Parabens - Harmful or Not?

While reading this article please keep in mind I am not an expert and this article is based only on my personal research!

Parabens are a widely used ingredient in personal care products. You can find them in pretty much every cosmetic product in your home (shampoos, moisturizers, cleansing gels, toners, make-up products).

As you may have noticed, nowadays a lot of cosmetics come with the label “paraben-free”.

You might be wondering why should you avoid them even if they can be found in 85 % of cosmetic products. Over the past few years, a debate has been going on among scientists whether these ingredients may be harmful for our health.

What are parabens?

Parabens are a group of preservatives used to prevent bacterial and microbial contamination of products, especially in the moist, warm environment of a bathroom. The most common names of parabens include methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben, but you may also find isobutylparaben, isopropylparaben or benzylparaben. Their importance is unquestionable as they are a necessary antibacterial ingredient in every cosmetic product.

So what's the problem with them?

Some scientists started questioning their safety use after finding low concentrations of parabens in breast cancer tumors. That's because parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen. However, it has been proved that parabens are 100,000 times weaker than natural estrogen in the body, so they're far too weak to have a role in the development of breast cancer.

Should I still avoid them?

The answer would be no. Despide the controversy going on in the media, researchers have come to the conclusion that parabens, in the small amounts used in cosmetics, are not harmful ingredients consumers should avoid.

It's up to you if you decide to choose the precautious way of not using products containing them. But you should know they have been allowed for use as cosmetic ingredients by the U.S. FDA and the European Commission and there is no reason for consumers to be concerned about the use of products containing parabens.

I personally think the media has an important role in developing the intellect of the masses and tends to exaggerate, leading people to misconception. My fear is that, trying to get away of some things, we are approaching others that are worse. I'm pretty sure that those “paraben free” products contain more dangerous substituants or even worse, other preservatives with less of a proven track record.

What do you think? What are other ingredients you try to avoid when shopping for cosmetic products?

Valentine's Day Nail Art and Make Up

I know Valentine's Day was like a week ago and I should've posted this as a tutorial for you guys. 

But as usual, I am a lazy a**.

So, here's what I came up with for my nails. 

As you can see, it's a gradient sparkly red. 

I added a little heart on every nail (2 for the thumb), bigger sparkles and some more glitter nail polish.

It's all about glitter. xD

Brace yourselves for the photos.

As for the make up, I used the romantic and classy purple. 

This color emphasizes green eyes, but it's really flattering for those with brown eyes as well.

I think it's a wearable look for the daytime as well as for the evening.

I'm telling you, I suck at taking pictures of my face/makeup. So excuse me if they're not that good. ^.^

So, how did you guys spend your Valentine's Day?^^

[REVIEW] E.L.F. Cream Eyeliner

Yup, it's ELF again~  

If you were pleased with the review made by Lexie on ELF Eye Primer (check the Reviews tag), you'll be really happy with this one (I hope. . . )

I usually suck at reviews so be kind with me, ok? :3

So! I recently got my hands on a cream eyeliner (aka gel eyeliner, it's the same thing) because I was wishing for one since. . . last year. So now that I have it and the girls told me to do a review on it, well here goes nothing~

To start off the price is really neat, about 4/5$ (18 Ron in Romanian money). Pretty cheap if you ask me, but if you buy only this the shipping is about 2/3$ (9 Ron), so I strongly advise you to buy more than one thing and/or together with another person.

BLACK! (MBLAQ xD)  It also comes with a brush so you can apply it easily.

The container is somewhat small and so is the brush (tiny little thing), but since you don't have to use a lot of eyeliner everytime you put on makeup, this little container will last a few months or even more (unless you use it wrong and end up having raccoon eyes - google it if you don't really know how that is)

Swatch! And my ugly hand. . . and ugly lines! (bare with me, I'm still learning how to use it)

(I have hodded eyelids, so don't get scared if my eye looks creepy)

Kinda bad lighting so the color is a bit off, in reality it's intense and looks awesome.

The product promises that it won't smudge, well. . . it did, but in a really small amount (aka you can't notice unless you're the one wearing it), but only after 4/5 hours since I applied it. 

All in all, I give it 4.8 points out of 5. 

The only thing that bothers me is the small brush. It's kinda unconfy when you use it the first (second and third) time so I recommend buying a bigger brush, it helps.

Strong advice! - use primer before using eyeliner or any other type of makeup. Makes the color look more intense and it lasts longer.

So. . . hope you liked my review (don't shoot me, ok? it's only my 2nd review so far). 

Kthxbye.

[REVIEW] ELF Eye Primer

I never realized the importance of an eye primer until I actually bought one. Not knowing better, I trusted the e.l.f. brand and bought a cheap one that promised quality. I can say it couldn't be better. As you may know, primer is a very important part of your make-up, whether it's a natural make-up or something more extravagant. The primer basically protects your skin and helps the colour last. If that wasn't enough, it also makes the colours more intense. 

I tried two shades of primer, a skin coloured one, 7501 Sheer and a white one 7503 Pearl. I didn't know which one was better for which type of make-up, but I suppose it depends on the colour tones you're using.

I think the Sheer one blends nicely with your skin colour and it's good for natural make-up or when using warm colours. It's barely noticeable, but it's there, I can tell you that.

 

The Pearl is a bit shimmerish and it's noticeable. It's not very strong, so it shouldn't affect your make-up, but I think it's not that suitable for a natural or warm colours make-up as the Sheer one. That doesn't mean that if you use it for a natural look it will affect it.

And when you apply the eye-shadow you can see that the difference is huge! Look how intense and beautiful the colour looks when you use primer under it. Besides, the primer doesn't allow the colour to affect your skin that badly and it also protects from other microparticles that may penetrate your skin. 

If you need an eye primer that is not expensive and can also guarantee you the quality, I totally recommend the e.l.f. brand. 

Happy New Year everyone!