Beauty Alert! Blog » Alissa Schoenfeld

The Wendy Williams Show!

Stacya — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 04:08:32 +0000

Beauty Alert! was featured on the Wendy Williams show last week, on an episode dealing with overloaded, old and gross make-up bags. The crowd went wild when Wendy held up our product and said it was cute! Here is the only clip we have, which leads you to it on a face book page for a great skin care company. http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150269330335720 Beauty Alert! labels were presented by the Wendy Williams Show beauty expert, Jenn Falik. Yay for making over the make-up case!

Very fun! You can get yours at www.beautyalert.biz for only $4.95.

It’s Getting Hot In Here

Stacya — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 14:20:02 +0000

Now that we are heading into warmer weather, this is a good time to remember what heat and humidity does to our products.

Once, I had the bright idea to leave my sunscreen in my car, so I could reapply when needed. One warm day, I pumped out a little of the lotion with SPF, and it was lumpy and curdled. I didn’t even know a lotion could do that. It was a new, 6 ounce tube, and I felt very wasteful. Store your products in a cool, dry place.

If something smells or separates, toss it. Bacteria loves warmth, humidity, and liquid, so your products are a very good breeding ground for things to go very wrong.

Confessions of a Lipstick Hoarder

Stacya — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:06:00 +0000

My sister in law just left town, and on our last lunch she made a confession. She had this lipstick she bought…20 YEARS AGO!!!!! And she finally realized maybe it wasn’t so great anymore when she put it on and it changed color. The thing she loved about the lipstick was the color, a shade that had been discontinued. The only reason she tossed it is because she realized that the product must have gone bad to the point where the color had actually changed. I hear this story a lot, women who find a color that they believe is some magical lip transformer, never to be found again, so they save it for years, parsing out usage. At least she saw that after 20 years the composition of the product had changed. But, it had probably gone bad much sooner than that. 20 years ago was 1990, my first year in Seattle…that was a long, long time ago. Many times a lipstick or gloss that old will smell rancid. Rancid oil on your lips, that sounds so horrible. Ladies, I know you believe you stumbled across some magic lip color, and now that it is discontinued you have been cheated out of the best make-up ever. Do you know how many lipstick companies there are? Do you know how many shades of lip color are out there? Most people can use up a lipstick in two years. If you are hoarding a lip color for special occasions, stop that! Every day is a special occasion. Wear your favorite things, don’t save them. Throw out that old crusty lipstick from the 1990′s, I know you can match that color!

A New Jar

Stacya — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 15:07:00 +0000

I just opened my new jar of Bobbi Brown’s tinted moisturizer with SPF. I love products that come in a big, glass jar. I know that products with a pump keep bacteria out…but this time I promised myself “no double dipping” and I will use only a Q-Tip…and no fingers. That is the hard part, especially when there is a big rush to get out the door. Some people prefer make-up and skin care with pumps, some jars. I am a jar person. It feels like an upgrade from the pump somehow. People who hold on to foundation and skin care for more than six months should probably opt for pumps, it does help the bacteria situation. I will be done with this jar in 2-3 months, and I am sure towards the end I will have given up on my new Q-Tip only rule.

Dr. Diane Chiu, dermatologist

Stacya — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 21:45:48 +0000

The first time I heard about Beauty Alert! Labels, I thought: “What a simple but brilliant idea…I can’t believe no one’s thought of it earlier!” As a cosmetic and medical dermatologist, I value the importance of what my patients are applying to their face and body. Every day, I advise people about what products are best for their skin, however I never had an effective way to counsel them about getting rid of products that have expired. Numerous scientific studies have shown that cosmetics can grow a wide variety of pathogenic bacteria and fungi, especially once they are opened. “Organic” or “natural” products that contain fewer preservatives and thus seem “better for the skin” may actually become contaminated even more easily. Eye make-up in particular can be a potentially hazardous source of eye infections. We know that once a tube of mascara has been opened, 36% have microbial growth by 3 months*. Expired or contaminated products used on the skin may lead to skin irritation, rashes, or infections, especially if there are any breaks in the skin, such as with eczema or acne. Without expiration dates on the product packaging, it’s impossible to know when items should be thrown out. The people at Beauty Alert! have done their research and have taken the guesswork out about recommended product replacement times. Beauty Alert! Labels make it easy for me now to offer guidelines to my patients about disposing of potentially contaminated cosmetic products and ensuring their skin health.
Diane Chiu, M.D.
Dermatologist

Keeping Track of Your Golf Ball

Stacya — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:55:48 +0000

My client’s mother uses our Beauty Alert! waterproof and writable labels to keep track of her golf balls. Not only do they stay on the surface of the ball, the label can withstand all kinds of abuse. I have even put one through the dishwasher on my Pyrex dish. Anyway, good to know that even people who don’t wear make-up can benefit from our durable, beautiful labels!

Telling A Friend Their Make-up is Messed up

Stacya — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:45:34 +0000

I got an email the other day from a friend who needed advice on how to help her mother with her eyeliner. Her mom wears an eyeliner that ends up all under her eyes. This has been going on for a while now, but…how to bring it up in a way that promotes change, but doesn’t hurt feellings? Many of my clients have this challenge with friends who over-tweeze their brows. The eyebrows become so thin or evolve into a shape not found in nature, what to say? Or just as bad, brow powder or pencil that is too heavy or too dark. I think the best practice is gentle honesty, followed by a gift. I told my friend to give her mom Bobbie Brown’s waterproof liquid eyeliner in Caviar. Any sting from the honesty will be soothed with the kick ass gift.

I Love Beauty Bloggers

Stacya — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 21:58:06 +0000

Blaq Vixen Beauty – Young, Fresh & New: Be on Your Guard with Beauty Alert!

Check out this great blog!!! I love beauty bloggers!

http://www.blaqvixenbeauty.com/VIX-FIX-Your-Guard-Beauty-Alert-3355691

Today is My Birthday

Stacya — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:38:09 +0000

Today is my birthday. Last week, I spoke with Alissa Schoenfeld, my long time friend and my co-creator of the Beauty Alert! concept. She said “Can you believe we have known each other for 30 years?” I said “Shut up!!! Stop that!!!”. It is shocking, but also, I am very proud to have stayed friends with these amazing people. The best birthday present Alissa gave me is this idea, and to have her as a business partner and friend. Alissa, I am surprised your parents let me hang out with you! I wore way, way too much make-up back then. And those tube tops!
OK, enough of that, now off to give my self a mini facial with Pevonia’s mask for dry skin! Maybe I will treat myself to a mani and pedi at Mimisan on Queen Anne Avenue. Tonight we will go to a restaurant on Vashon owned by Seabreeze Farm. It is called La Boucherie. I think it means the meat cutter. Or the butcher. Farmers are the new rock stars! Especially Matt. It is worth the ferry ride over. I am glad my birthday is the day before Valentine’s Day and not on it, we wouldn’t have gotten this reservation. OK, off to take a closer look at everything!

Old Sunscreen

Stacya — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 04:59:53 +0000

Sometimes people go on sunny trips and cover up with sunscreen, and yet still get sunburned. There are a few reasons for why this might happen. One reason is your sunscreen does not have a high enough SPF, or not enough “re-applying” every so often. Another reason is that since the last sunny vacation three years ago, you have not purchased new sunscreen and it has expired. The active ingredients have broken down, and it is no longer a useful sunblock. If your sunscreen, lotion, or face cream has become oily, separated, or has a strange color, it is probably either too old or has been exposed to high temperatures which changed the quality of the cream or sunscreen. Don’t leave products in your hot car, or out in the sun for long. If your cream smells funny or rancid, throw it out. Buy enough sunscreen for your trip, and use it up! Keep creams and lotions in a cool, dry place. Sometimes the bathroom is not the greatest place for our products. I keep some my potions and lotions in a beautiful red box, and sometimes I put sunscreen in the ‘fridge. I think Beauty Alert! labels are a great way to keep track of all those lotions we put in travel jars. You can mark the date AND what it is, that way you won’t wonder…is this lotion? Sunscreen, or hair conditioner? Try to use up your sunscreen within six months.
Photo by David Hiller, photographer for Beauty Alert!
Gross separated, old, expired sunscreen! This unmarked travel jar needed Beauty Alert! labels.