Cosmetics Galore

I’m going to be trying out a lip plumping device soon (I’ll disclose all details after I’ve tried it, and I’ll probably include some before and after pictures too).  This particular device is a pump-style device that is supposed to plump the lips for several hours after use by drawing fluid into the lips using a suction action.

Lip plumping products have soared in popularity. Most of them are glosses and topical products that are applied which help to keep a lot of moisture retained in the lips, hence making them look fuller.

One trick I like to use to make my lips instantly fuller is to hang my head upside down .The fresh blood coming down to my head not only give my face a nice hint of flush and color, but also my lips look instantly fuller.

The lip plumping device should be on its way in the mail, and I’ll try it out for y’all and let you know and see how it works for me!  COMING SOON………..

It’s about time someone steps in and bans these ridiculous ads that are overly airbrushed and make women young and old feel there are impossible standards of beauty to live up to.  Case in point, a recent Rachel Weisz L’Oreal ad for an anti aging product that claims to smooth away wrinkles and make skin look more even and young.

Of course, no one is denying that Rachel Weisz is not a beautiful woman. She’s got that kind of classic beauty that seems so distinctly European, and that is undeniable. However, the photo, which is in black and white is clearly airbrushed and excessively faded out to make her face look almost surreal.

They could have taken an unretouched photo of the actress and been just as convincing. If you ask me, it would have been a more effective advertisement being less retouched. When you look at the softened black and white photo, it just looks too phony. It wouldn’t “sell” me that the product worked well.

Europe is pretty serious about not falsely advertising products. They have previousl banned other photos and ads that they say uses deceptive practices such as airbrushing and soft lenses.

Hey, we deserve to see the real face of the person who is advertising something .And come on, we’re not so gullible as to think these actresses and models actually only exclusively use the advertised product anyway, so who are they fooling?! See our last story about Madonna’s face and whether she’s had plastic surgery or really good filming and retouching.

We are a nation of lip balm addicts.  I myself shamelessly swipe the emollient stick of stuff over my lips at least once every hour to once every half hour. That boils down to about twenty times a day, at least!  But I can be a bit of an extremist with things -  I also swig water constantly throughout the day. I guess I just like staying hydrated, both inside and out, and I require a lot of lip-enhancing moisture!

While some natural lip balms contain nothing but the good, natural soothing stuff, there are others that contain chemicals and petroleums that are suspected carcinogens or suspiciously “fake” ingredients that really have no business going on your lips, where it is very likely you will ingest a bit of the stuff into your body on top of already absorbing it via the skin.

There are also artificial flavors and colors in a lot of typical commercial lip balms that you may want to look at. Many scents, flavors and colors are of a proprietary nature, which means the company that makes the product doesn’t necessarily have to disclose the potential myriad of chemicals that go into that flavor or scent.

What I would suggest, and what I actually use, is all natural lip balm that is formulated with only natural sweeteners, natural flavored essential oils, bees wax and other oils like grapeseed, jojoba, coconut, or even something like hempseed oil or avocado oil.

Since I use argan oil on my skin at night, I’ve even used argan oil on my lips as I’m putting it on the rest of my face to add lip moisture – what the heck, it’s all natural, and my lips are “skin” too.  All of these are not only all natural, but they also are superior, long lasting and therapeutic moisturizers.

They add emollience, moisture and shine to the lips which helps to make the lips look larger naturally without adding all the other questionable stuff that can go into those commercial brands you see so often at the stores. Of course, there are some all natural brands available at stores, but not too many since “all natural” tends to not have long shelf lives where they can afford to sit on store shelves and warehouse shelves for months or years before being purchased.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which is an organization that maintains a database of cosmetics and body care product safety and lists actual product and ingredient safety information as well as educates the public about safety in the cosmetics, hair care products and personal care products they use on their body, has launched a campaign against the Brazilian Keratin and Brazilian Blowout products.

The Brazilian Keratin hair straightening and hair smoothing treatment is a semi permanent treatment that is administered in salons across the US. It was a craze that started probably a little over five years ago after the much hyped Japanese Straightening, or thermal reconditioning straightening craze died down a bit.

It was touted as a semi permanent solution to frizzy, curly hair as it lasts about three months or possibly more depending on the person’s hair. It was also sometimes preferred over the more severe straightening process of thermal reconditioning (Japanese straightening) because it could still leave a little body and wave while reducing the frizzies.  Here is my experience with Japanese Straightening  treatment and my experience with the Brazilian Keratin treatment.

It also is slightly less expensive than the other treatment, although it can still run from $200 to $400 depending on the length of a person’s hair.  I’ve actually gotten both treatments done, before I was aware how dangerous the chemicals are that they use in these treatments.

The Brazilian Keratin products many times contain formaldehyde in unsafe concentrations. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen.  Stylists have complained that they had symptoms after treating customers with the products, and customers have complained as well.

It is a tissue irritant, so it can cause watering eyes, irritated throat, irritated skin, and even bloody noses in some cases. Those are all sure signs that something is a carcinogen, since the very definition of carcinogen (cancer causing agent) is that it irritates tissues to the extent that it can cause cell damage and cell mutation.

Formaldehyde definitely has no business in any personal care or body products, and I can tell you I will never again get one of these treatments on my hair after knowing what I know. I have even changed to natural hair dye because I’ve become so much more educated on the hazards of chemicals that we use to become more beautiful, but which actually destroy our hair or skin in the long run.

If you want to see more about the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ initiative to educate people and force makers of the product to take the formaldehyde out (in the form of methylene glycol, which is just formaldehyde by a different name essentially) – see http://www.safecosmetics.org/.

Argan oils is one of those fad-ish sort of rages right now in the world of beauty and hair care. As it should be. It is truly one of those universal beauty oils that a lot of women (and men) of all nationalities and skin and hair types can use to help beautify their hair and skin.  It’s very versatile.

In fact, although it seems totally counter intuitive, argan oil has even been touted as an acne scar healing oil. Over time, some claim that application of argan oil to their skin where they had acne scarring has helped to even out the scars, smooth them out and reduce the redness.

Of course, there is a concern that the oil could be too oily to use on actively acne prone skin, and that would be a valid concern, but it may be of use once the skin isn’t so oily and one is trying to reduce leftover acne scarring.

But argan oil, which is the pressed oil from the argan tree which is found natively in Morocco, also goes by the name of Moroccan Oil. Actually, the “Moroccan Oil” hair treatment line is probably the reason this oil became so popularly known as a dry hair treatment remedy and then subsequently as a great hair growth remedy as well since it is non irritating as a hair care product.

I’ve been using organic cold pressed argan oil on my face every night for a few weeks, and I like it so here’s my review of the oil. I wouldn’t say it has transformed my skin or anything, but it keeps a nice moisture balance in my skin and a little goes a long  way – I use three drops on my entire face.  My face does look good after I apply it too, it’s not irritated or red but rather calm looking and almost looks dewy and fresh.

I also put some of the oil in a spray bottle combined with another hair glosser that I had left over, just some cheap stuff I bought at the grocery store.  I figured it would be a great little spritzer for when my hair needed refreshing, looked dry, or generally needed a washing and I was too lazy to do that.

It refreshes the shine in my hair and tames the frizz when I need it.  I’ve used the Moroccan hair products, the intense thick conditioner to be specific, and I liked it but I also wouldn’t say it provided any miracles for my hair. What is argan oil – a miracle worker?  No, it’s just a good, all natural product that give you good results that you can feel good about because it doesn’t have any chemicals in it.

Like I mentioned a little while ago, I’m totally into going as natural as I can. I now use natural hair dye and natural deodorant, and I use lotions and soaps that don’t contain any chemicals or sulfates.

I think that just about every woman I know has a little mini crush/admiration for Jennifer Aniston. I think it’s because not only does she have great, easy taste when it comes to fashion and manages to make a plain black dress look downright adorable yet sexy at the same time, but she seems like she’s the woman who you could have a conversation with. She’s “obtainable” that way, even though she is a huge mega star and has had her life repeatedly invaded by the paparazzi and her love life scrutinized, written about and speculated on for over a decade.

Let’s talk first about her fabulous hair. She has always had really beautiful hair, one of the most admired heads of celebrity hair there is. It always seems to lay right, and she wears it in the most gorgeous yet simple updos and side swept looks.  She can wear it wavy or pin straight and look really pretty doing it.

Her makeup is simple.  That’s why she looks somewhat like the girl next door – even though she’d be the girl next door that every guy wants to date.  She uses simple nudes, what looks like a small amount of natural foundation and shades of brown a lot and pink, which fits her naturally tan, fit look best.  She wouldn’t look good with caked on makeup, and she seems to know that and chooses the most elegant and simple, casual looks for her makeup, yet manages to look young, fresh and vibrant every time.

She has a look of “fun” about her. Like she’s the girl that every man and woman wants to be friends with. And that my friend, is probably more attractive than anything else – hair, makeup, clothes or any other physical attribute.  And she looks to have no cellulite in those photos of her in bikinis, which makes her the envy of most women.

I’m kind of liking her hair when she doens’t flat iron it.  It looks so pretty with the multiple layers of highlights that seem darn natural if they aren’t.  The waviness and texture really looks fantastic with her chocie of clothes and makeup too.

Australians apparently have been indulging in the use of something I had never heard of before reading about the authorities warning against it. It is an injection of hormones that increase melanin production so that you can tan faster (or actually it gives you pretty much an instant tan like a self tanner would).

In what seems like a dream trifecta, this injectable substance also claims to increase your libido AND make you skinnier by suppressing your appetite and leading to weight loss. So what’s the rub? Well, it really has never proven to be safe, and in fact has been banned in several countries so far, so that’s never a good sign that a product is reputable.

Even though it has been banned in several countries, some can still obtain it over the internet, which has prompted the Australian authorities to warn people from using it due to what they see are big dangers.

The injectable substance has been called the “Barbie drug” because it makes you tanner and supposedly thinner. It is actually a synthetic hormone and is still being used by women and men alike to get an instant tan and to help with fast weight loss. We all know the drill – if something seems too good to be true, it is.

Also, we’ve seen these “too good to be true” types of products end up causing serious harm to people, possibly even death, so it’s always best to put your skeptic hat on when reading about these things and try not to buy in to the hype.

The drug has been available by prescription, but is still freely available on the itnernet with no prescriptio, which worries authorities even more. The side effects reported thus far have been flushing, nausea, darkening of freckles, and erections that last waaaay too long, among others.