Bliss Peeling Groovy Serum

(OK, I know I should be working, but in my defense I typed up most of this review before finals anyway, hehe)

I have found my new holy grail exfoliant serum!

1 ounce costs $65...I almost cried when I purchased it, haha. Luckily, Bliss.com was doing a promotion in February where you received a full size Love Handler for free with any purchase which persuaded me.

You can purchase this at Bliss or Sephora. It comes in a thick glass bottle with a sturdy plastic pump. I hate products with crappy pumps, and I actually like that it's in glass because that means I can store the product longer (plastic packaging = chemicals leeching into your product and shorter shelf life).

I always assumed Bliss skincare products weren't effective because the ingredients never impressed me, but this product makes me understand why they have such a cult following. My former holy grail serum Estee Lauder Idealist stopped working for me early in 2009 (I think my skin became tolerant to it) so I was desperately looking for a similar product.

My skin was immediately glowing upon the first application and it looks absolutely flawless. I'm even brave enough to go outside with no concealer, foundation, or powder. My cheeks are also naturally blushing. Amazing!

This has helped all my other skincare products work better. Before I finished my Clinique Derma White products, I could definitely see the difference the Peeling Groovy Serum made. In only a couple weeks, my skin already looked brighter and lighter than usual. As someone who has tried the Clarisonic in the past, which similarly claims to make all your skincare products absorb more and thus work better, I say ditch the Clarisonic and just buy this if you didn't think the Clarisonic was anything special either. The Clarisonic didn't minimize or clean my pores as promised, but this stuff really works.

Unfortunately, the downside to this product is that it stings a lot when you first apply it to your skin for about a minute. Oily skinned, non-sensitive types may not feel anything, but I don't even have particularly sensitive skin and I definitely felt a burning sensation when I first started using it. At the time, I had super congested skin. Now, my skin has calmed down a lot and I don't feel any pain or burning at all. However, in the words of Singaporean blogger Xiaxue, to me the sting is "tolerable for beauty's sake," but I understand some people may not have as high a pain threshold as I do.

This product is not intended to moisturize. After properly cleansing and toning your skin, I smooth a couple squirts onto my entire face and neck, avoiding the eye area. A little goes a long way. Make sure you wait 3-5 minutes before applying any other skincare products, like serums, moisturizers, or creams. I think eye creams are fine to apply as you wait since you're not applying the Peeling Groovy Serum on your eye area. When I first started using this, I had no idea I was supposed to wait before applying moisturizer, but I still saw a difference in the texture and vibrancy of my skin. I do think it's important to wait a little bit, but if your skin starts feeling tight because the water that was absorbed while cleansing your face disappears, go ahead and apply your lotion; exfoliation is important, but hydration is even more so.

I first started using this product around that "time of month" and it did dry my skin out pretty badly. My skin has improved so much lately, and I hardly need to use this anymore. I'll probably only whip it out once every two weeks, or when I feel my face breaking out. Since my skin is doing so much better lately, it seems unnecessary for me to use this all the time. In the event that my skin does start acting up again (which will inevitably happen), I will update you and let you know how well this works then. But though this product costs $65, I have a feeling I won't even be done with my ounce bottle after a year.

This product has really piqued my interest in some other Bliss products I hope to add to my medicine cabinet eventually, like the Bliss Triple Oxygen Instant Energizing Face Mask. Do you folks have any other Bliss recommendations? Let me know!

Laura Mercier Face Polish Gommage Facial

Review on the Laura Mercier Face Polish Gommage Facial today. You can get this at any department store that carries Laura Mercier skincare, Sephora, or LauraMercier.com. It comes in a 3.5 oz tube and retails for $30.00.

If you've read any of my prior skincare reviews, you probably know that my skin needs exfoliating practically daily. My pores get clogged very easily, I break out quite frequently, and what's worse, my skin is always dry and flakey. I use white sugar as an exfoliant but it's not always effective. As fine as white sugar may seem, it's still not safe to use everyday on the skin, because it can wear and tear at delicate collagen. My skin hasn't shaken off the dryness from winter even though we're approaching spring/summer. I can see little white flakes on my skin during the daytime after I put on my sunscreen, especially in my under eye area. Also, my sunscreen dries matte, so when I apply undereye concealer or foundation, the little flakes become even more emphasized. The condition of my skin is really affecting my foundation/makeup application. No point in concealing my flaws if makeup just brings out others.

The Laura Mercier Face Polish claims to be a gentle facial scrub for all skin types, and can also act as a calming astringent. What really stood out to me was that the website claims it can be used daily for normal to oily skin and every other day for dry or mature skin. Daily exfoliant dilemma solved.

When you squeeze it out, the scrub has a pale, creamy orange color and average consistency--it feels a bit like a light face cream. The scent is pleasant and faintly smells a bit like an orange creamsicle. Of course, it contains tiny exfoliating granules, and what I like about the particles is that they are the perfect size--smaller than sugar particles, but large enough so they can more closely slough the skin and get into all the little crevices, like around my nose.

I tacked this face polish onto my skincare routine as the third step in cleansing. After washing my face with cleansing oil and a face wash, I squeeze about a dime or nickle sized amount for my entire face. As I apply the polish on my still wet face, the polish does not foam up; itspreads out and feels like a gel-cream cleanser. The scrub particles do not feel harsh on the skin whether I apply light or deep pressure. After rubbing my face for about a minute, I rinse everything off and my skin feels instantly baby soft and smooth. The results are even better when used after a shower.

Though this can be used daily, I actually don't use this face polish everyday because I don't want my skin to become tolerant to it as it has with some other products. Despite using it only about three times a week, this Laura Mercier face polish does help. In conjunction with some of the other products in my rotation right now, it has helped me get rid of my residual acne and dry flakes. Notice the key word: helped. It's not a miracle or holy grail product because my skin hasn't experienced "instant" results, but your skin will get better with time and patience.

Below are the ingredients. As you read through, you can see the product contains various oils, such as sunflower seed oil, macadamia ternafolia oil, and jojoba oil, which help protect the skin from over exfoliation. It also contains stinging nettle extract, which is an ingredient that lends it "astringent" properties. Stinging nettle is a plant with medicinal, anti-inflammatory properties. A quick Google search will show you that it has been used to treat many ailments since medieval times.

Again, it's not like the product contains a special secret ingredient, like diamond powder, so don't expect your skin problems to instantly go away. But I do really like this product and will consider repurchasing when I run out. I definitely recommend it if you have skin like mine that needs to be exfoliated every day or every other day, but you don't want to overstrip or wear out your skin.


Ingredients:
Water (Aqua), Polyethylene, Butylene Glycol, Glyceryl Stearate SE, Stearic Acid, Glyceryl Stearate, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Sodium C12-15 Pareth-15 Sulfonate, Cetyl Alcohol, PEG-3 Cocamide, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth-20, Macadamia Ternafolia Oil, Triethanolamine, Hydrogenated Jojoba Oil, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Polyquaternium-39, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Carbomer, Fragrance (Parfum), Ethylparaben, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernal Flour, Propylparaben, Disodium EDTA, Butylparaben, Propylene Gylcol, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Extract, Salvia Officianlis (Sage) Leaf, Rose Canina Fruit Extract, Urtica Dioica (Nettle) Extract. May Contain (+/-): Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Yellow 6 (CI 15985), Red 4 (CI 14700), Yellow 5 (CI 19140).

Clinique Turnaround Concentrate vs. Estee Lauder Idealist

This is a post I actually meant to write awhile ago, but never got to because I was busy, and then I was lazy, haha. After my great results with Estee Lauder's Idealist, I decided to try the comparable Clinique Turnaround Concentrate Visible Skin Renewer and find out which of the two was better. Both have received awards for their ability to "turn over" dead surface skin cells and reveal more luminous, radiant skin.

The price of Clinique's Turn Around is a tad cheaper than Estee Lauder's Idealist by almost ten bucks. Both come in one ounce pump bottles, but the Clinique is $37.50, and the Estee Lauder is $46.50. However, the Estee Lauder Idealist also comes in a 3.4 ounce version ($120.00), while Clinique only comes in the one ounce bottle.

Okay, now on to the product's purpose. Clinique says that their Turnaround Concentrate is a "high-performance cocktail of exfoliants" that generates a "multilevel, time-released renewal process." It is supposed to help your skin constantly renew itself, look "brighter, more radiant" and feel "velvety, perfected." As for usage, Turnaround Concentrate is supposed to be used twice daily, and is designed to be used in conjunction with Clinique's 3 step system. However, you can use this with any cleansing regimen, really.

After cleansing and toning, I applied the Turnaround Concentrate to my T-zone, and followed with a moisturizer. Unlike Idealist, the Turnaround Concentrate comes in a fluid formula, so it is much lighter and easier to blend. Like most Clinique products, there is no intentional perfume or scent, but it has this sterile, clinical smell. After the Concentrate goes over my skin, there is no shine or oiliness.

Now, onto the actual review...
Though there are tons of great reviews on this product on Sephora.com and Clinique.com, I did not find it helpful for my skin at all. First of all, unlike Estee Lauder's Idealist which is both an exfoliant and moisturizer, this product is only an exfoliant. Furthermore, it didn't even do a good job exfoliating. I still had enlarged and clogged pores, and it wasn't until I applied their Total Turnaround Visible Skin Renewer moisturizer on top of the Turnaround Concentrate did I get the exfoliated, mattified effect I was looking for--smaller pores, flattened comedones, less bumps, etc. By itself, the Turnaround Concentrate is quite useless, and it only works in conjunction if it is used with the other Turnaround products in Clinique's line. If you have combination skin, I suggest you skip this product altogether and just go straight for the Estee Lauder Idealist.

While I'm doing a comparison, I also want to update on my results with Idealist. Unfortunately, after using it on and off for 4-5 months, my skin has acclimated to it, and it no longer helps prevent my breakouts or reduce my comedone size. So, I am on the lookout for a new exfoliant serum that will not only keep my skin clear, but also keep it moisturized. Please let me know if you have any product recommendations!

Clarisonic Skin Care Brush - Week 2

I'm on week two of using the Clarisonic! I actually don't see dramatic improvement in my skin from the first week. Like I speculated, my skin might have plateaued. I might even be nearing "that" time of the month since I got two little pink/red pimples on my forehead, which means that the Clarisonic can only treat your skin from the outside, but you still have to take care of your health for great skin. Aside from those two zits and a clogged pore on my nose I can't get rid of, my skin is just fine.

My skin is continuing to absorb whatever I apply on it very well. As we're getting into winter, I've had to change my moisturizer since my skin was becoming very dry. If I wash my face with the Clarisonic and I don't tone and moisturize immediately, my skin does feel a bit tight. However, the Clarisonic is not hurting my face anymore, which is a good thing. I usually repeat moving it over my forehead, t-zone, nose, upper lip, and chin, but not on my cheeks. I still have it set on the one minute setting. I wasn't able to use it last night or this morning, though, since the charge ran out, so right now I'm letting it sit in the cradle for a full 24 hours to see if that improves the battery life. Last time, when I charged it for about 5 hours, the charge only lasted about 5 days. I've never had a product that has required this much time to charge (I get annoyed waiting for my camera, phone, or ipod to finish charging, and that typically takes 3 hours) so this is something Clarisonic should probably think about fixing.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the states!

Clarisonic Skin Care Brush - Week 1

I couldn't wait to open my box from Sephora and start using my Clarisonic brush! Everyone who used it raved about how their skin started glowing and they were receiving tons of compliments. I wanted nothing less than the best so I decided to give the Clarisonic a shot. My skin was already improving before using the Clarisonic because I was cleansing, toning, and using Estee Lauder Idealist daily. I wasn't sure my skin could improve any further, so if I didn't achieve fantastic results like everyone else you bet I'd make use of the 30 day money back guarantee.

From the little brochure that came with my Clarisonic:

"The Clarisonic sonic technology works with the natural elasticity of your skin to provide deep, thorough, gentle daily cleansing of the skin. Cleansing is the foundation of a complete skin care ritual. Oscillating back and forth at a sonic frequency that produces 300 movements per second, a flexing action is created between the outer and inner brushes that works deep within the pores to loosen dirt and oil. The brush motion effectively cleans, clarifies, and stimulates, resulting in smoother feeling and looking skin, allowing your serums and moisturizers to absorb better. Skin is left soft and pampered without harsh abrasion or chemicals. Clarisonic reduces dry skin patches, oily areas, and blemishes and removes six times more makeup. Pore size, fine lines, and wrinkles appear smaller."

The Clarisonic also claims to remove 6 times as much makeup than regular cleansing, and is 2 times as effective as regular cleansing. I never really thought that makeup particles might be still sticking to my skin after using my Clinique Liquid Facial Soap and toning, but apparently they were. Cleansing sounds like such a basic step in taking care of your skin that we don't think much about it, and dwell on purchasing things like serums and masks instead. In reality, if we don't cleanse our skin thoroughly, whatever we apply on top doesn't fully absorb into our skin, and we don't reap that product's benefits. So with the Clarisonic, there are two main objectives: 1) cleanse, exfoliate, and massage the skin thoroughly but gently, and 2) properly prep the skin for the subsequent steps in your skincare regimen.

The Clarisonic is supposed to be charged for a full 24 hrs prior to first use, but I missed that info in the little brochure since I wanted to just take it out and start using it immediately :P Plus, it's been my experience that chargeable items usually come partially or fully charged anyway, so I wanted to drain its power before recharging it fully (my dad always said that chargeabe things like your cell phone, ipod, camera, laptop, etc. should be completely or almost completely drained before recharging so you extend the battery cycle life. Batteries have a limited amount of rechargeable cycles).

The Clarisonic has only one grey button, which you use to turn it off as well as toggle between settings. There is a one minute and a two minute cleansing setting. I've only been using the one minute setting because truthfully, I haven't figured out how to get to the two minute one, haha. Honestly, the time setting isn't that important to me. For the two minute setting, the Clarisonic simply stays on an extra minute. For the one minute setting, you're supposed to wash your forehead for twenty seconds first. Then the Clarisonic will shudder and beep, and you move onto your cheeks for the next ten, then it will shudder and beep again, and you move onto your nose, shudder and beep, move onto your chin, and you're done. I don't really follow this, since I think those guidelines are the Clarisonic's "Guide to Dummies." I probably spend 20 seconds on my forehead, 10 on my cheeks, 20 on my nose and chin, and another 10 on my neck. Though my Clarisonic came with the "sensitive" head brush, I find a minute is plenty of time to cleanse for me. Like I mentioned previously, my skin changed from combination to normal, so I can't deal with too much exfoliating now. The first couple times using the Clarisonic was somewhat harsh; I spent too much time exfoliating my cheeks. So make sure no matter what your skin type is, you go easy on your skin, and not use the two minute setting out of sheer over eager excitement.

Some other possibly helpful tips...

- Use the Clarisonic in the shower. The steam will help open up your pores, and you'll get a much better cleanse.
- Remove your eye makeup first, especially if you use tubing mascaras. I didn't do this and learned the hard way--I had to pick out all those little tubes from my brush head. Also, if you wear waterproof makeup, it could stain the bristles, so be sure to remove that as well.
- Before using the Clarisonic, wash your hands with soap (you should always do this anyway, especially if you use traditional cleansing). Dampen the brush with hot water. I use liquidy facial soap (the Clinique and L'Oreal I mentioned in a previous post), and I squeeze a bit into the center of the brush. With my clean finger, I briskly rub the bristles to get a lather. Then, I splash warm water on my face a couple of times, put the Clarisonic against my skin, and turn it on. Supposedly you can also put your soap directly on your face instead, but I tried that and the brush wouldn't lather, so the brush actually hurt my skin. Try both and see what you prefer, but I believe putting your cleanser directly on the brush is best, you also use less product that way.
- You don't need to apply any pressure on the brush. Just lightly move it over your face, the bristles will do all the work. If you apply pressure, you'll actually prevent the bristles from oscillating effectively.
- After using the Clarisonic, I rinse it out with warm water first, then disinfect it with searing hot water. I blot the bristles against my towel and then leave it to dry. When I first started using it, the brush constantly had a gross bacterial smell when I was done with it. I poured a capful of rubbing alcohol onto the bristles after each use to try to get rid of it and disinfect the brush. My brush head doesn't smell anymore, so that's good.

OK, now on to the opinion stuff you've waited for.

I've been using the Clarisonic twice a day, every day. The first couple days, I didn't notice much of a positive change in my skin...in fact, my forehead started to get little comedone bumps again, and I had to use an extractor to get the sebum out. My forehead also got pretty dry at the same time. I did observe that the brush was cleansing extremely well, though. Out of curiosity, I tested the Clarisonic on my ribs in the shower. Normally, the skin on my rib cage will still have a film of dead cells or soap (I'm not actually entirely sure what it is) even after I wash with soap and a loofah. After running the Clarisonic over it, my skin was completely smooth and clean. I was tempted to use the Clarisonic all over my body!

I was a bit disappointed at first with the results on my face. All things skin require patience, though. :) By the 5th day of use, I definitely started to notice positive change. My skin was more even, taut, and starting to glow. By the 6th or 7th day, my cheeks regained a natural flush (this hasn't happened in a long time). I have no dry patches, pimples... my nose pores are all clear (I put on a peel off mask and no whiteheads or blackheads came out!). I am very happy so far.

Hopefully my skin doesn't plateau...I would like to see further improvement!