Paraben Free Drugstore Makeup Kit: Yes, It Is Possible!

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Hello. I just read your post on a makeup starter kit and it inspired me to write to you with a question of my own that I have been struggling with for a while now.

I am 14 years old and I would like to start wearing makeup. The only problem is that I am allergic to parabens, which are in almost every makeup that I can find. I cannot find any makeup or makeup companies that are completely free of parabens.

I have blond hair and light blue deep set eyes. My skin is very fair and it has a cooler undertone. I'm looking for a basic BB Cream or Foundation, Concealer, blush, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, and any tools. I also have very oily skin and would like some type of powder or oil absorbing sheets. I'm not sure if I will be able to find any paraben free products in a drug store, but there is a CVS nearby and also a Sephora that is within driving distance. I am ok with spending a good amount of money as long as I don't react to the products.

Thank you for helping.

Parabens are a hot topic these days. While the medical community feels they're safe based upon our current level of knowledge and scientific research (Dr. Cynthia Bailey has a great post going over parabens in skin care), there are people who want to avoid them due to safety concerns. However, this weekend I received an email from a reader asking about paraben free products due to an allergy, in which case she can't really fudge it and ignore the paraben in her blush. Luckily, parabens are getting easier to avoid, even when you're shopping at the drugstore!

I've spent a few days looking for products that I recommend and building a makeup kit full of paraben free products. I looked primarily at drugstore products (as a teen I would have had to save for quite a while to shop at Sephora instead of CVS), and I looked at ingredient lists on manufacturer websites, CVS, Walgreen's, Drugstore.com, etc. I've found some higher price alternatives that are paraben free, and while they're not in the graphic I've listed those below.

This is an epic long post (with an even bigger collage), so read more after the jump!

Getting Ready Morning Essentials

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I have a few essentials that I can’t seem to start my day without. From jewelry to face wash, to my new favorite maternity jeans, here’s how I start my day along with a few changes I’ve incorporated to account for my growing bump.



1. Fun Necklace: I'm a big fan of fun, cheap necklaces. It's amazing how much dressier and special you'll feel with a big necklace even if you're just wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I have a lot of places that I buy necklaces, but most of my favorites are from Accessory Concierge, both their website and the Facebook sales. This is one of my current favs, the Monarch Gem Collar.

2. Elie Saab 'Le Parfum' Eau de Toilette: This perfume is the reason I rarely do perfume reviews. In the past I did one review a week, now I only want to wear Elie Saab, all day every day. This light floral is perfect for every day!

3. Jonathan Product Infinite Volume Thickening Foam: I'm a sucker for extra volume, so I'm in love with the Infinite Volume series from Jonathan Product. Its effortless volume, the mousse is lightweight and I can't feel it in my hair. Perfect!

4. Pond's Luminous BB Cream: I love this stuff! It's one step for my moisturizer, primer and foundation. I love that it has just the right light coverage for the summer.

5. Chanel Coco Rouge Shine in Mutine: I've only had Chanel nail polishes in the past, but when you're in the airport on your way to your grandmother's funeral, you deserve to buy yourself the Chanel lipstick trio in the duty free shop. I opted for the Coco Rouge Shine because it is pretty translucent but still has color, and feels very hydrating. Mutine was my favorite of the trio, it's the perfect pinky-nude shade and I carry it with me everywhere.

6. Carefree Acti-Fresh Pantiliners: Yes, for real. When you're pregnant, you have certain issues, and you need to feel fresh. These pantiliners are soft and thin and work all day. Buy in bulk!

7. Gap 1969 Demi Panel Always Skinny Jeans: These jeans are everything. At 24 weeks I finally have more baby bump, and I can't fit into any of my regular jeans (even with a Bella Band). The Gap Always Skinny jeans got me through my first pregnancy, and with my second I've been wearing them in dark blue almost every day. I just got a white pair a few days ago, I know I'll be wearing them just as much!

8. Bliss Fabulous Foaming Face Wash: I seem to collect little bottles of this face wash from hotels. For years I've loved using it, but I didn't buy a big bottle until a few weeks ago. I don't know what took me so long! It gets everything off without overly drying my skin, I love the light exfoliation and it feels like a big step up from my previous boring cleanser.

9. Tory Burch Aaden Ballet Flat in Natural/Tan/Gold: I'm a big Tory Burch fan, and I've been wearing these flats everywhere! They go with every outfit. I wear them with my skinny maternity jeans rolled up just a little over my ankles and I get so many compliments! The Aadens are more comfortable than my Revas (even when I size the Revas up 1/2 size), and they run true to size. I'll be buying more colors for the fall.


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Disclosure: This post is part of a collaboration with Carefree and SheKnows

The Best Drugstore Skin Savers

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Yesterday I posted about my favorite skin saving products for Makeup Wars. Except, I had a problem. There were a lot of skin issues I wanted to cover, and I had a lot of products that I've loved over the years for those issues! I split the post into high end (yesterday) and drugstore (today). These are products that I've tried and had great results with, and recommend to friends, family and people who email me with questions!

Pimples

1. Neutrogena Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask: I love that this is both a cleanser and a mask. It pulls some stuff out of your pores, feels cooling, exfoliates... It's a great multi-tasker and I've had a few dermatologists recommend it to me recently for Babble posts.

2. Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10: Persa-Gel is what I was taught to recommend as a spot treatment in all of my peds training. Yes, general pediatricians treat a lot of acne. And it turns out there's a reason they recommend this stuff, it really does get in there and work. You need to use it with caution, it will bleach fabrics (hello, new duvet cover!) and it can dry out your face and make it more sensitive to the sun.

Clogged Pores

3. Alba Botanica Hawaiian Facial Mask, Pore-fecting Papaya Enzyme: Another fun mask. It has a lot of fruit extracts and really clears stuff out of pores while exfoliating your skin. Definitely the answer to dull, clogged up skin.

4. Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque: When I want to really suck things out of my pores, this is what I reach for. It can feel a bit tight/hurt when it dries, so use in moderation.

Dry Skin

5. L'Oreal Paris Age Perfect Hydra-Nutrition Glow Renewal Facial Oil: This is the L'Oreal dupe of the Kiehl's Midnight Recovery Concentrate. The oils are different, but they work the same way, except this one feels a little bit heavier on my skin. Super glowy results!

6. Boots No7 Beautiful Skin Hydration Mask: This is a great mask for when you want to pamper your skin and include a hydrating mask in your at home facial. It does really hydrate and plump up the skin, but it doesn't seem to be "too much" resulting in shine or blemishes.

Chapped Lips

7. Aquaphor Lip Repair Ointment: This is super hydrating and gentle on lips that are already irritated. I like to use it in the morning when I apply my moisturizer, it helps prep my lips for lippies later on.

Irritated Skin

8. Derma-e Soothing Facial Treatment Oil (see my review of Derma-e Facial Oils): This hydrates but also calms down irritate skin. I actually use it pretty frequently on my hands for eczema flares. My eczema doesn't like the anti-bacterial foam we use in my ICU, so after a few days at work I can start to get rashy. If I apply a few drops of this at night to the back of my hands, then all is well with the world.

Dark Spots

9. Aveeno Positively Radiant Tone Corrector: Rather than working with hydroquinone, this targeted treatment uses Soy and increases cell turnover with a retinoid (not pregnancy safe).

Puffy Eyes

10. Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Puff Eye Roller: This is somehow the only eye product that I've ever used and really seen an immediate difference in my puffy eyes. I use it when I'm having allergy issues (again, not pregnancy safe).

Wrinkles

11. RoC Retinol Correxion Sensitive Eye Cream and 12. RoC Retinol Correxion Sensitive Night Cream are both retinoid creams, but they've altered the release of the retinoid, so it is slower. You'll get more results and less irritation that way. Did you notice I didn't have a high end retinoid product to recommend yesterday? That's because these ones are much better than any I've used that are more expensive. Buy the RoC. (Again, not pregnancy safe.)


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Makeup Wars: My Favorite Skin Savers

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Today for Makeup Wars we're sharing our favorite skin savers, products that we reach for when we need to solve a skin issue. I ran into a bit of a problem when writing today's post. I had too many skin care products to recommend! So while I've divided products into the problems they solve, I've also decided to split everything into 2 posts. Today, the "high end" products (I don't really use truly luxury brands, so the highest I get is Kiehl's and products from Sephora/ULTA). Tomorrow, I'll repeat this post with my favorite drugstore problems solvers, some of which are near dupes for products on this list!

Dry Skin

1. Kiehl's 'Midnight Recovery Concentrate' Elixir: To say that I'm obsessed with the Midnight Recovery Concentrate is probably an understatement. Since my original Midnight Recovery review I've declared it one of the best products in my first 5 years of blogging (which was, wow, 2 1/2 years ago already?) and a travel beauty essential product. I won't get on a plane without it! If my face is feeling at all dry, I just apply a few drops of this product to my skin before bed, and in the morning I'm glowy and dewy again. It's a miracle!

2. Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve: This hand cream was reviewed on my blog all the way back on February 2, 2007. Which was my first week of blogging. It's one of my go-to products to save my hands in the middle of winter. Working in a Peds ICU means I wash (or anti-bacterial foam) my hands before and after each patient, and in the winter I do that again pretty much any available moment. Add on lower humidity, heated air, cold air outside... I need a heavy duty hand cream! So, this one lives in the pocket of my white coat. I even featured it in my best winter hand creams post.

3. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream (my review of Ultra Repair Cream): In the winter I definitely go all out trying to keep my skin hydrated. We keep a tub of this cream right next to our kitchen sink for easy use, and I have a second tub up in the bathroom to use on any trouble dry spots. A few applications of Ultra Repair Cream on any dry areas (usually on my legs) can really keep my eczema flares away.

Chapped Lips

When my lips get chapped or a bit painful, I pull out these two products. 5. Osmia Organics Honey-Myrrh Lip Repair is a balm that was actually developed to help heal cheilitis, that horrible irritation you get in the corner of your mouth. 6. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Lip Therapy is more of a liquidy ointment, and I think it is easier to wear under things. So, I use the Ultra Repair Lip Therapy throughout the day, and at night I layer the Osmia Lip Repair over it.

Clogged Pores

4. Ellen Lange Retexturizing Peel Kit (see my Retexturizing Peel Kit review): This is a great, gentle peel that even my Rosacea sensitive skin can handle. It evens out texture and pigmentation and helps clogged pores.

7. Kiehl's 'Rare Earth' Deep Pore Cleansing Masque: This is my favorite "higher end" mud mask. It does a great job of pulling everything out but it doesn't feel tight or hurt when it dries. This is another one of my first reviews on 15 Minute Beauty, this one about 2 weeks after I started the blog.

8. Clarisonic Mia2: There are a lot of deep cleansing brushes, and I use a Clarisonic Plus. The Mia2 is the one I most often recommend to buy, it is very sturdy and a bit smaller (and easier for travel) than my plus.

9. Kate Somerville ExfoliKate Intensive Exfoliating Treatment: This green goo takes under a minute in the shower, but leaves your skin smooth and glowy. Check out my ExfoliKate review.

Dark Spots

10. Kiehl's 'Clearly Corrective' Dark Spot Solution: I like this stuff so much I actually have an entire Clearly Corrective Review Series. What I like about it is that it doesn't really lighten/bleach dark spots (which is a problem because you always get a bit of the surrounding area, which turns ultra light and makes the dark spot seem even more obvious). Instead, you can use it all over your face and it helps speed up cell turnover, prevents melanin from going crazy and creating dark spots and has a great side effect of fighting aging.

Pimples

11. Murad Acne Spot Fast Fix: This spot treatment has Benzoyl Peroxide in a gel delivery, and I swear it gets into my blemishes faster.

12. Tanda Zap Power: This is a slightly smaller (and rechargeable) version of my Tanda Zap, which I really do think helps my blemishes. I've been using it since my review, I don't even know how many times I've replaced the battery.

Wrinkles

13. Tria Age-Defying Laser: If you read my Age-Defying Laser post you know that I was happy with the results I was getting, with minimal irritation. I had to stop using it due to my pregnancy, but I plan to restart after I deliver this baby girl.

Irritated Skin

14. First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Instant Oatmeal Mask (my Instant Oatmeal Mask review): This is perfect whether your problem is a sunburn or windburn. And it smells like a cookie.

Stay tuned for a drugstore version of this list tomorrow!

An InLinkz Link-up

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Are You Covering Up?

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There are about 16 Million Americans with rosacea, and a whopping 77% of them are wearing makeup to cover up their redness. I fully admit that I'm one of them! Depending on the day, I can wear BB Cream, redness corrector, concealer, foundation, powder... the list of makeup I use to cover up my redness is pretty long.

Mirvaso® (brimonidine) topical gel, 0.33%*, a prescription drug that treats the persistent facial redness of rosacea, has created a website with information about rosacea. You'll find startling statistics about how many people suffer from rosacea, how many of us are covering it up and even some great skincare tips from New York City dermatologist Dr. Doris Day.

While you're learning more about rosacea, don't forget to enter for a chance to win a trip to the Emmy's!

Check out the Mirvaso Break Up With Your Makeup Website
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The post is sponsored by Galderma Laboratories, L.P.

Mirvaso is a prescription drug and you'll need to see your doctor (remember, I'm a doctor, but I'm not your doctor!) to discuss whether it is a good option for you.

Important Safety Information Indication: Mirvaso® (brimonidine) topical gel, 0.33%* is an alpha adrenergic agonist indicated for the topical treatment of persistent (nontransient) facial erythema of rosacea in adults 18 years of age or older. Adverse Events: In clinical trials, the most common adverse reactions (≥1%) included erythema, flushing, skin burning sensation and contact dermatitis. Warnings/Precautions: Mirvaso Gel should be used with caution in patients with depression, cerebral or coronary insufficiency, Raynaud's phenomenon, orthostatic hypotension, thromboangiitis obliterans, scleroderma, or Sjögren’s syndrome. Alpha-2 adrenergic agents can lower blood pressure. Mirvaso Gel should be used with caution in patients with severe or unstable or uncontrolled cardiovascular disease. Serious adverse reactions following accidental ingestion of Mirvaso Gel by children have been reported. Keep Mirvaso Gel out of reach of children. Not for oral, ophthalmic, or intravaginal use.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

*Each gram of gel contains 5 mg of brimonidine tartrate, equivalent to 3.3 mg of brimonidine free base.