Splurge
$30 Cocoon Lip Stain Peel Vs. Kool-Aid Concoction
I have always preferred lip stains to lip gloss and lip stick for practical reasons. It wont smudge or smear everywhere if I forget i’m wearing it and wipe my mouth with my sleeve (ya know, like a lady), it doesn’t bleed all over my face, and it doesn’t need to be re-applied post-burrito. I can appreciate that. Not to mention I feel like it looks more natural -like I was born with flushed, rosy lips, thank you very much. I am also a pretty big fan of unusual products, ones with strange ingredients or unorthodox methods of application. So I was super excited when I found this guy – a lip stain with an unconventional twist? Score.
Cailyn Cosmetics Cocoon Lip Stain, Pink Desire
I saw a demo of this product done by Bunny A.K.A Grav3yardgirl and I thought it was so weird, I just had to try it. You can watch her demo here.
This stuff is a lip stain with a texture very similar to that of the gel candies you can get in those squeezy tubes (my favorite was sour apple). You brush it on your lips and wait 10 minutes, it acts like one of those peel-off face masks in that it dries and you then peel it off, leaving behind a stain with “10 hour staying power.”
At $22 from the Cailyn Cosmetics website and $26 on Amazon, its a tad pricey. The Orange color seemed to work pretty well for Bunny, so I had high hopes for myself. Its supposed to come with it’s own little brush, but mine did not so I used a regular lipstick brush.
Oh my god, it was so weird. I brushed it on as precisely as I could and then stood there for 10 minutes while the goo cured on my face. Protip: keep your mouth open while it dries so your lips don’t stick together. As you can see on the right, I wasn’t too enthralled with the result.
Really $25 lip stain? Really? Not impressed. I’ve drank cups of Kool-Aid that cost $0.20 that stained my mouth better than this stuff…
And that’s when it hit me… Kool-Aid! As countless after-school care Latchkey kids and their unfortunate laundry-doing parents know – NOTHING stains like Kool-Aid! People dye their hair, fabric, and yarn with Kool-Aid! I had seen people on Pinterest melt lip balms in the microwave and mix Kool-Aid in to add some tint, hell even I saw some people straight up rub the powder on their lips (eww). But I had something better in mind, I would create a Kool-Aid lip stain masque to challenge the likes of Cailyn Cosmetics in a side-by-side, lip to lip battle! And with that, I gathered my weapons.
I really just guessed on the ingredients, I didn’t want to just melt down another lip balm and mix – that has been done before and I wasn’t really going for a balm. I wanted to create a masque that would go on thick, stay put, and stain to my hearts content until I wiped or licked it off. I figured coconut oil because its relatively solid at room temperature, so it would spread thick and moisturize, almond oil in case the coconut oil was too thick, and sugar because I might want it to double as a scrub (and this was unsweetened Kool-Aid, so I didn’t want it to taste gross).
I went to Target and found a set of TSA approved travel containers that came with two little lip-balm sized pots to put my creation in. I sanitized it first by washing it and then wiping the inside with rubbing alcohol.
As any Knitter, painter, or crafts-person in general knows – when in doubt, swatch it out. To test out what colors I had to work with I sprinkled a little powder of each on a paper towel and added a couple of drops of water to see what the colors diffused into. I couldn’t really tell a difference between Cheery and Tropical Punch, the picture may not show it, but it seemed like Tropical Punch was a tad more orangy-red. Grape mostly diffused as blue and it wasn’t until I added more water that the reddish part came out and made it look a little…purple brown? I decided to stick with Cherry and Tropical Punch and save the grape for another time.
I definitely did not steal this little ramekin from Chili’s, how dare you even think that.
I mixed the Tropical Punch and the Cherry together and added about 2 teaspoons of it, a tablespoon of coconut oil, a dash of Almond oil, and a sprinkle of sugar to this thing and put it in the microwave for 8-10 seconds to melt the oils and give me an even consistency.
And the 1st try is definitely a fail.
Oil gets very hot, it headed up the sugar. You know what happens when sugar gets hot? It melts and doesn’t mix with oil. So I made a lump of cherry punch candy that wouldn’t work as a lip masque, but stained the ever-living Christ out of everything it touched.
At least I was on the right track.
I quickly decided to 86 the sugar. If I wanted this to work as a stain, adding an exfoliant was a dumb idea. You would just end up exfoliating off the skin that was just stained. No bueno.
I also noticed that oil doesn’t dissolve the Kool-Aid mix, which meant I wasn’t really getting an effective color payoff. So I first diluted it in a little dash of water before adding the coconut and almond oil. I zapped it for about 8 seconds in the microwave to completely melt the coconut oil and give me a smooth consistency, then sat the ramekin in a bowl of salted Ice water and stirred constantly until the oil re-solidified.
And Voila! A soft mass of highly-pigmented coconut-almond oil ready for packaging and testing.
I even got super creative with the little pot I put it in. Someone call Sephora, I have a new product to pitch.
To make myself look extra ridiculous, I drew a fancy line with some black eyeliner right down the middle of my face after carefully applying the two products to half of my lips. I then set a timer for 10 minutes and let them do their thing.
And here is the immediate result, with the Cailyn Cocoon on the left and my Kool-Aid concoction on the right. The Cocoon is definitely more of a pink shade whereas I went more red with the Kool-Aid. I could definitely see more pigmentation with the Kool-Aid side, but both sides felt very moisturized.
I’ll tell you what though, the Kool-Aid tasted absolutely HORRIBLE. That side of my mouth was so awkward and sour and kind of tingly? I don’t really want to add sugar, but mayhaps I could add some Splenda? Though I am not sure how that may effect the consistency.
So this is how dedicated I am to beauty science. I went out to dinner with my boyfriend like this, with two different colored lips. I took this picture on the left once I stepped outside because he noted that in the different light you could especially tell the difference.
So. Fabulous. Starting a new trend.
In Conclusion
And this was the result about 6 hours later. I totally feel like I win on this one. The red Kool-Aid side is still pretty red, whereas the pink Cocoon side is basically flesh colored at this point. Mind you this was 6 hours, a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate malt later.
I WIN! I AM FABULOUS!
I don’t mean to toot own horn here, but I am very pleased. I might even actually use my Kool-Aid concoction again. Its an effective stain in a flattering red color and is very nourishing, I just gotta work on the flavor of it. That was the only gross part.
Sorry Cocoon lip stain, you’ve been upstaged.
P.S. – No joke, this stuff stains everything.
Battle of the Moisturizers: Contestant #2 Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare – Hydra-Pure® Oil-Free Moisture with Chelating Complex
Unlike our dearly departed previous contestant, the Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Hydra-Pure® Oil-Free Moisture with Chelating Complex (holy crap, long name) was suggested to be by HAL 9000 the Sephora Skincare IQ machine. I have never heard of this brand before and I was immediately skeptical as soon as I saw the price.
But Marina, you said the point was to find a moisturizer that cost LESS than LUSH’s Gorgeous! Why even bother trying this one?
I am really interested in finding something that costs less than $60 an ounce, and I am also looking to find something that could possibly work way better than what I have been using. But most of all, I want to test out the high-end, uber expensive products that make aggrandized claims and see if they really are better than what you can buy at CVS for $5. And THIS GUY is definitely one of those fancy shmancy products I want to run through the gambit. Lets get started –
Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare – Hydra-Pure® Oil-Free Moisture with Chelating Complex
Cost = $78 US
Size = 1 fl oz
Extended cost (Cost / Size) = $78/oz
Estimated cost per application = $1.56
I used the same application amount estimate I did with the Fresh – Rose Hydrating Gel Cream because the consistency and feel of the two were relatively similar, which means this guy evens out to a whopping $1.56 an application. Holy heart-failure, Batman! I better be impressed. You know there are 514,063 things on Etsy that you can buy for $1.56 or less? A 90’s grunge choker, 1g of organic shea butter, a Kanye West Pin! I actually think i’d rather moisturize my face than have that last one.
So I didn’t really see what about this product constitutes it as “Hydra-Pure?” The first ingredient is water… so there’s that…But thats not really the headline. The big selling point for this guy is it’s “Chelating Complex.” Don’t be dazzled by strange words, kids. Lets talk about Chelation.
What the heck is Chelation?
Pronounced key-LAY-shun, its one way ions or molecules bind to metal ions. Dont worry if you don’t remember from high school chemistry what ions and molecules are, that part doesn’t really matter. What matters is these chelating ions and molecules are kind of like Pac-Man, and they like to chomp down on cherries… or metal ions.
So when Mrs. Pac-Man chomps down on the metal ion, it is rendered chemically inert and will no longer interact with your body. Now, Chelators are SUPER important, and not just for removing those hard-water stains from your shower (no joke, that’s one of the things they’re used for), they’re also key in curing heavy metal intoxication. I’m talking about arsenic, mercury, and lead poisoning. But thats not what we’re talking about with this product – the Chelators here are being used for, among other things (cough-preservatives-cough), neutralizing the “damage” hard water may be doing to your face. We’re talking about the calcium and magnesium that seeps in from old pipes and deposits in the ground that give 85% of homes in the USA what is refered to as “hard water.” Heres a full list of what this product claims to do:
- Softens hard water and removes heavy metals that antioxidants cannot
- Combats free radical damage
- Decreases redness and irritation
- Eradicates dull skin
- Eliminates waxy plugs/blackheads
- Cures the oil chemistry disorder that leads to acne and clogged pores
- Improves penetration of active ingredients
- Allows trace minerals beneficial to the skin to be absorbed
- Dual-mechanism, lightweight moisturizer provides immediate and long-term hydration
You guys know the drill, lets take this one by one –
“Softens hard water and removes heavy metals that antioxidants cannot”- This bit was news to me, I had heard of hard water making your hair gross, and that’s why they make shower heads with water filters in them, but I’d never thought of what it’d do to your skin. I did some googling and came across this article from SELF magazine. Holy cannoli! Its all right here! The acne, how the minerals clog pores, the irritation, everything this moisturizer claims to do! And they’re even getting their info from a real doctor, Dr. Dennis-… Wait a minute. “Dr. Dennis Gross, Manhattan dermatologist and founder of the Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare product line.” But can you blame the guy? Hes just trying to sell his expensive stuff – its the American dream.
I am leaning towards calling bullsh*t on this claim that Chelators can do so many amazing things for your skin. According to Cosmetics and Toiletries Magazine “Chelators are used in almost every personal care formulation type to increase effectiveness and improve stability, thereby improving consumer acceptance. In addition, they have demonstrated the ability to boost preservative activity. Chelators are used in liquid soap and body wash to prevent fragrance and color degradation and for their synergistic effect with antimicrobials. They are also incorporated into bar soap to prevent rancidity, softening, brown-spotting, cracking and discoloration due to metal ions, as well as to enhance foaming and rinsability.” Chelators are everywhere, and the ones in this moisturizer aren’t that special. Not to mention, how effective can they be when they’re in a moisturizer? You’ve already washed and dried your face and the oils in your skin are hard at work neutralizing metal ions on their own. Thats right, thats what they’re there for.
(I’ll get off my soapbox now, no pun intended, the rest of this will be quick, I promise)
“Combats free radical damage” – This is what antioxidants do, and this product does have a lot of very effective ones. Free radical damage basically means oxidation (its when a molecule loses an electron and becomes unstable, Antioxidants have electrons to spare and donate them – but that’s a WHOLE ‘nother post). But one of the antioxidants is soy isoflavones – which means don’t use this moisturizer if you’re allergic to soy.
“Decreases redness and irritation” – This Is another claim of Dr. Gross’, (this guy must have been made fun of when he was a kid) said reddness and irritation is allegedly caused by the soap scum on your face. File this under “meh… mabey.”
“Eradicates dull skin” – I’m sure you guys remember our friend Tetrasodium EDTA from the Fresh – Rose Hydrating Gel Cream, well guess who is back and is also a chelator? For those of you yet to catch up, Tetrasodium EDTA “reversably” damages the top layers of your skin so whatever its mixed with can absorb better. The internet hates this stuff, but i’m on the fence.
“Eliminates waxy plugs/blackheads” – Oh boy, chelators are soooo fancy! They can also do your taxes and walk your dog!
“Cures the oil chemistry disorder that leads to acne and clogged pores” – “Ugh, chelators, chelators, chelators!”
“Improves penetration of active ingredients” – (cough-Tetrasodium EDTA – Cough)
“Allows trace minerals beneficial to the skin to be absorbed” – Yawn, this guy is just going on about the same ingredients..
“Dual-mechanism, lightweight moisturizer provides immediate and long-term hydration” – I don’t really know what Doc is on about with this one, but I will say that this product has a lot of skin conditioning ingredients. I mean A LOT! At least twice what the Fresh – Rose Hydrating Gel Cream had. Maybe that’s the “long term hydration?” I don’t even know anymore.
In Conclusion…
I know it really sounds like I’m hating on this moisturizer, but the truth is i’m being skeptical because I REALLY want to believe all the things its claiming to do. I think a lot of it make sense theoretically, but I have a hard time accepting a product that claims to do so many things without solid scientific studies to back it up, even if the product is made by a licensed dermatologist. Like my homeboy Justin and homegirl Sydnee say on their podcast Sawbones “Cure-alls cure NOTHING!” (p.s., if you’re not listening to Sawbones, we can’t be friends)
I do have relatively hard water and I didn’t see anything miraculous while using this product, but I believe a 5 day trial-run sample wasn’t enough to see any improvement. I feel like if there are benefits to what Dr. Gross is selling, they’re best seen in the long-run. Unfortunately $78 a bottle is out of the question for long-run use for me. Sorry Doc.
New Contestants!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Dior’s Capture Totale Dreamskin has entered the building! I decided to test this one out after seeing Bunny a.k.a Grav3yardgirl talk about it on her YouTube channel. I love that chick, but I wanna see for myself If I can really get me some dreamskin, and at $115 a bottle I am ready for some serious testing.
We do have another candidate hiding out, but hes a secret that will be revealed in a haul coming very soon, I promise! BE EXCITED!
Sources
How 2: "Girl" 