Branche Silk Charmeuse Pillow Case in Blush.
No one’s an overnight success. Unless, of course, you’re one of these beauty wonders.
Branche Silk Charmeuse Pillow Case
I’m no beauty novice. I’ve been devouring beauty, skincare and makeup information since I was 13 when my mother first put the tentative strokes of blue liner on my upper lid. At 16, I was seeking advice about eye cream from the woman behind the Estee Lauder counter at Macy’s (who promptly smirked and told me to just use moisturizer). So it’s a given that I haven’t slept on my side or my stomach in years to prevent the dreaded nasolabial folds (the “parentheses” around your mouth).
Unfortunately, a strained muscle in my back (an accumulated result of vacuuming a bit too arduously; spending a day lifting my 20-month-old, 25-pound niece; and a shameful lack of exercise) has forced me to spend a few nights sleeping on my side, my face smushed into the pillow. (The horror!)
Thankfully, I was trying out Branche‘s silk charmeuse pillow case at the time. I’ve been hearing about silk pillow covers recently, how they extend the life of a blow-out and prevent facial wrinkles. But I became a believer when I awoke after a particularly tumultuous night (with pain like that, you don’t care about wrinkles for the moment), and one glance in the mirror revealed no folds. In fact, no marks, no redness, nothing to indicate I had just spent nine hours on my face.
Add to that the fact that Branche’s loft 22 momme weight silk contains 18 amino acids and a high copper content that diminishes frizz and reduces hair breakage, and has been used as a curative skin treatment in ancient China. This beauty devotee is sold.
AmorePacific Contour Lift Extreme Collection
For a while, I thought I’d be immune from wrinkles. After all, my 92-year-old grandfather’ cheeks, bespeckled as they may be with age spots, are smooth and completely line-free. But years spent as a Southern Cal teen during the ’80s (read: tanning with baby oil) has caught up with me and I’ve reached a point where wrinkles are another battle to add to my growing list of beauty woes.
I never thought I’d need a beauty product with “lift” and “extreme” in its name, but AmorePacific‘s Contour Lift Extreme Creme really does make a difference on my face and neck.
AmorePacific Contour Lift Extreme Creme.
The Korea-based company is known for their use of indigenous botanicals like 6-year-old Korean red ginseng, matsutake mushrooms, bamboo sap, and green tea harvested from Korea’s Jeju Island for a luxury skincare experience.
As for me, I can literally feel the “lift” when I apply it, especially on my neck. And while I may be too young to worry about the dreaded turkey neck anytime soon, my philosophy is, you can never start too young when it comes to warding off wrinkles.
La Roche-Posay Effaclar AI Intensive Acne Spot Treatment
La Roche-Posay Effaclar AI Acne Treatment.
Yes, I am one of the 50 percent of adult women who suffer from adult acne. It’s actually more hormonally-charged pimples that crop up like clockwork once a month. And trust me, I’ve tried almost everything out there. It’s not fair to have to double up on every skincare product — one for wrinkles and one for acne. It’s straight out cruel.
One of my favorite suncare brands, La Roche-Posay, just introduced a new adult acne treatment that has been shown to reduce stubborn acne in just three days. Effaclar AI Intensive Acne Spot Treatment has 5.5 percent Benzoyl Peroxide (twice as much as usual), but in a micronized form, which means it penetrates deeper and minimizes skin irritation. That, combined with Lipo-Hydroxy Acid to micro-exfolate the skin and stimulate cell renewal (read: minimal residual skin discoloration).
For a beauty fanatic like me, that’s exciting. For everyone else, just know this: I dabbed it on one particularly painful, angry lump the other day and woke up to a no longer painful, smaller lump the next day. Two days later, it was totally gone — no eruption, no squeezing, nothing. Now, for me, that is a miracle.
Get it at CVS, Duane Reade and Longs, or online here.
