Yuka – Why Am I Putting This On My Body?

On November 18, 2025November 18, 2025 By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

The other morning I watched my husband roll out of bed and get ready to leave the house in about five minutes. It takes me at least an hour to do the same thing. It started me thinking about the multitude of personal care products that perform part of my morning ritual. Are they really helping me to stay looking young and smelling fresh or do the multitude of chemicals that most of them contain cause me harm? I had recently read in a book about dementia prevention that coated dental floss, a product that I have used every day for thirty five years, contains chemicals, such as Teflon, that can contribute towards cognitive decline.

A friend called me and asked which foundation I use. I told her Estee Lauder Double Wear. She asked if I had the box. No, why was she asking? She said that her daughter had recommended an app called YUKA. The app enables you to scan barcodes for almost all your food and personal hygiene products. Yuka then provides a detailed breakdown of the ingredients and rates the product from 0-100 and uses terms such as Bad, Poor, Good and Excellent. The app then suggests more healthy alternatives. There is no advertising on Yuka and brands cannot pay to have their products recommended, the information the user gets is all derived from independent testing.

Within about thirty seconds of finishing speaking to my friend I had downloaded the app and was frantically scanning everything in sight. I must warn you, it is highly addictive.

Here is how my morning list, including my breakfast, scored. My dental floss had a bar code but wouldn’t scan unfortunately.

Marks and Spencer Restoring Hand Wash – Poor
Sanex Shower Gel – Good
Garnier Vitamin C Body Superfood- Good
Garnier Soothing Botanical Cleansing Lotion -Good
Coco Mademoiselle Deodorant – Bad
Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection Toothpaste -Poor
Corsodyl Daily Mouthwash – Bad
This Works Perfect Cleavage & neck Serum – Poor
John Frieda Pro-Filler Shampoo & Conditioner – Poor
Boots No 7 Restore & Renew Day Cream – Bad
Chanel Chance Eau Tendre EDT – Good
Manicurist Active Shine Illumine & Repare – Excellent
Marks and Spencer High Fibre Granola – Excellent
Vaseline Vanilla Daydream Lip Therapy – Poor

Now this long list does not even include my make up products. As most cosmetic products are boxed, the bar code does not appear on the product itself . I did scan my new Charlotte Tilbury lip liner which scored 11/100 – Bad. My friend is going to take herself off to John Lewis or somewhere similar and scan the various foundations. YUKA will also suggest alternative products as she does this. She has already switched shampoo to Ogx Thick & Full Collagen shampoo which scored 79/100 and a rating of Excellent. I noticed that Garnier products scored highly so I may try one of their tinted moisturisers. Also, the Seoulsista serum infused masks that I often use both on my face and hands scored as Good. You can buy these in Oliver Bonas along with the Manicurist range of nail products (score, Excellent) . My expensive Chanel deodorant, that I bought by mistake thinking it was my usual body spray, was disappointing and joining this as worst of the bunch was my Boots No 7 moisturiser that scored 0/100, especially annoying as I have just purchased a new jar.

My husband and son have eczema so I have always been careful in my choices when buying personal hygiene products for them but have never given much thought to the chemicals in my own make up, body lotions or shampoos. With, YUKA, it is easy to make more informed decisions about what we are putting in and on our bodies. I am going to take it to the supermarket to tweak my weekly food shop. YUKA is a free app, although a premium version is available, so there is no excuse not to get scanning.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

Makeup Bag and Cosmetics Refresh

On July 20, 2024July 20, 2024 By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

For my recent birthday a friend gave me a pretty new make up bag from one of my favourite shops, Oliver Bonas. It has taken pride of place on my dressing table and replaced the Clarins freebie that I have been using for years. It also provided a good opportunity for me to go through my cosmetics and throw away some of the embarrassingly ancient, and probably horribly unhygienic, items. I have used the same Nars blusher everyday for about six years and it pained me to throw it away but even the case was falling apart. My optician told me that, in an ideal world, mascara should be replaced every six weeks because of the bacteria that accumulate with each use, definitely time to bin my antique Estee Lauder. I also got rid of my Clinique eyeliners, most of which had lost their caps, and replaced them with one from Lancome in a shade called Bronze. The Lancome is very creamy, easy to blend and the shade is flattering.

I also received a Clarins bronzer as a gift in the lightest shade they sell. I have never used bronzer before. I am very pale and have always thought it would just look too orange on me. I’m also not really sure how to apply it, I had to watch a YouTube video by Ali Andreea, a stunningly beautiful make up artist, to find out. Her tutorials make everything look easy and it is tempting to buy all of the high-end products she uses. The Clarins bronzer is comprised of two shades and the darker colour is definitely too deep for me so half of the product will go to waste. The lighter shade is pretty though when sparingly applied and I like the matte finish. I did buy another Nars blusher though so I am good for six more years!

I have also been trying out This Works Perfect Cleavage & Neck Serum I am not a fan of the fragrance but the product is lovely to use and easily absorbed. My neck feels well moisturised but not sticky after use. Like the rest of the planet, I spend too much time looking at a screen and am keen to avoid the dreaded “tech neck” and hopefully this may help. I have a This Works Stress Check Mood Manager spray in my home office for days when my work email inbox is filling up faster than I can empty it, it’s actually surprisingly effective and the fragrance is beautiful. I will be trying more products from this brand.

So, some successful and much appreciated gifts. Pretty things may not be important but they do make life that little bit nicer.

Thank you for reading

Samantha

M.A.C. Mineralize Skinfinish Powder & Wet ‘n’ Wild Colour Icon Lipliner

On March 13, 2024 By samanthaIn HEALTHLeave a comment

My daughter bought me this M.A.C. powder for Christmas after I dropped my brand new Clinique compact and had tried to salvage the contents by mixing the broken up powder with surgical spirit as per a YouTube tutorial . It worked perfectly but my face smelled of newly-pierced ears which wasn’t exactly pleasant. Sometimes you just have to admit defeat!

I don’t believe I have ever used a M.A.C. product before, I always find the sales assistants slightly intimidating and their beauty counters are always so busy that it is difficult to browse. I also perceive it to be a brand for younger women. They sell a variety of face powders offering different coverage and finishes. SkinFinish powder, currently £27.70, comes in a black plastic, domed compact which seems unnecessarily chunky and looks a bit cheap in my opinion. There is a very small mirror inside. Annoyingly there is no applicator at all. The powder is best applied with a brush but I did buy a couple of velour powder puff applicators from Boots for about £1.50 and I wonder why M.A.C. don’t include something like this.

I have to say that SkinFinish is the second best best pressed powder I have ever used, my all-time favourite being Lancome’s Dual Finish which appears to have been discontinued. The M.A.C. powder is very flattering on my skin. I have the shade Light. It isn’t at all chalky and just a tiny amount provides excellent, lasting coverage with a slightly dewy finish. I am seriously impressed. I would suggest, if you have skin that gets a little oily throughout the day, then another, more matte, powder in the range may be a better choice.

I purchased the Wet ‘n’ Wild lipliner purely because I needed to make a tiny purchase to qualify for free delivery on an Amazon Prime order This product was £1,75 and has turned out to be one of my favourite beauty purchases in years. The shade, Brandy Wine, is a tiny bit darker that my natural lip colour and I just fill in my entire lips with a very light layer and then go over the top with some lip balm, usually Burt’s Bees. The colour lasts for hours and looks very natural. The lipliner pencil is very long and I can’t imagine needing to replace it for years. A bargain!