Real Acne Questions and Answers

Today a little birdie sent me a link to this video from
Reel Skin, a new series of dermatology videos.

This video features Manny on the Street, who is on the Ryan Seacrest morning show on KISS FM in LA (so strange to see him in person, I listened to that show during my morning commute when I lived in So Cal). Manny interviewed a few people on the street about their Acne questions and Dr. Rubinstein, a prominent local dermatologist answered the questions. I love that his answers are straight forward and easy to understand!

I'm hoping that this becomes a regular series.

Lippie Love: Cover Girl LipPerfection Dazzle

Last week I checked out Smitten, another LipPerfection color from CoverGirl. I liked the shade, but found it drying. Strange since CoverGirl really touts the hydration from this line.

Apparently, Smitten must be different than the rest of the shades, or I had a bum lippie. Because Dazzle applied like a dream, just gliding. It is very hydrating, almost more like a balm. It looks great for about 5 or 6 hours. So.... definitely check out LipPerfection, but maybe avoid Smitten?

CoverGirl

Murad's Intensive Resurfacing Peel

I love being able to use an at-home peel once a week to reveal soft skin that has a more consistent tone. The side benefits of anti-aging and reduced blemishes are definitely something I'm interested in as well. So, when Murad sent me their Intensive Resurfacing Peel to try out, I was pretty excited.

I'm not sure that I'd call this peel "Intensive". Really, it is more "moderate", which is probably good since I do know a lot of people tend to really overdo the at home peel. So, ignore the name, it is not going to turn you into scary Samantha after a peel from her derm. (I swear I think about this episode every time I break out a peeling product.) I think this episode is a great warning about over doing the peel. Those people that suggest buying pro-level products on-line and using them at home? Probably best to ignore them. Having some intense pain or burning during your treatment? Time to inactivate or rinse it off. Listen to your skin!

This peel is a light tan color, with a little bit of a pearly sheen. It has the consistency of a light lotion and you'll find little white beads within the product as well. The little beads will break apart a bit when compressed, they're small, think of those white flecks that fall off of styrofoam. The peel does have a light chemical scent, but it isn't noticeable to me.

When I applied the peel it did sting slightly, but that disappeared after about 20-30 seconds and didn't hurt. The peel dries to a light film on your skin after about 3-4 minutes. It feels tight but not overly so. It rinsed off easily with minimal scrubbing. I think those little beads I mentioned are meant to help with some physical exfoliation during the rinsing off process, but really there just aren't enough of them to make a difference here. I followed it up with a regular face wash. It felt like the mask was completely off my face, but who wants to leave a little bit on their face and look like Samantha as a result? Definitely not me.

When it was done my skin definitely felt smooth and I have improved tone with smaller appearing pores. It wasn't the strongest peel I've done at home, but it definitely had done something to my skin with just one use.

This peel is pricey, though much cheaper than a professional peel. The box comes with 4 individual sized bottles, which at 5 ml each are big enough to treat your face and neck easily. Though, $40 for the box is more than many other at-home products. I did really like this product, I'm not certain I like the price. Murad does go on sale sometimes, I'd say it is worth checking out if on-sale.






Murad's Intensive Resurfacing Peel

Lippie Love: Clarins Subtle Rose

Have you ever heard the tip about how to pick your perfect lipstick color? The one about looking at the inside of your lip and going 1-2 shades darker? Oh, if only it was so easy to find that shade....

Subtle Rose is that color for me, but with just a small amount of nude thrown in to the mix to make it more neutral. It feels nicely hydrating and lasts from morning to lunch, despite my constant sipping of coffee.

Clarins

Revitalash Full Volume Mascara and Primer

Recently I shared my Revitalash experience. Massively successful. So, I was pretty excited to try out this product duo. For some odd reason, lash primers make me happy (I must relish the though of making my eye makeup routine more complicated?). Sometimes though, those primers don't help much. For me, the ideal primer must actually do what it claims to do (add volume or length), not be a strange color (which will show through if you don't perfectly apply the mascara over it. White?? Worst color ever.) and finally, not make your lashes clumpy.


So, as you can see this is pretty much an amazing duo. They add volume, a bit of length and they hold the curl all day long. There are no flaking or smudging issues. While the mascara is pretty good when used alone, in combination with the primer there really is a boost in volume. The primer is a dark blue, though it dries to a darker navy. Not quite the black or brown that I would have preferred, though I had a hard time seeing that it was still blue once dried. It didn't seem to interfere with mascara application if there was no waiting time in between coats. And the best part, there were minimal clumping issues despite using 2 products.

This duo definitely gets a 2 thumbs up from me.

Revitalash