skin care

I’m a big believer in making skin care part of my kids’ daily personal care routine, along with brushing their teeth and bathing. Since the time they were babies, my kids have used sunscreen and moisturizer for their dry skin and eczema. Now that Nathan is almost 13, it’s time to include another skin care step to his routine – an acne face wash. I’ve noticed that he’s starting to get a few pimples. It’s not that serious yet – just a few whiteheads. So, I was excited to have him test the new Clearasil® PerfectaWash.

PerfectaWash appeals to teens

Clearasil’s new face wash comes in an automatic dispenser, which I knew Nathan would like. He agreed and thought that the dispenser was really cool, even if it was a little slow dispensing the face wash.  (Patience, grasshopper!)

Nathan liked the smell and felt using the product made his skin look good – when he remembered to use it that is. He felt if he could use PerfectaWash it in the shower, instead of using it at the sink, he would use it more regularly. (Feel free to use that suggestion, Clearasil!)

Why moms like Clearasil PerfectaWash

My biggest concern was that PerfectaWash was going to be too harsh and drying  since Nathan’s skin is very sensitive. So I was glad that the wash only contain a 2% salicylic acid solution, which is less than some of the acne products I use on my skin. (Yes, at 47 I still get breakouts.) Nathan didn’t have any negative reactions to the product. In fact, it did improve his skin’s appearance and give him that “freshly scrubbed look,” which was a nice change from his usual messy boy countenance.

I also liked that the dispenser gave a perfect dose of facial wash, so Nathan would know how much to use and there wouldn’t be any waste. It’s also a very reasonably priced product. Clearasil PerfectaWash is available nationwide at Wal-Mart, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Amazon.com for $19.99. Each starter kit contains a PerfectaWash dispenser, two refills (100 doses each) and three batteries. Additional refills are $8.99 each. That’s pretty comparable with other acne wash products.

To save even more, you can get a buy one, get one coupon on the Clearasil Facebook page – a great deal if you have a couple of teenagers or mom or dad has some acne issues, too. (While you’re on Clearasil’s Facebook page, check out the chances to win VIP tickets to the Clearasil Six Flags Summer Concert Series and tickets to Lollapalooza Music Festival, too.)

I’ll be printing out a coupon and stocking up, for sure!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Clearasil. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

{0 comments}   StumbleUpon 0 Google +1 2 Pin it 1 Retweet 19 Like 1

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Posted on July 9, 2012 in Products and Equipment and tagged as skin care

It’s been a month since I started using Cindy Crawford’s Meaningful Beauty five-step skin care treatment. In case you didn’t read my first Meaningful Beauty skin care post, I was given the following skin care products to try:

• Skin Softening Cleanser
• Antioxidant Day Crème SPF 20 UVA/UVB
• Firming Chest and Neck Crème
• Lifting Eye Crème
• Creme de Serum
• Travel Size Glowing Serum (extra gift)
• Glycolic Treatment Pads (extra gift)

While I can say I really like the Meaningful Beauty skin care system, I didn’t see any miracles either. Not that I was expecting any. I already take good care of my skin, and have to give thanks to my mom for teaching me to do so. She worked for Elizabeth Arden in the ‘50s and ‘60s and Mary Kay in the ‘70s and showed me how important it is to have a good skin care routine. Also, my dad was always concerned about skin cancer and made sure I always used sun block, which I do to this day. Plus, I inherited my mom’s terrific skin and like her, I look younger than I really am.

Not that my skin’s so perfect that it can’t be improved. But it would take some drastic measures, like Botox, to remove the few lines (mostly around my mouth and between my eyebrows) that I’m self-conscious about. Also, I think it’s time to get a professional facial to get some clogged pores cleaned up. There’s only so much you can do at home.

The benefits of using the Meaningful Beauty skin care system

• It’s a very easy skin care system to use. While there are several products to use in the morning, you can go through your routine quickly.
• I really like the Skin Softening Cleanser. It removed makeup and oils well, and didn’t leave my skin feeling too dry.
• I had some major breakouts due to stress in the past few weeks. While Meaningful Beauty didn’t prevent pimples, I noticed that my skin cleared up much more quickly than usual – sometimes in a day or two! Also, it was easy to use an acne flare up product with the Meaningful Beauty skin care routine.
• I like that the day crème has SPF 20.
• I love that a chest and neck crème are included as those areas are neglected by other skin care lines.
• My skin seems better moisturized.
• Price wise, the Meaningful Beauty skin care system is  reasonable – $40 for a 30-day supply (including free shipping
• It has a 60-day guarantee.

Some suggested improvements to the skin care line

• I’d like to see a night cream added to the regular skin care routine. I think a night time moisturizing treatment is very beneficial. Plus, it’s a nice treat after a long, stressful day.
• I’d also like to see a lip treatment added. No point having great looking skin if your lips are peeling and cracked.
• Please add a hand treatment. My mom always says you can tell a woman’s true age by looking at her neck and hands. Well, I must be 90 because my hands look awful.

I was pleasantly surprised I liked Meaningful Beauty as much as I did. I wasn’t expecting much and feel that the skin care product line did a good job keeping my skin clean, moisturized and protected from the sun. All in all, I recommend checking out Cindy Crawford’s Meaningful Beauty skin care routine yourself!

What skin care products do you use?

________________
Disclosure; I wrote this review while participating in a test drive campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Meaningful Beauty and received a 5-step treatment kit to facilitate my review, a second 5-step treatment kit to giveaway, and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

{0 comments}   StumbleUpon 4 Google +1 2 Pin it 3 Retweet 17 Like 2

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Posted on March 16, 2012 in Products and Equipment and tagged as skin care

Last week I wrote about skin care products for the winter that I love. While I have favorites, I’m not very loyal when it comes to beauty systems. I feel that after using something on your face for six months to a year, it stops working and you need to change product lines.

That’s why I was interested in trying out Cindy Crawford’s Meaningful Beauty anti-aging skin care line as what I was using wasn’t improving my skin, just maintaining it. I wanted something that would work on softening some of the lines I started to see around my mouth and between my eyebrows. I also wanted to find something that was moisturizing but wouldn’t make me break out like the last skin care line I experimented with or that would irritate my skin like the line I tried before that.

Trying out a little Meaningful Beauty

If you’ve seen a picture of Cindy Crawford lately, she looks just as fantastic as she did 10, 15, even 20 years ago. Cindy’s secret is that she’s been working with French anti-aging specialist Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh and following “Age Maintenance” approach to skin care. Cindy and Dr. Sebagh have partnered to bring his anti-aging skin care formulas to women everywhere.

I was given the following Meaningful Beauty products to try:

• Skin Softening Cleanser
• Antioxidant Day Crème SPF 20 UVA/UVB
• Firming Chest and Neck Crème
• Lifting Eye Crème
• Creme de Serum
• Travel Size Glowing Serum (extra gift)
• Glycolic Treatment Pads (extra gift)

I was also given a kit to give to someone meaningful in my life, my friend Merrie. It was nice being able to treat her to something she wouldn’t normally buy for herself.

Please note: the two kits that are available online here are somewhat different from what I was given to review.

One week’s findings

So far, I like the Meaningful Beauty anti-aging skin care products. They don’t make me break out or irritate my skin. I also like that the line contains a cream with SPF 15 for your décolletage area as most skin care lines neglect that area. Almost all the products with the exception of the cleanser can be taken in your carry on luggage, too. Finally, I liked that the system came with a water resistant card that explained the day and night skin care routine, so you could keep it next to the bathroom sink until you had the routine down.

The products smell just OK, not great but not awful either. I wish a night cream was included in what I got as I love a good night cream. The glycolic treatment pads are a bit harsh and burn my skin a little, so I only use them once a week.

Have I noticed any changes? Well, my skin seems better moisturized and glows a bit. It’s also not as greasy in my T-zone area at the end of the day. If I do get a pimple, it heals more quickly than before.

Price wise, Meaningful Beauty is very reasonable – about what you’d pay for a similar line at a drugstore. However, I think the quality is better, especially the Creme de Serum and the Glowing Serum products. I’ve paid $40-60 for similar serum products from Mary Kay and Arbonne. Considering that the whole line costs $40 for a 30-day supply (including free shipping), it’s a bargain. Also, since it has a 60-day guarantee, it’s worth trying out yourself.

What anti-aging skin care products do you use?

________________
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a test drive campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf Meaningful Beauty and received a 5-step treatment kit to facilitate my review, a second 5-step treatment kit to giveaway, and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

{4 comments}   StumbleUpon 0 Google +1 2 Pin it 8 Retweet 4 Like 2

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Posted on February 22, 2012 in Products and Equipment and tagged as skin care

Thanks to Walgreens for underwriting this post. I was paid as a member of the Clever Girls Collective, but the content is all mine. Visit discoverbeautywithin.com.

If you have one beauty resolution this winter, it should be to protect your skin and your family’s skin from winter weather. Not only is it cold, but the air is drier due to indoor heating. That means you need to keep your scalp, skin and hair hydrated to look and feel good. You don’t have to spend a fortune either as many products available at drugstores like Walgreens will do the trick.

Here are some of my family’s favorite scalp, hair and skin care products from head to toe:

• On my hair I like to use a deep conditioner like Garnier Fructis 3-Minute Undo Triple Nutrition Dryness Reversal Hair Treatment once a week. I also use Garnier Fructis Style Sleek & Shine Anti-Humidity Strong Smoothing Milk to keep the frizzies and static electricity at bay.
• My son’s scalp gets super dry during the winter. Regular dandruff shampoo wasn’t cutting it, so now he’s using Neutrogena T/Gel Therapeutic Shampoo. It smells medicinal, but it works. Plus, my dermatologist recommended it.
• For the daytime, I use a moisturizer with 28 SPF. My favorite is another Garnier product - Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-Sun-Damage Daily Moisture Lotion. If you’re going outside even for a little while, you MUST wear sunscreen. Yes, even in the winter.
• Make sure your kids should use sunscreen if they’re playing outside especially when they’re skating, sledding or skiing as the ice and snow are very reflective.
• At night, I like to use Alba Botanica Advanced Sea Plus Renewal Cream. It’s creamy, but not gooey and a good value at around $14-15. Many natural moisturizers are twice as much.
• For lips I have two favorites - Aquaphor Lip Repair during the day and Neosporin Lip Health Overnight Renewal Therapy White Petrolatum Lip Protectant at night. My lips crack and peel like crazy and both products work very well in healing my split lips. My kids like using them, too.
• For the body I don’t have a particular favorite and usually use something fancy my family has given me as a present for my birthday or over Christmas. For my kids, when they were babies I used Eucerin Original Moisturizing Creme in the big tubs. That’s what my doctor recommended and I’ve stuck by that brand for a long time. Both my kids feel that the stuff in the tub is too greasy for them now and they prefer Eucerin Original Moisturizing Lotion instead. My husband likes using the thick stuff from the tub for his cracked feet.
• For hands I use Eucerin Plus Intensive Repair Hand Creme. My skin on my hands seem to shrink from the cold weather and they literally hurt. Keeping them moisturized frequently helps.
• Burt’s Bees has two wonderful foot creams - Burt's Bees Honey & Bilberry Foot Creme Honey & Bilberry and Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Creme Coconut. These are best used at night since they’re thick and greasy. Apply the cream then put on light cotton socks. If you have cotton gloves, use either as an intensive, overnight hand cream.

All of these terrific and effective products are under $16 at places like Walgreens. If you shop the sales and use coupons, you can pay even less. So don’t use cost as an excuse not to protect your skin – and your family’s skin – from the ravages of winter weather.

{3 comments}   StumbleUpon 0 Google +1 0 Pin it 0 Retweet 3 Like 0

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Posted on February 14, 2012 in Products and Equipment and tagged as skin care

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of BeautyMint. All opinions are 100% mine.

{0 comments}   StumbleUpon 0 Google +1 0 Pin it 0 Retweet 4 Like 0

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Posted on January 22, 2012 in Products and Equipment and tagged as skin care

Yes, you’re eating healthy and exercising, but your skin is dry and cracked, you may be itchy from eczema, and you’re starting to notice signs of sun damage.

What can you do? Read my posts:

• Skin MD Natural + SPF15 lotion - daily sun protection for dry skin
• Vaseline Intensive Rescue Clinical Therapy Lotion - Great Stuff!

And get some good advice on two superb lotions for hands, body and face that really do work.

{0 comments}   StumbleUpon 0 Google +1 0 Pin it 0 Retweet 0 Like 0

Add this recipe to ZipList!

Posted on January 12, 2009 in Products and Equipment and tagged as skin care