LÉ Blog

Back in fall 2019, we wrote a blog post on CBD in skincare when it was all the rage. During the early days of Covid lockdowns, it really felt like there was a new CBD miracle serum or oil every other week. Even now in spring of 2023, there are still a lot of questions and mystique around this ingredient. So it’s time to revisit CBD and see just what CBD does in skincare, if there are any new clinical studies that have come out on topical CBD, just who might benefit from CBD skincare, and how ...

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We always talk a lot about the value of clinical tests in skincare and how helpful they can be in making a purchasing decision. Needless to say, we're doing celebratory dances over here because we finally completed our first clinical, designed with all the bells & whistles that we wanted. After 12 weeks of testing our Double Play Retinol Eye & Face Treatment, we’re excited to finally share the results. This has truly evolved into one of our more elaborate projects that took 2+ years to formul...

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In this (packed!) blog post: Ingredient Sourcing: a closer look at palm oil A Brand's Carbon Footprint Sustainable Packaging (plastic, glass, aluminum) Key Takeaways References Here at Chemist Confessions, we don’t avoid complex or loaded topics. And there are few topics as complex and as loaded as sustainability. The difficulty in coming up with solutions for a global problem with so many moving parts and people involved is enough to boggle even the brightest minds. Even if we were just addr...

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In this blog post: Headlines or Clickbait? Real life vs. Laboratory Conditions What we know today - Truth isn't always satisfying Key Takeaways References for your... Reference Every year, as things start to heat up, our thoughts turn once again to sunscreen. What SPF do I need? Mineral or chemical? Is this going to make me stickier than an ice cream on a hot day? How much should I use? (Hey Tiktok, it’s more than 2 fingers’ worth.) To add to the noise, sunscreen often gets caught in the cros...

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*As of Earth Day 2021 As creatures of this planet and lovers of animals we can’t help but feel a slight sense of impending doom when you think about the state of Mother Earth and global warming. The good news is that sustainability is a major topic in the cosmetic industry and we don’t see this initiative going away anytime soon (partially in thanks to you the knowledgeable consumer *clap clap clap). So with that, let’s open up this big can of worms and do a general update on the skincare ind...

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Our podcast episode 20 covered the troublesome world of botanicals… and why we chemists have a tough time talking about this group. But in case our silly humor and amateur podcast style isn’t your style (we’re working on it! promise!), we took to a blog article to highlight some of the ingredients we covered in the episode! Why Botanicals are a Difficult Topic First of all, there… are… just… so many botanicals. Hundreds of ingredients and each promising to be “so soothing, with so much antiox...

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We often remind people that regardless of what you read on the interwebs (yes! Even here), always remember to listen to your skin. Unfortunately, sometimes it feels like your skin is speaking pig latin. So how the hell do you really know your skincare is working for you? And real talk… how long is it supposed to take for you to see results? All great questions, and it turns out, different product types have different evaluation criteria. So let’s walk through some skin product evaluation guid...

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Whether you are a skincare newbie or skincare junkie, you’re bound to hear about peptides. It’s that exotic ingredient that shows up in your anti-aging creams and serums that usually comes with a stinging price tag. Yet even for this fancy, seemingly high-tech ingredient category you’ll still have to avoid some duds. The reality is as chemists, you can synthesize a gajillion different peptides out there but very few actually do anything for the skin. So how do you as a consumer know? We proba...

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For 2021, we made a goal to flush out our expert series. Let’s be real, we can answer all things skincare (minus pregnancy questions), but you’ve also got questions about hair and makeup too. For our first 2021 expert, we’re bringing out the big guns with our friend @cosmetic_chemist, haircare chemist and the cohost of the Beauty Brains podcast Valerie George. The Beauty Brains happens to be one of the OG cosmetic chemists blogs, and provides a wealth of knowledge on cosmetic chemistry, espec...

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Do thermal water sprays really work? Does spritzing that magical hot spring water provide any proven skin benefits? Should I go with Avene or La Roche Posay thermal water? These are just a few of the questions we have gotten about thermal water based skin mists. We’ll admit, before our friends asked about decoding thermal waters, it wasn’t a topic we really thought much about. Some of the concepts and outrageous claims that came with them felt like it had BS all over it. We even ran a quick i...

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