I nearly fell out of my chair.

Darling readers, I feel it is my duty to inform you: Despite what 9 out of 10 dermatologists say, Cetaphil is the devil. It may look harmless and smell harmless but by golly it’s craptastic. One plastic jug contains just eight ingredients: water, cetyl alcohol, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, stearyl alcohol, methylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben. Everything but the water is chemically manufactured, and propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate, and three (three!) parabens are potentially cancer-causing. Which means, there is not a single beneficial ingredients in this cleanser. So what’s a girl to do? Step one: Put your  Cetaphil in the trash. Step two: Pick up a natural, inexpensive alternative. Two of my favorites: Suki Sensitive Skin Cleansing Bar ($11.95 ) and Yes to Cucumbers Towelettes ($5.99). What are some of yours?

For more depressing data on Cetaphil, check out this fantastic reporting from Well + Good NYC.

xoxo
Bets

Recession be damned, there’s never a dull moment in Beauty. 2011 was the best of times (stricter sunscreen regulations) and the worst of times (feather hair extensions). We cheered when Kate Middleton did her own wedding makeup, and gaped at Lady Gaga’s wigs and moles. But that was then, and this is now. With the help of a few industry insiders, I recently shared my beauty predictions for the year ahead with the Star Tribune.

Anything else you’d like to add? Please don’t say kool-aid highlights.

Happy Friday! It’s a big, chilly, cray-cray day here in BB land, as I head to Seattle on my next big hail life adventure. It’s true what they say: When one door closes, another one opens (cue angels singing). I’ll be working for Nordstrom, writing about two of my favorite topics, beauty and fashion. I’m a lucky girl. I’m also super sad to leave so many amazing people and the city I’ve called home for more than a decade. Minneapolis is the BEST. The good news is that this is not goodbye! I’ll be commuting home most weekends until we can fully relocated, and I’ll still be blogging away right here, as will my girls. Beauty Bets has become quite the cross-country initiative. That said, if you live in Seattle or know someone lovely who does, please introduce us! I can always be reached at elizabeth {at} beautybets {dot} com

xoxo
Bets

It’s already mid-January—have you made your beauty resolutions yet? Don’t worry, I took the liberty of making a few for you over on my blog for J.R. Watkins. I’ve been working on getting more sleep. So far, not so good. Check out the other nine resolutions right here, and be sure to keep me posted on your progress!

Here’s to a lovely weekend,
Bets

I have a love-hate relationship with Facebook. I love keeping in touch with friends and family who I wouldn’t otherwise connect with on a regular basis. I also love it for information-sharing—like when I need a recipe for lobster mac and cheese, or when one of you has a question about the best mascara or where to get your hair colored. And the photos! So much fun. But I hate that Facebook has replaced good old-fashioned communication and—god forbid—actual human contact. It’s passive and impersonal. Don’t even get me started on the people who announce major life events and sensitive news on FB. It wasn’t that long ago that the same person would’ve picked up the phone to tell me they were engaged/pregnant/sick. I don’t want to find out these things along with 467 other people, many of whom you haven’t talked to since high school. Even email is better than Facebook because at least there’s intention behind it. Finally, there’s the noise that Facebook creates, distracting us from real, live moments. How can we be mindful when we’re toggling between work and Facebook, vacation and Facebook, dinner with the love of our life and Facebook? DON’T GET ME WRONG: I adore Facebook in moderation. It’s an utterly genius invention. But I was gripped, affirmed, and depressed by this Huff Po editorial about how it’s making us miserable, and wondered if any of you feel the same way?

Happy Monday, y’all! Is everyone sufficiently back in the saddle after last week?

I was still feeling a bit strung out despite a super relaxing holiday, so headed over to Spot Spa in NE Minneapolis for a Grounding Treatment ($60/1 hr): Foot soak, salt scrub, and a full 15 min of reflexology while lying on a bed of hot stones brought me back down to earth.

Confirmed: Dairy and sugar cause acne. Not that there was any doubt. (Well + Good NYC)

Dani chatted up Kate Walsh about her favorite fragrance and ours, Boyfriend.

Emma Stone makes me want red hair and a blue dress—bad. Also note how well the red lipstick works. (We Heart It)

Eye Candy: 2011 Red Carpet Hits and Misses (NY Times)

My horoscopes have never been so spot-on since stumbling upon the AstroTwins. Yes, I believe in this stuff.

FTW: It’s a Brad Brad World, tonight on Bravo. Brad and his gem of a partner Gary (an exec producer on Will & Grace, no less) banter like a witty old married couple.

Totes going to try Rachel McAdams’ easy, overnight trick for beach waves (US Weekly)

What happens when a style + body image expert, sex educator and wellness coach team up? Women take over the world. (Strong, Sexy, Stylish)

Further proof that the Clarisonic is da bomb, and those knock-offs are not (WSJ)

Here’s to more makeunders in 2012. (xojane)

Happy New Year! I just know it’s going to be a good one. For anyone who’s made resolutions or mental notes to create a more challenging/inspiring/joyful career—or just find contentment with the one you’ve got—this Forbes article is for YOU. I wish I’d read it 10 years ago when I was miserable because I thought I’d never figure out my “purpose” in life or find my “dream job.” The former will always be a work-in-progress, as it should be, and the latter doesn’t really exist—and I’m okay with that. Because the goal is to enjoy the process, and find peace with wherever you are RIGHT NOW. That might sound impossible if you feel stuck or miserable, but these 10 steps to happiness at work will radically improve your outlook. Not that I’ve mastered them. Hardly! But I’ve felt the effects, and return to the article again and again whenever I get in a rut. I truly hope it does the same for you!

Resolutions get such a bad wrap—usually because they’re incredibly lofty and we lose steam before February rolls around. I pretty much stopped making resolutions because doing so usually feels like I’m setting myself up for failure. But unlike losing 10 pounds, giving up sugar or running a marathon, beauty resolutions are totally doable—and FUN. Especially when the girls over at Birchbox get the brilliant idea to interview industry experts about their 2012 beauty/health/wellness resolutions. It’s not only a total honor to be included with the likes Teen Vogue’s Eva Chen and Well+Good’s Melissa Gelula, but a gift to slow down and really think about how I can treat my body and spirit better. Hop on over to Birchbox to read about my beauty resolutions, then please share your own. What will you do for yourself in the coming year?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
–Bets

There’s only one day a year that I will ever ask you to give more than your brightness and energy to this blog, and today’s the day! Wilderness Inquiry, the Twin Cities nonprofit that provides outdoor experiences for people of all backgrounds and abilities, needs just 300 new donors to receive a $30,000 grant. It’s participation that counts, which means that if every one of you donated just ONE DOLLAR, Wilderness Inquiry would reach its goal. If the great outdoors have enriched your life as they have Mr. Bets’ and mine, please consider giving here to this life-changing organization.

As an added incentive, everyone who donates to Wilderness Inquiry will be entered in a giveaway for my guy gift pick of the year: Boscia Revitalizing Black Hydration Gel ($38). It’s cooling, hydrating, soothing, and literally black thanks to oil-absorbing, pore-refining charcoal. This post-shave treat has MAN written all over it. If you’ve got one on your holiday shopping list, or want to do a good deed for the day, please DONATE HERE and leave your name below. I’ll announce the winner on Monday, just in time to get you the goods before Christmas!

Gratefully,
Bets