Welcome to my"journey to find a good green liquid foundation"!.Oh,what a mouthful.So,if you have read or happened to read my previous post about my journey to find a good green liquid foundation before(read here),yes..this is my 2nd attempt of finding my good green liquid foundation.If you're like me who don't want to have nasty ingredients on your beauty products,you'll know that it's pretty difficult to do so.I was a sucker for BB creams for its good light,non heavy feeling,yet un cakey finish at the same time.So,having my self converted into green product ones,I also tried to find green BB cream for me as well.But by far I find nothing!!BB creams and silicone are good friends.And some other things that I don't want to have it listed on my beauty products inci.Since there's no green bb creams yet,so I source for tinted moisturizer,or even foundation,or...... anything please that has good ingredients and good finish result!!*Says me desperately*

I prefer liquid one since cream foundation is heavier and I don't like any heavy make up look,especially if you live in Indonesia here where you're like melting all the time with those sweats allover your face.

My 1st attempt with Almay foundation,results zero. So this time I go with pricier product from..my almost fave brand"100%pure". I bought this 100%pure tinted moisturizer in golden peach.This one retail price is 5x than my previous Almay pure blend foundation.Hoping for the best with that price?Sure,absolutely.Who wants to dump a 32USD product?certainly not me.

So,this product has 7 shades,previously it has 5 shades.The latest shade is cocoa.If you look at their official web to find the perfect shade for you,you'll be confused.Especially if you're an Asian like me with"a complicated skin tone(not that yellow and not that tan)".Previously it was like this:

Then now it's like this:

I think my skin tone is between golden peach and toffee.Since I was confused so I tried to google the product in its actual color,I found this:

l-r:creme-golden peach-toffee-peach bisque

Didn't want to risk of having a foundation that is darker than my skintone,so I chose golden peach one.It's for those with yellow skin tone.

I'm having trouble in choosing make up colors,both online and offline shopping.Often that I did in the past,I went to cosmetic counter,picked products that I thought it'll be good and suits me best.End up when I wear the product on day light,it's either brighter,or darker in its actual color.Some stores have lighting that is deceiving.Back then I've ever bought L'oreal lipstick in a wine color(on the store),when I wear it on daylight,turned out to be it's a bright fuchsia!!Thanks to the store's light,which was yellow light.So,for me going online or offline shopping are just pretty much the same = I have to bear misleading color purchase.As for this time purchase,I'm glad it matches to my skin tone.And yes,buying something lighter than your skintone is better I think.I don't know you,but I don't want to look grey or ashy like I have pouring dust/sand on my skin.So I better bet my purchase on the lighter one.

Ingredients: 

Pigments of Peach, Apricot, Carrot, Pomegranate, Cocoa Bean, Goji Berry and Tomato, White Tea, Cucumber Juice, Aloe Juice, Acai Oil and Pomegranate Oil, Vitamin E (a-tocopherol), Vitamin C (ascorbyl palmitate), Rice Starch, Candelilla Wax, Extracts of Rosemary, Oregano, Thyme, Grapefruit Seed, Japanese Honeysuckle, Goldenseal and Cinnamon

SUNSCREEN ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: 15% Titanium Dioxide and 10% Zinc Oxide

The result of this tinted moisturizer is:very sheer!!It doesn't cover anything,it's just like you using a moisturizer with color on it,but the color did nothing to cover your imperfection.

See my pic below:

It covers nothing!Yes it has the color,but doesn't color your skin at all. I remember that my dear blogger friend,Vivi has ever told me that 100%pure concealer that she's tried did nothing to cover.She's right!:/
What good things about this product is that it has dewy finish look,and has skin healing properties.Your face will feel smoootthhh after couple of application.Not clogging pore either.It has peachy smell,a bit sour.Part that I don't like the most about this product is that this has japanese honey suckle(lonicera japonica) in it.Japanese honey suckle is a natural paraben,something that I'd like to avoid.If you asked me why bought this back then,1st of all though I've managed my self to be pickier when I want to buy something,sometimes I can be sloppy by skimming ingredients list when I do the reading.2nd,I read somewhere that 100% pure made a denial about that japanese honey suckle=parabens issue.So between those 2 reasons,I made this purchase back then.And..yes,apparently japanesse honey suckle is a natural parabens.That said, I'm not happy with this ingredient at all. 

About the packaging,it's an airpump cosmetic botle packaging.It was sealed also(but I didn't take a pic of it,I just couldn't hardly wait to try it back then).On my previous posts about other 100%pure products that I've tried,there were no expiry date or something there.But then I checked on 100%pure official web,it said that"On each product, there is an open jar symbol with a number on it. That number indicates how long you can use the product once it is opened".Or as what you can see on the pic here:

I'm seriously in need of a liquid foundation,tinted moisturizer,bb cream,yeah you name it-which fits my criteria.And honestly,I'm not a fan of anything pricey,I mean...come on,if you can get something in lower price with the same quality,then why would you want it in higher price?;) So I've been hunting for a natural liquid foundation these days(which means I'm still in the process'till today when I write this post). My first target was Physicians Formula Organic Wear Tinted Moisturizer.I have ordered it on a web,but somehow the web didn't ship it outside US(maybe because it's liquid?).So I tried to e-bay it,but then I read carefully to its whole ingredients and got stuck in this: Canabis Sativa(hemp)seed oil. What?Canabis Sativa?That canabis sativa?

Ok,these are the problems:

1.Is it halal?

2.Is it allowed to be brought to Indonesia?

For people who doesn't know,hemp is another name for products of canabis sativa fiber and/or oilseed varieties.Yes,hemp is very popular.In both positive and negative stuffs.Hemp is a very good natural source for its good fiber for fabric properties.Cloth from hemp,menstrual pads from hemp,face cloth from hemp,they all are natural,good,and comfortable fabrics to be worn.Hemp seed oil,it is used in many cosmetic industries for its healing properties.Hemp seed is also used as a good snack in healthy food.Those are positive uses of hemp. The negative use,hemp leaves is actually used as a medical drug to alleviate pain feeling,BUT just like other drugs,some people missusing it and instead using it to make them fly high.Yeah,and for that reason this plant is banned by our government. So,that is hemp leaves missusing function.
How about its oil that is used in cosmetic industry?Does it have THC(Tetrahydrocannabinol)-one that makes people high- in it? The answer is no.Hemp seed oil is extracted and refined from its seed,therefore there's no trace of THC in it which can make you fly. And for that reason also,hemp seed oil is halal. In fact,industrial hemp is different than those that are used in medicinal/recreational hemp.See(this)link.

Question no.2,is it allowed to be brought to indonesia(hemp seed oil)?

The answer is,I don't know. But I saw The Body Shop had a range of hemp on its collection,so I guess it's ok.However,I haven't checked this to The Body Shop Indonesia. So I left this question behind,and source for another foundie but still have friendly ingredients.My next target was Couleur Caramel Liquid Foundation.

CC is a very well known natural cosmetic in the term of clean and green cosmetic.I wanted their products so badly since long time ago,but it's quite pricey compared to others so I'd go for less pricey one 1st.Why would I want a pricey product while I can get non pricey one?:p Here is some of their collections:

It's their retro collection.Pretty isn't it?;) So I checked their ingredients,and found this thumbdown:Parfum/fragrance.Yes,that is a common ingredients in all cosmetics. It is added so that the product will smell nice.There we have the problem.Is it about the smell?Or am I allergic to a certain fragrance so that I want to stay away from it?.The answer is NO,i'm fine with the smell issue.Yes,some people are allergic to fragrance,not just synthetic one even to plant based fragrance ones(read:essential oils).And this is where"fragrance free"product came from.Some people are allergic to the smell(which means from sneezing,dizzy,'till difficulty breathing),and/or to the skin(itchy,rash).I'm neither both allergic to it,but that doesn't mean you can sit near me with pouring a full bottle of parfum to your body and I won't complain that!:D I'm not sick of the parfum,but i'll be sick of....you!:P  Basically,I'm fine with parfum.But I don't like the"parfum/fragrance"word on my cosmetic product ingredients list without knowing the source of it.Why?Parfum/fragrance is a mysterious ingredients where inside it,there can be up to thousands compounds can be found. Tragically,it's protected by "trade secret" which means producer has the right not to disclose what is inside it. Well,sensible since..hello..why would channel,or bvlgari for example,will disclose what is inside their parfum/fragrance?And..that's what trade secret is. 

As a consumer,this will lead us in doubt about what is inside the word of "parfum/fragrance" in our cosmetic products,such as: lipstick,powder,creams,lotion,etc.  Testing of Calvin Klein’s Eternity by an independent lab, commissioned by Environmental Health Network (EHN), revealed that the perfume contained over 800 compounds.Among the chemicals of concern in Eternity perfume was diethyl phthalate (DEP), an irritant and suspected hormone disrupter that is absorbed through the skin and can accumulate in human fat tissue. The lab, Scientific Instrument Services, found that DEP made up just over 10% of the perfume.A 2009 study of Austrian college students also found that those who used the most perfume and scented lotion also had the highest levels of synthetic musks, including Galaxolide and Tonalide, in their blood. Research by the Environmental Working Group has even found synthetic musks in the umbilical cord blood of newborn U.S. infants. Preliminary research suggests that musks may disrupt hormones. Both Galaxolide and Tonalide can bind to and stimulate human estrogen receptors and have been shown to affect androgen and progesterone receptors. Tonalide has also been reported to increase the proliferation of estrogen-responsive human breast cancer cells. These musks have an environmental impact – they have been found to be toxic to aquatic life in numerous studies and can accumulate in the food chain.Basically,this is a mysterious ingredient that I want to stay away unless the producer stated where their parfum/fragrance sources are from.The word"parfum/fragrance" is even worse than"parabens,formaldehyde,BHA/BHT,etc"since hell...I don't even know what is inside it,none knows!They can put anything in it. I mean,800 compounds or even more is a whole concoction.We may avoid parabens,formaldehyde and stuffs,but who knows what is inside"parfum/fragrance"word on our cosmetic?....The parabens,formaldehyde,and other stuffs could be there altogether without us having a clue on what is inside it. So,I e-mailed CC but get no reply untill today which is very dissapointing.Too bad that they don't even explain it on their ingredients glossary on their web.So,a bye for CC..

Then I found this Almay Pure Blend.I didn't know that Almay made this line back then.They have various shades,and what I chose was Beige one. There aren't many reviews about Almay Pure Blend foundation on the net,actually.By far I found only 2 or 3 reviewers,and most of them were caucasian which were fairer than me.And they chose either neutral,or naked shade.So I chose darker shade which was beige. And this is what it looked like:

They only seal it with plastic with no expiry date on it.When I opened it,there's no seal on its tube either.Ok,i'm not that fussy about sealing stuffs as long as there's info about manufacturing date or expiry date on it.I told you before,US cosmetic producers have no obligation to put expiry date on its label,so not a big surprise for me.

If you don't look at its ingredients carefully,it may look fine.No"common"nasty chemicals there.I must confess that when I did this product purchase,I only skimmed the natural ingredients part and didn't look at it one by one.After the stuff came,I realized it has 2 things that I don't like:

1.Alcohol

A little info about this Almay pure blends ingredients on the net since the Almay official web no longer list it on their web.I read on the web store info that"alcohol"was on the inci list.I thought they mistakenly typed it,or they might miss one word left infront of that"alcohol"word,like it might be a benzyl alcohol for expample,but they forgot to type the benzyl one.yeah,silly I know.Then when the stuff came,..it IS really alcohol which means ethanol.Some of trully natural cosmetic producers also did use alcohol that are from fermentation of either fruits or grains(mostly grains),and state it under"Alcohol",or"Grain Alcohol".So,if you one day find"alcohol"word on any natural cosmetic,it means they use natural alcohol which comes from fermentation,mostly are grain alcohol. I,for a religious reason see my post(here),can't use this kind of alcohol.So this ingredients is something that I prefer to avoid.

2.Sodium Borate

I have no idea how to comment about this ingredient.Sodium borate,also known as borax,is actually a salt of boric acid.It can be found in dry lake beds like in Tibet.Borax is usually found deep within the ground, although it has been mined near the surface in Death Valley, California since the 1800s.Borax occurs naturally in evaporite deposits produced by the repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. The most commercially important deposits are found in Turkey, Boron, California, and Searles Lake, California. Also, it has been found at many other locations in the Southwestern United States, the Atacama desert in Chile, and in Tibet and Romania. It’s basiccally a salt that occurs when a lake starts drying up. The material is exposed above water line and is carried away in trucks.I notice that Burt's Bees and some other natural cosmetic line also use this ingredient on some of their products. This one isn't on banned list of cosmetic ingredients,nor on top issue of any cosmetic ingredients that we should avoid. But this IS an issue here in Indonesia since media in Indonesia continuesly reporting about sodium borate being used by some street food stalls to preserve their foods.Ask any Indonesian about this:Borax,Formalin,..they'll know what it is!:D..It's allover on the media. So,I certainly don't want this on my cosmetic as well.

Now let's move to its performance.The texture is very runny,look at the cap,so mess.

From the reviews,this one got bad review as foundation.What I wanted was a tinted moisturizer with medium coverage,like my prev.Cover Girl Natureluxe,but with cleaner ingredients.So I thought this Almay would be like that since most reviews said it's not a foundation,but a tinted moisturizer instead. Turned out,this one was a tinted moisturizer(which I wanted),but with NO coverage at all.Yes it has color,in fact this beige color doesn't match to my skin tone.It has red/pink shade! Though it has color(and wrong color to my skintone),when it's applied it has no coverage at all.I bought wrong shade so if it has coverage it should make my skin looked weird in different wrong shade color,but it's not!So yea..it has no coverage at all.

Right,on pic.no.2 you don't see the line that I drew for degree of coverage ability of this product.But that's not because it's covered.The line was gone,thanks to the alcohol in it which erase the line that I drew. Not only that,the alcohol made my skin dry,and I experience broke out after using it.As a moslem,the using of alcohol can be read(here).I certainly don't want to use it on daily basis.In fact,this foundation is poor in everything,the color,coverage,and broke me out.The only good thing is that this product will give you a bit matte look.I don't really like this product,so I'll rate it as:2.5 points.Beter find another one.

Anyway,I've been working on activating my social vibe network(see my right bar there-->).It's basically like PTC(pay to click).If on PTC,the money goes to the web owner pocket,on social vibe,the money goes to the charity that you choose. Cool,huh?;) Before that you have to choose sponsors for your charity which is provided on the list.However,this is my biggest question:where's the sponsor?I don't see them anywhere :S...Is there anyone who ever joined this network?Or anyother network similar to this?Any advice will be very appreciated here:).

Thanks for reading!Have a nice Day!:)

Article credit to:
http://healthychild.org/blog/comments/fragrance_in_perfumes_and_cosmetics/#ixzz1nPt01pUr

I determined my self to write post to this blog at least twice in a month,guess I haven't made it this year since there're still some one single post in a month that I wrote,so before the new year come I just have to write another post again this month,I have to:D..Writing a post is actually easy,it's just sometimes I enjoy blogwalking here and there,especially since I've been converting my cosmetics preference into green cosmetics-non toxic ones.I knew that there're alot of beauty bloggers out there who have the same preference as mine,but I just didn't find any at that time.Now that I found many,I was like WOW-ing to their collections.It's so much fun to see their  cosmetics collection!:) You know,it's easy to find toxic cosmetics.So when you find those which are green and healthy,it's so much fun.The same fun as when I get excited over wholewheat pasta on supermarket,and other organics,healthy foods.

So since I want to have a good foundie for me,then I searched for a green foundie one.Then I came across this CoverGirl Natureluxe foundation.  What?CoverGirl?but they're not a green brand!..you may think that way,right?.True,they're not a green brand.Actually I ordered Physicians Formula Organic Wear tinted moisturizer one,but the webstore didn't ship the item outside US.So then I found this foundie,and replaced my PF with this instead.

CoverGirl Natureluxe range is a"healthier"version from all CoverGirl's products.They have foundation,mascara,and lipstick in that range. The CG model for this natureluxe range is Taylor Swift.

What makes the range different than other CG products?let's take a look at the ingredients:

Active Ingredients: Titanium Dioxide (2.6%), Octinoxate (2%)

Inactive Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Water, Cucumis Sativus Fruit (Cucumber), Glycerin, Dimethicone Crosspolymer, Sodium Chloride, Diethylhexyl Carbonate, Talc, Propylene Glycol, PEG/PPG 18/18 Dimethicone, Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Wax (Jojoba), Rosa Canina (Rose Hip) Fruit Extract, Hippophae Rhamnoides Fruit Juice, Panthenol, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Allantoin (Comfrey Root), Dimethicone, Methicone, Aluminum Hydroxide, Fragrance, Trideceth 9, Bisabolol (L-Alpha), Lactic Acid, PEG 10 Dimethicone Crosspolymer, PEG 10, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Potassium Sorbate, Benzyl Alcohol, Phenoxyethanol, May Contain (+/-): Iron Oxides

This is what the company said about the product:

Natureluxe Silk Foundation exchanges a heavier emollient for a touch of cucumber water and a hint of natural jojoba and rosehip extracts, which are lighter, more luxurious-feeling alternatives.

Oil-free

Paraben-free

SPF 10

Natureluxe Silk Foundation is part of Covergirl Natureluxe, a luxury makeup line that exchanges a select heavier synthetic for carefully-chosen natural ingredients, while delivering a polished makeup look and a lightweight feel.Natureluxe Silk Foundation contains a lightweight blend of hints of jojoba and rosehip extracts along with cucumber water which is a lighter, more luxurious alternative to a heavier feeling emollient.  Cucumber water is refreshing and light-feeling to balance creaminess on application.  Innovative formula for creating naturally polished looking skin designed with beauty trend insights from Pat McGrath, Covergirl Global Creative Design Director.

This is the shade detil:

What I chose was oak one.Actually it's pretty confusing,as usual,to choose my shade based on the color chart above.I have tan skin color which is not as dark as what African women,but not as fair as caucasian and east asian women.To make it more complicated,my undertone is yellow which won't work if I choose dark shade(it'll be grey on my face),and to choose yellow shade it will be shown as yellow on my face either @_@.. So,my choice was between mapple,nutmeg,suede,and oak.

I chose the oak one since it has a hint of yellow in it(mapple is too pink,suede is kinda grey,nutmeg is dark).And I was right!It suits my skin tone perfectly!  This is the swatch:

Anyway,the swatch on my hand doesn't represent its actual color.I don't know,though I don't use flash but my digital camera makes it lighter everytime I zoom it.So,what you have to take a note from the swatch is that:it has a light to medium coverage. As you can see,it covers my eyebrow pencil mark well which means your skin imperfection can be covered well.The product also has a fresh cucumber fragrance,and it has a smooth silky luxury feeling on skin.It's not heavy,nor cakey,it's pretty much like tinted moisturizer or BB cream with a dewy look result imo.In fact,this one is way much better than all bb creams I've tried before(see my post about bb creams here).This one doesn't oxidize either.In fact,I'd give this product a 5 points if only days after purchased this I didn't read this article about PEG.

I know that glycols family is subject to be avoided.But I didn't put it on my primary list since I thought it was only caused allergic. If it's allergen,then I probably still willing to try since allergics are different from one another.What caused me allergic,doesn't mean cause somebody allergic too.But those which are stated as carcinogenic,I'll stay away from that ingredient.So,PEG apparently contains 1.4-dioxane.It started with the article about Stacy Malkan and her group succeeded to"push" Johnson's and Johnson company in US. Yes,that j&j!. J&j finally agreed to remove all 1.4 dioxane from their baby products in US.I knew that some baby products on the market contains unfriendly ingredients,even harmfull ones.But there's no 1.4 dioxane on the ingredients list.So where does 1.4 dioxane come from?The company don't put it on the ingredients list because they don't use 1.4 dioxane as product ingredient.But it is there because they use some ingredients which is through chemical process,it makes the product contains 1.4-dioxane.1.4-dioxane is a by product or contaminant as the result of a process called ethoxylation.1.4-dioxane presents in product with synthetic ethoxylated ingredients such as those with:

myreth,laureth,oleth,ceteareth,PEG,polyethylene,polyoxyethylene,polyethylene glycol, basically those with"eth".1.4-dioxane is carcinogen.1.4-dioxane actually can be removed from the product,but it requires extra cost by the company.That's why some companies don't do the removing process.

Talking about that J&J above.It's good to see the company is willing to remove the 1.4 dioxane on their baby products in US in the next 2 years.But how about the company's other line such:Aveeno,Neutrogena?Also,how about other J&J products outside the US area?we don't know the answer.

So back to my CG natureluxe,I prefer other better choices than that.CG natureluxe is also a perfect example of a product which is labelled as"natural",but contains only little natural ingredients as you can see on its ingredients list.There are also alot of products which are labelled as"organic",but still contains harmfull chemical. Like this one,a brand called"organix".

The ingredients seems nice,it's organic too,but they have one thumbdown: triethanolamine.Regarding this,please don't be fooled by the "natural",or "organic" word. Educate our selves about harmfull chemicals that you can find the list(many)out there on the net.There's nothing to loose to gain new knowledges about what stuffs that shouldn't be lurking on our body.After all,if you're a women,like it or not..you'll be the first source of knowledge in your family.(So that I don't understand where there're societies in this world who purposedly make their women stupid by limiting access to education for women.How can they wish stupid women to teach smart things for the society incl.the man him self?funny..).  Well,I'm sure that none of us want to be a bad source for knowledge:)..

In all,since now I'm avoiding PEG,so I'll rate this CG natureluxe as 3 points.After all,it has no formaldehyde,parabens,TEA/DEA,BHT. It's a good start for those who are new to this kind of green and healthy cosmetics.With a great make up result as well^^..

Anyway,Happy New Year 2012 for all of us!May the upcoming year will be filled with happiness,healthy,and prosperity.Amin. As what I've been commited to,please feel free to share some of your this new year joy for those in needs by clicking this pic below.If you ask me,why I put this link on a beauty blog?well..if you who read this post are able to read this post,I assume that you aren't in lack condition of a daily need,unlike those who are on the link below(oh please,you're connected to the net through those gadgets and having time to access the net). So,we here are much luckier than those people on the link below.Also,I think beauty bloggers are nice persons.They're kindly giving away some of their precious stuffs through giveaway.So I think they may won't mind to share some of the joy they have to those in needs below:).

Have a Happy Holiday!Happy New Year!:)