Skincare

Greetings my friends! Bottom Line  - I've used this on and off for years and it always works at brighten my eyes. I happily repurchase this eye cream time and time again. Elizabeth Arden:  “To achieve beauty, a woman must first achieve health.” Elizabeth Arden opened her first spa on Fifth Avenue in New York in 1910 – the iconic Red Door Spa to be specific. She introduced (through her company) daily make-up for women. Until this point, wearing make-up everyday was not acceptable as it was predominately worn by entertainers…or whores. She was also the first person to introduce the concept of the “makeover” at her salons. Elizabeth Arden's Prevage Anti-Aging Eye Serum:  I love this eye cream! I noticed an immediate improvement to my eye area when I started using this and it’s all thanks to the active ingredient - idebedone. What I love about this is how quickly it works - within a few days, I noticed my dark circles under my ey...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line  - I would repurchase this again and have several times. Dermalogica :  Dermalogica is an American skincare company founded by Jane and Rey Wurwand in 1986. However, before the first Dermalogica products were made - in 1983, Jane, a U.K. trained skin therapist, opened "The International Dermal Institute" for licensed skin therapists to teach hands-on postgraduate level skincare training. Realizing there weren't products on the market which matched what she was teaching, Jane and Rey established Dermalogica. They decided they wanted a p roduct line free of common irritants and ingredients which they felt led to breakouts, such as lanolin, SD alcohol, mineral oil, artificial colors, and fragrances - and that's exactly what they ended up creating. Dermalogica Sebum Clearing Masque: This is a cool clay mask that treats acne and helps prevent outbreaks. The clay helps absorb extra sebum while the salicylic acid clears pore congestion...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line - while not my favorite eye make-up remover I have repurchased this for about 11 years and will probably continue to repurchase it when my favorite eye make-up remover is out of stock. Clinique:  Clinique is a well-known American skincare, fragrance, and cosmetic company which began in 1968 and is headquartered in New York. Clinique is a subsidiary of  Estée  Lauder, and has a cult following for it's skincare line. Clinique's Take The Day Off Make-up Remover For Lids, Lashes, and Lips:  Like I said, I've been using this product for about 11 years and it's a very good eye make-up remover. It's non-irritating, not oily, but it's not as strong or as gentle as Lancome's Bi-Facil Eye Make-Up Remover. I also find that I have to use more of the product than the Lancome version as well.  Having said that, I still love this product and when I can't get my hands on the Lancome product, I happily repurchase this. Stats ...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line  - I would buy almost every mask again with the exception of the E-Nature mask. E-Nature: Per SokoGlam.com, E-Nature was founded on the principle of creating breakthrough formulas for your skin by fusing cutting-edge Korean technology with the safest and most effective natural ingredients. E-Nature's Squeeze Green Watery Sheet Mask: This mask was "okay." It's a cotton mask soaked in watery essence (not goo) which felt nice and cool on my face, but I didn't see any difference other than that it slightly hydrated my skin. It's meant to treat excess sebum, but I didn't notice a difference either. This costs $2.50, but I don't think I'll buy it again. Klavuu: Per SokoGlam.com, Klavuu is Korea's first marine pearl cosmetic brand that infuses natural pearl, essential oils, and marine plant extracts into their signature formulas. Natural pearls will enrich, hydrate, and firm the skin, for the most ra...

Greetings, my friend! Bottom Line - while this hydrated, I didn't see any substantial difference and will not purchase this again. Skinceuticals: Skinceuticals is a US skincare company that was created by Alden Pinnell and Russell Moon in 1997. Their products are the result of decades of skin cancer research, and their research and development teams are made up of doctors or researchers. As such, their products are scientifically proven to improve skin health. It’s also important to note that their products are backed by science from the first stage through the final formulations, and that all of their products go through an extensive medical-grade clinical testing before they are released to the public. Skinceuticals' Hydrating B5 Gel: I really wanted to like this product because it gets such fantastic reviews, but even after using three bottles at different times of the year - I was left underwhelmed.  Maybe I expected too much from it (given how much I ...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line - I will not repurchase this again. Not because it wasn't a fantastic cleanser, but because of it's packaging. Jurlique: Jurlique is an Australian company that follows strict or ganic and biodynamic farming principles. I believe it is the only Australian beauty company to be certified by the National Association of Sustainable Agriculture, Australia (NASAA). Jurlique also doesn’t test on animals. Jurlique Balancing Foaming Cleanser: I love this cleanser! I received a sample of it when I purchased Jurlique’s Love Balm (another fantastic product), and used this almost exclusively for the next year. What I loved about this cleanser was that it cleansed without drying my skin, evened my skin toned, and was very foamy. I also liked that it had a lovely light fragrance to it (that was not overpowering), and that it lasted for 3-to-4 months. Having said that - I really hated the bottle. In total, I bought 4 or 5 bottles before I stopped p...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line - while this hydrates well, I'm not going to repurchase it again for some time. SK-II: SK-II is a Japanese skincare company that was founded in 1980 by Japanese scientists. During the 1970, Japanese scientists began researching powerful naturally derived ingredients that could be used in skincare products. When they observed workers at a sake brewery in Japan, they noticed while their faces appeared aged - their hands (which were submerged in fermented yeast everyday to make the sake) were smooth, youthful, and clear. The scientist began research the yeast and discovered a specific yeast strain which they felt was responsible for this youthful transformation. PITERA - the yeast strain - is now in every one of their products and has been marketed to the world as the secret to everlasting youth. SK-II's Facial Treatment Mask: This is cult favorite! So many people swear by this mask, but I found that it did little more than hydrate my s...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line -  I don't think I'll buy it, but I will say that it hydrates your skin very well when you're not already wearing cream-based products. Tatcha: Tatcha is an American beauty company founded by CEO Victoria Tsai in 2009. Their skincare products are rooted in geisha beauty practices and focus on powerful natural ingredients, such as abaca leaf, green tea, seaweed, red algae, oatmeal, rice bran, and Japanese wild roses. Tatcha employs scientists in both the US and Japan to create products from scratch using these ingredients, which led to the foundation of their products - Hadasei-3™, a trinity of anti-aging superfoods born from the Japanese diet, and the basis for the original geisha beauty rituals: green tea, rice and algae. Every ingredient is carefully selected and minimally manipulated to be gentle and safe with maximum effectiveness.  In short - their principle is quality products that focus on less...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line - I buy these in bulk because they are amazing! I can't recommend these enough. COSRX : Per SokoGlam.com,  COSRX incorporates effective ingredients such as snail mucin, yeast ferment, and skin-renewing chemical exfoliants to transform your skin. The moment your skin meets COSRX, you can expect more tomorrow. COSRX's Acne Pimple Master Patch: These are incredible! These are my secret go-to pimple solution! Basically this is a sticker acne treatment. You put these clear stickers (which come in different sizes) directly on your pimple and leave it on overnight (or you can use them during the day if you want).  What's amazing about this is when you wake up, you can actually see a little white residue on the sticker where the sticker pulled out your pimple's infection and/or pulled the infection to the surface so that it can be dealt with and treated.  Unlike topical creams, this sticks to your skin and doesn't rub off while y...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line  - this worked well, but not as well as other eye creams I've used. As such, I have no purchased another one. Dermalogica : Dermalogica is an American skincare company founded by Jane and Rey Wurwand in 1986. However, before the first Dermalogica products were made - in 1983, Jane, a U.K. trained skin therapist, opened "The International Dermal Institute" for licensed skin therapists to teach hands-on postgraduate level skincare training. Realizing there weren't products on the market which matched what she was teaching, Jane and Rey established Dermalogica. They decided they wanted a p roduct line free of common irritants and ingredients which they felt led to breakouts, such as lanolin, SD alcohol, mineral oil, artificial colors, and fragrances - and that's exactly what they ended up creating. Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift: Note Bene: This is one of two products that Dermalogica sent me for free to try before it ...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line  - I will not repurchase this exfoliant again because I found it to be too harsh on my face. Tatcha: Tatcha is an American beauty company founded by CEO Victoria Tsai in 2009. Their skincare products are rooted in geisha beauty practices and focus on powerful natural ingredients, such as abaca leaf, green tea, seaweed, red algae, oatmeal, rice bran, and Japanese wild roses. Tatcha employs scientists in both the US and Japan to create products from scratch using these ingredients, which led to the foundation of their products - Hadasei-3™, a trinity of anti-aging superfoods born from the Japanese diet, and the basis for the original geisha beauty rituals: green tea, rice and algae. Every ingredient is carefully selected and minimally manipulated to be gentle and safe with maximum effectiveness.  In short - their principle is quality products that focus on less doing more. Tatcha's The Dee...

Greetings, my friends! Bottom Line - I tried a lot of masks over the past few months, and I'd only definitely repurchase 15 masks.  Ultimately the ones I didn't like were either A) masks that didn't work or B) consisted of a gross thick gooey essence that felt terrible on my skin. In short, I didn't like the ACWELL, Benton, Enature, Klavuu, Leaders, Tony Moly, and Ultru masks. But I did love most of Manefit's, Missha's, most of Neogen's, and Skinfood's mask. ACWELL:   Per SokoGlam.com, ACWELL is a Korean beauty company that combines traditional Korean medicine with over 400 years of history with modern-day research to give you the best results. Natural herbs calm skin and address problems at their roots to restore skin back to health. ACWELL Honey Anti-Wrinkle Daanj Mask:  I'm torn on this one. I like the results, but I don't think I'll buy this again even though it only costs $2.50. I've tried a couple of these ki...