Moisturizer : Beauty and Fashion Tech

Clinique Limited Edition Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion

For Breast Cancer Awareness month, Clinique is donating $10 from purchases of their Limited Edition Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The good sized container comes with a free pink ribbon keychain that also includes a Clinique “C” charm. It is a cute keychain!

I’ve been a long-time user of Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. In fact, I think it was one of the first skin care products I ever owned. The lotion has a huge following, and there are good reason for its popularity: It is a good all purpose moisturizer that is light, absorbs quickly, and is good for just about every skin type.

Look for Dramatically different Moisturizing Lotion at Clinique.com and Clinique Counters Nationwide.

Shop for Clinique Skin Care

BBNBCA

Popularity: 19% [?]

DDF Protect and Correct UV Moisturizer With SPF 15

DDF always tends toward impressive products. I particularly love their new Protect and Correct UV Moisturizer aimed at treating and preventing hyperpigmentation and melasma. I have always been a fan of double duty products, so this one goes high on my recommended item list.

DDF’s Protect and Correct is a light moisturizer with four chemical sunscreens for SPF 15 coverage. It also contains various extracts, including licorice root extract, to help treat pigmentation. So, the sunscreen prevents discoloration, while the extracts treat it.

The lotion has a decent feel to it, absorbs fairly quickly, and I had no issues with acne with it. I do wish it had a higher SPF though. I really prefer to use SPF 30 and above. A physical blocker in it instead of all chemical ones would be nice too. Regardless, it still is a quality product.

DDF Protect and Correct retails at around $58 and can be found at various online sources.

Buy DDF Protect and Correct UV Moisturizer SPF 15 at Spa Look

Comparison Shop for DDF Skin Care Products

Popularity: 23% [?]

Five Great Uses for Creme de la Mer (Psst.. It Can Actually Be a Good Value)

Oh the joy of Creme de la Mer. Some swear by it. Others say it is over-rated. Most agree that it is expensive, and yes, if you use it as your daily face creme it is.. But if you use it for more limited purposes, it actually can become a pretty good value. I never apply it to my full face. Instead I stretch an ounce of the lovely thick creme for over a year using it in the following ways.

* As an eye creme. La Mer makes an expensive and rather small eye balm, but the creme works just as well. In fact it is one of the best dry skin eye creams I have found. A teeny tiny bit is all that is needed for some wonderful overnight hydration.

* Condition your lashes and brows. While you are putting a bit under your eyes, rub some into your lashes and onto your brows. It will not irritate your eyes and will condition both lashes and brows.

* As a sore skin treatment. Consider that terrible feeling and look of a nose that is raw and red after a bad cold. Regular lotion stings on the dry skin. But Creme de la Mer does not. I have found nothing better to treat a raw nose. Use it at the first signs of a cold and you can prevent it altogether.

* Dry skin spot treatment: Got patchy areas of super dry skin? Use a bit of Creme de la Mer on only those areas.

* Soften calluses. To help remove calluses, rub some high strength glycolic acid such as AB Skin Care Happy Feet (read review) on them and apply a bit of Creme de la Mer to seal it in and provide moisture.

Creme de la Mer is available online and in better department stores. For use in small areas, look for the smaller and much cheaper .24 Sample Size. A small tub will last quite a while if you are only using it as an eye or lash cream. My last sample size tub lasted 3-4 months because I only used it for my eyes.

Comparison shop for Creme de la Mer

Popularity: 24% [?]

L’Oreal Skin Genesis, Moisturizer and Treatment Serum

Total Beauty sent me samples of a couple of new L’Oreal Skin Genesis Items to try. Both are nice feeling products and have been getting pretty good reviews.

L’Oreal Skin Genesis Daily Moisturizer is an oil-free light lotion with Pro-xylane (don’t ask me what that really is, because I don’t know and L’Oreal doesn’t clearly say) and Hyaluronic Spheres. I found it to have a nice light feel and it absorbed very quickly, but because it lacks SPF, it won’t be my everyday moisturizer. I actually have used it some at night, and primarily tested it during that time.

The Skin Genesis Daily treatment is a lotion-like serum, also with Pro-xylane and Concentrated Hyaluronic. I found it similar to the lotion in terms of a light feel and quick absorption.

After a few weeks of use, both products left my skin looking good and I had no issues with breakouts. I rate them as above average items in terms of drugstore moisturizing and anti-aging skin care products. So these certainly are some decent value items.

Comparison Shop for L’Oreal Skin Care Products

Popularity: 7% [?]

Olay Definity Foaming Moisturizer and Protective Lotion

When I first started writing Beauty and Fashion Tech, I reviewed Olay Definity. I loved it then and I still love it. Now I have had the opportunity to try both the Olay Definity Foam Moisturizer and the Olay Definity Facial Lotion. Each are excellent companion products for the cream.

Olay Definity works on skin discoloration using a glucosamine complex. This relatively simple mix of glucosamine and niacinamide has been shown to lessen hyperpigmentation and melasma, thus making it worthwhile compound to add to treatment for those conditions. I tend to be sure to use one or more of the Definity products in conjunction with a melasma treatment serum such as or .

I love the Olay Foaming Moisturizer! The light foam is formulated to penetrate the skin deeper than a standard cream or lotion. It absorbs incredibly quickly and can be used with other moisturizers, but I find it particularly nice for days when my skin is extra oily because it provides very light moisture by itself that won’t overwhelm oily skin. Then on drier days, adding something over it is easy.

The correcting protective lotion is also a joy to wear. Formulated with SPF 15, this is a great light day cream that can be worn alone or over the foaming moisturizer. It absorbs quickly and fully and feels quite light, but actually provides a pretty good amount of moisture. One thing to note though is that while Olay products tend to have a light feel to them and tend to absorb fast, that doesn’t mean that the moisturizing properties are all that light. I have seen some people state that they though Olay was not moisturizing enough, but keep in mind that a cream or lotion does not have to feel heavy or leave a film on your face to provide sufficient moisture. I think people tend to underestimate the amount of moisture that Olay products actually provide. The lotion is lighter than the cream, but still quite moisturizing.

You can find Olay products at just about any drugstore or big box retailer.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Anti-Aging With Neostrata Exuviance

OK, I can’t stop raving about these two items. I was sent them to try a few weeks ago and I am hooked on both!

Exuviance Evening Restorative Complex is a great evening moisturizer. This night cream is fairly thick, yet it does not feel particularly heavy. It absorbs well, and leaves no oily feeling. So I was comfortable using it, even with fairly oily skin right now. At the same time, I think people with up to fairly dry skin could also happily use this.

Exuviance Restorative Complex Night Cream

The Restorative Complex simply feel terrific. It has a light, but unobtrusive scent that reminds me a bit of Estee Lauder Day wear. I have also woken up each morning after using it thinking that my skin looked pretty darn good. Here is what the company says about it:

Rejuvenate while you rest. This intensive high-performance cream is designed to help repair dry, photo-damaged skin and fight the visible signs of aging while you sleep. Contains a bionic blend of gluconolactone and lactobionic acid (PHAs) to provide intense hydration, enhance skin texture and fight oxidative damage, while botanicals and lipids help soothe stressed skin.

Now here is the kicker: I thought this would likely be a pretty expensive product. It feels luxurious, and I rank it among some of the top night creams I have tried. Those almost always turn out to be over $60, and often in the over $90 range. So imagine my surprise when I learned that it sells for around $30! I think it is safe to say that I will be repurchasing this one when it is gone!

Exuviance Vespera Bionic Serum Mandelic Acid

Exuviance Vespera Bionic Serum is another item that I liked quite a bit. This serum has antioxidants, marine botanicals, and mandelic acid to brighten skin and improve texture. Madelic acid is sometimes recommended for melasma treatment, although I have to admit that I have never seen any real lightening from it. I like it quite a bit, however, as a general exfoliator and anti-wrinkle agent.The serum feels a bit oily. I have had no issues with breakouts from it, but also have been using it only on non-acne prone areas (mainly my forehead wrinkles). If you have dry skin, you will fine that it adds a nice bit of extra moisture and I like the general effect of it when used in combination with the Exuviance Restorative Complex.

At $55 it is a bit more expensive, but this is still a good price for a treatment serum. Many are running in the over $75 range these days.

Overall, my experience with Exuviance has been good. I am finding the products to be good value choices, because they provide high quality at a more medium price range.

Look for Neostrata Exuviance products at your local Ulta store.

Shop for Exuviance Skin Care Products

Popularity: 12% [?]

Review: New Clean and Clear Soft Acne Treatment

Clean and Clear has a new acne treatment line out and the daytime moisturizer has quickly become a big favorite for me.

For some time I have been wishing for a fairly light acne treatment, or at least acne safe, drugstore moisturizer. It seemed that whenever I looked at ingredients on various brands, there would be something I was concerned about or the product would be too heavy. Well, Clean and Clear came through for me with their Clean & Clear Soft Oil-Free Day Moisturizer, SPF 15!

The moisturizer is pretty light and absorbs quite quickly, so it is perfect for oily skin. It does not contain harsh treatment actives such as Salicylic Acid or Benzoyl Peroxide, which is fine by me because I would rather add those as needed myself using separate products. Instead it has various fruit extracts. I found nothing of particular concern in regard to pore clogging in the ingredient list, and it adds SPF 15 through three different chemical blockers. Best of all, it carries a decent price!

Clean & Clear Soft In-Shower Facial is another favorite from the line. This unique mask is applied in the shower, left on for a minute or two, and then washed off. It is basically a heat activated scrub that I would place in the medium range of exfoliation. It is a heavier scrub than the other Clean and Clear acne scrubs that I have tried, but it isn’t a strong as something like Dr. Brant Microdermabrasion in a Jar (Read Review) or Bioelements Pumice Peel (Read Review).

Personally, I like a strong scrub because I don’t have particularly sensitive skin. At the same time, I had been looking for something a bit more gentle because I wanted to exfoliate a bit more often, without risking worsening my acne by over doing it. Clean and Clear’s new offering has been just about perfect for that and I have been using it twice each week.

There are two more items in the line that I have not tried, but examined at the store. Based on my impressions of the daytime formula, Clean & Clear Soft Oil-Free Night Moisturizer should be a nice nighttime compliment. Clean & Clear Soft Scrub, Purifying Cleanser also looked interesting, although I tend to avoid scrubbing cleansers. I like to keep my products separate.

Clean and Clear is available both online and at a wide variety of drugstores, grocery stores and big box retailers.

Shop for Clean and Clear Acne Treatments

Popularity: 19% [?]