the B. spot

Let me tell you, for people who love beauty products- my life is ideal! I’m not saying this to brag but I just want you to understand the brevity of the situation here!  First of all, I create skin, sun and hair care products on a daily basis.  This is a blessing and a curse because people will come up to me so excited about a product and I seem to quickly dash their hopes and dreams when I start reading the claims and the ingredient label.  I don’t do it on purpose (really I don’t) but I find it difficult to mask my facial expressions so without saying a single word- it’s already done.  I always try to find a bright side so they aren’t totally disappointed but I can’t help it- I’m not easily impressed when it comes to beauty products.  There are too many companies out there who are making it very difficult for reputable companies who are in this business because they believe in what they do and are not out just to make a quick buck.

Being a Chemist has its privileges!  I get to see the newest and innovation ingredients (before they become bastardized in the market) and because my company doesn’t have rolls of red tape to cut through before decisions are made, we can use the new products and get my clients to market with the new stuff earlier.  Not only do I get first peek at many of the ingredients, I get to use them first on myself.  Please believe me when I say, I do human testing on my products!  My bathroom is filled with miscellaneous containers (with and without labels) that:

• dewrinkles
• depuffs
• debags
• stimulates microcirculation
• reduces melanin production
• nourishes hair follicles
• removes hair
• makes hair grow
• decreases acne
• conditions the skin and hair
• reduces the appearance of cellulite and stretch marks
• makes childbirth a pleasure

You name it- I have it and it annoys the crap out of my husband!  But how can formulate with it if I don’t believe that it has some efficacy?  My poor daughter now distinguishes between my concoctions and my formulations.  My concoctions are the mixtures that I just threw together really quick before I left for the day- no measuring necessary (eyeballing it will sometimes do the trick- but most often not:-).  Well it was my concoctions that left her a bit weary of trying anything new that I developed because of the (very slight) stinging and/or dryness and/or marks that it left on her skin (I do have my mad scientist moments).  She trusts my formulations because I actually weigh out the ingredients and put them together properly- no burns bumps or bruises with these! Don’t call child protective services on me!  I always try things on myself before I let her use them; they sometimes behave differently on her skin than on mine.

Moving on…one of the things that I want to achieve with my blog is to give B. spotters an inside look into my world and also help you to be a more informed consumer.  As interesting ingredients come my way, I will tell you about them.  The products that I review are ones that people have asked about, I tried and liked or products that aren’t unique but are efficacious (I realize that you all can’t just run into lab and mix something up really quick- too bad;-p).