Disclosure: This is a sponsored post for Paula's Choice. All opinions expressed in this post are my own.
Who can
resist Paula's Choice in their skin care routine?
Sorry, I couldn't help but make that joke, although I have to say that now that I've tried this skin care line, I'm pretty much hooked.
Prior to this review, I hadn't tried any of Paula's Choice skin care, although I am very much aware of Paula Begoun, the founder, as the Cosmetics Cop who is all about truth in beauty, skin care, ingredients and proven research. In fact, I had the chance to interview her when Beautypedia launched several years ago. Her website has a full encyclopedia of advice for every type of skin care concern. She is a wealth of information!
I am a true skin care junkie. I absolutely believe that it doesn't matter how much contouring and concealing you do or how much makeup you wear - if your skin is a mess, there is no hiding that! Besides, the better you treat your skin, the less makeup you'll have to invest in to fix your flaws.
Paula's Choice Skin Care Consultation
My relationship with Paula's Choice began with a personalized skin care consultation. Paula’s Choice is committed to customer advocacy, education and helping people find the best products for their skin. In fact, everyone can receive a FREE personal skincare consultation by calling this number: 1-800-831-4088. I spoke with Moniqua, who asked me to briefly explain my skin and routine to her. She asked follow up questions to further clarify my skin type and changes I am seeing in my skin.
Over the years my skin has changed a lot. In my youth (or back in the olden days, as my kids would say), my skin was oily. Throughout most of my adult years, it transitioned into combination (normal to oily.) When I moved to the Pocono Mountains in 2003, it became dry in the Fall and Winter and then back to combination for Spring and Summer. (Where you live can have a major impact on your skin.)
However, during my recent pregnancy and post-partum AND now being considered to have "mature" (UGH) skin, it has again transitioned to normal to dry. Trying to find products that work well have been close to impossible.
Trying to figure out the circus that is my skin has become incredibly frustrating, so I appreciated having a skin care expert to chat with to get a customized skin care regimen in place for me. Paula's Choice offers a 100% money back guarantee (within 60 days) - so I liked that safeguard when choosing products. Paula's Choice is also cruelty free and does not contain irritating dyes or fragrances.
Their product line includes something for everyone, acne, rosacea, aging, pores. They treat it all. On their website, you can choose from a menu of skincare concerns you’d like to treat and for me that was sun damange (hyperpigmentation), uneven skin tone, balancing my skin so that it was not dry yet not oily, treating the occasional blemish, the always annoying blackheads and diminishing the signs of aging (fine lines, wrinkles.)
You could say Moniqua had her work cut out for her to find me Paula's Choice products that could meet all of my needs.
Paula's Choice Skin Care for Mature Skin
The Paula's Choice skin care regimen that was suggested were products from the Resist line. One of the major standouts for me about this line is the texture. I am not a big fan of heavy creams and serums, and the Resist line is very lightweight. From the toner to the serum, BHA and moisturizer, I am thrilled at how each product applies and despite all of the layering, it doesn't feel that way.
In total, my morning and night skin care routine contain 6 products:
Resist Perfectly Balanced Foaming Cleanser, Resist Weightless Toner, Resist Daily Pore-Refining Treatment 2% BHA, Resist Moisture Renewal Oil Booster, Resist 25% Vitamin C Spot Treatment, Resist Daily Fluid SPF 50 (day), and
Resist Anti-Aging Clear Skin Hydrator (night.) Once a week I swap out the 2% BHA for the
Resist Weekly Retexturizing Foam 4% BHA. Right now I'm using the Oil Booster, but once my skin has finally balanced out, I plan to use the
Resist Hyaluronic Acid Booster, which is for all skin types.
Now you may ask, are all of those products
really necessary? Here's my stance - most people will try to skip a product or two in order to save time and money, but then end up spending it on cosmetics to conceal whatever issue wasn't addressed. When those cosmetics aren't enough, they think it's the skin care products they're using and go onto try something else. By the time it's all said and done, you've spent more money than you've intended and more time trying to fix a problem that could've been easily solved to begin with.
I encourage you to give Paula's Choice a try and set up a consultation so that you get the right products in your hands.
www.paulaschoice.com
Have you tried Paula's Choice? I'd love to hear about your experience in the comments.
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Do you have oily or combination skin? You may want to consider incorporating charcoal into your skin care regimen.
Sure, charcoal is totally on trend right now and may seem like a fad, but it's for good reason. Charcoal absorbs oil and draws out toxins and bacteria from the skin.
Those of us with this skin type know that excess oil leads to clogged pores, which leads to blemishes. Bacteria, transferred by way of constantly touching your face or even tampering with those blemishes, only leads to more blemishes. It's a vicious cycle my friends.
I decided to give a few charcoal products a try (and my teen son's were also game to clear up their acne.)
These are the current charcoal skin care products in my shower right now:
Michael Todd Charcoal Detox Cleanser: With a black, semi gel-like consistency, this cleanser comes in a pretty large bottle with a pump. I didn't notice a fragrance to it, but what was noticeable was how amazing my skin looked after using this for a few months. Even my oldest son, who is always broken out with acne all over his forehead, had a large decrease since using this cleanser.
Aside from activated charcoal, this cleanser also contains aloe, which will help soothe acne flare-ups; tea tree oil, an anti-bacterial; and sugar cane, maple and bilberry extract for retexturizing the skin.
Michael Todd Jojoba Charcoal Facial Scrub: This gritty, black facial scrub doesn't really have a smell to it. It's not greasy at all and the texture is like a paste. This activated charcoal facial scrub uses jojoba wax beads to exfoliate, which are gentler on skin and won't scrape it up (like say a scrub with apricot kernels would.) So while you slough off the dead skin, the charcoal is taking care of the excess oil and bacteria. This scrub also contains tea tree oil like the detox cleanser. (The tube pictured is trial size; the full size is much bigger.)
LATHER Charcoal and Tea Tree Cleansing Bar: When is the last time you had a black bar of soap in your shower? My kids were perplexed when they saw it. You can smell the tea tree oil in this soap, but it's not overwhelming. Keep the bar away from water when not in use, and it will last a ridiculously long time. I've been using it for about 2 months now and it looks like I've barely touched it. Simply rub the bar in your palms and then massage onto your face and then rinse.
LATHER Charcoal Konjac Sponge: Get one of these STAT. I've never used a konjac sponge prior to this, so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. It looks like a pumice stone - even feels like one when you take it out of the package. However, the moment water touched it, it immediately became this silky sponge. You can use it alone or with a cleanser. When I pair it with my Michael Todd Detox Cleanser, it makes it lather (so use only a small amount.) When you're done, keep it out of water. It'll dry back to it's hard, pumice-like state. It is literally amazing and I love it.
Obviously I don't use these products all at once, but I do consistently alternate them daily to keep my skin blemish-free.
Have you tried any of these products? I'd love to hear from you!
Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! beauty blog. Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and G+. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too!
*Disclosure: press samples, affiliate links
