Tag: eye cream

Amore Pacific Future Response Age Defense Day/Night Eye Creme Duo

File this under “brilliant”. This is a “why didn’t I think of that” kind of eye cream that will be in my rotation for the foreseeable future, particularly in the summer. Amore Pacific Future Response Age Defense Day/Night Eye Creme is a duo that provides formulas specifically designed for the AM or PM hours.

First, a little about Amore Pacific should you not be familiar. This company is six decades old and was founded on Asian principals of using natural ingredients. Some of the most popular ingredients include bamboo, green tea and ginseng.

So these little pots come attached to each other with a small slot for an applicator. My major pet peeve is losing those precious applicators that come with luxury creams, so I adore having a place to store this one safely. Each pot is marked with either a sun or moon so you know which to reach for as you prep for the day or bed.

Both sides contain Amore Pacific’s proprietary Future Response Complex – a blend of green tea and pine mushroom. It both protects during the day and heals at night. The “Day” side of the duo contains SPF 25 and antioxidant protection. The “Night” side of the duo works to plump skin with collagen and speed cellular turnover, helping with fine lines and wrinkles.

Both formulas were kind to my sensitive skin. The “Day” formula is slightly lighter, but both absorb quickly. The “Day” formula also provides a slight radiance that helps awake my dull skin. And both have a pleasant, slight spa-like scent. I’ve found significant improvement in my dark circles. I still have a little puffiness but allergies are likely to blame – can’t really ask an eye cream to fight those too. Overall, I think my under eye area looks better than ever!

Samples generously provided by Neiman Marcus as part of the Beauty Ambassador Program, but as always, opinions are my own.

SkinCeuticals Eye Cream

Those dreaded wrinkles around your eyes when you smile. You know those? I hate to report that I am getting to know them all too well. Needless to say, I am stepping up my eye cream game. I turned to skin care powerhouse line, SkinCeuticals. While some of their products are way to active for my sensitive skin, I’ve found that this eye cream plays nicely with my easily irritated skin.

SkinCeuticals Eye Cream targets all concerns for the eye area – puffiness, fine lines and dark circles. And it does it well. I’ve found after a month of use, my skin around my eyes is brighter, more even and not the least bit puffy. All sorts of ingredients work together to make this multi-tasker perform. First up, Centella asiatica, a botanical extract, boosts collagen production. Ectoin protects skin while allowing it to repair itself. And Peptides fight against puffiness and dark circles.

I carefully rub a pea sized amount around my eyes, making sure to skip the eyelid area. This is pretty active stuff, but like I said, not irritating on my sensitive skin. The first couple of days, I got just the slightest tingle but it didn’t last long. Expect to see results fairly quickly. Even though I am a month in, I saw more even skin in as little as a week. This guy is definitely in my permanent skin care rotation.

And a little fashion PSA: ASOS (savings automatically added in your cart) and Piperlime (use code FALL) are both having great sales. Here’s what’s on my wish list:

AN EDITORIAL SAMPLE MAY HAVE BEEN PROVIDED BY THE COMPANY AND EVALUATED TO DETERMINE OUR OPINION OF THE PRODUCT IN THIS POST. PLEASE SEE THE DISCLOSURES PAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING OUR POLICIES FOR USING EDITORIAL SAMPLES.

Meaningful Beauty – Meaningful in the Mirror

I’m baaaack! What an amazing vacation. I have to say… the beaches in the Dominican Republic are some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. My week was filled with fun, laughter (so much) and festivities. While I can’t say I am totally rested, I did come home feeling revived. Not to mention sun kissed.

I’ve also come home a bit contemplative. My summer has been full of great times and friends. But as the calendar page turns and talk of back to school is starting, I feel like turning a new leaf myself. Don’t get me wrong – the good times are not stopping. But I do want to add a little depth and discipline into my life. I’ve come back with a verve and devotion to my Nutrisystem journey – I am about to start my final month on the program. And I want to make sure that the time I spend with family and friends is thoughtful and personal. Feeling good about my skin, body and relationships is when I am most happy and I want to keep it that way!

On that same note, diving into Cindy Crawford’s Meaningful Beauty skincare line is all about empowering women to look and feel their best. The word “Meaningful” hits home and plays well with my new tagline “depth and discipline”. I’d like to think it is great to find meaning in even the smaller parts and moments of our life. To spread the word about this mission, Cindy has launched a new app on her Meaningful Beauty’s Facebook page, Meaningful in the Mirror. Through this app, Cindy’s mission is to allow women to affirm their inner-beauty & self-confidence in just a few simple steps.

Facebook users can simply (1)“like” the Meaningful Beauty Facebook page for access to the app, (2) select a template, (3) type their custom message and (4) share it with friends or on their own page. It only takes a few minutes, but the message is theirs to keep – it can even be used as a cover photo.

I’ve been using Meaningful Beauty over the last couple of months and am completely impressed with the system. The line is all about nutrition for the skin, aiming to protect and renew. Her step by step collection is easy to follow and leads to radiant skin. It is powerful but not irritating, packed with antioxidants and vitamins.

The system is composed of 5 simple steps plus 2 bonuses:

Crème de Serum
Advanced Formula Lifting Eye Crème
Skin Brightening Décolleté and Neck Treatment SPF 15
Antioxidant Day Crème SPF 20 UVA/UVB
Skin Softening Cleanser
Wrinkle Smoothing Capsules (Bonus)
Glowing Serum (Bonus)

Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford Crème de Serum is probably my favorite item from the system. I haven’t encountered a richer serum and the effect is fresh and dewy skin. It has almost enough hydration to act as a moisturizer too on my dry skin this summer. The packaging and orange swirl keeps active ingredients suspended until used. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) from rare French melon (orange) and anti-aging peptides (white) work with the Hyaluronic Acid (clear) to hydrate and plump the skin.

Meaningful Beauty Glowing Serum by Cindy Crawford is for those, like me, who are all about the glow. I like to use it as a primer to smooth or even to throw on your purse to add a glow/highlight throughout the day. It contains soy protein, marine botanicals and antioxidants including pumpkin extract to encourage cell renewal.

Meaningful Beauty Skin Softening Cleanser by Cindy Crawford is milky and ultra gentle. While it doesn’t quite get all my makeup off, it does contain a unique apple extract to work against aging. My skin doesn’t feel tight or stripped.

Meaningful Beauty Antioxidant Day Crème SPF 20 Broad Spectrum has become a favorite facial SPF for the days I know I’ll be in the office. I get plenty of moisture and still decent protection. I also love that Vitamin C helps brighten and even my discoloration.

Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford Advanced Formula Lifting Eye Crème contains botanicals to lighten and firm that stubborn under eye area. After a late night, I really can tell this helps brighten and lift, plus it works well under makeup.

Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford Skin Brightening Décolleté and Neck Treatment Broad Spectrum SPF 15 is a genius product that has definitely earned its spot in my permanent rotation. I have started to realize this often neglected area of skin is the first to betray age. The formula works against age spots, brightens and revitalizes, not to mention, provides that crucial SPF protection.

Meaningful Beauty by Cindy Crawford Wrinkle Smoothing Capsules are my new favorite on-the-go skin care item. This little capsules are so fun to use and provide a portable does of the Exclusive Microencapsulated Melon Complex and dual action Vitamin C.

I think the 5-piece New Advanced System is the best deal. It is great for those times when you want to commit to a routine to do a kind of “reset” on your skin. Not to mention, it is totally affordable at $39.95 plus s/h for 30-day supply or $119.85 with free shipping for 90-day supply. Available at MeaningfulBeauty.com or by calling 1-877-383-1212

mybody Calm After The Storm Soothing + De-Puffing Eye Cream

I fell hard for a little skin care company called mybody last summer. Their thoughtful collection of skin care products spoke to the science nerd in me. mybody was founded by a makeup artist, the founder of Philosophy and an experienced retail maven. Their pedigree is balanced with a heavy focus on technology, and the scientific focus shines through in their products.

Calm After the Storm is just what the doctor ordered. With the change in seasons, I am welcoming the most annoying of allergies. With that comes the dreaded puffy eyes. Calm After the Storm offers a gentle and hydrating cream that goes after circles and puffiness with a legion of active ingredients.

The highlight for me is the cooling applicator that in itself can improve the look on my eyes. I work in the cream for a good 10-20 seconds and then use a clean finger to smooth in any excess until absorbed. It is so gentle, I don’t hesitate using it on my eyelids as well. Here’s the lineup of key ingredients – told you this line was science oriented!

These products are available at dermatologist offices. You can find your nearest physician here.

Brand Spotlight: Mario Badescu & 5 Products Everyone Should Own

I’ve been deep in the world of Mario Badescu for the last couple of weeks. Not a bad place to be at all. The products, established by Romanian-born Mario Badescu in 1967 in New York, are based on Eastern European skincare with a focus on being simple, gentle and effective. The price point is compelling, bringing luxe results and reasonable prices. Today, the spa attracts stars and beauty gals in the know (I dream of one day visiting). While I have always had mad respect for the brand, I haven’t really had a chance to dive in and discover some of the crown jewels. Today, I am rounding up five of their products that I think every woman (and actually men too) should have in their bathrooms.

1. Glycolic Foaming Cleanser: My obsession with Glycolic Acid is no secret. There is nothing better to break down debris on the skin to reveal more even, radiant skin. This version is super soothing (the formula is amped up with herbal extracts). They recommend using a couple times weekly, but I just can’t stay away – shhhh. This works like a champ with my Clarisonic.

2. Almond and Honey Face Scrub: I may or may not have just gone into my shower and taken a huge whiff of this stuff. Do you like almond scents as much as me? You won’t be able to resist this yummy concoction This non-abrasive scrub has finely ground Almonds and Cornmeal to gently remove dead skin cells. The honey acts to hydrate and soften skin. YUM.

3. Drying Lotion: Is there a more iconic Mario Badescu product? I think not. I’ve owned this in the past, but feeling high and mighty about having my acne under control, it has been out of the rotation. Well, a short day after getting my paws on a new bottle, I got the deepest, most annoying blemish on my neck. SO RANDOM. Anyway, I used this spot treatment loaded with salicylic acid and calamine and that bugger shrunk right up overnight. Don’t shake this stuff – just dip a cotton swab past the liquid into the pink lotion and dot on the blemish. Don’t rub in. (Note: this will also take the itch out of mosquito bites!)

4. Hyaluronic Eye Cream: I’m dry… dry… dry. And nothing looks less cute than a dry, haggard under eye. This calls for the revival skills of Hyaluronic Acid which looks in moisture without leaving a greasy or heavy feel. After a couple minutes of absorption, this eye cream works like a dream under makeup. I’ve been using it day and night and darkness and dryness are banished! You can also use this on the lips.

5. Oil-free Moisturizer SPF 30: I admit, I turned up my nose at first to an oil-free moisturizer. But in the interest of blogging, I tested it out and was so so impressed. The formula has a balance between being lightweight and hydrating (not an easy task for a sunscreen). Green Tea fights premature aging while Aloe Vera hydrates and softens skin. St. John’s Wort soothes and repairs. This is my new recommendation to those who need sun protection after starting a retinol treatment. Dry skin suffers, don’t shy away. This keeps my skin comfortable all day.

So, Mario Badescu fans, tell me in the comments… which of your favorites did I miss?

Shop my favorites here:

Mario Badescu products can also be found at Nordstrom.

AN EDITORIAL SAMPLE WAS PROVIDED BY THE COMPANY AND EVALUATED TO DETERMINE OUR OPINION OF THE PRODUCT IN THIS POST. PLEASE SEE THE DISCLOSURES PAGE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION REGARDING OUR POLICIES FOR USING EDITORIAL SAMPLES.

Le Metier de Beaute Ultra Hydration Eye Mask Duo

I had an unfortunate run in with some tears last night. It’s okay – we all need a good cry sometimes, right? But day after puffiness is NOT cute. Le Métier de Beauté to the rescue.

Well, we know Le Métier de Beauté does a mask right (see here). Their most recent skin care release is a mask dedicated just for the eyes. Where have you been all my life?? This sweet little package is perfect for post-emotional puffiness. It also fights the signs of aging and gives the skin an immediate “more awake” look.

The translucent (read: you can use it anywhere) mask delivers hydration while also instantly cooling and calming. The hydration plumps out those wrinkles, while the chilly gel-like pads soothe out redness and eliminate any puffiness. I also saw dramatic improvement in my dark circles.

These masks are loaded with active moisturizers so carefully open the package on a flat surface. Pre-cool in the fridge if you want a greater chilling effect. The applications stick right on the skin without tugging – feeling quite delightful. You can use these daily if you want – wouldn’t that be wonderful? Follow up after use with your regular eye cream. I think these would be ideal post a long plane flight.

If you are interested in the Ultra Hydration Eye Mask Duo, you can find it at Neiman Marcus Northpark. There is a prize for the blogger who refers the most customers and if I win, there is something in it for you! I’ll do my own giveaway of one of my Le Métier de Beauté favorites from my personal collection. Call Patrice, the At-counter Product Specialist at 214-363-8311 or swing by the counter.