I recently received Paula Begoun’s Beauty Bulletin in the mail, and first article caught my eye. Thought I’d share with you on the safety of eye makeup. I have to say that I’ve been guilty on many accounts years ago when I was sharing makeup with my friends, dipping the same sponge applicator that we share into the few eyeshadow palettes we have. Blame it on us being young, ignorant and utterly skint 😛

Mascara, eyeshadow, and eyeliner are intended to make women more attractive. One thing they shouldn’t do is harm the eyes! Yet each year, many women suffer eye infections and eyelid skin irritation from cosmetics. At the time of purchase, most eye cosmetics are free from bacteria that could cause eye infections. Problems happen when they aren’t adequately preserved against microorganisms, if they are tampered with in stores, or if they are misused by the consumer after being opened. Poor preservation or misuse of an eye cosmetic can allow dangerous bacteria to enter and grow in the product. Under these circumstances, when the cosmetic is applied to the area around the eye, an infection can happen.

The Food and Drug Administration has taken numerous steps to make sure that eye cosmetics are free from contamination when they reach you and that they contain preservatives to inhibit the growth of bacteria. Generally speaking, the cosmetics industry makes products that will not harm you. Nevertheless, I urge you to follow these 11 tips from the FDA on the use of eye cosmetics:

1. Discontinue immediately the use of any eye product that causes irritation. If irritation persists, consult a doctor.
2. Recognize that bacteria on your hands could, if placed in or near the eye, cause infections. Wash your hands before applying cosmetics to your eyes. (Editor: Better yet, keep a bottle of hand sanitiser on your dresser. This way, you have no excuse not to wash your hands before apply eye makeup).
3. Make sure that any instrument you place in the eye area is clean; this includes makeup brushes, which should be washed periodically and not shared with others.
4. Do not allow cosmetics to become covered with dust or contaminated with dirt or soil. Wipe off the container with a damp cloth if dust or dirt is visible. (Editor: If you do wipe down your makeup palettes with a damp cloth, remember to let them dry first before closing ’em up and storing ’em away. You don’t want more buildup of bacteria)
5. Do not use old containers of eye cosmetics. If you haven’t used the product for several months, it’s better to discard it and purchase a new one.
6. Do not add saliva to eye cosmetics. The bacteria in your mouth may grow in the cosmetic, and subsequent application to the eye could cause infection.
7. Do not share your cosmetics. Another person’s bacteria in your cosmetics can be hazardous to you.
8. Do not store cosmetics at temperatures above 85 degrees Fahrenheit (~30C). Cosmetics held for long periods in hot cars, for example, are more susceptible to deterioration of the preservative.
9. Avoid using eye cosmetics if you have an eye infection or if the skin around the eye is inflamed. Wait until the area is healed and replace any eye cosmetic used prior to the infection.
10. Take particular care in using eye cosmetics if you have any allergies.
11. When applying or removing eye cosmetics, be careful not to scratch the eyeball or other sensitive areas.

This reminds me, I’d better go give my palettes a good cleaning!

Happy Wednesday ladies!

Oh what awful past few days I’ve had. Call it allergies, call it a very early-onset hay fever, but I’ve been sneezing very frequently lately, along with a runny nose and smarting, watery eyes. I don’t know what sort of antihistamine it was that the hubs gave me, but damn, it was potent. Yes it cured the allergy, but it also knocked me out so good, that I couldn’t even function properly the next day. My brains were mush, and blew my short-term memory to bits. Ugh.

*************************************

I received a $20 MYER gift card on the mail a few days ago. I was thinking of perhaps getting a MAC Mineralize Blush with the voucher (even though I’m not usually keen on MAC products, I do like their Mineralize Blushes). As usual, it took a few minutes for the sales assistant to come to my rescue after I flipped all the MSFs (Mineralized Skinfinish) to look for Cheeky Bronze in the Colour Craft collection.

Problem 1: The sales assistant had no bloody clue what I was talking about when I asked her about the Cheeky Bronze MSF (I used the abbreviation MSF). After I explained it in detail to her, then only did she get the MSF for me.

Problem 2: She tested the MSF on her skin, not mine. Now I understand that there are some customers who’d prefer not to get the back of their hands dirty and appreciate that the sales assistant would apply it on the back of her hand instead, but I had to have it tested on my skin, as I’m Asian, and she’s Caucasian. When I decided not to get the MSF, I thanked her, but was received with a cold, curt nod, and she walked away.

Sigh. Am I never going to experience the good service from MAC that some of you have received? Even though I was keen on getting the Mineralize Blush in Gentle (I played with it on my own for a bit), I just couldn’t bear to give such people business.

With the gift voucher, I’ve decided to stock up on one of my HG skincare products instead, Clinique’s Turnaround Visible Skin Renewer serum. It was a timely purchase too, for I received quite a good GWP (Gift With Purchase) with the serum.

Money well spent in getting something I actually use every day, rather than blush which would just go on top of the amount of blush I already have.

*pat myself on the back*

*************************************

Thanks to the Silk Naturals $20 voucher I won in a giveaway by Indulgent Reviews, I managed to revisit a favourite mineral makeup store that I once frequented.

A free sample with purchase

I was rather surprised that the cream eyeliner (in Midnight) came in such small volume. I know that I’d probably take ages to finish it, but still, I expected it to come in a jar. Hmm. Other than that, I’m very pleased with what I chose, especially the sheer blush in Stardust (thanks to Kahani for her recommendations).

Ahh time for me to enjoy the spoils for a bit 😛

I’m not sure if this has happened to you before, but it happened to me very frequently, especially when I’m traveling. Any creams or lotions I have in tubes will burst out in abundance whenever I uncap/unscrew them either on the plane, or when I’m unpacking my toiletries bag. This happens too with handcreams in my purse. It’s not as though I didn’t cap or screw them on tightly; the stuff just explodes out of the spout. I’ve experienced this with hand creams, body lotions, and even lipgloss.

I remembered wiping down my tinted moisturiser, handcream and lipgloss on a flight back to Malaysia. Thank goodness I had enough wet wipes and tissues. Let’s just say that the passenger next to me was none too pleased with the amount of mess I made on the fold-down table 😛

Now what happened was that air pressure had built up in the tubes. This can happen when you’re at high altitudes, or even just moving the tubes a lot (e.g. a tube of hand cream can burst on you if it hasn’t been uncapped in a long time, and you’ve been moving your bag a lot).

What you can do to reduce that pressure build-up is:
1. Shake as much lotion/cream to the bottom of the tube as possible (away from the cap).
2. Uncap the tube.
3. Squeeze out some air from the tube with your index finger and thumb.
4. With your finger and thumb still holding the tube, put the cap back on.

The next time you uncap the tube, there will not be as much built up pressure, and the lotion will not burst out of the spout. Please note though that up till now, I’ve only experienced this problem with tubed products, not bottled ones.

A word of advice: never depot or decant your lotions to the max (not all the way to the top!). Leave some room for the pressure buildup, or by the time you reach your destination and uncap the tubes (even bottles), it will explode.