Weleda Cold Cream

Sept of 2014 was one hot summer.  It's probably fall in most places but In LA, summer started in September. I dont have central air so it's been a memorable month. Some days it felt like I was living in an oven and some days felt like monsoon season in Asia- without the actual cooling rain.

My skin was so dry I was trying all sorts of products. I thought that coconut oil would quench my crepe-y skin but it really didnt do much. You'd think that oil would make your face oily but it didnt really work.

So then I tried a little sample of emu oil and that also wasnt the best solution though it felt better than coconut oil.

Finally at Lassens I grabbed a tube of this recommended cream and voila- my dry skin was gone. I put it on at night and even in the morning my skin felt soft.  I wore it during the day and because the air was so dry, it didnt feel too greasy. Now that the temperature has cooled down a bit, I'm just using this cream at night.

DHC Olive Virgin Oil

Hmmm... don't they mean Virgin Olive Oil? Engrish I guess...
Well I've been using this oil on my face for a few months now and no pimples- so it passes the first test.  You would think that putting oil on your face in the middle of summer would turn you into a greaseball but it actually works! I use 2 drops and warm it up in my hands before I apply it to my face. It feels great on my combination/dry skin.

I think in the winter, I'd probably use it on top of my other moisturizers as an added barrier from the dryness.

Aesop Amazing Face Cleanser

I really was hoping NOT to like this product but I really like it a lot! I've been using Aesop on and off over the past few years. Mostly on because these products are great and they smell really lovely in this apothecary kind of way. (And all the products come in dark amber glass bottles. Love that touch.) And mostly off because it's expensive and I have this tugging desire for products to multi-task and these don't. Aesop products are really basic in that a moisturizer is a really moisturizer and a cleanser is a really good cleanser. They don't exfoliate and deliver anti-oxidants or diminish wrinkles or stuff like that. But I guess you can argue that overall, if you take care of your skin, you would be okay? I don't know. Maybe I'll age well if I used this.

Anyways, I just recently went back to the Aesop Mandarin facial cream as my nighttime moisturizer and since I was out of cleanser anyways, thought I'd get this one and try it out. It's kind of pricey, costing $47 for 6.8 oz which actually isn't very much. And another annoying this is that there is no pump. You literally unscrew the bottle and pour some on your hand. How old school is that?!

Anyways, this stuff rocks. It cleansed my face beautifully. My face felt clean, refreshed, no dryness, no stiffness, no cakiness or film. Just clean. really really like this one. Maybe I'll stay loyal after this bottle runs out... but we'll see about that.

Kate Somerville Eradikate

This little acne potion is amazing!
I was a little weary of the Kate Somerville products. I've used them before and liked them but always thought they were overpriced but this stuff is the bomb! When you dab it on any acne or even an emerging spot, it literally kills it the next day or at least partially kills it , like 75%. It's seriously amazing.

The strange thing is that I tried other products that tout the same thing and use the same ingredients but for some reason, they don't work as well. Only this works! You have to try if you have any breakouts!

Amarte Review

So with Grace's recommendation, I tried the Amarte line as I was just finishing up all my products.  From Left to Right - Daily Exfolipower; Daily Wonder Cleansing Foam; Aqua Veil Hydrator; Wonder Cream.  This is the order also in which I apply the products.

EXFOLIPOWER - nice, but not a wow experience.  very similar to Dermalogica's Daily Exfoliant.  It leaves a bit of a residue but overall average performance.

DAILY WONDER CLEANSING FOAM - I personally love this cleanser.  Nice foam, and really picks up the dirt.  What I love the most is it leaves a squeaky clean finish.  My skin feels prepped for the next applications.

AQUA VEIL HYDRATOR - acts as a mild serum / toner.  Texture if a combination of both as well not as liquidy as a toner and as thick as a serum.  Light application, and feels great after cleansing.  I don't think it's the best in class ... to date, La Mer's serum is creme de la creme (I just can't afford it!)

WONDER CREAM - this is the product that has received rave reviews.  my thoughts on it ... it feels really good on the skin.  doesn't leave a greasy residue as my previous moisturizers did.  Maybe because it is winter, and this season I feel is particularly dryer for some reason, I wish it had a little deeper moisturizing effect.  But overall, works well and blends nicely into the skin, and again, there is such a nice, clean finish which I really like.  My previous moisturizers were either too dry or too greasy.  This has a nice balance.

I've been using this line now for the past couple weeks, and coupled with adequate sleep (very important beauty sleeps is!), I do feel a difference in my skin tone.  It's gotten a bit brighter and I think these products have helped, to a degree.

BUT.  I need some serious exfoliation / scrubbing / skincare treatments.  Would love some recommendations.  There's so much out there ... peels, IPL, botox not sure I would go there really, but ... I need to go see an esthetician who can peel off this layer.  I'm 41, and with the exception of a few facial massages, I haven't received any serious skincare treatment.  i need to start!


HAEJUNG'S REVIEW:

I also got this set after hearing Connie's review. I thought the Aqua Veil Hydrator was OK- it leaves an almost waxy coating on your face- maybe that's how it protects it. I'm not sure if it absorbed very well but it was OK for the summer.

The Wonder Cream was also OK- it feels like a basic cream but was super pricey. I also didnt think that it would work in the winter but it was fine for the summer months.

BB Cream- They only have 2 colors and I got the darker shade. It was still a bit too light and I know that I walked around with this stuff on my face that didnt exactly match my skin color but dammit I was gonna wear it cuz I paid for it.  But then I got tired of looking "off" so I stopped wearing it. That is until I ran out of the Aqua Veil Hydrator! So basically- the AVH was creating this waxy surface on my face which did not allow for the BB Cream to glide over my face. Once I stopped using that and using my other serum, the BB Cream worked and it blended in a lot nicer. I still dont love it but now I can finish up the bottle happily.

In summary, I probably wouldnt buy this line again because it was mediocre and I'm looking for amazing.

REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask

I have never posted the day after I tried a product but this mask I tried last night was seriously amazing!

Last night I tried the REN Glycol Lactic Radiance Renewal Mask - yes, a total mouth full so I will just refer to it as the REN mask - and I didn't think much of it after I had washed off my face and put on my regular nighttime cream. But this morning, as I washed my face, I could not believe how AMAZING my skin felt! It was SO soft and dare I say, tighter feeling? I did notice that as I washed my face I felt a tingle on my skin so maybe there were still remnants of the mask still working, I'm really not sure but all I can say is that this mask really delivered almost instant results on my skin and I'm definitely going to keep using this. 

My only issue with this product is that I can't tell how often you should use it. If I get addicted, can I really use it every day?! :)

On their official website, there are no instructions on quota per week or so. But I would assume that people with sensitive skin should really take heed.

LOVE This product.

Dr Brandt Flexitone BB Cream

So I'm continuing on my hunt for that perfect Do-everything Cream and as much as I loved my previous adventure (see my previous post), I tried something else this time: the much touted Dr.Brandt Flexitone BB Cream. The cream was recommended by beauty blogs and scored really high on peer reviews on seller sites and the allure was really just too irresistible for me. Besides, I'd been wanting to try a BB Cream but all the OG Korean ones were never "oil free" so I was scared.
So, I tried it.
I so wish I loved it but I really didn't.
First off, I was a little suspicious how this one tone would magically "blend" to match all shades and it really doesn't. What's interesting though is that it creates almost the same tann-ish tone that the Revision cream created. Perhaps all these all in one creams have a preset color. It's winter now and I've lost a lot of that sunny glow so this color tone was definitely too dark for my skin. Besides the color difference, it also left a sort of ashy tint on my face, like I was looking more sallow than usual. Not usually what I aim for when I use make-up on my face! I can do it on my own, thank you very much! :)

The cream is also a bit drying - and this is from someone who is always complaining about oily skin. It definitely isn't really doing it's "moisturizing" part as well as I had hoped.

I do love that it has sunscreen in it and it's SPF 30 which is great.

and so the search continues....

Sisley Lyslait Cleansing Milk

This winter was super dry. I was using coconut oil for everything- cleanser, face wash and body lotion. A friend gave me a large sample of this Sisley cleanser. I've loved everything I've ever tried from Sisley so I tried this milk cleanser. It wiped the dirt off and left a layer of lotion that I rinsed off with water. Water can be really drying in the winter so I've been trying to just wash my face with cleanser once a day at night. In the morning, I'll use this milk cleanser or just rinse my face with a bit of water. So far no pimples!

Laura Mercier Creme Smooth Foundation

This is my favorite foundation- better than Bobby Brown or Giorgio Armani.  It has a smoother finish and is moisturizing enough for summer or winter. It's medium coverage and it blends in really well with a moistened sponge. My color is Sunny Beige. People think that I have great skin naturally when I wear this with a little bit of blush.  : )

Arcona White Tea Purifying Cleanser

It's a good basic cleanser- my face feels clean and not too tight after I use it. My one gripe about it is that it's soooo thick- it doesnt come out of the bottle very easily and I also have to mash it around between my hands to be able to spread it on my face. It's a little annoying....I know- first world problems....

Arcona Raspberry Clarifying Bar

I like the idea of using a bar versus a liquid cleanser. It lasts much longer and there's less waste. So I've been trying this line called ARCONA. It's made in LA and is very natural.

This soap smelled nice but was too hard to clean off my face. I had to splash tons of water and it still left a heavy film on my face. Different cleansers leave a different kind of film but this one felt waxy- and this is coming from a girl who wipes coconut oil on her face to clean it. So I was such not a fan that I even did the pain-in-the-butt thing and returned it.

Revision Skincare Intellishade SPF 45

I am at the very last drops of my Revision tube and I'm debating if I should buy another tube ASAP or wait and try another brand. This is a tinted moisturizer with a high SPF, which is exactly what I've been looking for all my life. So why the dilemma? Well because I have the age old problem of always wanting to try new things. So again, as with every last drop, I come around to ask, do I just get this because it's just that good or do I try another brand?

To go back to the beginning, I didn't actually buy this product but Haejung gave me her tube because it was too drying for her skin. Yeah for me! Initially, I had my reservations. Revisions claims to only have one tone (!!) and that it will (magically) match your skin color? Really? Well, I can't say that it actually did. When I first tried it on, I thought it looked too darkish for my complexion and made me look a bit orangey, which is the usual complaint found on many review sites. But over the summer, I got a bit golden myself and suddenly, this tinted moisturizer was perfect for my skin tone! Voila! Just like that, suddenly I found myself using this every single morning and instantly looking like I got better sleep and better skin that I actually did. It really was awesome... AND EASY! I love it when a product does multiple things (moisturize, correct, protect) and does each thing well!

So why the hemming and hawing at this juncture? Well, it's the color again. Chances are that my skin tone will lose it's golden tinge over the winter when the sun isn't as hot, I go out less with the kiddos and by then, I will be back to the Bobbi Brown Sand tone that I usually am and I'm not sure how this will do. I would say that in the summer, this is almost the perfect tinted moisturizer with SPF for sure. But I may have to find another substitute to tide me over during the colder, less sunny winter months.

thanks Haejung for the intro to this product!

Ayur Medic Retinol Cream and Enrichment Cream

I love this pair. The line was created by Dr. Raj Kanodia- a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles. The day cream is pretty basic but it didnt make me break out at all. The retinol cream is also pretty great and left my skin feeling soft in the morning. I think night time creams are pretty important because your skin heals itself while you sleep. This one says that it's for resurfacing and blemish control and I feel like it did exactly that.

Intelligent Nutrients Anti-Aging Serum

This is a face oil thats meant for every skin type. It feels great and absorbs really well in the winter. I was using it as a serum at night until I got a pimple. I'm not 100% if it was this product that was to blame but I'm pretty sure it was. Now I only use it sparingly on top of another lotion or just on my neck.

The best part of this product is that it's totally organic and food grade! All the ingredients are plant oils. I've been hearing lately that you should only put on your face what you would put into your mouth. I love this idea of "feeding" your skin!

Avene Thermal Spring Water

This spray is pretty useful year-round. In the summer when it's super hot, I like to spray it on at the end of the day and then wipe the dirt off my face. It's like a mini face wash. Or it can just feel refreshing whenever...

This winter, my skin got really dry when the weather started transitioning from fall to winter. I was also using retin-a for a few days during that time so my skin was kinda flaking during the day. So I keep a bottle at work and it was a skin saver. The mist is also so fine that your face isn't dripping wet after a spray. My only complaint is that the nozzle broke on one of my bottles so i ended up making a hole in it and watering my plants with it.

Toleraine Ultra Intense Soothing Care

This is a great basic moisturizer for the winter in LA. I dont break out and my skin never feels dry. It's also great because it has no parabens, fragrance or alcohol. I love the way that it's packaged too. It's never exposed to air because the lotion is in a plastic bag within the bottle.

That's my major qualm with $150 eye creams that come in a jar: every time you open the jar, the cream is exposed to air!

SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF and SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic

I like to switch from one serum to the other. They both protect you from sun damage and I've read that the Phloretin also helps correct existing sun damage. According to EWG, the CE Ferulic rates a 3! That's pretty low on the toxicity scale. As my skin ages, I notice that using these products as the first layer helps keep the moisture in. These two serums are another product that I cant go without and so far I havent found anything better. I hear that La Mer has an amazing serum but it's like 150 dollars per ounce. Eeek!

Andalou Citrus Kombucha Cleansing Gel

This product is 73% organic, free of sulfates, petrochemicals, parabens ...etc. It's pretty all-natural and is aloe based. It's also pH balanced and hypoallergenic. It also contains kombucha enzymes and lots of antioxidants. It all seems lovely; however for a product that is on my skin for about 30 seconds twice a day, is my skin benefitting from all that good stuff? I'm not sure. It is a basic, gentle gel cleanser that i'm confident has nothing bad in it. My skin feels clean and soft when I use this and the smell is nice. Compared to the Mychelle cleansers, this line is way cheaper for a comparable or even better product. It was about 13 dollars for 6 ounces.

La Roche Posay - Anthelios SPF 50 Mineral Ultra Light Fluid

So I've been looking for a fluid, non-whitening mineral sunscreen that is cheaper than $40/ounce like the Clarins sunblock. I thought I had found it in this product. It promised to be non- whitening. However on my medium-colored complexion it cast a slight whitish tint. Perhaps on a lighter skin person it might not be a problem? Bummer...

Kate Somerville Exfolikate

This is definitely one of my basics that I keep buying over and over again. It's a great mask that leaves my face exfoliated and soft. It's an easy mask that you leave on your face for 30 seconds. I only use it at night though because it leaves my skin a little rosy and probably more vulnerable to the sun.