of skin care makes no sense is the simple fact that every skin type varies with the seasons and the change in temperature and moisture levels. So, what are you supposed to do? Buy a whole new skin care line when the weather changes? NOT! Why not just use what you used in the summer, and just add some extra layers on top if needed? When the weather gets colder, you can simply add a thin layer of facial oil on top of your moisturizer.
Or, if your skin absorbs the oil too fast, you can use the hand lotion, the hand cream, or the richest barrier cream I have, the mature skin cream on top.

And, by the way, the mature skin cream is awesome as a lip balm as well. Just buy the sample and keep it in your purse or pocket, and your lips will always be deliciously soft…

To visit my website and learn more about what products to use for different skin types and temperatures, CLICK HERE

Tags: cold weather skin care, skin care