We Have a Winner for Dr.Perricone's Advanced Face Firming Activator

I'm happy to announce a winner of our recent contest who will receive Dr.Perricone's best-selling product - the Advanced Face Firming Activator. We had 150 participants eager to try this wonderful anti-aging treatment. The lucky winner was selected randomly.

Congratulations to the author of the comment #49 - Jessica Harding from Pennsylvania!

Thanks to everyone for participating! Keep tuned in for more fun contests and posts!

Beauty Tip: Make Sure your Sunblock Really Protects You

You are religiously wearing SPF all year round? But are you really sure you are protected from sun damage?

Here are some tips:

* Make sure your are protected from both UVA and UVB rays.
UVB (burning) has a wavelength range (in nanometers) of:
280-320
UVA (aging) has a wavelength range (in nanometers) of:
320-400
Read the label to find out what spectrum of UV rays a sunscreen blocks.

* Choose the right ingredient. Various sunscreen ingredients are capable of covering various spectrum of sunrays. Two ingredients that cover the widest spectrum used in sunscreen nowadays include Zinc Oxide (physical blocker) and Mexoryl (chemical blocker).
Many products combine several sunscreen ingredients to cover a wider range of sun spectrum.

* Apply sunscreen liberally and evenly. Studies show that the average person uses much less sunscreen than the amount needed to achieve the SPF shown on the label. Apply chemical sunscreens 15-30 minutes before sun exposure, physical sunscreens offer immediate protection.

* Keep reapplying your sunscreen. Certain sun screening ingredients, such as Avobensene for example, are not photo-stable and tend to break down after a certain time making your skin vulnerable to sun rays. Reapply every two hours. However if you are you are swimming or exercising reapply more often.

* Don’t forget your ears. Don't forget to apply sunscreen to areas that are commonly neglected, like the ears, hands, neck, and feet.

* Make use of SPF in your makeup. If you can’t reapply sunblock or your moisturizer during the day, use additional makeup such as foundation and powder with SPF and keep refreshing it

* Stay out of the sun. No sunscreen can block UV rays 100%. So make sure you are wearing hat with wide brims, long sleeves, sunglasses and don’t spend much time in the direct sun. Make sure to stay out of the sun during the ours of its highest activity (generally between 11 am and 3 pm)

Photo by Genosfear at Flickr.com

Beauty Fact: Stress Does Cause Gray Hair

Wondering what exactly causes gray strands in your hair? Researchers from UK’s Bradford University recently held a study and revealed that oxidative stress can cause hydrogen-peroxide build up in the hair bulb. This appears to be a cause for gray hair. Unbelievable as it may sound, hair simply gets bleached as it grows out of scalp.

Source: Marie Claire, July 2009

Beauty Talk: Stretch marks

Stretch mark is kind of a scar. It is formed through tearing of the dermis. Most of us have some kind of stretch marks, either from spurts of growth in puberty, gaining and losing weight, or pregnancy.

How do they happen? Experts say that stretch marks are actually caused not only by physical stretching of the skin but also by hormonal changes in the body. Stretch marks happen as deep as the dermis, the middle layer of the skin. They are caused by glucocorticoid hormones that disrupt normal way of forming of collagen and elastin resulting in less flexible skin and subsequently in dermal and epidermal tearing


Where do they happen?
Common places for stretch marks to occur include:
abdomen
breasts
upper arms
underarms
thighs
hips
buttocks.

Is it possible to prevent stretch marks? There is no enough scientific evidence in support of the fact that creams and lotions help to prevent streetch marks. However there are reassuring results in some studies that show that during pregnancy, for example, fewer streetch marks occur if you use a treatment versus no treatment at all.

To prevent stretchmakrs apply specially developed products that mosturize skin, make it more elastic and contain such ingredients for example as cocoa butter and Vitamin E. Some examples of such products include:
Carol’s Daughter Sexy Belly
Burt’s Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter
Clarins Stretch Mark Control
Revitol Stretch Mark Cream
Decleor Perfect Sculpt Stretch Mark Restructuring Gel-Cream
RoC Maternity Anti-Stretch Mark Oil
Vichy Complete Action Anti-Stretch Mark Cream

Already have stretch marks and want to know how you can treat them? Read about various treatments available in my next post. In my future posts I will aslo share my personal experience with stretch marks during pregnancy.

Beauty Shopping: Anti-Cellulite Solution, New Discovery for Under Eye Circles

Today I had a rare chance to do some beauty shopping! So what was on my shopping list… I needed to restock on Estee Lauder Stress Relief Eye Mask. Nowadays, with a baby I need lots of stress relief solutions! Seriously, skin and especially skin around the eyes suffer most because of those sleepless nights. I still need to review those masks. They are great! I also decided to try out one of the products for body that came out this summer. I was choosing between Dior’s Svelte Reversal Body Contouring and Firming Concentrate and Clarins Lift-Minceur High Definition Body Lift.

I went for Clarins’ product for several reasons: like the ad :-) (who doesn’t want to have such a butt!), like the description better and the price, even though not a priority in this particular case, also played its role. And finally I also like that High Definition Body Lift had caffeine at the very beginning of ingredient list and had a very light texture.

I also planned to buy YSL Touche Eclat. Mine is already more than a year old and you are supposed to use it for only half a year! Sales girl suggested I try La Prairie Brightening Eye Treatment. I was like: C'mon what can be better than YSL Touche Eclat?? But of course I was curious to test it.


It comes just like YSL's concealer in a pen package with a brush. And I have to say I was VERY impressed. It sort of melted into my skin. It does provide coverage (medium), but does not crease or get into the lines. Excellent! The sales girl also kept saying that they have a package with a refil which in the end is a better price than YSL Touche Eclat. I decided to wear it for a while to test for allergic reaction and if everything is fine, get it next time I'm downtown.

Beauty Giveaway: Win Advanced Face Firming Activator

I am pleased to announce a new contest on Skin Care and Beauty Blog. Here is your chance to win Advanced Face Firming Activator from the famous Dr.Perricone!

If you have dull uneven skin, enlarged pores, lines and wrinkles, you may want to give this product a try. Dr.Perricone promises that Alpha Lipoic Acid and DMAE, the two main ingredients of Advanced Face Firming Activator will help to resurface your skin's texture, reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles, and enlarged pores.

Advanced Face Firming Activator has high price tag of 120$ but you can get it for free by winning this giveaway!

Attention: This contest is for US residents only!

To participate, please make a comment to this post and let me know why you would like this product. You can also share if you have tried any other similar products that did or did not work for you.

Please leave your contact email so that folks from perriconemd.com can contact you and give you your prize!

Winner will be selected randomly in 15 days on 27 July.

PS: Check out www.perriconemd.com for more skin care products and skin cosmeceuticals

Beauty Review: Guerlain Meteorites Powder Pink Fresh

Packaging:
The powder box is made of cardboard which disappointed me at first. From the photos I saw online I was under impression the package will be incredibly beautiful – a combination of plastic or metal) with glass decorations. Well, it’s just carton. The only consolation is that it was inspired by Marie Antoinette and that such packaging is actually more eco friendly.


Shade:
Pink Fresh
It includes pearls of peach, light pink, dark pink (close to lavender), beige, gold, colors

Scent:
Meteorites Powder has quite strong sweet scent which most people like but not me. The good news (for me) is that it wears off almost immediately.


Stay-on Power:
It seems to last forever!

Texture and Finish:
Meteorites Powder comes in little multi-colored balls and is something between loose and pressed powder…
Gives glowy somewhat shimmery finish with a touch of color. The effect is buildable.

Experience:
I’ve been dreaming about this product for a long time and had to go through the agony of choice about the shade (read my Beauty Buy post) before I finally got it. It is one of the best investments in makeup I’ve made.

This magnificent powder makes your skin look glowing. It reflects and attracts light to the skin and makes it look simply gorgeous: supple, smooth, healthy and glowing.


Meteorites Powder comes with a puffy sponge which I don’t recommend to use. Not only it is inconvenient, the effect is worse and not so natural. I use my fluffy powder brush to apply Meteorites Powder. I just swirl the brush around the box and let it pick up enough powder. Be careful powder balls tend to stuck on brush bristles occasionally. Then I swipe it lightly all over my face. It has to be mentioned that from the very beginning I was concerned that Meteorites could be too shimmery for an all-over-face powder. However what I discovered after I played with it a couple times is that the effect of the glow is buildable. So if you give your face one or maximum two light swipes with your powder brush, it looks natural. However if you apply more, you will start seeing some color and more shimmer. That’s why I apply it once all over face and then several times on the apples of my cheeks and a finishing touch on the nose bridge. So Meteorites Powder in Pink Fresh can be used as a blush and believe me you do see the color. Some people when reviewing Meteorites say that Pink Fresh leaves almost no color on the skin, it is not completely true. I think it depends on your skin tone if the color is noticeable or not.

I also read in one of the reviews that Meteorites powder is good to use under your eyes to set the concealer. I tried it and think it looks good! Draws some light to the area.


Bottom Line:
Love the product. It is excellent quality, very versatile and allows to perfect the look of your skin. I would not recommend Meteorites Powder instead of a foundation or pressed powder as it is not made for covering skin flaws. But I would definitely recommend it to take your skin look to another level.

Price Tag:
$60-65

Less Beauty Blogging

Dear All, from now on I will be posting less frequently on my Skin Care and Beauty Blog. This is unfortunate but is due to a very happy event – birth of my son! It will be impossible for me to balance all the aspects of my life at the beginning of this new life chapter. As you imagine or probably know, motherhood is very demanding and time consuming! So I will need some time off :-) But instead of closing the blog for an indefinite time I decided to keep posting from time to time when I can afford a minute. Hopefully I can post weekly. I’m planning to get back to more frequent posting in several months. Please, stay subscribed, leave me a comment from time to time and I will do my best to respond.

Beauty Talk: Exfoliation - Part IV- How often should we exfoliate?

In our search for beauty we often forget that skin is a very complicated live organ and is not there to just please the eye. You may think exfoliation is beneficial for your skin and there can’t be too much of a good thing! But be careful: over-exfoliation and aggressive peeling, a strong recent trend among women, can lead to several very negative side-effects. Let’s remember that epidermis – the outer layer of skin - serves to protect the underlying layers and human organism on the whole from microbes and bacteria. It also helps to maintain balanced hydration and function of the skin as an organ. By aggressive exfoliation you can damage epidermis and make your skin vulnerable to invaders. This in its turn can trigger “inflammatory response” in the skin. Damaged epidermis will also cause increased transdermal water loss and result in dehydrated dry skin. In addition, your skin may respond to intensive exfoliation as to an injury and start producing more oil which will result in acne.

That’s why use this beauty treatment wisely. Follow experts’ recommendations to exfoliate 1-3 times a week depending on your skin type. Up to 3 times for oily and normal skin types and definitely, no more than one time for dry and sensitive skin.

Related Posts:
Beauty Talk: Exfoliation - Part II - Mechanical Exfoliation
Beauty Talk: Exfoliation - Part I - Skin Exfoliation
Beauty Review: YSL Exfoliating Lip Balm
Beauty Review: Sisley Buff and Wash Gel
Beauty Review: Caress Evenly Gorgeous

You Will Always Be Alive

This post is a tribute to a wonderful dear person, music legend - Michael Jackson. The news that Michael has passed away the night of 25th broke my heart.I didn't expect I would feel so much sadness and pain as I have not been an active fan for many years already. But Michael has been a very big part of my life when I was a teenager and since then there was always a place in my heart that belonged only to him.

My dear Michael, thank you for your talent, for the great influence you had on my life, for everything you were for me when I was a teenager. You filled my days with music, gave me strength, brought wonderful friends into my life. You inspired me to be better, to be creative and you were the reason I learnt English - I wanted to understand what you are singing about. You changed my life making it fuller and brighter.

They say you cannot love a person if you have never met them because you can't really know them. But we, your fans, know you. We know you through your songs, your performances, your concerts and interviews. We know you have a big, kind heart, you are generous, giving, loving, sensitive and vulnerable. Of course as any other person, you had your ups and downs, but I always was on your side.

My dear Michael, I refuse to believe that your heart has stopped, that you are gone, that this is the end of your dreams and your talent, the end of the legend. I hate the media for insisting you are dead, I hate those articles starting with dates of your life and going over your career, I hate people sharing this "sensational" news... I don't want to read or listen to these. You are not dead. You cannot be dead. You still have so many years ahead of you to create beautiful music, to fulfill dreams, to inspire and to touch people's hearts.

I refuse to believe that my dream of going to your concert one day and meeting you has to turn into a dream of visitng your grave. No, it can't be true. I refuse to say good bye. You will always be alive and I will just keep on dreaming..

Beauty Talk: Educate Your Kids About Sun Damage

Previously I posted about sun damage and increased chance of cancer if you start abusing sun and solariums early on. I have to say I am so happy my family did not have enough money to go on vacations when I was little. Thanks God! I had only one chance to turn my fair skin into the color of dark chocolate. I shudder when I look at the photos – my smile has never been so shiny white!
You are responsible for your kids - don’t let them get sun damage.
1. Start with protecting their skin early on. Babies have very sensitive tender skin that is so susceptible to UVA and UVB rays. Protect your precious baby by applying specially formulated sunscreens. To make sure your baby doesn’t have irritation go with a physical sunscreen not chemical.
2. Keep up regular sun protection and your kid will develop a habit of it that may save his or her life.
3. When you think your kid is old enough to understand, explain to your kid about the danger of UVA and UVB rays and about cancer.
4. If you have a teenager who doesn’t want to listen to your concerns some of the things you may do is
- take him/her to a dermatologist for skin examination and request the expert to show photos of sun damaged skin vs healthy skin and to explain about UVA/UVB danger. Or you can find such photos on the internet yourself.
- explain about premature aging and show photos of aged skin with sun spots and deep lines. Who wants to look so mottled and wrinkled?!
A couple efforts to develop healthy sun-protection habits in your children will ensure they have healthy skin and will preserve its youth long into adulthood.

Beauty Talk: Exfoliation - Part III - Chemical Exfoliation

This a continuation of our discussion about ways to exfoliate. In this post I’ll look at the chemical type of exfoliation.

Unlike mechanical one, it does not involve physical impact. Chemical exfoliation removes dead cells by dissolving or loosening up the glue-like substance that holds dead skin cells together.

Chemical exfoliants include various acids such as alpha hydroxy acids (AHAs) or beta hydroxy acids (BHAs) and enzymes.

Examples of AHA are lactic acid, malic acid, glycolic acid and tartaric acid. BHA example is salicylic acid. The difference between AHA and BHA is based on their lipid (oil) solubility. Alpha hydroxy acids are water soluble only, while beta hydroxy acid is lipid (oil) soluble.

Enzymes are known as molecules that can speed up chemical reactions. When you apply enzyme on your skin, it comes into chemical reaction with keratin protein in dead skin cells breaking it up and loosening the cells. Example of exfoliating enzyme is proteolytic enzyme like subtilisin and papain.

Which exfoliant to choose?
Overall, chemical exfoliation is recommended for those suffering from acne. Most beneficial in this case will be BHA as due to its oil solubility it is able to penetrate deep into the pore and exfoliate the dead skin cells inside of it. Due to this beta hydroxy acid is good for oily skin with blackheads and whiteheads.

If you have thickened, sun-damaged skin and no problem with breakouts, go with Enzymes or Alpha hydroxy acids. Natural fruit enzymes like papain may be a good choice if you are looking for a milder exfoliant.

Examples of chemical exfoliating products for face include:
Vitamin C Re-Texturising Peel by The Body Shop
Papaya and Pineapple Peeling Kit by Alpha-H
Glycolactic Skin Renewal Peel Mask by Ren
Micro Mini Peel System by Ole Henriksen

Can't choose? Go for a mix of chemical and mechanical exfoliating ingredients like in Intense Smooth Out Micro-Peel by Carita. It contains grains as well as exfoliating enzymes.

Related Posts:
Beauty Talk: Exfoliation - Part II - Mechanical Exfoliation
Beauty Talk: Exfoliation - Part I - Skin Exfoliation
Beauty Review: YSL Exfoliating Lip Balm
Beauty Review: Sisley Buff and Wash Gel
Beauty Review: Caress Evenly Gorgeous

Beauty Review: Biotherm Aquasource Levres

Moisturizing balm protective lip care shiny effect
SPF 8

Product Tag Line:
Genuine lip care with a glossy finish for more supple, softer lips that are fresh, smooth and slightly shiny.

Promise:
Softens, nourishes, moisturizes, protects from UV rays

What’s Inside:
- Trace elements – typical ingredients found in spa water
- natural moisturizing agent
- oil of Macadamia

Close-up on active ingredients:
Disostearyl Malate – skin conditioning and emollient
Polyglyceryl-2 – skin conditioning, emollient, emulsifier
Triisostearate – emollient, emulsifier
Octyldodecanol – skin-conditioning, emollient, fragrance ingredient
Silica Dimethyl Silylate - slip modifier, suspending agent, emollient
Glycerin - humectant
Cera Alba/ Beeswax - occlusive
Ethylhexyl Methoxycinnamate - UV FILTER
Sqalane – very effective emollient (softens, conditions the skin)
Pentaerythrityl - emulsifier
Tetraisostearate
Triheptanoin
C18-36 Acid Triglyceride
Macadamia Ternifolia/ Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Oil
Magnesium Gluconate
Manganese Gluconate
Copper Gluconate
Zinc Gluconate
Sodium Chloride
…
couple parabens
…
Fragrance
Linalool
Geraniol
Cetranellol
Limonene

I looked up the first 10 ingredients as they are most important. I like what I see! There is a high concentration of emollients which not only help to moisturize skin (attract water to it) but help to keep the moisture in. What I don’t like is that many similar lip products have very high concentration of occlusives. The only thing occlusives do is keep the moisture in… that is if there is any moisture to keep in. So Biotherm Balm is different in this respect! As you see from the list there is only one occlusive – beeswax. In addition there is Glycerin - effective humectant that attracts water to skin.

Experience:
Texture: transparent medium thick gloss, not sticky
Finish: glossy
Smell: very light scent

What I like most about Biotherm Aquasource Levres is the texture. I love that it is not at all sticky, it doesn’t feel too thick, occluisve or too rich on the lips. In addition Biotherm balm does leave a nice veil of gloss. I use it before applying a lipstick to moisturize my lips. However recently even more often I apply it on top of a lipstick when I want to add more gloss. Biotherm balm does protect lips when the weather is cold or windy. So you won’t get uncomfortably dry burning lips. However, in spite of all the emollients on ingredient list, it did nothing for me in terms of nourishing (as promised in product description) or solving my problem of flaky lips.

Maybe one more big plus for some people would be that it has a sweet taste. I know there are gals who like their lips to have a flavor as well as guys who like their girlfriends’ lips to taste of something :-)

Another good feature is that it has SPF 8 which is of course not high enough to provide adequate protection but better something than nothing!

Bottom Line:
If you are looking for a solution for chapped flaky lips, I cannot recommend Biotherm Aquasource Levres as it did not help me. But if you are looking for a quality balm to moisturize your lips and protect against wind and cold, you can definitely give Biotherm balm a try.

Price Time: $15-19

Quick Fix: Thick Clumpy Mascara

If your attempt at creating thick, lush lashes turns into a disaster of goopy clusters of mascara, take action immediately before it completely dries. Wipe your mascara wand with a paper napkin. Brush your lashes starting from the roots up wiggling the wand gently from side to side. Next time keep at hand your old mascara wand.

If I still have clumps what I do is take a needle and carefully separate lashes from each other. Works magically! Please, never attempt this trick in a rush, if your hand is not steady or if there are many people around you!

Beauty Talk: Exfoliation Part II - Mechanical Exfoliation

During mechanical exfoliation dead cells are removed through mechanical or physical friction. One can say that they are “scraped off” the skin’s surface. Products for mechanical exfoliation can contain paraffin, wax, irregularly shaped granules or round beads/poly spheres. Mechanical exfoliants also include exfoliation sheet, sponges, brushes, washcloths etc.

Clarisonic is one of the examples of a mechanical exfoliation
Which one to choose?
If your skin is not prone to break outs, you are free to choose any way of mechanical exfoliation your heart desires. Just keep your skin type in mind:
* Stick to a milder wax exfoliant if your skin is dry.
* Go with a product with granules if you have oily/mixed skin.

If your skin is sensitive, prone to break outs, easily inflamed, stay away from irregular granules such as apricot kernel and almond shells. They may create micro cuts on your skin and cause irritation, break outs or spread bacteria from existing zits to new locations on your face. You will be better off using a chemical exfoliant, a mild mechanical product with round shaped beads or micro-exfoliation cloths.

The above mentioned also concerns exfoliation of body skin. However on your feet you can use specially designed more abrasive products and tools such as pumice, or crushed volcanic rock.

Examples of Mechanical Exfoliating Products:
Almost every skin care brand has a mechanical face exfoliator in their range. Here are just a couple examples:

My favorites are Estee Lauder So Polished (contains artificial exfoliating particles - miscro spheres) and Buff and Wash Gel by Sisley (one of my most favorite products, contains natural exfoliating particles).