After my rant last Wednesday about the use of shark liver oil, aka squalene, in beauty products, Revlon got in touch to assure me that their squalene is purely olive-derived. What I hadn’t fully appreciated was that botanical squalene is often simply listed as ‘squalene’ too. So, even when ingredients come from very different sources, this may not be pointed out on the packaging. Frustrating, huh? Just shows that, like food labelling, beauty labelling is in need of a major overhaul. So, if you are concerned about not using shark squalene and a product you want to buy lists squalene as an ingredient, the best I can advise is that you call the company and ask for more information.

Which reminds me: late last week I was at a beauty launch where we told about a lip gloss featuring hyaluronic acid. Nothing out of the ordinary about that – the super-hydrating hyaluronic acid is found in many moisturisers and serums (and it’s also what is pumped into lips and wrinkles). But then the company mentioned that their hyaluronic acid was sourced from shellfish. Which surprised me – whereas it was once sourced from rooster combs, most companies have now moved to a completely synthetic version of the ingredient. (more…)

It’s Woolworths Drought Action Day. Where all profits from today’s sales go directly to help our struggling farmers. And, not to take away from the serious message of the event, that’s also code for: guilt-free shopping. I’m not talking tofu and toilet paper – but, of course, the beauty aisle.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I’ve always found supermarket shampoos and conditioners to be at least as good as their salon sisters. Bodycare too. Take tanning moisturisers, for instance. I don’t get why people are buying the prestige ones when the original, and the cheapest, are so effective. And why break the bank on a body cream when Nivea dishes up such great formulations at such tiny prices? Supermarket skincare is also a viable option of you’re on a budget – brands like L’Oréal, Neutrogena, Garnier and Nivea all have some nifty little buys. (more…)

A - Someone you would have found on the New York winter 08 catwalks?

or

B - A must-read book?

Answer is …

Possibly A

(Well, the skinny part is for sure. So much for that whole New York Fashion Week hoo-ha about healthier, curvier models. And I’m sure there are many nice girls who trod the catwalks, but when you’re hungry, it’s really easy to be bitchy too. On a more positive note, it was so nice to see such a wide spectrum of races represented, with more dark-skinned and Asian models making their mark than we’ve seen in a while). (more…)

I feel like Dave Hughes this morning. I’m very angry. First, at myself. You’d think that I’d know how to decipher a cosmetics label by now. Apparently not. Because I have only just learned that squalene, a common emollient ingredient in creams (and sometimes lipstick too), actually comes from shark liver. Second, I’m angry that the beauty industry has even thought to use shark liver oil in the first place.

Thankfully, Unilever has just announced it’s phasing out squalene in favour of an olive-derived substitute, while L’Oréal decided to stop using it in 2006. (And, it should be said, a number of other big beauty companies don’t use squalene either – just check their labels if you’re wondering). According to Oceana, a marine conservation organization, the sharks have been killed mostly for the sole use of the beauty industry, and thus their numbers are declining.

While that’s a great reason to reassess the practice (more than ever, we all – individuals and companies – need to question the environmental impact of our purchases and actions), what about the animal welfare factor? Just because you can harm an animal for the sake of a cheap ingredient, doesn’t mean you should. And I know a shark is hardly the most lovable of creatures, but that doesn’t give us the right to kill it, especially for such superficial reasons.

That reminds me of another rant I have at the beauty industry. It’s about the use of emu oil in some skincare –you’ll usually see it listed as dromiceius oil. I can’t seem to find any info I trust about the source of the ingredient – ie, is it a byproduct of the emu meat industry vs are emus killed just for their oil. Nevertheless, even if it currently is a byproduct, my worry is that as the industry demand for emu oil increases, more emus may be farmed and killed for this purpose alone. I don’t care what scientific benefits of emu oil you can throw at me (funnily enough, they’re mostly cited only by companies who use the stuff), there is no place in beauty for such cruelty. Think about it: You’re smearing your face in another being’s suffering. And there’s nothing pretty about that.

… (see yesterday) … leave it to Sienna Miller to show us an even better way to wear it. It’s the most obvious style of red lippie and one that I’d completely and unforgivably forgotten about until I spotted Sienna Miller at the BAFTAs. It’s the starlet style of red lipstick, as pioneered by Marilyn Monroe. As in, as slash of scarlet lipstick and a swish of black liquid liner and a flurry of lashes. Also loving the sleek side pony thing, which showed off that fabulous jewelled back-neckline. Backline? Backolletage? You know what I mean.