Clinique Even Better: Perfect Skin in a Bottle?

Hey peeps!

I am always on the lookout for awesome skin care products. Now that I have the basics worked out, I want better...everything, lol! Right now, I am interested in products that give a glow or even out the skin tone. I have minimal spots left over from my skin freak out, nothing major, but who doesn't want "perfect skin", right?

Clinique has this stuff called Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector

Blurb from the Clinique site:

Dermatologist-developed to be safe, comfortable. Yet in clinical trials our serum was comparable to a leading prescription ingredient in creating a more even skin tone. A verified 53% improvement in skin tone. For all ethnicities: See results starting in as little as 4 weeks. At 12 weeks, see a visible reduction in dark spots, age spots, and traces of acne past.

Apparently, it's formulated to do what rx Hydroquinone does, but without the potential irritation. There's a patented ingredient, plus some lab-proven-effective natural ingredients to give the overall skin tone a boost.  Results take 12 weeks, and it retails for $49.50.

Since I already use 4% HQ which has been a miracle worker for me, I think this would be a good product to use during the off months when I have to take a break from it.  I haven't decided if I will try this or not, but I heard that Sephora's F&F sale kicks off on Oct 21, so if I do get it, I'll do so then.

Will keep you posted on what I decide.

A.

Prescriptives Update: The Power of the Consumer's Voice

Ok, so I am down to my last jar of Prescriptives All You Need For Eyes, and I unfortunately when I went to purchase the 2 jars that I had saved in my shopping cart, it wast already sold out. Ugh! Tonight I just happened to go on to the Px main page...lo and behold, what do I see?

News From Prescriptives - Product Update

We are pleased to tell you that due to the continuing high volume of online demand for certain Prescriptives products from our loyal customers, we have made the decision to resume production of our top-selling products at this time. We expect to have these products available for sale online at prescriptives.com over the coming months and will let you know about availability for purchase through email updates, and we will provide updates on this page as items become available. If you don’t currently receive our email newsletter, please sign up now. We sincerely appreciate your patience and loyalty and thank you for the opportunity to continue to serve you online at prescriptives.com.

 (source: Prescriptives.com )

Yes!!! So all of my (and apparently everyone else's) stocking up on products online paid off! I am very happy that I will be able to continue to purchase at least some of my fave Px products online now.  Hopefully this includes my beloved eye cream, and they will re-stock this before I run out. I would really hate to have to switch to Clinique or one of the other Estee Lauder brands. The others just don't compare :)

ttyl! <3

Joico - A Staple for My Fine Hair

When I first began my hair care journey, I bought a whole gang of products. I was in search for something to give me "industrial-strength" hair. Having been born into a family where fine hair is an annoying but inevitable truth, I knew there was nothing I could do to necessarily "change" my hair (vitamins help, but the size of the strands will always be fine). And starting to using relaxers again in 2005 (after being natural for 4+ years) didn't help matters.

A year and a half later, enters Joico - the love of my life, lol! I think my hair loves Joico so much because it maintains a constant moisture/protein balance in the hair. Every product has human hair keratin in it for strength and resilience, but not so much to leave the hair hard or brittle. And the moisturizing ingredients are top notch - meadowfoam, evening primrose oils, shea butter, aloe vera to name a few.

So I think during the life of this blog, when I start posting reviews on various products for fine, relaxed hair...Yeah, I'm gonna bring them up. They rock, haha.

Deep Conditioning

Using a deep conditioner is probably the #1 most important thing you can do for your hair, especially as a fine-haired chica. Deep conditioners feed the strands, protecting and preventing damage from the elements. Since we fine-haired gals don't have as many cuticle layers as our coarse-haired counterparts, we need all the supplementation we can get.

I personally deep condition my hair once a week, faithfully. Typically I apply deep conditioner to damp hair in small sections, making sure that all my hair is covered (esp. the ends), cover my hair with a plastic cap and sit under the hooded dryer for 15-20 min on medium heat. If I want to let the conditioner sit longer, I do so, but not under the heat source. I find that DC-ing under heat longer than 20 min can over-swell the the hair shaft to quickly, doing more harm than good. Afterwards, I rinse the conditioner out well, then proceed to styling.

Make sure that the conditioner you use to deep condition has ingredients that can actually penetrate the strands. Don't cut corners here, ladies! VO5, and Suave are NOT deep conditioners!

Some popular DCs are: Paul Mitchell Super-charged, Kenra Moisturizing Conditioner, Joico K-pak Intense Hydrator, Pantene Women of Color Breakage Defense Mask, and Lustrasilk Shea Butter Cholesterol Plus (cheapie but a goodie!)

Products - How to Choose What you NEED

In general, I think a lot of people are trying methods that work for people with different hair types or for a specific hair need unlike what their own hair needs at the current moment. The same goes for a review of a product on non-clarified hair. Hair that has not been properly clarified can still hold on to properties of previous products, thereby skewing the final results. Also, sometimes changing many different products in your wash day rather than just one can have the same effect. You’ll never know what product caused what effect with this method.

So let’s say, for example, that your hair needs moisture and you give it protein. Clearly the products will not work for you the way they worked for someone else who actually needed protein, even if both of you have the exact same hair type. Now, if you feel your hair needs protein at the moment, and normal protein on clean wet hair doesn't work for you, then try it a different way (such as pre-pooing with the protein on dry hair).

One of the best things to do when testing a new product is to try things based on your hair type and specific hair need (before saying something "doesn't work"). Wait until you need a type of product (moisture/protein) to try it, so that your hair gives it a fair shot.

In general a method that a coarse-hair uses may not work for a fine-hair (like pre-pooing your protein or using an extra-thick moisturizer). Now if you're just bored and want to try it anyway, then go ahead, but just be aware that there may be consequences...

If a product doesn't work for you one time, just remember that there are so many factors that go into that one experience; that one time could just be a fluke. At least give that product a fair shot on your hair before you chuck it or throw it away.