Toners -Biologique Recherche - Lotion P50
amysee 4/12/2010 4:03:00 PM
When I turned 27, I decided that I was going to be acne-free by age 30. I had my first pimple at age 9, and I experienced a seamless transition from teen acne to adult acne. I was determined to make it all stop. After some fruitless at-home efforts, I found a good aesthetician, and she told me that all the mad exfoliating I'd engaged in had dried out my already dry skin, and grossest of all caused what was essentially a callous to form on my forehead. This callous was protecting me from myself, while preventing all of my blackheads from escaping. Eeeeeewwwww. She also introduced me to P 50. I bought the little bottle at first and was warned to expect my skin to look worse before it got better, and to be red immediately after application until I got used to it. The results were truly amazing. I didn't experience much in terms of breakouts, but after a few weeks, I could just rub my finger across my forehead and blackheads would come right out of my pores. My skin became clearer and I felt it helped my moisturizer soak in better. About a year ago I stopped using P 50, because it felt so obscene to spend so much money on a bottle of stinky chemicals when people were losing their jobs and their homes. I tried another high end (but still cheaper... this is how expensive P 50 is) toner but I knew it just wasn't the same. My conscience quieted when I had a huge, hormonally-related breakout on my chin about 6 months ago. My aesthetician was able to help a lot, and then finally asked me after a couple of months of little progress if I was using the P 50; she was convinced that if I had been using it, I would have healed by then. I'm back on it, and my skin is glowing and healing again. Everything you've read is true: incredibly expensive, weird smelling, and maybe phenol is an iffy thing to put on your face twice a day. But you don't need to use much, and it works wonders! * 4 lippies instead of 5 because some of the ingredients are kind of scary. But effective!
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Self Tanners -L'Oreal - Sublime Glow Daily Moisturizer and Natural Skin Tone Enhancer for Fair Skin Ton
amysee 4/12/2010 2:54:00 PM
I love, love, love being tan. My mom was one of those "slather on the baby oil and lie out on a white sheet until you blister" kind of tanners, and she taught me what for her was tremendous restraint in the tanning department: SPF 15 and rub on the Noxema to cool the skin while the burn turns into a "healthy tan." Hopefully I'll be able to pass on an even smarter approach if I have children, but I'm stuck with a brain that thinks that golden brown is the way to go... and is afraid of skin cancer. So, I self-tan. After ditching another "glow" lotion, I read the MUA reviews and reached for this. The color is great, the initial fragrance is mild, and I can't really smell my tan developing so I'm not embarrassed to use this when I'm around other people. It also contains some natural oils, so it really does moisturize. I don't think it would be enough on my dry skin during the winter, but I don't feel like I'm shriveling up, either. As another reviewer noted, it's got some gold tint and fine glitter in it. When I'm worried about that, I dry brush in the evening and put it on before bed, and then rinse off the glitter in the shower in the morning. On the consistency, I was pretty mad when I first opened it because it came out the same consistency as a cleansing milk. A reviewer noted this on MUA amid the praise, and I wondered if I shouldn't have ignored her! But I gave the lotion a thorough shake, and that thickened it up. It's not a cream formula by any stretch, but if you take a moment to shake it up a little before each application you shouldn't have much problem. There are a few bumps, but overall it's a pleasant product that does what it's supposed to.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Self Tanners -Nivea - Sunkissed Skin Firming Gradual Tan (body)
amysee 4/12/2010 2:40:00 PM
I started using this product a couple of summers ago and was really happy with it because it was less complicated than using a real self-tanner, and a friend complimented my tan- she thought I'd actually been out in the sun and wondered where I had the time to get such a great tan. After repurchasing a few times, I'm realizing that the tan is the only thing going for it. It's not a good moisturizer if you have dry skin at all (and forget about that firming claim); if the weather is very warm or very dry, I get dry patches on my legs and this lotion did not prevent that. It also smells- to me at least- horrendous. From the moment I apply through the color development process, it reeks. I know from using other gradual tan lotions that it doesn't have to be this way. The package is generally good, but the cap sometimes doesn't shut properly on the first try (especially when it's been used a lot). Three lippies for the great tan, though. :)
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No