Clarisonic and Clean

After some time trying out my beauty products provided to me, courtesy of Santa, I have lots of reviews for all you Makeup Lovers out there! Today's topic of discussion will be my favorite and most exciting gift: the Clarisonic skin care brush.

I had heard really good things about it and I really wanted to get something that I could use every day for healthier skin. I hate having dry patches (though we already know how oily I am) and using my Clean and Clear benzoyl peroxide wash twice a day. I've come to feel that although benzoyl peroxide works the best on me, I shouldn't use it more than once a day to prevent unnecessary drying, which in turn overproduces oil.

I love the Clarisonic skin care brush. It only takes one minute out of my shower each day. It's waterproof and easy to use. Just press the button and you are instantly on your way to healthier skin. The brush times your intervals accordingly and beeps when each interval is up: 20 seconds for your forehead; 20 seconds for the nose and chin; and 10 seconds a piece for each cheek. Use the various cleansers for your skin type that come with the package and are available in larger sizes at Sephora. Once you rinse your face after you've finished, you will notice how soft and smooth it feels. In the three weeks that I've been using the Clarisonic skin care brush, I've noticed a decrease in acne and blackheads, which is certainly due to the good cleansing power the brush has. It really gets into those pores!

This is a great way to nurture your skin and since it's waterproof, you can do it in the shower. Why not start on your face as you wait for the water to warm up? This saves a bit of water and time for you. It's great!

I know the Clarisonic skin care brush is a bit pricey at $195, but I feel like it's totally worth it. Like I've said before, I think taking care of your skin is one of the most important parts of your beauty regimen. If you have glowing, healthy skin, everything else will certainly fall into place. Check out the Clarisonic skin care brush soon!

-A

I think this image (from Clarisonic.com) says it all:

Is This All I Need?

I got back to the gym yesterday. I am very excited about that. I've been pumped all day long! After my lovely shower last night, I decided I should really put moisturizer on right after I get out of the shower. My moisturizer even says to put on after you've washed your face and it is still damp. I thought, hey, why not follow the directions? My face felt so soft and protected and smooth. I was very happy about that.

Now my question - was it that I put moisturizer on twice yesterday or that I've begun using yet another different moisturizer? I purchased Prescriptives All You Need + SPF 15 moisturizer for oilier skin recently and have found my face to be nice and smooth. With my new revelation, I think what I should do is put my tinted moisturizer on in the morning and my regular Prescriptives on at night. That sounds like a good plan.

I've been rather obsessive in my search for the right moisturizer, I know. And my face literally produces more oil than a bottle of EVOO. Now, I know what you're thinking, if you have such oily skin, why a moisturizer?

I was told by a makeup artist at Nordstrom in Vegas that everyone should use a moisturizer, no matter what their skin type. If you have dry skin, it's obvious why you'll need a moisturizer. But if you have oily skin it's also important. You see, when you wash your face, some of the natural oils are whisked away. Your face naturally produces oils after this, but overcompensates for the fact that your face has no oil on it at all. And poof! Way too much oil - which is very hard to accept. I'm certainly not a fan.

Two thumbs up for Prescriptives moisturizer. I'll keep you posted…

-A

Almost Sold on Moisturizer...

I tried Laura Mercier's Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 20. I'm loving it and using it daily: it is oil-free, tinted, and has protection from the sun - it's the triple threat of moisturizers. I needed to replace the Stila moisturizer because it just wasn't doing it for me anymore. I felt that when I made the switch from the SPF 15 to the SPF 30, I couldn't apply it as easily and it felt heavy on my face.

So when I got a sample from Sephora of Laura Mercier, I was much more inclined to try it out. I liked it and went to go pick one up for myself and have been using it daily. It's sheer, non-greasy, and provides nice coverage

However, I'm still not convinced on the Laura Mercier moisturizer, as $42 is pretty hefty to pay for a moisturizer. With that said though, I feel that if I'm going to spend money on something, it might as well be on a good moisturizer. My face has a tendency to break out and I have long battled a history of acne. I really do want to make sure that I have a good product on my face that will not clog my pores and cause me to break out.

What do I need in a good moisturizer? Requirement one is certainly having it be oil free. Requirement two would be for the moisturizer to be light on my face. Lastly, I would look at the price. I think that having it be tinted isn't really the most important part because I do use bronzer on a daily basis. It's nice to have a little bit of color, but to be honest I don't think that it gives that much "tint" to your face.

I'm not sure if I'll buy Laura Mercier's Oil-Free Tinted Moisturizer again. I'm going to see what else is out there, but moisturizer is really so important, even with my severely oily skin. Go figure. I'm still on the hunt…

-A

Can't Live Without This: Product 1

I've had an unfortunate bout with some "imperfections" on my face in the past two weeks. And were it not for my concealer, I don't think I would've been as confident leaving the house.

I first discovered Prescriptives Camouflage Cream concealer when S gave it to me. She hadn't been using it and I was in desperate need of a quick fix while I was at her house. She said that I could just have it because she was using another and ever since, I've been hooked!

It came especially in handy recently because I was able to use it to blend perfectly to my face. No one noticed my imperfections when I used the Camouflage Cream and when I pointed it out to a select few, they had to stare hard at my face to even see what I was talking about.

The Prescriptives Camouflage Cream concealer also works like a charm for those nasty dark circles under your eyes. You'll brighten up your face in no time at all. I just love this Prescriptives product to pieces! It's gotten me out of quite a few messes!

This is just one of the three products I cannot live without. What are your three makeup must-haves??

-A

Please Excuse Me While I Powder My Nose

I go back and forth on the usage of powder. I used to use it a long time ago and then I stopped. I often go through periods where I do this with products. I recently got back to using powder when KA was telling me about hers. I felt like powder would be a good fit for me since my face is very oily and could use a touch up every now and then.

My choice: Stila's Sheer Pressed Powder. Made specifically for oily types, this powder does do its job well. Anytime I've been out for a long time, whether it be a weekend project or just a day at the office, I can rely on my Stila powder to take away my shine instantly. I wouldn't say I'm completely blown away, however. If I found another powder that did the same or a better job I may be easily swayed. I've heard good things about Clinique, but we'll see if I can score a sample of some other powder. But I do like the Stila powder for now and will continue using this product to powder my nose.

-A

Photo: Sephora.com

A Tip About My Favorite Spackle

I fell in love with the Laura Geller Spackle when I used a sample from my giant collection. I then got my mom hooked on the stuff too. When I ran into Sephora to buy the full size, I grabbed the box labeled spackle, saw it had some extra perks like eye and lip primer, and threw it in with my huge stash of common products to be purchased. This is the Spackle Trio (pictured, right). Mind you, this purchase took me about five minutes and I spent almost $150. Why is it that you run out of the most important, expensive stuff at the exact same time?! I hate that!

Anyway, this was a serious mistake. My mom got the real bottle, which is comprised of 2 oz (pictured left), while mine only has 0.85 oz. I may have the lip and eye primers, but I am certainly not a fan. I tried the eye primer one day thinking that it could be a good switch from my beloved F.Y. Eye (not because I don't want to use my lovely Benefit product, but because sometimes it's good to switch it up). I was seriously mistaken. My shadow was all over the place within an hour and I was quite upset. And we already know how I feel about putting things on my lips so I doubt I will use the lip primer. But who knows, maybe I'll give it a whirl.

My other point about the spackle is that not only will you get more out of a regular bottle, but it also costs a lot less. For 2oz, you'll pay $21.50, but for the Trio it'll run $30. That was certainly a mistake purchase for me and I definitely will know better for next time!

-A

Photos: Sephora.com