Hello, brand spanking new year! It’s that time again: Resolution Time. No doubt you’ve been seeing resolutions flying back and forth everywhere too, possibly along with the discouraging statistic that 88% of all New Year’s resolutions fail. However, people who consciously set resolutions were found to be 10 times more likely to make changes they want in their lives than …
Celestial Cosmetics / Color4Nails High Garden The nerdy nail girls out there have probably already bagged themselves a few thermal polishes, which are super popular with indie polish makers at the moment. These cool polishes change colour in response to heat and cold. I’ve swatched a few in the past and occupied myself for a few too many hours with …
I’m a scented candle hoarder, and on my travels through the candle-buying world I often see claims that soy wax doesn’t produce soot. This is completely false. No fuel can, in and of itself, be “soot-free”. Here’s why: Riaan Badenhorst The technical term for burning is combustion – as well as fires, this includes the burning of petrol inside motor …
I’m sorry for the absence this past week – I’ve been busy! I rarely do personal posts, so bear with me this once while I explain myself (or skip ahead to tomorrow’s post if you hate this sort of thing). First off, I’ve finally graduated, which means I’m now officially Dr Muffin! Here I am in my pimping robes, with …
I’ve always wanted to do controlled comparisons of the eye makeup longevity, but there are lots of issues with actually conducting them on the eyes from a scientific perspective. First off, notice how one eye is usually harder to do than the other? That’s because most people only use their dominant hand, and therefore applying makeup differently from one eye …
In the beauty world, hydrogen peroxide is the bleaching agent par excellence. It whitens hair, nails and teeth as well as having a host of household uses. I’ll expand more on the chemistry behind how it works in a later post, but it’s the practical use of hydrogen peroxide in teeth whitening that will be the focus of this post. …
One of the most common things I’m asked is, “Does it matter what order I apply my moisturisers in?” Another is, “Why do you say mineral oil is a good moisturiser when it doesn’t contain anything that’s good for your skin?” The answer to both these questions lies in the concept of layering. The best type of layering. (Picture credit: Elin …
As a scientist whose PhD involved natural product synthesis and pharmacology (that’s where you get chemicals out of nature (plants, bacteria, marine sponges etc.) in the hopes that they’ll become, or lead to the development, of a useful drug one day), I find alternative medicine very interesting. While a LOT of it is hokum, designed to trap innocent people into …