Do I Need This? Overnight Masks or Sleeping Packs

Disclosure: Affiliate links.

Welcome to the latest installment of my Do I Need This? series. In these posts, I offer my experience and opinion about whether or not I think a product or technique is worth it. Obviously, you don't really need ANY beauty products, so the answer to the question is always going to be no, to some extent. But is it going to change your life (or face)? Is it going to make things easier? Are you going to notice any difference at all? That's what I'm getting at. You may disagree with my verdict, because we all have different bodies/faces/brains/desires, but I'll try to offer a starting point, at least.

Masks are having a moment. There are masks out there that claim to do just about anything you could possibly want. They come in creams and clays and sheets and gels and who knows what else. There are even masks for your hair and lips and various other body parts. One of the types of masks that brands are really pumping out right now is the overnight mask, also called a sleeping mask or sleeping pack--the latter especially from Asian skincare brands.

Do you need a sleeping mask?

Short answer: No. There are some nice ones out there, but you probably already have products that you can use in a similar way.

Summer moisture for oily or combination skin: Review of Simple Ultra-Light Gel Moisturizer

Disclosure: Affiliate links.

I've liked most of the skincare products from the Simple brand that I've tried so far (like the ones reviewed here). They always seem to be exactly as described. No frills, but effective. So when I wanted to find a cheaper alternative to the Paula's Choice Invisible Finish Moisture Gel (reviewed here) that I've been using for about a decade now, this Simple Ultra-Light Gel Moisturizer seemed like a good place to start. I still really like the Paula's Choice stuff, but I'm pretty sure that when I started using it, it only cost $15-18 (Canadian!), and it is now a borderline outrageous $28 a tube. I'll complain about that and other reasons I've been annoyed by Paula's Choice recently in another post, but for now suffice to say that I have been hoping to find a reasonable substitute--reasonable both in performance and price. The Simple Ultra-Light Gel Moisturizer fits the bill at under $10.

Gel moisturizers are wonderful if you have skin like mine: combination, leaning more toward oily than dry, and often dehydrated. My skin regularly feels tight and sort of shriveled while still being oily in places, which is a sign that it needs moisture. (For a really useful explanation of the difference between dry and dehydrated skin, check out this great post from Lab Muffin.) Especially in the summer, traditional lotion or cream moisturizers will feel too heavy and leave my skin greasy as the day progresses. A gel feels lighter and often leaves a more matte finish.

In the winter, however, and as I've got older, my skin has become drier, and I find that lotions are just fine. So when I first tested out this Simple gel moisturizer back in December, I wasn't impressed. Here are the notes I jotted down: "spreads easy, doesn't sting near eyes, very little actual moisturizing--doesn't seem to sink in and hydrate, just smooths a little, skin feels a little tight." So I stuck it back on the shelf and ignored it for several months.

A couple of weeks ago my face started to transition into its usual summer oil slick, and my winter lotion felt too heavy, so I pulled the Simple gel back out. Suddenly it's perfect. Just enough moisture without any greasiness. It's exactly what I need right now. Another thing that is really nice about gel products in the summer is that they feel amazingly refreshing on my skin. Almost like splashing my face with water.

Here's what the Simple gel itself looks like (right), compared to the Paula's Choice gel moisturizer (left). While most gel moisturizers I've tried are translucent like the PC version, the Simple moisturizer is transparent, like hair gel (but not sticky!).

Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Moisture Gel (left) and Simple Ultra-Light Gel Moisturizer (right)

This isn't what I would call a "dupe" for the Paula's Choice moisturizer. The two main things they have in common are the gel formula and the lack of fragrance, which I appreciate. The Paula's Choice moisturizer has a little more slip when you spread it, and it soaks in to create a smooth, matte finish quickly. The Simple moisturizer is just a little tackier. On the other hand, I have to be careful not to apply the Paula's Choice gel too close to my eyes, because it will sting, and I've had no problems like that with the Simple gel. That's a definite advantage.

The Paula's Choice moisturizer has some fancier ingredients like niacinamide,  sodium hyaluronate, and a bunch of antioxidants. The Simple moisturizer does have vitamin E and glycerin, but it's sort of a step down in that sense. Personally, that doesn't bother me too much, because I use other products with more advanced shit in them, and I mainly want my moisturizer to just moisturize. But if you want to limit the number of products you use or buy, maybe a more sophisticated moisturizer is your style.

I also like the packaging of the Simple Ultra-Light Gel, which is a pump bottle. Like this:

Most of the other gel moisturizers I've tried, like the ones from Marcelle and Laneige, come in jars, which I assume is to show off their pretty, translucent texture. I just don't like jars for this type of product. Sure, my hands are clean when I use it, and the preservatives are going to keep it fairly stable, but why not have have as airtight and protected a container as possible? I do actually prefer the Paula's Choice tube, though--it's easier to tell how much product is left, and you can even cut it open to scoop out the last traces if you want to.

If you have skin like mine--not dry, but prone to dehydration--I definitely recommend this moisturizer. I'm extremely happy with it. I just needed to use it during the right season to appreciate it! It's effective, and it feels really fucking nice soaking into my skin on a hot summer day. And it's very affordable. The cheapest I've seen it is on Amazon for $5.56 for 1.5 oz. (i.e. $3.77 per oz. compared to Paula's Choice's $14 per ounce).

Do you find that your skin's behavior also changes pretty dramatically with the seasons, to the point that you have to change products? Any suggestions for keeping the oil at bay would be very welcome!

My cheap favorites: the best skincare for $10 or less

Disclosure: Affiliate links.

Here is the long awaited (by me) sequel to my cheap makeup post: skincare. As with the makeup, these are all things I've tried and repurchased because I liked them so much. Trusty and reliable! There are other good cheap options out there, of course, but I'm not going to vouch for anything I haven't used. Please leave your suggestions in the comments, though.

Some categories, again, are missing, because I don't use that type of product (e.g. toner), or I don't have a current favorite, or my favorite is a little more expensive (e.g. targeted products like retinol, or exfoliants, or my favorite sunscreen). And because I like to experiment with new things, I don't have all of these products on hand to photograph at the moment. You should keep in mind that I have combination-oily skin that is not particularly sensitive, and that I don't usually like fragrance in products I put on my face. If you have a different skin type, your results may vary (though you may find some of these things effective anyway).

That's enough preamble and disclaimer. Here's the list:

Favorite Cleanser: I'm using some Paula's Choice face wash at the moment, but my favorites are from Neutrogena.  I especially like the Redness Soothing Gel Cleanser and the Ultra Gentle Daily Cleanser. They do a great job of removing oil and makeup without drying out my skin. The latter comes in a really big bottle for $8-10, so it's an especially good value.

Favorite Facial Wipes: I try not to use these too often because of the waste, but a few times a month when I'm too tired to wash my face properly or when I'm traveling, they are handy. I've tried a lot of brands, and my favorite are the Simple Cleansing Wipes. They are unscented and they remove makeup effectively without causing dryness. They also have a very soft but durable texture (make sure you get the regular ones, not the exfoliating variety). The cheapest place to get them online is in a pack of two (50 wipes total) from Amazon for about $7 (and right now there is a $1 off coupon).

Favorite Makeup Remover: I don't use actual makeup remover on my eyes most of the time (only when I end up with a free sample somehow). Although dual phase formulas can be very effective, I don't like the oily residue they leave behind. It tends to cause milia around my eyes even if I wash it off. Instead, I wash my face first, and then I spread a small amount of Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion (about $10) on my upper and lower lids and wipe it off with a dry tissue or cloth. It removes all the makeup residue and--bonus--my eye area is left moisturized. If I have a lot of waterproof mascara caked on my lashes, the lotion doesn't remove it instantly, though it does clean up any that has transferred to my skin. And I have a huge bottle of decent, gentle moisturizer that I can use for whatever other purposes I want. (You can also use moisturizer like this as a cleanser in a pinch--or if you find most cleansers drying. Apply it to your dry skin and massage lightly, splash on water and massage some more, and rinse.)

Favorite Daytime Moisturizer with Sunscreen: This isn't my sunscreen. As I said above, the everyday facial sunscreen I use costs more than $15 (though a bottle lasts me a year). But I work from home, and some days I don't get out of the house until after dark. On those days, I like to just use SPF in moisturizer for a little protection and one less step in the morning. I'm a big fan of the Simple Protecting Light Moisturizer SPF 15. I tried to go without it when I finished my last bottle, but I really missed it, so this is my second. As the name suggests, it's not fancy, but it does a great job of moisturizing and absorbs quickly. It doesn't burn around my eyes like lotions with higher (chemical) SPFs tend to do. This is the theme here: it does what it's supposed to do very well and doesn't do anything I don't like. It's cheapest on Amazon, where it's around $8 (I've seen it in stores for up to $14).

Favorite Acne Spot Treatment: Lots of people like benzoyl peroxide for acne, but I tried to get it to work for years and it never did anything for me other than bleach my sheets and towels. I've found tea tree oil more effective. I dip a q-tip in it and dab it on individual zits. With oils like this, there's a lot of variation in strength (even though they all say "100%" on the bottle, they are actually diluted), so look for good reviews. I've been using the Mason Natural Tea Tree Oil ($8) for a few years with good results.

Favorite Facial Oil/Anti-Aging Treatment: I love rosehip oil. It does all sorts of wonderful things for your skin, no matter what skin type you have. (Read more about it from Lab Muffin.) The only downside for me is that I have to avoid my eye area with it, or at least use it sparingly there, because my eyes don't like oils and again with the fucking milia. You also have to read reviews of this stuff, because the quality and potency will vary between brands. And make sure it doesn't smell like roses--it's not made from rose petals. In fact, it usually smells a bit like cooking oil. I've had good luck with the Aura Cacia Rosehip Oil ($7) and Life-Flo Rosehip Seed Oil ($6). You only need 2-3 drops for your entire face, so a bottle lasts a long time, at least until it spoils.

Favorite Mask: Hands down, Freeman Avocado and Oatmeal Clay Mask. Reviewed here. It really absorbs oil and helps to clear pores without drying out my skin. Love it, and it's $4 for a huge tube that never ends. I've tried more expensive clay masks. This is better.

Favorite Lip Balm: Palmer's Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick ($2-4). It looks like a glue stick, smells subtly like white chocolate, and keeps my lips super soft all winter. My favorite, forever. This enormous tube lasts a long time, as you can tell from my beat-up photo. Do not make the mistake of buying the teeny Palmer's lip balm with the sunscreen in it! That one is bitter and a fraction of the size for the same price. If you can't find the giant Swivel Stick with the other lip balms, look next to the Palmer products in the lotion section (or at Shopper's Drug Mart in Canada, sometimes it's with "ethnic hair care"). Or get it from drugstore.com for less than $3.

Favorite Hand Cream: I love, love, love Caldrea Hand Balm in the Ginger Pomelo scent. It's way better than the more expensive hand creams I've tried (ahem, L'Occitane), though it might be a tad splurgy at $10 a tube. But it smells amazing, and moisturizes extremely well while still absorbing quickly and not being greasy.

Favorite Foot Cream: O'Keeffe's Foot Cream ($5). Reviewed here. Put a very small amount on your feet before bed and they will be softened up significantly by morning. In a few days of using it, all the rough skin will be gone. It's really good. I don't recommend using it on hot and sweaty nights, because it has a slightly greasy feeling, and I think that's gross when I'm already sticky.

These are the best of the (cheap) best in my opinion, but I'd love to hear about any other affordable skin care you'd recommend--especially if you have a different skin type, since I can't really evaluate things that don't suit mine.

(Note: The title originally said "under $15," because when I started writing, I thought that the Simple moisturizer was over $10. But everything on the list can actually be found--in the U.S.--$10 or less. Excellent!)

I Heart Hyaluronic Acid

Disclosure: Affiliate links. Product provided free for review.
Okay, I'm back for real this time. A massively busy week was capped off with a nasty cold, which I am finally recovering from. The combination of those two things meant I had no brains left over for blogging. My apologies if you have left a comment around here recently and didn't get a response. This is why! Now I have a huge backlog of ideas (and photos), so I hope to get back into the swing of things.

I want to talk about a skincare ingredient that's become one of my favorites in the last couple of years: hyaluronic acid. It's something that occurs naturally in skin tissue, and it has healing properties. It also a extremely effective humectant, meaning that it has the ability to hold moisture. Apparently one gram of HA (hereafter, because I am likely to spell it wrong repeatedly, otherwise) can hold up to six litres of water. It has anti-oxidants and and helps with inflammation. It's basically unicorn magic, okay? I mean, science. Unicorn science. You can read more about it here.

I find it difficult to judge the long term results of skincare products most of the time, partly because I don't know what my skin would look like if I hadn't used them. But this stuff is promising in the long run, and it has short term effects that I really like. HA helps the skin feel smoother and softer. That's my favorite thing about it. When I apply a product with HA in it, my skin feels "really fucking nice," as I've said before.

Because HA is a humectant, that means it draws moisture from the environment. Ideally, it will draw moisture from the air and put it on your skin. But if the environment is so dry that your skin has more moisture in it than the air, it can actually draw moisture out of your skin. This fact probably explains why when I first tried a serum with HA in it, I wasn't impressed. I was living in an apartment where I couldn't control the heat, and it was always cranked all the way up. That winter it was regularly -30 outside, and I still had to crack my windows open in order to be comfortable. SO DRY. It's the same winter I tested the Neutrogena hand cream that is mostly glycerin--another humectant--and wasn't impressed. Yet when I travelled to Seattle for a weekend and used it there, suddenly it was more effective. So if you live in desert-like conditions, your results may not be spectacular. Otherwise, I recommend giving HA a shot.

My current HA is a Vitamin C serum (pictured above) from a company called Maple Holistics, who sent it to me, along with a shampoo and conditioner, for free. This is one of only two times I have ever been sent what could be termed "press samples." Now you know I'm not much for "natural" nonsense when it comes to skincare. Even weirder, Maple Holistics markets some of their beauty products as "homeopathic," which . . . I'm not even going to get into that. What could that even mean? But the proof is in the ingredients, I think. The Maple Holistics Vitamin C Anti-Aging Serum ingredients list looks like this:

Water, Vitamin C (Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate) 10%, Vegetable Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf, Vitamin E Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Algae Extract, Pullulan Xanthum Gum, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Caprylhydroxamic Acid, Glyceryl Caprylate

Looks good! I actually can't really say much about this stuff as a Vitamin C serum. I've never had much luck with Vit C in skincare. Either it doesn't do anything for me, or I just don't have the issues it's meant to help with (my skin is already "bright," etc.). Plus, the first ingredient is water, and Vitamin C works better in formulas without water. However, ignoring that, this is great as a HA product. I smooth on a few drops in the morning, and my skin feels lovely. You can see from the photo above that I've almost finished my bottle. I've been using it since about September, 4-5 times a week, so I've tested it pretty thoroughly.

At under $12 for an ounce of product, it's not a bad price, either. In fact, you can test it out for free in return for an Amazon review (info here). Amazon is actually a decent source for products with HA in them. There are a lot of smaller companies out there selling stuff like this. The potential downside is that a lot of them trade free product for reviews, and even though they specifically request "honest" reviews, most people seem to be paranoid that a negative review will mean no more free stuff. (I hope you can trust that I am not one of those people, because I have amassed very little free stuff after years of negative reviews here. Which maybe means that concern is not so paranoid . . . ) Anyway, I would advise caution when looking at the options available on Amazon. Maybe assume the ratings are inflated or at least read the reviews with fewer stars.

If you don't want to venture into uncharted (or weirdly-charted) Amazon territory, there are HA options from more mainstream brands. For example, I recently read good things from auxiliary beauty about CeraVe's PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion, which contains HA. It costs about $13 for 3 oz. and contains other good things like niacinamide and ceramides. That seems like a particularly affordable option. If you want something separate from a moisturizer, there's the Paula's Choice Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Serum (that I reviewed before), which has a bunch of other promising ingredients. Not cheap, though. Or if you have a regimen that you already like and just want to add HA to it, there's Paula's Choice Hyaluronic Acid Booster (damn, I had to spell it again), which allows you just to add some drops to whatever product you're already using. I've tried it and it seemed effective. It's also not cheap, but it should last a long time, since you only use a couple of drops at a time.

Whatever source you get it from, I do recommend giving a product with hyaluronic acid a try. It combines making your skin feel awesome immediately with (probably?) having excellent long term effects.

ADDENDUM: Please see this additional short post about another benefit of HA.

Anyone else a big fan of this stuff? Are there other good (affordable) sources of HA out there that you've tried?

Quick question: Do you believe in eye cream?

I've been thinking about eye cream since I saw that Paula's Choice recently started to sell one. I'm seriously side-eyeing that. I've been reading Paula Begoun's recommendations for well over a decade, and one of the things she's always emphasized is that eye creams are a waste of money and a marketing gimmick. That is, they're just moisturizers in a smaller package at a higher price, and your eye skin is made out of the same shit as the rest of your face, even if it's a little thinner, so it doesn't need different ingredients. And now her company is selling eye cream. I understand that she will sometimes change her views with new evidence, as all reasonable people should, but I seriously fucking doubt that there has been any revolutionary evidence showing that eye creams are, it turns out, not just moisturizers in smaller tubes. I think that as her company gets bigger, she's started to let them formulate products based on consumer demand, rather than focusing on educating and not selling products that conflict with the principles she's promoted all along.

For a long time, I was strictly anti-eye cream, for the above reasons. And I still believe those things to be true - all you have to do is compare the ingredients and formulas of various eye creams and moisturizers. I have, however, tended to become more moderate over time, as many of us do. I can imagine some reasons why people might spend extra money for an eye cream. The main reason, other than just being fucking inundated by marketing telling you it's necessary, is that you might have sensitive eyes and want a product that presumably has been formulated to be gentle on the eyes. I think you're still better off just using a gentle moisturizer with good ingredients in it, because it will work just as well and cost you way less. If you think your eye area needs something richer than the rest of your face, there are lots of rich moisturizers out there. I've tried eye creams and didn't notice any different results than what I've got from moisturizers. But it's your call.

I know my opinions are not universal, and I am open to hearing why I'm wrong. So what are your views on this riveting topic? Are you pro- or anti-eye cream? Scam? Or vital element of a skincare routine? Any other beauty conspiracy theories you want to talk about? (We already know what I think about diversion of salon products.)

Empties 2015, Part IV: Makeup and Skin Care

These are actually things I finished in April (at the same time as the previous batch) but haven't got around to posting. I have another whole bag full in my bedroom. Perpetually behind!

As always, foils will get minimal-to-no comment, since they are generally too small to form an opinion on.

Makeup

Fresh Sugar Balm in Rosé: This was part of the Sephora birthday gift a couple of years ago. I don't like anything about these balms, really. I don't find them moisturizing, and I'm not a big fan of citrus fragrance in lip balms. I used it up by wearing it under lipstick.

Wet N Wild Fergie Take on the Day Eyeshadow Primer: This is my favorite eyeshadow primer. You can see how it compares to a bunch of others here. The tube lasted almost 2 years (which explains why the print on the tube wore off), and it worked perfectly the whole time. Now I am left with subpar primers, and it's making me sad.

LORAC Behind the Scenes Eye Primer: I started to use this again after the WNW primer ran out, but it was getting pretty dry and was even more ineffective than when it was new. When I realized that it was actually making my eyeshadow crease more, I ditched it. What a waste. (Also reviewed in the same post linked above.)

Sephora Anti-Shine Foundation Primer: This worked well under foundation, but it seems to have been discontinued, so I'll have to find something else I like. Right now I'm working through some clear silicone primers, which are never that impressive to me.

Tarina Tarantino Eye Dream Hyperlight: I complained about this on Instagram. I barely used any of it, but I just couldn't get any product out without a huge fight, so I gave up. I got it in a subscription box (Boxy Charm), so at least I didn't pay full price for that rage-inducing shit.

ULTA Plush Drama Volume Mascara: I also complained about this on Instagram. The brush was way too fucking big for my face.

Skin Care

e.l.f. Lip Exfoliator: Briefly reviewed here. I had used about half of it, but then it started to smell funky.

Paula's Choice Clear Pore Normalizing Cleanser (mini): As I've said before, all the PC cleansers I've tried are effective but very expensive for pretty basic products. In general, I find most cleansers unobjectionable and unexciting, unless they are very drying, don't remove makeup, or sting my eyes.

Philosophy Hope in a Jar Moisturizer (mini): This stuff does indeed moisturize, but I found the fragrance so obnoxious that after using it twice I just squeezed the rest into a big bottle of body lotion. To me, it smells kind of like moldy lavender.

Mason Natural Tea Tree Oil: Tea tree oil is the thing that works best for me when it comes to acne treatment but not all of them are equal, because a lot of oils are diluted despite being labeled 100% tea tree oil (see this Tumblr post). This one is effective. I'm on my third bottle.

Paula's Choice Resist Barrier Repair Moisturizer with Retinol: I'm not sure about this. It's a very light moisturizer that I used at night throughout the winter. I don't totally understand what it is supposed to do - or at least what makes it different from any other moisturizer, other than that it contains retinol. I didn't think it made much improvement to my skin when I was using it, but my skin has been terrible for the last month or so, so maybe it was doing something? This is why I haven't reviewed it - my review would read: "Moisturizer, yes, ??????" I might try it again. It would probably provide more than enough moisture for my summer skin.

Paula's Choice Hydralight Moisture-Infusing Lotion: Good. Reviewed here. 

Paula's Choice Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum: Love this stuff. On my third tube. Reviewed here.

Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Super Antioxidant Serum with Retinol (mini): I also don't know if this did anything, but it smelled weird and had a super-slippery silicone texture that I didn't love, so I probably won't use it again. It was similar in feel to a silicone primer, so it might do double duty that way.

Kate Somerville Oil-Free Moisturizer (foil)

Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream Moisturizer (foil): So. Much. Perfume.

PC 4 Men (Paula's Choice) Daytime Protect SPF 30 (foil): This was a decent, but not special, sunscreen. I assume the idea for a men's sunscreen is that they shouldn't be forced to feel anything icky on their precious man-faces, but it wasn't any less greasy than any other decent SPF 30 product.

That's it! At least as of April. Let me know if you want more details about any of these things.

What's so fucking special about Crème de La Mer? With dupes! (From Of Faces and Fingers)

I have a couple of longish review-type posts (remember when I used to write those regularly?) that are half finished, but real work has been preventing me from completing them. Soon that real work will be over, and I'll have time to post those in between desperate job searching.

In the meantime, check out this fantastic comparison between the exorbitantly priced Crème de La Mer and some other, rather basic, and much cheaper moisturizing creams. The upshot is that, unless you believe the plant extracts in La Mer actually do something (follow the link above to find out why they probably don't), all these products are similar. There are some decent moisturizing ingredients in La Mer, but they aren't exclusive or expensive. I've reviewed the Curel Intensive Healing Cream before, and it's a brand name version of the stuff that hospitals or pharmacies provide to diabetics in huge tubs. Effective, for sure, but very utilitarian and certainly not worth its weight in gold.

All About Hyaluronic Acid (from The Beauty Brains)

This is interesting and useful. I have a couple of products that contain hyaluronic acid, and I really like them (like the Paula's Choice serum that I reviewed a while back). I like finding a breakdown of how "miracle" ingredients really work and then being able to decide for myself if they're worth the hype. I knew hyaluronic acid was a humectant, but not much else. I have had problems with products that are high in glycerin (another humectant) actually drying out my skin in winter (the Neutrogena hand lotion, for example), but I haven't noticed that with hyaluronic acid, and I used the serum mentioned above all winter. Overall, it seems like a effective ingredient with some promising science behind it.

Travel size

I took a photo of all the mini products I took home with me to my parents' place for the holidays when I was there. I've now been home for well over a week, so I guess I should post about them already, before I completely lose interest/memory.

My family lives in part of North America that is extremely fucking cold and dry during the winter. The dryness is amped up by the cold, of course, because it means furnaces running around the clock. Every time I go back there, my face freaks out, apparently from trying to adjust to the difference in climate. This time, I finally remembered to bring a shitload of moisturizers to prevent that reaction. And so, naturally, the weather this year was warm enough to be rainy - i.e. not fucking dry. Sigh. But I still moisturized the hell out of my face and my skin was quite happy for the whole visit.

Here are all the little tubes and tubs and bottles and packets I brought with me, with the goal of emptying out as much as possible and leaving the packages in my parents' garbage can. I also brought mostly things that I hadn't tried before to force myself to branch out.

Hard to take good photos in the low winter sun.

Things I finished:

Pacifica Purify face wipes: These worked fine. They are quite small, but maybe that's because this is a travel pack? They smell just like the Pacifica Sea Foam face wash (mini review here): coconuty, fine. I wouldn't buy them, because I found them a little too drying and kind of burny. I am mostly loyal to my Simple Cleansing Facial Wipes. Nothing else I've tried compares. I buy them in multiple packs on Amazon.

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream: I'd read many a rave review for this stuff, but I wasn't impressed. I didn't like the medicinal eucalyptus scent; it wasn't particularly hydrating; and it also felt slightly burny. I don't like burny sensations on my face. I have no idea what is supposed to be "ultra" about this shit.

Paula's Choice 2% BHA Lotion: This was fine, though I didn't use it long enough to judge its long-term effects. Though it's supposed to be for drier skin, it dries to a matte finish, unlike the slicker-feeling 2% BHA liquid (reviewed here). I prefer the liquid, but if you don't like how that stuff feels on your face, you might consider giving this a try. It's also slightly moisturizing.

Kate Somerville Quench Oil Free Hydrating Serum: My memory of this is already pretty damned foggy. I think it was lightly moisturizing and had a thin consistency, but it obviously didn't make much of an impact on me.

Burt's Bees Intense Hydration Day Lotion: I used this at night, because it's very greasy. I wouldn't recommend it during the day, unless you have extremely dry skin. When I'd wake up in the morning after a full night's sleep, I could still feel the greasiness on my face. That said, it does moisturize well. This was the last packet I had left from the stuff I was sent by BzzAgent in 2012 (reviewed here). I actually liked the scent quite a lot when I used it this time around.

Burt's Bees Radiance Eye Cream: This smells gross and it's greasy. I used it on my feet. It worked well for that.

Nourish Organics Lightweight Moisturizing Face Lotion: This is a mediocre product. First of all, it smells like artificial oranges. Second, it wasn't particularly moisturizing, which is one of the main qualities I look for in a moisturizer. I'm just super weird like that.

Things I gave away:

Pur-lisse Pur-protect Moisturizer SPF 30: I gave this to my mother. One of the things I'm pickiest about when it comes to sunscreen is if they don't soak in/dry quickly enough and smear into my eyes. Have I mentioned I don't like burniness? Sunscreen in the eyes is burny. I have to be able to use sunscreens around my eyes, or they're useless. This one got in my eyes repeatedly, so it's useless. The end.

Coola Matte Tint SPF 30: On the plus side, the tint is pretty much invisible, so almost anyone could use this. On the minus, it made my skin feel tight and dry. Gave this one to my mother too.

Things I did not finish:

Smith's Rosebud Salve: Not sure why I included this in the photo, since it's not a mini, and I really had no realistic hope of finishing it while I was away. I have been using it for well over a year and still have a at least quarter left, if not a third. I previously reviewed it here and said I didn't love it. Since then, I've become really fond of it - but I still only use it for a single purpose. I smear it around my nostrils before bed. I am a particularly sniffly person for reasons that medical science has not been able to explain to me. I am constantly using kleenexes - in a very discreet and polite way in public, of course, but at home there are piles of them everywhere, so give me some warning if you want to come over, please. This means that ordinarily my nose is pretty red and dry and irritated and flaky - unless I use this salve on it every night. With the exception of times when I have an actual cold or something, using this stuff at night keeps my flaky nostrils under control. Sexy. Also, I think I now associate the rose scent with going to sleep, so some psychological benefits have become attached to it.

Peter Thomas Roth Oiless Oil: It's oil. It's pure squalane. I had some hopes of finishing this, and I might have used it more often if the weather had been drier. But I still have at least half of this tiny bottle left, because you really only need 1-2 drops for your whole face. I've been trying to use this up for many, many months. I'm not sure if I've seen any special results, but if you want to try it out, and you can get your hands on a mini bottle, you will definitely have enough to really test it thoroughly.

Paula's Choice Clear Anti-Redness Exfoliating Solution (2% BHA, Regular Strength): This doesn't work as well for me as the Clear Extra Strength or the Skin Perfecting 2% BHA liquid, but it's better than nothing, I guess, and I had a convenient travel size.

Coppertone Clearly Sheer SPF 30 lotion: You can see my full review here. Of the three sunscreens I brought, this was the least annoying. Nothing matches my Kinesys sunscreen for convenience and comfort and general awesomeness.

So that's what I used to keep my face moisturized and protected while visiting the not-quite arctic tundra. Mainly I was able to test and rule out a bunch of different products, which is an entertaining process, if nothing else. Like I said, my skin stayed happy the whole trip, so even though I wasn't particularly impressed by anything here, nothing was terrible, burniness aside. (I promise to never write "burny" on this blog again after today. Probably.)

Can your skin sense how oily it is and adjust its oil production accordingly? (from Lab Muffin)

No.

Review: Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum

I'm not going to blog about all the Black Friday sales, even though they are great for being cheap. First, I don't want to know about all the good deals out there right now, because I am trying to avoid buying more things. If I listed sales here, I would almost certainly have to buy something. Or things. I own too much shit, and I need to stop. Second, it would be redundant, because Nouveau Cheap has you covered.

I am, however, going to take advantage of the 15% off + free shipping deal from Paula's Choice to replace a couple of things that I needed to buy anyway. I always wait for them to offer free shipping before I order anything, and even though 15% off isn't huge, it's a nice bonus. (The free shipping applies to both US and Canadian orders, by the way.) I need some more 2% BHA liquid (review here). I'm also tempted to try the 4% BHA foam, which had been out of stock for a while. It's back and has great reviews. I have a few days to decide, since the sale goes until the end of the week (it's a little unclear exactly how long, but they call it "cyber week"). There's no code. If it's your first time ordering from them, you can also get $10 off by signing up through my invite link (I also get $10). Ebates (referral link) also has 6% cash back, which I will definitely be using (more info on using Ebates here and here).

Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum (empty!)

This seems like a good time for a review of the Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum, since I already had the photos on my phone waiting for me to scrounge up some free time. I have almost a week off! Amazing. I mean, I do have to write up and send out seven job applications and also try to plan the courses I'm teaching next semester, but I get to do most of that from home in while wearing yoga pants.

I just started my second tube of this serum. I've been using it 4-5 times a week in the mornings since September, so I think that's a pretty decent amount of time for it to last, even though the tube is small. I actually started it back in July, when I mentioned it here, but didn't start using it regularly until the fall. Back then I said I wouldn't be buying it again unless it did something "really impressive" . . . and here we are.

I don't actually know how to tell if it's having any long term results. That's true of most (all?) products I use. I guess if my skin stays looking about the same over time, then at least the big bad environment isn't damaging it too much, so maybe it's protected or whatever.

I absolutely love the immediate results that this serum gives me, though. I think the difference is that I'm now using it first thing in the morning, rather than before bed, and so I have a chance to observe its effects on my skin while I'm awake. I still find it moisturizing enough that I don't need an additional moisturizer, even though it's getting wintery and the furnace is running all the time. I use it after washing my face and applying BHA liquid with a glamorous piece of flannel. The antioxidant serum makes my skin feel really fucking nice. I never understood what people meant when they wrote in skin care reviews that their skin felt "plump" after using something. Swollen? Sounded weird to me. But I think this is it! It's softer and more cushiony, but definitely not tight. Like your face is a beauty blender that you ran under water once. Except without swelling. DOES THAT HELP? Sorry. Let me start over.

This shit makes my skin feel significantly smoother and softer after I apply it in the morning. So soft. So fucking soft. The other great thing is that it smoothes out dry, flaky patches. I usually have those on my chin and almost always around my nose. This cures those flakes in a way no moisturizer I've used has ever done, and it means I can put makeup over those parts of my face without it looking gross. It makes my face happy. Oh, and it has a really, um, appetizing appearance. This is about 5 drops, which is what I use on my face and neck each day.

Paula's Choice Resist Ultra-Light Super Antioxidant Concentrate Serum

I'm guessing it's the hyaluronic acid that's responsible for most of the effects I like. If you can find a cheaper product with that ingredient in it, you might want to try that instead. And let me know if it's wonderful? For now, since I really, really like this shit, I am not inclined to experiment and potentially spend even more money buying a bunch of other slightly less expensive stuff that may not work. At around $30 (or more) for 1 oz., I realize that it is definitely not cheap. Even breaking it down to $8-10 or slightly per month is kind of shockingly expensive. But if you're feeling fancy, this might also make your face feel fancy. I just want you to know that. Please don't yell at me. I'm still cheap. I swear.

On the other hand, the Skin Balancing Antioxidant Serum with Retinol is less pleasant. It has that thick, gelatinous-yet-siliconey texture that doesn't feel great to apply and doesn't have many immediately noticeable results. It does mattify, so they suggest that you can use it as a primer. There's that. Maybe it's doing something long term, but maybe my beloved Resist antioxidant serum is also doing something long term, and it's instantly goddamned miraculous.

A bunch of Paula's Choice reviews

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
I've been very lucky during the past few months of my unemployment that I was able to keep using my regular Paula's Choice routine, even though the products are not particularly cheap. That's because lots of people signed up through my invite link, and I really, really appreciate that. As a result, I've been able to replace the things I was already using when they ran out, as well as try a few new things. In return, I figured I should at least review some of the Paula's Choice (PC hereafter) products I've used. (I'm also hoping to do a PC giveaway sometime in the future as further thanks, but that will have to wait until I can swing the shipping costs.)

This week also seems like a good time for this post, since PC has a 15% off everything + free shipping on all orders sale going on (use code EDDVIPJUL14).

I've been using a few PC products for almost a decade now. I found out about Paula Begoun via a Canadian TV show called The Shopping Bags, which was almost like a shopping/consumer review blog in TV format, before there were blogs (it's still on TV somewhere in Canada, I think).  Paula was one of their regular consultants on makeup, skin, and hair care. I even owned one of her enormous books at one point. At the time, there weren't really many other sources of the kinds of information she provides, especially in terms of evaluating the marketing claims made by cosmetics companies. Now there are more options, but I still use the ingredients dictionary on the PC website all the time, because it's really comprehensive and easy to use.

Paula herself is a bit of a polarizing figure. She can be a little dogmatic and extreme at times. For instance, she used to insist that no one, no matter who they were, should ever wear any color of eye makeup other than neutrals and maybe, if you wanted to get a little crazy, plum. No shimmer, either. I get that it was a reaction against the frosty blue eyeshadows of the 80s, but come on (she's slackened only slightly on that point since then). There's more to life than matte neutrals. Because she was one of the first to do what she does, she can come across as a bit self important, too. In one of her radio shows from this year, she complained that she's seen other people online repeating information about cosmetics that originated with her. Well, do you want to inform people, or not?

These days, I'm a little more critical about the PC proclamations. I don't like fragrance in my skin care either, and I'd rather err on the side of caution for ingredients that cause irritation, but I think the their NO FRAGRANCE EVER OH MY GOD YOU'RE GOING TO BECOME A HAG IF YOU USE SOMETHING SMELLY stance is a bit much. Give me all the scented body lotion and lip balm! I also don't rely heavily on Beautypedia's ratings of makeup, because they often hinge on one or two details that have little to do with the actual performance of the product (I'll write something more about that another day). Today, PC/Beautypedia is one of many sources of information I consult.

All that said, I have had really, really good luck with the majority of the PC brand products I've tried. I get that they are trying to sell me shit just like every other company, but I appreciate their accessibility and transparency about why they formulated things the way they did and why they think the ingredients will be effective. That's still pretty rare. It's a brand I personally like, even though it's not the cheapest. They do have a lot of sales, at least.

Below are reviews of several PC products I've used, and I've indicated roughly how long I've been using them, in case that's useful information. I didn't bother to take photos of the packages, because I didn't think that would be particularly helpful (and a little too advertorial for a post like this). So this is a text heavy post. You might want to grab a cup of coffee before you read on (or spread it out over three days because, let's face it, after writing all that I'm going to need some time off). I'm not going to go into detail about the ingredients, because you can find all of that information at the links, so I won't repeat it here.

Moisturizers

Comparison of three Paula's Choice Moisturizers (left to right): Skin Balancing Moisture Gel, Hydralight Moisture Infusing Lotion, and Skin Recovery Replenishing Moisturizer 

Skin Balancing Moisture Gel: I've been using this stuff the longest of anything from PC: at least 8 years, maybe 10. I absolutely love it. It's an ideal moisturizer for oily/combination skin like mine. It's a really light gel that soaks in quickly and leaves absolutely no greasiness or shine. It feels really refreshing. I've described it as a "drink of water for your face" to my boyfriend (though he continues to use his generic Lubriderm knockoff).

The downside of this particular moisturizer is that it burns if I apply it anywhere near my eyes. It's annoying. I can see from reviews that this doesn't happen with most people who use it, but apparently there's something in it that my eyes hate. If I want to moisturize the eye area, I have to pick something else. This gel is my usual daytime moisturizer, nevertheless. I put it on when I get out of the shower and it leaves my skin soft and gets rid of whatever tightness was caused by the heat and water.

It's not cheap ($24), but I've continued using it because I haven't been able to find a comparable gel moisturizer at a more affordable price. The only ones I'd encountered until recently were more expensive, packaged in a jar, and/or highly fragranced. I came across this Simple brand gel moisturizer a few weeks ago, though, so I might try it when I run out of the PC. (Has anyone else used it?)

Quick and cheap: O'Keeffe's Foot Cream

Disclosure: This post affiliate links.
My dad gave me a tub of this foot cream for Christmas and raved about it. He wanted me to try it right away. Being the stubborn bad daughter that I am, I insisted that I needed to finish up the tube of foot lotion I had at home before I opened up something new. So I spent all of January with hard, rough, dry feet.

It's hard not to make some stupid "father knows best" joke right now.

Anyway, he was right, this stuff is the shit, and my feet would have been much happier if I had been using it all along. I don't have any before and after photos, because you probably didn't want to see the crusty bottoms of my feet, and I honestly didn't expect to post about some foot cream that my dad bought at Canadian Tire. Yeah, this stuff sold at hardware stores in addition to drugstores, but you can get it online for about $6.

It's has a weird texture. It feels kind of hard and dry initially, but when you scoop some out it's soft and buttery. It's unscented and not overly greasy (a little, though). If you use it during the day, you can walk on a hard floor after a few minutes without slipping and falling. I put it on my feet before bed a few times a week, and it definitely makes a difference. It doesn't peel off your skin and leave you with new feet, but it will soften them. The main thing I noticed is that my feet got a lot smoother. You know how really dry feet are kind of scratchy and they catch on bed sheets or socks like velcro and it's really unpleasant and blehhhhh? This stuff cures Velcro Foot Syndrome. It works better than any other cream or lotion I've tried on my feet. And I don't hate the teal and orange packaging. Matches my blog.

I guess when your dad gives you skin care advice, you should listen. Unless he recommends Windex.

When Good Skin Goes Bad, Part II

Disclosure: This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.
In my previous post, I began my quest to figure out why my skin has started to fuck with me. Click back there if you want to know exactly what I'm talking about, but in short, I'd been getting worse acne, blackheads, clogged and enlarged pores, fine lines/wrinkles, rough texture, etc., over a really short period of time, and it sucked. I mentioned that I had identified four possible causes for my skin's shittiness. To recap:

• Increased use of moisturizer to combat seasonal dryness.
• Discontinued use of BHA exfoliant.
• Increased consumption of delicious, delicious wheat.
• Use of battery-powered, rotating face brush for cleansing.

I started to address the second item on the list in Part I, and I'll return to it in a future post. For now, I thought I'd explain what the hell I was talking about with the other three. The thing about wheat probably sounds particularly weird.

First: moisturizer. I don't really think this was a major culprit. The moisturizers I was using didn't contain ingredients that differed much from anything I'd used successfully in the past. Plus, while this could, perhaps, explain an increase in clogged pores, it doesn't explain other problems, like lines/wrinkles.

At any rate, I've scaled way back on the moisturizing, simply because my skin seems to be adapting to the dryness and I don't need as much. That started before I took the other steps described below, and it didn't make much difference in my skin's condition.

Second: The wheat. Okay, here's the thing: my body just has a problem with wheat. I am not gluten-intolerant (I've been tested), but eating wheat does cause issues for me. The main problem is that it severely worsens the inflammation in my joints, which is pretty bad to begin with. I'm not imagining this. Wheat is inflammatory. Plus, I have tested whether or not it has a negative effect on me very extensively, like so: (1) I feel shitty (mainly joint pain in my hands, wrists, and arms - but there are other things too) so I stop eating wheat. (2) I feel dramatically better. (3) Wheat constantly taunts me with its seductive perfection and I begin to forget how shitty I felt when I was eating it. (4) I gradually start incorporating more and more wheat into my diet (bread! pizza! just a little pasta!) until . . . (5) I feel really shitty again. And repeat. And repeat and repeat and repeat. At this point it is abundantly clear that wheat hurts me.

So what does this have to do with my skin? I'm not completely positive, but I have a theory that isn't any more sophisticated than this: Wheat is aggravates inflammation (at least for me). Inflammation is bad for the skin (for example, an inflamed, clogged pore = a pimple). Therefore, inflammation caused by eating wheat makes my skin worse.

L'Occitane and LORAC are on HauteLook today (up to 92% off)

I think L'Occitane is just okay, but I know lots of people love it. But LORAC! There are some nice eyeshadow palettes available, which is what I think LORAC is best known for (not the Pro, of course), and lip glosses and eyeliners and foundations and tanners, etc. I'd skip the double-sided mascara. I had a tube of it once, and it was not at all impressive. The Wet-Dry Powder is what is 92% off, fyi, but several other things are 70%+ off.

The links above are my invite link (you need an account to browse HauteLook). Shipping is $6 and usually takes a few weeks.

Someone should make a skin care dupes site

My vision is that I copy and paste the ingredients of this $80 moisturizer I got a sample of, and it tells me what other products that are not horrifyingly expensive have similar ingredients.

Someone get on that please!

Quick question: What's your favorite moisturizer?

So I find myself, for really the first time in my life, dealing with dry/tight skin. I'm thinking it must be an age thing. It's dry in my apartment because the heat is on all the time now, and my face also get a little chapped from walking out in the wind everyday. But neither of these things are new. I have always lived in dry and/or cold and/or windy places. And I've always had oily/combination skin year-round. For the last month or so, it's been sliding toward the dry end of the combination spectrum.

My Paula's Choice Skin Balancing Moisture Gel, which has always served me admirably in the past if I ever felt a little dry, really isn't cutting it right now. So I thought I'd ask:

What's your favorite moisturizer? Cheap is good, of course.

I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who deal with a little oiliness and some breakouts too. Real combination skin havers.

(Isn't it interesting how "skin type" can be a part of identity, especially for those of us who are really into performing/doing femininity? It seems to be correlated to gender identity. It's not, "My skin feels a little dry lately," so much as, "I am now the type of person who has dry skin." Does that make sense to anyone but me?)

Curel Intensive Healing Cream update

So I said I'd let you know if this cream made any lasting difference to my dry cuticles and nails or my feet. Here's the photo I took after using it for 4 days straight, several times a day;

A little better, maybe? I don't really see a big difference (you can see the before photo here). Certainly not more than what you would get from regular use of any other decent hand cream. So I'm going to say no to the "healing" properties of this stuff. (I didn't notice a huge improvement on my feet either.)

It moisturizes very well and makes things look and feel better when you use it. It absorbs quickly and doesn't have any fragrance whatsoever. If those things are important to you, you could give it a shot. Personally, I'm going to stick with lotions and creams that don't come in a jar or pot, because I don't particularly like rubbing it on my feet and then stick my fingers back in there.

BzzAgent Review: Curel Intensive Healing Cream (Part I)

Disclosure: I received this product free for review from BzzAgent.

I got some little tubs of this stuff to try out recently. Let me tell you: this is some utilitarian shit. For some reason I feel like this is the kind of cream that your grandmother brings home from the hospital. I don't know where I'm getting that image from, but there it is. It's there to do a job. No frills. It's absolutely unscented, for one thing.

So usually in a review of something like this, I get into the ingredients. The ingredients here are definitely workhorses. No nonsense, tried and true. How many cliches can I fit into one post? Let's find out! Here are the ingredients:

Water, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum, Glycerin, Microcrystalline Wax, Cetyl PEG/PPG-10/1 Dimethicone, Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Glyceryl Dilaurate, Paraffin, Dimethicone, Cetyl PG Hydroxyethyl Palmitamide, Magnesium Stearate, Isopropyl Myristate, Magnesium Sulfate, Glyceryl Oleate, Ethoxydiglycol, DMDM Hydantoin, Methylparaben, Butylene Glycol, Eucalyptus Globulus Leaf Extract, Propylparaben

Those are all your basic ingredients designed to moisturize and leave your hands feeling smooth. I'm not going to analyze them one by one, but I don't see any problems here. If you don't like petroleum products for environmental reasons, then I guess that's your thing, fine, but mineral oil is a good moisturizer that rarely causes allergic reactions and is non-comedogenic. Glycerin I've talked about before. The formula for this stuff is pretty similar to this cream designed for babies, except that this Curel one includes preservatives, which I am glad for, since it's packaged in a jar/tub.

Ugh, jar packaging. Another thing I've complained about in the past. What is the point? I guess it makes it seem more medicinal? Or heavy duty? I don't know. It's definitely trying to create some psychological association for you, because it would be more stable and less prone to contamination in a squeeze tube. This cream is thick, but it's not so thick that it wouldn't dispense perfectly well from a tube.

But on to the actual test.

I've been using this stuff for a little over a week. I wouldn't say that I have "extremely dry skin" at this point in the year, but I have some dry and/or rough spots, like the bottoms of my feet and my nails and cuticles. So that's where I tested it.

I'll spare you photos of my feet, but here are my nails an hour or so after removing nail polish and then doing my usual whatever around the house. I might have washed a couple of dishes, but mostly I just fucked around on my computer.

My nails and cuticles are pretty dry and just all-around shitty. That is their normal state.

Why you don't need to buy fucking eye cream (from Paula's Choice)

It boils down to eye creams usually just being more expensive moisturizers, and the skin around your eyes not being any more special then the rest of your face. Read the rest here (I'm not sure, but you may need to be logged into Facebook to view the link.)

Mostly unrelated: I apologize that there hasn't been much going on around here lately besides announcements of sales and links to other blogs. I hope you find that shit useful, but I do have many, many more substantial posts planned but not yet executed.

I've been swamped the past while. I don't like to reveal too much about my identity (because it makes me feel special? powerful? enigmatic?), but let's just say I have a major, years-long writing project finally coming to a near-close in the next week or two, and at the same time I am holding the hands of some extremely neurotic young perfectionists while they attempt to write their own little masterpieces. I AM SO MYSTERIOUS. Anyway, fucking busy, will write more crap about makeup soon.