REVIEW: Lavanila The Healthy Deodorant

I haven't worn anti-perspirant in YEARS. Even though "they" tell you that there's no direct link between anti-perspirants and breast cancer, I still think that "they" have a vested interest to tell us that. Our sweat glands are just far too close to our lymph nodes, to our breasts...and besides, we're MEANT to sweat. It's how our body regulates its internal temperature.

Oh, and a daily shower does WONDERS for preventing body odour. All that being said, that damp feeling when you start to sweat is a little bit unnerving. You can feel it, and then you start to wonder "Can you see it through my clothes?", "Do I smell?", "Will I smell?" and your imagination runs away with you.

Chances are, that you don't smell and you won't smell for at least a few hours. ;o) But I like to have a deodorant with a pretty smell handy in my purse in case I start to worry. One of the all-natural deodorants that I already own (and love) is the one from The Body Shop and this is the other one... LaVanila's The Healthy Deodorant. It comes in a few really lovely scents including Coconut Vanilla, Grapefruit Vanilla, and.... Pure Vanilla; my personal favorite!

It goes on with a creamy feeling, refreshing, and instantly drying. It's loaded with plant extracts and a really lovely all-natural scent. It's a bit pricey at $18USD, but well worth it! It takes quite some time to go through one, and it's free of Parabens, Propylene Glycol, Butylene Glycol, Mineral Oil, Aluminum Salts, Phthalates, Silicones, Petrochemicals, etc.

I've only ever been able to find it at Sephora, but if you know of a different place to find it, please do let me know!

http://www.MadeYouLookCosmetics.etsy.com

REVIEW: Roc Sublime Energy e-pulse eye

Since our bodies are huge masses of atoms, of energy, we are constantly creating energy. We are quite literally balls of electrical charges running all over the mass that is our body.

The people over at Johnson & Johnson (who own Roc) claim they have a cream that fuses together zinc and copper in E-PULSE, which "works by energizing ion-mineral conductors of zinc and copper that activate the skin’s natural process" and "When combined with the specially formulated Boosting Complex found in the crèmes, it increases the rapid flow of mineral ions to dramatically rejuvenate the look of skin."

When Roc first launched this product, I was beside myself! I was told that over the course of their research they discovered that wounds heal faster when this zinc/copper fusion was applied to it - because it allowed the electrical impulses in our skin to travel through the wound. Of course, this is not a claim that Roc makes, but apparently this is what led to the discovery of this zinc and copper fusion as an anti-aging product. This is a two-step product, comprised of a serum and a cream "activator"

I was really excited to get my hands on this product.

The first thing I noticed was that there was no zinc and copper fusion. If you look at the ingredients, zinc powder and copper powder are listed seperately.

The second thing I noticed was that that the E-PULSE concentrate (Step 1) has only 9 ingredients, and that Dimethicone (and its variants) comprise THREE of the first six ingredients. I would guess that it's 50% dimethicone, and if you felt its texture you would probably agree.

I was really disappointed. No wonder over 70% of women saw "instant" results! The Dimethicone is an optical softener, a "blurrer", a translucent line-filler!

Regardless... I thought I'd try it.

Two steps... first you put the E-PULSE concentrate on, and then you apply the "activator" over top. The concentrate is a strange grey colour... and the activator is loaded with sparkly light diffusers!

My eyes immediately looked firmer. My concealer also went on beautifully and didn't crease at all! However, my eye area felt dry. By the end of the day I couldn't wait to get my make-up off to load up on a rich eye-cream!

The next day I tried it again, but this time I put an eye cream underneath it. Bad idea - it caused the cream to "rice" and pile off my eye area. It was hideous! I had to wash my face and reapply my creams (without the E-PULSE).

Lesson learned. The E-PULSE is fantastic for if you need an INSTANT bit of line-filling and if you're okay with letting your eye area feel unmoisturized. But I wouldn't recommend it for every day use! Dry skin ages faster, and if your moisturizer isn't absorbing properly through the layer of dimethicone you're first putting on, then you're setting yourself up for fast aging!

I would recommend this for situations where you need a lift NOW, and then you turn into a pumpkin at midnight.

This stuff isn't cheap. It's over $60 for the eye treatment...and it's not a true anti-ager!

Roc's other eye creams (the retinol based ones) are AMAZING and are the true stuff of anti-aging-science. But I don't recommend the E-PULSE (which, btw, has SIX different parabens in it)