September 9, 2009
Posted by marta
Ha Ly sent me this video of someone trying out plain old store cupboard olive oil as a makeup remover. The video is cute and the demonstration on an amount of eye makeup that would only be worn by someone taking part in a carnival suggests olive oil is extremely efficient.
Having rummaged around on various message boards and websites, it seems that olive oil is an effective cleanser, great for dry skin and a good alternative for acne sufferers. It is non-comedogenic, which means it won’t clog pores or cause breakouts. Olive oil is almost unique among oils in that it can be consumed in the crude form without refining. This has the effect of conserving all its vitamins, essential fatty acids, and other nutrients. Because it contains all these nutrients, including powerful antioxidants, real extra virgin olive oil is beneficial to health and protects us from damage by free radical oxidation. Cell membranes contain fatty acids that are highly susceptible to free radical damage. This damage produces lipid peroxides that can kill the cell. Real olive oil contains polyphenols, vitamin E, and other natural antioxidants that prevent this damage. Read more...
September 5, 2009
Posted by marta
The quest continues for low cost, yet effective alpha hydroxy (or glycolic) serum that I can recommend alongside IMAGE Skincare’s pricey and hard to find version. While waiting for Reviva’s Glycolic Acid Renaissance Cream to arrive, I found in a local health store a bottle of Kiss My Face Peaches & Creme Moisturizer With 8% Alpha Hydroxy. At $8.99, it is almost ten times cheaper than IMAGE.
Since I have found that you often get what you pay for, I was prepared to be disappointed. However, preliminary testing on my neck and chest suggest that this skin brightening exfoliator may punch above its weight in dollars. It has a fresh peachy smell and the combination of fruit acids (including malic from apples and tartaric from grapes and bananas) and moisturizing emollients, shea and squalane make this a two in one brightener and moisturizer. Perhaps this will be my new neck cream. I’ll report back after a few weeks of use. Read more...
September 3, 2009
Posted by Reader
Posted by Francesca
I have had about ten “treatments” of microdermabrasion in both a doctor’s office and in a spa setting. I am fond of the procedure. I always feel as though the tiny bits of sand pummeling my face and décolleté through the machine are bound to be doing something restorative to my skin. Afterward, my face is always flushed and shiny, the texture seems different, and all signs of dullness are gone. My face feels and looks renewed, reinvigorated, the pores seem smaller and the results last a good 3 weeks to one month.
Although I like microdermabrasion, I do believe it is a pricey indulgence for short-term gain. Therefore, I was more than interested when I saw the offer in Truth in Aging’s newsletter to try and review REVERSITAL 3-in-1 MicrodermaStick. I was determined to find out if a home remedy likening itself to microdermabrasion could possibly mimic the refreshing results of the “real thing.” Read more...
August 25, 2009
Posted by copley
While staying with a good friend over the weekend, I was delighted to discover Mario Badescu Seaweed Cleansing Soap in the shower. Like any curious houseguest with a weakness for trying new things, I helped myself to a heaping portion at morning and night. After hearing the brand touted on Oprah and Martha Stewart, I knew that Mario has friends in high places. If the daytime talk show queens approve, then the products surely have a massive fan following. But the Seaweed Cleansing Soap fell short on all criteria to make me Badescu-believer, let alone a full-fledged fan.
Mario Badescu doesn’t slap a seaweed label on his face soap for no reason. The color of the creamy cleanser is a fitting sea foam green, with minuscule dark green bits meant to resemble algae extracts. There is a high concentration of a kelp called Bladderwrack, an edible brown seaweed that does not (as its name implies) affect your bladder, though it might impart anti-aging benefits by infusing the skin with polygalactosides, amino acids, vitamin C, and vitamin A. Standard ocean seaweed contributes a few more antioxidants, but that’s where the good tide gets flushed out by a swell of bad. Read more...
August 15, 2009
Posted by marta
Angelina Jolie requested her favorite Yon-Ka products when making her latest movie, Salt. These were the makeup remover Lait Nettoyant, the toner Lotion PS, Baume Body lotion and Huile Corps body oil. Personally I have always found Yon-Ka’s products to be a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes the differences are so extreme that I wonder whether there aren’t two formulators at Yon-Ka and that sometimes the evil one manages to lock the good one in the basement while having his dastardly way in the laboratory. My guess is that Lait Nettoyant came about that way. Thankfully, the forces of good won with Baume Body.
I decided to take a look at Ms Jolie’s faves and, because we can’t think of Angie without Brad, I perused the Yon-Ka men’s line as well. Brad’s mid life crisis seems to be manifesting itself in his beard these days and, therefore, I chose Yon-Ka Barber Shave. Click on the images for my take on Brangelina-scaping with Yon-Ka. Read more...
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