Beauty Alert! Blog » Inventors of Beauty Alert!

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.

I Am Sad My New Lipstick Is Yucky

Stacya — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 21:09:47 +0000

I just need to get this out. I went into Saks Fifth Ave in New York to find my Bobbi Brown lipstick, and instead I was caught in the web of a very aggressive sales lady who was trying to sell me skin care. I realized the only way I was getting away from her was to buy something, so I offered to buy a lipstick from her. So I ended up buying a lipstick in a good color, but from a company (shall remain nameless) I was unfamiliar with. Now I have it, a $35.00 lipstick…and it dries out my lips and tastes terrible. Sad. I won’t even put a Beauty Alert! label on it, because it isn’t label worthy. Also, I have this feeling that Saks Fifth Avenue doesn’t even carry Bobbi Brown, but I after my encounter at the counter, I wanted to flee.

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.

Beauty Alert! is in the New York Times!!!!

Stacya — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 03:00:01 +0000

Beauty Alert! will be in the Thursday Styles, Skin Deep section tomorrow morning. I might be one of the last people who gets a real paper on my porch, and I will wake up early to look at it in all the black and white glory. Yay! I love the New York Times!!! Next time, Sunday Styles….

Here is the link

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

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.

Mascara and Your Eye Health

Stacya — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:03:04 +0000

Mascara, according to the FDA website, should be tossed between 2 and 4 months. Beauty Alert! says 3 months, because a medical journal* that published test results gives the actual levels of bacteria in a controlled test, and 3 seems to be the number. I have a client who gets a new mascara every month, so feel free to toss it sooner! But don’t hold onto your mascara, you are taking a big chance with your eye health. This is not a marketing strategy. The build up of bacteria in a product that you put near your eye can lead to eye infection.

*Optometry: Journal of the American Optometric Association, “Microbial contamination associated with mascara use,” October 2008.

Eye and Lip Pencils

Stacya — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 00:55:14 +0000

Eye and lip pencils must be kept sharp. I keep seeing things online that give a “use by date” for pencils, and the truth is, if you keep them sharp and sharpen them each time you use them, it is a good guideline for keeping them clean and fresh. Also, you can clean your pencil sharpener, too. Some salons will clean and sterilize them for you. As you can see, this lip pencil has been sharpened to almost the bitter end. If you sharpen and use your cosmetic pencils regularly, you will use the make-up faster which is good for the “life” and safety of the product. Store your products in a clean, dry place. The bathroom is NOT the best place to store your cosmetics, lotions, perfumes and potions. Too steamy and warm in there!

We are in the LA Times!

Stacya — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:11:23 +0000

We are in the LA Times! “Cosmetics, skin-care products don’t last forever”
One of the best articles I have read on old make-up and crusty loofas. Yuck. And yikes.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/14/image/la-ig-beauty14-20100212