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.

Star shoes

(Warning! My English skills are kinda. . . well I might have mistakes)

Shoes, shoes, shoes! 

A few days ago I entered a Romanian site (thanks to the link posted by a friend on facebook) and I was amazed! Starstruck to be exact! They have shoes that most Korean artists wear.

Ah, the following can be found on a Romanian site, they ship only inside Romania, so I'm sorry for our International reads =( 

Le site~

As I was saying, they ship only in Romania and the prices (to my surprise) aren't really big (well most of them). Compared to the prices in other countries (US, UK, Korea) the prices on this site are somewhat cheap, considering the fact that everything is from well-known brands, but still kinda expensive for regular/poor people (like meh! xD )

(and like in every post where we don't own the photos, credits to their owners)

Adidas - Jeremy Scott Wings 2NE1 (yes, that's what they're called)

My favorites out of all favorites! 

They cost about 115$ (that's 379 RON in Romania). And if you like the shoes, but don't dig the wings, well the wings come off.

I personally like them both ways because they're awesome.

Adidas Harland Bones (maybe the name doesn't ring a bell, but the photos will, especially for kpop fans)

The moment I was these on the site I thought about Dara. I'd definitely wear these babies. 

These are somewhat cheaper than the others, but since I posted the link to the site, you'll see for yourself all the prices :3

Adidas - Jeremy Scott Wings 1 White & Wings 1 Gold

The 2 ladies of 2NE1 wore these in the "Fire - Street Ver." MV. The white ones are really simple and classy-like, but I personally don't really like the golden ones. Even so, both pairs are really cool.

Christian Louboutin Black (don't let the name scare you too much)

They are awesome and they are to die for! And one of GD's fav brand. He's endorsing the brand so I suppose he's really fond of it. The studs are really cool and make them shoes stand out (they do the same to their owner).

Louis Vuitton - Stephen Sprouse

(sorry for the quality. . . )

Louis Vuitton is another brand that GD likes. I actually like this pair, I'm kinda fond of them. The bright neon colors make them stand out a lot.

Adidas - Jeremy Scott Flames (JS, do you come here often?)

(sorry Jonghyun, but you were too big of a derp to ruin your image)

I really love the colors. The wings don't come off and as you can notice at Taemin, they're also pretty big. Even so, I still think they're cool (and not because Taemin is wearing them), because I like most of JS's shoes.

So that ends my post. And it's past midnight and I'm craving for some coffee/cappuccino.

Timeless and Sophisticated Fashion: Lace dresses

In olden times, lace was regarded as a fabric representing high class, luxury and glamour. Radiating femininity and elegance, lace never goes out of style. As it has been a huge trend for the past few seasons (and it seems that it will remain this way for the year 2012 also), I'll show you a few lacy items I've been obsessed with really into lately, mostly dresses and blouses. They look so sophisticated and classy. Even though I don't really have where to wear them, I'd really like to own one of these babies. T.T 

(We do not own any of the following photos)

I especially like the turtleneck ones. They look so elegant.

And because I'm kpop addict, have some photos of gorgeous Korean ladies.

SNSD's Yuri wearing one lovely lace dress. 

She looks stunning.

SECRET's Hyosung

IU

So girls, if you want to go for a romantic, delicate and feminine look, lace is the key. 

Remember, lace drives men crazy.