Neutrogena's Rapid Clear Cleanser

During my recent cross country move I was having some skin issues. I'm not sure if it was just sitting in the car for three days on end, washing my face in a different Holiday Inn everynight, but by the end of our drive my skin was a disaster. I was oily, had dry flaky patches and my face had more clogged pores than I've had at any time since high school. I was running out of face wash as well, so I decided that it was time for a shakeup. I decided I would address the clogged pores with my cleanser and concentrate on increasing my exfoliation to help with the flakes.

Anyways, I hightailed it to the Meijer beauty section once I arrived here in the midwest. (Meijer is like a Super Walmart, but owned by a family in Grand Rapids Michigan. They're open 24/7 except Christmas and they sell everything. I missed them in California!) After perusing the options, I settled on this cleanser from Neutrogena. I love the brand and the idea of an oil control cleanser (without the added acne fighters that dry me out) was perfect.

Overall I really loved this cleanser. Honestly, it does smell just a bit medicinal. It's pretty thick and creates a nice lather. It is perfect for pairing with my Clarisonic since the cleanser stays put on the bristles and doesn't wash away too easily. The cleanser overall does a great job, cleaning away makeup quickly and easily (though keep it away from your eyes, it will sting and it doesn't really remove mascara). The cleanser didn't overly dry my skin and I had no irritation. Within just a day or two my skin was looking better and my pores were clearer.

This is definitely a cleanser I would buy again!

Neutrogena's Rapid Clear Cleanser

How to Get the Most Out of The Skincare Products You're Using

How do you know if you're applying all of those serums, gels and lotions in the right order? Because putting them on incorrectly could mean poor absorption of that expensive serum, which just means money down the drain. Honestly, this is something that even doctors get confused about.

Skincare products are different than the drugs that I prescribe my patients every day. Typically I am dealing with only 2 different routes of delivery- Oral vs Intravenous. So, I usually only have to think about how well the stomach/intestine will absorb something.

However, skincare (and topical drugs for the skin) have many different formulations. Serums, gels, lotions.... they all absorb into the skin differently in terms of depth and time period. In fact, it is the formulation (or as Dr. Schultz calls it, the vehicle) that is much more important than even the percent active ingredient.

Dr. Schultz's newest video over on DermTV is a great explanation of this problem. I hope it helps relieve some confusion!

DermTV: What Order to Apply your Skincare

My Favorite Eye Palettes for Fall 2009

I am a big sucker for eye shadow palettes. I need to buy at least two or three every season. It's a sickness and has caused me to have lack of storage space. This fall two of the best palettes out there are from the same company, Tarte. I love Tarte's shadows! They are well pigmented, easy to blend and the eye shadows last forever.


Femme Fatale Palette

Hair Worthy of Prime Time: Quick Tips to Get it Yourself!

I get a lot of e-mails with info on how to achieve a certain look around award show season. I tend to pick the cream of the crop for posting, though I honestly feel a bit strange about that. Sure Heidi Klum looked gorgeous in her dress, or Angelina's cat eye was amazing. But frequently those looks aren't really workable for "everyday." And I want more everyday looks.

So, I was pretty excited when I received information from Aussie about how to achieve the looks we see on our favorite prime time shows. These looks are workable for every day, aren't very detailed and just should help you with your own look.

Read on for more!

A Trip to the Original Kiehl's and a New Favorite Kiehl's Product!

Last week I finally went to New York City. Somehow I've never been there (likely this is related to spending most of my twenties either in school or working in a hospital). Most of my trip was related to this blog, and I spent a lot of time with other bloggers from the Total Beauty network. We went all over the city meeting with brands, learning about their new products. A lot of fragrances were sniffed, lotions sampled and you can only imagine how many different colors of lipstick and eye liner ended up on the backs of our hands.

For me one of the major highlights of the trip was our trip to the original Kiehl's store, where we were able to trial a few new products (you can see one of the rooms above, this is their facial skincare area). I'm a huge Kiehl's fan (you can probably tell from this blog, I get pretty excited when trying out new things), and I have to say that I've even managed to suck my husband into my mania. I somehow managed to not buy the whole store while I was there, but it was a struggle.

Read on to find out more about the products I'm so excited about and which one is now my new favorite Kiehl's product!

Ooh La La! Leonor Greyl Huile de Palme

I've never been a VO5 girl. I remember seeing the ads in high school, wondering why on earth would I want to put oil in my hair? Well, during my visit to Paris last year I had a treatment at an amazing spa, and the oil did wonders for my hair. It was soft, I lost split ends and I had amazing volume. But, I honestly haven't repeated the treatments because the multi-step process seems time consuming and annoying to complete at home.

Skindinavia Makeup Finishing Spray

In this summer's Beauty Fix shipment I found a bottle of Skindinavia Makeup Finishing Spray. While I had never heard of it before it showed up in my house, it has suddenly popped up everywhere from Allure, the Today Show and even as a "free bonus with order" from many of my favorite internet stores.