Silica War Ensues...

In the world of cosmetics, a war is being fought over...silica.

Why is this?

Well, it all starts with Makeup Forever's HD powder. It is 100% silica in the form of finely ground microspheres. This powder comes at a high price: about 30 dollars for .35 oz.  Though pricey, many have taken the plunge in exchange for the high-quality finish the powder provides.

The plot thickens when you bring Coastal Scents into the picture. As many of you may know, Coastal Scents is a website that sells eyeshadow pigments, palettes of many sorts, gel liners...and myriad other items at very low prices. They are best known for their 88 Shimmer Palette, which offers 88 different, highly-pigmented eyeshadows. Word began to spread when it was discovered that Coastal Scents was selling an entire ounce of silica for 4 dollars.

What what what?

Yep. Four dollars for more than double the amount that Makeup Forever was offering for their 100% Silica finishing powder.

So of course, word spread like fire throughout the internet community about how nobody should buy Makeup Forever's HD powder. The tide seemed in the favor of Coastal Scents until a youtube video about the dangers of silica was posted by a concerned youtuber.

The video warns of the possibilty of contracting silicosis by prolonged exposure to undiluted silica. This caused a huge eruption of fear and anger by those who had rushed to buy the Coastal Scents silica powder. However, the video, if you view it, is unclear about the difference between the safety of Makeup Forever's HD powder.

In response, Coastal Scents responded with a post on their website, about the safety of using undiluted silica. The professed that their product was FDA approved and that it could be used on the skin directly. Also, many blog and vloggers responded with outraged posts about the ignorance of this one youtuber. Here is some counter information: http://mollyloretta.com/wordpress/2009/02/silica-in-cosmetics/

Just when I thought the war was over, the original youtuber, ericaleigh777, posted yet another video about the silica powder. This was done in response to personal attacks aimed toward her after having posted her first video.

So...what do you think? I remain unconvinced in either direction. I'm still wondering why Makeup Forever's HD powder sells for so much more, if it really is 100% silica... and I can't see why they would lie. Is the Coastal Scents product not ground as finely? I guess I'm going to have to wait and see how this plays out. It totally sucks though; I was planning on purchasing the CS silica powder before this battle erupted.

Poetic Tribute to Lord Byron

He travels paths, long lost to most,

    all covered by the brambles' spread
And, searching for a lover's ghost,
    sees little of the routes he treads.
Her eyes he sees in his mind's eye,
    instead of rocks or trees or clouds.
And as he passes these things by,
    he fails to see his true love's shroud.
For in the clouds and trees and rocks,
    is where her spirit found its place.
And though her heart lay in a box,
    her mind is free to fly with grace.
So, free to soar, she now resides 
    in places full of beauty great.
He passes with a careless stride,
    the things that matter to the late.
 Now thinking only of what's gone,
    he'll never see his love again.
And though she sings a loving song,
    his ears are clouded by his pain.

Wigging Out: Color and Cut

I've decided to start a wig collection. Though this has been a desire for quite a while, I hadn't taken the plunge and actually purchased one until earlier this week. I decided to take a chance on a synthetic wig that was around 60 dollars. It's called "Jessica Rabbit," and I really hope it looks nice. If it doesn't, I'm going to go to the hairdresser and have them trim it up a bit.

When I'm interested in starting something, I like to know what I'm getting into. Invariably, I find myself spending hours upon hours researching internet information. I'm sure many of you do this also. I can't imagine not taking advantage of the plethora of information that is so readily available to us. It terrifies me to think about living pre-interwebz.

While reading what my electronic friend had to offer about wigs, I realized that there are a lot of misconceptions held about them- this realization stemming from some of my own.

Fore example...

I think that a lot of people have it solidified in their minds that only human-hair wigs will look realistic.  With the leaps in technology that humanity has recently experienced, it's now as likely that a synthetic wig will look real (if not more likely) than a human hair wig. I digress, however, as the point of today is cut and color.

So how can you choose a wig that will look...well, NOT like a wig?

It's all about face shape and coloring.  If you choose a human hair wig that is cut in a way that, had your own hair been cut in that way would be rather unflattering, it will look unnatural. If your eyebrows are a bushy black and you're going for a blonde wig, it's not going to look as realistic as it would when worn by somebody with light brown or blonde eyebrows.

Two things to take into account, when aspiring for realism:

1) Know what your skin tone is. There are warm, cool and natural skin tones. If you need help deciding which you are, visit this link.

I'm the coolest-toned person in existence. If I grew out my hair naturally, it would look like this:

In other words, my hair is so silver-toned that it's almost gray looking.  I have very pink skin, too.  Blech.

Anyway, the key difference in tone is gold or silver. I would look absolutely sick in an extremely golden color. It would look very unrealistic- a bleached nightmare. But stick me in an almost-white, blonde wig, and it will look realistic (something a warm-toned person couldn't pull off in a million years.)

So if you're warm, go golden. If you're cool, go silver. If you're neither, you're a lucky person who will look good in most everything. This holds true for dyeing your hair as well.

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2) When it comes to face shape, there are many different types. See here.

I'm an oval, lucky me. Therefore, most styles are suitable for my face. If you're not an oval, though, you should look into what shapes will flatter you. As before, this applies to real hair and wigs, and can help you if you're looking for haircut advice.

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These are two very basic pieces of advice. Understand that, as a warm-toned person, there definitely is a possibility that you could pull off a cool-toned piece (and vice-versa.) It's just not guaranteed; there is a risk that it will be unflattering. These instructions are solely given to advise you in the way of "safe" color choice. Personally, I've broken many color rules in my day. (For example- the wig I just bought definitely has some warmth to it.) Before I understood what the significance of tone played in cosmetics, I experienced many golden-toned hair colors. They didn't look bad on me, but, in my opinion, they didn't look as good as cool-toned colors. Something seemed a little off. I still looked pretty, because I care for my hair very well, but....meh. So know that you're not limited by skin-tone. Use this knowledge to feel empowered when making decisions. Be confident.

Poetic Tribute to Michael Drayton

How many sheep-like minds will fall into
the harmful hands of one with big designs,
who has no care whether sheep lose themselves
and their identities in his great climb?
If only sheep would care a little more
about the larger picture that they paint,
and see that power to create a change
is theirs- if with themselves they do acquaint.
Because at present many cannot see
the control that they have within their limbs
to forge the world in any shape they deem
the necessary world in which to live.
Until humanity sees its real self
individual will sits on a shelf.

Beautiful Ladies

Dita Von Teese is an amazing woman. She is one of my heroine-crushes- the kind of crush another woman gets, on a member of her gender who just kicks major butt.

Why so much ass-kicking, you ask?

(not in order of importance)

1) She is pale. Pale skin in today's society is often looked down upon for being unattractive. Despite this, Dita flaunts palocity with sexiness and poise, setting a healthy example for young women who are easily influenced by the media.

2) She is a burlesque dancer, and she has no qualms about calling it exotic dancing. In an interview I saw of her with Sharon Osbourne, Sharon made a comment about how Dita is "above" strippers and exotic dancers. Though this is, for the most part, true- due to skill- Dita made it very apparent with her response that she disagreed. She says that stripping and burlesque dancing all stem from the same area. She also maintains that, just because she's famous, she's not necessarily any better than any other exotic dancer. This is so beautiful of her. It is admirable that she doesn't let her fame or status get to her head, and instead uses it to defend girls who are constantly attacked for what they do.

3) She has a wholesome image; it's strange to think it possible.  In a world where the media likes to pick up any piece of information about a star, to try to distort it into a scandalous tidbit, Dita has retained an image of glamour. She is well respected for her mind, as much as her body. This boggles my mind. In one interview, she explained that she was uncomfortable in mini skirts. This, she reasons, is because there is a time and place for everything. In her everyday clothing, she prefers to build fashionable ensembles, not sprawl her half naked limbs all about, every which way (my words, not hers.)

4) If you ever watch her walk, talk or move in any number of ways, you'll notice that she is the epitome of grace. The way she moves her body..I'd label it as "unconscious control." Every movement is fluid, her posture is perfect....I've never known anybody, including dancers, to be so ostentatiously poised.

5) Her personal taste in fashion (1940s all the way,) has single-handedly influenced the wardrobes of many a female. She has helped bring the burlesque era back. It's been a slow revolution, but she has had an incredible influence in popularizing the genre with today's young women. And burlesque concepts are wonderful.

6) She is possibly more obsessed with corsets than I am. This is a very large credit to her capacity for obsession. She understands what makes a corset good vs. bad, and takes an interest in getting the quality thing. Sometimes I wonder if(or rather, wish that,) I'm Dita's long-lost little sister.

7) She's naturally blonde (like me!) She consistently dyes her hair black. This is yet another contradiction when it comes to societial ideals of beauty. She is the anti-Barbie. Pale, dark-haired and intelligent. I will grant that Barbie is fashionable, and not necessarily dumb. However, Barbie has not stood behind philosophical ideals that impact the world in as positive a way as Dita's have.

As any more reasons come to mind, I will add them to my worship list.

I'd be kidding myself if I called it anything less.

Monnharte Does Facebook

Welcome to the world of shitty editting and boredom. Mix the two, and you'll end up with my youtube channel. Hopefully someday, I'll be able to boast a different combination of things. Until that day...here's a video.

The Brilliance of Tanning (Or Lack Thereof)

Pale skin, throughout history, has been a sign of feminity, status and beauty.  It used to be that those who were rich enough, or high enough in their social strata, were able to afford the luxury of staying indoors. Those lower in class were the ones who worked outdoors, thus making the tan undesirable.

Even today, in most areas of the world save the West, pale skin continues to be a very desirable attribute. So why is pale skin looked down upon in western society?

Ever since Coco Chanel returned from a vacation on the French Riviera with bronzed skin, and ever since Vogue declared that the 1929 woman needed to be sunkissed to be attractive, tan skin has been "in." 

Now, if you've ever done any research on this topic, these facts have already been known to you (most likely.) One thing that I recently discovered, however, might even interest one educated on palocity.

Did you know that, as early as the thirties, doctors were aware of the dangers of the sun? In medical texts, there were already references to "sunlight cancer." This is something that surprised me. I had always assumed that people's tanning between the years of the 1930s until relatively recently was excusable on the basis of ignorance. Well, ignorance of the sort that stemmed from lack of scientific information. However, now I'm starting to think that another sort of ignorance was to blame: willful determination to "look pretty" despite the negative health effects.

This also makes me question why, in recent years, pale skin has become more popular (marginally) ; my reasoning being: the dangers of tanning were formerly known..so what's really changed, if not the increased knowledge of UV awareness?

My guess at an answer to that question is: tanning booths. 

Now, this is speculation, be aware. But tanning reached its peak, I'd say, in the 70s and 80s, due to the introduction of tanning salons. In response to the popularity of tanning, an increased popularity of shouting its negatives came along.  This is a consistent pattern in any society. When something gains a lot of ground, for a decent amount of time, an inevitable reactionary response occurs. This is especially noticeable in the fashion world. One good example is the Georgian period of fashion and its response- the Regency period. The Georgian period was all extravagance: hoop skirts, wigs, frills. The Regency period was after the classic look. Hoop skirts fell out of use, creating a drastically different silhouette, fabrics became much more matte, and wigs, too, became a thing of the past.

I'm not saying that the 90s saw a drastic drop in popularity of the tan. However, toward the end of the nineties, the fashion world saw an increase in pale skin. I believe this is due to the massive availability of bronzers and fake tanning products that far surpassed what had been offered in the past. As anti-tanners shouted louder than ever before, and tanning "supplements" became more effective, the popularity of a purely authentic tan waned more than it had in decades (though minimally.)

I consider the fashion media to have really, solidly existed since the 80s. It is when Americans really began to worship the aristocrats, or celebrities. The media tells us, though you may not realize its effects overtly, what is beautiful. We are conditioned into seeing fads presented by beautiful people. So we begin to equate beauty with these fads, Pavlov style. For 20 years, we saw tan beauties with beach-blonde hair. In the past decade, however, we've begun to see pale skin with dark hair. This combination isn't the most prevalent; it is presented about equally with the tan/blonde image. However, it is there.

As this image wheedles its way into our collective subconscious, pale skin slowly becomes less disgusting to the American public, thank God. However, "less disgusting" doesn't mean "more appealing."

So here I present some facts that might persuade you to actually think about what beauty means to you.

1) There are people out there who will bring up the issue of vitamin D. By being in the sun, our bodies begin to produce vitamin D. This is not an excuse to tan. Experts will tell you that only 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure is necessary for this- which is not enough for a tan for most people. In addition to this, you can take a supplement of vitamin D, and be, perhaps, even healthier.

2) There is NO SUCH THING AS A HEALTHY TAN. A tan, in and of itself, is a sign of skin damage. Your skin darkens to indicate that it is damaged by the sun. You cannot have a tan without skin damage. Do not try to rationalize this. There is no way to do so.

3) If anybody tells you that pale skin is unattractive, realize that they have been influenced by the media. Also realize that most models in the fashion world have pale, porcelain skin. Don't let hurtful comments get to you. These people just haven't caught up with the edge of fashion yet. Feel awesome.

For all of you bronzed ladies out there, know that this isn't an attack on you. You are beautiful. I just wish to let the naturally fair know that they, too, are beautiful.  My desire is that women will stop sacrificing their health for surface beauty, when they can have that same level of beauty by leaving themselves be.