Tag: cosmetics

Will I Ever Learn?



Like many of you, I’ve recently become acquainted with Pinterest. Oh the hours I could spend perusing the yummy recipes, viewing the gorgeous landscaping ideas or checking out the latest style trends. Unfortunately, I don’t have that many leisure hours. But when I do go on the site, I am struck by some of the cool make up techniques folks post. I’ve noticed that some of these techniques are using liquid eye liner to get their sleek, cat-like lines. Now I haven’t played with liquid eye liner in years. But this past Sunday while at the local grocery store, I decided to buy some.

It’s been a while since I’ve shopped the cosmetic section in the grocery store. Apparently a long while! I could not believe the prices on brands like Maybelline, Cover Girl and L’Oreal. Wow. Anyway, being the frugal shopper I am, I looked for the least expensive liquid eye liner to serve my whim.

The next day, while running late for work, I decided to try the new product. Yes, I’m almost always running late for work, and that’s probably the most stupid time to try something new, but what can I say? It seemed simple enough; black liquid on the end of a thin brush. I carefully tried to get underneath my lower lashes to apply a thin, even line along my lower lid. Of course the now 14 lb. kitten had to be on my lap at the time, prancing back and forth, sticking his tail in my face. My line wound up a bit heavy and uneven. And I got some of the liquid on my lower lashes. “No big deal”, I thought. “I’ll just use a cotton swab to even things out”. I swiped the swab along my lash line and the liner didn’t budge. Hmm….odd. So only then did I take the time to read the package. Waterproof! UGH! “Okay,” I thought to myself, “I’ll use my old standby, our unscented aftershave to clean up my mess.” Now my liability insurance carrier would want me to add the disclaimer that you should never use our aftershave in or around your eyes. There, I said it. Anyway, I dipped the cotton swab in the aftershave and proceeded to use it to even out my mistakes. Again, the eye liner didn’t budge. What the heck was in this stuff?! I didn’t want to know. My only option was to do my best to even things out using our eye shadow (Falon, from the Smokey Eye palette), and get my butt into work. Despite having raccoon eyes, no one in my office said a word about it. They’ve probably seen me coming in looking worse. I decided not to analyze it.

That night, I did my normal routine of washing my face with natural bar soap and water before going to bed. When I looked in the mirror after the wash, the raccoon eyes were still there staring back at me, mocklingly. Round two of soap and water. Still there. At that point I was too tired to mess with it any further, and went to bed.

The next morning after showering, I sat at my vanity to apply my morning ‘mask’, again, with a squirmy kitten (it’s his routine now to bug me endlessly until I actually leave to go to work). Looking at the black rings it finally occurred to me – I have no make-up remover. Why would I? I never use waterproof make up. Great, now what to use to remove this stuff? Thinking back to the good old days, I remember my mother using Noxzema to remove make up. Well I don’t even know if they make that stuff anymore, and I didn’t have anything even close to that in my house. I started to panic. Will I have these ringed eyes forever? And it looked worse by this point. Little bits of it were flaking off into my eye. What was the harshest solvent I had in my house that I could use? Before reaching for the bleach I use to scrub my toilets, I fortunately thought of the organic tea tree oil I use when I break out. That stuff is strong enough to remove nail polish. Now you’re not supposed to use it around your eyes either, but I really didn’t have a choice any longer. The tea tree coated cotton swab was wiped gingerly along my lower lid, as my eyes watered and burned. It worked! I suffered, but it worked. I was happily raccoon ring free.

Until I put the liner on again ten minutes later. Hey, I never said I was bright. And I was DETERMINED to make this stuff work. Long story short, I tossed it into the garbage after the second equally-as-horrific attempt. I’m not looking forward to the tea tree treatment this evening…..

It’s Probably Time to Toss It



When was the last time you cleaned out your make-up drawer? Be honest. Six months ago? Sometime last year? It’s probably a good idea to go through your stuff and throw some of it out. Make-up doesn’t last forever.

To get maximum longevity from your cosmetics, store them in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight. Always close the lids tightly after use. Here are some common cosmetics and the recommended shelf life for each after it has been opened for the first time. These recommendations apply to conventional cosmetics, though some natural cosmetics may not last as long.

• Mascara: Toss your mascara after 3 months. Mascara has the shortest life span of all make up because the risk of transferring bacteria back and forth from your eye into the mascara tube is so great. If your mascara starts to dry out before its 90 days is up, throw it away. Don’t add water or saliva to your mascara to rewet it. Doing so will only increase your chances of getting an eye infection.

•Eye pencils: Eye pencils can be kept up to 2 years. To make sure you’re using a clean tip, sharpen before each application.

•Eye shadows: Powder shadows will keep 2 years.
If you’ve had an eye infection, you’ll need to throw out all the eye make-up and applicators you used from the time you developed symptoms. The virus or bacteria that caused the infection has probably taken up residence in your make up, so using those cosmetics again could cause you to develop another infection.

•Lipsticks: You can keep conventional tube lipsticks and lip pencils for 2 years. As with eye pencils, sharpen your lip pencils before each use. Natural lipsticks should be discarded after one year.

•Blushes and powders: Discard your powder blushes and powders after 2 years.

Think of your make-up a bit like you do your food. If it smells weird, develops a film, or has a mold-green tint to it, it’s gone bad and needs to be tossed out.

Using clean brushes and sponges will help lengthen the life of your cosmetics. Be sure and wash or replace your applicators frequently. See our November 8, 2012 blog post about proper care of your cosmetic brushes.

Here’s a tip: when you open a cosmetic for the first time, write the date on the product. It will help you keep track of how long you’ve had the make up so you’ll know when it’s time to throw it away.

Okay, no more excuses. Take an hour out of your weekend to go through that make-up drawer and the make-up in your purse. Not only is it healthy, but then you can make room for more stuff!!

How to Properly Care for Your Cosmetic Brushes



Professional makeup brushes are an investment. And, like any other investment, we want a great return. One of best ways to ensure that will happen is proper brush care. Did you realize that makeup build-up, especially foundation, makes your brushes feel scratchy? If you have sensitive skin, cleaning your brushes regularly will help them stay soft and lush. It is imperative you make a point to clean the accumulated gunk out of your brushes regularly. This is not only good hygeine (for you, your skin, etc.), but it keeps your brushes in good shape.

Wet the hairs under the faucet with tepid to warm water with the hairs pointing downwards – this will help prevent any water getting in to the ferrule (metal part) or down in to the handle for brushes that don’t have ferrules.

Using a mild shampoo, liquid hand soap or castile soap, squirt a little on your fingers and apply it to the hairs from ferrule to hair tips. Gently squeeze the hairs from ferrule to hair tips over and over adding a little water at a time. Rinse and repeat until the water runs clear. Make sure when you are rinsing to keep the brush hairs pointing down.

After your brushes have a good bath, brush them off a little on a clean paper towel and lay them to dry on their side on a paper towel or a regular towel. It is also a good idea to reshape the brush at this point in time to prevent splaying. Whatever shape your brushes are left in to dry is the same shape they will be when they are dry. You don’t want your contour brush looking like a tapered blush brush, do you? Similarly, if the shape is off, wetting/washing your brush will allow you to reshape a brush. Lay kabuki’s and any other stand-up brush on their side. Never leave them to dry brush hairs up in a brush holder. The water can run down in to the ferrule and loosen the glue holding the brush together over time.

On top of cleaning, conditioning your brush with a quality hair conditioner will help keep the bristles soft. It’s not something that needs to be done as often general washing, but it is a good idea to do it often enough–like once a month. Mostly, it depends on how often you use and wash your brushes.

Lastly, let brushes dry completely before using. Dry time will depend on size and brush density.

Fall 2012 Make Up is All About Bold Lips and Bright Eyes

It’s my job to pay attention to trends in fashion and cosmetics. I weed out the ones I don’t like, don’t think are practical or don’t think would stand the test of time, which accounts for about 90%. Let’s take a look at the 10% I think are worthy.

Rich Lipstick – The trend this year is to pair natural colors for the face with a bold pop of colors on the lips. I’m seeing unexpected harvest shades like pumpkin and eggplant. Deep plum shades are huge. Think Superstitious, Aztec, Vintage Merlot and Risque. Don’t be afraid to try it. I actually wore Superstitious at the trade show last week and got so many compliments that it’s now a mainstay in my cosmetic bag (and I normally wear very neutral shades like Bombshell, Seduction and Cherokee).

Flawless Skin – I sort of hate this one because who really has flawless skin? All we can do is try. My favorite technique? Twice weekly face scrub, followed by a light moisturizer. I use the kabuki brush to apply just the right amount of our Pressed Mineral Powder Foundation, focusing more coverage on my cheeks, and less on my nose and chin. I love it because this foundation is so customizable meaning you can wear it as lightly or layered as you want without it ever feeling heavy or clogging your pores. You want to keep your complexion matte, so carry blotting papers (or a tissue) if you tend to get oily late in the day.

Bright Eyes – Greens, ocean blues, and glam rock purples are all the rage. And it’s not just one color; fashionistas are combining three and four bright shades in one look. Our answer to this trend: The Party Girl eye shadow palette. The still-popular Smokey Eye goes a step further by adding a metallic sheen to the look. Also hot on runways is the brown smokey eye. Try combining Sedona, Satin Sheets, Passage to India and Chai PowderColors to achieve this look. Eye liners are bold and colorful. Heavy winged eye liner and shadow is all the rage, as is graphic boxy and dotted eye liner (which I don’t like). Well-defined natural brows continue to be popular. Brows a bit sparse? Try our Brown Sugar Eye Liner as a fill in, or our Chai PowderColors Mineral color (or a combination of both).

Colorful Nails – Nail polish sales leaped a whopping 23% this past year. More women are getting manis and pedis, trying new nail products and keeping their nails polished throughout the year. Bold colors are hot: bright blue, bright red, deep plums and rich wine shades are all the rage. Black is still hot as well, which surprises me because I thought that trend would die off after a year or two. I was wrong (hence the addition of Abyss to our color line). Colors we expect to see flying out the door: Oasis, Wild Fire, Tease, Vintage Merlot, and Renaissance.

Use common sense when trying these trends. If you’re going to do a bold lip, keep the eye color soft and neutral. And if you’re going to do a colorful peacock eye, tone down the lips using shades like Karma, Inuendo, Soft Kiss and Dream. But for heaven’s sake DO try at least one of these trends. You never know what’s going to work for you until you try it. And besides, make up is supposed to be FUN! Honeybee wants to keep the FUN in FUNctional cosmetics….okay that was just corny….I need more sleep.

Pumpkins and Scarecrows and Football, Oh My!



I’m starting to feel a chill in the air come evening, which could only mean autumn is right around the corner. I’m a summer kind of girl, so this makes me a bit sad. But there are some things about fall that you gotta love: pumpkins, apple cider, hay rides… So I’ve decided to get into the spirit this week and bring you some autumn-inspired DIY cosmetic recipes.

First, there’s pumpkin. It’s great for all skin types, especially environmentally damaged or sensitive skin. High in Vitamin A (skin healing), C (anti-oxidant) and Zinc, pumpkin soothes, moisturizes and acts as a carrier, assisting the other mask ingredients to absorb deeper into the skin and intensifying the results. Enzymes remove dead skin cells making skin glow. And it may also help get rid of and prevent blackheads.

Pumpkin Pie Face Mask

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons cooked or canned pumpkin, pureed (or fresh if you have it)
1/2 teaspoon honey
1/4 teaspoon milk (or soymilk)

Optional Ingredients: For Dry Skin add 1/4 teaspoon heavy whipping cream or ½ teaspoon brown sugar (for exfoliation). For Oily Skin add ¼ teaspoon apple cider or ¼ teaspoon cranberry juice.

Directions: Combine the ingredients. Mix gently and apply to your face avoiding the eye area. Rest and relax for 10-15 minutes while your pumpkin pie facemask gently exfoliates, nourishes and conditions your face. Rinse with warm water and apply the appropriate moisturizer for your skin type.

Pumpkin Pie Body Scrub

This foot and hand scrub will help slough off rough skin, leaving it soft and moisturized.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup pureed pumpkin
2 Tbsp organic cane sugar
3 Tbsp oil (try jojoba, grapeseed, almond, or olive oil)
1 pinch cinnamon
1 drop natural vanilla extract

Directions: Blend ingredients thoroughly. Over a large bowl or in the bathtub, massage mixture onto feet, hands, elbows and any rough areas. Allow mixture to remain on skin for 15-20 minutes, and then rinse with warm water.

Next let’s look at apples which have been used in beauty products for centuries. Thanks to a high concentration of vitamins A and C and potassium, when applied as a facial toner, apple pectin can sooth and refresh all skin types.

Apple-Pectin Toner

Ingredients:
1 apple, cut up with peel, seeds removed
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup witch hazel

Directions:
1.Place the cut-up apple in a small saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil and remove from the heat.
2.Allow the mixture to cool completely, then strain out the apple chunks. Stir in the witch hazel and pour into a clean container.
3.To use, spray or apply to skin using a clean cotton ball. Keep in refrigerator and use within one week.

Lastly, we can forget cranberries. Cranberries are naturally rich in Vitamin C, Vitamin K and plenty of other antioxidants, which will keep your skin looking healthy and may even decrease dark circles. This power-packed berry also acts as a natural toner, and when combined with moisture-rich honey and yogurt, creates a soothing mask.

Cranberry Lip Gloss

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon organic sweet almond oil
10 fresh cranberries (organic if possible)
1 teaspoon organic honey
1 drop vitamin E oil

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.
2. Microwave for two minutes or until just boiling. You could also heat your bowl in a pan of water on the stove.
3. Stir well and gently crush the berries.
4. Cool the berries for five minutes. Strain with a fine sieve until there are no fruit pieces left in your mix.
5. Stir and set aside to cool completely.
6. When cool, transfer into a small portable plastic container or tin. Store in refrigerator and use within a week.

Wake me up when spring arrives.