Moisturizers -Mary Kay - Oil-free hydrating gel
sammraovich 2/2/2013 12:33:00 AM
This is a great moisturizer for oily skin. Only draw back is the packaging. This moisturizer has a lot of vitamins in it, which will become spoiled shortly after opening it and the air hits the product. Too bad. I wish Mary Kay would put it in an airless pump bottle. Then it'd be perfect. The way it is now, the sooner you go through it, the better the anti oxidants and vitamins will work on your skin. So don't let 9 months go by and you still haven't used it up yet. Try to get through it in 2 or 3 months for sure.
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Moisturizers -Alba Botanica - Natural Acnedote Oil Control Lotion
sammraovich 1/28/2013 12:34:00 AM
This is the great Alba product I keep talking about that has a 2% salicylic acid in it. It comes in 2 ounce size and is sold at Wal-Mart and Target and other stores. I have nothing bad to say about it. If you are concerned about shine you may want to put on a powder foundation, and Mary Kay does have great powder foundations. (Note: as with all powder foundations, you apply with a brush, and you should be washing out your brush about twice a month, and Mary Kay's Deep Cleansing Soap #3 from the Classic Basic line has enough preservatives to kill that bacteria in the brush and make it literally new! That's what I use on my face and to clean my brush) Before putting on your foundation, let this Alba lotion sit on your face for about 10 minutes so the acids have a chance to break down blackheads and whiteheads. Or, use it at night and then you don't need a powder foundation on. The 2% Alba toner is very good too. I love that and it performs well at controlling oil so it won't harden in your pores. If Mary Kay could create something like this, I would switch to their brand, but I've called a million times over the last 3 years with no success. God! How can they be in the world of skin care and not have a very well formulated salicylic acid product??!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Cleansers -Mary Kay - Mary Kay Deep Cleanser Formula 3
sammraovich 1/3/2013 11:30:00 PM
This is an excellent soap from Mary Kay. It does a very good job of removing oil from skin and takes off make up very well. Only draw back is if you are not a Consultant then getting it is very expensive at $12, but if you are a Consultant then it's only $6 and you get 6 ounces so it's like Wal Mart prices. I buy this again and again. A very good cleanser! However, it is always mandatory to follow up with a good exfoiliator if you have oily skin (anything with 2% salicylic acid) wait 10 minutes for the toner to work, and then follow up with a good moisturizer such as the Mary Kay Night Recover and Restore, which has a great rating from Paula Begoun and has tons of vitamins and anti oxidants in it which your skin will love. If you simply skip on a moisturizer because you think your soap or cleanser isn't over drying and you do not need it, then you don't know how important moisturizers are. Your skin still needs vitamins and anti oxidants no matter the moisture content of the skin, so start buying your moisturizer today!
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Liquid -Mary Kay - Time Wise Matte Wear Liquid Foundation
sammraovich 12/15/2012 11:49:00 PM
This foundation is tricky. It is great if you know what you're doing, if not, then skip it. Let me explain. First off, this foundation is for oily skin. Most of us with Oily Skin also have very dry skin because we treat our skin to a lot of salicylic acid and glycolic acid to keep the pores clear of the oil turning into gunk. You should also be aware that just because you know you have oily skin, does not mean you have hydrated skin. Your skin could be extremely dried out even though it's oily. DO NOT CONFUSE OIL AND WATER. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME THING! So, before you use the talc based foundation, you MUST FIRST treat your skin to a steam session for 3 minutes to replenish your skin's moisture content. Remember, the talc in this foundation will pull water (and oil) out of your skin. Failure to put water back in your skin WILL CAUSE ACNE FROM IRRITATION! After your 3 minute steam treatment (and you should know not to steam your face too often, it can be irritating so be careful how long and often you do it), you must put on a very good moisturizer right away that will hold that water in your skin so it does not evaporate back into the air. I would say the Mary Kay Botanical Moisturizer formula 1 is very good to do the job. Then you are ready to apply this foundation, but not till you do these other steps first. Failure to do so, will result in this foundation not sitting pretty on your skin and will accent very dry patches of skin and make the flaky areas look even more noticeable and you will not look good. Before putting this talc based foundation on, put a squirt of the Mary Kay moisturizer in it to add some water and this will also help continue to keep skin moist. REMEMBER, WATER AND OIL ARE NOT THE SAME. So don't think just because you are putting in a moisturizer that this will clog your pores. It will not. Mary Kay's moisturizer are non-comedogenic. Try not to put too much of the product around your eyes, cause it can make wrinkles look more accented. Even if you do all these steps, and get results you like, it is a lot of time to do and you may just want to skip this product and get one that is more on the moisturizers side of things instead of a talc based product for foundation. Good luck.... I also would not use this foundation everyday. You could get break outs, so I would say just use it as a "Once in awhile" type make up. One final note, the Mary Kay Medium Coverage Foundation is even more drying and talc based than this one in the Timewise Collection. I would suggest to never use that one at all. Also, you need a soap that is specially made to remove a foundation, and the Mary Kay Deep Cleanser Formula 3 does an excellent job at removing all make up off the face, including foundations, eye shadow, etc... Use the eye make up remover for the eye liner and mascara first then use the Deep Cleanser. Just remember, after you wash off the make up at the end of the day, you may see white heads. This is normal because as you wear the foundation through the day, the talc in the product pulls the oil deep within the pore to the surface. Think of wearing the foundation as a mask. When you do a clay mask on your face and let it sit for 10 to 15 minutes, after you wash it off, you almost always will see white heads because the clay and talc in a clay mask will pull the oil to the surface, and talc based foundation does the same. You can easily wash out these white heads by using a 2% salicylic acid soap on your face with a wash cloth and follow with a great moisturizer. You may want to consider buying the Mary Kay Clay Mask in the Botanical line Formula #3. It’s made for oily skin and I use it 3x a week. Again, all this work to get this foundation to look right may not be worth it. Just pass on it, but if you really wanna get it to work and look great, follow what I said, and Again, good luck...
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Treatments -Mary Kay - Timewise Night Restore/Recover Complex comb/oily
sammraovich 12/15/2012 11:42:00 PM
Disclosure: I am a Mary Kay consultant, I take pride in being honest about their products, but when I give a good review, it's true. This moisturizer is by far the best Mary Kay has. I tested the pH which shows it is slightly on the acid side, and skin lays at a pH of a 5, so this moisturizer is excellent! (other Mary Kay moisturizers are at a pH 7 like the Time Wise Moisturizers and if you put them on your skin right after using an acid Toner such as a 2% salicylic acid, you will neutralize your Toner which will make it ineffective and you won't clean your pores out properly. So PLEASE BE SURE TO WAIT 10 MINUTES after applying your Toner so it does what it is supposed to do, then you may apply your moisturizer. If you hate to wait 10 minutes, then either use a moisturizer with the 2% salicylic acid and skip the toner.) This Restore and Recover Complex has a great amount of vitamins and antioxidants in it as well. I would say since the pH of this is on the acid side, this would be a great final step before bed time after your salicylic acid toner (if you have very oily skin that is).
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Sunscreen -Mary Kay - TimeWise Day Solution Sunscreen Broad Spectrum SPF 35
sammraovich 12/9/2012 7:54:00 AM
I'm not sure what's up with this product, but when I tried it, it gave me all these bumps all over my skin on my face. When I quit using it, the bumps went away. I do not know if it's my skin getting use to some ingredient in the product or what, sort of like break outs you get when using vitamin A like Retin A, but either way, I would say do NOT use this product. If you like Mary Kay, then use the sunscreen for the body. I use that on my face and do not get break outs nor any bumps. I would only sell this to someone if they wanted it, but even then I try to get them to get the sunscreen for the body from Mary Kay, you get more and it's cheaper, and best of all, I won't have to refund the money when they complain about bumps! (which has happened to 2 other clients of mine besides myself.) Bottom line: STAY AWAY FROM DAY SOLUTION!
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Cleansers -Mary Kay - TimeWise 3-in-1 cleanser C/O
sammraovich 12/9/2012 7:46:00 AM
This cleanser is hugely expensive, even if you are a Mary Kay Consultant getting it for $9. It is a rip off so even I do not buy it! It also will make you break out with pimples because it has some very irritating ingredients in there including Witch Hazel and TEA Lauryl Sulfate which is very drying to the skin, and in winter months, this for sure will bring on the flaky skin look. I have used it, and it does remove oil off your skin, but boy did it dry out my skin bad. And I broke out with pimples! Just pass on this altogether. Also, if you are buying this soap to clear your black heads or white heads you will be sorely disappointed because this soap does not have salicylic acid in it. This soap will only wash off oil from your skin that is on the surface or the oil that is still in "liquid" form in your pores. If the oil has become solid (white heads) or even oxidized and turned black, (black heads) this soap IS NOT GOING TO WORK. Read my review on the Mary Kay Acne Treatment Gel to read more on salicylic acids.
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Treatments -Mary Kay - Night Solution
sammraovich 12/9/2012 7:23:00 AM
This products has a ton of Vitamin A in it, and as you know, when starting any Vitamin A product, like Retin A, your skin, if not used to Vitamin A, will go through a period of break outs before it begins to clear up. This product is FULL OF VITAMINS AND ANTI-OXIDANTS AND PEPTIDES!!!! ) If you are new to Night Solution, I STRONGLY suggest using it only 2 times a week in this manner, by putting one pump into your moisturizer (Timewise) and mix it together on your finger tips and then apply it to your face. Do this for about 4 weeks. Then you can begin applying it more concentrated, like maybe 2 pumps of Night Solution in your mositurizer 3 or 4 times a week. I don’t see the need to use it every night. Too much of anything is not good for the skin, so do not over do it. And you should know that only about 2 pumps of the Night Solution are needed once you are used to it. If you see some pimples forming, lay off the night solution for awhile. That's most likely where the pimples are coming from. You may not be 100% used to the vitamin content. And again, only 3 times a week is needed. I strongly suggest to mix it in your moisturizer first so it spreads all over your face better. If not, it tends to dry up too quick before you spread it on your face. Let your skin get used to these vitamins SLOWLY. Night Solution, however, does not have any salicylic acid nor glycolic acids (BHA and AHA) in it, so if you are very oily it won't do much to clean up your clogged pores so I strongly suggest using a salicylic acid soap and moisturizer at a 2% concentration. If you put too much of this product on your face and your skin is NOT used to having vitamin A put on it, your skin will burn. Just a warning! And I mean, BURN! You'll feel it, and forced to wash it off right away. The vitamin A in this is like the 8th ingredient, so it’s pretty strong, almost like a Retinol, but not quite. I would STRONGLY suggest if you are new to Mary Kay (or good quality skin care by any line with tons of vitamins and anti-oxidants) you should start out slowly by only using the products maybe twice a week for two months. Then up it to 3 times a week for another two months to get your skin used to the products. Failure to ease into a quality skin care program (whether it’s Mary Kay or something fancy from Macy’s) will result in shocking your skin and you will develop pimples and irritation. Vitamins are good for the skin but you have to develop tolerance to them to get that pimple free and black head free look that models have in the magazines. If you’ve only just begun using quality skin care (and again, by that I mean a skin line that uses a lot of vitamins, anti-oxidants, cell turn over exfoliants like Retinol) do not get upset when you begin if you get pimples and irritation. This is normal and even a dermatologist will tell you that starting Retin A will cause you to go through a period of pimples before things get better. However, I will say ignoring your moisture content of your skin can cause acne too. An example is if you use the Mary Kay Matte Wear Foundation or the Medium Coverage Foundation, those will suck the water (and oil) right out of your skin, and if you fail to put that water back in your skin (through steaming I prefer, buy yourself a steamer, than lock it in with a good moisturizer from Mary Kay) and continue using those foundations, that too can cause acne because you’re drying out your skin. Think of those foundations as clay masks, they have talc in them to absorb oil but they will take out water too. (Read my review on the Mary Kay foundations).
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Shave Products -Mary Kay - Moisturizing Shave Cream
sammraovich 12/9/2012 7:02:00 AM
This is an excellent shave foam for men. It smells great and has no preservatives in it. It rinses well and has a high pH so it will soften the beard. The price is very expensive, it's $10 for 6 ounces, but the product does seem to last forever. I sell Mary Kay so I get it for $5, so it's still pricey even for a consultant, but whatever, it smells great and I love how it's formulated. Special note however: It is very high pH cause of the potassium hydroxide, which is great to soften the hair, however, high pH can dry out the skin so IT IS VERY IMPORTANT to be sure you put on a moisturizer that does not have a lot of alcohol in it. Something with lots of glycerin would be great. The Mary Kay After Shave Gel is TERRIBLE! Do not use it, it has a lot of alcohol in it, which dries out your skin even more and cause free radical damage. If you love Mary Kay, then use the Time Wise Moisturizer as an after shave cream and you'll have great skin! If very oily, like mine, I use a 2% salicylic acid moisturizer as my after shave cream and get great results. However, Mary Kay does not have a moisturizing 2% salicylic acid moisturizer, so I use something from the drug store.
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Moisturizers -Mary Kay - Velocity Lightweight Moisturizer
sammraovich 12/9/2012 6:55:00 AM
This moisturizer does not have enough salicylic acid in it to fight acne, although it does leave the skin in a non oily greasy manner. I sell Mary Kay so I have used this many times and after awhile, I just gave up on it and the company said there's only 0.2% salicylic acid in it, which is terribly too low. I like to see 2.0, NOT 0.2. It will not clean out your pores. So you'll be stuck with black heads. If you have acne, this line has almost no products that are great nor effective, when it comes to handling very oily acne prone skin. A moisturizer, if formulated with 2.0 % salicylic acid, can help over night to melt out your clogged pores and eliminate your black heads. This Velocity Moisturizer is really only good to give the skin a nice non shiny look. It will not leave the skin greasy again, but one reason for that is that it does have alcohol listed, some people may not care about that. But if you use this moisturizer, just be aware that you should use a toner before using this moisturizer that has 2% salicylic acid in it to fight acne, because this moisturizer alone will not do that. This moisturizer is only good to provide some hydration to skin, but there are better options out on the market then this.
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Cleansers -Mary Kay - Velocity Facial Cleanser
sammraovich 12/9/2012 6:50:00 AM
The Velocity cleanser, I've used many times, and I think this cleanser is alright. I like the light fragrance and it has enough preservatives in it to kill the acne causing bacteria. If you have very oily skin, this soap is not too bad. However, it's not the only thing you should be using if you have adult acne. After using this Velocity soap (or any soap) you need to follow up with a good salicylic acid which has a 2% concentration in the form of either a toner or moisturizer. The Velocity Moisturizer is not good enough to fight acne, it has almost NO salicylic acid in it. (Please see my review on that) If using a 2% salicylic acid toner, be sure to wait at least 10 minutes before applying your moisturizer to allow the toner to work and melt out the oil in the pores, otherwise you will make the toner ineffective if you apply the moisturizer too soon after the toner. Be sure to follow up with a good moisturizer, again not the Velocity one, it does not have enough salicylic acid. Again, the best thing about the Velocity Cleanser is it has synthetic ingredients in it that will kill bacteria, but unfortunately it won't clear out the pores since it has no salicylic acids. The only reason not to buy this again is the price, $10 is very high, if you are a Mary Kay Consultant, then you can get it for $5, which is actually a great deal then, almost like Wal Mart prices.
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Treatments -Mary Kay - Acne Treatment Gel
sammraovich 12/9/2012 6:43:00 AM
This by far is one of Mary Kay's best products. It has 5% benzoyl peroxide in it which is effective at killing the bacteria that causes acne. I sell Mary Kay so I get it for half off, which is really cheap! Benzoyl peroxide will kill bacteria that causes acne, but it is not very good at clearing out the clogged pores, or black and white heads. Here's a special tip: If you have very oily skin, or acne prone skin, in addition to using benzoyl peroxide, you need something to clean out your clogged pores, and I strongly suggest a 2% salicylic acid product that you leave on over night and find one that doesn't have a lot of alcohol in it. Mary Kay's 2% salicylic acid product has WAY TOO much alcohol in it, so steer clear of that and don't use it, EVER! Constant use of salicylic acids can cause some flaking to occur. When this happens and your blackheads and whiteheads are gone, you should temporarily discontinue using the salicylic acid and use the Mary Kay Timewise Moisturizer for Combo/Oily skin for a few days, you'll want to switch back to Alba's 2% Salicylic acid lotion again because the oil will start to form black heads or white heads and you'll know its time. And then once all is well and the flaking comes back, you'll go back to the Timewise Moisturizer. Flipping back and forth between products is normal in skin care. Also, invest in a good steamer for your face. Steam is excellent way to restore moisture, and after a good 3 minute steam once a week, put on a good Mary Kay moisturizer or the Alba's 2% salicylic acid lotion and you'll be doing your skin the best care that even a licensed cosmetologist in a high end skin care salon could do. Steaming the face is excellent and helps melt out oil as well, however, it can be irritating to the skin so be careful how long and how often you do it. And do not hold the steamer too close to your face. It should never burn, just get the water on.
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Toners -Mary Kay - Blemish Control Toner #3
sammraovich 12/9/2012 6:31:00 AM
This product has WAY too much alcohol, which causes me flaking and it burns! (and I'm even a Mary Kay Consultant!) I hate this product and have been calling Mary Kay for years to replace it with a Salicylic Acid 2% concentration with NO ALCOHOL and I've asked them to take out those stinky irritating plant extracts. I DO NOT believe all the reviews on here that say the product works well. Do not buy this. I never sell it to anyone. Even my Mary Kay Director said don't sell the Classic Basic line, it's no good. Mary Kay has even discontinued ALL of the Classic Basic #1 and all #2 products. It's about time they see they don't work. Mary Kay is smart to see that alcohol is not good for the skin, and they replaced the Classic Basic line with Botanicals, which is alcohol free, and free of colors and fragrance. I have very oily skin. I believe in using a 2% salicylic acid concentration and a lot of companies have moisturizers that have a 2% concentration in them, so you get moisture for the skin as well as the acid to keep acne away. The product from Alba is great for this 2% combo I'm talking about here. The Mary Kay acne gel is good.
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