Parabens in Foundations

Bye Bye, Paraben-filled Foundations!

April 2015 Update: This post has been updated with new purchases.

Lately I've been reading a lot of articles about the terrible effects of parabens in beauty products. Parabens have been used for decades as very effective preservatives in moisturizers, cosmetics, sunscreens, and deodorants, but in recent years, scientific studies have shown that parabens are absorbed into the skin and contribute to abnormal estrogen levels. So I went through all my foundations (most are drugstore) and checked the ingredients, either by looking on the back label or with some expert googling. Pro tip: Drugstore.com and Paula's Choice Beautypedia list most makeup products' ingredients.

One important thing to note is the order in which ingredients are listed. Most of these foundations list either Methylparaben, Butylparaben or other parabens towards the end of the ingredient list, which means there's very little percentage of those ingredients, compared with the things listed at the beginning of the list. Still, I thought this list would be useful.

The Best Eye Makeup for Blue Eyes: Warm Browns!

I recently picked up a few MAC eyeshadows that had been on my list for awhile: Satin Taupe, Soft Brown, Swiss Chocolate, and Texture. I started playing around with them as well as my new NYX Nude Matte shadow in Dancing the Tides, and put together a great set of colors to make my blue eyes pop!

This eye look would look great with any eye color, but the warm browns really complement blue eyes especially.

Easy Sparkly Brown Smokey Eyes with the Sleek Au Naturel Palette

I ordered a couple things from Sleek MakeUP (which is an awesome, affordable UK brand if you didn't know) and finally received my package in the mail today. What's the first thing I did? Play around with the makeup, of course! I have a super quick brown sparkly smokey eye look.