I am thrilled to announce that my makeup routine, “the natural look,” made it into a magazine! The magazine is called Girlz 4 Christ, and my article is featured alongside content from Sadie Robertson and other young women.
My article is embedded below (double click each page to view a larger version), and you can visit the Girlz 4 Christ website to learn more about the magazine. (Click here to sign up for a free subscription, which will include the current issue.)
Anonymous
Wow quite a few steps.
I wish I could see a video!
It's probably very easy and fast but since I only wear eyeliner and mascara any other steps and I'm lost.
Great article
Congrats Ellie!
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Glad you enjoyed it! I'll have to see about making a video. Maybe my husband could hold the camera. Lol. I agree that eye makeup can be tricky. I'm no makeup artist. This tutorial was born out of much trial and error. 🙂
Ellie
Regina
Ellie,
Have you had the pleasure of meeting Sadie Robertson? She seems to be a sweet godly young lady.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Hi Regina,
I haven't, but we heard her speak at Winter Jam, and she was great. We sat behind the stage, and she was standing just in front of us dancing during the performances. Super peppy gal, and it's amazing what she has done to encourage other girls in her 19 years.
Ellie
Anonymous
Congratulations on your tutorial in the magazine.
Joan,Marion and Marilyn
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Thanks, Joan, Marion, and Marilyn! Have a blessed day.
Ellie
Anonymous
Congrats on getting published, Ellie!
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Thank you! 🙂
Ellie
Shela G
Congratulations Ellie!! You are a great role model for young ladies to look up to.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
You're very sweet, Shela. Thanks for being a loyal reader.
Ellie
Emma
Congratulations Ellie! You are an inspiration to me 🙂
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Thank you, Emma! What a lovely thing to say. I'm blessed to have you as a reader. 🙂
Ellie
Anonymous
Great article! I really enjoyed it!
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Thank you! I'm glad to hear that!
Ellie
Anonymous
A "cheap" curler? "Inexpensive" would have been less harsh.
Anonymous
What "dangers" and "harmful chemicals" are found in drugstore makeup? You need to explain that further, with facts, and cite your sources for that information. I'm surprised that any magazine editor would print that claim without requiring you to back it up with proof and sources. Weren't you a journalism major? You know the drill.
Anonymous
There are chemicals in make up. What she said is true. It's just a teenage/girl magazine.
But I am sure she could give you more info if you want more info about it.
Anonymous
I would love to know more about your switch to natural products and cleaning supplies. And also more recipes.
I didn't know about those chemicals in make up or other stuff until recently and I already have kids.
Thanks for letting the young girls know . I am a Mom to a baby girl right now and I know one day she will wear make up too.
Anonymous
The FDA (Food and Drug Administration) does have some degree of control over what goes into cosmetics and their safety. It's a shared responsibility between the federal government and the cosmetic manufacturers. I suggest you become familiar with their scope:
https://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/GuidanceRegulation/LawsRegulations/ucm074162.htm#Who_is_responsible
I would never make a sweeping comment about cosmetics or "chemicals" being unsafe. I'll bet every one of you here doused yourselves with and consumed dihydrogen oxide today. Sounds pretty scary. Look it up. A city in California was ready to ban foam cups when they found out that chemical was used in the production.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
To the third commenter: I have plenty more recipes to share, so stay tuned. 🙂
Ellie
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Yes, I am a journalist. 'Girlz 4 Christ' is intended to be a fun, encouraging magazine for young women. Not exactly the place for scientific research. My article is an expository piece, not a news article or a research paper.
I assure you I have done lots of research, although I am not claiming to be an expert. In many cases, the effects (whether positive or negative) of chemicals/ingredients cannot be infallibly proven. When it comes to food and beauty products, my goal is to live as naturally and simply as possible.
I have also learned not to accept a product as healthy and beneficial just because the FDA has deemed it safe. As a medical professional, my husband is very familiar with the nasty side effects and fatal risks of drugs that have passed the FDA's tests.
You had me laughing out loud with the dihydrogen oxide (also known as H20/water) joke. My husband has used that one before. 🙂
Enjoy the rest of your day.
Ellie
Anonymous
Of course drugs have risks of side effects or allergic reactions or more. That's why medical professionals prescribe them, why the FDA oversees them, and why you can't go pick most of them off the shelf yourself.
Use what you want on your face, but please don't toss all drugstore makeup into one big generalization of being unsafe, based on "an article" you read somewhere. Or tell teenage girls that.
Anonymous
She said that after she read the article, she conducted further research. It doesn't take a whole lot to find out that a lot of companies put harmful chemicals in makeup. Just like a lot of food companies put harmful chemicals in our food. She didn't tell everyone to go throw their makeup out and buy only what she does. She just said that she made the choice to go with more natural products based on her research. If a teenage girl reads that, she can make the decision for herself or do her own research.
Anonymous
Take a look at the ingredients in those "natural" products. They may be able to be sold as "natural," but they are still derived chemically from somewhere, and they can still have harmful side effects. Just because something says it's "natural" does not automatically guarantee that it's safer than a "non-natural" product.
Anonymous
Congrats! 🙂
I hope you don't mind my asking but when did you start wearing makeup?
nashvillewife@gmail.com
I wore a little bit of makeup on special occasions during high school, but it wasn't until college that I started wearing it daily. How about you?
Ellie
Anonymous
I don't wear makeup. I think people look better with out wearing makeup.
I took on of my sister makeup in and has it tested it has cancer in it. So know my sisters don't wear makeup.
Anonymous
Makeup can't have "cancer" in it.
Anonymous
First commenter here 🙂
Thanks for the answer!
I don't wear makeup yet 🙂
Sarah Liston
Congratulations Ellie!! I'm so happy for you! It's so cool that girls can look up to you for an example of a beautiful woman inside and out.
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Thank you for your kind words, Sarah! Have a wonderful day.
Ellie
Anonymous
Why should we all have gentle and quiet spirits? What's wrong with a little spunk? Jesus himself had it:
"And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, 'Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.'"
Anonymous
What is a professional blogger?
Anonymous
Even if makeup does contain something "dangerous" (and I'm putting that in quotes on purpose), you have to ask yourself how much of it do you use and how often do you use it? How long does it stay in contact with your skin? Do you ingest any of it? What exactly are your risks? "All natural" is great, but it's still something external to your body chemistry, so you'll never get risks all the way to zero, not even with soap and water. Bear in mind that something like hemlock is "all natural," but it's deadly if ingested. I feel that phrase is more of a marketing tool than any sort of guarantee. That and "dermatologist tested." Did those dermatologists, whoever they are, get paid to give a positive opinion? Who hired them?
Anonymous
This is ONE of the ingredients that's in your concealer:
Pycnogenol is POSSIBLY SAFE when taken by mouth in doses of 50 mg to 450 mg daily for up to one year, and when applied to the skin as a cream for up to 7 days or as a powder for up to 6 weeks. Pycnogenol can cause dizziness, gut problems, headache, and mouth ulcers.
Special Precautions & Warnings:
Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Early research suggests that pycnogenol is POSSIBLY SAFE when used in late pregnancy. However, until more is known, pycnogenol should be used cautiously or avoided by women who are pregnant.
There is not enough reliable information about the safety of taking pycnogenol if you are breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.
Children: Pycnogenol is POSSIBLY SAFE when taken by mouth, short-term.
"Auto-immune diseases" such as multiple sclerosis (MS), lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus, SLE), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), or other conditions: Pycnogenol might cause the immune system to become more active, and this could increase the symptoms of auto-immune diseases. If you have one of these conditions, it's best to avoid using pycnogenol.
Bleeding conditions: In theory, high doses of pycnogenol might increase the risk of bleeding in people with bleeding conditions.
Diabetes: In theory, high doses of pycnogenol might decrease blood sugar too much in people with diabetes.
Surgery: Pycnogenol might slow blood clotting. There is some concern that it might increase the chance of bleeding during and after surgery. Stop using pycnogenol at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.
(Source: WebMD)
Anonymous
I think it's misleading to call cosmetics natural. The only thing natural would be rubbing a cut strawberry on your cheeks and lips, but it would have to be a wild strawberry or an organically grown one. Every other cosmetic is man-made.
It isn't fair to declare straight out that conventional cosmetics have harmful things in them. A lot of good science goes into their development, and these days, cosmetic companies would be facing huge lawsuits if they were harming people. Your choice may be to use cosmetics that don't contain things YOU think are harmful, or things YOU prefer not to use, but that's not your point in your article. You dismissed most conventional cosmetics for being harmful.
I don't think your replacement choices are completely harmless either, not like that strawberry. And you mentioned the higher cost. Why would that be? Why pay more for cosmetics that might contain fewer or different chemicals? Some company is profiting from scary marketing. And this article didn't do much to allay those fears.
Anonymous
Here are the "more natural" ingredients in the eye primer:
Isododecane, mica, VP/eicosene copolymer, disteardimonium hectorite, trimethylsiloxysilicate, dimethicone, propylene carbonate, cera alba/beeswax/ cire d’abeille, PEG-40 stearate, caprylic/capric triglyceride, cetyl ethylhexanoate, phenoxyethanol, boron nitride, tocopheryl acetate, tocopherol, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, titanium dioxide (CI 77891), bismuth oxychloride (CI 77163), iron oxides (CI 77491, CI 77492, CI 77499).
Anonymous
Interesting. You got my curiosity up, so I did a little research of my own.
Her eyeliner contains tocopheryl acetate, a derivative of Vitamin E, but altered with acetic acid to where it can cause skin irritation and is a known carcinogen with long-term use. :/
That info came from a dermatological review, not some commercial product's site, where they're trying to scare you into buying something else (their product).
So you don't have to go to the drug store to still find harmful chemicals. And just because something claims to be "natural," don't be misled, or open your wallet too fast.
Anonymous
Do y'all work for a cosmetic company? It seems you are getting awfully upset about the whole thing. The point is to look at the chemicals in your make up and then decide for yourself. Just because things are being sold doesn't mean they are safe. If everything was safe, then why are there lawsuits all the time for things once considered safe? Elly was telling her story and what she chose. Now you choose for yourself. After all you are the one who will live with the consequences.
Anonymous
Ellie is smokin hot, she doesn't need make up!
nashvillewife@gmail.com
Thank you for your kind words. 🙂
Ellie
Anonymous
Good discussion. I don't like it when bad science is used to try to explain an otherwise good idea. So this has been interesting.
darlene
congratulations on your published article!