Ingredient Information

I like to check the Skin Deep Ratings of products before I buy them, but in order to do so I need the list of ingredients. Unfortunately, a lot of companies don't provide the ingredient lists for their products online. Here are a couple of websites that I turn to when that information isn't listed on the company's site:

Beautypedia.com

This website is run by Paula Begoun and gives research-supported reviews of cosmetic products. Paula is big on identifying skin-irritants, which, regretfully, include many natural ingredients. Each review examines the product's claim and gives Paula's professional opinion on whether or not it is warranted.

MakeupAlley.com

This is an online community for beauty consumers. Create an account, and you can read consumer reviews posted by other users, post on the message boards, and arrange swaps. The review page of an individual product often contains the product's ingredient list. The ingredients are added by people like you and me, so there are spelling errors sometimes, but I can usually figure out what it's supposed to say.

Once I have the ingredients, I see what Skin Deep has to say. If I want to do a little bit more reading, I'll google the ingredient or search for it on Stephanie's Chemical Database

Review: Origins VitaZing SPF 15 Energy-Boosting Moisturizer with Mangosteen

Everyone seems to really like the VitaZing moisturizer by Origins, so when I had the chance to get a sample a while ago I did. This moisturizer promises to hydrate, energize, and protect your skin. Though it appears white at first, this moisturizer gains a tint when applied to the skin that is supposed to impart radiance.

This has a Skin Deep Rating of 4

The skin-tone matching ability seems a bit off, this product came off as too dark/orange for me. It also makes my skin look greasy, so I need to use powder to set it... so there's no point for me to use this instead of a regular moisturizer.

Active Ingredients: Avobenzone (3%), Octisalate (3%), Octocrylene (2.7%)

Other Ingredients: Water; Citrus Aurantium Amara (Bitter Orange) Flower Water, Anthemis Nobilis (Chamomile) Flower Water, Ethyl Macadamiate, Butylene Glycol, Methyl Trimethicone, Hdi/Trimethylol Hexyllactone Crosspolymer, Lauryl Peg-9 Polydimethylsiloxyethyl Dimethicone, Peg-100 Stearate, Butyloctyl Salicylate, Jojoba Esters, Glyceryl Stearate, Barosma Betulina Leaf Oil, Citrus Paradisi (Grapefruit) Peel Oil, Eucalyptus Globulus (Eucalyptus) Leaf Oil, Abies Sibirica (Pine) Oil, Prunus Amygdalus Amara (Bitter Almond) Kernel Oil, Mentha Arvensis (Field Mint) Leaf Oil, Rosa Damascena (Rose) Oil, Limonene, Panax Ginseng (Ginseng) Root Extract, Cordyceps Sinensis Extract, Garcinia Mangostana Peel Extract, Castanea Sativa (Chestnut) Seed Extract, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract, Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter), Caffeine, Cholesterol, Potassium Cetyl Phosphate, Glyceryl Polymethacrylate, Cetyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Myristate, Trehalose, Ethylhexylglycerin, Linoleic Acid, Squalane, Polymethyl Methacrylate, Dehydroxanthan Gum, Ascorbyl Tocopheryl Maleate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Caprylyl Glycol, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Citric Acid, Stearic Acid, Silica, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Mica, Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide

The ingredient list - which wasn't included with the sample, don't you hate it when that happens? - was crazy-long. It was interesting to note that the ingredient "limonene," which can be found in citrus, has the highest rating out of all of them.


I'm glad that I didn't buy this, as it's quite pricey ($35 for 1.7 oz.) and it doesn't work for me.

Green or Unclean: Smashbox O-GLOW

Image from Sephora,com

 I purchased this "Intuitive Cheek Color with Goji Berry-C Complex" around six months ago after seeing TiffanyD use it on YouTube. This gel blush starts out clear and then changes to pink when warmed up by your body heat. Smashbox claims that this blush is intuitive because each person will have a slightly different shade - they say the shade that you get is what you color you would blush naturally. When I use this, it immediately turns a bright pink when I squeeze a bit out on my fingertips; the pink deepens as I apply the blush to my cheeks. It's a bit scary at first, but tones down to a more moderate (but still bright) pink after a few minutes. I suppose the color is similar to the flush I get when I'm working out vigorously, but it's much more pink than what I consider to be my natural cheek color.

I hadn't heard anything about Smashbox being a natural cosmetic company, so I hadn't put this blush in with my "clean" ones. I finally ended up looking it up on Skin Deep and was very pleasantly surprised. It has a Skin Deep Rating of 0!


Ingredients: Cyclomethicone, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Isononyl Isononanoate, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Punica Granatum, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Polysilicone-11, Ginkgo Biloba Leaf Extract, Lycium Barbarum Fruit Extract, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Plankton Extract, Red 27 (CI 45410)

I'll definitely keep Smashbox in mind when I make future makeup purchases.

Green or Unclean: Clinique 3-step

My daily skin care routine for the past year and a half has been the Clinique 3-step system. I'm finishing up my last few travel sizes of the steps, and will be replacing them once I'm done. I thought I'd see how they measure up on Skin Deep.

Liquid Facial Soap - Oily Skin Formula

This received a Skin Deep Rating of 3

Ingredients: Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Cocamidopropyl Hydroxysultaine, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate, Tea-Cocoyl Glutamate, Butylene Glycol, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Serenoa Serrulata (Saw Palmetto) Fruit Extract, Peg-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Sucrose, Menthol, Hexylene Glycol, Polyquaternium-7, Laureth-2, Caprylyl Glycol, Sodium Sulfate, Edta, Disodium Edta, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol 

Clarifying Lotion 3

Skin Deep Rating of 5

Ingredients: Water, Alcohol Denat., Salicylic Acid, Hamamelis Virginiana (Witch Hazel), Butylene Glycol, Glycerin, Trehalose, Sodium Hyaluronate, Citric Acid, Sodium Hydroxide, Disodium EDTA, BHT, Phenoxyethanol, Benzophenone-4, Violet 2, Red 6, Orange 4

Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel

Skin Deep Rating 4

Ingredients: Water Purified, Dimethicone, Isododecane, Butylene Glycol, Bis-Peg-18 Methyl Ether Dimethyl Silane, Glycerin, Laminaria Saccharina Extract, Lactobacillus Ferment, Polygonum Cuspidatum Root Extract, Saccharomyces Lysate Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seedcake, Caffeine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Sucrose, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria), Polysilicone-11, Pentylene Glycol, Propylene Glycol Dicaprate, Oleth-10, Laureth-23, Laureth-4, Ammonium Acryloyldimethyltaurate/Vp Copolymer, Carbomer, Tromethamine, Disodium Edta, Sodium Dehydroacetate, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Yellow 5, Red 4, Yellow 6

I've grown used to my skin-care routine and I'm a bit nervous about starting a new regimen. When I started using Clinique, my skin really cleared up, so I'm worried that when I try something new that I'll break out. Here's hoping that natural products give me even better skin!

Fix for Split Fingernails

My nails starting splitting a few months ago, I think around the start of Spring. It was really frustrating because I usually have really strong nails that I can grow out without having them break.

Enter: Julep Essential Cuticle Oil

This is an all-natural blend of essential oils and Vitamin E. Julep says that this strengthens your nails and softens your cuticles, and I agree! My nails have completely stopped splitting since I started using this two weeks ago! I've never been overly concerned with my cuticles, but the two rough parts I had are now gone. I like the roller-ball applicator because with a couple of rolls I've got the perfect amount of oil on my nails. It's not a hassle to get the oil applied, and it doesn't feel like I've got a ton of oil on my hands.

Ingredients: jojoba seed oil, sweet almond oil, castor seed oil, rosewood wood oil, tocopheryl acetate, lavander oil, ylang ylang oil

This received a Skin Deep Rating of 2

I've really been enjoying this, but I think once I've used this up I'll just use a mix of jojoba and sweet almond oil (Skin Deep Rating of 0) on my nails.

The Julep website is a bit wonky, but I can tell that they're working on fixing it. They have a monthly mailing program that you can check out.

Question: What's up with fragrance?

I know that fragrance is bad and something I should avoid on ingredient labels. But, is it bad just because it could be masking phthalates, or for other reasons as well? A couple of products I've recently purchased have "Fragrance (Parfum)" listed on the label. I bought them because the labels also specifically said that the products were free of phthalates. So, my question is, if a product does contain fragrance, but does not contain phthalates, is it safe?

Here's an example of a product that's raising some questions. My general plan is to use up all of my products that I currently have and then replace them with non-toxic products. However, I didn't feel very comfortable with shaving my legs with my normal shower gel. (I feel that shaving, which strips off a layer of skin, makes me more vulnerable to ingredients in my shaving aids.) I purchased Alba Botanica natural very emollient cream shave in coconut lime.

The back of the label says that this contains "no: animal testing, artificial colors, parabens, phthalates, sodium lauryl/laureth sufate or sodium methyl sulfate."

I'm pretty happy with this shave cream. It clings to my legs well - I just slather it on, then shave. Usually my shower gels slides off and I use more that what's really necessary. It works just as well as shower gel; my legs are super smooth when I'm done. I checked on Skin Deep and it has a rating of 4... because fragrance is listed in the ingredients.

So, should fragrance always be avoided, even in phthalate-free products?