BellaSugar

Bella Guide: Facial Creams For Your Skin Type

BellaSugar — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 05:45:24 PDT

I am always being asked for my expert opinion on great face creams, but sometimes it's tough to know which product to recommend if I can't see your complexion to make a proper analysis. So I've created a guide to fantastic facial creams best suited to each of the five skin types. Here are my definitions of the five skin types and my recommendations for the best moisturizers for each.

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Fantastic Facial Creams, Part V: Normal Skin

BellaSugar — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 10:16:51 PDT

Welcome to the final installment of my five-part series on Fantastic Facial Creams. Today I'm offering my recommendations for moisturizers best suited to normal skin. Having normal skin means that you have a fairly clear complexion with a pinkish tone and a dewy glow. If you are blessed with this skin type, you don't have to worry about dry patches or shine, so you might as well get a head start fighting the aging process. Here are three lotions to help you.

Crease Release by Dr. Brandt ($150) is a wrinkle-reducing cream for anyone that has a few fine lines they'd like to diminish. It contains white tea, green tea grapeseed, and GABA, an ingredient that relaxes the muscles and skin. It lasts up to 10 hours and leaves skin feeling smooth and refreshed.

For two more fantastic facial creams for normal skin,

read more Amatokin by Voss Laboratories ($173) is an ounce of love in a bottle. This super-concentrated emulsion is an amazing cream intended for normal skin with a few wrinkles here and there. It's also a great preventative and hydrating cream that claims to help your skin regenerate facial stem cells to keep you looking youthful and taut.
Positively Radiant Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30 by Aveeno Active Naturals ($14.69) contains a soy complex that promises to soften, smooth, and add radiance to your skin. It helps even out your skin tone and it contains SPF 30 to help block both damaging UVA and UVB rays.

Fantastic Facial Creams, Part IV: Combination Skin

BellaSugar — Thu, 07 Jun 2007 10:25:10 PDT

Welcome back to my five-part series on Fantastic Facial Creams for your skin type. (What skin type do you have? Tell me here.) After conquering oily skin, dry skin, and sensitive skin, today we'll be looking at that kitchen-sink variety known as combination skin. The most common type of combo skin combines an oily T-Zone with dry patches on the cheeks and sides of the eyes. The key is finding a cream that can comfort whatever combination you have, and these products should do the trick.

Sodium PCA Oil-Free Moisturizer by Kiehl's ($17.50) is designed for normal-to-oily, oily, and very oily skin. I used this for about a two-year period and loved it. It's so light that it doesn't clog your pores, and it contains a humectant for those water dry areas. But since it's made for oily skin, it's the perfect balance.

For two more fantastic facial creams for combination skin,

read more Organic Face Cream for Combination Skin by Patyka ($49) is a lightweight lotion with a high concentration of tree tea oil and spearmint for toning. It has a really nice feel to it, since the spearmint has kind of a cooling effect. It is also formulated with witch hazel to help keep pores tight.
Creme 93 by YonKa ($43) can be used in the morning and night to help fight excess shine in your T-Zone area and refresh your skin. It is a regulating cream made with ylang ylang and lime, which helps to even out the skin tone and revitalize the texture. I love this lotion because it makes my skin feel matte yet hydrated at the same time.

Fantastic Facial Creams, Part III: Sensitive Skin

BellaSugar — Wed, 06 Jun 2007 11:44:36 PDT

For the third installment of my five-part Fantastic Facial Creams series, we'll be looking at the best lotions for soothing sensitive skin. Those of you with sensitive skin know that it tends to be reactive and break out easily, and taming redness, blotchiness, or skin conditions like rosacea can be a constant battle. Here are three picks for sensitive-skin facial creams.

Complete All Day Moisture Lotion/Cream UV Defense by Oil of Olay ($9.61) came out in 2003, and it's still one of the best buys around. The mild moisturizing lotion contains SPF 15, vitamin E, and aloe to soothe redness. It's also free of fragrances, which can sometimes irritate sensitive skin.

For two more fantastic facial creams for sensitive skin,

read more Corn Ceresal Cream by Phytobiodermie ($44) is a light moisturizing cream formulated to balance, calm, and cool skin for an overall even and healthy skin tone. Made with corn-seed oil, lavender, and marjoram, it's especially great for Summer skin that's under stress from heat, sun, and sweat.
Skin Brightening Day Time Cream by Nefeli ($80) is a mineral- and herb-enriched cream that helps brighten your face by lightening age spots and blotchiness. It also calms irritated skin and is a terrific base for makeup application.

Fantastic Facial Creams, Part II: Dry Skin

BellaSugar — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 10:08:07 PDT

Welcome back to my five-part series on Fantastic Facial Creams for your skin type. (What skin type do you have? Tell me here.) Yesterday, I gave you the best face lotions for oily skin, and today, we'll explore face creams for dry skin.

There are actually two kinds of dry skin: oil dry and water dry. Oil dry means that you don't have enough oil in your skin, so you'll want to use a cream that contains natural oils. Water dry means that your skin is dehydrated and typically manifests itself in fine lines all over your face. If this is your skin type, drink plenty of water and look for a product with a humectant. Here are my recommendations for both types of dry skin.

Cetaphil Moisturizing Lotion ($9.89) is formulated to soothe and nourish water-dry skin. It has an oil-free, fragrance-free, and non-greasy texture, and it contains humectants that enrich your skin with moisture. It's also great for sensitive skin, since it contains no irritation-causing lanolins or parabens.

For two more fantastic facial creams for dry skin,

read more Kiss My Face Lavender & Shea Butter Moisturizer ($4) is a body and face lotion in one. It contains calming lavender as well as shea butter, which will help cure and soothe oil-dry skin.
Estee Lauder Resilience Lift Extreme Ultra Firming Creme for Very Dry Skin ($70) is great if you aren't sure which type of dry skin you have. It's rich in nutrients and will help moisturize tired skin that needs a lift. It gives your face a shiny, healthy glow, and it contains SPF 15 for sun protection. Use in the morning and in the evening, and within four weeks, you should see notice younger-looking skin.

Fantastic Facial Creams, Part I: Oily Skin

BellaSugar — Mon, 04 Jun 2007 14:36:39 PDT

Over Memorial Day weekend, I had the pleasure of chatting with acufacialist Shellie Goldstein, who caters to a number of celebrity clients at her Amagansett, NY, practice. We got to talking about skin type versus skin condition - skin type is something you are born with, while your skin condition is determined by your diet, your stress level, and your skin care regimen. There are five types of skin - dry, sensitive, oily, normal, and combination - and basically, you're stuck with the one you've got.

You can, however, change your skin condition by finding the right products for your face. Welcome to Part I of my five-part series on fantastic facial creams for each of the five skin types. Here are three great products best suited to oily skin.

Yon-Ka Creme PG ($43) is a lightweight and non-greasy lotion that helps balance oil production in your skin. It controls shine, tightens the pores, and fights blemishes. Made with retinol, burdock, vitamin A, and climbing ivy, it will give your skin a terrific matte finish. You can use it in the evening or in the morning as a base for makeup.

To see two more fantastic moisturizers for oily skin,

read more Dermalogica Oil Control Lotion ($33) is a light moisturizer intended for super-oily skin. It helps combat shine and tighten up large and inflamed pores, and since it contains salicylic acid, it also helps fight blemishes. It can be used as an all-over facial moisturizer or just in your T-Zone where shine is most apparent.
Peter Thomas Roth Oil-Free Moisturizer ($42) is an oil-free facial cream with a gel-like texture that is great if you're prone to blemishes. It is formulated with azulen and Vitamins A and E and will help soothe and hydrate skin without making it look or feel greasy.

Simply Spectacular: Sublimage by Chanel

BellaSugar — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:56:08 PDT

In pursuit of a new skincare breakthrough, the Chanel research team ventured deep into the forests of Madagascar. There, in the warm climate and moist, nutrient-rich soils, they discovered the rare green fruit called Vanilla Planifolia. This fruit blooms for a very short period of time-from September to November-and is known to possess serious anti-age defying powers.

The result: Chanel's latest and greatest anti-aging cream, called Sublimage. Chanel describes Sublimage as the ultimate in skin rejuvenation cream, and at $350 a jar, it had better be. The luxurious lotion assists in fighting off wrinkles, drooping, and lack of radiance while giving your face smoother, more consistent pigmentation. It also helps restore and regenerate your skin to create hydrated, taught, and glowing results. You can buy a 1.7 ounce jar for $350 here. (One note of caution: I was warned, with no explanation, not to use it around the eye area.)