Does Over-Moisturizing Dry Out Your Skin?
Kendra’s question…Okay, if over applying lip balm dries out your lips. Does over applying moisturizer dry out your skin?
The Right Brain Replies:
Kendra is referring to our post on lip balm addiction where we said that constantly applying lip balm can reduce your lips’ ability to moisturize itself.
Skin deep
Luckily, most women don’t get addicted to skin lotion because the skin on the rest of your body is different than the skin on your lips. Lip skin is very thin and doesn’t have the same thick, protective stratum corneum layer that the rest of the body has. Also, lips lack the sweat and oil glands that provide moisture, so they dry out faster.
The Brains Bottom line
Over-moisturizing the skin on your body isn’t as “addictive” as moisturizing the skin on your lips because your lips dry out faster than the rest of your skin.
Mad About Mad Men
We are huge fans of the sexy, stylized and provocative television series, Mad Men. We wait with baited breath each week to find out what kind of trouble the men and women of Madison Avenue’s advertising agency, Sterling Cooper, will get in to. And it’s not only us who are going crazy for this show; with viewers reaching approximately two million per episode, we think others quite like it too.
In addition to loving the quirky storyline, we are captivated by the mid-century chic of the leading ladies and wonder how we can look like that.
Lana Horochowski is the makeup department head and along with her team is responsible for making the ladies look picture perfect. “We do try to keep the characters looking like real people that do their own makeup and not like movie stars with a makeup artist standing by,” Horochowski states. To prepare for the latest season, there were weeks and weeks of meetings and research, and Horochowski found that magazines and old movies were a great guideline for a basic look and colour selection. “Women of the 60s had a stricter code of style and etiquette, so people tended to follow the trends closer to the book.”
M•A•C products are used on the Mad Men set and we found out what our favourite cast members are wearing:
Joan Holloway
(Christina Hendricks)
Sassy Office Manager
Joan is the Marilyn Monroe-esq bombshell who always looks put together, very sassy and sexy while gliding through the office. The key feature for Joan is a heavier eye. Horochowski recommends we try these products to recreate Joan’s eye look: Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle, Fluidline in Blacktrack or Rich Ground, and Eye Shadow in Soft Brown. Don’t forget the strip lashes!
Betty Draper
(January Jones)
Doting wife of Don Draper
Although Betty is a housewife, she is an ex-model, so her makeup is clean but very current for the period. During the day, Betty has a very natural look with a sheer foundation, think black eyeliner and mascara. For evening, she goes a little thicker on the liner and uses a brighter lipstick, but it always coordinates with her clothing.
To achieve Betty’s look, these are the items you need: Cream Colour Base in Virgin Isle, Fluidline in Blacktrack or Rich Ground, Blushcreme in Posey, Lipstick in Vegas Volt, Lip Pencil in Redd or Cherry.
Peggy Olson
(Elisabeth Moss)
Escapee from the secretarial pool, and rising star at Sterling Cooper
Peggy is young and fresh faced, and the key to her look is for her to appear as though she is wearing no makeup at all. A great foundation is super important and a natural cheek and lip stain is applied to give her a little color.
For Peggy’s wholesome look use Eye Shadow in Orb, Vanilla, and Soft Brown, and Blot Powder.
So, if we don’t want to completely transform ourselves into a 60s diva, what can we take away from the show’s look and incorporate into our everyday look? Horochowski suggests lining the top lash line only with a gel liner like M•A•C Fluidline. “We love this product for recreating the perfect 60s eye.” Also, replacing gloss and sheer or shimmer lipsticks with matte reds, bright pinks, and corals help create a more retro look. Lastly, instead of a powder blush try using cream in pinks and corals to create a flushed looking cheek. For evening, strip lashes are always a bonus.
Off we go to the store to purchase our new look!
Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir Fall Promotion
Copyright © 2009 Christina. Visit the original article at http://www.christinaloves.com/2009/09/29/jo-malone-pomegranate-noir-fall-promotion/.
Pomegranate Noir is one of my VERY favorite perfumes – definitely top 3. I first experienced it earlier in the year, in Austin at South by Southwest. We were at a bar, watching a karaoke geek fest (yeah – HA HA HA), and I was walking to the bar, and someone’s fragrance stopped me in my tracks. I hunted down the girl who was wearing it (honestly, I thought it was going to be a hot guy), and she told me it was Jo Malone’s Pomegranate Noir. I went straight to the computer and ordered it up. It is a luscious scent, and perfect for fall.
According to Jo Malone (since all this fragrance note business is way over my head – I just know I totally love the scent), Pomegranate Noir has notes of patchouli, frankincense and spicy woods with raspberry, plum, pink pepper and (of course) pomegranate.
This fragrance reminds me of the Burberry fragrance that my dear friend Darren wears and smells so darn tootin’ good in. I am just thrilled it is a woman’s scent!
Right now, through October 4th, enter the offer code JMFALL2 at checkout and you will get a Deluxe sample (9ml) of Pomegranate Noir, free standard shipping plus 2 more fragrance samples of your choice. My daughter wears and loves Red Roses from Jo Malone – it smells just like the most beautiful rose you have ever smelled. Mmm. Check out the sample size when you order…
More Carcinogens In Cosmetics?
Designer 856 asks…I have been hearing a lot about the manufacturing process of ethoxylation using the petrochemical ethylene oxide. Can you explain what that entails? I’ve read this process can also result in a trace contaminant called 1,4-Dioxane, a known carcinogen. If a company is using ethoxylated ingredients, but tests for and removes any present 1,4-Dioxane then is there any other reason that use of such ingredients may be questioned by consumers looking for more natural products?
The Left Brain responds:
Ethoxylation is the process of chemically reacting ethylene oxide with fatty acids (or other hydrocarbons) to make them more water soluble. In cosmetics, hydrocarbons are good for making hair and skin feel smooth, soft and in better condition. But hydrocarbons don’t mix with water (think of separated salad dressing). So, chemists ethoxylate the compounds making them more water soluble. Some consumers (especially those that are interested in using natural products) are concerned that anything that has been ethoxylated contains 1,4 Dioxane and is therefore dangerous.
Dioxane danger
They’re partially right: No matter how well you try to remove 1,4 Dioxane there will always be a trace level left. But it comes down to a matter of the dose. Many things cause cancer and health problems but are perfectly fine in low enough doses. There has never been any evidence suggesting that ethoxylated compounds in cosmetics cause cancer. Based on science, there is no reason to avoid compounds just because they have been ethoxylated.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Even “natural” products will contain carcinogens at trace levels. These things are in our environment. They are impossible to completely avoid.
Avon Calling
We’ll admit to getting a little giddy every time we add a new piece to our makeup bag, but doesn’t everyone? That’s why we’re loving the fact that Avon has definitely hit on all the Trends this season with its new Fall collections. The Smooth Minerals collection is designed to let your natural beauty shine through and the Tribal Teals collection features the hottest tones of teals, greys and plums. Also new to the line is SuperCurlacious Mascara that curls and sets lashes for all-day glam and the Perfect Wear Plump and Stay Lipcolor with its dual wand that plumps and glosses.
We know parting with old favorites is never fun, but isn’t it time you introduced some bold new colour palettes to your wardrobe.
Avon
www.avon.com www.avon.ca
Available online at www.avon.com or www.avon.ca
Red Wine For Skin Care?
Mid Brain reports:
I’m more of a beer person myself, but here’s good news for the red wine fans in the Beauty Brains community: a new technology that can turn vino into skin creams (and more.)
Red wine technology
ScienceDaily reports that the German chemical analysis company Spectral Service in partnership with Technologie-Transfer-Zentrum (TTZ)) and the Spanish natural cosmetics company Alfaverde Productos Naturales, have developed a powdered version of red wine that can be used in skin creams as well as foods and drinks.
The trick was to develop a gentle drying process that did not use heat that could destroy the active ingredients (proteins and polyphenols) They found that skin creams formulated with this powder had potential anti-wrinkle effects. It’s a little bit weird though, because the cream starts out with a violet color that fades as the product is absorbed into the skin.
Red Green
From a “green” perspective, this is a great technology because it creates a new, useful raw material from a red wine by-product that can no longer be dumped on land (according to European regulations.) Just in Germany alone, there are about 120,000 hectolitres of wine by-products, enough to produce 12,000 tonnes of dried red wine powder.
The Beauty Brains bottom line
It’s great to see companies researching ingredients that are both efficacious and environmentally friendly.