pur~lisse is a product line created by Jennifer Yen utilizing science and Chinese beauty secrets to create products good for you. You’ll find most products have either Blue Lotus Flower or White Tea (antioxidant) in them.

pur~moist ($65.00) is a moisturizer that feels like a hybrid of gel and cream. It absorbs quickly, and it keeps skin hydrated throughout the day. What I particularly liked about this moisturizer was it helped calm any redness I had in my face (which, admittedly is not a major concern nor obvious). I couldn’t detect any noticeable scent to it–seemed non-fragrance to me. This particular moisturizer doesn’t contain SPF, so you’ll need to use something else to cover you on sun protection (though they have pur-protect, which does include SPF). The only downside to this product is the price; you should easily get two to three months worth of usage out of the tube, though. Also, since it is in a tube rather than a jar, you can worry less about getting bacteria in it and oxygen exposure. Always a good thing!

pur~delicate ($38.00) is a cleanser designed for all skin types, and it is a non-foaming milky cleanser. It uses soy milk (along with soy proteins) as one of its key ingredients. You’ll also find extracts of oatmeal and white tea in it. Because it doesn’t really lather or foam up, it doesn’t strip your skin of its natural oils, so it shouldn’t dry you out. It does a great job of removing dirt and makeup and leaving your skin feeling clean (but not that squeaky clean feeling of tightness). As far as packaging goes, it uses an airless pump, so you can control how much product you need (one pump should do ya!) and keep it sanitary and out of oxygen’s reach. There’s no real fragrance to it, which further lends credence to its claim of being non-irritating for all skin types.

M LAB is a line of products designed by Milbar Laboratories, which challenged their scientists to create skincare products without any limitations–they could use the most efficacious and luxurious ingredients and formulations, and as a result, M LAB products use high levels of clinically active ingredients to fight against signs of aging.  According to the brand, “Professional clinical testing has validated the results and expectations of the M LAB™ product line. Demonstrable effects and positive changes will quickly be seen by you and others. Study results indicate our formulation approach produces skin firming, the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles and the improvement of skin clarity, color and texture.”

Let me tell you what I thought about M LAB’s Travel Kit!  Continue reading »

Kate Somerville Oil Free Moisturizer ($65.00) recently became part of the Kate Somerville product line after customer demand for a moisturizer that worked well on combination and oily skin.  This particular moisturizer is aimed towards those with sensitive, combination-to-oily skin; something that doesn’t aggravate existing acne, too.

Benefits

• Moisturizer (duhhh!)
• Enhances skin smoothness and reduces fine surface lines
• Improves skin firmness and elasticity
• Increases cell turnover
• Helps control and absorb sebum to give you oil-free skin

How-to: Use as part of the AM and/or PM routine by applying a thin layer over clean skin (face/neck).  If using a serum, layer on top of the serum.

Key Ingredients: Pepha-Tight (skin tightener, anti-wrinkle, firming, toning, moisturizing properties); Red Marine Algae (APT) (cell turnover, firmness, elasticity, smoothness, reduces fine lines); Sepilift (firmness, stimulation of collagen)

Those are some fancy schmancy ingredients!  Find out what I liked (or what I didn’t!) about this moisturizer… Continue reading »

NARS Potent EFA Cream ($70.00 for 1.7 fl. oz.) is the third NARSskin product in my daily routine.  While I told you about my two favorite PM products, the Hydrating Moisture Cream and the Aqua-Gel Hydrator, let me tell you about a third.  It is a thicker cream than I typically use, but it sinks into skin incredibly well and doesn’t take all day to do it.  The goal of this cream is to give you smooth skin with moisturization using their “lipid-enchanting” ingredients.

So, is it as good as the first two PM products? Continue reading »

Simply Flawless O2 Anti-Aging Moisturizing Creme ($39.95) is a facial cream that utilizes Simply Flawless’ patented Oxygen Complex that contains RejuvenOx (TM) PFD. Basically, it is an oxygen molecule that has been shown to be able to permeate the skin layers to the lower layers. Many skin products are topical and tend to sit on the surface of the skin, so you don’t actually get nearly as many of the nutrients and whatnot as you could be using.

It comes in a pump container, which means no light gets in it and no worries about contaminating it with your fingers. You only need one or two pumps to moisturizer the entire face, which makes the product last you a decent amount of time. Even though it looks little, the 1.7 oz you get is about on par with many other mid to high end moisturizers. It is a concentrated cream, so a little is all you need; there’s no reason to pile it on, which means it should last you awhile.  It can also be used both AM and PM, making it a multi-tasking product (but make sure you have a separate sunscreen product then!).

I liked that there was no real scent to this–a lot of fragrance-free products smell clinical, but this is fairly odorless. It also absorbs pretty quickly, and this is always an important factor to me, because I hate waiting for things to dry (anything!). It felt gentle on my skin, and I liked the way my skin looked and felt two weeks later–smooth, fresh, and soft.

You can learn more at www.simplyflawlesso2.com.

Karin Herzog Vita-A-Kombi 1 ($52.00) is a product that boasts 1% of pure oxygen and Vitamin A, which is a patented combination by Dr. Herzog. This cream is meant to be used both morning and night, and it does a whole slew of things. It promotes healing, increases cell regeneration, minimizes pores, detoxifies, hydrates, diminishes lines and wrinkles, and desensitizes sensitive skin.

I was using increased amounts of acne medications, and predictably, they made my skin more sensitive. There were few creams that I could use without feeling like my face was on fire. Vita-A-Kombi 1 was one of them, and even better, it can be used both morning and night. It is a fairly thick cream, and it does take some time (5 to 10 minutes) to sink into your skin. It is best applied with a light layer all over the face, but without rubbing it too much into the skin; instead, just let it absorb naturally. My skin looked refreshed, and it felt so soft.

My only complaint was that every time I used this, my boyfriend told me I smelled like old lady. So I ended up wearing this mostly at night, rather than day, because I didn’t want people thinking I smelled like “old lady.”  Otherwise, the results were right in line with what I expected, and my skin was happy to use it for a few weeks!

The Karin Herzog line was the first to stabilize and deliver pure oxygen in cream form. The brand manufacturers their products in Switzerland, doesn’t conduct animal testing, and products are hypo-allergenic.  Learn more at www.karinherzogus.com.

Olay is one of those brands that everybody has heard of, but you may or may not have tried. It has been around for so many years, you may have tried it eons ago, disliked it, and written it off (or loved it and have forgotten about it!)–but now is the time to head to your nearest drugstore to peruse Olay’s Definity line.

Definity is Olay’s line for “highly defined anti-aging” products. In just eight weeks, consumers should see a difference in their skin when using Olay Definity products–from brown sputs, dullness, unevenness, and wrinkles. These days, so many products tout scientific breakthroughts, miracle ingredients, and jaw-dropping pricetags. It’s hard to keep up, and I have always found that Olay makes it easy to figure out the right skincare regimen for you. For Definity, Olay is emphasizing its usage of the Glucosamine Complex, which is meant to help your skin retain moisture better, increase the regeneration of collagen, smooth lines and wrinkles, and increase your skin’s luminosity.

What products are in the Definity range? Continue reading »

EXUVIANCE is a brand I was recently able to check out, and one of my favorite products amongst the three I tried was their CoverBlend, which is a “concealing treatment makeup” that has SPF20 and is designed to really hide any skin imperfections from tone to ine lines. It is a smudge-resistant cream that lasts throughout the day. It is also water-resistant and non-creasing, which makes it great for even oilier skin types.

I can definitely appreciate a waterproof foundation in the summer months, just on the fact that I’m outdoors, and even if I’m not, I’m likely to sweat between the car and my destination anyway. Something that won’t break down immediately is so appreciated! I don’t know if I’d necessarily sport it to the beach and expect to walk out of the ocean with flawless foundation despite it being water-resistant, though. I interpret water-resistant to simply mean that you can splash your face without any noticeable damage, which is all I really need!

It comes in fourteen shades, and I always point out the availability based on range because it allows for more people to find an appropriate shade that matches them. And I bet you think this is pricey (I don’t know about you, but “Exuviance” as a name conjurs up connotations of luxury!), but it isn’t–get CoverBlend for only $22.50!

I also tried their Evening Restorative Complex ($30.50), as well as the Vespera Bionic Serum ($55.00). I really felt like the serum woke up my face, which is probably the result of all of the anti-oxidants found within this serum. Like most serums, it is pricier because it has more “good” ingredients. Serums are more intense than regular creams, they’re usually in a higher conentrate of the active or helpful ingredients.

Their Evening Restorative Complex was gentle enough for me to use on my skin without any problems, and it has a light scent of apple-citrus that is tolerable. It’s harder for me to judge the effectiveness of this product as I don’t have too many noticeable fine lines or wrinkles. I like that they label this as “Evening”, though, because nothing is better than when a brand takes the guess work out of skincare!

Learn more about or purchase Exuviance products at http://exuviance.com/.

Suki Complexion Brightening Cream ($45.50) is an intensive face cream that brightens, moisturizes, and reduces puffiness. It contains time-released vitamin C as its primary antioxidant that works to stimulate collagen production, increase skin elasticity, and suppress sun damage. It contains pure rose wax to help hydrate along with shea butter, and it also reduces puffiness. This brightening cream is meant to brighten complexion, including dark circles and sun spots. The cream has a light herbal scent that’s pleasing (not one of those organic products that smells like a compost heap!), so you feel like you’re using something fresh and clean on your face.

It comes in a pump-bottle, which I love, because it means no opening the bottle to let light in nor fingers dipping into the product. However, it does come in a glass container, and while the label covers most of it, it does allow for some light to come in. (Light can often destroy certain ingredients and render your product less effective!).  Edit:  I spoke with the brand, and they actually considered packaging and whether or not to use glass or plastic–they determined that glass would not deteriorate their product for 24 months.  So color me informed!  While this on the pricier side, the good news is that you only need one or two pumps, which is less than a dime-size, to cover your entire face, so you can get a lot of usage out of a single bottle.

I noticed my skin reacted well to this product as my complexion looked brighter, a little more of a natural glow, and I didn’t find it burned my sensitive skin (at the time I was testing, my skin was going nutso and most of my staple creams were causing me to bite my lip and scream OW OW OW!) Plus, the product does sink in and absorb pretty quickly, which is always a plus in my book–anything to save time!

Learn more at www.sukipure.com.

Avon Anew Ultimate Contouring Eye System ($30.00)

You know what I like, I like an anti-aging product that takes the guesswork out of your skincare routine. There is nothing like a product that commits itself to either AM, PM, or both. Of course, skincare gurus can identify when products should be used, but let’s face it–skincare is a vast world that is confusing and ever-changing for the rest of us (which includes me).

This is a nifty system is actually two products stacked on top of each other. The top piece is the Concentrated Elixir that is kind of like a serum (in its marketing for intensity as well as texture), and it is to be used at night on under eye area, over the Intensive Repair Cream. When you unscrew the Concentrated Elixir, it reveals the Intensive Repair Cream, which is to be used both AM and PM.

I couldn’t speak much to the results, as I am still blessed with youthful skin, so I don’t have much to go off of. I did notice that my eyes felt a little uplifted/lighter. I do think that this product will be better for those in the 30s than those in the late 40s and 50s, because it is likely to have better results on newly created fine lines and superficial lines than defined wrinkles.

Find it at www.avon.com.