Mascara -La Femme - Cake Mascara
girlintheshell 9/18/2007 5:46:00 PM
I wanted to get this as I love the concept of cake products (solid, no spilling, no need for preservatives since water-free, longer shelf life etc.) but was dismayed when I found out that this contains thiomersal (or thimerosal) as a preservative, an antiseptic and antifungal agent containing 49 % mercury which is also used as a preservative for vaccines and is, needless to say, highly toxic. This is particularly infuriating as solid water-free products don't really need a lot of preservatives and this product in addition contains methyl- and propylparaben.
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Moisturizers -Stella McCartney - CARE 5 Benefits Moisturizing Cream
girlintheshell 7/18/2007 9:42:00 PM
I was truly skeptical when I heard that Stella McCartney was about to release a skincare line. As much as I respect her anti animal-cruelty stance I also think she's a sell-out (being a vegan and having a label that's owned by Gucci isn't what I'd call consistent). While CARE is certified organic it isn't really all-natural (unrefined shea butter and rose water are natural, oleochemicals and maltodextrin are not). To my surprise the line was introduced at a local store so I was able to test it, the SA applied the Cleansing Milk, Floral Water and Cream on my hand only (luckily) and gave me some decants to take home. Before I left they were gushing about how the skin on the hand where they had applied the products looked so different from the skin on the other hand, which my hands always do, which has stg. to do with blood circulation. At home I tried the products on my neck which is probably even more sensitive and prone to redness than my face and had red patches almost immediately. The Moisturizing Cream is a mixture of Cornflower water (= light tea), cheap cosmetic oils (Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride, Sunflower, Soy), synthetic oleochemical emulsifiers and thickeners (which are allowed in products conforming to organic standards because a hundred production steps ago they used to be plants), alcohol, glycerin, a couple of more expensive base oils closer to the end of the list (linseed being one of them, an oil that spoils very quickly and shouldn't be used to formulate a product that won't be refrigerated), and a truly irritating and to some degree phototoxic mix of essential oils (vetyver, lemon, clove, basil, lavender, palmarosa, orange etc.) that would be fine in a Spa product or aromatherapy mixture but not in a skincare product designed for daily use. Whoever doesn't experience immediate irritation from this or other products in the Stella CARE line probably will after using these products regularly for a couple of months! Don't buy this, this is truly organic marketing hype, existing only to make profit for the Gucci group and the Stella McCartney brand. But the packaging, although wasteful, is nice-looking.
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