Beauty Care

When I was in my teens and early twenties I used to get dreadful skin outbreaks and suffer from redness on my face. The first few times I tried to remedy this with drugstore products met with profound failure. I (very logically) started out with acne cures, but found that even the higher quality products actually caused my fair skin to dry out, peel, become red, and even break out more. I made the connection after purchasing the third or fourth product and the revelation caused me to change my approach completely. I stopped wearing makeup altogether and then I went to the store and searched for the mildest products I could find. This worked perfectly for me and ever since I've been light on my product use. I believe it's so much healthier and more attractive than wearing loads of makeup and trying repair the skin afterwards with expensive treatments. I'm not frivolous about these things. They have to be practical, but I'm picky and price-constrained so I've spent a lot of time thinking, comparing, and shopping around. It literally took me years to accumulate a list of "beauty" products that I trust and depend on. Here are a few that I feel are worth sharing:

For my face I use Neutrogena's Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle night cream. Their day cream has sunscreen in it and I don't like it as much. The night cream has retinol in it, which is actually effective for doing what it claims to do--slow down the development of fine lines, prevent redness, and heal skin. A little goes a looong way--more than a pea-sized amount just makes my skin greasy and I don't think it's healthy to overdo on chemical-heavy products. I like to give my skin a break from this occasionally, so once or twice a week I just use Curel's Skin Nourishing Lotion for Dry, Rough Skin, the one with shea butter and honey. Curel has other lotions, but they aren't mild enough for the face nor do they smell as nice. I use this lotion on my face after the Neutrogena night cream and a few pumps on my neck, chest, hands, calves, and feet. Other face cream runners up include The Body Shop's Wise Woman collection (all-natural and not tested on animals) and BeFine's night cream. The latter product is sadly extremely hard to find, otherwise I'd probably use that instead of Neutrogena.

Since Curel's Skin Nourishing lotion is becoming hard to find lately too, I'm sometimes forced to turn to other lotion products. Their Ultra Healing lotion is okay for hands, feet, and body, but it's too heavy and greasy for the face. When I can afford it, I get body butters from The Body Shop. They're way to rich for summer use, but great during the winter, where the radiator heat seems to suck all the moisture from my skin.

I wash my hair with John Frieda's Brilliant Brunette line. I've been in love ever since the first tube I bought as a destitute undergrad six years ago. A little goes a long way and it never fails to bring out the shine in my long, dark hair. However, I have noticed that it seems to go bad after several months. Maybe the heat in the shower breaks down some of the chemicals. Sometimes I mix it up a little with their root stimulating line or the clarifying shampoo from Nexus.

I'm not a big fan of coloring, cutting, straightening, or fussing in any way with my hair. I wear it long, natural color, and untreated with the exception of a couple of pumps of Macadamia Straightening Balm from The Body Shop. This stuff is amazing. It has a sweet, nutty smell that isn't overt or overpowering, but the men who've buried their faces in my hair had good things to say. It helps smooth and straighten my hair even if I don't dry it after washing. When I do use a hair dryer it gives a nice polished, but still natural look to my hair. Love, love this product. However, it is a bit greasy, so it's important not to overuse it and I have to wash my hair every day.

In the shower I tend to wash my body with a bit of soap and that's it. Good body washes are hard to find and even expensive soap is cheap in comparison. Soap does the job and I spend my money elsewhere. However, for my face L'Oreal's Skin Genesis Pore Minimizing Gel Cleanser is the mildest product I could find that still effectively removes dirt and makeup without causing extreme pain if I get a bit in my eyes. I've tried a range of other products that either peel my skin off or don't remove makeup well. Sometimes I alternate with the cream cleanser from The Body Shop's Wise Woman line, which is mild too, but not very effective for removing eye makeup.

Speaking of makeup though, I barely wear any these days. No one's trying to impress at my workplace, so I usually go without. I occasionally use Neutrogena's Mineral Sheers Liquid Makeup for foundation, but I'm not entirely satisfied with this product. I am sure I'll eventually find something better. Lately when I go out in the evening I usually wear Revlon's Beyond Natural Smoothing Primer, Physician's Formula silver and black eye shadow, and a bit of mascara. Finish off with a touch of lip balm. That's it. I may not be smoldering or pulling off the Japanese color-craze stuff, but my skin is soft and smooth and clean.

I'll delve into fragrances another time!