Facial Products

[SuzySunshine]

Okay, Kelly's thread made me think. (Sorry guys, this is going to get very girly!) So not to hijack I'll start a new one.

What facial products do you use? Mostly make-up is what interests me. I am 29 years old and have never felt that I found "good" make-up for me. I get VERY oily in the T-zone but especially the forehead and have NEVER found a make-up that didn't leave me shiny at the end of the day. I would LOVE some success stories from similar skin.

For cleansing products I use Mario Badescu which is rather expensive but it really makes my face SO soft. I skip the moisturizer on my forehead and still end up with shiny forehead by day end.

I like Aveda's stuff and MAC's stuff for makeup (plus I like going in to try the stuff on).

I rarely wear any - but that's what I wear when I wear it.

I like Body Shop's facial cleansing products and moisturizer.

[Phoebe]

I use Cetaphil for face washing, I have a clear skin toner and Neutrogena Mask.

My makeup is a mixture, but mostly Clinique. I just started using a face lotion called Kinerase and I really like it. I have heard Proactive is great stuff, but it ages your skin.

I like Aveda products as well. My mom uses them for her face.

Jennifer

[Meenah]

Check out sephora.com, they have great products. I found this through my daughter!!!
Luanne

[Michele]

I LOVE SEPHORA!

I wear Bobbi Brown foundation and powder. I have really early rosacea and it covers the red without looking too heavy. I get shiny too, but I blot with coffee filters and then re-powder.

I love "old Skool" by Hard Candy (eye shadow quartet). And Stila has great eyeshadows too.

Nars has some great blushes.

And I love my foundation brush.


One of my favorite products ever though is Maybelline Liquid Eyes liquid eyeshadow. If you put it on thinnly, and then put powdered shadow over it will stay forever...ok not really forever, but if I'm on call all night, it will last from 6 am until 3 or 4 am.

[DCJenn]

I use Avon products for my cleansers and moisturizers. They're the only ones that moisturize, de-wrinkle and DON'T make me break out.

For make-up I use Prescriptives and a few Stila products. Mascara is always Maybelleine Great Lash. (in black-brown).

I use Aveeno Body moisturizers because I am a dried up old lady.

Jenn

[Flynn]

I'm an Aveda and MAC lover too...

Also, while I've aged and my skin has dried out a bit, I found that NOT moisturizing made my skin over compensate and freak out -- producing more oil.

I now use a fairly intense cream at night (Clinique anti-aging) and use a tinted mositurizer with some light powder on top during the day. That has worked much better than skipping the moisture and wanting the T zone to stay oil free. Food for thought from a fellow former shiny T zone person.

[Vishenka69]

Flynn, what kind of tinted moisturizer do you use? Lancome has discontinued the one I've been using for years and I can't find another one that I like as much.

Cheri, I think that you'll need to reapply powder with any product. While blotting sheets are great they can never replace a brief 10 second reapplication of powder.

My two most favorite products are Dior Show mascara and Clinique powder. The mascara is called show because it's suppose to mimick stage make-up, it makes my lashes thicker, longer and curlier without clumping or flaking. And it's super easy to wash off. Clinique is the only powder I can use that doesn't give me any color and just hides the shine while very giving minimal coverage.

I haven't been able to find a cleanser I like, so I've been using Ivory soap, which is great for make-up removing and does dry out my skin. Ever since I read about Loreal daily moisturizer in Consumer Report about 5 years ago, I've been happily using it. It's super sheer, has SPF 15 and cheap. Since I only use eye creme as a profilactic, I'm not sure which has been better than the rest. For masks I really like Borghese mudd mask. It looks scary (greenish-brownish in color) and doesn't smell too good but works really well and comes in practically life-time supply size jars (for about $40).

[spotty_dog]

I alternate between Desert Essence facial cleanser with tea tree and the Oil Cleansing Method (castor oil and apricot oil). I use witch hazel toner to get rid of that tight feeling and remove excess cleanser. If my skin is still kind of flaky (it often is if I use the soap) I use a little Cetaphil moisturizer.

About once every week or two I use a facial scrub/mask with French green clay and natural exfoliants.

I don't use makeup but pretty soon here I'm going to get brave and order some samples from Aromaleigh, which has been highly recommended to me.

I have a sample of a Laura Mercier tinted moisturizer in my travel bag that I really like. I think I have used a Bobbi Brown one in the past that was good too.

I switch brands quite a bit. For a while I really liked Awake, and the Hauschka, and now Jurlique. I'll switch again once I run out of this.

I like the Nars colors, too. I use Maybelline mascara because it's great and cheap.

Sephora is great and if you order from them, they will send you some nice promotional deals every once in a while.

[houseelf]

Oh...dear, I'm a skin care sucker. I'm not sure that I really want to come clean here. I can forgo a lot of things, but skin care is a real weakness. I think that this started in junior high when my brother and I had to go on a boatload of prescription medicine for acne.

I use MD Forte skin cleanser which helps with both acne and sloughing off dead skin. (A very expensive gift from dear old mom for my birthday).

I have a dermatologist prescribed skin lightener cream for one weird freckly place that I'm trying to bleach out.

I moisturize with Lancome in the summer and something hardcore (i.e. Murad) in the winter.

I have a home facial steamer that I try to use once a month and a rotating brush to deeply apply moisturizer.

I use an SPF 50 facial sunscreen under my makeup. (I am the whitest woman in America...think of the movie "Powder"). When I'm doing something athletic, I use a waterproof cheaper version head to toe.

With the exception of good mascara, everything else that I use is cheap, drug store brand.



Don't hate me because I'm obsessed...

Kelly

[houseelf]

I'm using a product with 4% hydroquinone but I've heard that TriLuma is the best. The dermatologist wouldn't give it to me at the time because I was pregnant and intended to nurse. I hear that it is wunderbar, however.

Kelly

[Rapunzel]

I am vain, vain, VAIN. I pride myself on having "perfect" ivory skin (didn't have acne and barely ever had pimples). I obsess over my skin.

What I use:

Facial cleanser: Neutrogena glycerin soap (don't ever use soap on your skin - not "real" soap!!!)

Body cleanser: Aveeno oatmeal body wash

Body lotion: the Body Shop's Body Butter - unscented shea butter - it comes in a tub and looks and feels exactly like real butter

Face moisturizers/preps: The Oil of Olay Regenerist line is tops! Absolutely wonderful products! I use the eye gel (it's tinted yellow) ever day and the serum on the rest of my face. Then, if I'm putting on make-up I use the non-oil Regenerist cream. If I'm going make-up-less I use the Regenerist face lotion.

Oh, and I have to use the Dove unscented deodorant (invisible solid) for sensitive skin or I have serious problems.

I also use Vaseline lip therapy a couple of times a day. VERY important.

My mother followed similar rituals (albeit with comparable products as many of these didn't exist "back in the day") for decades and, at 52, has hardly a line on her face. Hopefully, I can have the same results.

My mom did have a freckly spot on her cheek awhile back and I think she used a Roch product on it - it worked whatever it was.

I use over-the-counter products for make-up. Color is very important. The more expensive cosmetics basically use the same ingredients as the drugstore ones. The difference is knowing what to buy.

Foundation: Cover Girl Fresh Look in the palest color they make (ivory)
Pressed Powder: Also by cover girl in the palest color (ivory)
Concealer: It's some stick - thick stuff - that I use. Can't remember the brand name but it works!
Eyeshadow: Revlon makes a highly-pigmented eyeshadow that goes on very smoothly I've found
Mascara: Maybelline Great Lash (BrownBlack)
Eyebrows: Maybelline Great Lash (clear)
Blush: Still experementing on that one. I move around a lot with this type of product - from creams to pressed powders and varying colors. Nothing solid here yet.
My lipliner and lipstick can be practically any brand. I'm more about texture, longevity, and pigment than anything else.

[Flynn]

Vishenka--

As far as I know, Aveda only has one tinted moisturizer. It's light, spf 15, has a color that matches my skin, oil free, and it's not too expensive...I think it's less than 20 dollars.

I like it -- especially in the summer. The spf has saved me on sunny days I thought I would be inside and ended up outside.

I've tried others and keep going back to this one for what it's worth!

[SuzySunshine]

Wow thanks gang, now where to start...