suncream, zits and wrinkles: rolling skincare thread?

hope you can get it under control inexpensively

extreme skin discomfort is a huge bummer, can really fuck with you mentally (or at least it did with me)

hang in there!

I mean apart from being named "Fresh Lotus Youth Preserve," which, come the f on!

lol @ fresh lotus youth preserve
decent band name though?

Totes.

Which clothing line was it that had the hipster model with the giant lotus throat tattoo?

asos!

but also Morrissey and Robert Smith and the Queen

(as tatts, not who also have giant lotus throat tattoos... although maybe Liz keeps hers covered up)

hey, in orbit, yeah, send we whatever you got, what worries you the most, etc, and I'll pass it around the office.

I've never used anything by Fresh other than then sugar lip balm which I think is overrated. Also, if I'd been allowed to get tattooed last year at 16 I totally would have gotten Morrissey and Robert Smith tattoos but prob not the queen or a lotus or anything on my neck.

Man IO that sounds like a real pain in the ass/face. Makes me feel a little more accepting of my skin; it's a hell of a long ways from "flawless," but at least it doesn't *hurt*! Thanking u mottled bumpy skin for being only cosmetically and not physically annoying.

Thanks, everyone! I've been using Mario Badescu for 3-4 years and forgot I was so goddamn sensitive.

kate, you are a dear. I've thrown out the offending sunscreen moisturizer and I just sanded myself with cornmeal and honey and feel 100x better, but if the condition persists I will gratefully accept your offer.

I am a bit ocd about the skin around my eyes, as I have mentioned before. I have been experimenting with diff eyecreams for some time now, but haven't really found anything good. I liked the clinique all about eyes but I've been hoping I could find something better. Tried some inexpensive options, no real joy. Anyway, got a sample of a Kiehl's eyecream a while back (long name, something something super duper avocado blah blah). I used it while I was travelling, and I was kinda shocked at what a difference it made. It was a little greasy, but the skin under my eyes smoothed out, and it helped to firm up the skin above my eyelids which is kinda droopy. I used it up in a week though, and went back to my cheapo one when I got home. I was trying to convince myself I didn't need to get it, because $$$, but this whole time I've been thinking, man that eyecream was ~the business~

So I finally bought a proper container of it today (I mean, if this shit holds up, then technically I'm saving money, since I've been buying $10 tubes and not finishing them so I can totally justify this in my head lol)...it's so sad how product purchase = happiness but ugh you guys I'm so happy to have this properly in my routine now

oh and the guy who sold it to me had this SUPER-affected way of talking it sounded like he was saying 'UH CREM' (why bcz beauty salon, it's like a hiring policy at this place that you have to have a weird way of talking along with 1) crazy fake tan 2) bored/snotty attitude and 3) ridiculous name )

I repeated it to myself all the way home in the car, it made me lol so much

I went shopping for eye cream last week! I read reviews and went to try out a bunch but they all mostly feel the same. Tbh I just need something to leave on overnight for moisturising and goodness. Went with Estee Lauder night repair which seems ok. I looked at the kiehl's one and it felt lovely!

I've been really pleased with Eminence Organics Herbal Contour crime, I think it's called. Very moisturizing. Might try the Keihl's next, though.

LOL cream! Crime! Hahahaha good one, iPad.

Which Kheil's VG?

I just re-bought my Shiseido one but I went with the dark circle one (cause that's my main thing) and not the wrinkle one and I don't know if I like it as much. We'll see.

I'm sure there are plenty of great drugstore brand skincare stuff but I do think that some things are worth splurging on for sure.

It's Super Creamy Avocado Eye Treatment? I think

lol 'crime', it's true

Yeah, I've heard good things about that!

It is officially insane how much that avocado eye cream costs.

I mean, I want it but I couldn't justify once I was in the store holding the tiny container. Then I went to Aveda and they have this "anti-stress" body butter/moisturizer, maybe like 200ml and it's $60 - I actually asked why and the salesperson was like "it's organic and specially blended, etc". I'm seriously not cheap about cosmetics in the first place but I'm just going to go get some Shea butter and coconut oil and make my own (anti-stretch-marks) body butter.

I did buy the Aveda tinted moisturizer SPF 15 (titanium dioxide only) though.

price per ounce of skincare/cosmetics is some astronomical bullshit, like are magical fairies crying into these tiny jars, whyyyyy are we paying so much

i plan to have this jar of kiehl's til I retire. when it runs out, i will shed actual tears

what have i become

Things I have decided I am willing to pay big dollars for:

• foundation that I like
• sunscreen with high SPF and PPD that does not irritate my eyes, and therefore makes me OK with putting it on as needed
• undereye concealer that cost more than drug store but that I like and can use a pot of for like two years
• going to the derm to a) make sure I don't have the cancer and b) get a spironolactone rx, which makes my acne disappear like magic without side effects

Oh I use cheap sunscreen on my body; the fancy shit is for my face so that it and my eyes don't sting

Things I am not gonna do big dollars on now that I am a social worker and not a corporate whore:

• mascara

um sorry for fucked up formatting

Yeah I mean I pay $55 for a two-month supply of Clindoxyl, but the stuff keeps my skin clear and for that power I will pay the price forever. It's just that most cosmetics don't have such a profound effect for dollar value - or even have a negative effect on my sensitive skin (and then I return them if possible).

I also bought Aveda concealer - because good quality concealer is important, yes!

Still thinking about buying the eye cream fwiw...

I still but Clinique mascara, which is priced right btwn drugstore and Dior.

I have fallen deep into a Beautypedia rabbit hole - http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia/

I can't stop looking things up! Most revelatory discovery: CeraVe stretch mark cream as hand/eye/night cream (but not stretch marks of course). I bought a big old tube from Ulta and it's really great stuff.

http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia-skin-care-reviews/by-brand/cerave/_/Intensive-Stretch-Marks-Cream

i stumbled on that site the other day while I was googling that loreal bb cream stuff ... i like how indepth the reviews are!

My favorite thing is to go to the "Best" reviews and sort by price to see how good some very cheap skincare/cosmetics are.

My second favorite thing is to look up stuff that I thought was good and find out I've been duped for years. Some things I have liked that it turns out are dumb and possible harmful: Eminence eye cream, Dr. Feelgood, that benefit two-step micro peel that I paid $70 (but that was like two years ago and I still never used it up so I didn't feel too bad about tossing it), everything Lush.

everything lush?!

http://www.paulaschoice.com/beautypedia-skin-care-reviews/by-brand/lush?sort=product&direction=asc&pageNumber=1&pageSize=25&brand=lush

Pretty much. The explanation makes sense.

I get where she is coming from with her reviews of a lot of lines that I've always liked or thought were better, like Lush or L'Occitaine. Basically she's saying that plant extracts and what have you are fine, but aren't automatically better than synthetic ingredients, especially when the plant ingredients are known to be irritating or are in the products in such small amounts that it would be impossible for them to do what the products claim (even assuming the claim is legit). And also when the process of synthesizing plant or natural ingredients renders them as synthetic as something that starts out that way. A lot of those high end natural lines are like that.

Also I really like her focus on packaging and how that can impact the efficacy of the product.

As for Lush, I would still buy their soap and body lotion because I like the smell. I can't get behind her anti-bar soap stance, either, since I think shower gel is a ridiculous product.

Here this paragraph from the Aveda overview is what I'm talking about:

Aveda would truly like you to believe that it is in fact the flower and plant essences in its products that are doing the "work" If that were true, why bother using so many of the industry-standard ingredients seen in products from other cosmetics companies? Many of the highlighted plant ingredients merely contribute to the fragrance of the products. That's an obvious draw, but it's not enough to ensure a great (or even good) product. It has also been well established that once many of these plants and oils are purified and processed for use in cosmetics, they retain very little of their original benefit—though that doesn't mean they are worthless ingredients for skin. Furthermore, the manner in which Aveda discusses many of their plant ingredients on their Web site speaks more to historic and folkloric use rather than to published research that establishes a genuine benefit. It may seem intriguing to consumers that some plants have been "used for centuries to cleanse the skin and hair," but lots of things used a long time ago would be a problem today, including lead in cosmetics, not using sunscreen, absence of barrier repair substances and cell-communicating ingredients, and on and on. History doesn't always translate to eternal efficacy or safety, and it shouldn't be a deciding factor when you're choosing a skin-care routine.

The one that really got me was the review on the boring old Pond's dry skin cream I've been using, which I thought would be heartily approved because it's so basic, and which I bought because I just assume all skin care claims are bullshit:

Dry Skin Cream, The Caring Classic takes the prize for the most boring facial moisturizer at the drugstore. It’s a classic oil-in-water with wax formula, and although it can address the basic needs of dry to very dry skin, using it is akin to sending someone a telegram instead of an email.

Oh snap.

The verdict is in: I reordered my old stand-by, Mario Badescu oil-free moisturizer with titanium dioxide, and now I'm getting subcutaneous acne and surface flakiness. So I can't use this moisturizer either and it was probably part of what used to make me break out and I just chalked it up to my "problem" skin.

At this point, the ONLY moisturizers that don't hurt my face are regular old Aveeno body lotion and regular Kiehl's Creme de Corps. But I need a sunscreen eventually!! Do I try a zinc-only formula? What other options are there??

I need kate78!

HELLO. Send me your address.

it's that time of year when i have to spend extra time after showering applying whatever moisturizer will really work best and also be cost effective. any thoughts about liquid lanolin (aside from "ew gross it is from a sheep")?

i'm talking about body not face btw

I use lotion year-round, and the only one that still feels soft and moisturized like 10 hours later is Aveeno. I don't know what they put in that stuff, maybe it's just that my skin responds especially well to it? Not that I'm a special snowflake, but I just can't find ANYTHING that works as well.

you're a special skin flake
lol

Thank you for that.

sorry :-/

i can't believe how much time it takes to properly moisturize
it's really irritating

lol