WOW...PurpleRules...what a shopping haul! You should be set for Winter!

Thanks for starting this separate discussion on skincare...I think if I recommend the Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Dry-Block Sunscreen ONE MORE TIME I will be banned from the Forum. It seems to be my answer to all questions but never mind.

My last two skincare items have been Neutrogena's Intensive Anti-Wrinkle Serum (NAY!) and Eucerin's Redness Relief Soothing Anti-Aging Serum (NAY!). I was trying these serums as an alternative to Paula Begouns Super Anti-Oxidant Serum. WRONG MOVE. Both of the other products irritated my Rosacea, so I am back to Paula Begoun which was just fine. but I wanted to try something else. I also use prescription MetroCream when the Rosacea acts up.

The Eucerin product got raves on MakeUpAlley but I am thinking that all people who have reddish skin may not have Rosacea so perhaps it has worked for them. The Neutrogena product did not get good review I found AFTER I bought the damned stuff. Oh well, these aren't high priced items so live and learn.

I use the Neutogenia Ultra-sheer Dry-Block sunscreen too. It's one of the skincare products that I'm very faithful to. Cetaphil is another. I stocked up on those a few weeks ago so I should be well moisterized and protected from the sun for the winter. Now I can go back to buying fun stuff.

I went on a binge and stocked up on Shiseido sunblock. I also bought L'Occitane "Immortalle" (or however you spell it) serum for the first time (I've always liked their lotions) and decided to give DermaDoctor AHA face wash a try. And then I stocked up on Chapstick!

It keeps you WHITE! It seriously blocks sun, and it's quite matte.

Expensive, but one of the best sunblocks ever.

That, and I'm betting that bobanerd grew up with Shiseido like me (as in, other people in our life used Shiseido). I only stop using Shiseido because whatever fragrance they use in their products irritate my skin.

bobanerd--When I got married, my husband and I went to St. Maarten for our honeymoon (a year and a half later) and while I was there we ran out of sunscreen and so I went into a pharmacy and bought a sunscreen that was SPF 65....he was mad he didn't get any sun, but me...my Irish self was glad to not get sunburned. I saw girls that were so severely red their first day that it ruined their vacation. I felt bad for them. I only ruined one vacation when I was 14 and my parents took us to St. Thomas...I screwed up my sunscreen and went snorkeling....lets just say I had very red cheeks

Thanks, bobanerd for the good info. I need a very good sunscreen.

Cate: When your skin is really dry or bothering you, have you ever tried washing it with Cetaphil? It is great for dry skin and is always recommended by doctors for people who are experiencing excessive dryness from OTC or prescribed acne products. It will not cause acne. My face feels so much better after I wash it: Soft & clean and definitely no "angry face" symptoms to deal with!

Cate, do you have a dermatologist? Besides the skin cancer screening they do they can diagnose your skin problems accurately so that you are not spending a fortune on products that may further irritate your skin. If your skin has changed it always good to check with them.

Judy--I don't have one, but maybe I should look into seeing one in the near future...or after the holidays

FB, thanks for the tips. I should really get myself to a dermatologist since I tan , but the insurance I get through school isn't very good. You would think the school would cough up a bit more money for health insurance so that their grad students would stay healthy since they already invest so much money in us, but I guess not. I had to pay $250 just yesterday at the doctor's office! Sometimes I really miss the days of having a job, living in the real world, and having good health insurance! What cost me $250 yesterday used to cost me $20 with BCBS. Oh well.

I live right on the edge of a HUGE medical district that has a few schools in it. I'll have to look to see if there are any dermatological schools that I can go to make a dermatologist trip affordable.

FB, lucky you being able to get a complete workup by med students et al.

I should disclose to Cate that the last time I went to my dermatologist and asked about something for age spots he wanted to SELL me on expensive laser treatments which rather annoyed me! I wanted a prescription for some extra strength cream. Sigh...however if you are having a new skin "condition" it is worthwhile to check with a MD.

Since I pay medical claims I know WHY the dermatologists like to recommend cosmetic treatments...they are cash only transactions instead of insurance based svcs.

FB I go to PENN for dental work. I'm taking a whole day off in Feb to get down to the nitty gritty that is my teeth

Well, I just bought some stuff from Paula last week. I only got in Friday and started using it that night. My acne has cleared up quite a bit on my chin. My face in general is much softer and smoother. I made my husband feel it the other day in the car just to make sure I wasn't making it up. I got:

Gentle Face Wash
1 % BHA cream exfoliator
Spot Treatment
Hydrating lotion
Essential sunblock
Carbon Mask (this burned like hell for about a minute)

This was all part of a kit for Oily/Combination skin prone to blemishes. I just paraphrased what the product is called.

i just bought clean and clear's persa-gel 10, all it is, is benzoyl peroxide 10%... my skin has never had trouble with acne but i recently used No7. (boots) new stay perfection liquid foundation, and about 2 weeks later my skin broke out all over especially on my forehead with huge ugly bumps...i guess i was allergic or something, but after i realized what had caused it, i started using clean and clear sensitve skin wash, which helped a little but at some points made it worse.. so i just bought this persa-gel stuff, and so far all it does is make my zits get big and then go away.. but ive only used it 3 or 4 times so far...
does anyone have any suggestions as to what i can use to get rid of these crazy zits??

I picked up 4 samples of eye creams or gels at Blue Mercury last night. I'm looking for an alternative to Relastin since it can only be purchased on-line and I HATE the pump dispenser. (I don't hate all pump dispensers, just this one.)

New favorites in my winter arsenal are Nivea hand cream and Caudelie lip balm. I tried a 4% AHA serum that I picked up at Sally Beauty on my face but it was still too irritating so I'm using it on my feet, along with Queen Helene cocoa butter. Then I put on thick cotton socks and go to bed. Be warned if you're thinking of trying this yourself -- it's a very sexy look. You might want to get a flannel nightgown from LL Bean to complete the ensemble.

When you see those lists of things you should never do when you're trying to impress a member of the opposite sex -- wearing underwear, socks and nothing else is always on them, seriously. I bet if you search the Men's Health website (I assume such a website exists, I've never actually gone there. Really.) you'll get a hit.

I think that after time these things can become endearing.

Purple: Have you considered Teamine Eye Complex for under the eyes? I got some free samples of it from an online beauty store and loved it. If you absolutely don't want a product that you have to buy online, then you'll want to skip it unless you find a dermatologist in your area that sells it. But you'll also pay list price if that's where you purchase it (~$55). I recently bought a jar on eBay for $33 which includes the shipping.The seller sells jars and jars of it every day. I know it's the real thing because I followed the BB's advice and e-mailed the manufacturer directly with the lot number. I was happy to find out the jar I had purchased was indeed Revision's product and had left their factory only two months before I received it so this seller is a reliable source for it.

After almost three months of use, it has most definitely taken away any fine lines I had under my eyes. It also claims to remove under-eye circles. I haven't found that to work for me yet but I have had thin skin under my eyes all my life so I didn't expect miracles. It has the possibility of being able to do so, though, based on the inclusion of Green Tea Extract. (I asked the dermatologist, Dr. Brett, that wrote about under-eye circles on the BB daily blog on 11/12 and he responded to my comment that this key ingredient could possibly work but he was also skeptical about the manufacturer's specific claims at the same time so keep that in mind. Still, it gets great reviews at Epinions and elsewhere. Google it if you're curious.)

Here are the ingredients that are in Teamine Eye Complex:
Purified Water, Stearic Acid, Glycosaminoglycans, Barium Sulfate, Mangifera Indica (Mango) Seed Butter, Cetyl Alcohol, Cyclopentasiloxane, Glycerin, Polysilicone-11, Sodium Hyaluronate, Epilobium Anugstifolium (Willowherb) Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E), Cetearyl Alcohol, Ivy (Hedera Helix) Extract, Ceteareth-20, Glucosamine HCI, Punica Granatum (Pomegranate) Extract, Camellia Sinensis (Green Tea) Extract, Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil, Solanum Lycopersicum (Tomato) Extract, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Vitamin C), Palmitoyl Pentapeptide 3, Phytonadione (Vitamin K), Butylene Glycol, Hordeum Vulgare (Barley) Extract, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Silica, Algae Extract, Arnica Montana Extract, Panthenol, Urea Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A), Polysorbate 20, Allantoin, Disodium EDTA, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter Fruit, Carbomer, Titanium Dioxide, Methylparaben, Phenoxyethanol, Iron Oxides, Yeast Extracts, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Triethanolamine, Butylparaben.

As for it's anti-aging ingredients, go to the BB thread on p.5 of this forum that's called "Anti-Aging/Age Reversal/Fountain of Youth/Snake Oil Anyone?" If you look at what I wrote for the list of ingredients on #3 and 4, you'll see four of the important ingredients that are in Teamine Eye Complex. As for the cost, I haven't even used half of the jar yet and I've faithfully applied it twice a day so I can justify the price.

I also use Olay EyeLifting Serum throughout the day right over and under my foundation. It has a diffusing effect that mixes nicely with foundation. I also like Pond's age defEYE anti-circle anti-puff Eye Therapy on my eyelids. Both products have effective ingredients. I am following the advice of some experts when it comes to antioxidants, which is use a lot of them! The rationale is that you're likely to get some benefits if you use enough of them. (I learned this in two helpful books: "The Complete Beauty Bible" by Paula Begoun - see Chapter 2: Miracles, Frauds, & Facts. Also, "Secrets of the Beauty Insiders", a book that Sarah Bellum blogged about last spring - see Chapter 2: Skin Care Specifics)

Let us know if you find something else you like but I definitely wanted to tell you about Teamine Eye Complex if you're on a quest for a new eye cream. I'm so happy that the fine lines under my eyes are completely gone and in less than 3 months!

Gosh, thanks, Taiwanesegurl. I actually got carded again last night along with my son!

I did take my pictures down earlier this month because I want to stay somewhat anonymous but I could certainly put a picture of my eyes back up.

One of the La Roche posay eye treatments has consistently good reviews on MUA. It's also listed as a more reasonably priced alternative to Relastin Eye Silk so it's on my list for my next trip to CVS. I'll have to check out their other products too.

Fitness Brain, I can ACTUALLY answer that...MUA is MakeupAlley a website for makeup reviews. See: http://www.makeupalley.com/

My latest skincare purchase was Jurlique's Purifying Cleansing Lotion. I can't comment on how well it works yet, because I've only used it twice so far...it was expensive, $40, so I'm not sure if I'll repurchase even if it works great. But I do really like it so far.

I also recently received a Jaqua Pink Buttercream Frosting Hand Cream...it smells DELICIOUS! I could almost eat it...mmm. It works really well too, I actually prefer it to my L'Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream.

In addition, I just bought Origins' No Puffery "cooling mask for puffy eyes"...which actually works okay, because my undereyes seem to be permanently puffy But this makes it less puffy when it's really bad...and it's a noticeable difference.

I guess the last thing is Differin...I've decided to try using it every night to see if it'll help with this blemish problem I've developed in the past few months, haha.

Purple

I also like the stuff from Vichy, which they carry on CVS now, the hand cream is great

and the retinol-vitaminC treatment

see if you can get some Vichy samples

Judy: Gloria and I are both fans of their Deep Cleansing Oil. It removes all traces of makeup. You don't wet your face; you just rub it in and rinse it off with water. You immediately follow with a cleanser (I like Cetaphil - very nice & gentle!) so cleansing at night is a two step process. You don't dry your face between the two steps, though, so it's not time intensive. I just got my DHC catalogue in the mail and noticed it's on sale this month. They have a liberal return policy so keep that in mind, too.

I should add that I have purchased their Rich Moisture but I won't repurchase it. I'm trying to use it up on days when I don't plan to be outside at this point. It's a really nice moisturizer but I now prefer a moisturizer with a sunscreen in it, as per Paula Begoun's recommendation. I have also purchased another DHC best seller in the past, Velvet Skin Coat. It's a makeup primer with silicone in it that leaves your skin slippery-smooth. It's nice but I've suspected that it clogs pores and found out that primers with silicone can cause that problem so I don't use it anymore.

I've got very dry skin and here's what I use: Clinique Continuous Rescue Antioxidant Moisturizer in the morning ("dry to very dry" in the winter, "dry combination" in the summer). It doesn't have sunscreen so I use Neutrogenia dry touch sunscreen. At night I use a retin-A Cream that I get from a local salon. It's moisterizing enough for the summer but in the winter I use Nivea Creme on top of it. So basically I'm coating myself with mineral oil twice a day and nothing horrible has happened yet.

Well, I just want to add to my post from yesterday about the Estee Lauder Re-Creation that costs as much as a car payment(really nice car, that is). I got the trial sizes off Ebay, and was not that impressed with the day cream because of lack of moisture, but I had not tried the night cream when I wrote the post. I tried it last night, and my skin was dry as a bone an hour later like I just used a serum by itself or something. I'm sorry, but if your charging $450.00 per jar for face creme, it better be moisturizing. If should feel like the most luxurious creme in the world, but it doesn't. Oh well...I let my couriosity get the better of me, so I'm out fifty bucks. Thanks to Purple Rules and Karen for the suggestions for dry skin products. QVC used to carry Caudalie, but I never tried it. Now that i know they carry it at Bath & Body Works I might try it. I'm going to try to get samples of the Clinique Continuous Rescue , too. I wonder if Clinique accepts returns if you don't like the product? My makeup has a broad spectrum sunscreen, so I'm o.k . in that regard.

Stores like Blue Mercury and Sephora are generous with samples if you ask so you can try it out for a couple of nights. Sephora also accepts returns with no questions asked. And they sell Clinique.