March 11, 2010

LilSis has been talking about using more frugal beauty products, and I have one to tell you about.  How about a facial moisturizer that costs you $18 for 4 ounces?  Not bad, huh?  A while back, the folks at Skin MD sent LilSis and me a bottle of their Shielding Lotion.  I've been using it for a couple of months now, so I think I can give you a fair review of it.

What's special about it?  The literature says this about Skin MD:

• It can replace traditional moisturizers which temporarily restore moisture to the skin.  It binds to the skin to create an invisible shield around the skin to maintain moisture and  protect it from environmental chemicals and pollution.

• It contains natural ingredients like aloe vera, arnica montana, chamomile, vitamin E, and a proprietary humectant ingredient that is supposed to be more effective than glycerin.

• It is non-greasy and non-comedogenic so it should not clog pores.

How did the product do?  Did it live up to the claims?

I can't say if it shielded my skin from pollution and chemicals, but I liked that it was really lightweight and soaked into my skin quickly.  It created a nice smooth base for my foundation.  And, this is huge…it didn't break my skin out!

Absolutely everything breaks me out, so I hold my breath when I try a new serum or moisturizing cream or lotion.  90% of the time, it does cause a breakout, even it it's supposedly non-comedogenic.  So the fact that Skin MD didn't cause a flare-up is pretty darn big.

So, Skin MD has earned two big gold stars from me:  for smooth texture and for not instigating a zit attack.  The big question though is whether my skin seemed hydrated.  I'm afraid I can't give out a gold star for that.  This product just hasn't been enough for me this winter, even when I applied it twice in the morning.  I've had some dry areas, and some little flakies here and there.

To be fair, this has been a super cold winter, plus my skin has been drier than usual because of a prescription I'm taking to help prevent hormonal breakouts.  Even so, most people are still drier than me.  Skin MD is recommended for body, hands and feet as well as face, but if it wasn't enough for my face, it definitely wasn't enough for the rest of me in the wintertime.

I still have lots of Skin MD left, and my plan is to give it another try as a facial moisturizer in the summer when I typically need a lighter product under my foundation.  Overall, I liked it and thought it was a quality product; it just wasn't quite enough for me during the winter.

Skin MD is available in my area at CVS and Walgreen's drugstores, as well as Tom Thumb and Minyard's grocery stores.

~BigSis

November 20, 2009

You're right, LilSis; I do have something to say about great body creams that don't give you a financial guilt attack!  I love everything about L'Occitane, but their shea butter products are a bit of a splurge.  There are times for splurging, but there are also times for being a little more frugal (like now).

Let me give you the scoop on an AWESOME inexpensive cream that you can get at pretty much any drugstore or discount store.  It's Gold Bond Ultimate Cream.  I've tried both formulas: Ultimate Healing has aloe, and Ultimate Softening has shea butter among other ingredients.  My favorite is the shea butter formula since it's even richer.  You can get the cream in a pump bottle or in a tube.  I prefer it in the tube because it's SO ding dang thick and rich that it's hard to get all of it out of a bottle.

I love the Gold Bond cream year-round for arms, legs, feet and hands.  It's heavy-duty enough for winter dry skin, but it soaks in quickly and isn't greasy so it's great for summer too.

The bonus?  You can frequently find a coupon in the Sunday paper for $1 or $2 off this great cream.  It's a touch more expensive than Jergens or Vaseline Intensive Care, but I think it's much more effective.

But wait!  There's more!  I have an incredible foot cream for you too.  It's Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme.

Wowie!  This creme smells beyond scrumptious, and will moisturize your dry feet beyond belief.  This is an extremely thick creme; I would even say it's goopy.  Deliciously goopy!  If you need a thick creme to slather on your feet overnight, this is the one!  Rub it into your feet and cover with socks, and you'll wake up to super smooth soft tootsies!  Plus it's pretty cheap…only $9 retail.

When I think of this coconut creme, I always remember how I used to rub it on HayHay's Fred Flintstone feet when he was a little guy.  That may embarrass him, but it's a happy little memory for me. 😀

There you have it, LilSis, my favorite inexpensive but uber-effective creams that will obliterate your dry winter skin!

~BigSis

October 4, 2009

Summer is gone for most of us, and has taken swimsuit season away with it for a few months. However, being the well-groomed, sophisticated women that we are, we still have to shave our legs, right? We can't let a ding dang forest grow on our legs just because we aren't going to the pool, or running around in shorts.

I do it every morning whether I'm wearing a skirt or not; it's just part of the daily routine. Over the years, I've tried bunches of different shave creams and gels, and have a real favorite line that you might not know about since I find it frequently in the men's shaving section.

The best shave gels on the market, in my opinion, are made by Aveeno. I like two of them equally well. The Positively Smooth Shave Gel has soy and emollients, and is supposed to help you shave less often and get fewer nicks, cuts and razor bumps, which makes sense as using shave gel is one of the tips for getting smooth armpits as mentioned in this article. It has a very light and pleasant fragrance.

The other gel I like is the Therapeutic Shave Gel. It contains oats and allantoin, and is formulated for sensitive skin and is supposed to soothe and moisturize easily-irritated skin. It is fragrance-free.

You can find these at most discount stores and drug stores for under $5 usually. I find them both to work extremely well at what they claim to do. They are both moisturizing, and provide a close irritation-free shave without the red bumps. I don't know if the Positively Smooth Shave Gel does reduce hair growth or not, and it doesn't really matter to me. It's an excellent gel and smells great.

Since I've found these two shave gels, I'll never go back to the strawberry-kiwi or peach-mango scented gels…you know the ones I mean! They aren't nearly as nourishing to the skin as the Aveeno line, and don't cost much less.

Shave on, girls! If you use these gels, let me know what you think about them!

~BigSis

September 15, 2009

Are you fanatic about hand cream like I am?  In the summer my hands just feel crunchy, and in the winter they feel parched, irritated and sometimes get red and crack between my fingers.  Not a very lovely image, right?

So I put on hand cream several times a day and have tried lots of different ones over the years.  I like the classic Neutrogena Norwegian Formula but it's strictly a nighttime treatment because of its' greasy nature.  I also love the traditional Jergens with the cherry vanilla scent because it reminds me of my grandmother.  But it's not really moisturizing enough for me; just nostalgic.

My current 3 favorites are excellent hand creams that you may have never heard of.  Here are my nominees for the 3 best hand creams:

Neutrogena Deep Moisture Hand Cream, Butter Cream –  I just picked this up over the weekend at Ulta.  I've never seen it before, but the Butter Cream label grabbed my attention.  This cream smells like the Birthday Cake scented candles, and it leaves that delicious scent on your hands for a while.  It contains shea butter, cocoa seed butter, and mango seed butter.  Surprisingly, with all of those rich ingredients, it does melt into your hands without being greasy.  LOVE it!  They also have a body cream and body wash in this line, and in my future!  $21.78 for 4 tubes (2 oz each) from Amazon

L'Occitane Hand Cream with 20% Shea Butter –  Rich, rich, rich!  I've been buying this cream for a while from L'Occitane in the small travel sizes, but LilSis bought me a big tube last year on my birthday and I'm just now finishing it up.  You need very little of this cream, so it goes a very long way.

It's just a touch greasy, but I can still use it in the morning on my way to work.  Besides shea butter, this cream also has vitamin E and extracts of honey and sweet almond.  The jasmine and ylang ylang scent is fabulous!  There are lots of other shea butter products in this line…try the foot cream too!  $25 for a 5.2 oz tube from Amazon

Medline Remedy Skin Repair Cream –  I can almost guarantee that you haven't heard of this cream!  I certainly hadn't, until last year when I was in the hospital with the Nasty Virus and asked the nurse for some cream.  She brought me this, and I went nuts for it!  Medline apparently makes all kinds of medical products.  They've formulated this cream with a trademarked ingredient called Olivamine which contains antioxidants, amino acids, and vitamins which supposedly play a role in basic cellular construction and protection.

I don't know about all of that, but I know it soaks into the skin quickly and leaves it feeling very hydrated.  Plus the scent has an awesome orangey creamsicle kind of a thing going on.  I've never seen this cream in a retail store, so I'll be ordering online now that I've used up the whole tube.  It's amazing.  $7.79 for a 4 oz tube from Amazon

There you have it…my best 3 hand creams you didn't know about til now!  Please let me know if you try any of these, or if you have another fabulous hand cream I should try!

~BigSis

October 18, 2008

Anyone have a late night? Feeling dehydrated? Need an instant boost? If the answer is yes to any of those questions, then try my favorite “super-quick fix” for tired skin,  Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Mask.

Miracle Mask!

This product was engineered to mimic the same effects as Bliss Spa's famous “Triple Oxygen Treatment” facial, (but in seconds). I know, at $52.00 a bottle, it's not cheap. It literally takes only a few pumps to cover your entire face; so this bottle lasts for a long time! (Depending on how often you use it, of course.)  I like to use it the morning after a late night or before I go out on a special evening. I really can tell that it plumps up the skin and somehow manages to hydrate within minutes.

I've never tried the Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Eye Masks, but this description makes me want to rush out and buy them!

NEW! Like an energy drink for your eyes, this instant brightening treatment is ‘eye-deal' for those who want to fake a full 8 hours of sleep. With 3 forms of glow-inducing oxygenation, antioxidant vitamin C and puff-pummeling cucumber extract, it'll leave eyes looking lively in 15 minutes flat. Box of 4 unique twin-chamber packets (1-month supply).

Bliss Triple Oxygen Energizing Eye Masks

Well, yeah, I'd like to fake a full 8 hours sleep! I can't even remember when I have slept 8 hours.  And, I definitely would like for my eyes to look a little more lively. I need to put these on my “wish list” of products I want to try. Considering that I am on a “never ending” quest to find a product to help alleviate puffy, tired eyes; these might have to go to the top of that list.

If anyone has tried these, please leave me a comment and let me know if they really do work!

~LilSis