Beauty Photos Archive

Thought I'd break the text again for the people who like to look at the pictures.... Featuring lots of glitter!

Bullshit Alert Skincare Ingredients – Tourmaline And Amethyst

Tourmaline is a mineral. It’s used in hairdryers to create ionic charge. The reason behind it is that the tourmaline itself generates electrical charge when under pressure and during temperature changes. How that works is a mystery to me, but I own an ionic hairdryer and it possibly dries my hair quicker than a normal dryer. Possibly. It could well be a placebo effect.

Amethyst is also a mineral. Folklore says it’s a good luck stone that dispels bad energy. Allegedly is beneficial for infrared radiation and negative ions.

But in skin creams? Please. None of the above applies to skin creams, but a super expensive face cream Nectar Opulent from By Terry claims it’s a magic ingredient. Magic is the price too. You will want to believe in good luck after spending £240. Sorry By Terry, you have some good make up products, but this cream is a "walk on the wild side". Someone prove me wrong please.  Ingredients below.

water, C12-15 alkyl benzoate, dimethicone, glycerin, methyl methacrylate crosspolymer, boron nitride, glycol palmitate, PEG-20 methyl glucose sesquistearate, butylene glycol, methyl glucose sesquistearate, cetyl palmitate, sodium acrylate/sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer, hydrogenated coconut oil, dimethicone crosspolymer, cetearyl alcohol, parfum/fragrance, tocopherol, isohexadecane, phenoxyethanol, pearl powder, methylparaben, polymethyl methacrylate, polysorbate 80, mica, laureth-3, CI 77891/titanium dioxide, chlorphenesin, tetrasodium EDTA, hydroxyethylcellulose, butylparaben, ethylparaben, amethyst powder, tourmaline, acetyl dipeptide-1, cetyl ester, isobutylparaben, propylparaben, cyathea medullaris leaf extract, prolinamidoethyl imidazole, xanthan gum, potassium sorbate, simmondsia chinensis (jojoba) seed oil, tocopheryl acetate, phalaenopsis amabilis extract, sodium methylparaben, alpha-isomethyl ionone, benzyl salicylate, butylphenyl methylpropional, citronellol, coumarin, eugenol, geraniol, hexyl cinnamal, hydroxycitronellal, hydroxyexyl 3-cyclohexene, carboxaldehyde, limonene, linalool.

The Ingredients In Colour Cosmetics - Make Up

I made it my mission to go through the ingredients of cosmetics, so I somewhat neglected to list a colour cosmetics ingredients. Why? You can say I was focusing more on the wild claims made by skincare brands on how different your life would be if you bought into some of those claims.

Colour cosmetics don’t make such claims, not the ones that will stop you from ageing and the like, they do some different ones which I’ll cover at a later date.  Mascara and foundation, I’ll be looking at you soon!

The colour pigments that are used in making the colour cosmetics are the most regulated in the world. Different countries have different rules, but generally you’ll find Japan to have the most stringent safety regulations for cosmetics. The EU and USA are behind and you’ll find that most breakthrough make up innovations come from Asia these days.

The colours come into two groups: organic and inorganic.

Inorganic are the mineral pigments (I bet this inorganic and organic matter confuses people) that are found around the Earth as compounds of transition metals. The inorganic colours are:

Iron oxides (reds, browns, black and yellows that can be mixed and blended together), chromium oxide, (green), ultramarine (blue, purple), titanium dioxide/zinc oxide (white and uv protection).

Organic pigments are organic molecules that start with N or S or similar (not the names but their chemical or dye name). They are anthraquinone (green), AZO colourants (red and yellow), Triarylmethane (blue and green), Xanthenes (red, orange), and some natural colourants such as caramel, caretonoids etc. The problem with these natural ones is that they very often stink and they are unstable.

Then we have fillers and finishers. Those are the ones that make the product “glide” and spread evenly. The most usual of those are talc (a widespread mineral) and mica (potassium aluminum silicate – another mineral).

Fillers and finishers also include emulsifiers, preservatives, fragrance, and so on.

In a nutshell, that’s it. I’ll come back later to discuss mascaras. If any of you want to experiment with making your own lipstick or eye shadow , please make sure that the pigments you use are safe to be used either around eyes or lips!

Sulphates – What’s the Fuss and What Are They?

Sulphates (sulfates), or sodium laureth sulphate, ammonium laurel sulphate and sodium lauryl sulphates are well known foaming agents or detergents used in loads of cosmetics products and industrial cleaners. 

When I say in loads of products, I’m not joking. Sulphates are in toothpaste, shampoos, washing up liquid, shower gels, cleansers, laundry detergents, bath salts, hair colours etc. Pretty much in everything that cleans, foams and washes.

The sulphates originate from coconuts so they can be both created from nature or in a lab. They are cheap to produce and do the job well.

But they can also cause irritation. The sulphates that come from coconuts are no less likely to cause irritation than the lab created ones, but the “green” or “natural” manufacturers will never say that their products contain sulphates, it will be called “natural detergents from coconuts” or something like that. I just thought I’d let you know in case you’re convinced you are using something sulphate free when in fact you might not be at all.

Now the major issue about sulphates are that some studies show that they are possibly linked to some cell mutations that lead to cancers. Other studies are inconclusive and claim that the concentration of detergents present is never high enough to cause any damage. Plus there’s also skin’s permeability. Most sulphates will not be absorbed through the skin or stratum corneum, but there is some danger that they can be absorbed via eyes and other mucous membranes. Now some say that there are the cumulative effects to take into consideration too. So the jury’s still out.

Where do I stand on sulphates? To be honest I’m a bit in the middle about it all.

To me if I can’t see the irritation, it’s probably ok.

Saying that I don’t leave cleansers on for longer than necessary. I don’t take long foamy baths, but I’m happy to take my make up off with foamy cleanser.

At the end of the day I like stuff to do the business it’s made to do. I don’t generally like brands or products that centre their marketing about things their products “don’t contain” or are “free from”. Seriously, I don’t care. Tell me please what is actually in your products that will do the job that it’s designed to do.

And write the ingredients in their latin name and state the source where it comes from. Then I’ll be very happy.