A Review: BeautyCounter Lip Products

I had never heard of BeautyCounter before, so I was intrigued when one of their consultants reached out to me through this blog to ask if I would like to try their products.  In the blog article she commented on, I was specifically wanting to find a lip product that was non-toxic and didn't contain all of those nasty ingredients.  So, after some quick research on the company and their products, I agreed that I would try out their lip products and provide a review on them.  Thank you Heather Jadus for the product!

BeautyCounter has a selection process on what ingredients make it into their products.  It is honestly quite refreshing. Here's an explanation from their website:

Beautycounter has embraced a whole-­picture approach to product formulation. Our Ingredient Selection Process includes these three steps:

1) We eliminate over a thousand commonly used ingredients right off the bat because of concerns about their effects on people’s long-term health. We will not use the 1300 chemical ingredients that are banned in the European Union or the 11 that are banned or restricted in the U.S. Then we consult our own robust Never List, which includes dozens of cosmetic chemicals that are linked to cancer, reproductive harm and cell damage.

2) If a potential ingredient is not on these lists, we put it through our industry-leading safety Screen, which helps us identify any known or suspected safety concerns. Our Screen represents the most consumer-­conscious approach in the market today.

3) We check to make sure that we need the ingredient at all. Every ingredient in our products has a function; nothing is used without careful consideration for efficacy and performance. No unwanted extras, no dyes, no mysteries. Just ingredients with purpose.

We endeavor to lead by example to inspire true change in the beauty industry.

The product that I tried was their 'Quintessential Collection'.  It is a set that includes two lip sheers in Twig (lighter) and Plum (darker) shades, and a lip shine (gloss).

What I love:
- Goes on super smooth, very silky
- Color is buildable- the photo on the right is just one layer, you can apply more for a deeper color.

Wearing Plum with Lip Shine

- The lip shine is not sticky (I hate it when my hair sticks to my lips on a windy day!)
- No weird taste or smell - it actually smells and tastes delicious and vanilla-ey
- Doesn't accentuate the lines on my lips, they look smoother
- These two shades are perfect for a day shade and a night shade
- The company's values behind the product and how they decide what ingredients to include.

What I don't love:
- The wear doesn't last extremely long, however most my lip products do not last very long on me
- It's a little pricey, I'm used to spending anywhere from $10 - $18 on a lipstick, not $25.

I also had my mom try it out and she LOVED it.  I will most certainly use this stuff up and consider repurchasing when it's gone.  Check out their site, lots of fun gift ideas for those ladies on your list!

Here's a fun play makeup gift idea for little girls!

What is the main thing?

I've recently been reading some leadership books to gain a better understanding of what differentiates a leader from every-day 'Joes' in the work-place and society.  This has been a great area of fascination lately as I have been surrounded by more influential leaders that I look up to, and as personal development for myself.  I'm always looking for ways that I can improve my skills and positively affect those and the world around me. 

In my recent readings, I was recommended a book called "Monday Morning Leadership" by David Cottrell.  This was a fabulous quick-read (I read it in 1.5 days, during my lunch and other breaks at
work, I could hardly put it down).  I have to say this was the best ten bucks I've ever spent!  So many nuggets of information wealth are compressed in these pages. 

Perhaps one of the most profound and influential nuggets that I can use each day is asking myself- what is the main thing?  You can apply this question not only in your professional life, but also in your personal life.

• What is the main thing you are trying to accomplish in your life?  
• What is the main thing you need to do today?
• What is the main thing your department needs to focus on?
• What is the main thing for your family?
• The main thing for your company?

 As you can see, there are a ton of ways this one simple question can impact your all aspects of your life.  I literally taped this question to my monitor at work so I would constantly be reminded of my "main thing".  It's so easy to be distracted or pulled in so many directions that you lose sight of your "main thing".

I encourage you to write down your main things for your family.  For your personal goals.  For your professional goals.  For your week.  For your year.  For your employees.  For your business.  Write it down and post it somewhere that you will see it each day.  I guarantee that doing this one action will change the way you work and live each day.

What are ways that you keep your life focused on your main thing?  Is this something you practice already today?  

Results of My 24-Day Challenge

I did complete the full 24-days of the challenge, however the last 3 days was spent on vacation.  I did not have a scale and did not measure myself, but before I left for my trip I was down just 1 pound.  I know that my body changed shape as my jeans fit differently now- looser in my thighs and buns, and one pair of jeans I loved that never failed to give me a muffin-top isn't so offensive now.  :) I think that since my diet was already so similar to the challenge's diet rules (eat clean, low carbs, low/no sugar) that is why I didn't see as drastic as a change as my husband and other did.

My husband spoke with the Advocare help line (whatever their official name is, I'm not sure) and they said that most people who are already lean and are looking to tone more than lose body fat should be taking the Catalyst supplement in addition to the challenge.  Talking with others who have done the challenge and taken Catalyst, as well as doing some research online, I think that would have helped my results along a little better.

So in summary, I loved how I felt on the challenge and it brought back some good eating and meal-prepping habits.  I have just ordered Catalyst that I will begin taking to help with my workout regimen, and I love Spark!  I have never found anything that takes away that pesky brain fog and keeps me awake and alert throughout the day without feeling jittery or that my heart was going to explode (think 5-hr energy).  I love the Advocare community and their foundational morals and desire to help other reach their health goals.

Shameless plug:  If you are interested in trying out the challenge, you can check it out and order it online here- www.havefunliving.org 

Challenge: Day 15 & 16

Day 15:
Lunch: Rosemary baked chicken breast with broccoli and green beans. (work's cafeteria)

Dinner: Garlic Beef Stew with Savory Cauliflower Mash
This dinner was amazing!  So much flavor and my house smelled amazing.  The cauliflower I seasoned differently than the recipe as I HATE Turmeric.  I used my homemade Johnny's seasoning, a little pepper and garlic powder. 

Day 16:
Lunch: Big salad and a small vegetable soup (work's cafeteria)

Dinner: Egg scramble with tomatoes and a slice of Ezekiel Bread toast with peanut butter

Snacks: Popcorn with stevia and cinnamon, banana

Challenge: Day 14

Lunch: Salad topped with cucumbers, carrots, black beans and hard boiled egg.  I used a balsamic vinaigrette for the dressing.

Dinner: It was a pretty warm day, and I didn't have much time to make a big meal, so I whipped out my George Foreman grill and grilled up a natural burger patty.  I laid it on a bed of lettuce, with tomatoes, avocado and grilled onion.  I used mustard as it is low in sugar and fat (and I'm obsessed with mustard!).  It was much better and fulfilling than I expected it to be, especially since it didn't have a bun with it.  On the side I sliced up a fresh organic pear.  MMmmm!

Snacks: Mixed fruit cup, mixed nuts, brown rice cake with thin layer of peanut butter.

Challenge: Day 13

Lunch: I made a delicious fresh salad (lettuce fresh from my mom's garden), with black beans and half and avocado.  I had this with some of Trader Joe's Goddess dressing.  To reduce the amount of dressing you use (to reduce calories) you can just dip your fork in the dressing first before stabbing into that salad. 

Dinner: We did a repeat from last week since it was so tasty.  Black beans and rice from the challenge cookbook.  I serve it with brown rice and this time mixed veggies.

Snacks: Mixed nuts and a banana.

Challenge: Day 12

The rest of the challenge's breakfasts is the meal replacement shake, so I won't be including breakfast in these posts any longer.

Lunch: Leftover Country Captain Chicken. 

Dinner: I had marinated overnight some chicken breasts in the zesty chicken marinade from the challenge cookbook.  I had BBQ'd these and served them with a fresh side salad.

Snacks: I had a hard boiled egg, mixed nuts, brown rice cake w/ a thin layer of peanut butter.  I also worked out (Jillian Micheal's 30 Day Shred) and had a protein shake afterwards. 

Challenge: Day 11

First day on the MNS phase!  I've been excited to get off the cleanse phase and start seeing some results. Not just physical results, but also energy and mental clarity results.  Don't get me wrong, I have felt AMAZING during the cleanse.  My focus, mental energy, physical energy, alertness...all that is so much better. No longer am I falling asleep on the drive to or from work...or at my desk for that matter.  YEAH!

Here's how my day transpired food-wise-

Breakfast: Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake (nummers!)

Lunch: Leftover spaghetti

Dinner: Homemade Country Captain Chicken from the challenge cookbook. Let me tell you- despite the strange combination of ingredients this was so GOOD!  Definitely a repeat meal here.

Snacks: Carrot and Celery Sticks, Organic Apple, and for "dessert" we had a banana peanut butter smoothie.  I like to use PB2 for the peanut butter.  Less fatty!

Challenge: Day 10

Today is the last day of the cleanse phase, which means NO MORE FIBER DRINK!  I don't think it tastes horrible, it's just a lot to do in the morning and still eat breakfast.

Breakfast:Two fried eggs and a slice of toast.

Lunch: We went to Applebee's for lunch.  I had their 7oz garlic steak with veggies on the side. 

Dinner: I made Grilled Salmon with Avocado salsa.  It was amazing!  Here's where I found the recipe: http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/06/30/grilled-salmon-with-avocado-salsa/.  For the sides I made quinoa and a fresh salad. 

Snacks: Banana, trail mix

Challenge: Day 9

I had an epiphany yesterday as I realized that I haven't had to buy lunch all throughout this challenge and neither has my husband, and we won't be going out to dinner.  That makes what we paid for the challenge not much more than what we would be paying for eating out. Awesome!

Breakfast: I made up a 2-egg scramble with diced zucchini and summer squash that was left over from last night's paleo pizza. 

Lunch: Leftover paleo pizza and a hard boiled egg.

Dinner: Spaghetti with Barilla Plus multigrain spaghetti noodles and the lowest sugar spaghetti sauce I could find on the store shelves.

Snacks: Throughout the work day I had my homemade trail mix.  Dessert was a Choco Loco bar that is vegan and gluten free. 

How I felt: Today I had my energy back, so yesterday's day of rest must have done some good.  I'm excited that tomorrow is the last day of the cleanse.  That fiber drink is getting old.  :)

Challenge: Day 8

Breakfast: Fried Eggs & Peanut butter Toast

Lunch: Chicken and avocado salad on slice of wheat toast.  Apple slices.

Dinner: Paleo Pizza from the Everyday Paleo cookbook.  It was super good!  A no-wheat crust, topped with some marinara, zuccini, summer squash, tomatoes, olives and roasted red peppers.  I also cooked up some antibiotic, no added hormones chicken italian sausage.

Snacks:I forgot my mid-morning snack. That was a big mistake.  By the time lunch rolled around I was feeling so jittery and hangry!  After lunch we went to a local seafood restaurant with my parents and split an appetizer of steamer clams, so that served as our snack. 

I also did our week 2 meal planning since my last meal plan ended at today.  Here's what I have planned for the next week:

There are a couple of repeats of our favorites from last week, like black beans and rice and the spaghetti. 

Challenge: Day 7

Today I felt pretty tired around 1:30, and was struggling to stay awake around 3.  I was also having cravings for things like cupcakes (someone put a container of them on the table behind me at work!), ice cream, chocolate, beer, and a big juicy burger.  this is the first day since starting the challenge that I have had any of these junk food cravings.  Jacob mentioned that he had some cravings about day 8.  
Tomorrow is the 4th of July, so no work.  I'm wondering if a day of rest will help rejuvenate me as work has been pretty tiring and I have done a little overtime.

Here's what I did for food today:

Breakfast: Egg bake and slice of peanut butter toast

Lunch: Chicken salad w/ about 3 tsp Goddess dressing

Dinner: I made the Saucy Salmon from the challenge cookbook.  This salmon was baked on a bed of chard (which I've never had) and covered with a tomato sauce you cook up before baking. 

It was good, however my husband and I LOVE salmon, so this seemed like it was covering up the taste too much.  Too much work and ingredients for something that is so good when baked with just a basic seasoning and some lemon.  I think this recipe would be great for someone who doesn't like salmon all that much as it covers up that "salmony" flavor.  I served it with asparagus and brown rice.

Snacks: Homemade trail mix, a banana, carrot sticks, and a strawberry banana smoothie made with coconut milk.

It's a Wine Party! - The 30th Birthday of Two Friends

I have always wanted to host a wine party - where my girlfriends can get together sans kiddos, bring a bottle of wine, enjoy good food (and chocolate!), and unwind a bit.  With my 30th birthday fast approaching, I wanted to do something special and knock something off of my life's to-do list.  It also happens to be my bestie's 30th birthday a week prior to mine, so why not join our birthdays and do something we both have been wanted to do for a while?

After lots of dreaming, pinning (view our pin board), planning, and googling, we came up with a menu and ideas. We would provide the food, which would be mainly finger foods and chocolate.  Our guests would bring a bottle of wine.  We would all judge the wines together and whoever's wine won the most votes would bring home a prize.

Here's how we did it:

When a guest brought in their wine, we would promptly take it and wrap it up with tissue paper and a custom designed label.  It helps having a bestie that's a talented graphic artist (Check out her FB page: Rachael Reynolds Artistry).  Be sure to write down somewhere on the bottle what it is (cab, merlot, zin, etc) and who brought it. That will help you out later.

Notice that we have also created printables that explain about the tastes of wine as well as how to taste wine.  Most of the people coming are all wine newbies, so we wanted to teach them all how to taste wine at the party.

While we were waiting for others to arrive, we had a table set up for guests to make their own wine charm.  This doubled as a help in identifying our glasses throughout the night since I don't have enough to go around as it is.  It was a great way to use up my ever-growing cork collection too.

I purchased silver head pins from the jewelry section at a craft store, bent the ends so they would "clasp" into the loop-hole.  My friend had beads galore, so we added some of that.  I sliced the corks with a sharp serated knife, they were about 1/4" thick.  I purchased little screw-in hooks, also from the jewelry section, and screwed them into each cork.  I had pre-assembled these, but left the cork blank so that everyone could make their own design.  I had some stamps and ink pads in a few different colors, but black turned out the best.  Everyone loved making them and that they could take them home!

We made lots of food.  Too much maybe, but it was GOOD.

 Foods we had were:

• Grapes
• Assorted cheeses including smoked gouda, aged white sharp cheddar, colby-jack, monterey jack
• Almonds, walnuts and mediteranean olives
• Water crackers (great palate cleanser)
• Strawberries and peaches
• Baked Brie En Croute w/ Apple Compote from Williams Sonoma
• Baked Herb Ricotta w/ Roasted Tomato Crostini from Ravishing Hunger
• Red Wine Truffles from We're not Martha blog
• Individual cheesecakes in jars w/ optional cherry topping

Everything was so good!

Notice the cute food labels, also custom-designed by my friend.  I used more of my cork collection to make the stands. I just cut a slit in the cork, stuck a tack in the back so that it would stand up, and voila!

Here are the score cards we made for the guests to fill out while we were taste-testing:

I just added up the scores after we were done and the wine with the least points (1 = Outstanding, 5 = Awful), won the prize!

The night was tons of fun, and us besties were blessed to be surrounded by family and friends and to try out lots of pinterest ideas.  :)

Challenge: Day 6

Breakfast: I made one of my favorite breakfasts ever!  An egg bake. 

Here's how to make it:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees
2. Grease a ramekin (or small oven-safe dish) with coconut oil.  Add 2 eggs, 2 tbsp salsa and salt and pepper if desired.  
3. Bake for 8 - 12 mins depending on how you like your yolks. 10 or 11 is usually perfect for me (firmer yolks)
4. Take out of oven carefully and enjoy!  It's great with a piece of whole grain toast.

Lunch: I made a salad with last night's leftover chicken, along with avocado and black beans.  Delicious!

Dinner: Grilled steaks with a homemade creole seasoning.  For the side, I made a vegetable hash from my Paleo cookbook - Everyday Paleo.  It had sweet potatoes, zucchini and shallots in it seasoned with curry powder and cinnamon.  It was super tasty!

Snacks: Carrot sticks and homemade trail mix.

How I felt today: After yesterday's best energy day ever I was a little disappointed that I felt more drained.  I woke up a lot last night, so all that interrupted sleep probably didn't help.  This is the first day that I drank Spark twice (once in the morning and once before lunch).  I still love how alert and awake I feel on the Spark.  So much better than coffee! 

Challenge: Day 4

This is the first break from the fiber drink! Hopefully my gassy bloated tummy will go away now. :(

Breakfast: egg scramble with mushrooms and green onions. I also baked some paleo apple cinnamon muffins. They are made with almond flour, baking soda, cinnamon, eggs, banana and diced apple. Nummy!

Lunch: this was amazing and my husband liked it too! I made the chicken avocado salad from the challenge cookbook and had it over a bed of lettuce. Jacob had it on a slice of toasted bread. This is a keeper!

Dinner: I made the crockpot chicken burritos recipe from the challenge cookbook. We decided to serve it over lettuce like a salad. I added black beans and slivered almonds. We had it with trader joes Goddess dressing. Fruit on the side. We both agree that this recipe is a keeper. Mmmm

Snacks: brown rice cakes with peanut butter. We also had a paleo muffin. 

Challenge: Day 5

Today is the best I have felt! Energy, clarity of mind, good mood. This is also the day Jacob mentioned he felt the best too.

Breakfast: 2 fried eggs, whole grain toast with peanut butter. (And Spark of course!)

Lunch: Used the rest of the leftover chicken from last night's crock pot chicken burritos for a salad topper. I picked up trader joes Goddess dressing as it looked like it had all clean ingredients and wasn't too fatty. I just dipped my fork in the dressing and then stabbed into the salad. It was the perfect mix of black beans and avocado with the salad. 

Dinner: I made chicken breasts cooked in coconut oil. Made a sauce of chicken broth, coconut milk, basil and mushrooms. I put that over the chicken and quinoa with a side of corn. 

Snacks: Fresh fruit salad, had a protein shake after my workout, and a paleo apple cinnamon muffin. 

Challenge: Day 3

Day 3

Breakfast: 1 Fried egg, part of a piece of toast.  That fiber drink sure does fill me up!

Lunch: Since I forgot my leftovers yesterday, I got to have those today for lunch.  It was leftovers from a dinner of beans and rice from the 24-day challenge cookbook.  Delicious!

Dinner: We had a family BBQ. This was our first time being faced with a potluck event full of delicious foods that we had to avoid, not to mention dessert and homemade ice cream!  Jacob and I had some kabobs (steak and veggies), I also had a hamburger patty cut up with lettuce and mustard and some fruit salad.  Future tip, when we have a potluck type event I am bringing a good hearty salad so we won't feel so deprived.

Snacks: The normal veggies, fruit and trail mix.  The evening snack I whipped up a berry protein shake using a half-scoop of vanilla muscle build protein powder. 

How I felt: I felt good today.  Less painful gas cramps than yesterday.  My energy dropped at the end of the day after dinner.  I think this was because of all the fruit I had (sugar crash!) and the heat naturally makes a person tired after a while.  

Challenge: Day 2

Day 2

Breakfast: Fried eggs (we use coconut oil, NOT butter and it makes perfect eggs!), slice whole wheat toast and some sliced apple.

Lunch: I forgot my leftovers at home, so I ended up picking up a Starbucks salad that was around 300 cals.  It was delicious, but I was still bummed that I forgot my leftovers.

Dinner: It was friday, and payday, and I had a birthday gift certificate from a local higher-end seafood restaurant that was expiring in two days so we decided to go there and get a healthy option.  I had baked salmon with veggies.

Snacks: I had some of my homemade trail mix as well as some carrot sticks.

How I felt: I felt great energy-wise.  I did have some cramps from gas throughout the day, so I know the extra fiber from the fiber drink was working on something. 

Preparing for the Advocare 24-Day Challenge

Preparation and planning is the key to success with the challenge.  The challenge is a GREAT way to learn how to eat clean and healthy, and at regular intervals.  Here's what I did to help me prepare for mine and my husband's challenges.

Tools:

From www.chooseyourchallenge.com

• 24-Day Challenge Cookbook - a great starting point to get recipes and learn what ingredients to use and foods to eat.  
• Grocery List - this is a great listing of safe foods to eat during the challenge
• Trim Timeline, Tips & Measurements - This is a good sheet to use to guide you through the challenge as well as a place to jot down your starting measurements and weight.

From Advocare's Challenge Site

• Advocare Assessment Form - This is similar to the form mentioned above as it allows you to log your measurements and weight and it is from Advocare's official site.

I started by sitting down with the challenge cookbook and marking all the recipes that sounded like something we would actually enjoy.  Once that was done, I began writing out the week's foods for breakfast, snacks, lunch and dinner.  Having a written plan, posted on my fridge, makes it fool-proof for both me and my husband to follow.

Next, I went through my meal plan and the recipes to create my grocery list and went shopping.  Now we have all the food for the week (I did have to go back halfway through the week to get more fruit).

Tips:

• Buy the larger bags of carrots/celery and cut them up ahead of time and portion them out.  This makes it easy to grab a portion for a quick snack or to take to work.
• Before you go to bed, look over your meal plan to see if any meat needs to be thawed in the fridge, and to pack your lunch if you're working the next day.  I also like to look at it to feel prepared for the next morning's routine.
• Have lots of healthy snacks!  Buy more than you think you will need.  The last thing oyu want is to be starving and making poor snacking choices.  
• Clean out your kitchen before the challenge.  Remove/throw away/hide any "bad" foods so you won't be tempted.  If you are the only one in your home doing the challenge, maybe have a "safe cupboard" where you have all your healthy snacks and only go to that cupboard.  You could reverse that as well and move all the snacks you should avoid to a separate cupboard for you to avoid.
• Get up early enough to not only make breakfast, but to have your Spark and fiber drink without feeling rushed.  Make this an excuse to create a new morning routine for yourself that you can enjoy- to read the paper, do your devotionals, etc.  

Good luck in your journey!  Feel free to ask questions and share any tips that have helped you out along the way.  I am blogging about my daily journey, so take a look around for posts on how I fared throughout the challenge.

24 Day Challenge - Day 1

Advocare 24-Day Challenge

Day One 

Let me start this off by first introducing how I got involved in this 24-day challenge.  My husband was intrigued by the company, Advocare, and their values.  He also had put in some research into their products and compared them with other similar companies.  So, now he is an Advocare distributor (here's his site) and started his 24-day challenge 6 days ago.  He has already lost 2" off his waist and 4 pounds, has enjoyed the food and is feeling great.   

The largest misconception I have seen with the challenge is that most people think it's one of those meal replacement shake diets.  Actually, it's not!  You learn to eat clean food at regular intervals to stabilize your metabolism.  You eat plenty of food, and take supplements for the other nutrients your body needs.  It's a great plan and will help me and my husband begin eating better for the rest of our lives.  So, keep reading to see how I have progressed through the first day of the 24-day challenge.  The key to this challenge's success is preparation and planning.  I'll do a separate post on how to prep to be successful. 

The first day can be pretty intimidating, especially if you're not used to eating breakfast or having much liquid in the morning.  Luckily, I am used to making breakfast, but still drinking water and lots of it is difficult for me to do that early.
With that said, I was pleasantly surprised with Advocare's products as they were tasty and easy to stomach.  Here's how it went:

Morning Schedule:
4:30 a.m. - Got up to get ready for work.

5:30 a.m. - Drank Fruit Punch flavor Spark.  It was delicious and is my favorite flavor so far.  (I've tasted Cherry and Watermelon so far)

6:05 a.m. - Took fish oil supplement and drank the fiber drink.  It actually wasn't gross or hard to drink.  I may sound surprised because it looks like a gel with malt-o-meal in it.

6:35 a.m. - Ate breakfast.  This consisted of a fried egg (used coconut oil, butter is a no-no at this stage), whole wheat toast with a thin layer of peanut butter, and half a sliced up apple.  Drinking the Spark and fiber drink, I already felt full, but I managed to eat all but a little of the toast and a couple slices of apple.

Snack 1:
I had a small snack around 9:30 a.m. that consisted of homemade trail mix.  I picked up bulk walnuts, almonds and raisins from the grocery store and mixed in high-quality organic dark chocolate that I chopped up.

Lunch:
Salad with clean chicken fajita mix (recipe made from the 24-day challenge cookbook) and a homemade balsamic vinaigrette. 

Snack 2: 
I had packed celery and carrots, so I had a serving of the veggies with a tablespoon of Adam's peanut butter. 

Dinner: 
I had prepared the chicken breasts the night before so they could marinade all night & day.  I used the Zesty Chicken Marinade in the Challenge's cookbook.  THIS WAS SOOO GOOD!!!  I had cooked up some quinoa and steamed broccoli on the side.  I love to drizzle balsamic vinegar over the broccoli and quinoa. 

What I noticed today:
The Spark left me alert and more awake than my 1 - 2 cups of coffee do.  I had a morning full of meetings and was able to stay awake and was able to think through issues, hold deeper conversations, and focus more on my work.  I had no crash, which would normally happen right after lunch. 

I also was pretty full throughout the day.  I normally get shakes every 2-3 hours and am starving.  This was not the case today.  So, for day 1, I am pleasantly surprised and pleased. 

Journey to a Healthy Makeup

My last post - Toxic Beauty - covered my recent reasons into changing my beauty products to safer, less toxic brands.  I also covered what makeup I currently (then) used, as well as how they ranked on the toxicity scale.  If you haven't already, I encourage you to take a look at that blog post.

Now that I have had a chance to research, purchase replacement makeup products, and try them out I wanted to give you my opinions of what I have tried thus far.  So...here goes...

There were a few brands that sparked my interest in all my research.  I was looking for companies that didn't include ingredients in the dirty dozen list, and makeup that ranked as a 3 or lower on Skin Deep's cosmetic database.  The main goal was to reduce the amount of hormone disruptors my body was taking in as I already have a hormone imbalance due to PCOS. 

My makeup needs:

1. I have sensitive skin (probably having something to do with my hormone imbalance), so makeup can easily cause a lot of redness around my nose and cheeks, or cause breakouts on my forehead.  I already have pretty red, blotchy skin and break out regularly on my chin.  I also have horrible under-eye bags/circles that I need to cover each morning and scarring on my chin from PCOS.  So, I need a foundation that evens out my skin tone and a good concealer for my under-eye area and blemishes. 
2. I cannot live without a good charcoal colored eye-liner.  I'm not a fan of liquid, I really wanted a pencil that is soft and easy to apply.  
3. Shimmery eye shadows, not too vibrant, but ones that actually show up and don't crease up halfway through the day.
4. A good mascara that doesn't flake or clump.

Here is a summary of the makeups that I tried out and what I thought of them:

Foundation-

• Terra Firma Cosmetics Hydrasilk Mineral Foundation
  

  

  Terra Firma Sample Stack - Foundation/Blush

  Terra Firma caught my eye because it was a local company, had GREAT prices, and didn't include the ingredients I was trying to avoid.  I purchased the sampler, which includes 4 shades of foundation, a finishing powder and two blush colors.  This was a GREAT deal at $16.00.  I loved how they offer the option to try samples first since ordering online can be tricky. 
  
  The first 2 days of wearing the foundation and finishing powder together my skin felt like all the moisture was being sucked out of it.  This was so uncomfortable and itchy that the second day I washed it off within an hour of putting it on.  I tried again the next day, but didn't put on the finishing powder.  No itchy dry skin after that, so there must be something in the finishing powder that my face didn't like. 
  
  WHAT I LOVE- The coverage of the foundation is AMAZING for a mineral powder.  My skin tone was evened out, skin looked great, and it is buildable.  I also love the price and that they are local to me.
  
  VERDICT - I still prefer liquid foundation, so I'm not completely hooked.  I do love how it feels and looks, so if I don't fall in love with a liquid then I will consider using this full-time.
• Juice Beauty Perfecting Foundation
  I fell in love with Juice Beauty's products the moment I stumbled upon their website.  The reviews looked great, the prices were what I would expect ($35), and I was intrigued by what everyone was saying about how it smelled.  I know, smell is a stupid reason, but still it was intriguing.  I also had a family member that LOVED their foundation and other products, so based on her reviews I wanted to give them a try. 
  

  

  Juice Beauty Foundation and Finishing Powder

  
  This is a liquid foundation, which is what I was hoping to find, but when you put it on it dries pretty quickly so you would want to use your fingers rather than a brush to apply it.  It goes on smooth, smells citrusy (so nice and awakening in the morning!), and feels great all day.  I have had a couple mornings where my skin looked like I had too much makeup on, or it accentuated a dry spot more than I wished, but I've noticed it reacts differently to what type of moisturizer I put on first. 
  
  WHAT I LOVE- The coverage is good, evens out my skin tone.  It feels great on my skin and smells great. The finishing powder does an amazing job of giving that air-brushed look.
  
  WHAT I DON'T LOVE- Not as buildable as I wish it was, but that's what I use concealer for if I need to.  I've also gotten inconsistent results, so I'm still working with it to determine if it's my moisturizer or if I need to just exfoliate more. 
  
  
  VERDICT- I am using this every morning and like it.  Not sure if I love it yet.  I'm planning on using the rest of the bottle up and if I am hooked by then I will reorder.  If not, I will look elsewhere. 

Concealer-

• Terra Firma Hocus Pocus Undereye Mineral Concealer
  I purchased a sample baggie of this powder after reading great reviews on it.  This did NOT cover my undereye circles at all.
• Juice Beauty Correcting Concealer
  I purchased this at Ulta and took it back the next day.  It was watery and sheer, didn't cover my dark circles at all. 
• Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer
  This is a creme concealer that comes in a squeeze tube.  It is thick, so you only need a dab for the undereye area.  I LOVE this concealer!  It covers so well for undereyes and blemishes without looking cakey and lasts all day.  This is my new favorite makeup product and it's worth every penny!

Blush- 

• Terra Firma Mineral Blush
  I haven't every really used blush because of my redness in my skin, but I really wanted to learn how to contour, plus some came with the Terra Firma sample stack so I gave it a try.  I have to say, I LOVE the "In Love" mineral blush color so much. I use it every day.  This is something I will continue to purchase.

Eye Shadow-

• Tarte Amazonian Clay Eyeshadow Palette
  I had a hard time finding a palette of eyeshadow to get that was safe for use. Tarte offers several choices, I chose the palette that included olive, peach, gold and espresso.  I do like this palette, however I have a hard time with getting the colors to stick around all day long.  I think I will continue to add to my eye shadow collection as I get more money, trying out other brands to see what I like the best.  This was a good get-me-by starter for the time being. 

Tarte Concealer, Eye Shadow, Eye Liner and Mascara

Eye Liner-

• Tarte Skinny SmolderEYES
  I have been HOOKED on Clinique's quickliner since high school, so I knew finding a replacement might be difficult. I needed something that was easy to apply and I love charcoal (not black!) which proved harder to find than I thought it would be.  
  
  This eyeliner intrigued me as it had GREAT reviews, looked like what I was used to using already, and came in a charcoal gray color. 
  
  WHAT I LOVE- I love how easy it is to apply and how it looks.  It goes on so smooth.
  
  WHAT I DON'T LOVE- I have to sharpen it often, about 2x a week. I purchased it a month ago and I've used at lease half of it.  Don't get me wrong, I don't use a TON of eyeliner, usually just on my top eyelid.  I also have to be sure to apply a light eye shadow over it if I apply it to my bottom lid so it doesn't smear during the day.
  
  VERDICT- I do love this eye liner, but I might try some of Tarte's others as they have many to choose from.  I wish it lasted longer.

Mascara-

• Tarte's Gifted Amazonian Clay Smart Mascara
  I received this as a free sample with my purchase, so of course I was going to try it out!  I also couldn't find a mascara I wanted to try with Juice Beauty and didn't end up splurging for Terra Firma's yet. 
  
  WHAT I LOVE- This mascara is a perfect, all around mascara!  No flaking or smearing.  Doesn't look clumpy.  Washes of well. And I love the container! It's an earth-friendly wood container.  Works better than the Clinique or department store mascaras I've always used.
  
  WHAT I DON'T LOVE- Nothing!  It's perfect!
  
  VERDICT- This is a keeper for sure!

Overall, I think I was pretty lucky to have found so many keepers.  My skin is happier.  Purchasing these brands, you can get JuiceBeauty and Tarte at Ulta.  Tarte is also at Sephora.  Terra Firma you can get off their website, or in some beauty stores (look at their site for locations).

Terra Firma - http://terrafirmacosmetics.com/index.html
Juice Beauty - http://www.juicebeauty.com/
Tarte - http://tartecosmetics.com/

Have you tried any other "safe" makeups that you would like to share?  I encourage you to comment below with your experiences!

Toxic Beauty

On my journey to living a healthier life I have tackled many of the basics.  I started with nutrition – eating healthier and learning more about the sources of foods, pesticides, organics, GMOs, and how it can all disrupt your body.  Next, I tackled the cleaning products arena.  I made my own laundry detergent and cleaning products that are safer to use.   

My next battle is what I put on my skin each day- makeup, as well as lotions and cleansers.  Your skin absorbs much of what is put on it, including any nasty chemicals.  I have put this off for quite a while as it is expensive to just trash your nasty products and replace them with better choices, but also to learn what is in my favorite beauty products was a scary thought.  BUT, the time has come and I am going through them now.  ::nervous sigh:: 

Here's a good video to help explain why you should be cautious with your makeup and other beauty product choices.

First I wanted to set some guidelines for myself so I knew what I was willing to put on my skin for the rest of my life, therefore making it evident what I was trashing and what to replace it with.   Here are my guidelines:

      I.         Does not contain any of the “dirty dozen” ingredients:

1. BHA and BHT
2. Coal tar dyes
3. DEA
4. Dibutyl phthalate
5. Formaldehyde-releasing preservatives
6. Parabens
7. Parfum (a.k.a. fragrance)
8. PEG compounds
9. Petrolatum
10. Siloxanes
11. Sodium laureth sulfate
12. Triclosan

This ingredient list was created by a David Suzuki, a Canadian geneticist and founder of the David Suzuki foundation.  This list contains many ingredients that cause cancer, reproductive and non-reproductive organ toxicity, and other health risks.  Here is a link to his organization’s guide to the dirty dozen list.   You can read more about each of these ingredients in more detail by following that link.

 II.          Toss any products that may interfere with my hormones.  Since I have a hormone imbalance already (PCOS), I have to be extra-conscious of any ingredient that can make it into my body mimicking my natural hormones and causing things to get even more off track. These are called Endocrine Disrupters. 

  III.      Rates a 3 or less on EWG’s Skin Deep cosmetics database.  This database contains almost 10,000 personal care product ingredients and shares them on their website, along with ratings and concerns for each product.  Most of my products were listed.

Here are my products I use regularly and how they rated against my guidelines:

• Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion = 2
  Largest concerns were allergens.
  Verdict: KEEP IT!

• Epionce Milky Lotion Cleanser = 2
  Largest concerns were allergens.
  Verdict: KEEP IT!

• Mary Kay Ultimate Mascara = 3
  Largest concern – contains parabens (endocrine disruption)
  Verdict: TRASH IT!

•  Jane Iredale Amazing Base (mineral foundation from dermatologist) = 7
  Largest concerns – Cancer, organ toxicity (titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, dimethicone, etc)
  Verdict: TRASH IT!

•  Clinique Colour Surge Eye Shadow = 4
  Largest concerns = Cancer
  Verdict: TRASH IT!

•  Neutrogena SkinClearing Blemish Treatment Foundation = 5?
  This score is questionable as the old formulation was listed.  Not sure if there is a difference to the current formulation.
  
  Largest concerns = Biochemical/cellular level changes, endocrine disruption, cancer, organ toxicity (contains Retinyl Palmitate, Parabens)
  Verdict: TRASH IT!

•  Clinique Long Last Lipstick = 5
  Largest concerns – cancer, organ system toxicity, developmental/reproductive toxology (Glyceryl Rosinate, BHT)
  Verdict: TRASH IT!

•  Clinique Line Smoothing Concealer = ?
  This product was not in the database.  Upon further investigation it has been found that this product contains nanoparticles.  I was not able to obtain a complete list of ingredients and Clinique does not allow you to request a full list of ingredients anyways. You can only ask them about up to 4 ingredients per product.  A little sketchy if you ask me.  This is my FAVORITE product as I always have bags and dark circles under my eyes, as well as blemishes and it has never failed me.  I hope I can find a good replacement.
  Verdict: TRASH IT! 

•  Clinique Quickliner = 4
  Largest concerns – Neurotoxicity, cancer, organ system toxicity, possible endocrine disruption. (Aluminum Powder, BHT, CYCLOPENTASILOXANE)
  
  This has always been my favorite eyeliner as well.  Goes on SO smooth and easy to apply.  I’ll be sad to see this one go.
  Verdict: TRASH IT!

• Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm = 2
  Not a lot to worry about with this one except perhaps Castor Oil (can cause developmental/reproductive toxicity).
  Verdict: KEEP IT! (or trash it, I’m not too attached to it)

• Herbal Essences Hello Hydration Moisturizing Shampoo = 4
  Largest concerns = Fragrance – organ system toxicity, neurotoxicity, cancer
  Verdict: TRASH IT!

That's a lot of things to trash!  It's a little scary too, knowing that I've been putting this junk on my body since around the age of 16.  

Next week I'll talk about some options for replacing all of these things I've trashed.  I've compiled a LOOONG list of possible companies, but still need to sort it out and read reviews, ingredient lists, etc.  STAY TUNED!!