This Means War: Antioxidants vs Free Radicals
I'm sure everyone has heard the terms "free radical" and "antioxidant" before. You generally know, one is bad and the other is good, but do you really know what they are and why they are? Marketing of cosmetics depends on the consumer being a little naive and the...
The Sticky
This post was inspired by my good friend and fellow cosmetic chemist, Kimberly Riley (@KiMiStRyCOS), who recently posted this tweet:@KiMiStRyCOS: Wondering why your lip gloss is sticky? It's probably comprised of mostly synthetic ingredients #makeupmondayI couldn't...
Makeup Mondays Exposed
As you may already know, I'm an avid tweeter (can I say that?! lol). I primarily follow people who share my interest in beauty, makeup, skin care and fashion. So you can imagine my twitter feed is on fire on #makeupmonday. Periodically, I will do a post explaining the...
Lip Service
So, lip gloss makes me happy and I'm not ashamed :-)I have about 5 glosses in my purse at the moment and I still feel like that's not enough. Don't worry, I'll be adding to my arsenal soon with a couple brands I'm working on and one that my good friend Kim Riley has...
Mineral Oil
Mineral oil is a standard ingredient in many skin care applications including lotions, baby care products and cold creams. The verdict is still out on whether or not mineral oil is a natural ingredient. Mineral oil is the by-product of petroleum distillation for the...
Unscented vs Fragrance Free
With so many allergies, sensitive skin problems and the growing desire to "go green", consumers are opting for products that don't contain any added fragrance-- or so they think. Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of ambiguity on the part of the FDA regarding...
Dry, Itchy, Flaky Skin
So... I realized today that I hadn't posted a blog in almost two months. That is totally unacceptable! I'm back with a vengeance. I thought it was an appropriate time to tackle the problem of dry skin. During the fall and winter months more people begin to experience...
Scent Inspiration: Alexander McQueen
I have a thing for fashion... I love clothes, shoes, handbags and accessories. I do an awful lot of window shopping on the web planning my next purchase or daydreaming about the day when I can afford the item I want. This time the most coveted item was a pair of...
All Things Accutane
At the request of my dear twitter friend Justmiaiam, this post will cover the good, the bad and the ugly of accutane. Unfortunately its mostly bad and ugly... let's dive in. Please note, I couldn't possibly cover all the side effects of this drug, seriously its just...
Acne: Treating the Culprit
Now that we've discussed factors that cause acne, we can explore the treatments. The two most common acne treatments are benzoyl peroxide and salicylic acid. Benzoyl peroxide works by killing the bacteria that causes acne. This bacteria (Propionibacteria acne)cannot...
Eeek! Where did this Acne Come From?!
A few of you have asked me beauty questions regarding acne and acne treatments. I like to be thorough with my answers so now is the perfect time for a blog series on acne. We will start with the causes, after all, if you don't know why it happens how can you treat...
Scent Inspirations
Its been quite awhile since I've shared my scent inspirations with you all. The first was inspired by the feather fashion trend. That scent actually made it to my product line as Arabesque. I was later inspired by a funky piece of furniture. Today I called on my...
Teach Yourself to Crawl
Its been quite awhile since I've done a self-esteem post. One of my main goals in life and business is to help women learn to love themselves completely. A big part of loving yourself is celebrating the things you are good at and the things you have accomplished. Just...
Lead… Is It In You?
Lead is not really a new fear factor. We have known for at least 2 decades that lead based paint is a "no-no", especially if you have small children. In more recent years scientists and health professionals have begun to point out lead content in other items that are...
The Case For Exfoliation
As I am sure you know by now, my skin is very important to me. Its also rather temperamental! I have extremely dry skin which tends to flake and gets worse depending on the weather. I don't just mean a change in season... I mean if its 75 degrees today and then...