[Parabens, eeek.]

The Truth About Parabens
"The National Organic Program prohibits chemical preservatives in products that are labeled "organic." So what are chemical preservatives such as methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl parabens doing in personal care products labeled "organic?"

There are many delightful organic foods that contain no preservatives. Read the labels on your organic honey, maple syrup, vinegar, olive oil, sugar, raisins, peanut butter and wine. These foods are considered by the FDA to be "self-preserving" and contain no preservatives. This means that, because of certain inherent qualities, these foods are naturally stable and not overly susceptible to contamination from bacteria.
Organic herbal medicinal tinctures made from high quality organic herbs and organic grain alcohol are shelf-stable for around two to three years. True castile soap, liquid or bars, has an excellent shelf-life of up to eighteen months or longer and requires no preservatives. Wouldn´t you prefer body care products that are fresh (like the food you eat) rather than several years old?

A self-preserved 100% organic moisturizing body oil made from organic sunflower oil, organic cocoa butter, organic coconut oil, organic peppermint oil and organic spearmint oil can have a shelf-life of up to 18 months.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their report "Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in the Environment: Agents of Subtle Change?" reported that the chemical preservatives called parabens—methyl, propyl, butyl and ethyl (alkyl-p-hydroxybenzoates)—displayed estrogenic activity in several tests. This means that these chemicals mimic your body´s own hormones and can have endocrine-disrupting action when they are rubbed into your body or washed down the drain into your drinking water. These disruptors interfere with your body´s endocrine system: your hypothalamus, your ovaries, your thyroid—virtually every system in your body. The EPA also stated that "continual introduction of these benzoates (parabens) into sewage treatment systems and directly to recreational waters from the skin leads to the question of risk to aquatic organisms." Scientists in Europe found other endocrine-disrupting body care chemicals in the bodies of fish that humans are eating, and in human breast milk.

Dr. Elizabeth Smith has written that "It is a known medical fact that estrogen stimulates breast cancer" and that "anything absorbed through the skin may be as high as 10 times the concentration of an oral dose." (Think about how nicotine and birth control/hormone patches work—the chemicals are absorbed through the skin!) She also reported that, in one study, a paraben was injected under the skin and was found to have an "estrogenic response on uterine tissues." Scientists observing these harmful effects on the uterus remarked that "it is suggested that the safety in use of these chemicals should be reassessed."
Endocrine disruptors are transported into the body, daily, via absorption through the skin and hair follicles when using personal care products. Now that we know that we absorb toxins through our skin, isn´t it important that body care products that claim to be organic should be as pure as the organic foods that we eat?"

http://www.terressentials.com/truthaboutparabens.html

[Popular Drugstore Nudes - Hits & Misses]

I've always been a big fan of nudes.. I find they are easier to maintain throughout the day and since I typically wear pretty dark eye makeup, I tend to reach for these to avoid looking like a circus creature.

Revlon - Nude Attitude (Matte)

I was so excited to pick this up.. I loved the idea of a matte concealer look topped with the slightest amount of clear gloss.  In the tube it looks like the perfect color for this..  However, I was disappointed.  It's a matte formula, so obviously it's going to be rather drying.  But it seems no matter how much I prepare my lips for this, it seems like a super dehydrating diareutic.  It makes your lips feel and look like you've been on a week long drinking binge and 20 degree weather.  My lips had more cracks and fine lines than a 90 year old woman.  PLUS, the color is quite terrible when applied.  My lips are considerably pigmented, BUT it is very opaque... the final result is a pale orangey color.  Sexy, huh?  MISS.

Revlon - Colorburst // Soft Nude

First off, the packaging is adorable... Very Chanel, right down to the stamp on the actual lipstick.  This is still a very pale nude but with more of a slight pink tone.  This makes for more natural wearability.. It doesn't look ghastly or corpse-like.  I would have to say its the perfect nude for my skin tone.  I can achieve the pale lips I want without contrasting my medium skintone too much.  It seems to be very moisturizing, it has a matte-satin finish.  The staying power isn't anything to rave about, but constantly reapplying isn't a big problem for me.  I normally wear this without lip glloss and an invisible or natural toned lipliner, it looks stunning.   HIT.

Revlon - Colorstay // Smooth Nude

So, if you can't already tell, I'm a regular Revlon customer.  Revlon ColorStay liquid foundation is my favorite of all time, so I thought this lipstick would be pretty darn impressive.   The tube isn't the greatest.. the internal parts get nasty pretty easily.  It's darker than Nude Attitude, but lighter than Soft Nude.  It leans towards that concealer look, but with a warm peachy undertone (still looks too orange for my taste).  I thought that it would be very opaque, but to my suprise it applies sheer.  You have to build this up quite a bit to cover any amount of pigment your lips may have.  Yes, it does apply rather "smoothly" and the color does "stay" (Sorry, am I that annoying "guy" that uses quotes constantly?) but after a few hours of wear it destroyed my lips.  Am I doing something wrong here?  It just doesn't have any moisturizing properties and will accuentuate your lip flaws.  Better than Nude Attitude, but still a miss for me.

Revlon - Super Lustrous // Blushing Nude

This is such a beautiful color.. its one of those colors I used to overlook, assuming it was for more mature women.  Mature meaning super elderly.  I decided to give it a try recently, I was picking up a few things appropriate for fall.   Its a very warm rosy nude that matches with virtually any outfit/eyeshadow.  I find that it compliments my natural lip color, making me look more healthy without looking overdone.  The application is creamy and wonderful, although it is essential to wear lipliner, this stuff has a tendency to stray like crazy.  This definitely one of those everyday wearables thats quite easy to maintain and has adequate staying power.  This would look great on fair girls as well.  HIT.

L'Oreal - Colour Riche // Fairest Nude

What gorgeous tube!  I love carrying this baby around with me.  This a nice true nude.  It doesn't have weird yellow undertones or make you look dead.   It's a light pink beige, similar to Revlon's Blushing Nude, but with a warmer/darker tone.  This nude doesn't make it look like you're trying too hard and doesn't wash you out while staying very low key.  This is probably my 2nd favorite out of the bunch.  Its moisturizing and smooth.  The only grips I have are that it never seems to set properly, it has an odd typical lipstick scent.. HIT.

I will definitely expand this post soon. :]

[Homemade Lip Scrub + Lip Care]

I'm fully aware that I'm not the only one that does this, but it produces such amazing results so it's completely bloggable.  Winter is here and that means my lips want to look cracky and disgusting.  My skin in general reacts very badly to cold weather and wind.  If I don't take action, my face will look like a chapped mess.  My lips especially, they will crack to the point where they'll bleed. Ew.. Here are some easy steps I take from preventing this castastrophe..

First off, lip balm is imperative.  Sadly, I haven't found a balm that helps at all... although I haven't really ventured very far into the lip balm world.  I've tried ChapStick, Carmex, Softlips.. basically anything and everything in that impulse aisle.  They all make my condition worse, weird!  They only thing I've found that helps to moisturize and protect my lips is NYX's lip gloss in clear.  Looking through the ingredients, I found that there's something related to Vitamin E, which is always miraculous.  I apply this stuff very sparingly all day long if I'm just relaxing at home.. it's great! It's cheap and there's alot of it. 

Twice a week, I exfoliate using this ingenious scrub.  First, I take a hot towel and press it on my lips for about 5 minutes to prepare.  Then I apply a small amount of vasaline, get about a teaspoon of sugar and simply apply the sugar with my finger, scrubbing gently for about a minute or so. You would be amazed how much dead skin will come off.  Don't over scrub, because if you try it you will find that it's very gritty and harsh, you don't want to damage your lips/skin. 

As far as lipstick goes, I never buy anything over $7 because my cute little son loves to find them and work his destructive magic.  I love matte lipsticks, but they are always lip-killers for me no matter what I do.  Luckily, I tried Rimmel's Moisture Renewal in ...something coral.  It makes my lips feel great!  It has that weird lipstick scent to it, and feels gritty.. but I find that its staying power is pretty good and my lips feel WAY softer and healthy than before I applied.   I have bought several in that line.. Hopefully I can find something one day that doesn't smell as weird. :]

[NYX - Smokey Eye Palette]

This was half off at Ulta and during a San Antonio visit I forgot to bring eyeshadow.  Feeling naked, I picked this baby up.  It looked like a fun palette to play around with and I've heard that NYX eyeshadows are pretty darn good.  For about $5 it seemed like a good deal for 10 shadows.  The colors are pretty, but it seems like several of the colors are way too similar. Regardless, there are still a good range of shades to create lots of different looks, from subtle to dramatic. This is ideal for traveling, especially if you love wearing darker shadows.  However, I don't really find myself reaching for this often at home.  The quality is just not there for me.  Even with an eye primer, the colors seem to fade very quickly.  The colors do not apply as vibrantly as they appear in the pan.  It's weird, because NYX's black single shadow is awesome.  I prefer it to MAC's Carbon in certain situations because it's a true black..  dark black.  Hah. Unfortunately the "blacks" in this palette are pretty dissapointing.  I might take this with me on a weekend trip, I'm willing to give it another chance. :]

[Milani Luminous vs. NARS Orgasm]

Tons of guys and gals rave about how NARS Orgasm is the most incredible and flattering universal blush for all skin types.  I'm not a big fan of shimmery blushes, but I do really enjoy wearing this one!  It's one of those products that I could find myself reaching for daily because it compliments almost any eyeshadow you choose to wear.  Its the perfect peachy coral color with medium sized, but subtle golden flakes.  The quality is great, of course, and the pigmentation is wonderful.  This blush stays on your face all day long.

I'm all about searching for dupes of popular products.. I always end up owning BOTH, but it's soley for research purposes. :] So far, the closest I've found to the big O is Milani Luminous.  The color payoff and pigmentation are -almost- identical!  Milani is a little less pigmented, meaning you have to use more product to get the same effect, but at $4 it's not really a huge deal.   The only difference between the two is that Luminous has less gold flakes, although it still gives off a gorgeous gold sheen.  It looks awesome on my NC35 skin.  I consider it a somewhat toned down version of O, it would be ideal if your apply shimmery eyeshadow and don't want to over do it and look like a glitterbomb.   I actually prefer Luminous, it's more everyday wearable for me and I prefer the glowy effect it gives off.  If you enjoy the idea of O, but want to save $22-ish I would definitely recommend this.

Another cheaper and somewhat similar alternative is the blush included in the E.L.F. Contouring Blush and Bronzer Duo.  The packaging is NARS inspired, which is cute.. I bought this because I needed to pick up a quick semi-matte bronzer one day.  The blush is attempting to be a NARS dupe, it's a peachy coral shimmery color. However, I never use this because it's somewhat chalky, and the staying power is just not there.  You know how sometimes you are convinced your face is a blush eater?  This is how I feel with this one.. The color is pretty, but the consistency is not for me.  Perhaps this would work well for someone with a lighter complexion. 

Take this stamp & shove it.

ARG!  I don't know whether to blame Ulta or UPS for this mess, but I'm assuming all companies that begin with a U are incompetent.  I ordered two Urban Decay palettes from ulta.com about 2 weeks ago.  Checking the tracking number religiously, I was pleased to find that it arrived in San Antonio in three days.  That means it should arrive in Pearsall the same day, or something.  However, something happened and my address is deemed undeliverable and is in process of being "corrected.".. Weird, I've ordered so many different things, often times internationally and never had any problems.  My address is correct on the invoice.  Just wanted to share this experience because it's unsettling to have such a precious package in limbo.  It's enough for me to never order from Ulta again. (This is my first time, I normally get off my rear and make the drive there.)   Think Sephora when ordering online. :]

MAC - A Tartan Tale

I was excited to check out what MAC had in store for the holidays this year.. At first glance, the packaging and design isn't the most appealing.  I'm sure if I was Scottish I'd be all over this collection, but it seems rather gaudy.  Anyways, I didn't intend to buy anything..but a refill pan of Carbon, and of course the guy made me take a second look at everything! The jerk. <3  I ended up picking up two things.  There are a pretty good selection of eyeshadow palettes, I'm sure everyone could find one that they like.

This little guy already had Carbon included, so I thought I'd give it a shot.  It's not the most appealing, it just may be the ugliest of all the palettes.  However, I am suprisingly pleased with it.  The packaging is not too bad, it's one of the cuter ones.  I could have cared less if it didn't include the mini 213, the handle is way too small to be functional.  There is a generous amount of product for the price!

White Rabbit (frost) is a perfect shimmery white highlight color, I will definitely be using it quite frequently. Carbon, I love and will keep repurchasing. The rest are veluxe pearls.. they are beautiful and the pigmentation is awesome! Melt My Heart is a gorgeous silver that goes well with Carbon/White Rabbit for a gorgeous smokey look. Family Treasures is bronze.. it looks very different than Gaelic Gold in the pan, but when I applied these colors to my lid they looked very similar. Crown & Sceptre is probably my favorite color out of this pan, it is the most unique copper color I've ever seen. It reminds me of a dulled down red autumn leaf. All of these colors can be used to create the perfect fall/winter look. I'm so glad I bought this, and will probably buy some more to give to my girls as early Christmas gifts..  Below is a simple look I did using all the colors except for Melt My Heart. :]

The next and FINAL product (I'm trying to overcome this makeup addiction) is a powder blush in Her Blooming Cheek.  I'm sure some might be intimidated by this bold pink, but I've been searching for one just like this!  I've been using NYX Pinky until now.  It's absolutely gorgeous, I think anyone this would do anyone some good.  When applied with a light hand, it gives that perfect flushed look.  It brightens up your complexion and gives that doll-like effect.  I will be purchasing backups. :]

Overall, this collection is pretty impressive.  There is a wide array of colors that would be appropriate for all skin types.  The eyeshadow pallettes are reasonably priced @ $36.  The special edition brush sets are affordable as well.