Tag: La Prairie

The Best Cream Blushes

While we are in the season of bronzers, I have found the real workhorse can be a rosy blush. They refresh the face with a luminous healthy glow. And I’m having a love affair with the cream variety. They tend to look more natural on me, blending out easily and evenly and having more radiance than their powder counterparts. Here are my picks for cream blush all-stars:

1. Chantecaille Radiant Fresh New Cheek Creme is a more pigmented formula. But because it is so silky, it blends out to a beautiful flush. The formula contains Lily Bulb Extract and Peach Extract which work as antioxidants.

2. Maybelline Dream Bouncy Blush in Coffee Cake is not actually a cream but bear with me. The formula actually applies like a cream but but dries to a long staying powder appearance. They make a wide range of shades, and at drugstore prices, you can afford to pick up a couple. I love Lara’s tip for using this product. Check out her post on The Glossarie right here.

3. Youngblood Mineral Cosmetics Luminious Creme Blush is oil free, but applies creamy. I’ve found it has great staying power with a balanced finish, not too dewy or pigmented.  The formula contains Vitamins C and E, Allantoin and Jojoba Esters to hydrate and protect the skin.

4. La Prairie Cellular Radiance Cream Blush is a true luxury product. This is the most nourishing formula. It almost feels like a moisturizer going on. Skin care ingredients actually make the underlying skin healthier. The finish is on the sheer side.

Chantecaille Radiant Fresh New Cheek Creme

I am new to cream blushes and not quite sure why I didn’t get hooked on them sooner. I have dry skin and don’t often use powder. (A cream blush generally works best over liquid or no foundation and doesn’t play too nicely with powder.) My standby, La Prairie Cellular Radiance Cream Blush, is a sheer cheek color with great skin care properties. And always close at hand. But I have another partner in crime now. Chantecaille Radiant Fresh New Cheek Creme is more pigmented and silkier. I truly love them both, equally, for different reasons.

Chantecaille Cheek Cream has a very soft texture that blends beautifully into an even color. It has a velvety, matte finish that dries down very quickly. I can’t detect much of a scent – if anything, there is a hint of rose. The formula contains a unique technology, giving the color more luminosity. White Lily Bulb Extract and Peach Extract act as antioxidants. I love the sleek silver compact which holds a deceptively large amount of product.

Available in three shades:

  • Coy – Light Peach. (my current favorite, pop of color but not too overwhelming)
  • Demure – Medium Peach.
  • Shy – Light Pink.

These are available for $34 at Neiman Marcus. Use code JUNEFS for free shipping.

La Prairie Cellular Radiance Cream Blush

This is splurge-y. Yes, I know. But it is just that darn good. October of last year, it won Allure’s ‘Best of Beauty’ award for Best Top Splurge Blush. I’ve been using the Cellular Radiance Cream Blush in Peach Glow for a couple weeks. I invariably toss this in my purse because I want it with me all the time. Not to mention how beautiful the silver and gold compact is.

The nourishing formula adds needed hydration and soothes my skin. The Peach Glow just adds a touch of pinky peach with just balanced luminance. It isn’t a dramatic  look but rather healthy and natural. I just use my fingers to apply right on my cheekbones in a sheer wash, but you can build up the color. This can be worn alone or over any lotion or cream foundation.

There are five shades available:

  • Rose Glow
  • Peach Glow
  • Berry Glow
  • Mauve Glow
  • Plum Glow

P.S. I already envy all of you that live out in LA. Or even those of you with an upcoming trip out there. My four days back in April just weren’t near enough. I squeezed in a visit to the new La Prairie spa at the gorgeous Hotel Bel-Air. The property has recently been updated and the new spa is a “can’t miss”. The understated elegancy and luxury is perfectly quiet and tranquil. May I suggest their new Luxe Caviar manicure and pedicure? Or perhaps a signature facial?

by Lindsay Rogers

La Prairie White Caviar Illuminating Eye Cream

When La Prairie launches a new line, they make sure their loyalists will love it. Their new White Caviar Illuminating Système specifically targets age spots, discoloration and hyper-pigmentation, meeting the needs of their current customers and making a new one out of me. My biggest concern is under eye circles and hyper-pigmentation, so I was on La Prairie bandwagon for the first time. I had no qualms about trusting my eyes to La Prairie. They have been around for more than a half of a century as pioneers in cellular, anti-aging therapy.

The White Caviar Illuminating Eye Cream works in three ways against discoloration. It prevents by limiting and minimizing the trigger enzyme, tyrosinase, which starts hyper-pigmentation deep within the skin. While you are using the cream, it actuals is decreasing and controling excess melanin. And, lastly, it also fades existing spots.

Here’s where it gets technical: Oligopeptide-68, a skin-lightening peptide, along with Swiss Garden Cress Sprout Extract, fade existing spots and prevent future excess pigment formation. Vitamin C and Licorice Root Extract help melanin. And  Golden Caviar Extracts boost the anti-oxidant level of defense in the skin while also promoting firming aspects. Lastly, La Prairie’s exclusive Cellular Complex of Glycoproteins, Horsetail, and Ginseng Extracts, help stimulate the skin’s natural renewal process.

Long story short: it works. This stuff is results oriented. My dark circles have improved and even some hyper-pigmentation around my eyes has faded. And a bonus is you can use day and night. The formula is sheer and lightweight so it works well under makeup. And because of its weight, you can apply it all the way up to the brow bone.

 

The At-Home Peel

At one time, peels required a doctor’s visit, inspired fear and often disappointed on results. Not to mention the healing time required afterward. Today, peels have transformed into a satisfying step in skin care that you can do at home with next day results! I’ve heard so much banter on the twitter waves lately about these products, that I had to share my favorites.

  1. Glamglow isn’t a peel in the name, but accomplishes many of the same goals. And it is no longer an underground cult favorite – Glamglow was a Neiman Marcus Beauty Award Winner in2012! It is popular in Hollywood, but the mud base hails from Southern France, home to glamorous Cannes, St. Tropez and Monaco. Glamglow was a proprietary technology that allows ‘Super-Squalene’, a moisturizer, and ‘EGCG Super-Antioxidants’ direct into the mud from the pieces of tea leaves. This can be quite granular, so be gentle, but you will not believe your glow afterwards.
  2. Sulwhasoo Skin Clarifying Mask (also technically not a peel, but I had to include it since you peel it off) is a very gentle and very gratifying way to lift out impurities and dead skin cells to detoxify and clarify dull, devitalized, and problem skin. Korean medicinal herbs on in this honey like formula that you allow to dry on your face and then literally peel off. This is better for those who lean to the oilier side of skin.
  3. Dr. Dennis Gross Skinare Alpha Beta Daily Face Peel is a peel designed for daily use because it is so gentle. I love the simple two step proccess: simply wipe the face with a pad from Step 1, wait two minutes, then repeat with Step 2. This stuff can stand up to any problem: fights wrinkles, balances oil, tones skin, increases clarity and radiance, and calms redness.
  4. For those with sensitive skin try Natura Bisse NB Ceutical Tolerance Enzyme Peel reviewed here. Instead of glycolic or lactic acid, this Peel uses enzymes. It has a great texture that is rubbed in until it liquifies. My skin looked brighter and more even immediately after I used it. There was absolutely no tingling at all.
  5. La Prairie Cellular Resurfacing 3-Minute Peel is a little more active. I could feel tingling, but wasn’t left with any redness. They recommend using this once a week, which I would adhear to. La Prairie is serious about the inclusion of “professional level” exfoliants, including AHAs, BHA, Salicylic Acid and Mixed Fruit Acids. The skin is retexturized by the removal of surface debris. My skin was incredibly smooth and evened after using.
  6. Kate Somerville Micro Glycolic Polisher uses both glycolic AND lactic acid work together to promote surface cell turnover, gently and effectively. At the same time, she added anti-aging to leave us with a youthful glow. Can it get any better? Blue Lotus extract delivers anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits to calm skin and fight against free-radical damage. This doesn’t cause my skin to tingle at all and I can see immediate results.And I’m already hooked on Felicia’s, Bergdorf’s Social Media Beauty Editor, trick: “Add one pump of Micro Glycolic Polisher to your regular night time moisturizer for a little overnight mild exfoliation. Wake up glowy.
  7. Kate Somerville also makes Clinic-To-Go™ Resurfacing Peel Pads which are genius for travelling. When I first started using them, I did get a little tingle. No more. I love having these around for the evening after a long airplane ride or the night before an early morning important meeting.

Do you use a peel?