Six Serious Skincare Products to Deal With Mid-Winter Woes

 We are in the midst of Winter.  Whether you have a set of skincare products and a treatment routine that works or not, mid-Winter skin needs extra TLC. The good news is that there are so many products that can help you deal with dryness, mature skin, and irritation, plus make your skin look good while the products, offer treatment benefits. Here are a few wonderful products to consider adding (or substituting) right now:

A good facial wash is the first step in good skincare. Deep cleaning your skin not only gets rid of regular dirt and debris, also those dead skin cells. A good one to try in a powerful strength is NeoStrata Foaming Glycolic Wash avg.  price $32.00 3.4 fl. oz..This fragrance-free product in a white, pump bottle,  has key ingredients of 18% glycolic acid and antioxidant PHA lactobionic acid to cleanse the skin,  help reduce pore size, fight blemishes, and helps smooth out fine lines and wrinkles. The product is fragrance-free, and it is supposedly good for all skin types, but this is really a deep cleanser. If your skin tends to be irritated or sensitive, you might not want to use it every time you wash your face until your skin gets used to it. Also, be sure to wear a good sunblock (more on that, below), especially as you begin using this cleanser as your skin will be more sensitive to the sun’s rays.  On a personal note, I liked the way this cleanser really got rid of “face gunk” without drying out my skin. Visit http://www.neostrata.com/

Good sun protection is to my mind, the most critical part of any daytime skincare regimen.  CellCeuticals Biomedical Treatments PhotoDefense Anti-Photo-Aging Daily Skin Protector SPF 55 PA+++ $40.00 2 fl. oz is a true heavyweight when it comes to both protection from the sun’s damaging rays, and moisturization and anti-aging benefits. The rich cream in a screw-top tube has something called “Photoplex,” which is not only patent pending, but provides real anti-aging protection against UVA/UVB rays. The product also has Vitamin D and powerful anti-oxidants.  As someone who has sensitive skin, I’m always concerned about products with high SPF, but this one is irritant tested, ophthalmologist and dermatologist tested, fragrance and paraben free, non comedogenic, and it doesn’t have any artificial color or animal ingredients (and they don’t test on animals, either). TIP: apply 15 minutes before sun exposure. On top of all of these pluses, I like the fact that this is a true multi-tasker. True, it’s a bit pricey, but from one product, you will get significant sun protection, moisturization and anti-aging benefits/  That’s impressive. You can purchase this a www.cellceuticalskincare.com or call 1-888-695-0335

I am a big fan of CeraVe skincare products, and used them almost exclusively while I was undergoing Fraxel laser treatments on my skin.  However, I just tried the CeraVe Facial Moisturizing Lotion PM $13.00 3 oz/ a still gentle, but power-packed lotion that contains ceramides, niacinamide, and hyaluronic acid, to help your skin attract, hold and distribute much-needed moisture, in a controlled release formula, while you sleep. Ceramides help replace lipid levels in damaged skin to help it repair and maintain the skin’s natural barrier and help prevent water loss from the skin.  Niacinamide also helps repair and maintain the skin’s natural barrier. Hyaluronic acid attracts water to the top layers of the skin to keep it hydrated. It also helps deal with irritation and redness and is good for sensitive skin (I can attest to this personally, as the laser did dry out and make my skin red, and the CeraVe moisturizer for daytime was all I really needed to keep my skin feeling good). This product is also fragrance free, non-comedogenic,and doesn’t have harsh chemicals.The white, pump bottle is simple, and the price is easy to handle.  You can find CeraVe products at drugstores and mass market retailers or visit www.cerave.com

For those who want more of a luxury product, you can’t do any better than  DIOR Capture Totale Night Ritual $140.00 1.8 fl. oz. Inside the elegant elegant, gold carton is an equally elegant, violet-colored oval jar that is double sealed first with foil, and then with a plastic keeper cap over the actual cap for the jar. The luxe, rich cream inside is so thick, it is almost a paste, and it has the light smell of a spring floral bouquet.  You can expect that this unique cream will feel silky and gorgeous on your skin and yes, you will feel so pampered. But it has skincare benefits such as an Alpha-Longoza complex, that acts on 20 biological markers responsible for cutaneous aging, combined with Centuline (an ancient yeast called kluyveromyces, known since the time of Pharaohs), The “longevity protein” that helps to boost the youthful energy of cells and hold back the skin ageing process.  Another ingredient, Calamansi (From an Asian fruit that has a high content of Vitamin C and has antioxidant properties) helps your skin regenerate and repair while you sleep.  he end result when you wake up in the morning is skin that is extremely hydrated, smoothed,  and depending upon your skin’s condition, more firm and luminous.  I can tell you that it works, which it does, but you really have to try it for yourself! You can find this product at your favorite Dior counter at fine department stores everywhere, and you can also learn more at DIor Beauty.

I recently did a review of several exceptional, SK-II Skincare Products. Now, I’m suggesting one more: SK-II Facial Treatment Repair C  $160.00 1 fl. oz. This amazing, highly concentrated serum, helps to hydrate skin while improving the texture and elasticity and reducing the look of fine lines and wrinkles. Like all of the SK-II products, it has concentrated moisturizers. The gel-type serum feels light and refreshing on the skin, but it’s no lightweight. I delivers a truckload of moisturization (including Hyaluronic acid and SK-II’s exclusive ingredient, Piterra (from Sake Rice).  If your skin feel dry, one application will make it come back to life. It’s almost impossible to describe how quickly, thoroughly and astoundingly this little bottle of skin goodness, works.  Your skin will not only be hydrated, it will look smoother (of course your skin may be different than mine, but basically reports I have seen say you can see a real result within 2 weeks to 28 days). I would use this on every part of my body if I could, but at $160.00 for a precious ounce, I’ll stick to using it on my face, where it truly belongs. Yes, this is a splurge, and all of SK-II’s skincare is pricey, but if your skin needs extra TLC, mid-Winter, this might be the time to splurge. If it works for you like it has for celebrities and fashionistas around the world, it might just be considered priceless! Visit the Sk-II web site, or select Saks Fifth Avenue locations.

While all these great skincare products are working their magic on your skin, you might want something that helps smooth over some of the imperfections, without seeming obvious. A really new and exciting product from Philosphy’s “Hope” line is Philosophy’s Hope in A Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 $38.00 1.7 fl. oz.  This product has just launched, offering an advanced tinted moisturizer in eight shades. It not only delivers lots of moisturization, it protects skin with SPF 20. The tints offer a bit of sheer color to smooth over your skin as a work in progress.  I love the SPF 20 UVA/UVB protection, and the fact that the product gives you a all in one, daytime option for moisturization, broad-spectrum sun protection, antioxidants for anti-aging, and sheer color. Another plus is the unique, soft white tube with black, airless pump that helps keep the product from drying out or getting contaminated, and it also dispenses just the right amount to cover your face easily and quickly. A lot of tinted moisturizers are mostly moisture, without much in the “tint” department (or they go on so greasy they just produce a lot of shine and then slide off your face in a short while).  But Hope in a Tinted Moisturizer blends easily, adds just enough coverage to actually help your skin look smoother and better, and it stays put without any hint of greasiness.  Key ingredients in this product are:  sodium hyaluronate – a powerful humectant that hydrates the skin; can hold 1,000 times its weight in water;  a peptide blend (caprooyl tetrapeptide-3, palmitoyl tripeptide-8) – designed to help support skin, while calming and soothing dry, irritated skin;  vitamins e & c and carnosine – antioxidants that help protect skin against collagen breakdown and environmental attack;  octinoxate 7.5% – uvb protector and oxybenzone 3.5% – uva/uvb protector. I tried the Light to Medium shade and the Light shade, and both worked well because they are sheer enough to blend.. If you want to try this excellent tinted moisturizer, it is available exclusively at Sephora stores and Sephora.com in January 2011, and then also available at www.philosophy.com, and in February 2011, at Philosophy stores and select specialty stores



Copyright ©Alison Blackman Dunham. All rights reserved. The Advice Sisters is a registered United States trademark. No content may be used or copied with written permission. If you want to use my work, please obtain it legally. For more information, Email Me.  You can show your interest and support by subscribing to this blog. Several options are available on the right hand side of this blog. Also, you can follow me on Facebook and Twitter  (@advicesisters).  You can also read and subscribe to my National Luxury Lifestyles Column  on the Examiner.com.