My favorite skin care products
I've never had perfect skin, being prone to monthly breakouts, but when I have no breakouts my skin looks very nice. I have good genes on my side - my Mom has perfect skin. She has never needed foundation and still doesn't. Both my Mom and Dad looked younger than their years for most of their lives. Genetics have a great deal to do with having good skin, but using sun screen and skin care products is a must, too. No matter how good your genes are, if you don't use sun screen and don't moisturize, etc., you skin will show it.
I don't need sunscreen every day, because some days I don't go outside, but I still have Clarins 50 SPF. I grew up when people rarely wore sunscreen and we laid outside every chance we could to get a tan. By the time I heard that I shouldn't do that, a lot of damage was already done (I was in my mid-thirties). Still, at 50 years old, I don't have many fine lines or wrinkles. The place where I see them the most is on my wrists, especially my left wrist. All of those hours driving my car with no sunscreen on has made the left side of me look older than the right side! Ugh.
My message for anyone young reading this is... take care of your skin!! You will be happy you did when you get to my age. There are so many good products out now, but here are the ones that I've tried and/or like best right now.
1. Retin-A. Nothing beats it. It helps acne (although it can't totally prevent it), and it helps fine lines. The best kind is the one you get with a prescription from a dermatologist.
2. Cleansers: my favorite is from First Aid Beauty. I've recently developed sensitive skin, so I have to be careful with my cleansers. This one has a nice creamy formulation and it doesn't irritate my skin at all. The creamy formula works very well with my Clarisonic, too.
3. Speaking of Clarisonics, I like mine. Since my skin was good to begin with, I can't say that it's helped anything, to be honest. But I like using it, my skin feels cleaner when I use it. I'd say if you have the money, get one, but if you don't, you're okay with your wash cloth.
4. Skin serum. I've been using Skinceuticals Phloretin CF, and I like it. It's got a great reputation, and my skin doesn't seem to be aging too much, so I assume it's working. I did try La Mer's Revitalizing Serum last spring. It was nice and had great packaging, but I didn't notice any magic things happening with it, and for that price, I'd have to see some great things to justify buying it again.
5. Moisturizer. I have Skinceuticals moisturizers for oily skin. I don't need to use it every day, but when my skin feels tight after cleansing I use it. It's nice and lightweight, and a little goes a long way. I can tell that it will easily last me for a year or longer.
6. Neck cream. Depending on your age, you may or may not want to invest in this. If you do, I highly recommend Strivectin's TL neck cream. I swear it really does tighten the skin on your jawline and neck. Like most good anti-aging products, it's pricey, but for me it's worth it. I also use their tightening face cream, although not every day. I don't think I can rave about it quite as much for this reason. If I can remember to use it more regularly I'll write another review.
7. Eye cream. I wish there was an eye cream that I could rave about and swear it works miracles, but alas I'm still not sure about any 1 product. I only have very fine lines around my eyes, and no dark circles, so I suppose what I'm using is doing something good. But I do notice that my skin is getting looser around my eyes, and so far none of the eye creams I've used seem to change that. I used Kinerase Intensive Eye Cream for years, and liked it because it seemed to prevent any signs of aging. But once I noticed the skin getting looser, I started trying other things. I tried Kinerase's Restructure Firming Eye Cream, but didn't see any improvement. So I tried Skinceutical's Eye Cream. That may have helped some, but not enough to make me thrilled.
Maybe I'm asking too much. Maybe it's inevitable that the skin around the eyes will lose elasticity at some point no matter what you use. But I'm not ready to give up the fight yet. I'll keep trying the best eye creams that I can afford. I think if they work even somewhat, it's better than the money it would cost for an eye lift.
8. Hand cream. If you want to look young as long as possible, you must use hand cream. This is another area where I've just started noticing that my skin is getting looser and I'm losing some volume. (Why is it that your hands get thinner as you age and everywhere else gets larger?) I've tried several different hand creams but haven't noticed much difference. I tried Strivectin's volumizing hand cream, since I love their neck cream, but I didn't see any difference in my hands. I've also tried Soap and Glory's Hand Food. It's got a great scent, but otherwise it seems the same as other good hand creams (and by "good" I mean ones that are slightly thick that really moisturize your hands). I also really like Korres Guava body butter for my hands. Again it's not infused with any anti-aging ingredients, but it's very moisturizing.
9. Body lotion/cream. I have always put moisturizer on my feet at night. I don't like the thin, watery kinds. I want a thick cream. My favorite right now is Soap & Glory's The Righteous Butter. It's relatively thick and smells great. I don't actually use anything for the rest of my body, as I haven't felt the need yet.
10. Make up remover. This doesn't normally fall under the skin care category, but I've always used Pond's cold cream, and I think this has helped my eyes over the years. My make up comes off without pulling at the skin, and it leaves a bit of the cream to moisturize your eyes.
11. Last but it shouldn't be least, lip care! For many years I used petroleum jelly, then I switched to Smith's Rosebud Salve. I still like Smith's a lot, but lately I've been using Neutrogena lip balm during the day, and MAC's Lip Conditioner at night. Also, Skinceuticals Lip Repair is very nice.
So, that's my round-up. If any of you have different favorites, please comment and share.
I don't need sunscreen every day, because some days I don't go outside, but I still have Clarins 50 SPF. I grew up when people rarely wore sunscreen and we laid outside every chance we could to get a tan. By the time I heard that I shouldn't do that, a lot of damage was already done (I was in my mid-thirties). Still, at 50 years old, I don't have many fine lines or wrinkles. The place where I see them the most is on my wrists, especially my left wrist. All of those hours driving my car with no sunscreen on has made the left side of me look older than the right side! Ugh.
My message for anyone young reading this is... take care of your skin!! You will be happy you did when you get to my age. There are so many good products out now, but here are the ones that I've tried and/or like best right now.
1. Retin-A. Nothing beats it. It helps acne (although it can't totally prevent it), and it helps fine lines. The best kind is the one you get with a prescription from a dermatologist.
2. Cleansers: my favorite is from First Aid Beauty. I've recently developed sensitive skin, so I have to be careful with my cleansers. This one has a nice creamy formulation and it doesn't irritate my skin at all. The creamy formula works very well with my Clarisonic, too.
3. Speaking of Clarisonics, I like mine. Since my skin was good to begin with, I can't say that it's helped anything, to be honest. But I like using it, my skin feels cleaner when I use it. I'd say if you have the money, get one, but if you don't, you're okay with your wash cloth.
4. Skin serum. I've been using Skinceuticals Phloretin CF, and I like it. It's got a great reputation, and my skin doesn't seem to be aging too much, so I assume it's working. I did try La Mer's Revitalizing Serum last spring. It was nice and had great packaging, but I didn't notice any magic things happening with it, and for that price, I'd have to see some great things to justify buying it again.
5. Moisturizer. I have Skinceuticals moisturizers for oily skin. I don't need to use it every day, but when my skin feels tight after cleansing I use it. It's nice and lightweight, and a little goes a long way. I can tell that it will easily last me for a year or longer.
6. Neck cream. Depending on your age, you may or may not want to invest in this. If you do, I highly recommend Strivectin's TL neck cream. I swear it really does tighten the skin on your jawline and neck. Like most good anti-aging products, it's pricey, but for me it's worth it. I also use their tightening face cream, although not every day. I don't think I can rave about it quite as much for this reason. If I can remember to use it more regularly I'll write another review.
7. Eye cream. I wish there was an eye cream that I could rave about and swear it works miracles, but alas I'm still not sure about any 1 product. I only have very fine lines around my eyes, and no dark circles, so I suppose what I'm using is doing something good. But I do notice that my skin is getting looser around my eyes, and so far none of the eye creams I've used seem to change that. I used Kinerase Intensive Eye Cream for years, and liked it because it seemed to prevent any signs of aging. But once I noticed the skin getting looser, I started trying other things. I tried Kinerase's Restructure Firming Eye Cream, but didn't see any improvement. So I tried Skinceutical's Eye Cream. That may have helped some, but not enough to make me thrilled.
Maybe I'm asking too much. Maybe it's inevitable that the skin around the eyes will lose elasticity at some point no matter what you use. But I'm not ready to give up the fight yet. I'll keep trying the best eye creams that I can afford. I think if they work even somewhat, it's better than the money it would cost for an eye lift.
8. Hand cream. If you want to look young as long as possible, you must use hand cream. This is another area where I've just started noticing that my skin is getting looser and I'm losing some volume. (Why is it that your hands get thinner as you age and everywhere else gets larger?) I've tried several different hand creams but haven't noticed much difference. I tried Strivectin's volumizing hand cream, since I love their neck cream, but I didn't see any difference in my hands. I've also tried Soap and Glory's Hand Food. It's got a great scent, but otherwise it seems the same as other good hand creams (and by "good" I mean ones that are slightly thick that really moisturize your hands). I also really like Korres Guava body butter for my hands. Again it's not infused with any anti-aging ingredients, but it's very moisturizing.
9. Body lotion/cream. I have always put moisturizer on my feet at night. I don't like the thin, watery kinds. I want a thick cream. My favorite right now is Soap & Glory's The Righteous Butter. It's relatively thick and smells great. I don't actually use anything for the rest of my body, as I haven't felt the need yet.
10. Make up remover. This doesn't normally fall under the skin care category, but I've always used Pond's cold cream, and I think this has helped my eyes over the years. My make up comes off without pulling at the skin, and it leaves a bit of the cream to moisturize your eyes.
11. Last but it shouldn't be least, lip care! For many years I used petroleum jelly, then I switched to Smith's Rosebud Salve. I still like Smith's a lot, but lately I've been using Neutrogena lip balm during the day, and MAC's Lip Conditioner at night. Also, Skinceuticals Lip Repair is very nice.
So, that's my round-up. If any of you have different favorites, please comment and share.
Nice host of products! I've been thinking about really going for pharmaceutical grade face products this year .. I've been looking at Obagi ~ yikes! Talk about expensive.
ReplyDeleteMonica, www.pear-shaped-gal.com
I haven't checked them out, and if they're that expensive I probably won't. It's so hard to choose because there are so many of them. I had read a lot of good things about Skinceuticals Phloretin and CE Ferulicb, and I do like it, but it's pricey. But I believe skin care is where you want to spend your money. Once the wrinkles, etc. get too deep, no lotion can help. Let me know if you try something new and really like it.
DeleteI think this is a very useful list.Thank you! :)
ReplyDelete