Some Random Musings

I have been absent for quite some time, I know. I have begun a rather rigorous training and teaching schedule. That said, each and every blogger I used to follow has inspired me to be more active in my daily makeup looks. Students have taken notice, commenting that my eyeshadow always matches my clothing. While I can't get myself up early enough to create every day, I try to do so as often as I can.

Makeup helps me to feel prepared for the day. It is my form of "war paint" for those trivial little interactions that come up as bigger because they're new to students. I hope to embellish my classroom, teaching style, and lessons with the same je ne sais quoi that I approach makeup artistry with. Here lately, I match my eyeshadow to the clothing I choose to wear. It's a fun and easy way to structure a daily color. I'm in the process of determining what colors work best with students. They say that blue and green are calming, red is agitating (makes you want to move), yellow is happy, etc. That said, I've found that, regardless of the color, the care I take with that activity is noticed and appreciated.

It's rather weird that I find commonalities with students through these nonverbal codes, but it is what it is. Now, it's up to me to inspire them to focus on their work during class rather than the makeup - which can sometimes be a challenge.

I hope that once we get further along, we can have a discussion about some of the products used in makeup. The cosmetics industry in the United States is largely self-regulating compared to other nations. There are many materials that are used which don't have longitudinal studies. While the U.S. doesn't use skin whitening agents in their cosmetics, nor do they market and distribute wine-infused face masks in the general public (like soju infused masks in Korea, for instance), many of our regular-use cosmetics don't score well on skin deep's toxicity rating scale.

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I'm fairly certain the argument is that there are trace amounts of these substances in cosmetics, usually to prevent them from growing bacteria, to keep them longer, etc.
I'm interested to know:

• a. What the toxicity rating is for these substances
• b. What they're used for
• c. Are they necessary for the desired effect of the product (ie for longer wear, less fall-out, etc)
• d. Do you think that cruelty-free always means that no animals were tested on? In what instances might this be a false claim?
• e. Does cruelty-free always mean it's organic?
• f. Does organic mean that it's not toxic?
• g. How long does mineral makeup last compared to regular makeup, assuming that it's in an airtight container and that you don't mix it with water?