Beauty Products You Are Loving...

[packrat]

I have some things in my cart at Sephora, and one of them is the Stila Grace shadow. I got Kitten a couple weeks ago. Do you guys think Grace would look good w/it? I was going to use it as the crease color. http://www.sephora.com/eye-shadow-P8431?skuId=1330489

Yeah, I think Grace looks like a really pretty color that would go well! I do a combo of colors very close to that for everyday no matter which palette I pick up.

re: oiliness, I know you've said you went on accutane, so I may be totally off on this suggestion, but do you have dehydrated skin? When skin is dehydrated it produces like twenty million times more oil than usual - I fixed my extreme oil slick problem by switching up my moisturizing routine until I found something that moisturized my skin enough. But I do know that this isn't the case for everyone. For me, at any rate, using any anti-oil anything just made my skin even oilier. Like that deslick spray totally backfired on me, lol.

The number one thing that helped my skin, other than an adapalene prescription which is what finally kicked the butt of the cystic acne issues, was visiting the skincareaddiction subreddit and reading everything I could get my hands on. The subreddit was founded to be a place for skincare with a scientific basis, and originally you had to cite a peer-reviewed scientific study basically any time you recommended anything to support the ingredients. It's veered away from that in recent years as it's gotten busier and busier but it's still super helpful.

I dunno-I figure it's oil as opposed to dehydration b/c the dermatologists have never told me otherwise. The Accutane essentially shuts down your oil production and that did clear my skin. My pores were flawless. I've been on every acne medicine under the sun rx and otc-after 30 years I don't even think I could name them all. The only one that actually worked is the Accutane. A couple of the bcp's I was on helped too, but the Dr doesn't want me on them anymore b/c of my age. Other things that worked are the peels and a light laser thing I had done may years ago.

 

[House Cat]

I just put the CC cream on and then waited a bit and put my foundation on, then the bye bye pores powder. I did get that UD Deslick stuff, and I sprayed it after my foundation and then again after my powder. I was still oily the two times I used it but I don't know if it was b/c it doesn't work for me or b/c of the CC cream. I'll try it w/out the CC cream and see how it works. And I'll get a powder to put on to set the BB cream I have in my Sephora cart--does it need to be a setting powder? Can I put the cream on, use the Deslick, then foundation and Deslick again, or is powder better to put on the cream?

I swear I need to have a degree to figure out how to do this.

I have an appointment tomorrow to run up to the big city and talk to an esthetician about my face. This place does the Skin Medica peels, which is the kind I'd done before years ago but at a different place, and they also do a laser peel. She said it's 4-8 microns, depending, and it's the equivalent of 4-8 chemical peels. The cost is better in the long run for the laser but the consult will help the esthetician figure out what's better for me. I've had about all I can take of my skin and my face.

I do eye cream, sunscreen, de-slick in an X and a T shape, then makeup, then deslick again.

When I was told to powder my BB creams, which I tried many times, I was given all kinds of powders. I don't think you have to use a setting powder. I found that most of the women recommended a powder that could be worn alone as a foundation, but that was VERY heavy coverage. I think they did that because they knew this BB was going to melt off my face any minute.

I will be excited to hear about your laser peel consult and progress if you actually have it done. I really want to do a laser peel or a series of peels.

 

[star sparkle]

re: oiliness, I know you've said you went on accutane, so I may be totally off on this suggestion, but do you have dehydrated skin? When skin is dehydrated it produces like twenty million times more oil than usual - I fixed my extreme oil slick problem by switching up my moisturizing routine until I found something that moisturized my skin enough. But I do know that this isn't the case for everyone. For me, at any rate, using any anti-oil anything just made my skin even oilier. Like that deslick spray totally backfired on me, lol.

The number one thing that helped my skin, other than an adapalene prescription which is what finally kicked the butt of the cystic acne issues, was visiting the skincareaddiction subreddit and reading everything I could get my hands on. The subreddit was founded to be a place for skincare with a scientific basis, and originally you had to cite a peer-reviewed scientific study basically any time you recommended anything to support the ingredients. It's veered away from that in recent years as it's gotten busier and busier but it's still super helpful.

Yes, I was also thinking this may be an issue for you, packrat. You haven't mentioned using a moisturizer anywhere in your routine, and I don't know if that's just because you weren't providing us with every single step in your routine, or if you aren't using one.

For me, my skin was SO FREAKING OILY before I started moisturizing regularly. It seems counterintuitive that moisturizing would help stem the oiliness, but it really does. My skin is still a little more oily than "normal," but it's so much better than it was in my pre-moisturizing days. It took me a long time to find a moisturizer that didn't make me more greasy (because most *will* just make the problem worse if you have truly oily skin) but now that I've found one and use it every single day, my skin is so much happier and less oily than before.

Can't hurt to try?

 

[House Cat]

re: oiliness, I know you've said you went on accutane, so I may be totally off on this suggestion, but do you have dehydrated skin? When skin is dehydrated it produces like twenty million times more oil than usual - I fixed my extreme oil slick problem by switching up my moisturizing routine until I found something that moisturized my skin enough. But I do know that this isn't the case for everyone. For me, at any rate, using any anti-oil anything just made my skin even oilier. Like that deslick spray totally backfired on me, lol.

The number one thing that helped my skin, other than an adapalene prescription which is what finally kicked the butt of the cystic acne issues, was visiting the skincareaddiction subreddit and reading everything I could get my hands on. The subreddit was founded to be a place for skincare with a scientific basis, and originally you had to cite a peer-reviewed scientific study basically any time you recommended anything to support the ingredients. It's veered away from that in recent years as it's gotten busier and busier but it's still super helpful.

Yes, I was also thinking this may be an issue for you, packrat. You haven't mentioned using a moisturizer anywhere in your routine, and I don't know if that's just because you weren't providing us with every single step in your routine, or if you aren't using one.

For me, my skin was SO FREAKING OILY before I started moisturizing regularly. It seems counterintuitive that moisturizing would help stem the oiliness, but it really does. My skin is still a little more oily than "normal," but it's so much better than it was in my pre-moisturizing days. It took me a long time to find a moisturizer that didn't make me more greasy (because most *will* just make the problem worse if you have truly oily skin) but now that I've found one and use it every single day, my skin is so much happier and less oily than before.

Can't hurt to try?

What moisturizer(s) work for you?

I have trouble finding ones that don't make me feel disgusting.

 

[star sparkle]

What moisturizer(s) work for you?

I have trouble finding ones that don't make me feel disgusting.

I'm currently using Clinique's Dramatically Different Moisturizing Gel, and it's been great. It's formulated for combination/oily skin, and it's more like a gel and less like an actual lotion. I think that helps keep it really light and feeling fresh on your face rather than heavy and greasy. I've had no issues with it clogging my pores or stimulating oil production.

 

[chrono]

When skin is dehydrated it produces like twenty million times more oil than usual - I fixed my extreme oil slick problem by switching up my moisturizing routine until I found something that moisturized my skin enough.

I wish this is true for me. My skin is very dehydrated but every moisturizer I've tried made me break out the next morning.

 

[star sparkle]

When skin is dehydrated it produces like twenty million times more oil than usual - I fixed my extreme oil slick problem by switching up my moisturizing routine until I found something that moisturized my skin enough.

I wish this is true for me. My skin is very dehydrated but every moisturizer I've tried made me break out the next morning.

This was my huge problem as well in my quest to find one that actually worked. My mom was loving it for a few years there because I'd be giving her practically brand new bottles of moisturizers that didn't end up working for me! They made me break out, made my face gross, and all that. But alas, I finally found one that worked. It's been a miracle for my skin.

 

[distracts]

re: oiliness, I know you've said you went on accutane, so I may be totally off on this suggestion, but do you have dehydrated skin? When skin is dehydrated it produces like twenty million times more oil than usual - I fixed my extreme oil slick problem by switching up my moisturizing routine until I found something that moisturized my skin enough. But I do know that this isn't the case for everyone. For me, at any rate, using any anti-oil anything just made my skin even oilier. Like that deslick spray totally backfired on me, lol.

The number one thing that helped my skin, other than an adapalene prescription which is what finally kicked the butt of the cystic acne issues, was visiting the skincareaddiction subreddit and reading everything I could get my hands on. The subreddit was founded to be a place for skincare with a scientific basis, and originally you had to cite a peer-reviewed scientific study basically any time you recommended anything to support the ingredients. It's veered away from that in recent years as it's gotten busier and busier but it's still super helpful.

Yes, I was also thinking this may be an issue for you, packrat. You haven't mentioned using a moisturizer anywhere in your routine, and I don't know if that's just because you weren't providing us with every single step in your routine, or if you aren't using one.

For me, my skin was SO FREAKING OILY before I started moisturizing regularly. It seems counterintuitive that moisturizing would help stem the oiliness, but it really does. My skin is still a little more oily than "normal," but it's so much better than it was in my pre-moisturizing days. It took me a long time to find a moisturizer that didn't make me more greasy (because most *will* just make the problem worse if you have truly oily skin) but now that I've found one and use it every single day, my skin is so much happier and less oily than before.

Can't hurt to try?

Here's a skincareaddiction post on dehydrated skin just to see if any of it applies - https://www.reddit.com/r/SkincareAddiction/comments/22c4tf/dehydrated_skin_and_the_moisture_barrier_an/

When skin is dehydrated it produces like twenty million times more oil than usual - I fixed my extreme oil slick problem by switching up my moisturizing routine until I found something that moisturized my skin enough.

I wish this is true for me. My skin is very dehydrated but every moisturizer I've tried made me break out the next morning.

You should try the hyaluronic acid serum I linked - it's just water and hyaluronic acid so there shouldn't be anything that would make you break out. Put it on damp skin, and if you are in a dry climate before you go to sleep top with plain mineral oil (no tocopherols or fragrance - usually you can find plain mineral oil as cutting board oil) or vaseline. http://www.amazon.com/Best-Selling-Hyaluronic-Pure-Highest-Paraben-free-Vegan--Best/dp/B0090UJFYI/ Recommending these things in particular since they're single ingredient items that very few people have negative reactions to (only if you're allergic to them, basically, and you'd probably already know if you have a petroleum allergy).

 

[chrono]

Distracts,
Thank you for the suggestion. I did a bit of research and it seems that hyaluronic acid is also used to treat joint injuries.

 

[distracts]

Distracts,
Thank you for the suggestion. I did a bit of research and it seems that hyaluronic acid is also used to treat joint injuries.

By injection, I think. Hyaluronic acid is also what most injectable cosmetic fillers are, juvederm, restylane, perlane, belotero, etc. Those are much higher concentrations that are also heavily crosslinked to provide firmness. Really intriguing stuff to read about.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Distracts - Your posts are so informative! So I ordered the Hyaluronic Acid Serum you linked and have been using it for a few days, along with the LRP sensitive skin moisturizer that Missy linked a while back. I think my skin looks better, but mostly because I have ignored my skin for the past year. I was pregnant and too worried about using anything on my skin! Well, I did on occasion use an eye cream that Ame mentioned in the past (can't remember the name right now!), but nothing very routine. (What would I do without this forum???)

Anyway, now I am really noticing worry lines (is that what they are btw my brows.) What do you all recommend I do about those???

 

[packrat]

Ok I have the two links up from Distracts-the skincare addiction one and the hyaluronic acid one on amazon. I'm totally up for trying anything at this point!

So, I just got back from the peel consult--I've got a couple things that I think might work as a moisturizer so not sure if the hyaluronic acid would still be needed but I figure you guys will tell me what you think!

It was a really nice place and they were SO SO SO nice. I did this thing called Visia, it's a facial assessment report. They take pictures in two different positions of your face and then it's on the computer and it shows you all the most scream worthy pictures! I should post them-they're crazy! I don't care if people see my yucky face. It shows all the uv damage, red spots, brown spots, texture issues, wrinkles, pores, and the bacteria pockets on your skin. EW.

She gave me a website to look at a probiotic. She said sometimes an overgrowth of yeast will cause acne too, and the probiotic will...kill it or whatever. I bought a bunch of stuff and about swallowed my tongue at the cost, but yanno, if it works and I look better and feel better about myself, I don't really shiv a git.

We decided to do a Sciton Nano/Micro laser peel. I bought a set of 3 b/c it was a better deal. The ones I bought won't be super deep, but they will be a tish deeper than the chemical peels. I won't have to deal w/chemicals on my face, and they can control how deep they go in spots that need it. It will be between 6-8 microns depending. This type she said the peeling is more minimal b/c a lot of the "work" happens during the peel from the laser rather than the chemicals needing to work first and then the actual peeling happening later. Minimal downtime, takes roughly 30 minutes. They give you numbing stuff to take home and a thick gel to put on your face-the secretary says it makes it feel a lot better. Depending on your skin will determine how red you get--the secretary is fair, not as whitish-pink as me, she's more golden, and she said she is red for the whole next day too-so I bet I'll be a tomato for a couple days ha!

The deeper peel they have to numb you for and you have to wear this thick gel for days afterward. She said it would work better on the acne scarring I have, but there's more down time. What we decided to do is the series of three 6-8 micron peels, and I'll use this nice face stuff too, and we'll see how my skin looks. She said since I had great results from the chemical peels she expects these will be even better. Then come say, our week off for Christmas break this year, or next summer vacation, (not spring break b/c we are going to Disney!!!!) I can do one of the deeper peels.

This is the stuff I got-it's all Revision Skincare and what she recommended: a wash http://www.revisionskincare.com/products/purifying-cleansing-gel?src=cleanse-tone
a rinse http://www.revisionskincare.com/products/soothing-facial-rinse?src=cleanse-tone
a mask http://www.revisionskincare.com/products/black-mask?src=exfoliate
a scrub http://www.revisionskincare.com/products/finishing-touch?src=exfoliate

I also got a sample of this moisturizer http://www.revisionskincare.com/products/intellishade-broad-spectrum-spf-45?src=moisturize

My mom did a consult too!

They have Jane Iredale makeup there and I played w/a BB cream. She gave me a 6 to try for color-and it looked spectacular in the mirror and crappy lighting there, but driving in the car it's just a little off. I'm so dang PINK and WHITE.

I'll post the pictures so you can see my crazy skin color.

 

[distracts]

I've heard about that Visia thing before and have wanted it done - while simultaneously being terrified to see the pictures! I feel like that would make me even more neurotic than I already am - you're very brave for being able to look at yours.

 

[packrat]

You know what, I think they should offer it as a service to people to see the damage they really have in their skin that can't be seen w/the naked eye. Sure, I can look at my skin and see it looks like crap, it's red, splotchy, pores you could serve dip out of, dark spots from acne, scarred up, just haggard looking--and then you look at those pictures and HOOOOO-LY MOLY is it an eye opener. If ever I was a slacker on sunblock, that's over today. I will say tho, that one was the coolest picture. It's pretty neat to see your face in black and white spots like a dalmation.

 

[tweeter8177]

Best. Makeup Remover. Ever.

Thanks msop04 for the recommendation for the Dr. Jart Dermaclear! I ordered this from Sephora and have used it the past 2 nights to remove both mascara and make-up. So far, I love it! I was skeptical on the eye make-up removal, but it works really well without stinging my eyes!

I also want to try the Kiehls eye make up remover that Star Sparkle recommended, particularly for travel. Hoping to get to the store today to buy the small size.

I am always looking for the holy grail of beauty products so I have been following this thread closely! One of favorites is really not one product, but I love the Sephora Lash Stash, which is part of the Sephora favorites usually offered during the Holidays. It usually has 10-12 different mascaras and it gives me the chance to try a bunch of different kinds for a reasonable price. The Sephora in JCPenny's also offered a mini Lash Stash last year with 6 mascaras. So far my favorites have been Buxom, Lancome Hypnose Drama and Too Faced Better than Sex in that order. There are other mascaras I like, for example Benefit They're Real, but I find it difficult to remove. Maybe my new Dr. Jart Dermaclear would work though!

 

[House Cat]

You know what, I think they should offer it as a service to people to see the damage they really have in their skin that can't be seen w/the naked eye. Sure, I can look at my skin and see it looks like crap, it's red, splotchy, pores you could serve dip out of, dark spots from acne, scarred up, just haggard looking--and then you look at those pictures and HOOOOO-LY MOLY is it an eye opener. If ever I was a slacker on sunblock, that's over today. I will say tho, that one was the coolest picture. It's pretty neat to see your face in black and white spots like a dalmation.

I am a probiotic junkie. What brand did they recommend for your skin? Did yours come in yet?

 

[House Cat]

Does anyone have a good nude lipstick? Nudes tend to turn orange on my skin. I have tried a bunch of nudes! Does anyone else have this problem?

 

[missy]

Does anyone have a good nude lipstick? Nudes tend to turn orange on my skin. I have tried a bunch of nudes! Does anyone else have this problem?

How about wearing a colorless lip gloss? It enhances your natural lip color and can be just as polished/fresh as a lipstick.

http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/gallery/p_best_lip_glosses/p18542/page8

 

[packrat]

You know what, I think they should offer it as a service to people to see the damage they really have in their skin that can't be seen w/the naked eye. Sure, I can look at my skin and see it looks like crap, it's red, splotchy, pores you could serve dip out of, dark spots from acne, scarred up, just haggard looking--and then you look at those pictures and HOOOOO-LY MOLY is it an eye opener. If ever I was a slacker on sunblock, that's over today. I will say tho, that one was the coolest picture. It's pretty neat to see your face in black and white spots like a dalmation.

I am a probiotic junkie. What brand did they recommend for your skin? Did yours come in yet?

This is what she recommended http://www.symbionforlife.com/about-symbion-probiotics.html I haven't ordered them yet but now that I've got the site up I will now.

 

[HollyS]

Does anyone have a good nude lipstick? Nudes tend to turn orange on my skin. I have tried a bunch of nudes! Does anyone else have this problem?

I know this is a "low end" brand, but Maybelline actually has some nude lipsticks in light to deep tones. I bought a couple at Target last summer; I actually had someone ask me what I was wearing because the color was something she had been looking for. I have to use a nude that has a more mauve-y tone than brown. Revlon's nudes, for instance, are too orange on me.

I don't care what brand I use; as long as it looks good, goes on smoothly, and stays put without drying out.

 

[distracts]

Does anyone have a good nude lipstick? Nudes tend to turn orange on my skin. I have tried a bunch of nudes! Does anyone else have this problem?

My lips are really pink but my skin is super white (with cool tones) so it's hard for me to find a nude lipstick that covers my lipcolor, doesn't look weird wearing off, doesn't look orangey, and doesn't make me look dead. I have a couple Bite Beauty ones that work well, I think Retsina is the one I like best but the label fell off so I'm not 100% sure that's the color. But from the swatches I found online it looks like it. http://steph-ex.blogspot.com/2014/03/bite-beauty-lipsticks-retsina-cava.html

 

[distracts]

I don't know how much this counts as a beauty product, but it's beauty-related? Anyway I bought a thing to put my nail polishes in. It's just propped on the floor behind the cat food for now because in the next few months we're going to be moving all the rooms in our house around and so there's no point in drilling into the wall when it's just going to be moved across the house soon enough. But it freed up a drawer in my dresser and looks so organized. Of course, I have another dresser drawer full of nail polishes, so I really need another one of these, but I guess we'll see how much wall space there is once I move the rooms around (probably none, if I'm trying to keep my nail polish in my office, because the room destined to be the new office is almost all windows).

 

[House Cat]

You know what, I think they should offer it as a service to people to see the damage they really have in their skin that can't be seen w/the naked eye. Sure, I can look at my skin and see it looks like crap, it's red, splotchy, pores you could serve dip out of, dark spots from acne, scarred up, just haggard looking--and then you look at those pictures and HOOOOO-LY MOLY is it an eye opener. If ever I was a slacker on sunblock, that's over today. I will say tho, that one was the coolest picture. It's pretty neat to see your face in black and white spots like a dalmation.

I am a probiotic junkie. What brand did they recommend for your skin? Did yours come in yet?

This is what she recommended http://www.symbionforlife.com/about-symbion-probiotics.html I haven't ordered them yet but now that I've got the site up I will now.

Thanks Packrat! My son has Crohn's disease. People with Crohn's who are taking these probiotics are reporting that they can decrease their meds. My son's meds are extremely toxic, chemo class immunosuppressants. If he would be able to lower his dose it would be so, so good.

 

[House Cat]

Does anyone have a good nude lipstick? Nudes tend to turn orange on my skin. I have tried a bunch of nudes! Does anyone else have this problem?

How about wearing a colorless lip gloss? It enhances your natural lip color and can be just as polished/fresh as a lipstick.

http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/gallery/p_best_lip_glosses/p18542/page8

I'm definitely going to try this! Funny that clear gloss never crossed my mind.

 

[momhappy]

I picked up a few new products at Sephora the other day.
The first is Alterna Kendi Dry Oil Mist. It's meant for medium hair types, but it seemed fairly light, so I thought I'd give it a try since I adore Alterna hair products in general. I spray it on my hands (as opposed to directly on my hair) and then smooth it on to damp hair before blow drying. It does seem to control frizz and make hair shiny/smooth as promised.
I also purchased a new sunless tanning product called Vita Liberata Luxury Tan Self Tanning Tinted Lotion. It claims to be very moisturizing, quick drying, easy to use, no odor, and last up to 7 days. I applied it with a mitt. It's sort of a gel-like texture and it's tinted, so you get instant gratification. After my first use, I noticed a couple of minor streaks on my legs, so next time, I'm going to smear it into the mitt better before touching my skin. The color was fabulous and there was absolutely no smell. I'm excited to try it again because I think if I exfoliate properly before, and take more time to carefully apply, it could turn out to be a fabulous-looking tan.

 

[star sparkle]

I recently switched all of my hair care products over to LUSH products, and my hair has seriously never been healthier or prettier. My hair used to be really damaged and prone to breakage, so it took forever to grow out and just looked really limp and blah. I realized that all the regular products I'd been using were full of weird ingredients and alcohol that I figured probably weren't all that great for my hair, so I made to switch to LUSH and I really couldn't be happier with the results. My hair is much fuller, shinier, softer, and grows really quickly!

 

[packrat]

I just was thinking about Lush yesterday and pulled up the website-but then the kids were begging to go swimming so I didn't ever look at anything really. I need to get some better shampoo/conditioner. I got my hair cut again Saturday and she said it felt pretty damaged. I'm sure b/c of the bleaching that was done last October. I don't think it's ever fully recovered from that.

 

[packrat]

I've been using the wash and rinse I got from the skin place since Thursday and I really like them. I feel like my pores are smaller and I'm not as greasy-says to use twice daily but I have just been doing it once, at bedtime. I feel like the Clarisonic has really been beneficial too-I'm glad I broke down finally and bought it.

I've got an order coming from Sephora, should be here Wednesday-got the burgundy mascara, Stila Grace eyeshadow and UD Naked in 1.0.

ETA: Does anyone dry brush?

 

[star sparkle]

I just was thinking about Lush yesterday and pulled up the website-but then the kids were begging to go swimming so I didn't ever look at anything really. I need to get some better shampoo/conditioner. I got my hair cut again Saturday and she said it felt pretty damaged. I'm sure b/c of the bleaching that was done last October. I don't think it's ever fully recovered from that.

Definitely look into it! I feel pretty indifferent towards their skin care products, they've never really done much for me, but the hair care stuff has been truly transformed my hair. I'm obsessed with their shampoo bars, I'm currently in love with Honey I Washed My Hair. The smell is amazing, and it makes my hair so soft!! I also love Shine So Bright, which helps keep the ends of your hair hydrated so it's less prone to breakage, and some of their deep conditioning masks.

 

[Amber St. Clare]

I just was thinking about Lush yesterday and pulled up the website-but then the kids were begging to go swimming so I didn't ever look at anything really. I need to get some better shampoo/conditioner. I got my hair cut again Saturday and she said it felt pretty damaged. I'm sure b/c of the bleaching that was done last October. I don't think it's ever fully recovered from that.

I've been using OGX Quenching Coconut Curls Conditioner for my chemically treated hair {it is both colored and permed}. This stuff detangles immediately and leaves my hair so soft--it's amazing. I leave it on while I am washing, shaving, etc. The only drawback for me is that it comes in a bottle you have to squeeze and with my arthritis I have to have someone squeeze it out into a paper cup beforehand. But the stuff makes my hair feel like buttah--and it was not expensive at all--13oz. for under $10.