Skin Care

An aerospace physicist toils over his work, completely focused on the task at hand.  Suddenly, a routine experiment explodes in his face, resulting in severe chemical burns.  They say time heals all wounds, but in this case time leaves rough scarring and discomfort.  Scouring the marketplace for a product to offer relief and hasten healing proved fruitless, so the scientist refocuses his energies to develop a topical solution for his condition.  6,000 experiments later, he discovers a miracle formula that gives skin a dramatically smoother appearance.

Sounds like the premise for a prime-time Sci-Fi drama, right?  Well, sometimes truth is stranger than fiction.  This true story is actually about the birth of a product we now know as Creme de la Mer.  The miracle formula invented by Dr. Max Huber while developing a product to heal his skin is at the root of Creme de la Mer, and many of its powerful ingredients originate in the sea.

I recently had the opportunity to sample Creme de la Mer.  It all starts out with a slightly different application process.  To activate the miracle broth in the creme, you must warm a small amount between your fingertips.  Then, pat gently onto clean, dry skin.  This moisturizer is so gentle, you can even use it around the eye area.  Amazingly rich and luxurious, this skincare product is perfect for the driest of dry skin.  After only days of use, my skin looked healthier and more radiant.  I can only imagine what continual use could do!

It has been said that necessity is the mother of invention.  The Creme de la Mer story proves this to be true.  A 1 oz. jar of Creme de la Mer retails for $125 on the Creme de la Mer website, and can also be found at fine retailers like Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman.  La Mer offers many freebies with purchase if you shop through their site, so keep your eyes peeled.  Addicted to La Mer?  You can even purchase a 16.5 oz. jar for $1,350.  The revolutionary ingredients in La Mer actually give it an extended shelf-life requiring the use of very little preservative, meaning a large jar wouldn’t need to be tossed in a year like other moisturizers.

I’m going to leave this post up to sustain my readers for a while.  I’m taking a much deserved break from blogging!  I’ll be back with you on January 2nd! 

In the market for a gentle and natural cleanser, my thoughts naturally turned to Juice Beauty’s Cleansing Milk. Specifically designed for dry to normal skin types (and to handle sensitive skin), this milky cleanser has an organic juice base of raspberry and white grape.  Packed with natural antioxidants and vitamins, it rinses off makeup thoroughly and leaves skin feeling soft and moist.

Juice Beauty also happens to be a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics.  Organized by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the "compact" is a pledge to not use chemicals that are "known or strongly suspected of causing cancer, mutation or birth defects".  Juice Beauty cares about overall beauty, both inside and out!

Juice Beauty’s Cleansing Milk also removes eye makeup!  How versatile!  Juice Beauty Cleansing Milk retails at Sephora for $22.  At $22, this product is also a screaming good deal!

I first wrote about Juice Organics months ago, but these products have been on my mind ever since. Why? This is probably the highest-quality skincare I’ve ever sampled that sells for a song… This set of trial-sized Juice Organics product is perfect to stuff a loved one’s stocking this year. Only $9.99 will buy a Nourishing Cleanser, Vitamin Antioxidant Serum and SPF 30 Light Tint Moisturizer in pint-sized packages perfect for travel.

This travel set sells for $8.99 at drugstore.com and $9.99 on the Juice Organics website.

Winter hasn’t even started, my skin is already exhibiting symptoms of a crisis situation I’ve referred to as "winter-sickness" since I was a teenager.  The winter complexion consists of pale, dry skin that looks as if it’s never seen the sun.  Dried by harsh weather and forced-air heat, it can even take on a greenish hue.  It’s not attractive.

Naturally, I was attracted to Clinique’s recently introduced Supermoisture Makeup, a product boasting that it behaves like a moisturizer.  I’m a fan of tinted moisturizers, but also a fan of coverage… this seemed to be a wonderful combination of the two.

So I visited my local Clinique counter to select a shade, and the makeup artist working the counter steered me away from this product, due to my oily t-zone.  I contemplated her advice, and chose to ignore her.  I’m so glad I did.  This fantastic moisturizing foundation truly does behave like a moisturizer.  It’s amazingly blendable, the coverage is flawless and leaves a dewy finish.  This beauty product has given the breath of life to my poor tired skin.  I would rank it among the best foundations I have ever had the pleasure to try.

Clinique Supermoisture Makeup retails for $22.50, and can be purchased at Nordstrom, Sephora.comand Macys.com… among other fine retailers.