fullygoldy (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
fullygoldy) wrote2006-07-09 01:19 pm
fullygoldy) wrote2006-07-09 01:19 pm
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25+ years of moisturizer have really paid off
I started wearing moisturizer at 17. My mom gave me Elizabeth Arden's "Visible Difference." It was supposedly a night cream, but I just put it on my face in the morning. I've never regularly worn foundation, or much makeup at all, but I wear moisturizer everyday. Remember "Murphy Brown?" Candace Bergen shocked the hell out of me with her wrinkled neck. I immediately started putting my moisturizer on my face and neck (front & back) every day.
Somewhere around when the kids were being born, we all learned that we should be wearing sunscreen everyday too. Elizabeth Arden didn't put sunscreen in Visible Difference, presumably because it was a night cream. Not much chance of getting sun damage while in bed. So I tried EA's regular moisturizer with an SPF15. Yuck. It made my skin break out. I quit using it, and I was bummed, because the stuff was relatively expensive, and went back to my old standby.
The last jar of Visible Difference I bought was $37.50 and that was ~8 yrs ago. We had just declared bankruptcy, and we were cash poor, so I had to switch to something relatively inexpensive. Luckily, we had just moved to the midwest, and Katy Sai was doing a consumer reports type series on the local news. She was comparing all kinds of moisturizers from generic Walgreen's type stuff to the most exclusive cosmetic counter stuff. The result of all her research was that L'Oreal turned out to have the best performing product, and it also happened to be nearly the least expensive (~$6.95 for 4 oz. at the time). "Active Daily Moisture Lotion" SPF15. This is really great stuff. It has a light feel, it's never made me break out, and it's still less than $10 a bottle. I started my kids wearing it too, but I've never convinced DH to wear it regularly.
Maybe 3 years ago, I learned you're supposed to switch to a heavier moisturizer in the winter. Well, winters being what they are up here, it made sense, so I looked into what else L'Oreal might have for me. My winter moisturizer is Futur*e. It's a moisturizer with "A Daily Dose of Pure Vitamin e" and also that mandatory SPF 15. It is a bit thicker and heavier than the Active stuff, and I really like the pump dispenser better than the Active wide-mouth bottle. So when the weather gets cold and dry, I switch to Futur*e, and when it warms back up, I switch to Active.
About 2 years ago, I started using something called "C the Change" from Kiss My Face. ($19.99 for a 1 oz tube) It's a yellow cream loaded with vitamin C (antioxidants) that looks and smells like lemon curd. This stuff is fantastic! It's supposed to reduce wrinkles and fine lines. I was starting to worry a little about those, so I put this on my forehead lines, and the lines around my eyes, and even those pesky neck wrinkles. Just a tiny dab on the tip of my finger does my face, and another for my neck. I swear that after 2 years of use, I have less noticeable lines everywhere. I wasn't expecting improvement actually, I was just hoping to delay the inevitable, but DH concurs - I've got less lines and wrinkles than I used to have. It was a pretty slow change too, because I really only noticed a few months ago.
All this is to say, that my persnickity skin that breaks out from any change in my routine, is still in really good shape. And this is probably why I am still getting carded, and have 30-something friends who frequently forget, or fail to realize, that I'm at least a decade older than them. And for me, it explains why my favorite eye-candy bartender, an adorable little tadpole said to DH the other night "...you have a cute wife..." Score!!
I also think that the fact that I don't smoke, or live with smokers helps too.
Somewhere around when the kids were being born, we all learned that we should be wearing sunscreen everyday too. Elizabeth Arden didn't put sunscreen in Visible Difference, presumably because it was a night cream. Not much chance of getting sun damage while in bed. So I tried EA's regular moisturizer with an SPF15. Yuck. It made my skin break out. I quit using it, and I was bummed, because the stuff was relatively expensive, and went back to my old standby.
The last jar of Visible Difference I bought was $37.50 and that was ~8 yrs ago. We had just declared bankruptcy, and we were cash poor, so I had to switch to something relatively inexpensive. Luckily, we had just moved to the midwest, and Katy Sai was doing a consumer reports type series on the local news. She was comparing all kinds of moisturizers from generic Walgreen's type stuff to the most exclusive cosmetic counter stuff. The result of all her research was that L'Oreal turned out to have the best performing product, and it also happened to be nearly the least expensive (~$6.95 for 4 oz. at the time). "Active Daily Moisture Lotion" SPF15. This is really great stuff. It has a light feel, it's never made me break out, and it's still less than $10 a bottle. I started my kids wearing it too, but I've never convinced DH to wear it regularly.
Maybe 3 years ago, I learned you're supposed to switch to a heavier moisturizer in the winter. Well, winters being what they are up here, it made sense, so I looked into what else L'Oreal might have for me. My winter moisturizer is Futur*e. It's a moisturizer with "A Daily Dose of Pure Vitamin e" and also that mandatory SPF 15. It is a bit thicker and heavier than the Active stuff, and I really like the pump dispenser better than the Active wide-mouth bottle. So when the weather gets cold and dry, I switch to Futur*e, and when it warms back up, I switch to Active.
About 2 years ago, I started using something called "C the Change" from Kiss My Face. ($19.99 for a 1 oz tube) It's a yellow cream loaded with vitamin C (antioxidants) that looks and smells like lemon curd. This stuff is fantastic! It's supposed to reduce wrinkles and fine lines. I was starting to worry a little about those, so I put this on my forehead lines, and the lines around my eyes, and even those pesky neck wrinkles. Just a tiny dab on the tip of my finger does my face, and another for my neck. I swear that after 2 years of use, I have less noticeable lines everywhere. I wasn't expecting improvement actually, I was just hoping to delay the inevitable, but DH concurs - I've got less lines and wrinkles than I used to have. It was a pretty slow change too, because I really only noticed a few months ago.
All this is to say, that my persnickity skin that breaks out from any change in my routine, is still in really good shape. And this is probably why I am still getting carded, and have 30-something friends who frequently forget, or fail to realize, that I'm at least a decade older than them. And for me, it explains why my favorite eye-candy bartender, an adorable little tadpole said to DH the other night "...you have a cute wife..." Score!!
I also think that the fact that I don't smoke, or live with smokers helps too.
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(b) skin cancer on both sides of family
(c) just don't care enough about it to do the routine
I'm content at this moment to be doomed, if that's what's in my cards. Nevertheless, I am delighted to hear that you're happy with your process and the flirty barboys. : )
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