The movie, Fifty Shades of Grey, became a hit ever since it was released. It is successful and memorable in many ways, from its plot, actors/actresses, to the shooting techniques and original music tape. But there is one thing, despite its subtleness, that greatly enriches the film’s content, and that is the actress’s makeup, specifically, the use of lipsticks.
As a romantic drama film, Fifty Shades of Grey captures the characters’ facial expressions using close-up shots. In those scenes, the way how the makeup artists applied lipstick was definitely a highlight. To show the character’s innocence and shyness, the makeup artist used light pink or coral most of the time. While it comes to a bolder scene, the lipstick was changed to a dark and more seductive shade. Different uses of lipstick in this movie perfectly explains why makeup brands have provided people millions of lipstick shades to choose from. Hence, how to choose the right color in various contexts is a skill that we are going to delve into.
Scarlet Red
Scarlet red is without a doubt a color that people choose in their most important occasions because it can never go wrong. Not only does it add a highlight to your overall makeup, scarlet red also boosts your charisma and confidence. If you want your makeup more memorable or want to appear more bold, go with scarlet red!
MLBB
When you just want to spend time with girlfriends, hitting some shops, or stopping for a coffee to have a casual chat, you probably do not want your lipstick too showy. Then MLBB shade is your ideal choice. MLBB is the abbreviation of My Lip But Better – just as the name suggests, MLBB is a collection of nude and light lipsticks that fit your own lip color. It is always the safest choice for you when you are uncertain about which lipstick to go with.
Plum
Are you a party animal? Is your favorite hang-out place a bar or a club? Are you a music festival lover? If your answer is yes to any of these questions, do not hesitate to try a plum lipstick next time. The color of plum goes well with a heavy makeup and stands out even in a dim lighting.
Picking a lipstick among numerous choices can be a challenging task, but it will be much easier if you consider the occasion you are applying the lipstick for.
Sunscreen is a vital skincare product that everyone should apply regardless of weather. As summer is approaching, applying sunscreen is getting more and more important to protect our skin from harmful UV rays. However, choosing the right sunscreen can be tricky, as there are many factors that one should take into consideration to finding the holy-grail sunscreen. Here is a guide to help you choose the sunscreen that will not only protect early skin aging but also decrease the chance of skin cancer.
Guide to SPF and UV Rays
SPF, or sun protection factor, is a measurement of how long the sunscreen will protect the skin from UV rays. Although people tend to believe that higher SPFs will block significantly higher amount of UV rays, the difference in protection between various SPF is not radical. For example, while SPF 15 can block 93% of UV rays, SPF of 30 can block 97% while SPF of 50 will block 98%. Although SPF is an important factor in choosing a sunscreen, the spectrum of UV coverage is another significant factor to place into consideration.
UV, or ultraviolet, rays are the primary cause of skin cancer. There are three types of UV rays, UVA, UVB, and UVC but only UVA and UVB rays will damage and cause skin cancer, as UVC rays do not penetrate through the atmosphere. Because UVA and UVB rays will both damage the skin, finding sunscreens containing filters that will block both UVA and UVB rays is absolutely crucial.
Physical vs Chemical Filter
Physical filters protect our skin by reflecting and scattering the UV rays. The only two FDA approved physical filters are:
Zinc Oxide: blocks UVB, UVA1 and UVA2
Titanium Dioxide: blocks UVB and UVA2
As shown above, physical filters offer a broad spectrum of protection from the sun and are also better for acne-prone and sensitive skin as the filters do not penetrate through the skin. However, these filters are often the cause of whitecast and difficult application. During summer times, sunscreens containing physical filters require frequent re-application, as the filters rub off easily from sweat and water.
Chemical filters absorb the UV rays and release them as heat through chemical reaction. Some commonly used, FDA approved filters are:
Avobenzone: blocks UVA1
Octinoxate: blocks UVB
Octisalate: blocks UVB
Oxybenzone: blocks UVB and UVA2
Octocrylene: blocks UVB and UVA2
These filters are often combined together to cover the various spectrum of the UV rays and to make them more photostable, which means the product will not degrade with exposure to UV ray. Chemical filters have advantages of no whitecast, easier application, and lighter texture. However, they would need to be applied 15-20 minutes before sun exposure. Also, because chemical filters turn UV rays into thermal energy, they can increase the redness on skin. Unfortunately, most chemical filters available in United States tend to penetrate through skin and cause skin sensitivity. New and better filters like Tinosorb S, Tinosorb M and Uvinul T 150 can cover broader spectrum as well as being more stable and less skin sensitizing. However, they are yet to be FDA approved.
Product Recommendation
Physical Sunscreens
Paula’s Choice CALM Redness Relief SPF 30 – Normal to Oily
This sunscreen includes both titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as the main active ingredient. It also contains great moisturizing and calming ingredients like green tea, chamomile, aloe vera, glycerin panthenol. Lastly, this sunscreen is fragrance-free.
First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Pure Mineral Sunscreen Moisturizer SPF 40
This physical sunscreen also contains titanium dioxide and zinc oxide as active ingredients. In addition to the filters, it contains ingredients like colloidal oatmeal, avocado oil, and allantoin for soothing and calming purpose. While it is paraben-free, it is not fragrance-free.
Chemical Sunscreens
Krave Beauty The Beet Shield
This sunscreen contains various chemical filters like Uvinul A Plus, octyl triazone, Tinosorb S and etc. It also contains beetroot extract, vitamin c, resveratrol and EGCG for antioxidants and allantoin for soothing. While this product is fragrance-free, it does contain alcohol for better formulation purpose.
PURITO Centella Green Level Safe Sun SPF 50 PA ++++
This sunscreen uses Uvinul A Plus and octinoxate for chemical filters. Centella asiatica extract and hyaluronic acid provide soothing and moisturizing properties. This sunscreen is also ethanol, PEG, mineral oil, fragrance, and cruelty free as well as being vegan. All the ingredients used have EWG Green level 1-2, making PURITO’s sunscreen a good choice for anyone with sensitive, acne prone skin.
You know summer’s here when it rains for five days in a row, the temperature rises, the air gets humid, and your makeup smudges and fades not even halfway through the day. Summer is undoubtedly a wonderful season, but for makeup-lovers it can be the most disastrous season of all. Do you want your makeup to stay perfect from the moment you walk out the door to the moment you get back home? Do you want to keep your makeup from fading away during a waterful day at the beach? Then you should brace yourself with the best makeup setting sprays for the hot season that has just begun!
What are makeup setting/fixing sprays?
Makeup setting/fixing sprays are diffused on the face before and/or after putting on makeup to lock the makeup in place for a long time. Makeup fixing sprays especially produce waterproof effects, which makes them handy during summertime.
How do they work?
There are two types of makeup setting sprays: 1) ones that protect the makeup from sweat and feature waterproofness (they are specifically called “fixing” sprays) and 2) ones that only make the makeup appear more dewy and well-blended.
The first type of makeup setting sprays contain polymers, which are long molecules that hold film-forming properties. The polymers are dissolved in a solvent, typically alcohol, which evaporates as soon as you spray the product on the skin, leaving the polymer. These polymers form a film that locks your makeup in place and shields against water.
The second type generally contains more healthy ingredients, more humectant ingredients such as butylene glycol and less alcohol compared to the first type. It does not form a film on the face but it hydrates and nourishes the skin while setting the makeup.
Top 5 Makeup Setting/Fixing Sprays
Vivid has selected 5 of the best makeup setting sprays for this summer–hope you have a splendid summer with these products!
So Natural / ALL DAY TIGHT MAKEUP SETTING FIXER $22/ 75ml (2.53 fl oz.)
Ranked No.1 by K-Beauty professionals in a blind test on “Get It Beauty,” the most popular beauty TV show in South Korea, it is by far the most popular makeup fixing spray in the country. The lemon extract, tea tree extract and centella asiatica extract altogether moisturizes and nourishes the skin, and a fresh floral scent is added as well. It works great for all skin types. Although it’s a Korean product, don’t worry–you can buy it on their website in the US!
At this point everyone should be familiar with the name, for it is one of the best-selling makeup setting sprays in the US. It is famous mostly for its long-lasting power (that’s up to 16 hours!!), but it also carries many benefits. It is for all skin types, free of oil and parabens, vegan, extremely lightweight, but the best of all is the patented Temperature Control Technology, which lowers the temperature of your makeup in order to keep it in place no matter the humidity and weather.
MAC / PREP + PRIME FIX+
$27/ 100 ml (3.4 fl oz.)
While this product does not shield the face with a film, but it is the second type of spray that hydrates and sets the makeup. It contains water loaded with vitamins and minerals and infused with green tea, chamomile and cucumber in order to calm and revitalize the skin. It is dermatologist-tested, ophthalmologist-tested and non-acnegenic, so it is extra safe for use. You can also enjoy this product in 4 different scents–original, rose, lavender and coconut–choose whichever fragrance you love.
COVER FX / High Performance Setting Spray
$31 / 120 mL (4 fl oz.); Mini size: $15 / 30mL (1.0 fl oz.)
This ultra-powerful, weightless, alcohol-free setting spray fixes your makeup for up to 24 hours with its remarkable protection against pollution. It is labeled Clean at Sephora, so there’s no need to worry about the ingredients inside. This fixing spray will leave your skin without making it feel sticky, greasy or dry. It is not recommended for dry skin.
COVER FX / Dewy Finish Setting Spray
$31/ 120 mL (4 fl oz.)
If you wanted to buy the fixing spray introduced above but you have a dry skin type, this is the perfect choice for you. This setting spray works great for all skin types while featuring almost all of the features mentioned for the High Performance Setting Spray above, except the pollution protection part. Instead, this setting spray provides a dewy glow on the face and stays on all day. This product is also labeled Clean at Sephora that guarantees safe ingredients.
Heat, sweat, and ocean water are the main culprits of smearing mascara in the approaching summer season. On the market, mascaras promote themselves as smear-proof, waterproof, or long-lasting, but not all live up to their name. Personally, I have tried the mid-range, popular Benefit They’re Real! Lengthening and Volumizing Mascara, as well as drugstore Maybelline’s Great Lash Waterproof Mascara, only to find them unable to live up to their claims under hot, humid weather. Within a couple hours, the mascara has smeared under my eyes and my lashes no longer hold their curl and length. To choose the most effective waterproof mascara, it is important to understand the quality of their ingredients that provide the waterproof ability.
Mascara is a mixture of waxes, polymers, pigments, emollients, and thickeners that allow our lashes to appear thicker and more defined. The waxes and polymers have water-resistant properties that are key to creating a waterproof mascara. Quality waterproof mascaras not only adhere to lashes, but also provide emollient ingredients that prevent flaking or clumping.
A reputable waterproof mascara is the Diorshow Waterproof Mascara ($29.50 USD). It contains thickening and film-forming waxes and polymers such as carnauba wax, VP/Eicosen copolymer, castor oil, and two other film-forming agents. Furthermore, the mascara contains emollient ingredients such as glyceryl hydrogenated rosinate and candelilla wax to the mascara from over-drying and flaking.
L’Oreal Voluminous Volume Building Waterproof Mascara
A drugstore counterpart known for its waterproofing abilities is the L’Oreal Voluminous Volume Building Waterproof Mascara ($5.84). Like Diorshow Waterproof Mascaa, L’Oreal’s mascara contains beeswax and carnauba wax, both emollient and film-forming agents. However, it contains two other polymer ingredients for its waterproofing abilities. With a short list of 10 ingredients, L’Oreal’s mascara contains very few emollient ingredients that will condition the lashes and prevent the mascara from drying out. Furthermore, alcohol is a cost-efficient ingredient that is added to decrease viscosity, but this ingredient can be a potential contributor to clumping and overly dry mascara. With a break down of its ingredients, it is clear that the L’Oreal mascara only contains the essential components of a waterproof mascara that minimizes costs while Diorshow mascara aims to provide a much more luxurious experience with a blend of film-forming agents, emollients, and texture enhancers.
Too Faced Better than Sex Waterproof Mascara
While Diorshow is a high-end mascara that uses lots of high quality ingredients and L’Oreal is a drugstore mascara that is composed of the essential characteristics of a waterproof mascara, Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara is a mid-range mascara that is highly advertised and is also known for waterproof ability ($12 USD). Like Diorshow, it contains a fair amount of emollient ingredients such as beeswax, cyclopentasiloxane, and Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride (one of the best emollient and moisturizing ingredients available according to Paula’s Choice) to provide a pleasant consumer experience. This mascara is sold at a much lower cost compared to Diorshow because its main wax ingredient is paraffin, a petroleum-based product. Paraffin substitutes more expensive, organic waxes like carnauba wax (which is further down the ingredient list).
Paraffin wax is cheaper and melts at higher temperatures.
Carnauba wax, derived from Brazilian palm trees, are much more expensive. They melt at lower temperatures to give a smooth, buttery texture in mascaras.
Isehan Kiss me Heroine Volume and Curl Mascara
A foreign brand waterproof mascara that is well-known across Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan, is the Isehan Kiss Me Heroine Make Volume and Curl Super Waterproof mascara ($12 USD). There are two main film-forming agents that coat and define the lashes: polyisobutene and propylene carbonate. The rest of the ingredients are emollients, skin-softening agents, and moisturizers such as Rosa Canina Fruit Oil, and Camellia Japonica Seed oil, as well as a high-quality ingredient, Squalane.
Analyzing the ingredients of cost-efficient, mid-range, and luxury brand mascaras, it is clear that the cost depends on the amount of natural waxes in the ingredients as well as the polymer content. Diorshow contained 3 natural wax ingredients that are among the first 5 ingredients, meaning that the wax content is high. Lots of emollient agents were included to provide a luxurious, smooth application experience. Mid-range mascaras seek to reduce cost by replacing expensive natural waxes with cheaper waxes such as paraffin, or simply lower the wax content of the mascara and use thickening agents instead. Drugstore mascaras minimize costs by containing only essential compositions of mascara, such as beeswax, polymers, and thickeners. Ingredients used for emollient purposes were eliminated completely.
To combat the sweat, heat, and water that is ever-present during the summer to melt your mascara, look out for the types of waxes and polymers in the ingredients list! Are natural waxes in the beginning of the ingredients list? How much emollient or moisturizing ingredients are present? Asking these simple questions can help you find your favorite waterproof mascara!
Vivid Cosmetics 
