REVIEW: La Roche Posay Toleriane Creams

La Roche Posay is the #1 recommended brand by Dermatologists in Canada. And with good reason! They have a complete line of skincare that addresses every skin concern need for men, women, teenagers and children of all ages. They are famous for their body creams for extremely irritated and sensitive skins. Their products are soothing and loads of parents buy them for their small ones.

Today I'm talking about their TOLERIANE line of moisturizers. Their TOLERIANE line is meant for sensitive skins that are more on the oily side. There is a TOLERIANE FLUIDE, which is the lightest of all their moisturizers. Then there is the TOLERIANE, which is a bit richer. Then there's the TOLERIANE RICHE, which, as the name implies, is...well...rich! Despite the "RICHE" name, the lotion is still OIL-FREE! Actually all three are oil-free!

Feeling the three different textures is something you must do to really appreciate this line of moisturizers. The FLUIDE comes out like a cream, but as soon as you touch it, it feels like water on your skin! The regular TOLERIANE comes out like a light cream, and the RICHE comes out like a thick anti-aging cream. Such a range of textures!

The most amazing thing is that they're all oil-free! Glycerin is the active moisturizer in these 3 moisturizers. These creams are wonderful for increasing the water levels in your skin. Someone with acne is most likely using products like Benzoyl Peroxide or Salicylic Acid which are meant to sop up the oil from your skin, with an unfortunate side-effect being that they also DEHYDRATE the skin.

Dehydrating the skin causes your brain to send more oil (it can't send more water)... so you create this vicious cycle of using harsh products to eliminate the oil, which causes your body to only make more oil! This moisturizer helps to break that cycle because it not only increases your skin's water levels, but because Glycerin is a HUMECTANT, so it continues to pull water out of the air all day long and into your skin.

Everyone, not just those with acne-prone skins can benefit from increasing the water levels in their skin!

The BEST BEST BEST part is the sheer lack of ingredients. The FLUIDE only has 14 ingredients, and the regular TOLERIANE cream only has TEN INGREDIENTS!

For someone with very sensitive skin, someone who's allergic, someone with redness and rosacea, this is a dream-come-true. It is almost impossible to have an allergic reaction to a product that has SO FEW INGREDIENTS! There are no fragrance, no colour, no parabens, no fillers. Every single ingredient in these creams plays an important role in it's moisturizing abilities.

The next time you're in a drug store, pick up any moisturizer from a brand who's commercials you see on TV. Just look at the sheer size of the ingredient list. It's not unusual to see that there are 40-50 ingredients. If you consider yourself sensitive, you might as well save yourself the trouble and go straight for the La Roche Posay TOLERIANE creams.

Even the "cheapy" drugstore brand creams are now selling for $25 and up. La Roche Posay's TOLERIANE CREAMS are $31 for 40mL(1.4oz) and are definitely worth it!

I don't know where you can get La Roche Posay in the United States, but in Canada it's available at every Shoppers Drug Mart. And you should definitely check it out soon!

Goddess Jewelry

REVIEW: Roc Sublime Energy e-pulse eye

Since our bodies are huge masses of atoms, of energy, we are constantly creating energy. We are quite literally balls of electrical charges running all over the mass that is our body.

The people over at Johnson & Johnson (who own Roc) claim they have a cream that fuses together zinc and copper in E-PULSE, which "works by energizing ion-mineral conductors of zinc and copper that activate the skin’s natural process" and "When combined with the specially formulated Boosting Complex found in the crèmes, it increases the rapid flow of mineral ions to dramatically rejuvenate the look of skin."

When Roc first launched this product, I was beside myself! I was told that over the course of their research they discovered that wounds heal faster when this zinc/copper fusion was applied to it - because it allowed the electrical impulses in our skin to travel through the wound. Of course, this is not a claim that Roc makes, but apparently this is what led to the discovery of this zinc and copper fusion as an anti-aging product. This is a two-step product, comprised of a serum and a cream "activator"

I was really excited to get my hands on this product.

The first thing I noticed was that there was no zinc and copper fusion. If you look at the ingredients, zinc powder and copper powder are listed seperately.

The second thing I noticed was that that the E-PULSE concentrate (Step 1) has only 9 ingredients, and that Dimethicone (and its variants) comprise THREE of the first six ingredients. I would guess that it's 50% dimethicone, and if you felt its texture you would probably agree.

I was really disappointed. No wonder over 70% of women saw "instant" results! The Dimethicone is an optical softener, a "blurrer", a translucent line-filler!

Regardless... I thought I'd try it.

Two steps... first you put the E-PULSE concentrate on, and then you apply the "activator" over top. The concentrate is a strange grey colour... and the activator is loaded with sparkly light diffusers!

My eyes immediately looked firmer. My concealer also went on beautifully and didn't crease at all! However, my eye area felt dry. By the end of the day I couldn't wait to get my make-up off to load up on a rich eye-cream!

The next day I tried it again, but this time I put an eye cream underneath it. Bad idea - it caused the cream to "rice" and pile off my eye area. It was hideous! I had to wash my face and reapply my creams (without the E-PULSE).

Lesson learned. The E-PULSE is fantastic for if you need an INSTANT bit of line-filling and if you're okay with letting your eye area feel unmoisturized. But I wouldn't recommend it for every day use! Dry skin ages faster, and if your moisturizer isn't absorbing properly through the layer of dimethicone you're first putting on, then you're setting yourself up for fast aging!

I would recommend this for situations where you need a lift NOW, and then you turn into a pumpkin at midnight.

This stuff isn't cheap. It's over $60 for the eye treatment...and it's not a true anti-ager!

Roc's other eye creams (the retinol based ones) are AMAZING and are the true stuff of anti-aging-science. But I don't recommend the E-PULSE (which, btw, has SIX different parabens in it)

Au Naturel Day 3

I went to a Biotherm school today. Ah the irony. I came home with a bunch of chemical-laden skincare goodies that I can't wait to slather on myself!

But first...I have to make it through my 7 days of all-natural skincare!!!

My skin is radiant. My BF tells me my skin has never glowed so much before. I don't have a pimple in sight and I really do feel like there's a peachy tone to my complexion... maybe it's just the power of suggestion?

Yesterday I used my Baking Soda/Activated Charcoal/Rosemary EO concoction as a MASK! I mixed it with my GwendolynForever Honey & Glycerin cleanser/mask that I got on ETSY. I let it sit on my skin for about 3 or 4 minutes before I massaged it in and rinsed it off.

The beauty about Baking Soda is that it's alkalizing. Most germs and bacteria like acidic environments. So just by using a little baking soda on your face you're doing yourself a huge service! To be honest, I had a little red mark (obvious pimple) starting to creep up on my right cheek just south of the eye area... IDK if it was my little "mask" that I did, but it's almost gone now! I'm going to have to test this "alkalizing theory" again when a pimple starts to show up.

Baking Soda is also one of the most potent, and amazing, super-fine exfoliatiors that you could ever use! I bet you have some in your pantry right now! Use it tonight! And that's an order! ;o)

I've been moisturizing with Rose Hip Seed Oil, and still using that DRUIDE Shea Butter/Argan Oil cream as my eye cream.

Today I wore lots of make-up for going to the Biotherm school. For me, a lot of make-up is (but isn't limited to): Eyeshadow, Eyebrow powder, mascara, concealer, powder, blush and bronzer. I could have worn a lot more make-up... but compared to my every day - this is a lot for me :). Anyway, I'm rambling. The point being - the make-up is holding up! Despite the oil I'd been putting on my face for the past few days.

As much as I love my GwendolynForever Honey & Glycerin cleanser - I know it won't work to take my make-up off tonight... so I shall Oil Cleanse! Have you ever Oil Cleansed before?

Essentially, you wash and dry your hands - then you put a special oil blend in your hand and apply it to your DRY (and dirty) face. Massage for 2 minutes (put the lid down on the toilet and sit - you might as well get comfy). Then you take a washcloth and soak it in hot hot hot water. Carefully (trying to not scald yourself) wring out the washcloth and slowly bring it near your face. Let it steam your skin. After about 30 seconds it'll be cool enough to actually make contact with your face. Hold it there for about another 30 seconds. Then massage it into your skin, and watch in amazement as it takes EVERYTHING off. All your eye make up (even the waterproof stuff), concealer, silicone-based-primers, foundation, etc. Everything comes off!!! Then rinse out the washcloth, and once again soak it in hot hot water. Repeat the whole steaming and massing your skin bit. Sit back and adore your glowing complexion!!! Read more about Oil Cleansing here: http://beauty-treatments.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_oil_cleansing_method

Most people don't feel the need to moisturize after oil cleansing. But I would recommend a drop of your favorite oil (or moisturizer, if you're not on a crazy 7-day-let-me-see-if-I-can-do-this kick like I am) and eye cream.

Have you ever Oil Cleansed? What did you think about it?