Read-the-Label: Naked Cosmetics Mineral Eye Shadow Cabernet Blush

Naked Cosmetics Mineral Eye Shadow Cabernet Blush

Life is full of coincidences. I spoke of oxidation last Friday, and today I’m going to review the ingredientlist of the Naked Cosmetics Mineral Eyeshadow Cabernet Blush collection. The ingredientlist is quite short;

Mica, [+/- Silica, Tin Oxide, CI 77891, CI 77489, CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499, CI 75470, CI 77510, CI 77288]

According to the description of the loose eye shadows, they contain 100% oxidized Mica. Note that the product doesn’t contain just mica, because there would be (almost) no colour. The 100% reflects that the Mica is 100% oxidated. I have to admit, as a scientist, it actually doesn’t sound very pausible, because there is always a little bit left that didn’t undergo a reaction. A very good example is ethanol, the most common alcohol. Higher than 96% procent ethanol is just not possible, because it will disintegrate to a level of 96%.

Anyway, back to the Mica.
Oxidized Mica is a silicone. Mica itself is a silicon, and with the addition of oxygen, it becomes a silicone. There are some Mica’s known that don’t contain silicons, but I have never come across them (yet). It gives the product it’s shine and is a good base for a loose eyeshadow. In it’s non oxidized state, it gives the eyeshadow it’s sparkle and shine.

If I look at the first “may contain” ingredient (as usual, “may contain” can be read as “yeah, it is actually in it”) it is Silica. This kind of backs up my theory that the mica isn’t fully (100%) oxidized, but there is still some residue left. It won’t harm you anyway. Tin oxide, as wikipedia and my gut tells me, is added in small doses as a reducing agent, causing the mica to oxidize. In a redox reaction (as it is officially called), a oxidizer and a reducer are necessary. One cannot live without the other (wait, did J.K. Rowling say something like that – In case you’re wondering, I’m re-reading the series. Again). Don’t worry if you don’t get it, it cost me two years to get it.

Then on to the pigments. CI 77891, or Titanium dioxide (no, these eyeshadows will not give you the necessary SPF or work as thickener – the concentrations are just simply to low for that) is white. CI 77489, or Black 7489, is a brown-to-black synthetic colour. CI 77491, or Ferric Oxide is a brownish red color. CI 77492, or Iron oxide hydroxide is a yellow pigment. CI 77499, black iron oxide is well, black. CI 75470, is carminic acid (yes, made from bugs) and gives a red colour. CI 77510 is Ferric Ferrocyanide and blue. Last one is CI 77288, chromium oxide green, which is green. Together, they create the lovely colors of the Cabernet blush collection.

(Note: these are now € 32,95 which means 25% off, to get them click here)
Until next time,

Dymphy

Read-the-Label: Beauty So Clean Cosmetic Sanitizing Mist

I have been asking Monique for months (ok, just one) if I could do a post on the Beauty So Clean Sanitizing Spray. Because the Beauty So Clean products are back in stock, I finally could take a look at the ingredients. Yay!

So, what’s on the list?
Ethyl Alcohol, Isopropyl Palmitate, Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Isopropyl Myristate, C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate.

Ethyl alcohol/”Ethanol: In order to sanitize a product, at least 70% of the cleaner must be a sanitizing agent. The most common agent is alcohol. Bleach is also used a lot in laboratories, however, in order to maintain that gorgeous deep red colour of that one particular eyeshadow, stick with alcohol. Ethyl alcohol consists of two carbon atoms, one hydroxy group and five hydrogen atoms. Is it safe? Yes, because it is also the alcohol that is used in beer. However, don’t drink this.

Then, a mixture of emmolients/thickners/emulsifier follows. Isopropyl palmitate is derived from palm oil and Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride from coconut.

Isopropyl myristate is the reason you would buy the Sanitizing spray instead of regular ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) in a spray bottle. It dissolves the wax from the exoskeleton of microbes (especially lice), which results in dehydration. It is made from isopropanol and myristic acid.

C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate is also an emmolient/thickner/emulsifier, made from benzoate (a benzene ring) and a lot of carbon atoms. There are 12 carbon atoms left of the benzene ring and 15 carbon atoms right of the benzene.

The sanitizing spray excells in well, sanitizing because of it’s unique blend of ethanol, isopropyl myristate and the three emulsifiers.

Oh, and get them while there hot, because they are going fast! Last time I tried to order them, I had no such luck. (I’ll save you a pack Dymphy 😉 ~Monique)

Until next time,

Dymphy

Wayne Goss on Yaby Cosmetics

Wayne Goss, popular Youtube reviewer gives his honest opinion on Yaby Cosmetics Eyeshadows and Pearl Paints!

Yaby Cosmetics was developed by Canadian makeup artist Liz Yu.. She developed the brand with her peers in mind, knowing first hand how we always have way too much stuff in our kits and everybody is always trying to condense. Yaby is actually the reason I started PROMAKEUPSTORE in the first place in 2008! I had the pleasure of meeting Liz for the first time at IMATS London in 2010.
I already used Yaby as a makeup artist before I started selling the brand and I have never seen shadows so pigmented in my entire career. A lot has been said on their small size, but for me that’s more an advantage than anything else. Yes, I want to have every color under the sun in my kit, but I don’t want my kit to weigh a ton. And that’s exactly what you can achieve with these palettes. After all I do want a bright yellow and an acid green shadow just in case I might need it some day, but I don’t need them to be the size of a dollar (or a euro for that matter). They would last me my entire career AND my back would go out from carrying all that stuff around.
So before being put off by the size, think about the advantages. With this kind of pigment you aren’t likely to run out of a color any time soon, even though they are small.
If you need to replace a color in the palette, just press down on one side of the pan until it flips up, take it out and replace it with a full pan! It’s that easy.
Another plus is that they are vegan!

The four eyeshadow palettes each contain 40 shades of eyeshadow.
The “World of Pearl Paints Palette” contains all 40 Yaby Pearl Paint eyeshadows. Of the 2 kinds of shadows, these have the most pigment and they are all shimmery, and waterproof after application.
They go on like paint and then dry to a powder that won’t budge. I use these even on the waterline instead of pencil. Mixed with FACE Atelier Transforming Gel the possibilities are endless!
The Pearl Paint palette is 115 euros and refills are 2.80 including tax.

The “Dramatically Neutral Palette” contains a collection of 40 nude, brown, grey, blue, pink and black shadows in both matte and sheen finishes. For clean commercial and bridal looks you can’t go wrong with this palette.
The full palette is 95 euros.

The “Something Bright Palette” contains 40 bright eye shadows in a range of colors varying from blue greens to orange/reds, pinks and purples.
Palette is 95 euros.

Finally, the “Best of Both Worlds Palette” contains a selection of  40 best selling pearl paints and eyeshadow shades. This one is a great starter palette for first time Yaby users as well as those people who are serious about condensing their kit.
Full palette is 100 euros, refills are 2,25 for the eyeshadows and 2,80 for the pearl paints.

Of course you can always buy an empty 40-well palette and start your own custom Yaby palette as you see fit!

In My Kit

I wanted to wait until my new Züca Pro arrived before doing this post, because I haven’t been happy with my old set up for a while. I keep switching it around but it never really feels ok. My old trunk, which was just a very cheap aluminum toolbox from the hardware store, was literally screaming for retirement. At any time, I felt like it would just fall apart, and there is never a right time for that to happen.

I waited a long time before ordering the Züca, for a number of reasons. The single most important one being that I’m a “open-the-paintbox-and-start-working” kind of a girl. I don’t like unpacking anything and everything before being able to do something.
A couple of my fellow artists already owned one, so I was able to see theirs and how they work it, but ultimately, you can only find out if it works by trying it yourself. At 245 euro’s, I just stopped thinking, closed my eyes, and pressed “go”. Ouch.

I’ve been working with it for almost a week, and I have to say I’m ambiguous, but not ready to give up on it already. After all, there is no such thing as the perfect makeup case. It’s like moving house in a way, in your old one, you could find everything blindfolded. In the new house, you will need to find the perfect spot for your belongings, and that takes time, and a lot of switching and moving around. And maybe saying goodbye to some items that no longer fit. So I’m struggling, but willing to be patient and see if I can adopt this new way of life.
A good case is crucial for any artist, specially if you have a bad back like I do.
Oh, I’ve also ordered the Züca Artist Backpack for all my hair goodies and that should help with becoming even more organized. And organized is what we LOVE.

I have a second (smaller) kit at home that I use in a pinch, when my big kit is somewhere on location and I need to rush out for a last minute job, pictures of the baby kit will come in a seperate post.

Ok, on with what’s IN the Züca right now 🙂

Brushroll, loose brushes, powders, blenders

Quad roll with lipglosses, mascaras and misc. inside

contents of the quad roll, pencils, mascara, lipgloss, liptar, highlighters

Palettes from Nixie, Yaby, RCMA, Graftobian; LaFemme, and various ZPalettes and Yaby freestyle palettes filled with Dior, MAC and Yaby.

foundation/powder bag with Cinema Secrets, RCMA, Visiora, Face Atelier, LeClerc, MAC and also some Yaby and Max Factor powders (not visible but under the small 5-well palettes)

Skin PrepFinish Bag with Embryolisse, CS moisture spray, alcohol, makeup removers, disposable mascara/lip wands, small q-tips, Face2Face, BeautyBlenders, eyedrops, and much much more.

Yaby liquid foundations, MUFE flash palette, Japonesque lipstick palette, MAC lip palette, lashes, tweezers, lash comb, scissors, lashcurlers

And here is the Beast, packed and ready to go..

I will update this post with the Züca Artist backpack as soon as I get it in the mail!
The pictures are made with my BlackBerry so they are not very high quality, but I hope you enjoy them anyway.