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Category Archives: Uncategorized
Lebron Opts Out of Heat Contract
For you sports lovers!
Lebron James has recently opted out of his Heat contract. What Lebron will do next is unclear, but he will definitely be testing free agency. As Lebron is the best player in the NBA, lots of teams are going to want him to play for them. Lebron could join up with the Rockets as they have the cap space. Also a trio of Dwight Howard, James Harden, and Lebron would be a championship caliber team. However, Lebron could go anywhere (where they can afford him, that is). He knows that if he goes back to the Miami Heat, the cast around him will begin to thin out due to cap space. Lebron is testing his value in free agency. Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch have yet to make their decisions surrounding their contracts.
What do you think Lebron will do? What would you do if you were Lebron?
The Power of Your Thoughts
My dear friend Morgan posted this and I absolutely love it. I learned about this in grad school, and also the power of our words. Please read it, consider its implications, and follow her blog! Thx loves xx
How often do we see pictures like these? They’re all over the place. Sometimes I’ll see one and it will be perfectly timed, I just needed to hear that specific quote written across a pretty picture. Is there anything to it though? Does it go beyond the little bit of encouragement in that moment? There are a plenty of people spending a lot of money to make you believe that medications and drugs do a better job of keeping you healthy than your mind and thoughts can, but I don’t agree with that. Your mind and thoughts have, in my opinion, a stronger effect on your overall health and well being than almost any other factor alone. I know, with all the craze of organic, gluten free, free range, non GMO, Insanity work outs, P90X, Cross Fit and anything else from the endless list of health fads, you think…
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Natural, Everyday Makeup ft. MAC Magnetic Nudes
Hey Babes!
So I’ve finally gotten around to filming a requested makeup tutorial using the products I picked up from the MAC Magnetic Nudes collection. This is a very natural, everyday look and I absolutely love it. Hope you do, too!
Leave a comment below, thx for reading/watching!
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” 1 Corinthians 13: 1-3
Toxic Makeup Best and Worst: E.l.f. review
e.l.f. Studio Cream Blush (Photo credit: Mad Tofu)
If you have read my previous posts, you are undoubtedly aware of my current journey to dramatically reduce toxins from my personal care products. I realized how toxic most of my makeup was and have been trying to build up a low toxin makeup stash (if you are interested in reading about the toxins found in makeup and other products, click here). I use www.goodguide.com and www.ewg.org/skindeep to look up product ratings and ingredient information. Below is an overview of some of e.l.f.’s highest and lowest toxin-rated products for your consideration, as well as their price.
Though their products range from no health concern to high concern, e.l.f. (http://www.eyeslipsface.com) has a good selection of low-toxin products. And since it is a popular drugstore brand, the affordability of their products is attractive. This hopefully will dispel the notion that all low-toxin makeup must cost a fortune. For reference, the Good Guide (GG) ingredient health rating ranges from 0-10; zero being the worst, highest health concern risk. 10 is the best, lowest health risk score. Another bonus to Good Guide is that it also evaluates the company’s social and environmental policies. If you are interested in their overview of e.l.f., visit http://www.goodguide.com/brands/274227-e_l-f-cosmetics. The Skin Deep (SD) rating is unfortunately the opposite, so 0 is best score, 10 is the worst (sorry of that is confusing). Let’s begin with the low-toxin products as of this writing.
Essential shine eraser: score of 10 (GG); no ingredients that raise a health concern. $1
Studio cream blush (all shades): score of 8 (GG); low level health concern. $6
Studio corrective concealer & complete coverage concealer (all shades): score of 8 (GG; 1 SD). $3
Studio matte eyeshadow (all shades): score of 8 (GG). $3
Mineral lipstick (all shades): score of 8 (GG). $5
Essential all over color stick (all shades): score of 8 (GG). $1 (are we loving these prices yet?)
Nail polish: score of 8 (GG) in the following colors: black, plum, blush, fuchsia, copper, sunset, cranberry, burgundy, white, chocolate, clear, innocent, coral, moonlight, lilac, nude, berry pink, fire coral, party purple, fluorescent pink, punk purple, passion pink, royal purple, purple dream, hot pink, purple pleaser, light pink, red velvet, light red, desert haze, smoky brown, medium red, golden goddess (glitter), mod mauve, dark navy, mango madness, dark red, metal madness, fair pink, pearl pink, mint cream, bubble gum pink, champagne, dark glitter purple, matte finish clear nail polish ($2), and nail polish removal pads.
Treat and tame eyebrow (all shades): score of 8 (GG). $3
Waterproof eyeliner pen (all shades): score of 8 (GG), $2
Mineral Eyeshadow primer (all shades): score of 8 (GG). $3
Essential zit zapper: score of 8 (GG). $1
Essential all over cover stick (all shades): score of 8 (GG) except for apricot beige (6 GG, still in the low concern range). $1
Mineral eye liner: score of 8 (GG) in the following shades: ash, black, coffee, and midnight. $3
Essential feather-proof moisturizing lip liner (all shades): score of 8 (GG). $1
Mineral Lip liner (all shades): score of 8 (GG). $3
Mineral blush (all shades): score of 7 (GG). $5
Bronzed mineral glow and Shimmer mineral glow: score of 7 (GG, SD 1). $8
Studio shimmer sheets (all shades): score of 7 (GG). $3
Studio shimmer palette: score of 7 (GG, SD 1). $3
Essential brightening eye liner: score of 7 (GG) in the following shades: midnight, coffee, black, ash, and plum. $1
Mineral moisturizing lip tint (all shades): score of 7 (GG). $3
Studio lip balm (all shades): score of 7 (GG). $3
Mineral concealer: score of 6 (GG) in the following shades: dark, deep, fair, and light. $5
Mineral foundation: score of 6 (GG) in the following shades: dark, deep, warm, fair, and light. $5
Lip primer/plumper: score of 6 (GG). $3
Mineral personal blend foundation (all shades): score of 6 (GG). $8
Contouring blush and bronzer powder duo: score of 6 (GG, SD 2). $3
Studio eyebrow kit (all shades): score of 5 (GG). $3
Studio high definition powder: score of 0 (SD). $6
Studio blush: score of 1 (SD) in the following shades: peachy keen, tickled pink, and blush rose. Score of 2 (SD) in the following colors: candid coral, fuchsia fusion, mellow mauve, and gotta glow. $3
Studio bronzers (all shades): score 0f 2 (SD). $3
Studio mineral-infused mascara: score of 2 (SD). $3
Studio cream eyeliner: score of 2 (SD) in the following colors: coffee, gunmetal, midnight, metallic olive, and plum purple. $3
Studio pigment eyeshadow in the shade passionate purple: score of 2 (SD). $3
Certain studio single eyeshadows: sand dollar has a GG score of 8; butter cream, coffee bean, and wild wheat have a SD score of 2. $3
If you are interested in seeing swatches of some of these products, click on the video below. That is the end of the E.l.f. products with low health risk ratings. I also wanted to note that E.l.f.’s now discontinued bath and body products also scored well, for those of you who may own them. I’m so bummed they got d/c’d, I’m always looking for good bath and body products! Now for the poorly rated makeup. For the sake of time I will not list all of them. That would be an egregiously long post. Basically if it’s not rated okay then I would expect it to be a bad rating since the average health rating of their products is 3.4 on Good Guide (and many products rate 0). Here’s a brief rundown.
Most mascaras, eyeshadows, lip glosses (even mineral), cream shadow and liner, foundations, the blemish kit, studio concealers, natural radiance blushers, false lashes, brightening eye colors, essential lipsticks, shimmer eyeliner pencils, lip glosses, glossy glosses, and glitter glosses, custom eyes, liquid liners, beauty books, tinted moisturizers, and the shielding hydro tint score poorly. Their scores range from moderate to high concern. Bad scores are due to ingredients such as propyl paraben, silica, ethyl acrylate, propylene glycol, and triethanolamine.
E.l.f.’s social responsibility rating is 3.2, and their environmental responsibility rating is 3.2 by Good Guide. Perhaps this is why their costs are able to remain low. For more information on this click here.
In sum, while most of their products rate poorly, many raise only a low level of health concern. This goes to show that low toxin makeup does not have to be expensive. Let me know what brands you would like reviewed and your favorite low-toxin E.l.f. products in the comments below. Thanks for reading.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
My video on these products:
Something to Consider 