Adventures in Chemistry: Beer!

Posted on April 19, 2012 by The Elixery

Last night, I had the opportunity to tour Summit Brewing Company with a bunch of other local cosmetic chemists. I met some really cool people, including a new chemist that just moved to town from India, and also a scientist that creates another local brand’s lipstick colors. It was interesting talking a little shop with folks, and it makes me grateful that we don’t have a marketing department that decides our formulas based on a marketing plan. (Heads up to marketers: What you’re asking for isn’t always chemically possible, or feasible, or stable!)

When I arrived for the social hour, I tried a Summit Pilsener , made in the traditional style with Saaz hops, just like the old-fashioned Czech version. As I wandered around the room, I came across this letter on the wall would make any small business owner laugh:

Good advice to any small business owner: You have to be a little bit crazy!

It was fun to see the inside of the brewery and learn how beer is made on an industrial scale. I didn’t get too many pictures, but I did capture a few:

The industrial scale copper kettles that start the process of beer making

Fermentation tanks: Where the magic is made

Bottling lines: They start with a vacuum, then CO2, then another vacuum, then more CO2...

 

The Kegging Room

In case of a zombie apocalypse, the entrance fee to hide in Summit's beer cooler is a bag of pretzels

Beer factoid: We’ve all heard that heating and cooling beer repeatedly causes it to “skunk” (or, in chemistry terms, “oxidize.”) But this isn’t true at all: It’s only the heat that’s a problem, not the cold. This is obvious to a cosmetic chemist, because that’s one way we stability test our products: The longer the product is exposed to elevated heat, the faster it ages–so by exposing your product to elevated temperatures for a few weeks, you can age it a year. So, if you want to keep your beer (or your cosmetics) fresher, keep them nice and cool, and they’ll last longer.

Skol!

Posted in Chemistry

Name our lipsticks and win a free tube!

Posted on December 20, 2011 by The Elixery

Who are those gentle poets that invent all of those fun names for colors? Well, this time, it could be you!

For our last show, we mixed up a couple of new colors at the eleventh hour, but we didn’t name them. Naming lipstick is the most fun part of this job, but every now and then we save the fun for our fans, to give you a chance to express your poetic side. The colors are both on the sheer side–one is a dusty rose, and the other is a peachy nude. Also, if your name suggestion is chosen, you’ll win a free tube of lipstick of your choice from The Elixery.

If you’re in the Twin Cities, you can actually go see and swatch these colors at June. If you live far away, that’s fine, too–just enter right here to win. Ready?

Ok, here are the rules:

1. “Like” us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter to be eligible.

2. Send us your name suggestion using the form below. Good luck!

The contest is closed

Posted in Contests and Promotions | Tagged

Our Lab

Posted on December 10, 2011 by The Elixery

A customer told me recently that she drove all over the place looking for our store. Apparently, our address is listed somewhere on the internet, and one of those random Internet indexes told her it was a retail outlet. She couldn’t find it–all she found was a large building full of laboratories, catering kitchens, and art studios. Yup, that’s us–it’s our lab! (We don’t have a store here, sorry.)

Like most laboratories, our lab isn’t open to the public. But we are in a cool building, and we thought this would be a good opportunity to show you where we do our work.

This building used to be the General Mills Research Laboratories, from the 1930′s to the 1970′s. It was purchased and turned into a business incubator by physical chemist Larry Homstad, owner of American Thin Films. Larry’s laboratory is down the hall from mine, where young scientists operate strange machines late into the night. I know that, because I’m often here late into the night, operating strange machines of my own.

Back in the day (c. 1930)

So, what’s so special about this place? Well, for starters, Cheerios were invented here (originally called “Cheerioats.”) This was a revolutionary process that involved shooting the cereal through a specialized cannon. I wish I could find a picture of the Cheerio cannon, but I think it might be lost to time.

The original Cheerios ("Cheerioats")

Another legendary fact about this building is that it was the birthplace of America’s Favorite Homemaker, Betty Crocker. Betty was apparently dreamed up in an office here, and her test kitchens were the stuff of legend. The test kitchens are now home to catering companies.

Betty's public image...

 

...Betty's lovely test kitchen...

...and Betty behind the scenes

Now, this building is the proud home of many small, indie brands you might have seen in your hometown:

Artisan Chocolatier BT McElrath

Visit BT McElrath to shop for handmade artisan chocolates

Chronic for cats. For real. Yeowww!

Visit DuckyWorld to shop for handmade catnip toys (our cats fight over them)

Lucille's Kitchen Garden - Cooking Light Winner!

Visit Lucille’s Kitchen Garden to shop for delicious handmade jams

So if you’re looking for unique, indie handmade products, these people are awesome. Check them out!

Posted in Indie Love

Maiden Minnesota – November 3rd

Posted on October 24, 2011 by The Elixery

Posted in Uncategorized

A Treat for Fall–Champagne, shopping, makeup, and prizes at Fashion’s Night Out

Posted on September 6, 2011 by The Elixery

This gorgeous weather is putting me in the mood for boots, jackets and sweaters. I’m getting excited for the apple harvest, the pumpkin pie, the cozy nights with a hot drink, and the slight chill in the air. Ah, Fall.

It’s hard to be inside on a day like today, but we’re doing our final prep today to launch our Fall 2011 lip collection at June on Fashion’s Night Out, Thursday September 8th. There are four new colors being added to our line, and we’ve worked to make them both on trend and flattering for a variety of complexions. In the lineup is a deep jewel-toned ruby red, a rich coffee brown–sheer enough to be lovely on a variety of skin tones–and a perfect sheer nude that we’re sure you’re going to love to pieces. And, of course, our sheer purple, which one of YOU is going to name! Come on out and see what’s hot this year for fashion and makeup.

In honor of the fall spirit, we’ve decided to give away some great prizes at the event, like our delightful Lilu Shimmer Veil, a face-brightening iridescent powder designed for the runway by pro makeup artist Ashley Kilcher. June will also be giving away a $25 gift card to help you get a start building your cozy fall wardrobe. We’ll be on hand for questions ranging from color selection to your off-the-wall questions about cosmetic chemistry, as well as show you how to use the Lilu Shimmer Veil and other cosmetic treats.

Vintage City Classics will also be there with jewels and hairpieces to complement your look, to help you dazzle this season.

Come have a glass of bubbly with us, and find the perfect new item for your fall wardrobe at this amazing little gem of a store. Looking forward to meeting you!

Posted in Uncategorized

Special offer for our Facebook fans: Name our lipstick and win a free tube!

Posted on September 3, 2011 by The Elixery

Contest@We just got done with our fall lipstick collection, and it will be debuting at June on Fashion’s Night Out on September 8, 2011. We were in the process of coming up with names, when we thought: How about letting our fans name a lipstick? After all, naming lipstick is one of the coolest parts of this job, so if you’ve ever been one of those people who wishes you could secure your spot in makeup history by naming a color, now’s your chance! On top of that, you’ll win a free stick of lipstick of your choice (value $18) if yours is the winning name. How cool is that?

To enter, you must be a fan of The Elixery on Facebook.

Contest ends Midnight Wednesday, September 7th, and we’ll announce your winning names on Facebook. Then, we’ll rush to get the sticks labeled with your fancy name, so they’re ready to go at June!

BONUS: If you’re in the Twin Cities area, we have an even cooler deal: Attend our fall collection launch at June, you’ll can enter to win a Lilu Shimmer Veil (value $16) or a $25 Gift card from June. The Fashion’s Night Out event at June is September 8 from 6 – 9 pm. (June is located at 3406 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55409)

Happy Naming!

Love,

The Elixery Crew

You must be a fan of The Elixery on Facebook to be eligible for the prize.

This contest is closed

Posted in Contests and Promotions

Soundtown Recap

Posted on August 25, 2011 by The Elixery

The Elixery crew had a good time at Soundtown Music Festival in Somerset, Wisconsin. Many Twin Cities artisans were asked to participate–we ran into Vintage City Classics and Larissa Loden and saw a whole lot of new faces as well. Our booth on the top of the hill overlooked the amphitheater, and the sound and view was perfect. Elixery photographer Stella Svec took some amazing shots around the festival–below are some highlights:

The ultimate upcycling: Danielle paints part of the old Metrodome roof, which was stretched like canvas for a festival art project.

Jen from VCC mixes her own lipstick at the booth

As night fell on Saturday, Stella headed to the press pit to get some photos of Devotchka and The Flaming Lips.

We danced to the wild gypsy strains of Devotchka…

…and watched in amazement as The Flaming Lips began their spectacle…

 

 

All in all, a magical show. We had so much fun meeting all of you!

Posted in Events

Ask a Chemist: Do you swallow 4 pounds of lipstick?

Posted on August 8, 2011 by The Elixery
A light snack.

A light snack.

We’ve all heard it: “Did you know that the average woman eats 4 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime?” This is usually followed by an admonishment that you should purchase a certain product, or stop purchasing a product, or just be generally grossed out. It certainly doesn’t sound very appetizing. But where did this idea come from, and is there some truth to it?

The first recorded reference of this claim occurred in Glamour Magazine’s June 2002 “Beauty Quickie Tip,” where an unnamed staff writer made the urban legend hall of fame by randomly stating the 4 pound figure. This has been quoted and misquoted, changed to 6 pounds, 9 pounds, and other figures like 5.65 pounds (because the decimal points apparently add credibility) and 4.5 kg (which is roughly equal to 10 pounds). Magazines, experts, well-meaning friends, sales reps, and party-poopers all have their own version of this mathematical certainty. So who is right?

Er, nobody.

The good folks at Snopes have debunked this myth, and beauty writer Lisa Herz has also done a nice breakdown of the math for us:
=========================================

  • A lipstick bullet (the actual lipstick part of the lipstick) weighs anywhere from 2.5 to 4.3 grams. So let’s use an average weight of 3.4 grams.
  • 28.35 grams in an ounce means 8.34 lipsticks to an ounce.
  • 16 ounces in a pound means 133.44 lipsticks to a pound.
  • Four pounds of lipstick translates to 533.76 lipsticks

==========================================

That doesn’t mean 533.76 swipes of lipstick. It actually means that you chowed down on the whole tube, down to the nub, to the tune of 533.76 sticks. No blotting, no throwing a tube away, and none can come off on a cup.

So, no, you do not eat four pounds of lipstick. Well, unless you want to–I’m sure we’ve got some R&D sticks around the lab you can snack on. ;)

Got a question for a chemist? Drop us a line!

Posted in Uncategorized

The Chemistry of Nature: Blueberries

Posted on July 22, 2011 by The Elixery

It’s blueberry season in Minnesota, so I went blueberry picking with Carol from The Temple of Pie. It was nice to be out of the laboratory and back in nature, even if only for a few short hours. Other than dreaming about pie, I started thinking about the medicinal qualities of blueberries, and the wonderful phenolic compounds that make them so good for you.

Words like “polyphenol” get used all the time when people talk about natural products, but a lot of people don’t understand what they mean. So, I’m going to talk a little bit about polyphenols and why they’re awesome.

There are a lot of polyphenols in blueberries, but one notable chemical is called chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid is part of a group of chemicals called hydroxycinnamic acids. Actually, in IUPAC, (the international chemical naming system), this compound is called:

(1S,3R,4R,5R)-3-{[(2Z)-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) prop-2-enoyloxy} -1,4,5 -trihydroxycyclohexanecarboxylic acid

Doesn't that sound horrifying? Yet it's just a blueberry. (This is why you shouldn't listen when someone says "if you can't pronounce it, it must be toxic.")

Anyway, our scary sounding molecule above is wonderful stuff. It's an antioxidant, and studies show that it slows down the release of glucose into the bloodstream. This makes chlorogenic acid a candidate for treating Diabetes II. Additionally, the literature claims that chlorogenic acid has antiviral, antibacterial, anti-tumor, and antifungal properties.

(1S,3R,4R,5R)-3-{[(2Z)-3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) prop-2-enoyloxy} -1,4,5 -trihydroxycyclohexanecarboxylic acid

Does this mean that blueberries will cure you of all your ills? Well, probably not. But their wonderful antioxidant goodness might just make you a little healthier.

So have a few blueberries in honor of the blueberry harvest. Now, where’s that pie?

Posted in Chemistry

Voltage Makeup: Sneak Peek – “Swoon” Lipstick

Posted on April 4, 2011 by The Elixery

What do you do when you want the look of a berry-red stain, but you don’t want it to actually stain your lips? Voltage Lead Makeup Artist Ashley Kilcher decided that the just-bitten look would be hot on the runway, but she also knew that stained lips were impractical for runway makeup changes. So she challenged The Elixery to create a stain that didn’t actually stain.

In response to this challenge, we at The Elixery created “Swoon,” a lovely, sheer gloss stick that gives that sexy, just-bitten stain look, but stays on top of your lips like lipstick instead of staining them.

“We wanted to go with rich pops of berry tones on the face, with slight cranberry smudging under the eye,” Ashley said. We paired it with Swoon as a great stain-looking lipstick that is fresh for spring.”

Come see “Swoon” on the runway on April 15th at Voltage: Fashion Amplified.

Posted in Voltage 2011