makeupandwine

There are several products I’ve found lately that I’m really enjoying and I thought I’d share them with you.  I have not seen much in the way of advertising for these items so I’m calling them “off the grid”.  But they are on my radar!

The first is a serum by Elizabeth Arden.  Most of us have heard of the Elizabeth Arden Company.  The Elizabeth Arden Company was essentially started in 1909.  Now, I figure if a company has been around for that long, they must be doing something correct.  I was given a sample of the Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Capsules, and promptly purchased some.  This is called a “Daily Youth Restoring Serum”.  I am not going to tell you it will restore your youth but I will tell you it is lovely on dry skin.  This is a serum that melts easily into the skin.  There is no oily residue and no stickiness, it just leaves the skin soft and ready for the next step.

I do have a love-hate relationship with the packaging.  There are little individual capsules.  These individual capsules make this the prefect product for travel and they keep the integrity of the product but they have a little but more than I would normally use for each application.  Perhaps I don’t use enough when I apply serums, but these capsules have a slight bit more in them than I would normally use.  They also make it difficult for me to apply the serum as I normally do.

When I apply a serum, I put one half on my left hand, apply to the left side of my face and neck and then rub the remaining product into my hand.  I put the other half on my right hand and then apply that to the right side of my face and neck, rubbing the remaining product into my right hand.  These capsules make it difficult to put half on one hand, apply, then put the other half on the other hand because it sort of oozes out while I’m applying the first half.  It’s not a large amount of oozing so I’m dealing with it, but as I said – it’s a love hate relationship.  They do keep the product very nice and air tight and they are lovely for travel, so I’m working around the issues.

I’ve tried a lot of serums and some are sticky, some are oily, and many do not do much at all. This product just leaves my skin nicely hydrated, smooth and ready for any other products (eye creams, moisturizers, brighteners, etc) that I want to apply.  I’ve been using this product for about 6 months now, summer, fall and early winter, and I have to say, I’m very happy with it.

The other product I’ve been using is made by Lancer.  I’ve been using the cleanser, polish and Nourish.  As far as I can tell, the products have been on the market for about five years but I just received a sample about two months ago.

The Lancer Polish can be a bit abrasive but used once a week, it works well to exfoliate the facial  skin.  The cleanser  is gentle and works well with my Clarisonic.  It is slightly creamy and does not leave my skin feeling stripped or dry.  I started using the Nourish (moisturizer) product when the drying winter months hit and I have had no problems with flaking or dry skin.  I apply in the morning and evening.  The Nourish is not greasy and is quickly absorbed into the skin.   I normally need to pull out the very expensive Crème de la Mer Moisturizing Cream this time of year, but have not had to do that since using the Lancer Nourish.  There is a slight floral fragrance with the moisturizer but this is very slight and dissipates quickly.

With several more winter months on the calendar, I’m happy to have found these skincare products.  What’s on your radar?