Being Savvy To Natural Ingredients

Is Natural Always Best In Consumer Products?

When seeking any consumer product to be as natural as possible, whether it is in makeup, skincare or healthcare that includes nutritional supplements, label reading becomes a priority. However, it is the little things that can be missed. Certain label names, including natural ones can still be confusing.

For instance, the INCI names that are provided in place of the simple name on a product label can be long and very difficult to pronounce.  This is the main reason I, along with other brands incorporate both in the ingredient list. It reduces confusion and is easy to research when using the simple ingredient name rather than the INCI version.

Natural Versus Synthetically Created Ingredients

For the most part I love using natural ingredients and seek out whole, unprocessed ingredients when shopping for food stuffs. The more processed the food, the more nutritionally deficient it becomes by putting a whole lot of extra junk in your body it doesn’t need.

This is especially true when I am dealing with a chronic illness or something far worse that is devastating to me or a family members health. I am sure most of you would agree, that keeping things as natural as possible is the best choice when available.

Depending on the category within the natural ingredient market, natural (minimally processed), though preferred when it comes to skincare and makeup products, all natural still goes through a process. It is a must for creating a safe and useful ingredient to be implemented in the skincare or makeup product you choose.

The other issue with trusting natural vs synthetic, is scientists and research labs have extensively studied synthetic ingredients for their safety and efficacy for decades. Naturally derived ingredients are still within the learning curve for their safety and efficacy, so their track record has not been perfected and science is continuing to evolve on so many natural ingredients as they are introduced into the market.

Natural In Quality But Is It The Best Choice?

As I continue my research seeking help for me and my hubby, especially after his recent cancer diagnosis, I believe in the wisdom of science combined with a holistic approach, seeking what is best in the natural holistic world and in doing so I find myself reading labels, lots and lots of them. I ignore the promise of something used to captivate my imagination as to how wholesome or holistically wonderful something might be for my skins well being or for me and family’s health through marketing claims.

A prime example as I learned through medical journals that Vitamin B12 becomes more deficient in older individuals and short of eating certain foods, some of which are off the menu for us, we can’t get enough. So, I searched for the most natural form I could get with minimum fillers or artificial anything.

I checked out several brands including the Kirkland brand which as it turned out was the best choice for us and had several kind of weird ingredients, yet through some added research, the addition of these ingredients promoted best absorption in the body. Wow who knew!

This brand has Cherry flavor in a quick dissolving tablet placed under the tongue that is colored from beets. Other brands tout natural and nothing artificial added including colorants…uh that depends on what you consider natural.

Granted in one excellent brand in particular, the colorant that is added may be natural alright if you like eating bug juice otherwise known as carmine, which pretty much canceled out any benefit it may have offered to my body. Uh won’t be ingesting any color derived from a beetle.

Label Reading Is Time Consuming But Necessary

Some of you may go for that product based on excellent marketing or the face label screams out, “we’ve got what you need”. Then you turn the bottle over and in disbelief think “wth”, only to return it to the shelf in dismay being basically lied to on its face, literally, and once again the never-ending search continues.

With search engines at your fingertips, it has never been easier to find out what something is and why a certain ingredient is in your product. What purpose does it serve and what is the safety and efficacy of it.

The Marketing Game

Marketing is a huge part of getting products into consumer hands and the perfect example of this is the amount of marketing of prescription drugs being shown relentlessly on tv ads. I thought that was what doctors were for, best interest of the patient and what works based on his or her experience.

Are drugs needed when our health is in jeopardy such as illness, i.e. diabetes, cancer, etc., absolutely! But when I see ads that seem to have an endless side effect list that appears far worse than the illness it is treating, I can’t help but have the feeling of Big Pharma isn’t creating cures but customers. 

Remember, ingredient labels are required by the FDA for a reason, so you as the consumer can protect yourself from any known allergic reaction, or you need something kosher, or you simply don’t want to ingest or apply dyes, artificial anything like bug juice to your body.

Keep reading labels and continue to be savvy as to what you are consuming and don’t always believe the big loud “Fat Free” on the face of a product only to find out the fat has now been replaced with large amounts of “sugar.”

Wishing you all the best in your journey to continue your search for your good health overall!

Moving Forward Despite Devastating News

Keeping It Brief For Sanity Sake

Well folks, I am facing another major health crisis with my husband and though I am committed to his healing, I am determined to be better at this game than I was last time. This week took the wind out of my sails, but acceptance and my faith are keeping me grounded this time.

Last time I always made sure your orders were timely yet allowed other areas of my business to falter, such as going a long time without keeping you informed or engaged with what was happening at Sterling Minerals. Our past cancers were allowed to be all consuming.

My goals this time will not falter and remain the same from when I wrote about rising from the dustbin. And in all probability, it will help with keeping me in a healthier mindset because I do enjoy writing about many things and cherish interactions with all of you. Rest assured that me and my company aren’t going anywhere! Because without Sterling Minerals I would probably not survive the future that lies ahead.

A Long Road Ahead For Us

My husband had surgery last week for diagnosed bladder cancer, but only got the pathology back Monday. The results were not what we had hoped and prayed for. It was noninvasive, which is the good news, but it unfortunately was a high-grade aggressive form of papillary cancer.

Sadly, for my poor husband he will have to repeat the exact same surgery in 6 weeks, followed by chemo infusion at time of surgery, then BCG treatments (immunotherapy) in the months following.

As our wonderful urologist stated, catching it when we did, he will only be a pain in my hubby’s backside for the rest of his life because this type of cancer will recur, but will not be what kills him. (feeling very optimistic)

So basically, it isn’t a question of “if” but of “when”. Close monitoring will be required for his remaining years on this earth which includes being scoped on a regular basis to always catch it early, and this process is not fun at all. But this is fine with us because we are married and best friends for the past 43 years, and we will fight this disease together and our faith convinces us we will beat it and it won’t return.

Keeping It Positive Cuz This Isn’t My First Rodeo

Your patience as my readers and loyal customer base makes me so grateful because without you folks keeping me busy at what I love, it wouldn’t afford me to remain close to my hubby for what he might need during this challenging time. It will continue to be my favorite thing in my life to create cosmetics you love and use every day which helps to keep me distracted on the bad days, yet revel in the good days.

Hold your loved ones close and remember, no matter what you believe in, life altering things can occur in the blink of an eye. These things are out of our control and whatever path you might be on at this time, life happens while making plans.

Cheers to all and wishing you all a beautiful day and a healthy life.

Talc, Asbestos, FDA, Lawsuits Update

Talc Causes Cancer True or False?

Most of you have probably heard about the controversy over talc and its safety in personal care products. Lawsuits in the national news and headlines have made for interesting reading over the claims that talc is causing ovarian cancer in women.

For the most part science does not show causation of ovarian cancer and has been proven safe for decades in use of personal care products.

So, are the claims justified? I have personally done extensive research on this ingredient showing absolute safety and no known link to the cancer equation.

Now before you agree or disagree with me, there is a part of the equation on this matter that has come to light through discovery. This pertains to the wins and losses in the past, present and depositions for future lawsuits against J & J brand.

There is the initial summation with the first lawsuit brought by a woman that sadly, eventually died from her ovarian cancer. She claimed using Johnson and Johnson talcum powder in her private area for decades. Due to the not so “cut and dry” evidence with the first trial, this is what created doubt within the scientific community during testimony at trial.

Scientists Argue For and Against the Safety of Talc

When you review the actual research, talc is still a very safe cosmetic ingredient. Especially when used topically in makeup or body care products. Talc has even been used therapeutically for treating lung tumors interestingly enough, with great success. It is by far a superior lubricious powder for moisture absorption and to prevent friction on the body. Despite the lovely characteristics of talc, I don’t ever recommend it for the face.

Appeals are being presented repeatedly and now I see the ambulance chasing commercials to get other women to climb on board the gravy train of litigation. To prove unequivocally that the use of talc for decades caused a cancer causation is like proving a negative when it may not directly correlate to the “talc”.

Hold On Now, Here’s the Wrinkle

The FDA regulation is clear that talc cannot contain asbestos contamination since 1976. Manufacturers are responsible for making sure their mined talc is free of this harmful mineral. The FDA has even requested random testing to make sure the talc being used in personal care products did not reveal asbestos. In past tests the manufacturers they tested were all clear.

Through discovery of these lawsuits, it now comes to light that J & J talcum powder seems to have been contaminated with asbestos over many years. The testimony points to the corporation execs had knowledge of this. Not surprisingly, they did not disclose the discovery in their labeling as a warning of use, or their reports from testing. It is this discovery that opens the window into the reality of “is it talc” per se or “is it the asbestos” within the talc creating the instances of cancer in the ovaries?

I Make No Argument in this Regard

Once I learned of this unscrupulous behavior placing women at risk with their health, I became quite upset. I wholly have defended the lovely silken mineral talc. Plus I do still recommend it as the nicest body care product in terms of silken texture, but of course sans asbestos. Despite past safety for decades, I never recommended it to be used in private areas and never did so personally. After all, this area is a direct route to the blood brain barrier so use of any type of product in this region should stir caution in the mind for health sake.

As testimony and future trials come to pass, it is unfortunate that a company as large as J & J ignored safety protocols. This lack of transparency has done great harm to the trust you and I may have had when using any of their products. They of course deny the accusations and continue to appeal. However, if whomever allowed this within the company to slip by knowing full well how it was being used my many, then this attack on their brand is well deserved. Test of time through litigation will eventually bear out the final results.

I have updated the linked article below and it includes links to peer reviewed research data. You’ll also see the current litigation results and those pending.

See Updates in Reference to the Talc Controversy

I will continue to update web pages and posts as the news becomes available to me. If any of you need an update on something you may have read on my sight, please don’t hesitate to let me know. I am happy to update info where necessary as more science evolves over time.

Happy Hump Day….woot woot!

Confusing Makeup Trends For 2019

Following Makeup Trends

I obviously keep a watch on makeup trends to make sure I offer nice colors for shading your mineral makeup over and above your foundation. But when observing what others are doing, I also am careful to not take the suggestions literally.

Does a makeup trend mean you should follow it? Let’s see!

Just because something is trendy in the new year doesn’t mean it will work for you so it is just as important to be aware this is not a one size fits all. Unfortunately, it is portrayed that this new fashion or makeup trend is the “bees knees” or “cat’s meow” and you should follow it if you want to look your best.

Matte or Dewy Glow Makeup Finish

If you can believe it, I have found conflicting opinions from designers and makeup artists suggesting both finishes for this year in 2019. They present one or the other as the “comeback” of a particular makeup finish.

Which one is correct? Does it get you confused?

They stand in stark contrast to one another and doesn’t consider the age of the consumer, since a matte foundation shade is a classic and easily worn by a young woman or teen. This works when skin is plump and full of collagen and will look beautiful and could still work well on mature skin that is extremely oily.

As a woman matures then the dewy or polished look is a much better choice helping with light refraction since this assists with bouncing light away from the fine lines. A matte finish will lend itself to a chalky look and will definitely age the complexion that has less collagen or fullness to the face while causing excessive dryness.

So, this makeup trend is completely subjective to the consumers age and skin type which is not addressed in the new popular looks. Sometimes things identified as a makeup trend is not practical in real world demographics and should be taken with a grain of salt. But with that being said, great ideas come from these makeup trends.

Eye Shadow and Eyeliner

Here again I see ideas and makeup trends that are based on opinion or an ideal that is favored over another.

Some trends for this year announce going softer with eye shadow shades, preferably leaning toward muted pastels including coral pinks and purples. I agree these are beautiful, especially when dealing with a mature face. This type of shading is awesome for taking years off of your complexion and should also include similar shading in blush.

Then in another opinion on eye shaping trends, they try and convince you going with a stronger eye lining method to define your eyes.

Of course, I recognize once more there is no reference to the age or shape of the eyes. Do you have small eyes, large eyes, droopy eyes or narrow eyes? The one exception to age would be matte or shades with some shimmer or polished sheen. Since matte shades also age the eye area, I recommend a touch of pearl sheen or shimmer, not to be confused with glitter or sparkle.

How You Would Decide

So based on the question of eye shape and not age, this trend is moot and should be more about how your eyes are shaped and how they are set on your face. Eye shadow used with proper technique can beautify the eye and reshape it to what you want.

Example; a woman with small eyes will make them look smaller using dark shading and / or eye lining the entire shape of the eye. So much for this trend!

Lighter shades and using a softer eyeliner on the upper lid only while highlighting the brow and inner corner of the eye will actually open the eye, making them appear larger and give a wide-awake appearance.

Now take a woman with large eyes or high browbone, she may want to make her eyes more defined or make her brow not look so high. In either case she would go with deeper shades and stay away from highlighting shades to reduce the height of her browbone while enhancing her beautiful large eyes.

I certainly would love some of that magic that gives me the larger doe eyed look with high browbone, but alas I am the way I am, so with a bit of effort in color design, this works to shape my look.

Lip Style in Color and Finish

I’ve already touched on the Matte finish vs Gloss finish depending on your age in my article “Create the Perfect Youthful Pout“, but regardless of how I explained it, there is yet again two camps on the subject.

If you missed it and rather than recap, you can read and see how certain finishes will either age the lips or make them look quite youthful. Finish and certain colors will also either shrink your lip size or make them appear fuller, and depending on what you choose in finishes, they can either add to or takeaway years off your complexion.

When it comes to lip color however, this is a trend I enjoy following. In keeping with the recommendations on shading with eye shadows, especially for spring and summer, a certain lip color palette is what I created for the new launch of shades coming out next month. I am still offering traditional and soft tones for youth and vitality, while adding some fun and flair to the new lip colors. I never get bored with creative color!

You’ll be able to enjoy a color range in a variety of natural-looking blush nudes to deeper jewel tones. But I didn’t stop there since I also included a bright coral pink and subtle beachy tannish peach shade as well. This should offer plenty to pick from for your new beautiful makeup trend for 2019.

Reality of Makeup Trends

Makeup trends are great as suggestions and go a long way to create your new look, but don’t hold them as truth or something you necessarily need to follow to look your best. Go with what continues to work for your type of fashion and love of color yet assess your colors during seasonal changes or as you age. Once in a while you might want to reevaluate and change things up to get the best possible ageless look you can achieve.

Happy Spring and we’ll visit again next week.

Rising From The Dustbin

After what seems like an eternity, I have found the fortitude to pursue a passion that was placed on a shelf during life’s crises. The past several years were difficult. However, writing to you and keeping you in the loop of the beauty and cosmetic industry was a very enjoyable past time.

Have I missed it? Most definitely! But as the cliche goes “life happens while making plans.”

What Has Changed?

I discontinued the “Skin Care Guide” back in 2015 and tried to focus on this blog. Doing both became impossible. As life dealt it’s blows, finding time even for this one was not feasible. YouTube lost it’s sparkle as well.

I’ve been asked if or when these platforms would resume, and I could not say. Keeping my business running became more than a simple effort during the health scares my husband and I had. My primary focus was to make sure you received the best in customer service. Getting your mineral makeup and skincare products to you was top of the list no matter what.

Dealing With Life As It Were

Both of us were diagnosed with different types of cancer. My husband suffered from prostate cancer requiring surgery, and I had two bouts of Melanoma, leaving me with 3-4 inch scars. We love our scars because as of several years later we are both cancer free.

Do we still have concerns of a recurrence? Yep, pretty much. In fact, we are dealing with another mystery of something going on with my hubby’s health, but won’t go into that now. Me, I am basically a walking melanoma. I suffer from a disorder where my body produces moles everywhere and they must be monitored constantly.

Plans For The Future

I am hoping to also return to YouTube at some point. It is important for me to keep in touch with all of you beyond just being my customer.

Research and Development is front and center for replacing my lip color line. My plan is to provide the power of a lipstick combined with lip gloss within a single tube. Great staying power with a hint of shine. Plus researching manufacturing of a lippie in the form of a moisturizing lip balm with very sheer tinting.

I have listened to you about different things you loved about our old lip colors, to what you didn’t like. My plan is to make sure we offer shades, that though they may shine a bit, will be considered a matte shade without the shimmer of mica. So essentially no sparkle at all.

Reaching out to you today to share my story of why things changed from where we were to where we are today, and going forward was vital for me. I hope to be more available in providing you news, interests and fun things we’ll venture into. Engaging you ladies through this blog will hopefully create an avenue for continued feedback, and ideas you may have that many can benefit from.

Have a great week and I’ll be in touch!