Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Perfume makers are looking to infants as a "new market."




                Yep, baby perfumes exist alright. There is more than one brand out there, but for the sake of brevity, let's talk about Johnson & Johnson's Baby Cologne.

                Here's how Johnson and Johnson describes their product:
                JOHNSON'S® Baby Cologne has a gentle, fresh fragrance with a pleasant combination of floral and citrus hints. It leaves your baby smelling clean and fresh. This clinically proven mild formula is alcohol free, making it just right for your baby's delicate skin.

              So what's so bad about putting perfume on a baby - aside from the fact that I think we can all agree that that is WEIRD.

              Well, I took a quick look at the ingredients because I was sure they'd be 100% safe - especially since this stuff is meant to be used for "your baby's delicate skin."
Water, Polysorbate 20, Trideceth-9, PEG-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Fragrance, Sodium Benzoate, Phenoxyethanol, Citric Acid, Propylene Glycol, Tetrasodium EDTA, Simethicone, Ext. Violet 2, Blue 1


          Yikes. Not so safe after all. For a quick snapshot of how hazardous most of these ingredients are, click here for the analysis.

          The fact that Johnson and Johnson and other companies are marketing totally unnecessary and clearly hazardous products like baby perfume to parents who may not realize the toxicity of the products they are buying is unethical and shameful.

          Johnson & Johnson has some explaining to do. I'd like to know what they have to say for themselves. Perhaps if they'd just put a "poison" warning on the baby cologne, we'd call it fair. But their product description reads with phrases like "Clinically proven mild and gentle" and they encourage parents to "use JOHNSON'S® Baby Cologne anytime you want to give your baby a clean, fresh scent."

          Do they think we're stupid? Do they think we're going to sit back and let them sell us products that we don't even need and that contain carcinogens and hormone-disrupting chemicals and then PAY them for their toxic crap?

          Really, J&J, you just had a big old conference bringing together mommy bloggers right? Did you talk about the fact that your company is selling toxic baby products? Perhaps we can do a breakout session on that at your next event. I think I can find a few mommies that would like to attend to hear what you have to say. In the meantime, I'd like to propose a boycott on all of your products. Readers, if you'd like to show your support for this idea, please leave a comment and tell Johnson & Johnson what you think.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Cream for winter

fair--lovely-winter-cream1We belong to an age where dark beauties sizzle on screen, and fake tanner is sold by the millions in the U.S. so that lighter-skinned ladies can achieve the bronzed glow most of us were born with. The whole world is trying to go darker, yet our society is still hung up on how to become just a few shades paler through skin lightening products (you’d be shocked at the amount of such creams available in Asian markets). Personally, I did not grow up with the Persian genes of a fair, creamy complexion and ash brown hair that the rest of the women in my family were blessed with, and that is absolutely fine by me. When the weather turns warm, I am the first one out in the sun with the agenda of further tanning my skin, while many of my counterparts in the Subcontinent shield themselves by hiding in their homes. And when I actually do get married (hopefully to someone a little more open-minded than my presumptuous suitor of two years ago), I aim to closely resemble glowing complexion.

 
So we had a man write in with his favourite beauty product. His favourite is the Nivea For Men Revitalizing Body Lotion. 
 
        “The best mens moisturizer out there that doesn’t smell like fruits or flowers.”

So now you have it ladies. If your hubby is anti-feminine body creams but needs some moisture this should do it.