I have been using the Skin Perfecting Lotion since the
beginning of July and I have been loving it to death. It's a bit pricey, yes, and it does not have sunscreen, but if you read my summer post about the Jane Iredale Mineral Powder, you'll see why I don't find the lack of SPF a problem. What it DOES have is Retinol for refining the skin and promoting the production of collagen, and Grape Seed Extract for promoting healing and fortifying the skin against sun damage. Because it's super light it's great by itself for oily skin, as well as dry or aging skin under a more emollient cream. In fact, Murad sells the exact same lotion in different packaging in both their Acne line and their Anti-Aging line.
Express Studio Stretch Columnist Pant It's been a couple of years since I bought any slacks... leggings being the wardrobe love-of-my-life, but when I recently realized my last living pair had definitely faded, I knew it was time to replace them. I'm sure you can imagine how excited I was just days later to find a coupon in Details Magazine worth $25 off a $50 purchase at Express. I had never shopped there before. I'd admired displays from outside, and even browsed the accessories, but never purchased a single thing. (Notice my personal info includes the title "Dimestore Fashionista"!) This time I tried on every style they had, and boy oh boy, do I love what I found!! The Columnist Pant is my favorite dress slack EVER!!!! It's so hard for me to find pants that fit (thus my obsession w/ leggings) because I have a small waist & upper hip, but fuller in the upper thigh. Long waisted, too. These pants fit perfectly and I could NOT stop looking at my butt in the mirror the day I wore them to work! (Uh, yeah, I work where there are a lot of mirrors, ok?) The regular price, btw, is $60, so I'm hoping to land another fantastic coupon to buy a second pair. ;o)
Avalon Organics Vitamin C Balancing Facial Toner If you like products that you can actually FEEL working on your skin, you will LOVE this toner. I bought it in a pinch when I was broke, to temporarily replace the Vitamin-C toner I was using from a much more expensive line. What I found was that I love it even more. (It was only around $8 at Target.) Click on the link to see all the amazing ingredients and what they do! The reason I feel it "working" is probably the papaya extract, which dissolves a protein called keratin which holds the dead skin cells onto your face. (Ew! LOL) Another star ingredient is Vitamin-C, which protects against free-radicals and promotes production of collagen & elastin. The only draw-back for me is that it is not in a spray bottle and I like to spray my toner onto my face & let it soak in a bit before applying moisturizer, but I easily remedied that by re-using my old toner bottle.
