Dewy, Plump & Soft Skin: Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel

I am loving Skinceuticals more and more with every product I use. My latest love is for their moisturizing serum, Skinceuticals Hydrating B5 Gel. I am in love with this serum and can't imagine being without it. It's full of the goodness of healing and skin repairing B5, and helps bind moisture to the skin with hyaluronic acid. These simple and amazingly effective ingredients have helped my skin stay smooth and supple. Even after hot summer days of sun, sweating, swimming and just generally feeling dehydrated, this lovely soothing serum gives my skin a dewy glow.

It is recommended as a product to use in conjunction with a Vitamin C (brightening) product and it does seem to work beautifully with my skin routine. I may layer it with a slightly richer cream come the dry and mean days of winter, but for now, this serum is just what the doctor ordered. I am seriously in love with the simplicity and honesty of the Skinceuticals line. There are no empty promises, just simple effective products that deliver on what they promise. Verdict on the Hydrating B5 Gel? Love. 

Skinceuticals buying information is available on their website. US buyers check here and Canadian buyers here. 

Jeune d'Âge Serum is Beautifully Moisturizing

I love serums for my skin. They are perfect for oily skin types, and feel like they sink right in and get to work doing what they should, ie smoothing, soothing, plumping up wrinkles, shrinking pores etc. Often though, modern serums are full of silicone, giving the illusion of a silky fine liquid. Sadly they just sit on top of your skin, often blocking pores, often causing break outs and rarely doing what they promise. The effective ingredients are so diluted, and frankly how can these products get to my skin and get to work if they have a barrier of silicone there? So frustrating. Enter the gorgeous organic skincare line, Jeune d'Âge. Well, I have to say the gorgeous Jeune d'Âge Serum with it's firming and anti aging qualities manages to do what it promises, beautifully and with rather revolutionary and beautiful packaging to boot. This Serum comes in individually packaged envelopes of product, to keep the synthetic and preservative free product fresh. I actually get two doses out of each package, although they are labeled single dose, which is to ensure you are using fresh product each time. These products use organic ingredients but do not claim to be 100% organic, which is fine by me. Performance is what counts to me, and this serum performs.

I love dewy...

The box contains 30 "single dose" packets but as I find there is more than enough for 2 doses, so I use half each evening, with more than enough to spread over my face and neck. I would not leave a packet open for more use after more than a day, and that is only in my cool dark bedroom. Remember this product is all natural with no nasty chemicals preserving it so freshness is key. Packaging them this way means the Serum is also perfect for travel, just toss a few packets into your make up bag- at this size they are even carry-on friendly. One of the most striking aspects of the packaging is the box the wee packets come in. It is a gorgeous black paper board box, which is made out of flower seed paper. Plant the box when you are done, and watch it grow! Not only that, but it is pretty and elegant and looks lovely sitting on your vanity or bathroom counter. 

The product is simply lovely. It has a luxe rich feel, and one can tell it is full of high quality concentrated ingredients. It is a liquid serum that spreads so easily, and a little goes a very long way. It is practically fragrance free, aside from a slight vegetal or plant like aroma- and by slight I mean hardly noticeable. It soothes the skin as it soaks in, leaving a dewy finish and your skin hydrated and glowing. Not a hint of oily or greasy here. It gives a plump dewy appearance to the skin and really feels deeply moisturized without feeling like it has a coating on it. Any further moisturizers or treatments apply beautifully on top, if one needs, and as winter approaches and we have dry indoor heating I will likely need more on top. In the meantime the serum makes a lovely base for any cosmetics I might use. What I love the most is the way my skin drinks it up, yet doesn't feel dry after wards. It feels like it is full of exactly what my skin needs and wants. Its full of goodies that hydrate, smooth and gently plump the skin, helps to improve fine lines and skin texture and gives us an all over glow. The plumping comes from hyarulonic acids- and the ones used in Jeune d'Âge products are animal friendly, as opposed to most used today which are sourced from- wait for it- rooster comb. Ahem.  Thankfully, even my oily and uber sensitive skin loves it and the fact I have not had one breakout since using it is a testament to the gentle nature of Jeune d'Âge Serum. I have been using a few products from the Jeune d'Âge line that I also love and adore so stay tuned for more reviews. 

Jeune d'Âge Organics are available online on their site and through select salon retailers in the US. At $39.99 for a box of the serum, and only $19 for refill packages for your lovely flower box, the price is amazing. 

Benefit b.right It's Potent & Beautiful Eye Cream

I got myself this lovely cream when I purchased the Benefit Foamingly Clean cleansing cream. It comes in such a pretty pale blue glass jar, this line of products really looks pretty and elegant sitting on your vanity or bathroom shelf. Too pretty to hide away! I liked the consistency of the cream when I sampled it at Sephora as it felt rich but not greasy- which works for me.

It’s Potent! is smooth and light, with hyaluronic acid (a fave ingredient of mine!) to add moisture and “contains a peptide complex known to help restore elasticity & firmness, a blend of hydrating botanical extracts including apple extract, known to help boost collagen, & loquat extract, known to help protect the skin from free radical damage”.  It has a nice consistency and soaks in nicely. I have been using it at night and in the morning and really like it. It moisturizes and works well as a base for eye make up.  It does give a soft smooth radiance to the eye area, and it does not use shimmer or frosty sparkly effects which is great, because that stuff just settles into and emphasizes lines.

The b.right line does promise radiance and delivers on that count. I do notice a smoothing effect on fine lines after application which is a plus! In the end, I think I need a richer formula so I may go back to my Shiseido Benefiance for daytime or to use in conjunction with the It’s Potent! cream. I got my Benefit b.right products at Sephora- the It's Potent eye cream is $32.

Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Night Cream Reveals Beautiful Skin

Ok it's not Neutrogena but how great is this ad!

I can’t really remember how I stumbled across this particular cream but it is a rather random choice for me. I like Neutrogena but never really found their facial skincare products overly effective for my skin as far as anti-aging treatments go. After reading a few raves online, I decided to give this a try, as I needed a good retinol cream for nighttime. Neutrogena Ageless Intensives Deep Wrinkle Moisture Night Cream (maybe a shorter name? Just sayin’) has retinol and hyaluronic acid as its two main ingredients, both of which I love and need. I am hoping the ingredients are listed on the box but I tossed it and they are not listed on the Neutrogena website. There must be a bit of silicone in it, for slip, but not enough to coat the skin as I feel it sink in quite well. 

I have been using it for around 3 weeks now and I love it. I noticed reduced pore size and improved smoother skin texture within the first week of using it, and as time goes on, I also see a slight reduction in fine lines. This could be the combo of retinol to resurface and hyaluronic acid to plump and moisturize- whatever it is, it’s working. My t-zone is looking better with a smoother texture and is also slightly less oily, which makes me happy.  Using this in conjunction with my miracle eye treatments I feel my skin is looking better than it has in a long time.

I am looking forward to further investigating the Ageless Intensives line as there are many products to try.  I am considering trying the tone correcting serum (also a night treatment) which has Vitamin C to help reduce dark spots. I love Kiehl’s Powerful Strength Line Reducing Concentrate for my Vitamin C treatments but the packaging is so poor I'd prefer to try another product before repurchasing that one.

Beautiful Natural Lips by Clarins Lip Balm with Essential Rose Wax

I am continually on the hunt for the perfect lip balm. I am fairly lucky, in that my lips have good color so when they are bare, they are not invisible. In the 80s, when light pink frosty lips were de riguer, I used to put foundation on my lips to tone down the colour before applying my mauve-y grey frosted lipstick- Annabelle I think? Can’t recall the colour but I’m pretty sure it matched my nailpolish. Yikes. My mother always said my lips were such a pretty color and could never understand why I would cover them up. As usual, mother was right and now I am happy for their high colour.

Back to balm. I’ve used it all. From $9 Aquaphor- which, is fantastic, although has zero pretty purse appeal in it’s institutional white plastic tube- to $45 La Mer lip balm. La Mer is slightly better packaging wise, but I have never been keen on pot lip balm and having to dip my finger in to apply. Not hygienic and not easy peasy to apply. And it was thin, barely noticeable on my lips at all. La Mer saw me coming a mile away with that one. I’ve owned all the flavours of  the cult favourite Smith’s Rosebud Salve. Seriously? It’s basically Vaseline with a few drops of rosewater & a loud synthetic rose scent. Awful stuff and lasts seconds on the lips before it disappears. Clinique Repairwear balm was OK but I went through it so quickly and again, it just did not last on my lips. And by last I mean that my lips will still feel moist. For example, when I apply Aquaphor at night, I can still feel it on my lips in the morning. A lifesaver on those cold winter nights when the drying heat is on full blast. But I won't dwell on the products that did NOT live up to my exacting expetations.

My friend Tara and I were chatting about lip balms last month, as I was ready to go out and try yet another $45 one (Dior I think…) and she said she swears by a Clarins one with rosewax. Doesn’t rosewax sound like a lovely thing to put on your lips? I thought so. The next time I passed a Clarins counter I got it. Bingo! It is fantastic. It’s in a tube with a slanted top making it easy to apply and hygienic. It has a barely there subtle and soft rose scent and if there is a taste, I haven’t noticed it. The consistency is thick without being gloppy. It is smooth and glides beautifully across the lips. It slowly sinks in and becomes barely noticeable. There is not a lot of shine, and no frost or reflecting agents, yet it really compliments the lip nicely and makes them feel plump and moist. The most amazing thing for me is how long it lasts. I haven’t timed it but I only have to apply a few times a day. I even notice a slight reduction in the minor (very minor!) vertical lines above the lip while I wear the Clarins balm.

The Clarins balm contains hyaluronic acid, which is a natural skin component capable of retaining  moisture and helps to give a plump moist look to skin and lips. Rose wax, for which it is named, is a product collected from the surface of rose petals, and which forms a silky, soothing protective and moisturizing barrier on the lips. Wow!

I have been using this in lieu of my perrenial faves, Lip Fusion & Smashbox O-Plump, as I am lately craving a less shiny lip. A few drops of the fantastic Benetint rubbed into my lips and the Clarins Balm on top is a perfect every-day lip.

It’s not an inexpensive product at $28 but from what I can see so far, a little goes a long way.

Available at Clarins counters, online at their site, and from Sephora.

Disclaimer:  this review is for a product I purchased