Breast Cancer Awareness Beauty Products 2014

Is it just me or are the Christmas launches and advertisements coming out WAY early this year? I have several items to review for the holidays, and I actually feel behind. It’s not even Halloween yet! Everything seemed to start coming out for the holidays in September this year. Another reason to celebrate in October, besides with Halloween of course, is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Everything is pink this month. I even drove by Kohl’s the other day and they changed their signage to bright pink. How fun is that! I love it when brands I already love hop on board in support of a great cause.

press samples, affiliate links

Since pink is one of my favorite colors, I am always excited when beauty products come out to help raise awareness of Breast Cancer. I have some great selections here from California Baby, Essie, Kenra, Smashbox, and Arcona.

I’ve already tried and am a fan of Arcona’s Magic Dry Ice (seriously, my review will be up soon after MONTHS of using it…having a baby and house back to back has really slowed me down) and this is really similar! Both are AM/PM hydrators, Dry Ice is for dry skin, and the Magic Pink Ice is for all skin types. This product will moisturize with cranberry complex, hyaluronic acid and mucopolysaccharides; neutralize free radicals with beta-carotene, vitamins B-5, C and E; and clarify skin with anti-microbial totara extract and grapefruit complex. The Ice serums work amazingly and are very hydrating. No breakouts and fresh, supple skin is what you have to look forward to here.

Arcona donates 25% for each Magic Pink Ice sold to Cancer and Careers.

Kenra, one of my fave haircare brands is offering some of their best products for Breast Cancer Awareness. Kenra’s Super Hold Finishing Spray provides the maximum volume and hold possible that is available in their line of products. It holds hair for up to 120 hours, has 24 hour high humidity resistance, is wind resistant up to 25 mph, flake-free, and fast-drying. Wow! Not hard to see why this is a cult favorite. I never go 120 hours without getting my hair wet, but for how well it will keep hair after 2-3 days of not washing it, I’m sold! It doesn’t leave me tangly, it doesn’t get crunchy, and it doesn’t get build-up and flaky all over the place. Hair spray isn’t an every day thing for me but when I use it, I always reach for this gem!

Proceeds from the BCA Kenra spray will be going to the Rapunzel Project.

I’ve always seen California Baby products at Target but I’ve never reached for them. Now that I know what I’ve been missing out on, I will never be without! My two year old has been super cranky lately. It’s the terrible twos combined with our new addition I’m sure. I’m discovering a great way to help her unwind and that is with an aromatherapy bath. Last night, I ran her a bubble bath with the California Baby I Love You Bubble Bath. She was super crabby, but the temper faded after I showed her that her new bubble bath had ACTUAL BUBBLE WANDS in the bottle. If you don’t know my daughter, she is obsessed with blowing bubbles. She wasn’t even fully undressed and flung herself into the tub. When I am trying to get my kid into the bath, pajamas, and bed, I will take any help I can get. She was all over the idea of blowing bubbles in the tub. I love the ingredients and the scent is ylang ylang and sweet orange. I also love that is safe for newborns and up, so I can use it on our newbie! 

Also, if you don’t know my girl, she is a total girlie girl. She is obsessed with everything I do. I have my morning routine, and she has it down pat. I will put my contacts in and when I’m done, she’ll fake putting her contacts in. I wash my hands, she will want to wash hers. I put lotion on, and she wants it. I will sometimes squeeze lotion onto one of her hands and she insists to have it in both hands. She loves the California Baby I Love You Everyday Lotion. It’s a really lotion with a really light scent (the same as the bubble bath) and we all can use it! Her other favorite from the line if the California Baby I Love You Massage Oil. If she is having a hard time sleeping, I will sometimes give her a full body massage. I think the combination of the soothing aromatherapy and the massage helps her sleep like a rock. I won’t say a baby, because we all know how babies sleep- not much! It’s lightweight, has that awesome sweet orange scent, and it’s non greasy. In fact, I just put her down and gave her a massage, and came back to my computer to type this up after. My hands are lightly moisturized, not greasy!

A portion of the proceeds from the California Baby I Love You products go to the California Baby Breast Cancer Research program.

Essie is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness with some gorgeous nail polish shades. i pink i can is a gorgeous pastel pink. It was only slightly streaky after one coat, so in the pictures below, I applied two coats. pinking about you is a lovely speckled pink top coat. I am wearing two coats of that as well. It is slightly gritty in texture so may want to apply a clear top coat over it. pink happy is my absolute favorite of the bunch and applied opaque in one coat. I applied another anyway because I was loving how great it went on! My pinky shows one coat of pink happy followed by a coat of pinking of you.

Essie’s 2014 Breast Cancer Awareness collection benefits Breast Cancer Research at City of Hope.

Smashbox and Shiseido are also in on the fun with some pretty lippie shades. A limited edition shade of Smashbox Be Legendary Lip Gloss in the shade Promise has been created. It has a gorgeous glittery sheen in one swipe. You can feel the glitter a bit when you rub your lips together but it’s really pretty and would look great layered over a lipstick. 

Smashbox Cosmetics is donating $5 from the purchase of every Be Legendary Lip Gloss in Promise to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

Shiseido’s Lacquer Rouge in PK 430 Dollface is a gorgeous light gloss that is long wearing, hydrating, and comfortable on the lips. It’s a liquid lipstick and perfect for the cold months because the formula doesn’t cling to the dry patches I tend to get on my lips! 

During the month of October, Shiseido will donate $5 from every purchase of Dollface to CEW Foundation’s Cancer and Careers. 

Dollface, Promise

I’ve heard a lot of people mention that they didn’t like to support Breast Cancer Awareness month by buying beauty products because most companies don’t give a big enough percentage of donation. To that I say, it’s probably true that companies could give more, but isn’t it great that they are giving something at all? How much have you given? Every penny counts.

This month, every time I have gone to the local grocery store they have asked me if I wanted to round my grocery total up to the next dollar amount to donate to breast cancer. Several other times I’ve been asked to donate $1 or more to support the cause. Without even really meaning to, I’ve probably given $10-20 to the cause this month. I wish they always asked me to round my grocery total up and donate some odd cents. I’m certain that if they did this every day, there would be thousands of dollars donated a month and people wouldn’t even notice the dent in their pocket books.

This is the view out my window in my kitchen right now. It’s the beautiful month of October and I don’t want it to ever end! I am so blessed to have my health and to be able to enjoy the gorgeous weather and my new home. When I think about raising awareness for cancer, I think about my own beautiful family and how I hope that I can spend as long of a time with them as possible on this earth. I hope if you are going to buy beauty products anyway this month, that you buy something that supports a great cause, whatever that may be.

Even if you don’t buy beauty products, try to pass along kindness in some way or another. Last Friday, the person in front of me at Starbucks paid for my coffee as a random act of kindness, so I paid for the person behind me. It’s a small gesture, but the person in front of me made my morning, and I wanted to pass along the good feeling. 

Will you be picking up any BCA products? I’ve compiled a little collage of these and other BCA products that I am loving right now. Let me know in the comments if you have a favorite!