What's in That Mascara - Christopher Drummond Offers Healthy Alternative

Video Still of La Raihna

Full disclosure: I am a fanatic of Christopher Drummond Beauty all organic paraben and toxin free make up line. In fact after using it I won't use anything else on my face. Why so fanatical you may ask? Hard won experience. It goes back to my modeling days in Paris in the days of casting calls. Before I had a "go see" for Dior, Kenzo, Balmain, CHANEL, Fendi or anyone else I was required to look my best. After all this was the era of the supermodel and Linda Evangelista, Emma, Karen Mulder, Iman, Sonia Cole, Nadege, Tyra, Helen Christensen and the rest were all living and working in the City of Lights! I put in hours of preparation from what I wore to my makeup and hair. And makeup was my least favorite part ordeal that it was. Trained by one of the best I could get away with no sloppiness. This meant standing in front of the bathroom mirror for a solid hour and a half putting on layers of makeup to achieve a flawless look. Starting with concealers, a liquid foundation, powder (2 layers), a layer of lipstick followed by a layer of powder to set it, followed by another layer of lipstick, blush, eye shadow, eye liner, eyebrows and finally mascara. Mascara the victory! Careful scrutiny was required to make sure I did not miss a spot, a layer, and the colors matched my own skin properly. Frankly, it was exhausting. More often than not I would be turned away in 60 seconds or less by a  disenchanted casting director who was staring past me at a sea of competitors. If only I had known about CDB's wonderful mineral makeup then I would have saved myself a lot of time, a lot of money and clogged pores.

Christopher Drummond in NYC

Introduced by a friend I met Chris back in 2006. Chris is passionate about makeup. Being a former model himself  having become dissatisfied with what was available on the market that either made him break out or didn't match his complexion, he began to deeply question just what was in the stuff. One day while having a casual conversation at a makeup counter the salesperson said to him "I bet you'd make a great makeup artist." and Voila! his new career was born. He came to me to do an in house demo and it was love at first application. His light mineral makeup was pretty and truly fashionable. It was easy to apply going on in minutes instead of an hour and looked completely natural! In fact Chris told me I could even sleep with his makeup on and I would be fine as the anti oxidants that it contained were actually good for my skin. Since then I have used Chris on many a photo shoot, video shoot and gala event. One thing Chris would always forget was the mascara though and we'd laugh as I'd have to remind him to put it on. But not anymore.

Don't Settle for Mercury in Your Mascara or Lashes Need Vitamins Too
Looking back on it now I think that Chris was forgetting to apply that mascara on me due to a deep aversion to toxins like mercury that is used in countless mascara products on the market. When you consider how toxic mercury is to the nervous system it gives one pause. I was gifted with his black version and love it. As Christopher says on his web site "This is one of our newest products that have been tested on working models and has proved to be smudge-proof, water-resistant and long wearing. Our formula utilizes a unique technology that combines silky smooth lash building with vitamins A, C & E, seaweed protein and algae extract." It also contains beeswax. As a working model I approve.
Tips: TreeHugger Article on Mercury in Mascara
Check out Eyes on CBD website for this and other organic cosmetics
Video still of Ekayani and The Healing Band by Kurt Ritta for the song "La Raihna" 2006.