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Thursday, September 1, 2011

Acne Control, Naturally



The ancient Romans were not wrong when they bathed themselves in hot sulfur springs to rid their bodies of various ailments and skin disorders, acne included. Referred to the Bible as brimstone, sulfur was one of the earliest acne treatment known to man. Besides acne, sulfur is also used to treat skin disorders like dermatitis and bacterial or fungal infections.

For more than fifty years, sulfur has been combined with other drugs such as salicylic acid, resorcinol and sodium sulfacetamide to prevent acne development. Sulfur is available almost everywhere in prescription medications and over the counter in the form of skin care products like ointments, creams, lotions, masks and soap.

Sulfur is a naturally occurring element and its slow oxidation in the presence of air gives it the distinctive odor of rotten eggs or untreated sewage. Due to this characteristic, sulfur isn’t used as a standalone acne product but is used in combination with other more pleasant-smelling ingredients.


HOW DOES SULFUR WORK ON ACNE?


Sulfur has keratolytic properties so it promotes the quick shedding of dead keratinized skin cells which block pores that cause acne-forming comedones. It also has comedolytic action which clears comedones and inhibits new ones from forming.

When used topically, sulfur’s keratolytic action causes the infected skin to dry and slough off, which is a good sign if you are suffering from acne breakouts. It also minimizes skin oiliness, unclogs blocked pores and inhibits them from forming in the future.


HOW TO USE SULFUR FOR ACNE TREATMENT?


All sulfur products are not created equal and because sulfur medications come in various packages, it is safe practice to follow the instructions that comes with the product.

Generally, sulfur preparations are used once to thrice a day. Carefully read the directions for topical applications like lotions and masks. Some of them can be safely left on your face for long hours, while others need to be washed off after a few minutes.


excerpted from:  http://www.10acne.com/does_sulfur_work_for_acne.html


Face Value Cosmetics has developed several sulfur, herbal and natural skin care products to naturally help control acne.  anti Acne Products 



faceCLEAR Acne Treatment 5% Sulfur Soap Facial Bar is an gentle natural skin cleanser designed to help dry acne blemishes and soothe irritated skin. This soap is free of detergents, sulfates, paraben and is not tested on animals. Contains sulfur and tea tree oil. Sale price $4.25

faceCLEAR Blemish Powder  is a Natural, Mineral & Herbal Blemish Textured Powder designed to help dry acne blemishes and soothe irritated skin in a yellow/beige color that can also be used to conceal blemishes. Softly scented with tea tree oil.  Contains sulfur and tea tree oil. 20g jar sale price $7.65

Dead Sea Black Mineral Mud from Israel is a pore cleansing, mineral rich treatment that provides healing properties for your skin.  This mud can range in color from dark olive green to black.  It is a wonderful treatment to improve dull skin, rosacea, acne, eczema and psoriasis. Contains calcium, potassium, magnesium and sodium, sulfur & phosphorus. Sale price $7.65



ANTI-ACNE GEL is a complex of plant extracts designed to treat skin with excessive sebum formation and follicular inflammation. Made with Watercress extract, Sage extract, Burdock root extract, Lemon peel extract, Ivy extract, Saponaria extract, Bladderwrack extract. Properties: Recommended to treat skin with high levels of sebum production and follicular inflammation, itching and loss  of hydration. Also effective for acne treatment. Sale price $7.65





faceCONTROL oil control powder is a textured oil control powder in a natural shade for combination & oily skin types developed to absorb excess oil up to 1-1/2x on skin. t Apply lightly to target areas where you want to control the excess oil on your skin before makeup application. 20g jar sale price $7.65


facePRIME pore reducing powder makes an effective foundation primer by refining pores & fine lines. Prior to your mineral makeup foundation, apply a thin layer of facePrime Silk Powder. Recommended for all skin types. 20g jar sale price $7.65






How to Apply Mineral Makeup Over Acne


Difficulty:

 
Moderately Easy
Mineral makeup is, by its composition, perfect for acne-prone skin. Other types of makeup, especially liquid foundation and packed powder, clog pores and cause acne breakouts. Mineral makeup was designed specifically to cover all types of skin imperfections without aggravating sensitive skin. No matter what your age, mineral makeup is the best choice for acne-prone skin.

Instructions

Things You'll Need

  • Mineral makeup of your choice; a loose powder foundation that contains sunscreen of at least SPF 20, and a powder "veil" worn over the foundation. Include a "face primer" made by the same company; this gives you an oil-free, long-lasting matte finish.
  • Non-clogging mineral concealer made for spot coverage and blemish concealment.
  • Gentle, mild soap and toner lotion made for acne-prone skin.
  • Foundation brushes to sweep the mineral makeup onto your face.
    • 1
      After selecting your mineral makeup, lotion toner, soap, green cover-up primer and foundation brushes, wash your face thoroughly but gently with your mild, pure soap. Follow with a gentle, oil-free moisturizer on dry areas of your face in a small amount. With a mineral makeup kit, less is always more! Use only about a fourth (if even that) of the amount of water-based moisture only on dry areas. Do not apply moisturizer to acne-prone areas.
    • 2
      It's recommended that you "prime" your face before applying your mineral make-up. This primer give your makeup something to cling to, giving you a smooth, even, matte complexion. Consider that very little of this product goes a very long way! Spread a small amount of primer over your entire face and let it sit for about a minute.
    • 3
      Now for the mineral concealer Unless you want to look like a Japanese Kabooki, take it very easy on the amount used! Remember, most blemish concealers are overly oil-based and tend to blob or crease; they also don't give lasting coverage. Smooth a very small amount over your blemishes. 
    • 4
      After spot-treating your acne areas, use your foundation brush to smooth the mineral foundation over your face. The accepted rule in applying mineral makeup is "touch, tap, and apply." You need very little mineral makeup to achieve a healthy, glowing effect; touch your brush to the loose makeup, tap it to remove excess, and sweep it over your face. If you notice that your blemishes that were covered with the green stuff appears overly white, then you've used too much green! Just experiment until you find the right amount of everything that works with your skin.
    • 5
      Next, sweep your mineral "veil" over your face; this is like powdering your face once you've applied foundation. The mineral powder seals the foundation and give you a naturally polished look, with the appearance of your blemishes greatly diminished. If you like, you can also sweep your face with a light mineral bronzer to give you a "warm" look or a sparkling, translucent or pink mineral glow powder. 

Tips & Warnings

  • You should also choose your concealer carefully. Since acne is red, green cover-up is sometimes recommended as it neutralizes red, inflamed acne spots. However, yellow will also cover red imperfections as well as skin tone concealers.  For the lightest coverage, use your mineral foundation powder and dab on extra layers of powder on the pimple.  Blend, blend, blend
  • In addition to covering your blemishes, try this trick of using mineral eye shadow, mascara and lipstick to draw attention to your best facial features instead of your imperfections.
  • Strictly avoid all cosmetics that are oil-based; moisturizers, toners and eyeshadows in particular. These products counteract the mineral-based products and cause increased acne. Look for products that are water-based. If the label doesn't say the product is oil-free, assume that is is not!
  • If this issue concerns you, the best-selling mineral makeup is not tested on animals.
  • Be sure to keep your mineral foundation brushes clean! Most top lines offer a brush cleaner that you should use at least monthly, depending upon how often you use makeup.


Face Value Cosmetics has developed 21 shades of mineral foundation powders offered in matte and pearl textures. Mineral Foundation Products 


SEPTEMBER SPECIALS

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK to qualify for our free give-a-way on September 30, 2011 FREE ANTI-ACNE GEL

ANTI ACNE PRODUCT SALE: 15% OFF anti ACNE soap, gel and 20g jar size of powders: faceCLEAR, faceCONTROL& facePRIME


A winner was randomly selected for the  August 31, 2011 SUMMER GIVE A WAY: 
Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets 
CONGRATULATIONS TO: Dorota Dega Nollet (Dorothy)
Blog Notes:  I am going to use Facebook and this Blog to post product updates, sales, promotions and giveaways in place of an email marketing campaign.  If you want to receive these updates, please LIKE US ON FACEBOOK or subscribe to this blog.  Thank you, Nancy

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

41 Eye Shadow Review & Free Sample Offer

41 Eye Shadow Review
In July we were testing and wearing all 41 of our eye shadows with a critical eye for color, texture and wearability.  Also, we needed to pare down to 25 eye shadows. See which eye shadows made the cut and why. Results in red:


FISTFUL OF LOVE, Antony & the Johnsons

Velvet Matte Eye Shadows
Cream Matte is a soft delicate warm cream 
We unanimously loved cream.  It goes on nice and smooth and is actually a semi-matte with a bit of golden shimmer seen in the sunlight. It's a keeper and I will wear it more often.  Especially nice in summer.
Beige Matte is a soft neutral beige
Beige is a great neutral that goes on smooth and even and is almost invisible on the eye lid.
Tiger Eye Tan Matte is a soft & wearable warmed tan
Tiger eye tan was a pleasant surprise. I liked it alot. Good for warm/golden skin tones.  Tried a combo with Cream and loved it.
Peach Matte is a soft delicate delicious peach
Peach will be discontinued. We were not entirely pleased with the color and texture.
Woods Matte is a soft sweet neutral medium brown
Woods is a keeper.  It is smooth and good for the lid plus in the crease and outer corner for a smokey eye.
'Shroom Matte is a deeper taupe mushroom
We liked this color a lot. It compares closely in color to Bark, but we prefer the texture of Shroom.  We may change the name.  Morel?  Portabella? Mushroom?
Spanish Moss Matte is a graceful green/brown
This has always been a favorite of mine. Very nice texture and wearability.  It is a brownish green, but I would like to add just a tad more green to the color.
Bark Matte is a soft taupe
See Shroom.  This shade will be discontinued.
Orchid Matte is a delicate soft orchid
Although we liked the idea of having an orchid, the color & texture just never lived up to it's name. Discontinue.
Plum Smoke Matte is a smoky plum semi-matte
We unanimously love plum smoke.  It goes on smooth and easy.  Smokey plum semi-matte color. 
Smoke Matte is a deep plum/charcoal gray
I looked at this and thought, I don't think I will like it.  Was I ever surprised! I loved the smooth texture, easy to apply and the color is really a blue/gray instead of a plum gray.  I will need to change the description.
Cocoa Matte Liner is a luxurious warm deep brown
Cocoa is just so close in color to Woods and we didn't need 4 liners, so it is being discontinued.
Espresso Matte Liner is a rich highly pigmented brown/black
I loved this. By mistake, i picked up a lip brush with some residual castor oil on it to apply as liner, and the oil in the brush helped this to go on really nice and smooth and clean with few fly aways.  I will give some thought to this. Process with oil? Offer in a cream or gel? Suggest this in tips?  
Onyx Matte Liner is a rich highly pigmented cool black onyx
This is a standard black eye liner.  Devon used it for her plum smokey eye in the outer crease and it looked fabulous.


Shimmering Eye Shadows
Brow Highlighter is a soft 'see-thru' white shimmer 
This shadow had been recently changed and we love the results.  It blends from brow to crease perfectly! Then put an extra dab just under the arch. Perfect!
Nude Shimmer is a delicate pale blush
Nude was a disappointment.  Really just too light a color and texture. Will be discontinued.
Salmon Shimmer is a golden iridescent pink 
Absolutely loved it.  Similar in shade to nude, but with a depth of color and creamy texture we all love.  Should we change the name?  Does a fish not appeal to an eye color????? Shaded Coral??
Sparkling Champagne is an elegant golden champagne
We like the idea of Champagne, but the color and texture are disappointing. To be discontinued.
Amber Mist is a soft & beautiful golden amber
This is a favorite of my Australian customers with good reason. Nice color and texture with good wearability.
Cashmere is a soft & beautiful medium brown!
This is a favorite of mine, feels like a soft cashmere sweater.
Suede  is a beautiful rich brown with golden highlights
This is exactly as described, but what is lacking in the description is that this is an intense color.
Swiss Milk Chocolate is a delicious milk chocolate 
This was meant to be temporary at Christmas, and will be replaced with one Chocolate shade.
Mayan Spice Chocolate is a delicious cayenne spiced chocolate
This was meant to be temporary at Christmas, and will be replaced with one Chocolate shade
Belgian Dark Chocolate is a delicious dark chocolate
This was meant to be temporary at Christmas, and will be replaced with one Chocolate shade.
Peony Pink is a pink with attitude
!This pink is lighter than I remembered and satiny in texture.  I may deepen the color.
Sparkling Wine is an elegant purple red wine
We like the idea of Wine, but the color and texture are disappointing. To be discontinued.
Violet Pearls is a deeply complex & expressive iridescent violet
An original color, we still love this and stay committed.
Midnight Blue is an exotic purple royal blue 
This color just doesn't fit in with our range. It will be discontinued and replaced with a new blue. Mood Indigo?
Lavender Shimmer is a subtle light blue purple pearlescent shimmer
This color is very nice and I like the texture and wearability.  It was for summer 2011 and I am not sure if it will be continued.


Sparkling Specialties Eye Shadows
Silver Violet Illusion is silver with the illusion of iridescent violet
I love all 3 illusion shades.  This is almost a sterling silver that irridesces to violet in the light.
Vintage Gold Illusion verd green with the illusion of iridescent gold
I love all 3 illusion shades.  This is almost a silvery sage green that irridesces to gold in the light
Copper Bronze Illusion is copper with the illusion of iridescent bronze
I love all 3 illusion shades.  This is a silvery bronze that irridesces to copper in the light.
Diamond Turquoise is a Mediterranean Blue/Green and Diamonds 
This is just a beautiful color.  The texture is good.  I would like to keep it.
Diamond Sapphire is a Jewel Sapphire Blue and Diamonds 
We decided that although we love the color, it is just too blue for eye shadow.  It will be discontinued along with Midnight Blue and the two shadows replaced with one new blue... Mood Indigo?
Black Diamonds Liner is an exotic sparkling black luxurious eye liner
This is a favorite with my customers.  Similar to Onyx, but with some sparkle.  Thinking of changing this to a gel or cream in the future.
White Diamonds is a precious white sparkling gem
In the future, this eye shadow will only be offered in bulk for wholesale
24k Gold is all out golden sparkle
!In the future, this eye shadow will only be offered in bulk for wholesale
Bronze is a brilliant metalic sparkle
In the future, this eye shadow will only be offered in bulk for wholesale
Antique Copper is a gorgeous metallic hammered copper satin
In the future, this eye shadow will only be offered in bulk for wholesale
Antique Gold is a gorgeous metallic verd green satin
In the future, this eye shadow will only be offered in bulk for wholesale
Antique Silver is a gorgeous metallic steel blue satin
In the future, this eye shadow will only be offered in bulk for wholesale

In summary, we had fun and learned a lot about our eye shadows.  I hope this review has been helpful to you. We will be adjusting our formulas, listings and inventory based on the results of this review and maybe adding some exciting new shades. Thanks to my helpers, Christine and Devon.



Free Sample Offer
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK to receive a free mineral eye shadow sample!!  Look for a Facebook UPDATE that will be sent to all fans following the eye shadow review blog post, with complete details to receive your free sample in the mail.  One free sample per fan to the first 50 fans that respond to this offer.  This offer will be available to Facebook Fans only as of the morning of Friday, August 5 through Sunday, August 7.
 TO RECEIVE YOUR FREE SAMPLE:
1.  Look for an update message on your Facebook page 'Other Folder' on the morning of Friday August 5 for the discount code to receive one free eye shadow sample per customer, with free worldwide shipping.
2.  To use the discount code, go to our website Face Value Cosmetics, order the eye shadow color of your choice, select the size: Sample 1/8 tsp ziplock bag for $.99, then proceed to check out process and enter the discount code. This will assure that you receive a $.99 discount and free shipping on the sample.  Too complete the checkout process, please select your shipping class and payment type, even though the total will $0. See the sample order summary below and click CHECKOUT!  If you wish to place an order for additional items, you can combine the free sample order with additional items, but only one coupon code is allowed per order.  This offer is good through weekend only and will expire at midnight August 7.  See Sample Order Summary below:

Sample Order Summary:

Customer informationAlternate Ship to:
Customer ID: 1234
Name: NANCY ERB
15233 SCHULTZ RD
City/Province: ALLENTON
State: MI
Zip Code: 48002
Country: US

E-mail: nancyorrerb@yahoo.com
Name:
StreetAddress:
City/Province:
State:
Zip Code:
Country:
E-mail:

Sub Total:$0.99
Coupon:-$0.99
Shipping: 4 USA 1st CLASS MAIL $0.00
Sales Tax:$0.00

Order Total:$0.00
Payment Type: Check

Please make sure that your shipping destination and method is accurate. Orders with incorrect shipping risk being cancelled, payments refunded and an order cancellation fee charged. Please review our shipping information page.


FACEBOOK ONLY SPECIALS
AUGUST: LIKE US ON FACEBOOK to qualify for our free give-a-way on August 31, 2011
SUMMER GIVE A WAY: Cosmo's Sexiest Beauty Secrets. See June 14 blog for details

SEPTEMBER: LIKE US ON FACEBOOK to qualify for our free give-a-way on September 30, 2011 
FREE ANTI-ACNE GEL. See upcoming blog for details


Blog Notes:  I do not have the time to post to a weekly blog as I originally intended and still keep it relevant & interesting.  Look for monthly blog posts, with interim Facebook updates.  I cancelled the Facebook App NETWORK BLOGS because it had too many problems and errors in uploading the blog posts and I was not pleased with the thumbnails it used. I am sorry for any inconvenience.  Nancy