Youthtopia = favorite because it’s creamy and light, not greasy. Dry skin
Plantscription = did not like because its a gel, too light. Eyes didn’t feel protected. Great for oily skin or, as they advertise, someone with a lot of wrinkles around the eyes.
Ginzing = too light weight & didn’t like shimmery-ness. Great for oily or combination skin
Starting Over = acceptable but lighter than youthtopia. great for normal, youthful skin with no complaints as prevention of wrinkles.
I’ve always been attracted to Alba’s products because they have some fun ingredients/themes. Their Hawaiian line was definitely intriguing to me because I love the scent of tropical flowers and fruits. It’s important to exfoliate regularly so I thought I’d try their Pineapple Enzyme Facial Scrub. My skin can be sensitive to scrubs and peels so I prefer to try gentle, enzyme based exfoliants. Now, don’t get me wrong, enzymes can be quite intense on the skin but I figured that this product was on the grocery store shelf so I’d probably be okay in terms of the strength.
Here’s how I use it:
– Once or twice a week, I’ll wash my face and then apply this as a
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My name is Addy and I am a toner user.
I know a lot of people don’t want to or can’t bother taking this extra step and I respect that.
However, if you use the right kind of toner, I find it a beneficial and inexpensive step.
I’ve been using Thayers Alcohol-Free Rose Petal Witch Hazel Toner for probably 10 years. There are other formulas/scents but I’ve never tried any of them. In researching this post, I discovered that they have a medicated version that looks like it could work out really well for someone with large pores and oily, acneic skin. If that’s you and you want to let me know how you like this product, I’ll post a review here with what you have to say. You can email me at addy at addysesthetics dot com.
Here’s how I use it:
– After washing my face both am and pm, I pour a small amount
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Now that it’s June, I thought it would be a good time to discuss sunscreen. Also, a couple of you have asked me about sunscreen lately so I figured this would be a good time to devote a few posts to the subject.
My beloved SkinCeuticals has a winner with Ultimate UV Defense. For a few years it was my favorite sunscreen. Then I got a job at a new spa that doesn’t carry SkinCeuticals so I thought I’d try something new, which I did, and I love it more (more on that later). So, I’m divided between “like it” and “love it” because I USED to love it, until I found something better. You’ll have to decide on your own!
Here’s how I use it:
– Every. Single. Day. It’s my last step before makeup.
– I use enough to cover the last digit of my middle finger and I massage it into my face, front and back of neck (short hair or updos require back of the neck SPF application), ears and down the decollete. If I’m wearing a wide neck shirt on a sunny day, I always make sure that everything within the neck hole is covered with this sunscreen. Arms and elsewhere get a less
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This Aubrey Organics cleanser Sea Buckthorn & Cucumber w/ Ester C Facial Cleansing Cream for Combination Dry Skin has a mouthful of a name but is quite a simple and straightforward cleanser.
I purchased this creamy cleanser due to a co-worker’s suggestion that I was over-drying my skin with cleanser for combination oily skin. I figured I’d see if she had a point. It took me a while to find how well this worked for me but once I did, it turned out to be okay.
Here’s how I use it:
– I had to try different ways of using this cleanser. The best clean I got from it was by applying it to dry skin and massaging in for a bit before adding a little water. This technique got my skin feeling soft and clean and got completely rid of my makeup.
– Alternatively, when I applied water first, it didn’t quite get all of my eye makeup off or get my skin feeling clean enough.
I purchased the MyChelle All Skin Types Sampler Kit and have been working my way thru it’s offerings. I recently over did it a bit with the retinol and had some flaky skin on my chin. Some say the flaking is a good thing but I don’t like it – I think the skin should be fresh and dewey often and that dry, flaky patches are not a goal. Some types of skin need the flakes to get results quickly, but I think everyone will get results from retinoids with regular, measured applications. However, I have sensitive skin and sometimes retinol can make the skin flake (especially if the same skin has a new scrub tested on it the morning after retinol is applied…).
I tried the Deep Repair Cream from my little kit to see if it would help and I used it every night until it was gone – I love it so much I’m probably going to go buy some at Rainbow now that I’ve used the last smidgen, even tho I’ve plenty of other moisturizers to use at night.
SkinCeuticals does a great job with serums. Their Hydrating B5 Gel is a standout. It offers the skin the water part of the water/oil mix necessary for healthy skin. That’s not to say that it’s just expensive water – the base ingredient is Hyaluronic Acid, which holds 1,000 times it’s own weight in water and is naturally occurring in our skin and other areas of the body.
Here’s how I use it:
– After cleansing, toning (if you do – optional) & applying Vitamin C serum (highly recommended if you don’t already), apply 1-2 drops to your whole face, including eyes.
– If you are dry & need additional moisture than your sunscreen offers, apply your moisturizer then your sunscreen. I use sunscreen as my moisturizer often so as to save a step.
The upsides:
The Ingredients
– There is no fragrance or color added and the list is pretty short. (unfortunately, I can’t confirm what’s ACTUALLY on that list because they don’t publish the ingredients anywhere but on the box, which is long gone)
Last month I told you about this product and mentioned that we got it along with the DualAction Face Lotion.
I said I was going to continue the test of this cleanser by switching his lotion to see if that helps, and sure enough, he’s no longer breaking out now that he’s stopped using this product. Makes me a little sad because I like a few other Zia products.
Here’s how he used it:
– With his face still wet from washing, he’d apply just a smidgen all over his face.
The upsides:
– It’s ingredients are relatively natural.
– It smells good – essential oils of sandalwood and ylang ylang, and a few others make a lovely scent that’s gender neutral.
– It’s very light – when applied, it soaks in quickly and well.
I first learned about SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum at one of their training sessions when I was just an esthetic student. I was fascinated by the studies they showed using pig skin (eek!) that was treated with the serum and without. The skin with the serum showed signs of sunburn after much longer exposure to UV light than the skin without it. That sold me. Then, a few summers later, after using the serum regularly and noticing a brighter, fresher complexion on my face, I decided to do a test.
I was in the mountains near Tahoe on Echo Lake. We had to take a boat ride to the lake store and I thought it was time to test ye ole C E Ferulic. I put it on my face, arms, neck & shoulders with NO SUNSCREEN ON TOP. However, when I climbed onto the boat and leaned forward, my shirt rode up a bit to expose my lower back (which I didn’t notice until later that night).
Just over an hour later, we returned to the cabin and I assessed the damage. My face, arms & neck were ever so slightly pink (which faded by morning), my shoulders were a bit pinker (which faded by the following evening) and I felt triumphant! What wonderful findings, I thought.
And then, “gee, my lower back feels kind of tight…and hot… and, oh, warm to the touch.”
Having recently re-discovered Origins products, I came across their eyeshadow primer called Underwear for Lids – The smoothing lid primer (not to be confused with Underwear for Lids – Delicate color for eyes)
Here’s how I used it:
– I walked into Macys with no makeup on and went to the Origins counter.
– There was no customer service rep there (10am on a weekday) so I found the Underwear for Lids and spent a bit of time trying to figure out which was the color and which was the primer.
– I found the primer, wiped it down well with a tissue (the same technique would have been used by the customer service rep, had s/he been there) and applied it to my lower lids.
– The first layer was a little thin so I added more to get the coverage I wanted – it was fun to use the lipstick-like stick