Could Your Bargain Be Costing You Your Life?

Imitation is suppose to be the highest form of flattery, I would not think that high end make up brands would agree. In the never ending saga of fake make being sold to the public, Leanne Wertheim was sentenced to 8 month suspended sentence, £2,000 costs and 160 hours of community service. She took £40,000 from the public over four eBay accounts, the "brands" she was selling included Bobbi Brown, M.A.C, Benefit, Lancome and Max Factor.

Unsuspecting customers, who were thinking they were getting huge discounts with some products selling at £3.99, were actually buying toxic make up. When customers complained about the quality of products, she claimed that they were genuine. When initial tests were carried out on the products, the results showed that they had 3 times the normal levels of lead in them. Lead contamination can lead to side effects as brain damage, a lowering of IQ in unborn babies and behaviour problems.

In one instance, a Max Factor mascara was showed to be having 68 mg/kg of lead, where the legal amount is 20 mg/kg.

So how you spot a fake?

Knowledge is power, look at the stores to see how the product feels and how its packaged. Chanel and MAC are the most common copies that are sold. Chanel is always dressed in glossy packaging, with very simple writing. Fakes have little touches, logos in the wrong places, lower grade cardboard and lower grade pigments.

With MAC eye shadows and pigments, real items have the bar code as a sticker on the box, as well as having the colour name and finish on a sticker on the top of the box. MAC also do not have mirrors and applicators in with their products, the logo will always be centre (apart from mascaras which is on the left hand side). Sizes on genuine items will be given in grams and ounces - fakes tend to be in millilitres.

The best way to avoid fakes?

Save your pennies and buy only from authorised retailers and manufactures.

For more information on spotting all fakes, try: http://www.spotcounterfeits.co.uk/
Another brilliant entry on Fakes by BritishBeautyBlogger

Masterclass - Eyelash Extensions/False Lashes

Common false lashes are made out of nylon or real hair, the recent conterversal use was mink hair in London salons. The hair brushed from the mink and collected by hand, and that is wht here is a £125.00 price tag for a pair of lashes in salons. They are suppose to give a more natural appearance, however don't discount the nylon variety. They have a better reputation of holding a curl that most false lash lovers crave, and for me, they're much more kinder to animals like the minks.

False lashes are applied to the eyelid along the lashline to plump out the existing lashes to give that wide eyed look that was fashionable in 1960/70's. They can also be corective by filling in gaps of missing hair as well as be a addiction to fantasy make up.

Lashes come in individual and strips, as well as perament and temporary. With perment lashes they are applied by a consulatnt after a patch test for the glue is performed one by one, starting at the inner corner and working ttheir way outwards. It can take anythign from 1 and half hours to 3 hours depending on the skill of the therapist, and after that you will need to return every 2 to 5 weeks to refil and maintain the growth.

Temporary lashes can be applied by yourself, come in strip (where the fibres are attached to a small strip where the glue is applied) or indival (where the fibres are put together in small groups). You will need some good light, tweezers and a very steady hand, always read the manufactures instructions and skin test the glue 24 hours before use.

Removal is simple with tempoaries - With clean hands lift the strip from the outer eye edge, gently pull the lash away from the eyelid. They can also have the adhensive removed and a gentle clean to be reused (unless they're past past their best, threw them out!).

There are some fabulous fashion lashes out there that add that dramatic edge to any look.

Sparkle

Feathers

Paper

The paper ones are just amazing when used, the recently been featured in The Hunger Games movie on Eeffie Trinket. I prefer it when the lashes do the talking, keeping the rest of the face simple with any focus on the eyes.

In The News - Is this a case of business before ethics?

Another company has succumb to the business pull of china, Urban Decay announced a few days ago that they were going to start trading in China (Press Release). China currently allows animal testing on cosmetics as part of their "safety" control for their consumers. I have written in the past about Lush's Campaign about animal cruelty and the shock tactics they used. I reiterate now that I do not feel any need for this treatment, and am disappointed that this still goes on with the technology advances that there are currently.

Urban Decay follows Estee Lauder (and the companies they own like MAC, Bobbi Brown, Clinique etc.), Avon, and Mary Kay that has seen the potential market in China and decided that they want a chunk of it. In that part I do not see how they could avoid it. In the climate we are in China are a very strong economy and in that sense there is more dispensable income to be spent.

This is the thing that is not sitting well with me, Urban Decay was one of the first companies to get the BUVA (Press Release) on their product , which they have now been stripped of (other strippees include L’Occitane, Yves Rocher, and Caudalie). They also launched a campaign to stop animal testing called "How Could We?". They promoted a majority of their business on the fact that they were cruelty free, and that's why this bothers me. China are actually on the brink of signing to use non cruelty testing in the late summer (PETA), so couldn't they wait?

So my question is "How Could they?"

Masterclass - Tanning

Aka. Fake it, don't bake it!

No, just no!

There nothing like the sun peaking through the clouds that make you want to shed some winter skin and get the look like for the 10 wholes minutes we had sun in the UK, that you've caught every single second of it. I love a little glow going on, it definably makes me feel a bit more perkier and puts a spring in my step.

However when the sun does come out for me I have to lock myself away because of my hayfever allergies so this way I can look like I've caught some sun without having to add the appearance of the red eyes and streaming nose.

Having a tan become the fashion in the 1920's after Coco Chanel came back for a French Rivera holiday with a tan after catching the sun. Fake tan then came along in the 1960's when scientists discovered that pro-longed sun exposure causes long term UV damage. Fake tan itself isn't a dye rather than a complex chemical reaction of DHA (dihydroxyacetone) to the oxygen in the air as well as the amino acids on the skin.

The best way to get the flawless tan is to first start with the correct prepping, without this you have a tan that not only will last you longer but will look like you've been yachting round the med rather than standing in your bathroom.

Prep

Self tan sinks into deeply hydrated skin, so really while you skin goes into hibernation under winter clothing maintenance hydration should be carried out. This is even more important for really dry skin as tan loves to cling to dry skin and that why you see darker patches on the prone areas like knees and elbows.

Exfoliation is also a great way to get skin ready as this will get rid of any dead skins cells that tan can cling to. There are designated pre-tan exfoliates that can be used (normally 24 hours before depending on the instructions), so why use these? They are designed that the ingredient will not react to the tan and not give the natural result you want. Removing hair should done 24 hours before for shaving and 48 for epliation as this strips away the top layer of skin which can also give a patchy result.

Applying

There are two types of tan that can be used the self tan or gradual tans, I'm a big fan of gradual tans as it gives my pale skin a light glow and I can build it to what I want. The self tan market is starting to realise this, you can buy self tanners that you can leave on then remove after the colour you want is developed. First time? Try one with a tint so you can see where it's going and you won't miss a bit, a good friend can also help with the bits you can't reach.

Investment in a good glove or mitt will also give a smoother finish, it will also give the control and quantity of product wanted. It's easier to start in thins layers and build up the colour, going to circular motions towards the heart (also giving yourself a detoxing massage at the same time - bonus!). A good tip I've read is to leave it for a few minutes and then run the mitt over the same areas again as this can polish off the finish product and pick any excess off.

After Care

This will go against what you want to do but to keep that glow going exfoliate every five to seven days, this will mean that the tan will fade more evenly and will more ready for you next dose of colour. Hydrating needs to also be carried on and massage it in making sure that it sinks into the skin. Also keep an eye on what washes you are using anything with a pH too acid or alkaline or is oil based will make you tan wash off quicker and/or patchy.

Here is how not to look

Next week - Face Masks