Good Guide

So, while I was investigating my cosmetics for carcinogens and the like (a daunting thing if you ever want to look at what you wear the same way again), I came across this wonderful website: http://www.goodguide.com/.
Good Guide is great for looking up products (cosmetics, cleaners, breakfast cereals, desserts, etc.) and seeing not just how they rate up as far as health, but also how their companies score on eco and societal friendliness. They rate each company on things like energy efficiency, corporate ethics, and labour ethics. This is a wonderful tool for me- I can now truly support companies that match my values!

So far my favourites are quite predictable:
burt's bees, kashi, silver hills bakery (mmm Squirrelly bread), nature's path

But the terrible raters were not so predictable. Weight watchers traditional grains bread, for instance- a health score of 0. Icky Acesulfame for sweetening (according to medicinenet.com, this kind of sucks as far as living a long life is concerned). Oh and the company is crap in the environment and social categories.

Anyhoo, Long and short of it is that I have wasted a lot of time on this site. It's fun, you just look around the house and type products into the database, and shock your stepmom with how likely it is to die from everything in the house :) No but really, I am not that morbid or paranoid, although I may never eat wonder bread again.

Frightening Make-up Realization

Have you ever looked at the ingredients in your make-up? Squinted to read those teeny tiny words that are just small enough to make you consider using a magnifying glass? I was wondering exactly what kind of chemicals were in mine, and now I'm decently concerned.

My foundation, Infallible make-up by L'Oreal, contains methylparaben. And a whole bunch of other stuff, but the only thing I really recognized was this. According to the National Geographic Green Guide, Parabens are "common preservatives that appear in a wide array of toiletries", so get looking. A close relative, sodium methylparaben, is banned in the EU because of it's disruption of the endocrine system. Parabens are easily absorbed through the skin and are mistaken by the body as estrogen, and it can tip the balance of your hormones in a bad way, causing depression, weight gain and very likely increasing your chance of breast cancer.
I wear this stuff EVERYDAY.

My mascara, Avon's Astonishing Lengths, has propylparaben in it.
And to top it all of, my second go-to foundation, Avon's Beyond Colour Mousse, has Methyl and Propyl Parabens in it. Like icing on the cake, no?

To add, although I haven't found anything with this in it: stay away from thimerosal, or use it sparingly. It's a mercury product and is a proven neurotoxin

Gonna go find me some organic make-up... my hormones are wonky enough

*note* The FDA has stated that the concentrations of parabens currently present in cosmetics and even food is safe. There have been some studies linking it possibly to breast cancer and other estrogen issues, but they are all inconclusive. However, for my part I don't really care if they are inconclusive. I don't really like the idea of it on my skin, whether it causes cancer for sure, or just might