Product(s) Review: Skin Care

Let me start off by saying that I've always had pretty descent skin. Sure, I've had the occasional zit right on cue for picture day from time to time, but I've never had to seek out professional skin treatments or spend a ton of money on products and prescriptions solely for my skin. 

However, for about the past year, my face has been giving me grief. When we moved to Houston and I started going to a new lady to get my eyebrows done...she commented that my face had a lot of build up and that I needed a facial. I knew in part she was just trying to get me to purchase another service, but I also knew that she was right...I did have a lot of build up on my face. In the past, I'd just exfoliate a little more and use some cream at night that had peroxide in it...and that would usually take care of it. Not any more. Not only were my old remedies not working, Cetaphil quit making the moisturizer I had come to depend on. And I would love to get facials once a month, but I just can't justify the cost. 

So my search for better skin care products and a way to remove build up got serious. I did quite a bit of research because skin care related products are not cheap, and it's not like you can return them if they don't work (for the most part).

Here's what I came up with...

Aloette

My cousin started selling Aloette as a part time job, so while I was in Mississippi around Christmas, I let her give me the sales pitch...in part because I was in search of something new, and partly because I was about out of all of the products I had purchased a few months earlier. The demo seemed legit, but I'm still always skeptical of those types of things. The thing I felt good about was that the products are natural and all have an aloe base, which are better absorbed by the skin (think sunburns!). All I really wanted was the moisturizer, but while I was trying it, I thought I'd get the starter kit so that I could try everything.

I got the Aloepure Basic Skin Care Package. 

So far, I've been very happy with my purchase. I will say that the gentle foaming cleanser and the scrub are not my favorite. The cleanser is just a little too gentle for me, and the scrub gets in between my fingers and doesn't do a lot of scrubbing, but the rest is really good stuff. I especially like the hydrating mist and the moisturizer. Together, they hydrate my skin really well without leaving it greasy looking or feeling. I didn't think the mist (read, aloe water) had much of a purpose until I used the moisturizer a few times without it...the moisturizer just didn't seem to absorb as well, leaving my face feeling dry pretty quickly. I also feel good about what I'm putting on my face since it is all aloe and essential oil based. I suspect that it would be really good for people with sensitive skin.

Anyway, it didn't necessarily clear up my blackheads or anything, but I feel like I have clean, supple, healthy skin. That's about all I can ask for!

The next purchase I made was...

Clarisonic: Mia 2

I had read in one of my fashion mags that Patty, from Millionaire Matchmaker, said that for Christmas, she got all of her girl friends a Clarisonic. She said that after using one, you will never need another facial again. Now, I normally don't take my skin care advice from someone who makes her living setting up people with a bunch of moolah, but it sparked my interest because she said that you'd never need a facial again.

So, I did my due diligence, and although I found similar, cheaper products, most didn't have some of the same features, quality of product, and warranty. It was a bit pricey at $150, but I had just had a birthday and so that's what I used my birthday money on. Plus, after three months of use...it will pay for itself in terms of getting facials. I'm good at justifying things ; )

I was going to wait until I had used it a full week before I did a review, but I can already tell a difference after just a couple of days! The blackheads on my nose and chin are starting to disappear because it's sweeping away all of the dirt, make-up and other junk out of my pores. I also feel that because the dead layers of skin are removed...that the other products I apply are better absorbed. In that same regard, I found that my make-up looks a lot smoother and doesn't have the blotchy places it used to. 

I also purchased a body brush head that I'll start using as the weather gets warmer. I tend to get heat bumps on my chest and back when it's hot outside...so I'll have to see how well it works on that as well.