Showing posts with label beauty don't. Show all posts

Monday, March 17, 2008

Organic Wear Pressed Powder

It's taken me a while to post this review because my interest in this line waned quite a while ago, but I want to take the time to write about my experience with the Physicians Formula Organic Wear Pressed Powder.
I had high hopes for it initially, the price point is so low and the ingredients are great. I matched the color to my current compact--translucent medium seemed the closest. The wording of the colors threw me off, to my mind translucent means that it offers no real coverage, but is mostly used for setting foundation or concealer and creating a matte finish. I wasn't sure if Translucent Medium meant it would actually be a powder foundation or not.
It turns out that it was a powder foundation and the first time I used it, I was really impressed. It had a soft glowy finish and covered amazingly well.
Once I looked at it in natural light, however I saw how wrong it was. It was far to shiny and highlighted pores and fine lines. It was very similar to the finish I experienced with Bare Escentuals Bare Minerals foundation.
I used to work for BE and I would leave my house feeling beautiful only to find myself blending frantically once I checked my makeup outside in natural light.
However, they were the first mineral makeup I was exposed to and I still believe that minerals are the way to go. Bare Escentuals just isn't the right brand for me.
And it's no wonder they seem similar, here are the ingredients:

Organic Wear

MICA, SIMMONDSIA CHINENSIS SEED OIL*, ZEA MAYS (CORN) STARCH*, MAGNESIUM STEARATE, KAOLIN, CALCIUM CARBONATE, OLEA EUROPAEA (OLIVE) FRUIT OIL*, GLYCERIN, GLYCINE SOJA (SOYBEAN) OIL*, GLYCERYL CAPRYLATE, CINNAMIC ACID, SODIUM LEVULINATE, TOCOPHEROL, WATER. MAY CONTAIN: IRON OXIDES, TITANIUM DIOXIDE. * PRODUCED FROM ORGANIC FARMING

Bare Minerals

Bismuth Oxychloride, Mica, Iron Oxide
*Bare Minerals Foundation May Also Contain:
Titanium Dioxide

It is definitely the mica that gives it the bizarre finish. It is wonderful in highlighters and shadows but terrible as a foundation. BE recommends that you follow up with the corn-starch based Mineral Veil and *surprise!* PF has a corn-starch based finishing powder. Although mica is, again the first ingredient leading me to believe that there is just no way to avoid a waxy-shiny finish with the Organic Wear powder products.
Also, if you'll notice that the BE products have a much shorter ingredient list since they don't add the gratuitous organic ingredients. I call them gratuitous because they could have a very similar product without adding any of the small amounts of botanicals that they did, leading me to believe that they just wanted to have a line that they could call "organic."
I really don't want to use more than one powder product, not only do I not want to take the time but I live in a warm climate and don't want to pile on a lot of products. I am very happy with my Glominerals foundation and you absolutely do not need a finishing powder. It is three times as much as the PF powder but once you factor in using a separate finishing powder, it's not much of a bargain time or money-wise.

Bottom Line:

My overall opinion of these products isn't very high, but I still like that companies such as this one are making more natural options widely available, I think that is very important. This line may work beautifully for some people, and most definitely Bare Minerals fans will love this foundation and it is about 1/3 of the price.
When I returned the concealer and powder that I bought I was hoping to exchange for the tinted moisturizer, but it was out of stock. If I do try it I will review it on makeup alley and link it here, to avoid yet ANOTHER post about this line.

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Toxic Lipstick/Just Another Reason To Go Natural

Group: Lipsticks test positive for lead

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reports it found lead in top brands including L'Oréal, Cover Girl and Christian Dior.

By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff writer

October 12 2007: 3:39 PM EDT

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- A significant proportion of lipstick manufactured in the United States and used by millions of American women contains surprisingly high levels of lead, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics said Thursday.

According to new product tests, 61 percent of brand-name lipsticks tested contained detectable levels of lead, which can be toxic if ingested.

The top brands testing positive for lead included L'Oréal Colour Riche "True Red," L'Oréal Colour Riche "Classic Wine," Cover Girl Incredifull Lipcolor "Maximum Red" and Dior Addict "Positive Red," the group said.

The FDA said it is aware of concerns about lead in lipstick and is following up on the report, a spokeswoman said.

"These concerns have not generally been supported by FDA's own analysis of products on the market," the spokeswoman said. "In the present case, we are looking into the specific details of the issues raised."

Federal regulation covers lead levels in lipstick coloring, she said.

An industry representative said the products tested by the CSC meet FDA standards.

"The FDA has set daily safe levels for lead exposure for adults, children and pregnant women," said John Bailey, the executive vice president for the Science Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association, a trade group representing the cosmetics industry. "The agency also has set strict limits for lead levels allowed in the colors used in lipsticks."

In a statement, L'Oréal Group said it "is committed to upholding the highest standards of safety for all the products it makes and sells. Each and every ingredient used in our products has been thoroughly reviewed and tested by our internal safety team."

Procter & Gamble (Charts, Fortune 500), the company that owns Cover Girl, said it follows a "very rigorous scientific process" in evaluating its products and the ingredients used to make them.

"P&G stands behind the safety of our products because of the standards we set and the rigid requirements imposed by our industry," the company said.

A spokeswoman for Christian Dior cosmetics was not available for comment.

According to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, one-third of the tested lipsticks exceeded the FDA's limit for lead in candy - a standard established to protect children from directly ingesting lead. Pregnant women and young children are particularly vulnerable to lead exposure.

"Lead builds up in the body over time and lead-containing lipstick applied several times a day, every day, can add up to significant exposure levels. The latest studies show there is no safe level of lead exposure," Mark Mitchell, M.D., president of the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice said in the CSC statement.

The lead tests were conducted by an independent laboratory over the month of September on red lipsticks bought in Boston, Hartford, Conn., San Francisco and Minneapolis, according to the CSC.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, established in 2002, is made up of women's, public health, labor, environmental health and consumer-rights groups including the Breast Cancer Fund, Clean Water Fund and National Environmental Trust.