Victoria Beckham skin, Kiehls, anti-aging products and the oldest beauty brands – episode 217

Perry Romanowski (0:00)

Hi, I'm Perry, and you're listening to The Beauty Brains.

Hello, and welcome to The Beauty Brains, a show where real cosmetic chemists answer your beauty product questions and give you an insider's look at the cosmetic industry. This is episode 217 I'm your host, Perry Romanowski, and with me is a special guest, Valerie George. Hello, Valerie.

Valerie George (0:31)

Hi, Perry, at least you didn't call me Randy.

Perry Romanowski (0:36)

That's a good point.

Valerie George (0:37)

It's an inside joke, guys.

Perry Romanowski (0:40)

So is the special guest. Hey, if you are a PR person and you want to contact The Beauty Brains, we're actually co-hosts.

Valerie George (0:48)

And my name is Valerie, not Randy.

Perry Romanowski (0:50)

That's right.

So on today's show, we're going to be answering questions about whether Kiehls Eye Alert products actually helps make the eyes look better, what the best product to use to avoid breakouts and have anti-aging benefits are, what we think about the technology of the new Victoria Beckham line, and what we think is the oldest beauty product on the market today. And of course, we also have some beauty science news too. But before we get to that, I haven't seen you in a while, Valerie. How are things going with this big lockdown?

Valerie George (1:26)

Oh, same old. We just got news that we're extended another couple weeks in Los Angeles to May 15th.

Perry Romanowski (1:35)

Wow.

Valerie George (1:36)

So not going to get my hopes up. I think it will go later than that.

Perry Romanowski (1:39)

Yeah, well, at least you have that nice warm weather. Today was 30 degrees in Chicago. It was snowing.

Valerie George (1:45)

Oh my gosh, that's terrible. Well, it was a gorgeous day in Los Angeles today. I actually did have to run an errand for work. I had to go pick up some fragrant samples that arrived from the lab. And I just remember looking up at the sky with the warm sun hitting my face and saying, man, today is a gorgeous day.

Perry Romanowski (2:04)

And I remember being in LA in January. That was nice.

Valerie George (2:09)

It's pretty nice. That's why I moved here.

Perry Romanowski (2:11)

You know, Valerie, I was taking a peek at your little Instagram account, which you're building up very nicely. What are you, cosmetic underscore chemist or something like that?

Valerie George (2:21)

Yes, I am. And for those of you guys who don't follow me, I basically just post stuff about what it's like to be a cosmetic chemist and different areas that cosmetic chemists touch. And I also sometimes frequently discuss my obsession with coffee.

Perry Romanowski (2:38)

Well, it was that obsession with coffee which got me thinking. You know, I saw that Insta story you mentioned about cleaning your lab equipment, and you put in there that you obsessively clean your coffee maker every time you use it.

And then that prompted me to look into, I use this, I make tea. I'm not a coffee person, I drink tea. But I use this hot water heater, and it's an electric thing, you fill the water up.

Valerie George (3:05)

An electric kettle, sure.

Perry Romanowski (3:06)

Something like that, yeah.

Valerie George (3:07)

Those are great.

Perry Romanowski (3:08)

Yeah, and I love it. And then I looked in there, and it's like all this green crud in there.

Valerie George (3:15)

Oh, wow.

Perry Romanowski (3:16)

I haven't cleaned it ever. So what do you think that green crud is, and how do you clean that out?

Valerie George (3:20)

Well, typically when you have scale buildup, it's actually white in color, and it is essentially just the elements in the water, the calcium, the magnesium, essentially forming a lime crust on the metal material. If it's green, part of me is thinking some sort of mildew, but it could actually be copper that has precipitated from some elements, either in your house water or from the actual instrument itself. But the copper, if it is copper, has encrusted in the scale and formed a patina.

Perry Romanowski (3:55)

Yeah, I gotta figure it's copper. It's not mildew or anything.

Yeah. My wife told me that I have to wash it.

Valerie George (4:05)

Yeah, well, I think once elements exist in the water, it's just natural. Or when you're using an instrument like an electronic, excuse me, electric tea kettle, it is important to maintain it. And typically when you descale, you can use a vinegar and water solution.

And you would just essentially throw some vinegar with water, boil it in the kettle, let it sit, boil it a second time, and then pour it out. And some of that scale buildup should come out.