Moisturizer Archives - 15 Minute Beauty Fanatic

How to Fix Dry Winter Skin

Christine — Sat, 10 Nov 2018 20:00:00 +0000

Every year it amazes my how quickly my skin goes from fine to super dry winter skin. I’m dry, cracked and in pain. If I bump my hand on something, I’m sure to be bleeding. I asked skin care experts from estheticians to dermatologists for their best tips to help deal with dry winter skin. You can’t just moisturize your skin back to health in the winter, there’s a whole process behind fixing your winter skin. Celeste Hilling, Founder, CEO and Product Formulator for Skin Authority When moving from heated homes to heated cars to heated office buildings, our skin experiences less than 4% humidity in artificially heated, recirculated air. When skin is denied moisture, two things occur: surface skin becomes dehydrated and chapped while beneath the surface, sebaceous glands compensate by producing more oil. The oil and debris become trapped in the dry surface layers. This can lead to breakouts and irritation. To counteract this onset of winter skin blahs: • Daily Cleansing: Avoid the temptation to take hot showers as the heat will further dehydrate skin. Keep temperatures lukewarm and exfoliate from head to toe to slough off dead skin cells. Use a cleanser with small, gentle micro-beads…

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The Best Night Creams

Christine — Mon, 18 Jun 2018 16:00:38 +0000

It probably comes as no surprise that my most requested post lately is a list of the best night creams. I’ve written a lot about anti-aging skincare, and while I’m not a dermatologist, as a pediatrician I understand quite a bit of the medical literature about active ingredients and best practices. I’m all about having some actual evidence that an active ingredient will help your skin. So, what are the best night creams out there? I usually look for a thicker cream that can really hydrate my skin overnight. I want gentle anti-aging ingredients that are fine to use every night with my sensitive skin, primarily peptides and antioxidants. 1. The Skin Saint Defy Antioxidant Resiliency Creme: I just started using this cream and I’m already loving it! This cream has antioxidants and peptides, and is full of moisturizers. 2. Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream (also available in Whip, review here): This is my go-to introduction to antiaging skincare night cream recommendation. It has peptides, antioxidants and even niacinamide, is gentle and hydrating. It’s got a great price point too. Read my full Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream review here. 3. RoC Retinol Correxion Max Daily Hydration Anti-Aging Crème: I usually recommend…

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Battle of the Hydrating Masks: Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask vs Origins Drink Up Intensive

Christine — Fri, 04 May 2018 14:00:54 +0000

Have you heard about the Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask yet? I swear I hear about this mask from someone, or I get asked about it, roughly once every hour. Ok, maybe not quite that often, but it is a lot. The Jet Lag Mask is all over the place. It’s a hydrating mask that can be used as a moisturizer or a wipe off mask, there’s no need to wipe it off of your face. But wait… that sounds familiar, doesn’t it? I admit, it took me a while to buy the Jet Lag mask just because I wasn’t certain that I would like it any better than Origins Drink Up. That’s long been my favorite hydrating mask, I typically just apply a thicker layer and let it sit for an hour or so while I do other things, then I’ll tissue off the excess and go about my day. I decided I would try out the Jet Lag mask, and compare it to my beloved Drink Up. In full exposure, I bought Drink Up Intensive instead of regular Drink Up, because I thought I’d compare all three. I didn’t realize that I was out of the regular Drink…

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Kiehls Ultimate Strength Hand Salve Review

Christine — Sat, 10 Mar 2018 21:02:01 +0000

I’ve review a lot of hand cremes over the years, but I keep coming back to this one. At work we can use some pretty harsh hand soap (need to kill the ICU germies!), but we took this to an entirely higher and crazy level when I was still in training a few years ago. That’s right, the ICU where I did my fellowship used surgical scrub as hand soap. Rather than the just plain old harsh regular hospital soap. It was the most drying stuff ever, and if I didn’t get a moisturizer on my skin pronto my ezcema would flare and I’d be a red and rashy mess. By far and away the best hand lotion to keep my skin comfortable and looking good during the months that I was “on-service” was this one from Kiehl’s. It isn’t exactly cheap, but the bottles are pretty big and would last me at least six months. Once I started bringing Ultimate Strength in to work with me a few other people got hooked, and then a few others… and it kind of snow balled. We were giving it to each other as gifts. It was amazing. Why did the nurses,…

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Winter Favorite: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream Review

Christine — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 17:00:35 +0000

I haven’t really mentioned it on the blog, but at the beginning of the year major changes were made to the way my schedule works at work. I now have to be in the hospital when I’m on call, rather than accepting phone calls at home and driving in if I’m needed (not going to lie, I wasn’t crazy about this at first but the change has saved me multiple 2 am drives in to work during bad weather). This means that I’m spending a lot more time in the hospital, and I swear to you that the building is like one giant dehydrator. I can feel the air sucking the moisture out of my skin, soon I will turn into beef jerky or dried fruit perfect for taking with you on the go! Combine this with dry skin from winter and I’m about as dry as can be. About the time I found out about my schedule change, I got this big old box of moisturizers in the mail from First Aid Beauty. I’ve reviewed a bunch of their products before, and even had a Twitter Party with the brand years ago. And I hate Twitter Parties, they go…

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My Latest Winter Skincare Obsession: Olay Regenerist Whip Review

Christine — Fri, 08 Dec 2017 16:06:45 +0000

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed that I have been obsessing over a new moisturizer this fall. It was sent to me unbranded, so I wouldn’t be swayed by the brand. All I knew is the product was called Whip. The first time I tried this moisturizer, I could see a difference in my skin. I swear, my skin was a bit dry and irritated from playing outside with my daughters, and when I first applied this moisturizer that night, I could feel my skin soaking up the hydration. The next morning, my skin was still super hydrated and glowy, but it wasn’t heavy on my skin. I was seriously in love. How it Feels Fast forward a few weeks, and I was finally sent a branded jar of the moisturizer, and discovered that it was Olay’s new Whip! This new moisturizer has a very interesting texture. It reminds me a bit of a mousse, it has a light and springy feel and almost melts into my skin. You can see in the picture above the traditional Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream, which is a cream. The Whip is on the right, it’s a bit airier and…

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The Best Anti-Aging Moisturizer: Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream

Christine — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 20:04:00 +0000

I first reviewed Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream in 2007 (yes, 10 years ago), right when it was being released. I was blown away by this super moisturizing face cream! It was full of peptides to improve collagen production. There was also a lot of hyaluronic acid to really help plump up the outer layers of your skin while it hydrated, something that it did without feeling heavy on your skin. Since my initial review, I have been recommending this cream left and right. You’re 20 and want to start anti-aging early? You want to prevent premature aging without irritating your skin? You want a cream to use with your retinoid? You want a drugstore cream? You want a department store cream? Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream is the correct answer for each and every one of those situations. What is in Olay Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream? Since I first reviewed it, Olay has made some minor adjustments here and there in the formulation. The list of active ingredients is even longer, and the cream is just… better. It’s true! I don’t have the full ingredient list from the original Regenerist Micro-Sculpting Cream. However, I do have the new list and I don’t remember…

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There’s A Perfect Fit: L’Oreal Hydra Genius Skin Care Review

Christine — Wed, 29 Mar 2017 19:00:00 +0000

I feel like sometimes choosing the correct skincare is a guessing game. Which we need to keep doing over and over, since skin changes throughout the year. Will this moisturizer be too heavy for my combination skin? Will this lotion help my dry skin? There are plenty of products out there that might have the right active ingredients that you’re looking for, but they aren’t quite right for your skin type. L’Oreal is trying to at least make moisturizers a bit easier with their new Hydra Genius line. There are 3 versions, all formulated very similarly in terms of active ingredients, but they are labelled with your skin type. Have oily skin? Here’s the lighter weight version for normal to oily skin. On the drier side, or really dry side? You can chose between the cream or lighter gel lotion, depending upon how dry you feel your skin is at that time. The main ingredient of these moisturizers is Glycerin, with a lot of added in Hyaluronic Acid (quick refresher, this isn’t really an acid, instead it is a large molecule that your skin already makes, it sits on the surface of the skin and holds a lot of moisture…

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Curél Hydra Therapy Wet Skin Moisturizer Review

Christine — Tue, 28 Mar 2017 19:00:00 +0000

Recently I shared my battle with dryness and keeping my skin hydrated. When my skin is well moisturized, I just feel more comfortable. My skin feels softer and feels smoother when I have been moisturizing it regularly. Curel® Hydra Therapy actually makes the whole moisturizing process much easier for me! You step out of the shower, apply Curel® Hydra Therapy directly to your wet skin, and the water helps the moisturizer to absorb into your skin, rather than creating a layer on the surface of your skin. Just gently rub in the moisturizer and pat your skin dry. My skin felt super soft and the moisturizer doesn’t feel like a heavy layer on your skin. I have to admit, I was pretty worried about applying my lotion to wet skin at first. Would it sink in to my skin easily? Would the lotion hydrate my skin enough? Won’t I just be rubbing all of the lotion off with my towel? How does this work? It turns out, there was no reason to worry. The lotion feels like a normal lightweight lotion. I pat myself dry right after application, and can go about my day! After using Curél Hydra Therapy Wet…

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Curel Hydra Therapy Moisturizer Review

Christine — Mon, 06 Mar 2017 23:43:00 +0000

If you’ve read my blog for a while, you probably know that I have some skin issues. I should emphasize that. My skin has issues. I feel like I’m constantly struggling to balance the needs of my skin. Over the years I’ve discovered that I need to be very vigilant about keeping my skin well moisturized. Moisturizers help to restore the skin’s barrier function, which is vital to maintaining optimal moisturization. But, it can’t be just any moisturizer. A moisturizer with heavy occlusive ingredients such as paraffin or petroleum just feels heavy on my skin. I’ve found that using a moisturizer with ceramides (which already make up roughly 40% of the lipid layer in your skin’s outer cornified layer in the epidermis) is my best bet. Using said moisturizer within a few minutes of getting out of the shower is even better. Most dermatologists say the magic time is 3 minutes. Apply your moisturizer within 3 minutes of showering, so you can lock in moisture from the shower, before it evaporates. Curél® Hydra Therapy Wet Skin Moisturizer is a new moisturizer that I am really excited to use! They actually named it “Wet Skin Moisturizer”, because that is when you…

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