This is why your beauty products need FUCKING PRESERVATIVES! (Recall of Nourish Organics Lotion and Face Cream)

If you have either the Nourish Organics Face Cream or the Nourish Organics Face Lotion, check the UPC, because they may contain mold. More info from Wegmans here.

For more on preservatives in skincare, click here.

ETA: The samples Ipsy sent out a while back are apparently fine; it's just the 1.7 oz containers that are a problem. Good thing, because I used my sample a few months ago. I'm glad it wasn't contaminated.

Preservatives are Good, Or: Yes, you do want parabens in your sunscreen

This is a story from last fall, but it's worth the reminder for anyone who might be looking for more "natural" sunscreens - especially for their kids. Last September, Badger recalled about 30,000 tubes of their baby and kids sunscreen, because they were contaminated with bacteria and fungi. Gross. That was apparently because the organic preservatives they contained were not sufficiently effective. They are reformulating those sunscreen lotions and will be putting out a new (hopefully safer) product in 2015.

Here's a good preservatives primer from The Beauty Brains.

Guest Post from Savannah Scorpion: Greenwashing and "Eco Friendly" products

While I'm away for the week, Savannah Scorpion is back to entertain and inform you with more of the insider scoop on how to buy beauty products without throwing your fucking money away. As always, comment below or email with any questions or future topics you'd like her to address! 

This is Savannah Scorpion, returning with a short post about all of the hype surrounding "green", "organic", and "eco-friendly" cosmetics and skincare.

Now, I'll be straight-up and admit that my preferred cleanser is one of those fancypants products that is made with volcanic ash and has an expiration date on it. I use it because I have Weird Skin (TM) that gets oily throughout the day, but gets dried out by pretty much everything except this cleanser. I also may or may not have ordered a dickton of products from the LUSH website after I got my last paycheck.

Panic about parabens, pthalates, and the planet mean that there's a huge trend in so called "green" products. Even mass brands like Neutrogena are creating "eco" lines. Now, here's the straight talk on these products:

Speaking of things that burn . . .

I bought myself this Badger Stress Soother aromatherapy stuff, because . . . I don't know why, honestly. I figured I'd experiment with aromatherapy a bit. Even if it's just a placebo of some kind, maybe I can placebo myself into calming down and writing my fucking dissertation.

On the package, it says to massage it into "hands, temples, or forehead". But since the scent isn't really that strong, I thought I'd rub it right under my nose. It doesn't say to rub it on your nose (though the other varieties suggest that), but it doesn't say not to, either.

HOLY SHIT BAD IDEA. It has several very irritating essential oils in it (e.g. spearmint, tangerine, lavender, etc.). I put it on my nose on Monday afternoon, and it is now Wednesday, and the skin around my nostrils is still red and flaky and sore. Ugh. Not pleasant.

It's totally fine on my hands, though. I've been rubbing it on the back of my hands and sniffing it for the last couple of days. Just be careful of essential oils on sensitive/broken skin or near mucous membranes, folks!

Not sure if it's helping with stress, yet. It smells nice, but the spearmint sort of overpowers the other fragrances, and it's not my favorite of the lot. I also ordered the Focus Balm (which I could only find on the Badger website, Amazon, and eBay), so we'll see what that's like. I'll report back if I experience any miracles.

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link.

Real talk about skincare ingredients from Natalie Dee

For those of you who haven’t been reading your Paula Begoun. Tsk tsk. 

“Read the labels and buy what makes you feel good, but don’t believe every thing you read on a bottle, because a lot of it is unregulated.  Just because there is a little picture of a leaf in the logo, and the plastic is all unbleached brown-looking, doesn’t mean they aren’t trying to sweet-talk you just to get your money.”

Bonus: “Also, just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it is superior and/or safe…  Arsenic and uranium and poison ivy are natural, too.”

Real talk about skincare ingredients from Natalie Dee