Skincare

Review: LUSH Skin Nanny (and an update on Lovely Jubblies)

By Voxy  |  2010/08/29 07:00 Posted in Product Reviews, Skincare, moisturizer  |  Comments (0)

All right, I know you all want to know about the Lovely Jubblies first.

When I was picking up all my other LUSH goodies, a salesperson made me a large deluxe sample of Lovely Jubblies so I could try it out for a few weeks. It smells kind of herbal and is a sort of ecru color. Now let’s get one thing straight: I was not expecting this product to turn my decolletage into something that could rival Christina Hendricks. But I did hope it would make my skin feel nice — and it really disappointed me in that regard. Most of their other products have a much nicer body-feel than this one (and I’m really not a fan of herbal-scented creams).

It also broke me out. And if there is one place worse than your face to have pimples, well, there it is.

On to something that so far my skin is liking a lot better than Lovely Jubblies: Skin Nanny!

The same salesperson had also given me a sample of Skin Nanny to try, and I liked it so much that on a return visit I bought a container. (Dear stores that don’t give samples: See?) As I’ve said before, and as the above experience indicates, LUSH skincare tends to make me break out. I haven’t tried it yet as an all-over facial moisturizer — it’s still too hot and humid here for a cream that is as thick as this one — but it turns out to be a stellar eye cream.

LUSH is almost as bad as Tarte in their marketing language. Maybe they use the same professional writers? Here’s what LUSH has to say about Skin Nanny:

Skin Nanny is the natural way to protect your skin from wrinkles. If you are going out in the sun and want to look after your skin, you’ve got to choose a moisturizer with some protection. Skin Nanny has natural AHAs from the fresh apple juice, helping to combat free radicals. It’s all part of our holistic approach to keeping your skin bright by using the whole fruit.

Heavy duty moisture soak.

Starflower oil moisturizes and hydrates your skin. Skin Nanny’s C and E vitamins come naturally with almond and hibiscus oils to penetrate your skin and smooth wrinkles.

OK. First of all, I don’t know how much AHA apple juice provides, how much apple juice is in the product, what the concentrations of the AHAs are, and what the pH of the product is. But I do know that AHAs increase skin’s photosensitivity, so implying that an AHA cream will protect your skin from the sun seems problematic at best. Now it does have some sunscreen ingredients in it: ethylhexyl methoxycinnamate (Parsol) and butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (avobenzone). Older reviews of this product that I dredged up on the web say it’s SPF 30, and one even cites that as part of LUSH’s marketing language, but at this time they are no longer advertising it as SPF 30 on the lushusa.com website. And given that the cream is really thick, I doubt you’d be applying enough for this to be a real substitute for a sunscreen.

As for wrinkle-fighting, it doesn’t contain any fancy peptides or moon rocks or fairy dust. But it does contain a well-blended mix of shea butter and cold-pressed oils (almond, coconut, jojoba, starflower, hibiscus, and ylang-ylang). So it combats wrinkles by plumping the skin up with emollients. This is, of course, just a temporary fix, but if you had a serum or a lighter lotion with fancier ingredients that you liked and felt did a better job against fine lines, there’s no reason you couldn’t put that on underneath. I must say, though, that for my dry undereyes, it does an excellent job of moisturizing for most of the day (and it also works well as a night cream) without clogging pores. And though it’s not cheap, it will last ages (or until the expiration date has passed, anyway) — I’ve been using it twice a day and still haven’t finished my sample, which was much smaller than the Lovely Jubblies sample.

If you want to use it on the whole face, the consistency makes it hard to spread evenly if you start out with dry skin. Try using a toner or a serum first, then rub the cream between your fingers to warm and melt it a little before pressing it lightly onto your skin. This will help it spread more easily, but you’ll still only need a tiny amount.

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LUSH Skin Nanny: $48.95

Provenance: Purchased.

Price/Value Ratio (mid-range: poor/fair/good/excellent): Fair. I think their products are overpriced and I hate the packaging. I also wish they made smaller-sized products and sold them for less (which, to be fair, they do; I bought a trio of small jars of other body creams for, I think, about $8 total).

Purchase again? Maybe. Depends on how it gets me through the winter.

(Have you used this product? Love it? Hate it? Want it? Give a holler in the comments!)

Review: Kate Somerville Exfolikate

By Voxy  |  2010/08/11 07:00 Posted in Product Reviews, Skincare, exfoliate  |  Comments (0)

In accordance with the cult status of this product, you will not be able to read this review unless you know the secret handshake, can display the secret tattoo, can say the secret password three times backwards, or have otherwise proven yourselves worthy (which is to say, you have a credit or debit card).

Oh! Looks like we’re all here then.

I feel like I should speak the name of this product in hushed, reverent tones. From the amount of buzz it generates, you would think it was made up of shreds of the Shroud of Turin, the blood of Alexander the Great, and essences extracted from materials that the Pope, the Dalai Lama, and the Archbishop of Canterbury had all personally blessed and prayed over. It should glow. Choirs of angels should appear and sing every time the container is opened.

Sadly, none of that happens. But it is a pretty darn good product.

Exfolikate is, as you might have guessed, an exfoliant. It has some small gritty granules in it, but the primary exfoliating ingredient is fruit enzymes. I used to be terribly sensitive to fruit enzymes — there was a pumpkin papaya mask that came out several years ago that made my face burn for hours after I used it — so I was really leery of this. But, you know, blood of Alexander the Great and everything. So it came up on HauteLook and I decided to buy it (for a price that was considerably lower than the retail price I’ll be quoting at the end of the post).

To my distinct relief, Exfolikate treats my skin much more nicely than that other product. It does have fruit enzymes (papaya fruit extract and bromelain, which comes from pineapples and which is what makes your tongue hurt if you eat too much of it, as my friend Sarah found out to her great discomfort) as well as lactic acid, a gentle but effective exfoliant. Other ingredients include aloe, salicylic acid, and essential oils of bergamot, lavender, rosewood, orange, and cassia.

The product is dark green in color and has a noticeable herbal/grassy/wet-leaves scent. You are supposed to apply it in an even layer to clean, wet skin and DO NOT RUB. The directions say to leave it on only for 20 to 30 seconds and then rinse, but the label warns that redness may occur and persist for up to 20 minutes later due to increased circulation. The small polyethylene granules are not, I suspect, meant to function as a real mechanical exfoliant, but rather to help you know when you’ve completely rinsed the product off your face, as otherwise it might be hard to tell and you definitely don’t want to leave that stuff on there.

I’m pleased that I haven’t suffered any irritation from this. It is a little difficult to get the product on in an even layer, as it tends to glob up (especially on wet fingers), but overall it’s worked fine.

The big question is whether or not it’s worth the price tag, which is hefty. You need very little, so even the smaller-sized container will last for months. I will probably still not be finished with this tube by the time I’m ready for Social Security, if Social Security even exists then. I like that it’s effective and gentle. I’m not wild about the scent. I love that you only need to leave it on for 30 seconds. This makes it really easy to include in your everyday skincare regimen (not that you would use this every day, but I mean you don’t have to set aside a whole evening for a special facial treatment).

So if you want to splurge on something as a well-deserved reward, or if you come across it at a greatly reduced price, it’s worth picking up. Otherwise I can’t really justify the price tag.

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Kate Somerville Exfolikate: $85 for 2 oz., $175 for 5 oz.

Provenance: Purchased. (ON SALE. ON A BIG SALE.)

Price/Value Ratio (high-end: poor/fair/good/excellent): After a lot of flip-flopping, I have to go with Fair. It’s egregiously expensive, but it will last a long time.

Purchase again? God forbid I ever need to.

(Have you used this product? Love it? Hate it? Want it? Give a holler in the comments!)

Review: Cosmedix Reflect SPF 30 Natural Sunscreen Spray

By Voxy  |  2010/08/04 07:00 Posted in Product Reviews, Skincare, sunscreen  |  Comments (7)

What? A sunscreen that Voxy actually likes? Can’t be.

No, seriously, it’s true. (Actually, there have been a couple I’ve been liking lately. Someone better check the alignment of the planets, because this is very suspicious.)

The Reflect sunscreen spray is part of my general love affair with the Cosmedix line. Everyone should be wearing sunscreen, but this goes double — triple — for anyone who’s also using Retin-A, a retinol product, hydroquinone, or AHAs. These products increase your skin’s photosensitivity so it’s even more important that you slather on the SPF. The problem is that so much of the time, slathering on the SPF is so unpleasant that it almost guarantees noncompliance. (I am not immune to that either; I’ve been searching for a sunscreen that I didn’t resent wearing every day.)

I’m so happy that Reflect is a sunscreen that is actually a pleasure to wear. (See? Go check the planets, right now.)

Reflect uses micronized titanium dioxide to provide broad-spectrum UV protection, and manages to do it without that terrible Edward Cullen ghostly white cast that titanium dioxide sometimes evokes. Because this is a physical sunscreen, not a chemical one, you can put it on at the end of your moisturizing routine, before you apply makeup. It also contains antioxidants, which is a nice bonus.

It comes in a spray bottle, and in theory you could hold the bottle in front of your face, with your eyes squeezed shut, and spritz away. In practicality, however, the spray mechanism does not produce very fine droplets, so you will look like someone flicked a paintbrush covered in white paint in your general direction. If it didn’t extend to getting on clothes, I wouldn’t care so much, but at this price point you really don’t want to waste any. Instead, squirt two or three spritzes at a time into your hand, and apply with fingers. You can pat the remainder into your skin with your palm. Don’t be afraid of the white color; it melts into colorlessness a few seconds after application.

What I love about this is that you can apply it over moisturizer and it’s imperceptible under makeup. This is unusual. And — O frabjous day! — it doesn’t make me break out. Now, there are some drawbacks: it’s not waterproof, so you would need to reapply after any swimmy activities. If I were planning a day out in the sun doing summery outside things, this isn’t the sunscreen I’d turn to — I’d probably use the Neutrogena liquid sunblock. This is partially because the Neutrogena is more tenacious under extreme conditions like sweating glowing and swimming, and partially because the Reflect is too expensive to use in a situation where you would need to reapply it frequently. It’s a fabulous sunscreen for handling daily exposure in small amounts, but if you’re planning any extended activities in the sun, I’d go with something more powerful and cheaper.

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Cosmedix Reflect SPF 30 sunscreen spray: $44. Available in-store at some spas, or order online at DermStore, Skinstore, etc. (Cosmedix does not sell directly from their website.)

Provenance: Purchased

Price/Value Ratio (high-end: poor/fair/good/excellent): Fair. I mean, come on, $42 for a sunscreen? But I actually use it (without complaining), so evidently it’s worth it for me.

Purchase again? Yes, but only on sale.

(Have you used this product? Love it? Hate it? Want it? Give a holler in the comments!)

Review: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunblock SPF 55

By Voxy  |  2010/07/16 07:00 Posted in Product Reviews, Skincare, sunscreen  |  Comments (1)

I mentioned this product in the course of my woe-is-me post about heat exhaustion at graduation, but I realized I never gave it a proper review. Since there’s still quite a bit of summer left, I thought I should remedy that.

You all know that I’ve never been a fan of Neutrogena sunscreens. They’ve either had a greasy texture, or caused breakouts, or looked at me funny, all of which are dealbreakers. But I am also a sucker for a new product, and the idea of a liquid sunblock that was actually imperceptible (or almost) under makeup made me get my Don Quixote on and venture forth with lance in hand to fight yet another windmill. Which is to say, I went to Target and bought some. (The other way is just so much more dramatic.)

Neutrogena makes this in SPF 55 and SPF 70. I bought the SPF 55, figuring that if I did turn out to be sensitive to the sunscreen, then having less of it in the product might reduce irritation or breakouts, and since there isn’t compelling evidence that sunscreen numbers over 50 provide a comparably significant uptick in protection, I decided it wasn’t worth the (possible) risk. The active sunscreen ingredient here is Helioplex, which is Neutrogena’s trademarked name for a combination of oxybenzone and avobenzone. It does provide broad-spectrum UVA/UVB protection, but these are both chemical sunscreens, so if you’re looking for a physical sunscreen (titanium oxide, zinc oxide), this is not it.

The marketing gimmick of this particular product is that you can wear it over moisturizer and it will be virtually undetectable to either sight or touch under makeup. And it is! I was very impressed. It really is a liquid — and I’m mentioning that only because in spite of the fact that it’s clearly stated on the label, I’m so used to sunscreens in a lotion or cream that I’m still a tiny bit surprised that it’s the consistency and color of whole milk. It goes on extremely smoothly and is, exactly as advertised, almost imperceptible under makeup. Yes, if you’re really paying attention, you can feel a small difference in your skin after application. But it’s tons better than almost any other sunscreen I’ve used, and certainly better than any other Neutrogena sunscreen I’ve used. (I have another sunscreen review coming up that is even smoother than the Neutrogena, but it’s also almost 4x its price.)

I’ve worn this several times since my Extreme Graduation adventure, and it’s always performed excellently. It is not quite sweatproof (no sunscreen really is), but it’s very tenacious and hangs on well in heat and humidity. I didn’t have any irritation, itching, or breakouts. I was careful to wash it off when I was done with outside stuff for the day, though, so I didn’t let it sit on my skin for longer than necessary.

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Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Liquid Daily Sunblock SPF 55: $11.99

Provenance: Purchased.

Price/Value Ratio (drugstore: poor/fair/good/excellent): Excellent. You can get sunscreens for less, but they don’t perform like this one.

Purchase again? Surprisingly, yes. And that’s the first time I’ve said that about a Neutrogena sunscreen.

(Have you used this product? Love it? Hate it? Want it? Give a shout-out in the comments!)

Review: Cosmedix Defy Age Management Exfoliator

By Voxy  |  2010/06/29 07:00 Posted in Product Reviews, Skincare, exfoliate  |  Comments (0)

I have become so in love with the Cosmedix line of skincare over the last few weeks that I am considering running away and eloping with it. I have several products from the line but will review them one at a time so as not to overwhelm you with a 20,000-word post.

The hook behind the Cosmedix skincare line is that it is “chirally correct.” For the non-scientists among us (and I include myself in this category, of course), this means the following: Many biologically important molecules exist in two mirror-image isomers, each containing the same atoms but arranged in a perfectly reversed, non-superimposable order. The most common example of chirality is human left and right hands — identical in composition, but reversed in structure, and no matter how you try to twist and turn them you cannot successfully superimpose one on top of the other. This concept was first explained to me by my GP when he was discussing why he wanted to switch me from one medication to a very similar one: he said that the left isomer of the active ingredient caused fewer side effects than the right isomer, so the meds made with the left isomer were a better choice. In skincare, you might have seen ingredients like L-ascorbic acid or D-alpha tocopherol; I won’t go into the naming of things but the letters L and D indicate that they are the left and right isomers, respectively, of whatever substance we’re talking about. As with the medication example above, one isomer might be helpful but the other might produce negative side effects, be ineffective, or damage the body. (Wearing a left glove on your left hand is useful. Wearing a left glove on your right hand impedes your ability to use your hand correctly.) The premise of “chirally correct” products is that they only include the helpful isomer of important or active ingredients.

I might have scoffed at this as yet another example of skincare companies touting a tenuous connection to vague scientific principles except that my GP was right — the second med, based on the other isomer, did work better than the first and had fewer side effects. So I was disposed to give it a shot.

Like Adam, who did not know he was naked until he had eaten of the forbidden fruit, I did not know my skin was not as nice-looking as it could be until I tried this line of products. Seriously, my skin is good. In polite company, it’s the thing I get complimented on. But now! Oh, the shame, the shame.

Defy is an exfoliating cream that I use at night in alternation with other Cosmedix products (which will be reviewed shortly). It is a rich, thick cream that is non-irritating but effective and that has a touch of a mild lemony scent. As with most of the other products in the line, it is so rich that you really need only a pea-size amount to cover the whole face. No, really.

Its claim to fame is that it has three chirally correct AHA exfoliating acids: L-lactic, L-malic, and L-tartaric, as well as some other chirally correct ingredients. It also has a lot of moisturizing ingredients: glyceryl stearate, glycerin, cetyl alcohol, stearic acid, olive oil, aloe leaf extract, sweet almond oil, lecithin (an emulsifier), grapefruit peel oil, ylang-ylang flower oil, and peach kernel oil.

The additional chirally-corrected ingredients are D-alpha-tocopherol (chirally correct Vitamin E isomer), and L-alpha-bisabolol (a chirally-correct anti-inflammatory ingredient derived from chamomile). I am not a skincare chemist, but there is nothing in this moisturizer that I can find that is not full of awesome. I’m using it in conjunction with other Cosmedix products, so it’s hard to tell exactly which product is responsible for what, but I’m really pleased with what’s happening with my skin — my pores are smaller, skin tone is more even, skin is firmer and more resilient and has more color.

The Cosmedix line used to be available only in spas, but has recently become available online. Let me warn you now that the line is not cheap. (However, it is also not insanely, outrageously, astronomically priced like La Prairie, La Mer, or SKII.) Defy is listed at $66 for 1 oz., but since you really do need such a tiny amount and probably will not use it every night, it should last quite awhile. (Skin-Etc. has it for $52.80, and I don’t think they are supposed to be doing that since the prices are fixed everywhere else.) If you buy through Dermstore, you can take advantage of Bing cashback savings through 7/31/10.

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Cosmedix Defy Age Management Exfoliator: $66

Provenance: Purchased.

Price/Value Ratio (high-end: poor/fair/good/excellent): Fair. It’s awesome, but I can’t imagine ever waving the “excellent” flag for a $66/oz. cream. I don’t know, maybe I’m being too harsh.

Purchase again? Yes.

(Have you used this product? Love it? Hate it? Want it? Give a holler in the comments!)

Review: C.O. Bigelow Lemon (and Lime!) Body Care

By Voxy  |  2010/06/18 18:25 Posted in Product Reviews, Skincare, moisturizer  |  Comments (10)

If you’re looking for a reason to stop into Bath & Body Works for their semi-annual sale, allow me to introduce you to C.O. Bigelow’s Lemon Cream (at right in photo), one of my all-time favorite body care products. Over the last couple of years they’ve expanded into “Lemon + X” varieties (lemon & pomegranate, lemon & orange blossom, lemon & lime), but for the most part I think the straight-up lemon products are still the best. The Lemon & Lime Soufflé pictured here (at left) is the exception.

The original Lemon Body Cream is a smooth, creamy product that’s the consistency of pudding. Those of you who dislike the stick-your-hand-in-a-big-jar method of dispensing the product won’t be fans, but I’m not overly sensitive to this, especially in a body cream. The texture is fabulous; it absorbs quickly but doesn’t disappear, and it really does leave skin exquisitely soft and moist. But the best thing, the thing that has kept it in my Top 5 list for the last five years, is its scent. It is like taking a stroll in a lemon orchard. (OK. I have never actually done that. But I imagine it would be just like that.) The scent is so divine because the fragrance is all-natural (or at least that’s what we were told the summer during which I did a retail stint at Bath & Body Works): it’s the natural aroma of lemon oil, which is not only sweet and tangy but which also has long been used as a skin-brightening ingredient. You will want to eat it, but please don’t.

The Lemon Body Lotion is a lighter version of the body cream, with a lower concentration of lemon oil (the cream is 4.5%, the lotion 2%; both should be OK for use unless you have the most sensitive of skins). It absorbs very quickly and is perfect for summer use.

The Lemon & Lime Soufflé is the only product I really like from the “Lemon + X” lines. It is a different texture than the Lemon Cream — more like Key Lime pie filling rather than pudding. It has lemon oil and extract 1% and lime extract 1%. It goes on feeling cool and light and is also a great choice for a summer moisturizer. Day out in hot sun plus cool shower plus Lemon & Lime Soufflé = ahhhhhhh.

I also own the Lemon Hand Soap and the Lemon Cream Body Wash and can recommend those as well.

These are currently on sale at Bath and Body Works as part of the semi-annual sale. Prices and deals in the semi-annual sale change from week to week (and sometimes from day to day; there are always things that aren’t ringing up properly) — when I purchased these, the Lemon & Lime Soufflé was half off (which I don’t think it should have been) and the other two products were part of a buy-two-get-two deal. The other two products I got with this deal are more for winter, so I’ll review them in a few months.

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C.O. Bigelow Body Care: prices vary, but on sale now at Bath & Body Works

Provenance: Purchased.

Price/Value Ratio (mid-end: poor/fair/good/excellent): Fair. They’re more expensive than I’d like, but the products are good and last a long time.

Purchase again? Yes!

(Have you used these products? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Want ‘em? Spout off in the comments!)

Review: Hard Candy Sheer Envy Tinted Moisturizer

By Voxy  |  2010/05/04 07:00 Posted in Product Reviews, foundation, moisturizer, sunscreen  |  Comments (1)

Part of the ongoing Foxalicious Fundamentals: Foundation series!

I don’t understand why the people who make $40 tinted moisturizers can’t do as well as this one, which costs $8 at Wal-Mart. (And if you are anti-Wally, you are out of luck, because they have the exclusive in-store distribution rights to Hard Candy products, at least for now. You can get some things via Amazon or eBay, though.)

It’s too early to say whether this is my Holy Grail of tinted moisturizers (I suspect not, because the choir of angels singing its praises is just slightly off-key), but it is better than all the other ones I’ve tried. The only contender is my Sue Devitt TM, which outshines this in terms of both coverage and finish but which isn’t moisturizing enough. I’m still saving that one for the hot swampy days of July. Still, let us not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good. Of all of this year’s tested products to date, this is the best tinted moisturizer overall.

Hard Candy is an uneven line, with some really excellent products (especially for a drugstore line) and then some odd misses. You will have to get over the fact that some of the products look like they are designed for eleven-year-old girls who are just moving out of the “Hello Kitty” phase. However, the Sheer Envy tinted moisturizer is generally a hit for grownups as well as eleven-year-olds (and if you are wearing foundation at age eleven, STOP IT NOW). It has good coverage, a reasonably nice finish, and SPF 15 that doesn’t break me out (hence the choir of angels). It only comes in six shades, though, and I’m not sure how forgiving they are. This one, which is “light” (#2 of the six), was the only one that was pink enough for me to wear, so if you have more yellow tones in your skin than I do, you will probably do well. If you are pinker than I am, it might be difficult; this turns pretty neutral on me but might look sallow on anyone pinker than me.

I’ve tried this both alone and over primer, and I do find that its finish is better over primer. I also set it with HD silica powder; without setting powder it dries to a finish that is a little too shiny for me. The final finish is smooth but not as velvety or dewy as my cream foundation. It lasts all day without peeling or flaking, which sets it ahead of some of the other products I’ve tried, and it’s easy to remove. Here’s an odd thing: it does tend to cling more to my eyebrows than other foundations — that is, when I’m applying it to the forehead, if I get it on my brows I really notice it (particularly on the colorless hairs around the dark brow hairs), whereas if the same thing has been happening with other products, I haven’t picked up on it. That was a little weird, because it was hard to get the product *off* of my brow hairs without also removing it from the neighboring skin.

Right now this is definitely the leader in the tinted-moisturizer-for-summer category. I still wouldn’t wear it as foundation for a chi-chi-frou-frou event, but for most casual summer living it will do just fine.

Swatch!

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Hard Candy Sheer Envy Tinted Moisturizer: $8 at Wal-Mart

Provenance: Purchased

Price/Value Ratio (drugstore: poor/fair/good/excellent): Excellent! How often do I get to say that?! Not very.

Purchase again? Hello Kitty says Yes.

(Have you used this product? Love it? Hate it? Want it? Let us know in the comments!)

Monday Mix: Olay Professional Pro-X Check-In, Sales

By Voxy  |  2010/05/03 08:12 Posted in Product Reviews, Skincare, eye cream, moisturizer, sale  |  Comments (0)

Gavel by walknboston.Remember I was going to take the 28-day Olay Professional Pro-X challenge? The one in which if you used the products for 4 weeks you would see reduction in dark circles and puffiness, and in 12 weeks reduction in fine lines and wrinkles?

That was at the beginning of March. It is now the beginning of May. I let it go twice as long as I had originally intended (8 weeks rather than 4) because there were times when I wasn’t so compliant with the regimen and I wanted to be sure I had given the product a fair shake before tossing it in the dustbin.

Dustbin, ho.

The pluses were as follows: the “Wrinkle Smoothing Cream” is a perfectly good evening moisturizer if you don’t need it to do anything special. It does moisturize the skin well, but in my experience there are no other visible benefits. It will become my go-to elbow moisturizing cream until I finish it up. The “Eye Restorative Complex,” it turns out, attempts to reduce wrinkles by … moisturizing the eye area. Uh-huh. Right. OK, it’s a decent eye moisturizer, but I think it’s been pretty well proven by now that moisture alone does not do anything long-term for the reduction of wrinkles.

This leaves the Age Repair Lotion, the daily moisturizer with SPF 30, which did not moisturize me at all but which did break me out and leave my skin greasy. F.A.I.L.

Voxy’s Verdict: Save your $60 and invest in something else. I’ve gone back to my old standard Stri-Vectin eye cream and am trying out a new daytime moisturizer with sunscreen. I’m also trying some new evening products, and will be reporting on all of these in future days.

Sales — don’t get excited

Only one new sale to report: Korres is offering 25% off (and free shipping) through 5/12 with code SURVEY.

Some old ones still in progress. Check last Monday’s post. Bigelow and Hourglass sales still going on, I think Paula Dorf as well.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/walkn/ / CC BY 2.0

Review: Urban Decay Guardian Angel Spray Moisturizer SPF 8

By Voxy  |  2010/04/24 07:00 Posted in Product Reviews, Skincare, moisturizer, sunscreen  |  Comments (2)

OK, so let’s get this out of the way right up front — if my guardian angel can only protect me at the level of SPF 8, then I have a 90-pound weakling for a guardian angel. SPF 8 is the equivalent of “protects against paper cuts, overcooked food, smelly shoes, and schoolyard playground insults.” Is there some sort of celestial Navy SEAL training I can send my angel to?

So just forget that this product has any SPF in it at all. If you actually get any sun protection from it, consider it a bonus — don’t count on it for your primary sunscreen. That said (and in spite of the criticism I am about to unleash), I really like this product. I’ve been looking for a light spray moisturizer to replace the old Wexler product I finally finished, and I think this one is a keeper.

Since my skin is dry, I always use this in conjunction with other products, so I don’t know how well it would stand up on its own. UD’s marketing language sez: “Time-release technology hydrates your skin up to 24 hours as the hygroscopic formula miraculously attracts moisture to your skin, yet always feels weightless.” First, I hope that “miraculously” is a play on the whole “angel” business, but the cynical part of me (which is, let’s face it, pretty much all of me) says it’s probably just a happy coincidence of pomp and circumstance. Something that is hygroscopic by definition attracts moisture, so I’m not really getting the whole “miracle” thing, unless we’re talking about the everyday miracles of the sun rising in the East every morning, gravity pulling objects down towards the Earth, or a parking spot opening up right in front of Einstein Bros. Bagels just as you pull into the lot. Divine intervention, surely. You were meant to have that egg bagel with cream cheese and bacon. Also, the phrase “up to 24 hours” could, in point of fact, mean five minutes. However, it performs at least as well as other moisturizing serums I’ve used in terms of prepping the skin for other products. I don’t notice any huge improvement in end-of-the-day dryness, but it isn’t any worse either, so all in all it seems to be doing an OK job.

Here’s where this falls in my routine: cleanser, toner, this product, AHA, other moisturizer, makeup and sunscreen. The product is slightly milky-white in color, but leaves no white traces on skin. It absorbs quickly and completely. If your skin is not dry and you are looking for a light summer moisturizer, this might be a good stand-alone product for you; if your skin is dry and you are going to use this in combination with other moisturizers anyway, this is a good companion product to go underneath your other products. My skin reacts negatively (read: “throws a hissy-fit”) to most sunscreens, so the fact that it doesn’t react badly to this is a good sign.

Definitely a paws-up on this one!

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Urban Decay Guardian Angel Spray Moisturizer SPF 8: $26.00

Provenance: Purchased

Price/Value Ratio (high-end: poor/fair/good/excellent): Good.

Purchase again? Yes, unless interrupted by the Rapture.

(Have you used this product? Love it? Hate it? Want it? Give a holler in the comments!)

Review: Urban Decay Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20

By Voxy  |  2010/04/16 08:42 Posted in Product Reviews, foundation, moisturizer  |  Comments (0)

Part of the Foxalicious Fundamentals: Foundation series!

Rejected product names for the Urban Decay Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer:

Urban Derision: The foundation that mocks you

Urban Detritus: The foundation made from cigarette butts, ticker tape, and gum picked up off the street on New Year’s Day in Times Square

Urban Decomposition: The foundation that makes you Urban Decay just a little more quickly than you otherwise might have

Fortunately for the folks over at UD, they are not likely to run out of cutesy names anytime soon; MoreWords.com lists 3772 words that start with the letters “de.” Urban Detumescence, Deworming, and Dentures are just a few keyboard strokes away!

UD Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 is a new product that’s just been released. I thought I’d review it now so that if you find it tempting (“Desirable”) you can order it during the UD F&F Sale (“Deal”).

As so often happens, I’m going to pick on (“Derogate”) the packaging first. I don’t know why so many of the people who make tinted moisturizers have made the choice (“Decision”) to use opaque packaging that neither clues you in to the color of the product nor lets you know how much is left. I assume it has something to do with keeping the sun-protective ingredients away from light, but there are SPF foundations that get around this and use the same ingredients, so I’m at a loss. The UD product comes in an opaque purple pump container that is just not particularly haute-looking (“Deluxe”). In fact, I think it looks a little cheap (“Declassé”). But anyway.

The product comes in only 4 shades, which are (from light to dark) Halo, Bodyguard, Bulletproof, and Forcefield. I ordered Halo, and was concerned it might be too light, but it blends in well enough. It’s not as perfect a match for me as the Sue Devitt TM, but it’s close enough to blend. Again, I would regard it more as a light foundation than an actual moisturizing product; I used it in place of a moisturizer one day and found it insufficiently moisturizing, but over my regular moisturizer and primer it performed much better. The primer was particularly valuable in keeping it from drying to a blotchy finish — once it’s dry, it’s really difficult to try to buff, remove, or otherwise redistribute the pigment, so use a primer and be sure you’ve blended well, especially around the hairline. The color looks quite different wet vs. dry, so don’t be surprised. In the swatch below, the wet product looks too yellow for me, but as I sheered it out and it started to dry and be absorbed, the yellow tone became much less detectable. If you’re less pink than I am, you’ll probably have no trouble at all.

It did last reasonably well all day without looking overly dry, but there’s no question that the finish is less dewy than either of my regular liquid/cream foundations. I’m still looking for a TM that is truly grab-and-go for summer wear — I’d wear this as a tinted sunscreen for a beach trip, a bike ride, or running errands in the sun, but it won’t substitute for a foundation for me for any work-related or formal activity where I need to look put-together. But if your skin is less dry than mine, or you don’t need or use a primer in your regular makeup routine, this will probably work much better for you than it did for me.

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Urban Decay Urban Defense Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20: $32

Provenance: Purchased.

Price/Value Ratio (high-end: poor/fair/good/excellent): Fair.

Purchase again? No. (“Denied.”)

(Have you used this product? Love it? Hate it? Want it? Give a holler in the comments!)