Top Secret ::: Mary Kay Microdermabrasion Step 1

I left this little nugget out of my Skincare Routine post a few weeks back, regrettably, because I had just finished a tube and hadn't opened the new one yet when I was taking those photos. My (huge) mistake. 

Not that I didn't have an enormous amount of stuff in that photo already!

Totally Obsessed ::: Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF47

Photos by {accordingtoame}, Review updated to include ingredients

Last Fall, I went to replenish my beloved Josie Maran moisturizer (previously called Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer SPF 40+ and previously blogged about here, here, here) to find it had been pulled from stock everywhere awaiting reformulation. 

I had a meltdown. Reformulations and I are not friends.

Top Secret ::: Aloe Vera Gel

All photos by {accordingtoame}

A totally natural, and totally cheap, skin care staple, and something anyone using retinoids (which should be everyone!) should have on hand is Aloe Vera Gel.  

Why, you ask? 

Loving Right Now :::

Photos: BobbiBrown.com, Dove.com, Biore.com, Sonicare.com, 

TrueDetective Instagram, RingBlings Instagram

Top Secret ::: Dove Winter Care Body Wash

For the last couple of years, Dove has released a "Winter Care" version of it's top selling body wash. It's a richer, more luxurious version of the original Deep Moisture version, and one that helps skin retain more moisture through the driest and most bitterly cold months.

Must Have ::: Ocusoft Lid Scrub Pads

Photos: Me of my Ocusoft package

I have a decidedly unglamorous eye condition that often results in little bumps forming on the waterline of my upper eyelid.  One of the equally unglamorous ways my eye doctor has handled that in the past is by lancing them with a stabby sterile object in his office.  That is always something fun to look forward to. 

Another slightly less creepy and definitely more appealing solution is the OCuSOFT Lid Scrub Pads that are readily available in an affordable little box of individually wrapped pads via the drugstore eye care aisle. 

Test Driven ::: Clarisonic Opal

Photo: Me, of my set

During the Anniversary Sale last month I picked up a special Anniversary set of the Clarisonic Opal device, something I'd wanted to try out for a while since I had watched a presentation on QVC.  I immediately charged it the very first night and gave it a whirl, with high expectations.

Test Driven::: Elizabeth Dehn for One Love Organics

When rumblings were popping up around the internets, first from Elizabeth Dehn herself, about "new products", naturally my interest was piqued.  I love my Vitamin C Serum from this line, very dearly in fact, and was hoping to see what they would come out with next, perhaps in a facial spray (a product Elizabeth used to have in a former line in a former life) or sunscreen moisturizer to rival the Josie Maran I also love dearly.

Must Have::: Josie Maran Daily Moisturizer SPF 40+

Photo: Me, of my bottle

The Josie Maran Argan Oil Daily Moisturizer SPF 40+ is a newer product in my repertoire (as in under a year), but one that became a very fast favorite of mine.

I have incredibly sensitive skin, exacerbated by prescription retinoids, and I am also allergic to nearly everything. Long-time readers will note the lack of any lip product reviews--that's why, almost every single lip product contains one of the many ingredients I am allergic to, so even though I have one or two I can tolerate, I rarely wear much in that department.  Call me ahead of the nude-lip trend, if you will! 

Must Have::: DHC Cleansing Oil

Photos: Me

One of my daily drivers, and a big part of my "beauty arsenal" that I wouldn't be without, is DHC Cleansing Oil. If you've been a long time reader, you may recall that it's something I have reviewed in the past. 

Top Secret::: Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve Company

Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve has been among my daily favorites since learning about it on a skincare forum, when it was declared by a self-proclaimed "resident expert" that the Whipped Squalane Face & Eye Mousse was the "best non-actives moisturizer out there", in part because it was natural and inexpensive.  When multiple other posters started chiming in with similar proclamations of agreement, and the reviews in the product reviews section are glowing, naturally one is intrigued, especially if one is looking for a non-actives moisturizer to just moisturize alongside her armory of actives.

What I am *LOVING* Right Now!:::

Top Secret::: Dermadoctor KP Duty

This is a confession about my body that I don't usually make known publicly and my beauty secret fix for it.  I have KP: Keratosis Pilaris. Also known as chicken skin, a bunch of little reddish bumps all over that look like little zits or rashes. The "technical definition":

Keratosis pilaris is a common skin condition in which a protein in the skin called keratin forms hard plugs within hair follicles.

In my case, it's on my face, arms, stomach, butt and legs.  It's pretty prominent on my arms and face, and I have been fighting with this all my life, with various salves and creams and gels, trying to get it to just go away, because it makes me insanely self-conscious, almost as much as the dark circles you've read my lamentations about now for the last three or four years.  When I get hot (and I am a human furnace, so that would be often), it turns bright red, and is impossible to conceal with makeup.  Sexy! 

Product Line to Check Out: ONE LOVE ORGANICS

I read about this line, One Love Organics, about maybe 2 months ago on BeautyBets, when I was looking for a new Vitamin C serum to replace the Mario Badescu I had been using, and found only "meh", in part due to the propylene glycol in it, and in part due to it just not seeming to really *do* anything.  It also didn't seem to place nice with retinoids or any of my other products.

I picked up a bottle of the Vitamin C Serum along with a few samples of the other items, and started in on them. So far my absolute favorite IS the Vitamin C. It's a cushy texture, not at all what I expected for some reason...and nothing like the Mario Badescu which for lack of a better description was kind of like rubbing alcohol in a dropper bottle.  This stuff is dreamy on the face and smells DIVINE. I apply one pump right out of the shower after cleansing, and rub it in all over (I probably should press?) and down my neck. Once that sets in, I apply a tiny amount of the Vitamin E eye balm, and then my moisturizer if I'm "patchy" or "molting" from retinoids. Then I'm done. I did have some trial and error in the beginning to figure out if I needed one pump or two.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Mario Badescu Oil Free Moisturizer SPF 30

I picked up a little bottle of this Mario Badescu moisturizer at Nordstrom a few weeks back because I had been looking for a new SPF30 face lotion that was rich enough but not irritating. So far this has been a winner. It's non-irritating AND SPF 30 which is lately hard to find. I had tried their regular Oil Free a while back and really liked it, and also really like the Buttercream moisturizer a great deal, but I had been getting scolded a bit by the dermatologist when she read the SPF level (or lack thereof) on my current rotations, and said that I needed 30 or higher, preferably 45+.

Photo Credit: MarioBadescu.com

PRODUCT REVIEW: Suki Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser

Photo Credit: Sukiskincare.com

After seeing this brand at a few higher end shops, Whole Paycheck, and at a couple apothecaries in various cities, I did a little poking around. The line is natural and in most cases organic where possible, using little to no synthetic ingredients.  From what I gathered, this Exfoliate Foaming Cleanser was the "prize" in the selection of products. It's quite a range, and I might have to check a few more out. Esp that 10% Vitamin C serum. This getting older nonsense needs to be kaiboshed.

PRODUCT REVIEW: La Mer Cleansing Gel

Photo Credit: cremedelamer.com

I have been using the La Mer Cleansing Gel in alternation with SIMPLE moisturizing gel cleanser from the drugstore (well, Target), off and on now for about a year. With and without a washcloth or the Alien Laser Deathray Gun, aka Clarisonic (yes, that's maybe back around...)  It smells nice, and does not require very much to make a nice froth.  It's exceptionally foamy on the Clarisonic. I might use about a half of a pea size dab.  I got a few travel size bottles when I bought the La Mer special event set last year at Anniversary. That to me was the prize winner of everything I got. I have made a travel size last almost a year before repurchasing a fullsize, using gift cards.  It's a pretty nicely sized bottle, as it should be for sixty-five-fucking-dollars. It has a pump that locks, which I love.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Clarisonic Mia2

Nordstrom Anniversary is in full swing (I know, I know...I did not do a full post of all the stuff I wanted this year, mostly bec I didn't want that much this year! I am on a clothing ban!)  and one of the few items I wanted to get was a new Mia2. I have the Mia (Alien Laser Deathray Gun) and used it a few times a week off and on, but was hoping maybe if I had another speed that I would get more out of it besides zits. 

PRODUCT REVIEW: SKII Facial Treatment Essence

Photo Credit: Bloomingdales.com

While in Chicago last week, I stopped in Saks to poke around as we were killing serious time waiting for a table at Giordano's. After lapping the Chloe Marcie bag I love for the 4th time, I wandered towards cosmetics to see which lines they had.  Inside I found an SKII counter, containing a product I have longed to try, but was too cheap to otherwise drop the cash on.   It made my hand and face feel like silk. Soft like I've never experienced.  SOLD!  I know that Cate Blanchett is a face for them, and loves this stuff, so any opportunity to throw some cash down to look even a little like that...hell yea! 

PRODUCT REVIEW: Malin+Goetz SPF15 Moisturizer

While in Chicago last week, I stopped in Barneys for one of the less awkward Oak Street shopping experiences I had. At least there they took advantage of my desire to buy things I cannot readily acquire at home, and yknow, acknowledged my existence.  I really liked Andrew, with Malin+Goetz, who is a registered esthetician.  That to me is kind of a big deal, because they're at least trained to understand skin.  By someone not a brand, in theory.  Of the two skincare items I picked up in Chicago, this so far is a definite winner for me, which I hope continues.