Body
March 5, 2010
Posted by marta
When we pulled together our Five Best glycolic creams, several of you asked us to take a look at Vivité Vibrant Therapy ($71). It’s taken a while, but I have finally purchased a bottle and have just started to test it. With more than just glycolic in its arsenal, this has been formulated to tackle age spots and hyperpigmentation. I am using it on a large (ahem) freckle on my right hand.
The most intriguing thing about the Vivité range is that it is made by the company that is behind two other controversial products, the Latisse eyelash growth product and, of course, Botox. Vivité is formulated around something it calls GLX Technology – “a hydrating glycolic” blended with antioxidants. Actually, Allergan is using a fairly common synthetic form of glycolic called ammonium glyconate. The only thing that is unusual is that it is the most dominant ingredient after water – although the percentage concentration is not revealed. But, this being Allergan, there must be a big gun somewhere. And there is. Read more...
November 26, 2009
Posted by marta
As it is Thanksgiving, it is timely to pay homage to the cranberry. It is so much more than an accoutrement for turkey. Cranberries, a source of vitamin C that really come into their own as an antioxidant due to the high presence of polyphenols. A University of Maine study compared cranberries to 22 other fruits and found that they had the highest number of phenols, leaving red grapes standing. And in a University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth study of 20 different fruit juices, cranberry juice had the highest total phenol content and “the highest radical scavenging capacity among the different fruits studied”. So, upgrade from OJ.
Cranberry is juicing up some of our favorite antiaging products and we’ve pulled out a few of our favorite such as Dermaxime Rejuvenating Neck Cream and one of our Five Best lip plumpers from Jane Iredale. Leverage cranberry’s skin lightening abilities to diminish age spots with PrescribedSolutions and this multitasking berry will exfoliate chapped lips courtesy of organic makeup purveyor NVEY. Finally, we like Arcona’s powerful peptide potion and so were very pleased to find their cranberry firming gel. Read more...
October 3, 2009
Posted by marta
I must admit that I need my vitamin D. And I don’t mean popping a capsule, I mean copping some rays. For sun worshipers, a French brand called Future Face that has come up with something very intriguing. Oxelio is a carrot-based topical gel that protects from the sun’s rays by boosting the skin’s natural immunity while accelerating a tan. At the same time, it is supposed to supplement any SPFs you have applied. I was greatly interested by the whole idea of Oxelio. It’s not that I actively set out to get a tan, but I enjoy the sun, spend a lot of time outside and remain somewhat skeptical about sunscreen safety (indeed a new report from a UK scientist says that sunscreens don’t prevent skin cancer). Read more...
September 2, 2009
Posted by marta
Whilst in Walgreens the other day, I found a lonely box of Vita-K Solutions for age spots ($14.99). There were no other representatives of the Vita-K brand, which is a pity because they sensibly target their potions to conditions: dark circles, spider veins, even blotchy skin. However, the age spot cream was making a valiant stand: where else would you find Matrixyl 3000 for less than fifteen bucks?
Vita-K is nothing if not confident. It claims that results will be seen with the first application. I am on my second application. Maybe…. I am testing it on my right hand where I have a dark freckle. Perhaps it is a little fainter, but I’m not sure I trust myself to eliminate wishful thinking and the directions advise using it twice a day for four to six weeks. I think I’ll reserve judgment for a few weeks. Read more...
August 22, 2009
Posted by marta
Niacinamide and alpha arbutin seem to be about the best choices for fading hyperpigmentation and evening out sun damaged skin tone. Your Best Face upped the amount of alpha arbutin in its reformulated Restore, but most of the time we simply don’t know if we are getting meaningful amounts of actives in our potions – unless, that is, we make our own. I had a go with buriti oil (a new antioxidant find of mine) and threw in Matrixyl 3000 for good measure.
If you want to channel your inner formulator and fashion a freckle fader (we have banished the term age spots from Truth In Aging), then click on the images for the recipe (it takes a couple of minutes to whip up) and a little background on the ingredients. Note, I have been fiddling around with the recipe over the weekend and have modified the ingredients slightly – the main reason was I overdid the buriti in the version posted on Saturday and have now reduced it to a few drops.
Read more...
