Prevention Magazine Announces 2009 Defy Your Age Beauty Award Winners

Prevention magazine put the leading anti-aging beauty products to the test again this year and found seven products deserving of the “Defy Your Age” seal, including Olay ProX Age Repair Lotion, Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Age Shield Hand Cream and Estée Lauder Idealist Dual-Action Refinishing Treatment.

The full list of winners include:

Best Day Lotion with SPF: Olay ProX Age Repair Lotion SPF 30
This lotion contains two powerful peptides that work to smooth fine lines and firm skin by speeding the production of new collagen. ($42; drugstores) DDC reviewed.

Best Night Cream: Roc Multi-Correxion Night Treatment
Includes multitasking ingredients like retinol and vitamin C, which smooth and firm skin and lighten discoloration. ($25; drugstores)

Best Lip Treatment: Lancôme L’Absolu Rouge La Base Revitalizing Lip Treatment SPF 10
Contains Pro-Xylane, a sugar molecule that boosts production of collagen and skin’s built-in moisturizers to plump lips and diminish fine lines. ($29; lancome-usa.com)

Best Microdermabrasion Treatment: Estée Lauder Idealist Dual-Action Refinishing Treatment
This skin polisher instantly boosts brightness, decreases pore size and smoothes skin thanks to salicylic acid, glucosamine and a blend of spherical beads. ($49.50; esteelauder.com) DDC information.

Adult Acne Treatment: Avon Clearskin Professional Acne Treatment System
Unlike teenagers’ treatments, this trio of products—a scrub, a toner, and an oil-free lotion—contains humectants that soften and smooth. ($34; avon.com)

Hand Cream: Neutrogena Norwegian Formula Age Shield Hand Cream SPF 30
This cream smoothes fine lines and keeps hands soft with heavy-duty humectants and emollients; potent UV protection helps stave off future damage. ($6; drugstores)

Eye Cream: Skin Effects by Dr. Jeffrey Dover Cell 2 Cell Anti-Aging Eye Treatment
Made with hyaluronic acid, peptides and dermaxyl (a nonirritating synthetic retinoid), this cream decreases wrinkles, brown spots, and under eye darkness. ($15; CVS pharmacy)

You can log on to win all seven products (a $200 value!) at http://www.prevention.com/winbeauty

Have you tried any of these? How well did they work for you?

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Product Review: Neutrogena Oil-Free Acne Wash Daily Scrub

If you are looking for the highest concentration of beta hydroxy acid (BHA or salicylic acid) on the market Neutrogena Oil Free Acne Wash Daily Scrub is for you. BHAs are the only known agent that can penetrate through the layer of sebum (oil) and get down into the pore to prevent and treat breakouts. The bonus with this scrub is that it also has physical exfoliants that, while probably ineffective on actual pore cleansing, certainly feel good. And those physical exfoliants still work well to clear away dead or flaky skin, so that's well worth it. This is my go-to scrub, and I use it in conjunction with the Oil Free Acne Wash. The grapefruit one is exactly the same as this, only it has a fruity grapefruit scent. Perfect for those of us who deal with acne on a daily basis, and especially those of us who have adult skin.

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Product Review: Neutrogena MicroMist Tanning Sunless Spray

I picked this up while browsing Target recently (yes, I'm always there, thanks) and realized that I had never tried it. I'm a huge fan of Neutrogena products as my faithful readers well know, but I have never used their sunless tanning products. High time to rectify that situation.
So after work today, I popped in the shower and did a through exfoliation. Afterwards, I proceeded to spray myself into a bronze goddess. A few notes:

• They recommend using in a well ventilated area. I completely concur. My bathroom is fairly small, and after two legs even my dog was coughing.
• No need to stop spraying after each pass, as they mention on the can. Just keep moving it along and you will be fine. Don't linger in any specific area, just keep in constant motion.
• It recommends spraying on hands then wiping your hands on your face. If you do this, make sure your cuticles are in good shape and your hands have a bit of moisturizing lotion on them before doing this, or you might end up with orange cuticles. Trust me, I know. You will probably be better off doing a even light spray over your face.
  

Overall, this was a very good product for the price, exactly as I expected. The color is natural, if a bit on the light side for my taste, and I was amazed at the lack of smell. This might be the least smelliest tanning product I have used thus far. And as a bonus, it is supposed to be completely non-comedogenic, meaning it won't clog up those pores. Plus, the can works at all angles, so you can easily get those difficult to reach areas like your back very evenly.

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Review: Neutrogena Summer Glow Daily Moisturizer

Since I've been using a gradual tanner for my body, I figured it was high time to find one for my face. The problem? I have "problem" skin. It's feisty and prone to breakouts should it find anything distasteful in any of my products. This isn't normally a problem, but when it comes to self-tanners, my face simply revolts. It's not having any of them.

Enter my drugstore find, Neutrogena Summer Glow Face Daily Moisturizer, SPF 15 . I've had excellent luck with Neutrogena in the past, in fact, it is my preferred facial cleanser on a daily basis. I completely credit their Oil-Free Acne Wash for taming my problem skin.

This is a nice, gradual tanner - you won't see anything right away, and the results are very subtle. I find that it is excellent to use in conjunction with a gradual tanner (like my complete favorite,LOreal Sunless Sublime Glow Daily Moisturizer Medium Skin Tones, another drugstore find), not so much with a tanning product. Either way, you will find that this moisturizer won't irritate your skin, cause breakouts, or otherwise encourage problems. The scent is lovely, almost floral, with no lingering yuckiness that you often get with sunless tanning products. Dries well with no greasiness, and the best part is that it offers sunblock protection. I usually rely on my moisturizers to do this for me, rather than my makeup, which can change day to day.

Overall, I found this product to be well worth the price, and something that I will be reaching for well after summer's end.

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Favorite Body Scrubs

Have I mentioned that I'm obsessed with exfoliation? I truly am. I will buy any body scrub on the market and use it until it is all gone, regardless of whether or not I actually like it. I love the feeling of scrubbing all the rough spots until they are nice and smooth and then using an exceptional moisturizer. If they are scented with something that I wear in my daily perfume, so much the better. Pulling out a note (such as ylang ylang or bergamot) of my scent for use in bath products is one of my favorite ways of "matching." I pay more attention to that then whether or not my outfit matches. Truly. So I decided to put together a list of my favorites that I have discovered. And if you know of a body scrub that I should try, please let me know!
My most recent purchase is Boots Mediterranean Olive, Bergamot, and Walnut Body Scrub. This is a gentle and non-abrasive scrub that would be great for sensitive skinned people. The scent is lovely without being overwhelming, and it offers light moisturizing. One of my requirements for a great scrub is that they don't require me to use an additional product for moisturizing after I get out of the shower, and this one just barely qualifies in that regard. But the price is right, and you definitely don't have an oily feeling on your skin after the shower.
Neutrogena Energizing Sugar Body Scrub. This was the very first scrub I ever used. There is nothing exciting about it - the scent is exactly what you would expect, a basic citrus that is supposed to be invigorating. The exfoliatiors are sugar crystals, which aren't harsh on sensitive skin, and it has better than average moisturizing ability. But it is definitely lacking a "wow factor," although it really is a good basic scrub.
The Body Shop Strawberry Body Polish. This isn't a scrub in the true sense. It's a body polish, which means that it has great exfoliating ability, but not much in the way of moisturizing. Which is fine, especially if you like to control the amount of moisture your skin gets. I love the scent on this product, and often follow it up with their Strawberry Body Butter. With the addition of salicylic acid, it certainly keeps the rough spots to a minimum.
L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Sunless Scrub. I mention this precisely because it is almost the opposite of all my other favorite scrubs, yet there is always a tube of this in my shower. This offers no moisture at all. None. Don't expect it, you won't get it. And you don't want it, either - this scrub is designed to prepare your skin for self-tanning, and you don't want a layer of oils to prevent that bronze from developing. This scrub has BHAs and salt as it's exfoliant, so don't use it after shaving! Take it from me!
The Body Shop Bergamot Salt Scrub. I have to confess that I don't have this in bergamot. I have the ylang ylang option (sensual ylang ylang, natch), but it is exactly the same with the exception of the scent. This scrub is very, very moisturizing. No lotion needed afterwards at all. Because it's salt, it's another scrub that must be used prior to any shaving that needs to be done. Also, the salt grains are quite large - don't keep scrubbing until they dissolve, as you won't have a top layer of skin any longer. But the scent is heavenly, and the product is decadent.
Lush Buffy Body Butter. And I saved the best for last. I recently discovered the Buffy bar at the Lush store in Atlanta (great SA's there, by the way - they are awesome! Shipped my things to me because I wouldn't be able to get them on the plane), and I haven't stopped using it since. This solid bar can be used at the end of your shower, right before you get out. Not only are you treated to the most luxurious moisture, the exfoliating grains remove any bad patches you might have. And these grains aren't salt - they are ground rice, almonds, and aduki beans. This bar makes my skin the softest it has ever been, and I plan to keep a bar around from now on.

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