Sensitive Eyes

I've finally come to the conclusion that I have very sensitive eyes. My first clue was horrible itching from brand name eye shadows containing bismuth oxychloride. That's a distant memory since I've been using our brand for 4 years now.

But, my eyes are now rebelling against drug store brand mascara. I've tried 3 brands, all of them make my eyes itch and water. Soooooo since I'm probably not the only one in the world with this problem, I'm determined to find a solution. My quirky skin and sensitivities have set me on a new course....find a formulation for a suitable mascara.

We will be testing some formulations out from different labs/manufacturers. Once we have a winner, you'll see it on our site!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Neon Eye Products and Other FDA VIOLATIONS!

Your Vision Depends on Being Informed!

I'm writing this post in response to a lot of bad press lately for some cosmetic sellers that are selling eye makeup products that include unsafe ingredients.

The FDA regulates the cosmetic industry, and manufacturers are required to comply with the regulations, and why not? It's for everyone's safety! However, it seems there is a TON of confusion and misinterpretation of products, ingredients, and the FDA regs.

1. Neon eye shadows are very popular, believe it or not. Yet there are NO FDA approved neon (black light responsive) ingredients. The ingredients required to glow in the dark are not eye safe, and can cause eye irritation, swelling and loss of vision. Dyes are responsible for this effect. There is only 1 dye per color group that is FDA approved for eye use: FD&C Blue No. 1, FD&C Red No. 40, FD&C Yellow No. 5, D&C Black No. 2 & 3 (subject to limitations). Please refer to this handy FDA chart. Mineral colorants are not considered dyes. They are in a separate section of the chart.
   
2. Multi Minerals or Pigments sold by very popular HUGE companies are often used for the eye area although not approved for the eye area. People assume that these pigments are eye safe and a great deal. Read the ingredients and READ THE INSERT! It is not very well displayed and often overlooked.
3. If the company you are buying makeup from does not declare the ingredients for each shade of every product they carry....BUYER BEWARE! The FDA requires ingredient declarations either on the product, the outer container, beside the product on the display, or displayed online or by request via the mail.
4. Per FDA regs, a company can use the "may contain" clause for similar products whose main ingredients are the same, and the colorants vary. I'm sure you've all seen products labeled with that clause. There are a few reasons manufacturers do that: it protects their formulas from being duped, it reduces the cost of labeling in some cases. However, as a manufacturer, we choose NOT to do this. Why? Well were not that worried about our shades being duped, and haven't found a savings in the label since the color name changes. The biggest reason? WE WANT YOU TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS IN THE PRODUCT! If you happen to be allergic to XYZ ingredient, why would we want you to wonder if it's in all of our products if its' only actually in a few?
   

It's not just small companies that violate the labeling laws on a daily basis. Take a walk through your local drug store and pick up a few eye pencils or lip products. Chances are there are no ingredients listed or displayed. So you are virtually trusting the company for your safety and compliance with the law. You should be able to trust. But unfortunately there are many companies out to just make money and don't really care about the customer.

At L.A. Minerals we declare every products ingredients in the "details and enlarge" link beside every product. The only exception is our sample page, where the customer is referred to the main product page for that info.

Stay safe. Stay informed. Stay Beautiful :)

~Lorraine
Founder & CEO
L.A. Minerals

Why does some Makeup turn Orange?

Ever feel like you look like this Orange faced Barbie? LoL! We've seen the complaints all over the internet: "My makeup looks fine when I put it on. Then over the course of the day it turns orange! Why? "

Well we thought we'd take a few minutes to explain this phenomena. There are numerous contributing factors, and it's not necessarily your fault!

Orange face morphing most commonly effects those with normal to oily skin tones. The ingredients in the makeup look great when you put it on, then as your skin oil is produced throughout the day, the oils mix with the ingredients in your makeup. Sometimes this is a bad thing for you, and those looking at you!

Makeup ingredients are the perpetrator of this crime against your face! With almost infinite ingredients available to formulators, you'd think they would get it right. Untreated pigments or base ingredients account for the morphing. Take mica for instance. Mica is one of the most common base ingredients for loose mineral makeup. For formulators, it's known as Sericite Mica. It's a white, super soft and finely milled powder and a great substitute for talc. It's commonly used as a base to disperse the other ingredients and pigments into, since you can't just smear pigment around on your face and look like anything other than Rainbow Bright.

However, there are a plethora of Mica choices. There's the basic untreated/plain Sericite Mica, then there are treated Micas. Treated Micas are coated with another ingredients, like jojoba, magnesium myristate, silica, etc... This not only makes the mica feel better on the skin, but it gives it stability. The stability to maintain its pigment/shade even when your skin starts to get oily. You won't suffer from Orange Face Morphing if the formulator has gone to the expense of using treated base ingredients.

Unfortunately, the customer has no way of determining by the label, if the company has used treated or untreated ingredients. Why? Because the FDA does not require that disclosure, and they require the ingredients be listed in order of predominance.

Take our Valley Girl mineral foundation for example. Our base mica is jojoba treated sericite. Mica is the main ingredient. Jojoba, being a coating is less than 1% of the formula, so it gets placed towards the end of the list. So reading the ingredient list for our Valley Girl mineral foundation, there is really no way to tell that we use the more costly, treated sericite mica as our base:
Mica, Zinc Oxide, Boron Nitride, Silica Microspheres, Titanium Dioxide, Kaolin Clay, Magnesium Stearate, Silk Powder, Allantoin, Iron Oxides (colorant), UltraMarines (colorant), Jojoba, and Dimethicone.

So what's a girl to do?

• Give the products you use a test run! Buy a makeup sample, or have your makeup done and wear it for the day. Pay close attention to how it looks at the end of the day compared to how it looked when it was applied.
• Ask the company if they use treated/coated, premium base ingredients. If they don't tell you they do, then I'd guess that means "No" they don't!
  

EOTD Contest

Get this look
Julisa is using the following shades:
1st Boyfriend on lid
Naughty on outer V
Espresso as eyeliner


SEE TUTORIAL BELOW

Its a new year, so Happy New Year!

We thought we'd start this new year out with a bang. First we launched L.A. Minerals WET. Our newest foundation combining minerals with organics in a creamy/mousse type formula.

Now, we'd like to introduce you to a really FUN FUN FUN contest.
Winner gets a $75 Gift Certificate. All participants submitting qualifying photos will get one full size eye shadow of their choice :)

Eye Of The DAY (EOTD) Look Contest.

Here's how it goes:

• REQUIRED: Submit 2 photos (one eye shut, one eye open) using at least 2 L.A. Minerals eye shadows to customerservice (at)laminerals.com. Use jpg format please. This will earn you 1 entry.

FOR ADDITIONAL ENTRIES, DO THE FOLLOWING:

• Post your EOTD look on our facebook fan page (you can host your photos free using photobucket) =1 entry
  
• Tweet about this contest with @laminerals and a link to this blog =1 entry
• Comment about this contest here on our blog =1 entry
• Comment under "Discussions" tab on L.A. Minerals Facebook Fan Page =1 entry

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Small Print (aka rules)

1. Must submit 2 photos using 2 L.A. Minerals eye shadow shades. One with eye open, one with eye shut.
2. Include the name of the 2 ES shades you used in the photos.
3. Must be 18 years or older to participate without signing a waiver. (contact us for a waiver if you are under age)
4. By submitting your photos you agree that L.A. Minerals can use your photos on our website, blog, facebook page or other promotional venue without monetary compensation.
5. Last day of contest is January 31st.
   
6. Drawing will be held February 3rd, using Random.org. Winner will be posted on our Facebook Fan Page, here on this blog, and possibly in a future newsletter. Winner will be notified by e-mail.
   
7. 1st Prize is $75 gift certificate for L.A. Minerals products. All participants will receive one eye shadow of their choice.