Sunscreen -Eucerin - Sun Fluid Mattifying SPF 50+
franzvonstuck 6/7/2013 3:48:00 PM
I stumbled upon this product as I got a sample in the pharmacy. I need to wear sunscreen every day as I have a melasma and am prone to pigment spots, but a good sunscreen is hard to find. My skin is basically combo with a dehydrated oily t-zone and oily to normal cheeks. I also have seborrheic dermatitis, which is why I have to be careful, what kind of products I put on my skin. The wrong product causes my dermatitis to flare. The Eucerin sun fluid comes in a small bottle white bottle with an orange cap. If you´re familiar with water based foundations: The texture is very much like the texture of water based foundations alas you have to give the bottle a good shake before you open the bottle. The consistency is runny, liquid and slightly yellow coloured, but colourless when applied on my face. It has no obvious or unpleasant smell and literally melts into the skin when you apply it. I usually cleanse and moisturize my face, then shake the bottle and apply a decent amout of the fluid. Please, use enough of the sun fluid and don´t try to use only a tiny amount. I work fast to spread it as it is so runny and melts into the skin. When I´m done, it´s invisible and leaves a velvety smooth finish on my skin and no white cast. I follow with MAC face and body fondation, which is again water based and it works brilliantly under my foundation, because the textures are very alike. On weekends, I wear no make up and still, the sun fluid is invisible on my skin while giving me a velvety smooth finish. My skin looks surprisingly good without make up when I wear this sunscreen. It acts like a "photoshopping " sunscreen for my skin. My face gets oily in the t-zone throughout the day, either with or without this sunscreen. Many people vote this down because it´s not mattifying and I think it´s not very good from Eucerin to claim this as mattifying. The claim just distracts from the fact that this is a very good and cosmetically elegant sunscreen which performs very well under foundation. My skin is very sensitive and during a flare of my dermatitis, wearing suncreen can be problematic. But my skin likes this sunscreen very much, meaning it doesn´t upset or irritate my skin or makes me break out. I wear it every day and have to say I like it very much. My former sunscreen was Kiehls daily uv defense, which is much more expensive. But I will switch to this as it is cheaper, better for my sensitive skin and has a good finish on my skin.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -Skinceuticals - Hydrating B5 Gel
franzvonstuck 6/2/2013 3:25:00 PM
This serum is a godsend for people with hyper sensitive and/or problematic skin. My skin is very difficult: Combination skin with oily dehydrated t-zone and normal cheeks and prone to seborrheic dermatitis. On top of that, I have a melasma, pigment spots, blackheads and congestion-prone skin. This skin condition explains, why I cannot use most of the skincare products on the market. I got a sample of this years ago and tested it, but I internally cringed at the price. It costs 54 EUR (70 USD) for 30 ml in Germany. I immediately noticed an increased hydration in my notoriously dehydrated skin and I liked it. But still, I refused to pay so much. I ordered the cosmetic skin solutions b5 serum and used it, but strangely, I never bought the cosmetic skin solutions again. I wasn´t diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis at that time and I used a ton of skincare products, which were totally wrong for my skin. I literally overfed my sensitive dehydrated skin with too much oils, fats and ingredients and still wondered, why I used so many products and never saw a result. I switched products and layered product over product, but my skin was still a little flaky and dehydrated. Last autumn, I got another sample of this and liked it so much, that I bought the small 15 ml bottle. I still used too much products, but my skin felt good with the serum. Again, after using it up, I moved on to other products and forgot about the b5 serum. Then, my seborrheic dermatitis flared big time and I had to change everything about my skincare routine. I had a hard time cutting back and adjusting to my problematic skin. The toughest thing was to find products, that were gentle, minimalistic, hydrating and calming while no making my seborrheic dermatitis flare. I remembered the hydrating b5 and went to get another sample. This time, I fully recognized, how genius this product really is. My skin had an acute flare of seborrheic dermatitis and was actually calmed down by this serum while literally everything made my skin burn. The minimalistic ingredients which include hyaluronic acid, vitamin b5 and glycerin hydrate and soothe the skin. I wanted something to moisturize my skin and repair my skin barrier at the same time. I don´t know, if people with quite normal skin will be very impressed by this, because it is a very basic product. But the basicness of the serum makes it stand out for people with problematic skin. Less ingredients simply means less risk of irritation. I use it in the morning, applying it after cleansing on my damp face, let it sink in and put a light moisturizer on top. My skin looks good despite the seborrheic dermatitis and more important it feels good. I bought the full size after using up my sample and I willingly paid the high price, because it works so good for my very problematic skin. I don´t use many products now and only choose minimalistic products with less ingredients. I invest in high quality products and use less products and it shows good results. My skin looked never that good, when I used tons of other products and although I still suffer from the flare of my seborrheic dermatitis, I can see that my new routine works better for my skin. This one has become a staple in my bathroom and although I wasn´t impressed by this serum from the beginning, I truly appreciate having such a simple and gentle, yet powerful product for my skin. This has been a lifesaver for my skin, but I know that everyones skin is different and what works for me might not work for other people. Still I think this might be worth a try for people with sensitive and problematic skin as this is a no nonsense product.
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Blush -MAC - Harmony
franzvonstuck 6/1/2013 1:18:00 PM
My skin is very pale with a light yellow undertone (MAC NC10-15 or C1) and I always need something to bring colour to my face. My skin often looks dull, pale and lifeless. On top of that, I never tan or use dark self-tanners, so I need a bronzer to freshen up my complexion. Especially in spring and summertime, I long for a sunkissed look even as a PPP. Enter Harmony from MAC. This is one color, I wouldn´t have reached for if not for my lovely MAC MUAs, who recommended this to me. I used the ELF Golden Bronzer, but never managed to find a matte bronzer for my skin as they all looked orange on my skin. I looked at the usual bronzers from MAc, but my MUA suggested Harmony instead. She said, it was officially labelled as a blush, but would work very good as bronzer and contouring colour on pale skin as it doesn´t turn orange. I was sceptical, but she applied it and I was sold. I looked fresh, alive, healthy and polished with this, so all the things you would want in a good bronzer. To be honest, I don´t need to contour much as my face is tiny and slim with high cheekbones and I look like a skeleton with obvious contouring. But as a bronzer, this is unbeatable for me. I just use this with a big fluffy ELF mineral powder brush by swirling the brush around in the pan, tapping the excess off and applying it lightly like a big C on my forehead, temples and under my cheekbones. Sometimes I do a light dusting on my nose and cheekbones to make me look sunkissed. I always use this with a light hand, but I never got streaks or odd looking colour on my face from this. I looked at it in plain sunlight and it works beautifully on my skin. I also use this as a blush, but my main use is that of a bronzer. As a blush it enhances the illusion, that I might be tanned or spent a day in the sun. Again, creating a healthy appearance while being very neutral. You can combine it with a lot of eyeshadows and lipsticks. A true multitasking product, this became a staple in my make-up kit in no time at all. Mac describes this as a muted rose-beige brown, which explains, why it never turns orange. The undertones are more like a dirty-ashy cool brown, which might not work for every skintone, but for those who have problems with warm-orange-brown based bronzers, this would be worth a try. Highly recommended.
4 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Treatments -La Roche Posay - Rosaliac AR intense
franzvonstuck 5/5/2013 6:12:00 AM
This is another product I´ve been using during my flare up of seborrheic dermatitis. I bought this out of desparation, because I suffered from burning, hot, uncomfortable skin for 6 weeks. It was not an allergy and I suppose, it is seborrhoic dermatitis. My skin is very sensitive, reactive, picking and the biggest problem is the constant burning sensation on my face, especially in my chin and cheek area. I followed are commendation of a colleague, who had rosacea for years and used this line from LRP. The products for rosacea are "light" products in general and often, I can use them for my seborrheic dermatitis skin. The AR intense is a light gel emulsion, almost a serum consistency, that is odorless and colourless. It comes in an airless pump dispenser, which is very practical. According to the LRP website the ingredients that should help rosacea besides the thermal water are: AMBOPHENOL-A: Natural extract of the leaves of Tambourissa Trichophylla, a plant found in Madagascar known to calm and soothe redness. NEUROSENSINE: Helps to reduce skin reactivity and hypersentitivity. Reduces the signs and discomfort associated with skin sensitivity. The good: This really helped my skin as far as any OTC product can do. I need prescripted medication, no doubt about that, but this helped me during my waiting time for an appointment with a derm. The burning is not completely gone, but it is tolerable and not as painful as it was. As my skin cannot take heavy, oily, fat creams and craves light and cool formulations at the moment, this is very good right now. I mix it with fresh aloe vera gel I bought at the pharmacy and that�s it for skincare these days. I also use the micellar cleansing gel from this line. The bad: I don�t like silicones and if you look at the formula, you will see, that this has quite a bit of silicones in it. It feels a little sticky on my face and it also has not much moisturizing properties, so I don�t know how dry-skinned people will like this. The silicony feeling is not what I usually want in a moisturizer, but I never broke out or reacted badly from silicones, so it�s just my personal liking. This may be the reason why other reviewers broke out from using this. If your skin doesn�t like glycerin or silicones, this one might not be the best solution for your skin. This really is an SOS product for me and as glad as I am to have it at the moment, I wouldn�t want to use this exclusively as a moisturizer. Too much silicones for my liking, but excellent choice for emergencies.
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Cleansers -La Roche Posay - Rosaliac Micellar Make up removal gel 4 face and eyes
franzvonstuck 5/4/2013 3:32:00 AM
Let me start by saying that I was not using this cleanser under "normal" circumstances. For 5 weeks I suffered from burning, picking, hot skin, which I suppose is a flare of sebborheic dermatitis. An appointment with a derm ended in the wrong medikation. While I was waiting 3 weeks for a second appointment with another derm, I was quite desperate, because I didn�t know what to do with my skin. I gave up any usual make up and skincare regimen and left my skin alone. But even if I could give up cleansing in the morning, I wanted to have a cleanser for the evening. I first used my well-trusted Eucerin re-balance. It was quite good, but my skin was in a desolate state. Then, one day, I talked to a colleague and she had rosacea and said, she used the LRP Rosaliac line. I went and bought the AR intense and as it worked good on my skin, I went and got the micellar cleanser. I found that some of the products for rosacea work for my skin as they are formulated to be light and soothing. The cleanser is a clear gel, that�s not foaming. It�s gelly, odorless and leaves a cooling sensation. I use the method of Isabell Bellis: Wetting my face with thermal water, spreading the cleanser in my hands and using light circular motions on my face to spread the cleanser. After that, I rinse the cleanser with cool water. The instructions say, you can use it without water, but I prefer to rinse my cleansers. Then I dab my face with a towel and follow with a spray of thermal water to calm down my skin and erase the effects of our hard tap water. Honestly the cleanser is a little more drying than my usual cleansers. I prefer milk or cream cleansers for my skin. but in this flare of seborrheic dermatitis, I felt better with a light, cooling gel cleanser and I take the side effect of a little drier feel after cleansing. Don�t get me wrong, the cleanser doesn�t leave my face cracking dry or flaking, but my usual cleansers leave a film on my skin and this one doesn�t. May also be because I don�t tissue it off, but rinse it off. It contains paraben, silicones and triethanolamine. In case you don�t like these ingredients, don�t use this cleanser. It also contains thermal water, caffeine and ascorbyl glucoside (mild form of vitamin c), which are the ingredients to help the rosacea skin plus glycerin for moisture. If these ingredients really can work if I rinse the cleanser and don�t leave it on my skin, I dont know. Probably the best about this cleanser is, that it cools down my skin and feels like a splash of cool air on my face. I almost couldn�t believe it. As I�m not able to use make up or sunscreen at the moment, the cleansing power is enough at the time. I guess I won�t be able to use make up or sunscreen for quite a while, so I just use this cleanser up and we�ll see. I will buy this cleanser again, but only if I have a special need for this cleanser during a flare. Otherwise I stick with my usual cleansers. Every skin is different, so this one might or might not work for your skin. It would be ideal to test this with a sample if that�s possible. I would recommend for people with sensitive skin or rosacea to try this, if your skin can take the ingredients.
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Moisturizers -Avene - Rich compensating cream
franzvonstuck 3/24/2013 5:19:00 PM
I´ve been searching for a "winter-cream" for my acne-prone skin. I tried many creams, but this one is quite good. My skin is basically combo, very dehydrated and acne-prone, dry in winter, but also sensitive. I use mostly Avene moisturizers, because my skin is sosensitive, it´s not too expensive in Germany and other motisturizers just don´t work that good for my skin. I use it as daycream under my foundation in wintertime. It´s a thicker white cream in a jar, which smells light and clean. I don´t want to have fragrance in my creams, but never had any trouble with Avenes fragrance ingredients. When you apply this, you immediately feel the richness of this moisturizer and by rich I mean "meant for dry skin". I repurchased it several times before I realized, that I have to put a hyualuronic acid serum underneath this cream to make it work for my dehydrated skin. To be fair, I have to put a serum under every moisturizer, because no mositurizer on earth could deliver the huge amounts of moisture I need for my skin. So, be aware of this, because it rather delivers oils, fats and protection for your skin that moisture. That´s why the cream tends to stay on the skin rather than to sink in. It acts as a sealing and protecting cream for dry skins. The cream has too much fat and not enough moisture for my skin. My forehead is always a little bit shiny whenever I use this cream which is a sure sign for the cream being very rich (doesn´t matter much to me, cause I´m not into the matte skin look). This cream didn´t clog my pores or cause me any breakouts. I´m not really sure, if I would buy this again, but just beause I´m testing the rich hydrating cream from Avene as a substitute for this. I surely recommend this, because it gives such a good protection in harsh winter periods and never ever broke me out instead of the heavy rich texture. Still a very good cream, but If your skin needs more moisture, you may have to add a serum or hydrating booster to make this cream work for your skin. Overall, I would recommend this for skin-types which lack fat/oil rather than moisture and for other skintypes, if you need a protective cream for wintertime.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lotions/ Creams -Nuxe - Huile Prodigieuse (Multipurpose dry oil)
franzvonstuck 3/17/2013 3:19:00 PM
I received a sample of this as I bought the moisturizing mask from Nuxe. I was curious about this famous oil and really keen on trying this. I know, there are many ways to use this as other reviewer mentioned, but I first tried it on my face. There were no bad reactions or irritations, but I didn´t like it either. This said, I must confess, I´m not using that much face oils. I own only Weleda or Clarins and I use them for a 14 day face oil cure or when I feel, my skin could use oil. No need for me to have another face oil, as it is not part of my everyday skin care routine. But - and that´s the expensive part here- I looove this as a body oil. Sigh. Considering the price (25 Euros for 100 ml), this is a real luxury. I don´t use this every day as you can imagine or else, I would have to buy a new bottle every month. Please use this oil on damp skin, because if you use it on dry skin, it doesn´t sink in and just stays on top. I use it directly after the shower on my damp skin and I get the softest skin possible. My skin looks glowing and healthy. It looks like the skin of a model in these foto shoots for beauty articles in glossy magazines. You know, the kind of skin, that seems to glow from within and screams "perfect skin here". Luminous and supple, well moisturized and simply beautiful. And that look is hard to archieve with my somehow dull and sometimes scaly skin. I use this mainly in summertime, when I wear skirts and dresses to make my skin look good. And on top of that, my skin smells so yummy, I could sniff my skin the whole day. Seriously, I think, the scent got me hooked too on this product. It smells very unique like sunwarmed skin with a hint of coconut, but not overpowering or sweet, just a warm scent, that reminds you of beach, sea salt and sun. I read the description "St. Tropez in a bottle" and that is so true. I didn´t think I could like such a sensual scent as I usually get headaches from most perfumes and only wear men´s perfumes, because women´s perfumes are always too sweet. I ordered the new perfume "Prodigieux le parfum" from Nuxe, which is exactly the fragrance from the oil. But I think, not everyone may like this scent as fragrances highly depent on the personal taste. The combination of the feel and the smell of this oil makes it a luxurious experience to use this oil. It makes me feel glamourous whenever I use this. I don´t use it for other purposes than making the skin on my body look good. So, I´d recommend this if you are into dry oils and like scented oils. This is expensive, especially for the way I use it, but the effect is worth it.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Blush -MAC - blushcreme ladyblush 
franzvonstuck 3/11/2013 1:20:00 PM
How do you know a blush doesn´t look good on you? The constant questions I get, when I´m wearing Ladyblush are: Are you sick today? Do you feel well today? You look so pale, are you o.k.? That is how I know, that this is not the blush for me. Background: I have pale, slightly yellow toned NC 15-20/C1 skin, that has no colour in the cheeks and tends to look dull. Blush is a must for me, as I look dead and sallow without wearing blush. From all the reviews, I thought, this would be the creamblush for my skin. As I am pale, darker or very vibrant colours-even applied with a very light hand- can look odd on my cheeks and lead to questions like: Do you have a fever? (this actually happened with BB pot rouge in raspberry!). So I like to choose more sheer textures and lighter colours when it comes to blush. Ladyblush however makes it hard for me, to even look like I am wearing blush. It´s a creamblush with a nice smooth texture, which is easy to apply. MAC describes it as a warm neutral coral and it´s a good description. Maybe it´s the warm neutral undertones in my skin, that makes the colour of the blush literally melt into my skintone. I can pile tons and tons of this blush on my cheeks with no result. I can see the luminosity the colour gives on the cheeks and if it would show up a little bit more on my cheeks, I´m sure it would look nice. But it´s so undetectable, I can´t even wear it for a "no make up" make up look. Desperate as I was, I came to the idea to mix it with another creamblush from MAC. I own Posey from MAC, which is way too pink and vibrant to wear it on its own. Mixed 50:50 with Ladyblush, it gives a corally-pink colour on my cheeks that actually looks good. As the blushes are not exatly cheap, I use the two colours up by mixing them together. That way, I can customize my blush depending on my skin tone in winter or summertime. I use a larger amount of Ladyblush in the mixture, when I´m quite pale or want a more neutral colour or use more Posey when I want a darker colour on my cheeks. Needless to say, I won´t buy it again. Maybe it´s just my weird skintone, that´s just not right for this kind of colour. I´d suggest to test it first, if that´s possible for you.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Moisturizers -Unlisted Brand - Embryolisse
franzvonstuck 3/10/2013 5:52:00 AM
So, this is the moisturizer you´ll find on every beauty blogger´s website and in every models bathroom. That doesn´t mean, it will work for your skin. I found it out the hard way, although I wanted to love this. I was curious about this basic-yet-nothing-short-of-a-miracle moisturizer. My skin is combo, acne-prone, sensitive and dehydrated. Bought the small size (30 ml) online for 18 Euros. The moisturizer is a light cream, which feels surprisingly rich on application. I didn´t find, that it sank into my skin, but it rather acted as a sealing and protecting cream which stayed on my skin. It´s quite "heavy" moisturizer, meaning it made my face shine a little bit and I "felt" the whole day, that I was wearing this moisturizer. I personally see it as a moisturizer for dry skin, not dehydrated skin, which is a big difference. The moisturizing abilities are not very good in my opinion. The cream on its on would never deliver enough moisture for my rather dehydrated skin. I tested it with a hyualuronic acid serum underneath, which made the cream work better. It made my skin glowing and look a little bit shiny, which is good, because my skin tends to look dull. Took the flakiness away too and my make up applied easily. I have to admit, it made my skin look good and my make up looked very nice, so I guess, that´s why so many MUA use it as a primer. A few things I´d recommend you to consider first, when you buy this moisturizer. It contains beeswax, shea butter, aloe vera, fragrance and mineral oil. If your skin doesn´t like one of these ingredients, please, don´t buy it. For my skin, the beeswax was the dealbreaker. I had bad experiences with beeswax in organic creams, but never had it as an ingredient in conventional creams. It gave me a low level irritation the whole time I was wearing the moisturizer in daytime and I was relieved, when I could take it off in the evening. Not a good sign for me. If I kept on using this, my skin would have freaked out big time. I dealt with slightly irrtiated skin for a few days, so thankfully, no major irritation. For me, this is a big no. But if you are sure, you´re not reacting bad towards the ingredients and you are curious like me, you may give it a try. Surely no must-have for my skintype and too many potential irritating or pore clogging ingredients for people with sensitive or acne-prone skin.
9 out of 12 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Masks -Unlisted Brand - Oatmeal
franzvonstuck 3/10/2013 5:19:00 AM
Let me start by saying, I´m in no way a diy type when it comes to beauty products. And on top of that, I was always weary of natural and organic cosmetic products for my face because they messed up my face whenever I tried some moisturizer, cleanser or mask of any organic brand. But I alway loved oatmeal and ate it a lot. When I read on MUA, that you could use it as cleanser and mask, I was intrigued. My skin is combo, acne-prone, sensitive, dehydrated and getting very dry in wintertime. It keratinizes too much and is therefore naturally congested and prone to breakouts and blackheads. So, basically a lot of fun for me to try new products, because there´s always the possibility to mess my skin up. Of course, I watched bubzbeauty´s video on cleansing the skin with oatmeal and tried it. Yes, it worked good for me and my skin glowed afterwards, but this is not for everyday use as far as my skin is concerned. It is too messy and taking too much time in the morning. I the evening, I need something to remove the sunscreen and make-up. But most important, my skin cannot be peeled that much, no matter how gentle the peeling effect is. This said, I think people with less sensitive skin should try this as a cleanser, because I felt, it worked good. However, the really great thing for me is the use as a peeling or a mask. I roamed makeupalley in search of the most gentle peeling around. I avoid harsh peelings, even gentle manual peelings and only use enzymatic peelings, because my skin dries out and gets more sensitive from harsh peelings. I use Kanebo´s silk peel powder at the moment, which costs 68 Euros/88 Dollars. Yes, this stuff is expensive and still, I felt it could be more gentle to my skin. Enter oatmeal. I tried it as a peeling and it works amazing for my oh-so-sensitive skin. No harsh peeling and dry feeling afterwards. Just soft and glowing skin. And as a mask, I use only the oatmeal. No yoghurt, no honey, no aspirin. Tried it once with honey, but it felt a little irritating, so I skipped the honey. The method is from bubzbeauty´s video: Just take the oatmeal in your closed hand and let water run over it until it is soaked with water and becomes a paste. Then peel your skin with it or put it on your face like a mask for 15 min. I rinse with cold water because my skin cannot take warm or hot water. Unless you´re allergic to oatmeal, I suggest trying oatmeal for your face. It´s cheap, effective, gentle and beats my expensive Kanebo silk peel powder.
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Treatments -Avene - Eluage Cream 30 ml
franzvonstuck 3/9/2013 10:20:00 AM
Update 18/06/2013: I was diagnosed with seborrheic dermatitis and had a very bad flare. I switched to the Ystheal emulsion because my skin can only take lighter cream-formulas now. The Eluage was too rich for my SD-skin. But everything I wrote about Eluage is also true for Ystheal. So you can choose the formula/product with retinaldehyde from Avene to suit your skin, which is great, because there is a broad range of formulas from lighter ones for oily to richer ones for dry skin. Original: So, there are mixed reviews of this product and I understand that. Retin-a or retinaldhyde is not suitable for every skin, but if it works for your skin, it is a miracle ingredient. I tested all of the Avene retinaldehyde creams, from the Ystheal, Eluage to the brand new D-Pigment. And I had prescipted retin-a from my dermatologist, so I tried all kinds of retin-a. I have acne-prone, combo, dehydrated and sensitive skin, which is dry in wintertime. I�ve got dark spots from hyperpigmentation and a melasma on my upper lip. My skin keratinizes too much, which means, my skin produces too much cells that clog my pores and don�t let the sebum flow out of my pores. Hence, my skin is naturally congested an I have hormonal breakouts too. Important info about retinaldehyde: Only use it at night because sunlight makes it instable. Use high spf every day, because it sensitizes the skin towards sun exposure. Hydrate your skin well, because it has a drying effect on your skin. It takes at least 3 months before you see any results, so no overnight effects with this. Be careful if you use other highly potent stuff like vitamin c or glycolic acid, because it can lead to skin irritation. Eluage comes in two versions in Europe, one for combo skin and one rich version for dry skin. I always use the richest version possible to counteract the drying effect of the retin-a. It is a thick, orange tinted cream with a light fragrance. I never reacted towards the perfume in Avene creams, but be aware of it, if your skin reacts toward fragrance. I used the Ystheal before trying this, so my skin was used to retinaldehyde. Usually, if you start using retinaldehyde, they suggest to use it every other day and slowly get your skin used to retinaldehyde. The Ystheal has vitamin e in it and no hyaluronic acid, that�s the difference. And I think, the Eluage is richer in general terms and meant for more mature skin. Being 36 at the moment, I don�t have many wrinkles, which is part genetic, part skin care in my case. And my skin is the (almost) perfect candidate for retinaldehyde. I have congested skin, that keratinizes too much. Derms like to give you retin-a for this skin condition. But the prescripted strenght was too much for my skin to use it longterm, so I switched to Avene. I can say, it keeps my wrinkles at bay and helps to keep my pores clear as far as it is possible for my skin. And it counteracts the tendency of my skin to be very dull and lifeless. The downside however is a constant struggle for hydration and light flaking. My skin needs so much moisture and I�m sure, it�s because of the retin-a. I adjusted my skincare to use the most gentle products with minimal ingredients. For daytime, I dont�push my skin further by using other anti ageing ingredients or irritating ingredients. Just basically much moisture in form of hyualuronic acid ( Skinceuticals hydrating b5 serum) and a basic moisturizer, usually from Avene. For cleansing, I use the mildest cleansers I can find and I don�t peel my skin that much. When I do, I use Kanbeo silk peel powder or oatmeal. And I buy moisturizing masks for my skin from Avene, Nuxe or Mario Badescu and use tons of thermal water. Don�t get me wrong, I never got any irritation from retinaldehyde. No red spots, no itching, no allergies, no break-outs, nothing. And I could use other products, which are loaded with ingredients too, but this minimal regimen works best for my skin. I rely on Eluage to do the anti ageing work and moisturize like crazy, that�s all. I use Avene retin-a creams for 5 years and I�m looking like I�m in my mid-twenties, which is partly thanks to the creams. Not every skin can take retin-a and even if your skin can take it, you may not have the best results. Everybodys skin is unique, so I suggest trying out first, if your skin can tolerate retin-a. If that�s the case, you can use it for 3 months. If you don�t have good effects after 3-6 months, then retinaldehyde is not working for you. It´s as simple as this. I tried other anti ageing stuff, but I stuck with Eluage because it works best for my skin.
10 out of 10 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Cleansers -Unlisted Brand - Oil Cleansing Method OCM
franzvonstuck 3/3/2013 6:13:00 AM
I must confess, I couldn´t even do this method for a week, because soon it was clear, that my skin was going to be ruined, when I continued the OCM. Reading about the OCM, I so wanted this to work for my skin. FYI: My skin is dehydrated, sensitive, acne-prone, combo skin. I suffer from blackheads and my skin keratinizes too much, hence the congested pores and blackheads. I don´t have acne with large pimples or cystic acne, just hormonal breakouts and a general tendency to congestrd pores. I´ve got huge problems with cleansing my skin, because even the mildest cleansers can wreck my skin and make it dry to the point, when my skin peels and feels like it´s cracking. Wearing sunscreen with spf 50 every day makes it important to cleanse my skin. I tried the method only with oils, that were not supposed to be comedogenic. Castor oil was new to me, but I thought it safe. I did the classical method, putting a mixture of 1/4 castor oil and 3/4 olive oil together and massaged it on my face. Then rinse with warm or hot water, maybe use a washcloth and you´re done. This ruined my skin, but not by breaking out. My skin - and I had to find this out the hard way by using this method- refuses warm or hot water and washcloths or muslin cloths for cleansing. It gets so stressed, dry, flaking and red, you wouldn´t believe me. I couldn´t believe it either as the water I used was not steaming hot or so and I used special organic muslin cloths. I change the oils, using rosehip oil, which my skin likes, but no success either way. I had to stop after several days or I would habe been able to peel my skin from my face in large flakes. My skin hurt and was a mess. I was lucky that my skin recovered again and I had no longterm effects on my skin from this. Reading other reviews, some people had to deal with scarring form breakouts or permanent damage of the skin. Needless to say, that I recommend to be careful with this method if your skin is sensitive. I certainly won´t try this again and although it worked wonders for some people, others may suffer from it. Be aware of this facts.
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Mascara -Max Factor - Masterpiece Mascara
franzvonstuck 2/11/2013 3:48:00 PM
I´ve been using this mascara for years and let me say, this is hands down the best mascara for my lashes. I have tried many mascaras from drugstore to high-end and I always come back to this one. Let me give you the facts about my lashes, so you can decide, if this could work for you. My lashes are straight and very average. Not much lenght, dark brown to black colour with lighter ends and not too many lashes. The mascara has a fiber brush, that is incredibly good at coating your lashes with mascara and at the same time separating them. The formula of the mascara is also very good. Not too liquid and not too thick. The mascara doesn´t dry out or get clumpy very quick, which is also practical. I always have to use a lash curler (mine is from MAC) to open my eyes, because my lashes are really straight. I apply 2 to 3 coats of the mascara and -like magic- my lashes look very good. The mascara transforms my kind of blah lashes into very nice va-va-voom lashes by providing more lenght, more volume and black colour. Especially the lenghtening effect is pretty good. In addition to that, my lashes look extremely natural. You don´t obviously see the mascara, but my lashes in a thicker, longer version. Almost as if I was born with these beautiful lashes and don´t even have to bother putting mascara on.That´s the effect I want, because I don´t like these very volumizing mascaras, that make your lashes look like they are all clumped together, so everyone sees, that you´re wearing a lot of mascara. My lashes are feathery, separated and not clumpy at all, even with 3 coats. I find it extremely easy to remove this mascara with oil-free eye make-up remover like Bioderma. You don´t have to use eye make-up remover with oil and don´t have to rub like crazy to get this off. All the experiments over the years with other mascaras, even or especially with famous ones like YSL false lash effect or Diorshow Iconic, never made me stray very far from this. I paid a lot of money for these mascaras and was never satisfied. And with the more expensive brands, you end up paying a lot of money and when they don´t work for your lashes, you paid the money invain. I decided to use this mascara and don´t even bother to look at other mascaras. I tried other ones from Max Factor and their mascaras are pretty good and affordable in general, but this one is perfection for me. So, if you go for more lenght and volume in a very natural-looking way, this may be the mascara for you. Highly recommended.
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Bronzers -E.L.F. - Studio Golden Bronzer
franzvonstuck 2/3/2013 3:40:00 PM
I hated bronzers all these years. I have pale skin (MAC NC 20/C1) and trying a bronzer always meant orangey/muddy/brownish skin for me. I bought some drugstore ones and they never worked, so I was scared to pay a lot of money for a high-end bronzer. Basically, I gave up the thought of using bronzers. But having quite pale skin, which looks sallow and never tans, I always long for a touch of healthy glow and natural colour. I read about ELF and their bronzers, so I decided to give the bronzer a try, because they were cheap. I was determined to throw the bronzer away, if it shouldn´t work. I had a hard time finding out, which bronzer to choose. The warm bronzer scared me and seemed too dark. The cool bronzer was not for me as I´m definitely not cool toned. So I went for the golden bronzer, which scared me too, because it had shimmer particles and some reviewers claimed they looked like a disco ball wearing this. As it was the lightest of the three, I thought, I´d give it a try. I ordered from the ELF website and as I unpacked it, I was scared again, The shimmer, the colours and I thought, it would never ever work on my skin. Silently cursing myself for always trying and buying new beauty products, I dared to put the bronzer on. Well, surprise! This actually was the bronzer I have always been looking for and it worked amazing on my skin. I use a fluffy large ELF brush, swirl it around in the pan, slightly dust a little bit off the brush and apply it from the hairline on my forehead to my temples in form of a big C under my cheeks. I do this at every side of my face and then put the rest on the bridge of my nose. Why did this work for me? My skin is sallow, pale, lacks glow and looks dull. It is combo-dehydrated skin with rather fine pores. So, the shimmery powder adds luminosity to my skin, which I naturally don´t have. I think a matte bronzer would never work on my skin as it would be too harsh and only increasing the already matte look of my skin. The shimmer particles actually make the bronzer appear softer and lighter on my skin. So I think, your skintype and skintone and the general condition of your skin decides, which of the ELF bronzers will work for you. Actually, I simply haven´t ever tried to contour my face (I would fail miserably), because I have prominent cheekbones and a rather oval face, so I can never judge any bronzer for its contouring purposes. I want to make my face appear rounder and fuller, not slimmer. I bought this 6 months ago and I´m using this every day in wintertime. I haven´t used this as much in summertime, but will try it next summer. I love this and will surely buy it again and again.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No
Lipstick -Maybelline - Super Stay 14 Hr
franzvonstuck 2/3/2013 4:19:00 AM
I stumbled upon this lipstick in one of Lisa Eldridges videos and finally, it has been released in Germany. I´m a big fan of bold lipcolours and like to wear them in daytime, so a longlasting formula is essential in a lipstick for me. I bought it in a drugstore for 11 Euros, which is a good price. The colour I got is 510 non stop red, which is a great matte pink based red. They do another more classical red which is called 540 ravishing rouge and has a more satiny finish and is less pink based. The 510 non stop red is such a vibrant and bold, yet flattering colour on my NC 20/C1 skin. I tend to look sallow and Lisa recommended this colour exactly for this purpose. What can I say? It totally works. Brightens up my complexion, makes me look fresh and awake. The finish depends on which colour you choose, because they have colours with matte, satiny or a more shiny finish. You can swatch it on your hand, so you can see the finish. I personally love a matte finish for a bold lipcolour, so I choose 510 non stop red. The lipstick claims to be longlasting and I can really agree to that claim. I have to say, that no lipstick stays completely on you lips and never transfers on to coffee cups. That is an illusion. But one day, I went to a film festival after work with a friend of mine and this lipstick survived drinking hot cocoa, tea and water, a lunch salad and a dinner pizza with my friend. I apllied it at 6 am and came home at 9.30 pm. I only reapplied it once, before I met my friend and it looked still good and only slightly vanished in the inside and corners of my lips.Pretty good for a lipstick! The lipstick is definitely not moisturizing, but it´s not very drying either. I often wear Ruby Woo from MAC which I find more drying than this one. But I don´t look for a moisturizing lipstick, because I embrace having a rather dry and longlasting lipstick when I wear bold colours. I have unnerving experiences with more creamy lipsticks like Maybellines colour sensational, which I have to reapply every time after eating or drinking. In my opinion, moisturizing and longlasting don´t fit together. When I first apply it, it feels slightly sticky and smells like cherries.But then, the lipstick wears comfortable and doesn´t bother me at all. I usually wear MACs prep and prime for lips underneath, which I bought especially for wearing it under bright lipsticks. I apply it with a lip brush in the morning and carry the lipstick in my purse in case I have to touch up. As you can see, I really love this lipstick and plan to buy more colours. I feel so safe wearing this longlasting lipstick as I know, I don´t have to worry about the lipstick wearing off while eating or drinking or the lipstick smearing all over my face. But I admit, I would only buy bold and bright colours as I see no need for this longlasting formula when it comes to nude colours. Definitely worth a try when you love wearing a bold lipcolour.
5 out of 5 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you? Yes No