The Toxic Allure lab is a Perspex® box built on a mezzanine floor in a larger laboratory. It looks incredibly cool. It is, in fact,...

In June, I asked Taren and Shaelyn to go to Sephora to buy pale foundation makeup. I think they thought it was the best lab task ever!...

All my washing of glassware in the lab last week has paid off. We got great experimental data. There was no contamination in our lower...

You might expect that if you rubbed a makeup that is 5% lead onto your skin that it would make you ill immediately. Having stood in my...

I have spent parts of this week reading a textbook on ‘Measuring Colour’. At one point, my husband looked at me and said ‘You look like...

I spent the week before Christmas testing the look of a new lead-based makeup. I was unable to resist a quick analysis of the data over...

It has been sixteen weeks since we launched the Toxic Allure website. The time has flown by! We have been slowly adding pages to the site...

We have been measuring the colour and light reflecting properties of white lead makeup using pigskin. This is not ideal. I would have...

It is true that people can be seriously lead poisoned from makeup. In the last few decades, a number of medical case studies have...

There are four potential ways that lead can enter the human body. It can be ingested by eating or drinking. It can be inhaled as a powder...

I'm posting some cartoons on the blog today so you can have an idea of the appearance of white lead make-up. First some disclaimers....

This week has been exhausting. The pandemic is a constant stress. I am worried about my family in Europe. They are back in full lockdown....

Halloween is a time to tell horror stories. So, tonight I will tell you a story that doctors find hair-raising. The Green Parrot Goat...

This week, I let myself be happy. I literally allowed myself to jump for joy. I did it outside. It seemed unprofessional to bounce around...

Several years ago, I needed a small and complicated piece of shielding made for a radioactive source. I was hoping to have it cast out of...

This weekend is Thanksgiving in Canada. I have a lot to be thankful for. I have a good life: my family are safe and well. This year, I...

A factoid that has surprised many colleagues is that I managed to successfully graduate with a degree in physics without ever taking an...

I have always loved dressing up. As a tiny tot, I would ‘borrow’ my mum’s shoes and rifle through my gran’s handbag to find her compact...

This week Shaelyn made two 18th century make-up recipes. Both smelt heavenly but were very different. The ingredient scents brought back...

There are very few things that I dislike about academic life but keeping reference lists when I write articles is one of them. Having to...