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.

---

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.

Acne!

It's the most fun ever. We all know that.

But seriously, it's one of the worst things to experience. It can significantly decrease self-esteem, which can lead to many other psychological problems.

I used to suffer from extreme acne. Almost every spot on my face was covered with the stuff. Worse yet- I was a picker. Ew, right? Well, not only was my face a giant, pus-ey mess, but it was red and agitated as well.

First I started with the grocery store acne wash. Didn't work.

I moved on to Proactiv. It helped...minimally. I moved on to a topical medication. Again, minimal difference. I tried an oral supplement (prescribed.) Didn't help.

UGGGGH. After trying all of these things, I was just about ready to skin my face with a potato peeler. Scabs are at least predictable (ha.) Buuut...I held out. Unwillingly, but I did it. And I found a really cheap way to deal with things.

Baking soda.

"What?" you might be asking.

The secret:

Most acne is caused by an uneven sloughing of dead skin cells on the face. Meaning, essentially, that dead skin builds up and doesn't get removed. (Think of your pores like pipes carrying air deep into your skin.) Meanwhile, oil is being produced underneath this caked layer of skin cells. This leads to clogging, which leads to acne.

So how do you get rid of these dead skin cells without spending a ton of money that you don't have in the first place? Exfoliation. The most effective exfoliants contain very small beads. The smaller the bead, and the higher the ratio of bead to solution, the better the exfoliant.

Proactiv skin products have achieved a great level of effectiveness with their customers, because they contain relatively small exfoliant beads (compared to many over-the-counter washes.) Plus, there's a higher amount of beads in their solution, making for a more effective scrub.

But Proactiv is $20 a month that you don't need to spend.

Baking soda is a much more effective exfoliant, plus it comes with many amazing properties besides "wonderful scrub."

1) The fine, powdery consistency is prime for exfoliating. I just wet my hands and pour a little bit onto my palm (about a quarter-sized amount.) I then proceed to scrubbing my (already wet) face. I usually precede this with a gentle wash to remove excess oil before scrubbing.

2) Baking Soda is a salt, so it's a natural anti-bacterial product. Being so fine/powdery, it will make its way deep into your pores and kill bacteria that can cause acne.

3)Baking Soda is a natural lightener, so it can help to lighten acne scars on the face. It really helped me in that regard.

After scrubbing with baking soda, I advise a light moisturizer. I use aloe gel, because it's very light. Some people don't like the way it dries on their skin, however, so it might not be for you. If you're looking for a gentle, light moisturizer, I'd suggest Cetaphil. It's about 10 dollars for a huge container that will last you for several months- a good deal as far as moisturizers are concerned.

In the end, it was a combination of prescribed oral medication and a regular baking soda scrub that helped with my acne (finally!) I hope this can help for you. I really think that it can help most people.

If you go for the baking soda/aloe regimen, let me know how things work for you. I'm curious.

How to Make Your Own Leg Warmers

Thing you'll need:
1) scrap fabric
2) yarn
3) scissors

Directions:
1) Determine how wide you'll need your fabric, and cut a rectangular strip that is about 6 inches above your knee to your foot.
2) Fold this in half the "hot dog way"
3) Cut holes down the side, spacing them about 1 or 2 inches apart.
4) Lace the warmers however you feel looks cool or works for you.
5) Try them on, and tighten them if they're too loose by cutting holes closer to your ankles, and relacing the yarn through.

The song playing in the video is Cosmic Girl by Jamiroquoi.

My Hair Dilema (Not Really)

I'd like to take this moment to complain about something in an obnoxious sort of way...

I'm cursed with hair that looks good in any color. And trust me, it's been every color. Before you kill me for complaining about what many would consider a blessing- the ability to be a chameleon- consider the downside of this: the extreme temptation from which I suffer.

When I am in that hair aisle, there is nothing at all to stop me from dying my naturally blonde hair black, a la Von Teese. And I have, and it has complicated things.

My hair is naturally an ash blonde, and is very porous. Porous hair grabs color very strongly. This is the only problem I have. When I dye my hair dark, It becomes a challenge to go light again, because my hair won't let go of the dye.

Quick summary of dye-ing vs. lightening:
When dying hair darker, pigment is distributed. Think of pigment as a stain. It seeps into your hair cuticle, and stains the strand darker. When lightening hair, the chemical structure of the hair is actually altered. You can't add pigment to something and have it be lighter (for the most part..as far as hair is concerned, at least.)

This is why it is far healthier to dye your hair darker than it is to lighten it with chemicals.

So, after many a problem having stemmed from dying my hair from:

to a much darker this:

I made myself a promise that I wouldn't dye my hair anything but blonde, as soon as I could get it back. But now I'm having a case of the mean reds, the sort that Tiffany's won't cure. Every time I visit Doe Deere Blogazine, I can't help but long for beautiful red locks that even Raggedy Ann would envy. I've been there before, and I loved loved loved the red look. So...what to do? If I choose to go red, I'm going to have to stay red for a while, and gradually progress back to blonde when I decide to go back (bleh.) I'm thinking that I might try high-quality henna which would both increase the health of my hair, and give me a shocking red hue. I cannot decide. Maybe I should stay blonde until next winter, then convert to red then. Or maybe I should just get a nice red wig, so I can easily switch back and forth? Oh, I do not know.

Keeping Active In the Dead of Winter

Now, I'm sure you've heard this before: exercise is an important part of any healthy lifestyle. However, I wanted to ramble on about why it matters to me personally, and, where else is better to do that than my blog?

First, let me get this off my chest: until I'm done with the exercise and feeling all of the wonderful, positive effects...I loathe it. I'm a fit girl, so it's not that difficult for me physically, but the mental drain is awful. For example: have you ever gone for a really long run, and all you can think about is- "for the love of Pete, when is this going to be done?"- even though you've only been going for about five minutes, and you've got forty left to tackle?

What's worse is when you start thinking about math. Uggh: "let's see...I've done five minutes, so I've got forty left. That means I've only got to do what I just did eight more effing times. I hate my life."

I speak of these awful things to illustrate that I do indeed understand the severe dislike one can feel toward prolonged physical activity.

So why make a post about how glorious exercise is? Because I've found a way to spice things up and to make the entire experience a lot more likable. I count this as an achievement, particularly because it's the middle of winter, and that's usually the hardest time for me to stay active.

What I've been doing is using exercise videos. I've tried them before, but I've never been able to get into the groove and stay there. The ones I've been using are Carmen Electra's Fit to Strip video (the second in her series), and a few videos by Bernadette Giorgi. Carmen Electra's strip video series is criticized by many for not getting your heartbeat high enough for long enough. For many of her videos, this is true. Fit to Strip, the second video in her series, doesn't teach you any dance routines. It is the video that is supposed to kick your butt into shape, in order for you to look sexy while doing the routines introduced on the other videos. It goes through many toning exercises, and lasts for a little less than an hour. All you need is a chair. Bernadette Giorgi has a few ballet/pilates fusion videos, and let me tell you that they kick your butt into shape. For these videos, you need a 2 or 3 lb weight. They help with strength, balance and muscle control.

The things that I love about both of these videos is that they are the perfect pace for me- which means that they aren't too fast. I hate when I put a video in, and everybody's doing some coordinated dance that you have no idea how to do. I feel discouraged, and annoyed, as I fumble through the steps. By the time I catch onto one step, the instructor is moving on to another. In both videos, the exercises you are doing are very straightforward, and more importantly, effective.

You can find some samplings of Bernadette Giorgi's ballet/pilates fusion here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKWd64uU8jk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP4WQ3NMeTc&feature=channel

Benefits of Exercise
Mood: I've had problems with depression in the past, and one way that worked to increase my mood when all else failed, was to stay active. After exercise, your body releases endorphins which make you feel positively cheery, relaxed and in control.

Stress: Exercise is your body's response to the negative effects stress can have on your body. In today's world, most humans suffer from a significant amount of stress in their day-to-day lives. Stress can affect your body in negative ways, including: weight gain, acne, cellular damage, etc. "Stress that continues without relief can lead to a condition called distress -- a negative stress reaction. Distress can lead to physical symptoms including headaches, upset stomach, elevated blood pressure, chest pain, and problems sleeping. Research suggests that stress also can bring on or worsen certain symptoms or diseases." Exercise is a way to combat stress.

Body: Obviously, increased body image is a key reason that many women exercise. Exercise increases both your internal beauty, and external. One thing to keep in mind is that, before you see external results, your body must beautify internally. Be patient. One technique that always helps me is to set an amount of days that you must workout for. When starting a new routine, I tell myself, "give it 21 days before becoming impatient about seeing results." If you can stick with it for that long, it will be easier to continue on, because it takes three weeks to form a habit.

Try to keep active, even when it's cold outside. You don't need a gym membership to work your body. There are plenty of exercise videos on youtube, and when I find something I like, I go to tubeleecher.com. It allows you to save youtube videos to your hard drive.

-Moon

Colored Pencil Drawing #1

Uggh. I just got done reading my old blog entries. Gross.

Anyway, here's a video from the last couple of days. It took me a few hours to draw.