Here’s your chance to win a RevitaLash Eyelash Conditioner, which sells for $150 on the RevitaLash website, and in salons and spas. The product is designed to create fuller, thicker, longer looking eyelashes after 3-10 weeks of daily use. I was given two boxes of RevitaLash by Athena Cosmetics, and instead of using them on myself, I want to give them away to two Savvy Skin visitors. Personally, I haven’t tried RevitaLash yet.

There will be two contest winners, each who will win one RevitaLash Eyelash Conditioner. To enter the contest, leave a comment on the bottom of this article about why you want to win RevitaLash, and be sure to include your name and email address (your email address will not be visible to others). I will randomly pick two winners and notify each winner by email, and then I will get your address and send you your prize. You can only enter once.

The contest starts March 11th and ends March 25th, 2010.

Visit RevitaLash FAQ to read more detailed information about the product. RevitaLash is a cosmetic, so its current formula does not contain any “drug” ingredients and you don’t need a prescription to use it, unlike Latisse. RevitaLash should be safe to use for everyone, but you must follow the instructions in the box carefully, and if you have any concerns, speak with a doctor before using it. In some cases, you could be allergic to an ingredient in the product, so discontinue using it immediately if this is the case.

RevitaLash Ingredients: Water, Sodium Chloride, Panthenol, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Chlorphenesin, Disodium Phosphate, Trifluoromethyl Dechloro Ethylprostenolamide, Cellulose Gum

With all that said, Good luck!!!

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GoWear Fit by BodyMedia is an armband that is a lifestyle and calorie management system. You may have seen “The Biggest Loser” contestants wearing a BodyBugg, and the GoWear Fit is the same thing. In simple terms, the armband tells you how many calories you burn each day, and specifically how many calories each activity you do burns.

Last summer I was on a weight loss kick and after trying almost everything for four months, I lost zero pounds (and zero inches)! I read 10 diet books, went to the gym almost every day, did weights, did cardio, and calculated my calorie intake, yet I was not losing even an ounce. WTF?? I was diagnosed officially with hypothyroid (low thyroid), which I suspected I had for years, but I never found losing weight impossible in the past. I am writing about this weight loss tool on my skin care blog because almost everyone is interested in new ways to achieve weight loss, so I wanted to share my experience.

Get your own GoWear Fit from Amazon

GoWear Fit vs BodyBugg
When I got my GoWear Fit last year, I bought it instead of the competing BodyBugg because it was cheaper. The two armbands used to look different, but now it appears that they are the same thing, but I think the GoWear Fit is still cheaper (and Amazon has the best price).

GoWear Fit for weight loss
To see what was going wrong with my metabolism, I bought the GoWear Fit armband to track exactly how many calories I was expending each day. The armband is pretty pricey (it now sells for around $175). I had read great reviews about it online, and there are whole message boards online dedicated to discussing the GoWear Fit, so I was super excited to try it.

The armband is easy to use – just slip it on, velcro it shut, and you’re good to go. At the end of the day, you plug it into your computer, login to the BodyMedia website, and it shows you a graph of how many calories you’ve burned during the day, as well as nearly minute-to-minute. I think the website has added some new features since I last used it in the summer. The graph of burned calories is pretty fascinating – it showed me sitting on the couch watching TV (1 calorie burned per minute), working on my computer (still just 1 calorie a minute), walking to the mailbox (3 calories per minute), doing yoga (5 calories a minute), etc.

What I discovered is that I burned about 1 calorie a minute sitting around, and I burned more doing anything else – walking down the hall, chasing the cat, walking around a store, etc. I know it’s pretty obvious, but you feel really encouraged to get up and do stuff so that it shows up on your graph at the end of the night. It’s also fun to see surprise calorie burns – I burned more calories shopping one day than I did doing yoga for an hour. Woohoo!

The armband also calculates how many steps you take each day, so it acts as a pedometer as well. I was always way, way below the magic 10,000 number:( It also calculates your physical activity (cardio) and again mine was pretty low, except the actual time I was at the gym. So the armband highlighted the fact I really wasn’t being as active each day as I could have been:(

GoWear Fit for sleeping
The most surprising benefit of the GoWear Fit is that it monitors your sleep patterns. The armband can tell when you are just lying there versus when you are actually sleeping. It showed me burning about 1 calorie a minute sleeping, but sometimes I burned even more, which is weird, since that meant I burned more calories sleeping than working at my computer! I wonder if this is totally accurate, or if being under a warm blanket can throw off the device? What I found out is that I am a perfect sleeper, and I have a great sleep efficiency, whatever that means.

My boyfriend always complains he can’t stay asleep and he’s always exhausted so I made him wear the armband for a few nights. His graph was dramatically different than mine, and it showed him waking up once an hour, and never getting restful sleep. I’m pretty sure he has sleep apnea, and this tool was the proof. If you suspect you have sleep problems, I could see this device helping you figure out if something’s wrong, and hopefully with a doctor’s help, you can then get treatment.

Is GoWear Fit worth the money?
My armband told me I burned around 1800-2000 calories a day, and there were a lot of days I didn’t go to the gym because I was so fed up with not losing weight. I was eating about 1300 calories a day, so why I never lost weight is still one of the great mysteries of my life. On the BodyMedia website, you enter in your weight, sex, and height, and I wonder if the graphs just give you a general idea of what you *should* be burning if you have a *normal* metabolism. Many women have metabolisms that are much slower than average, but I wasn’t able to find documentation that states whether the GoWear Fit armband can tell this, or if it just does an average for your weight and height. I still didn’t lose any weight after using the armband, and to this day I haven’t lost any weight, even though I’m an expert on what *should* work. However, given that this is a unique tool that gives you specifics about your daily calorie burn, if you’re at a weight loss plateau and nothing is working, if you need extra motivation, if you have sleep problems, or if you have no idea how many calories you’re burning, I think the GoWear Fit is worth the cost.

GoWear Fit disadvantages
The one bad thing about the armband is that you have to wear it almost 24/7. During the hot summer, I was wearing it around everywhere while wearing tank tops, so I constantly felt self-conscious. It’s not uncomfortable, though, so if you cover it up with a jacket or long-sleeve top, no one will know you have it on. Finally, the initial cost of the armband is expensive, but it is an investment into your health. You also get a three month free membership to the BodyMedia website, but after that you have to pay a monthly subscription to continue to upload your nightly data. Aside from the cost, and the slight embarrassment, there are no other disadvantages to using a GoWear Fit.

Bottom Line
The GoWear Fit, or BodyBugg, is an excellent tool to help achieve your weight loss goals for most people, although I do question whether it can accurately assess your metabolism rate. The armband helps to motivate you to move around more, and it gives you insight into how many calories each daily activity really burns, thus taking away your guessing, which can be way off at times. And it’s the first tool I’ve seen that can help diagnose sleep issues. After using my GoWear Fit for a few months, I felt like I had enough knowledge about my expended daily calories and sleep patterns, so I ended up selling it used on Ebay and getting back 90% of my money!

Get your own GoWear Fit here

Have you tried a GoWear Fit or BodyBugg? What did you think?

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Tarina Tarantino, the famous pink-haired jewelry designer, has ventured into a beauty line and now sells her sparkly makeup exclusively at Sephora. I’m so excited because I have tons of Tarina jewelry, and I love her style, so I’m sure her makeup will be great as well. I see a splurge coming on… The product packaging is super cute and it’s embellished with rhinestones, skulls, bows, cameos, a Tokyo theme, butterflies, and lots more.

Shop Tarina Tarantino at Sephora!

Have you tried Tarina Tarantino’s new beauty products yet? What do you think?

Tarina products that look enticing to me:

Sparklicity Pure
A pale pink crystalline sparkly highlighter for brows arches, eyes, cheeks and lips. This appears to be noncomedogenic.

Eye Dream Hyperliner
Waterproof, smudgeproof, smooth eyeliner that comes in lots of shimmery colorful shades. Paraben-free.

Dollskin Cheek
Silky powder “high definition” blush that comes in 5 colors. This appears to be safe for acne-prone skin.

Tarina Tarantino’s beauty line also features mascara, lip gloss, lip sheen, shimmer body dust, pearl glow primer, eyeshadow, cream eyeshadow, makeup brushes, and more! Tarina is also doing in-store meet-and-greets at several Sephora stores this month!

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Full Thickening Cream is a new hair product by Living Proof designed to create fuller, thicker looking hair that lasts all day, without falling flat. Since I have thinning, frizzy, limp, lifeless, straggly hair, I have been dying to try this product. Designed by scientists, it contains a new ingredient called Poly Beta Amino Ester-1 that thickens each individual hair strand, yet it doesn’t leave hair crunchy or stiff.

I went to Sephora three times in the last  month because I had seen the product online and it was getting rave reviews, but I wasn’t able to finally buy it until a few days ago. I also saw a QVC spot where they were demonstrating the product, and the hair on the models kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger as the half hour show went on, and I was so jealous! At $24 for a small 3.7 oz bottle, the cream is pretty pricey, but I was willing to spend the money to see how well it worked on my hair. One of my biggest beauty concerns is my limp, thinning hair and even though I’ve tried several different thickening creams, volumizing sprays, and special shampoos, nothing has really worked to create the illusion of thick hair.

According to the directions, to get the most out of Full Thickening Cream, you are supposed to apply a nickel-sized dollop to wet hair, and then blow dry your hair. The product can also be used on dry hair or wet hair that you air dry, and it says to experiment with the amount of product you use. It’s not a root lifter, so a separate root lifting product may be used if you want. The LivingProof.com website has more specific details, plus videos that show you how to maximize your results.

Get Living Proof Full Thickening Cream at Sephora

Full Thickening Cream Results
The first time I tried the product, I put it on my wet hair and let it air dry. The second time I used it on wet hair but then blow dried my hair. Each time I would estimate my hair looked about 10-20% thicker than normal. That’s not a huge difference, and my boyfriend had no idea I had used something different on my hair, but guys never notice these things. At the end of the day, my hair hadn’t really gotten too much flatter. The cream is not greasy at all, which is great for me, because I hate greasy styling products. I am absolutely terrible when it comes to styling my hair, so I think people that know how to work with their hair could see better results. I have shoulder-length wavy hair, with hardly any layers, so someone with a shorter, layered hairstyle may have even better luck.

The product has a citrus scent, which I thought smelled fine, and true to its word, it didn’t weigh my hair down or make it crunchy or stiff. My hair looked slightly duller than usual, but a little glossing spray can disguise that. This product doesn’t really work on frizz (how I can have frizzy, thinning hair is beyond me), but the thickening cream can be used together with Living Proof’s popular Frizz products as well.

Bottom Line
For me this product was not a miracle, but it’s definitely worth trying because a lot of people are raving about it and saying how great it’s worked on their hair. How you tried it? What do you think? Have you tried other hair products by Living Proof? What products have you used that actually work to make hair look substantially thicker?

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Hard Candy makeup, the fun, colorful makeup that was super popular in the 90s (especially their nail polish and eyeshadow) is now being sold for affordable prices at Walmart. I used to only buy drugstore makeup, but Hard Candy was the first cosmetics line that made me really excited about makeup, and it’s what brought me into Sephora to spend the big bucks (well $35 for an eyeshadow palette).

When Hard Candy first hit Walmart last year, I was ready to prove that you don’t need expensive makeup from department stores and Sephora to get super high quality makeup, but the Walmart version of Hard Candy has turned out to not be as good as the original higher end version to me:( All of the products are formulations are different, so this is like an entirely new cosmetics line.

Hard Candy Glitter Pencil
I was most excited to try the glitter pencil (which comes in a package called Eye Candy that includes a glitter eyeshadow). The original Hard Candy glitter pencils were great – they were easy to use, they went on nice and dark, and the glitter looked sparkly but not too over the top. The Walmart version is horrible:( I bought the purple color, and could barely even see the color after several waxy application attempts. I threw it out after the first day. The Eye Candy glitter eyeshadow is a clear cream with flakes of glitter. It would be cool for a night on the town, or Halloween. The whole set is $5. I am currently on a search for a new glitter eyeliner pencil. Any suggestions? Even though I’m in my mid-30s, I’m not ready to completely give up glitter yet.

Hard Candy Kaleyedescope Baked Eyeshadow
I love the old-school Hard Candy eyeshadow quads so I was also dying to try their new duo eyeshadows. I bought them in four colors at Walmart, for $6 each. They aren’t as pigmented as the original eyeshadows, but for the price they are pretty good, and the array of colors is nice. When used over an eyeshadow primer they look better, and last most of the day.  They come in 14 different duo colors. I am a little out of touch because I had not bought a single drugstore eyeshadow since before the original Hard Candy eyeshadows came out about 15 years ago! I never had good luck with drugstore eyeshadows before, but I am curious to try other newer pigmented drugstore eyeshadows like L’Oreal HiP.

Hard Candy Nail Polish
The original Hard Candy line started with their crazy colored nail polishes, and somehow I found myself spending $12 for a bottle of nail polish back in the 90s. The Walmart nail polishes are $5 and come in 16 shades. Some of the colors are unique for drugstore polishes, and are worth checking out. They also come with the novelty rings, but the new rings are harder plastic and kind of bulky, but they are still sort of cute.

Hard Candy Blush Crush Baked Blush
Finally I bought the Hard Candy blush in the Living Doll color (a pale pearly pink) for $7. It broke into pieces before I got home, and I was too lazy to go back and get a new one. It’s a nice subtle pink color, but given how easily it broke for me, I would worry it would happen easily, and once it’s broken, it’s hard to contain the pieces in its case. Otherwise I would consider buying this blush again.

These are the only Hard Candy products at Walmart I tried, but there are tons of other ones too – primers, highlighters, bronzers, mascara, liquid liners, lipsticks, lip glosses, body glitter, and more! All of the packaging is really cute and eye-catching. Which products have you tried, and what do you think? I’m not totally giving up higher-end makeup just yet!

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Cetaphil is the super popular facial cleanser that has a cult following, and almost every Dermatologist seems to recommend it for dry, sensitive, and acne-prone skin. However CeraVe is a newer drugstore gentle cleanser that is quickly gaining in popularity. Cetaphil vs. CeraVe – which one is better?

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser
Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser was created by Dermatologists and it’s marketed as a gentle cleanser for normal to dry skin, sensitive skin, and people with acne, rosacea and eczema. According to the Cetaphil website, it’s supposed to be great at removing makeup, and addressing the dryness your skin can face from certain acne medications. It won’t strip your skin of natural protective oils, it’s fragrance free, and it’s touted as non-comedogenic so it’s not supposed to clog pores.

I have tried Cetaphil off and on throughout the years and personally I’ve never liked it. I don’t find it removes eye makeup at all, and I feel like it leaves a film on my skin before it has a chance to actually cleanse my skin thoroughly. I’m not exactly sure how to test if it properly cleanses my skin, so it’s really the coating it leaves behind I don’t like. In part because it does leave behind a moisturizing layer, it’s actually a hydrating, non-drying cleanser, which is nice for dry skin. It’s also a great value because you can get a big bottle of it at your drugstore for a decent price.

I don’t like the fact that it contains the harsh Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) as the fourth ingredient, and even if it’s in a small amount, most cleansers don’t contain SLS and work just fine without it. SLS is also a major pore clogger, which is ironic because this cleanser is specifically designed for acne-prone skin. Although to be fair, I have never broken out from Cetaphil cleanser. Finally, Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser contains three types of parabens, which a lot of people try to avoid due to studies that show there might be a link between parabens and cancer. At this point in my skin care research, a product with parabens is not a dealbreaker for me, but I may change my mind in the future. While Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser has some good properties, it’s definitely not the greatest cleanser ever, and it has several major drawbacks.

Ingredients: Water, Cetyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Stearyl Alcohol, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Butylparaben.

CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser
CeraVe is a newer drugstore cleanser, which is very similar to Cetaphil, but it has different ingredients. I had been reading rave reviews about CeraVe, and I finally tracked it down at Walgreens recently. It’s supposed to also be sold at CVS, but none of the CVS stores near me carry it, and I’ve never seen it anywhere else, except online. Like Cetaphil, CeraVe was developed by Dermatologists to protect and restore your skin barrier, thus making it a hydrating cleanser for people with normal to dry skin. It’s also fragrance free, and non-comedogenic. CeraVe comes in a big bottle also, so I could imagine one $11 bottle lasting at least six months.

Excitedly, I tried CeraVe, but found it to feel and perform exactly like Cetaphil. It also doesn’t remove eye makeup, it’s a hydrating, non-drying cleanser, and it also leaves a soft film on your face. The benefits of CeraVe over Cetaphil is that it doesn’t contain Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, and it contains some great non-pore clogging moisturizing ingredients - ceramides and hyaluronic acid. For those reasons, if you are interested in trying a gentle cleanser for normal to dry skin, I would definitely recommend trying CeraVe first before Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser. CeraVe contains more ingredients than Cetaphil, so while the ingredients are supposed to be good for acne-prone and sensitive skin, there are more ingredients that your skin could potentially react to, if it’s super sensitive. CeraVe also contains parabens.

Ingredients: Water (Purified), Glycerin, Behentrimonium Methosulfate/Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceramide 3, Ceramide 6 II, Ceramide 1, Hyaluronic Acid, Cholesterol, Polyoxyl 40 Stearate, Glyceryl Monostearate, Stearyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 20, Potassium Phosphate, Dipotassium Phosphate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Cetyl Alcohol, Disodium EDTA, Phytosphingosine, Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Carbomer, Xanthan Gum

Buy CeraVe Hydrating Cleanser

Finally, Cetaphil has a second cleanser called Cetaphil Daily Facial Cleanser that is for normal to oily skin. I haven’t tried it, but it doesn’t contain SLS, and it’s something I personally would want to try when for when I go to more humid climates. It does contain fragrance, though, which could pose a problem for people with really sensitive skin.

What do you think about Cetaphil and CeraVe?

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Having had more than one underarm cyst in the past year is yet another embarrassing skin care problem I’ve unexpectedly encountered. Not only is having a giant lump in your armpit embarrassing, it’s also painful and scary! Overnight I developed a pretty large painful bump, and as a hypochondriac I immediately freaked out and wanted to call a doctor. After about a week the cyst went away on its own, and I was extremely relieved. Then another cyst developed, in my other underarm! What was going on? I want to prevent other people from having the near-panic experience I had, which is why I’m writing about this!

Underarm cyst treatment and prevention
Once I got the second cyst, and then a third one, I immediately suspected the problem was probably being caused by something topical I was applying to my skin. The only thing new I added to my routine was a new hydrating body wash. Because this happened last year, I can’t remember for sure which body wash it was, but I think it was Olay Body Creme Ribbons. I don’t want to blast the product, in case I’m wrong, and I used to use Olay body washes all the time when I was younger and loved them. Anyway, I stopped using my new body wash, and within a few days the cysts were all gone, and they have never returned! What I had was a severely impacted skin follicle that turned into the size of a large pea.

If you develop underarm cysts and have added a new product to your routine (a new body wash, soap, or antiperspirant), eliminate the new product for a week or two to see if that fixes the problem. If not, it’s best to call your doctor to see if something more serious is going on (it could be a swollen lymph node, for example). I’m lucky that my cysts went away on their own, but I could foresee them needing to be extracted by a Dermatologist if they don’t subside naturally.

Keratosis Pilaris
You may remember I develped Keratosis Pilaris from a different body wash – Dove Cool Moisture. Basically that body wash clogged my pores, which caused dry, bumpy “chicken skin” pores on my upper arms. A switch to a different body wash cleared up my chicken skin, although I was lucky because Keratosis Pilaris can be difficult to treat. Given that makeup and facial skin care products many times clog pores, I guess it’s no surprise when it happens on your body as well!

Best Hydrating Body Wash
Currently I still use Johnson’s Body Care, Deep Hydrating Intense Moisture Body Wash which you can find at Walmart and CVS. Make sure to get this one (the yellow top), or the one with the green top, because they have the same ingredients, which are different than their other, similar body washes. The only reason I tried out different body washes was because I don’t like the smell of the Johnson’s – my boyfriend calls it “Grandma soap.” But I’d rather smell like flowery perfume than deal with bumps all over my body!

For the most part, even though I have dry skin, I stay away from body washes that have the word “cream” or “hydrating” or “moisture” in them, since those are the ones that clog my pores (except for the Johnson’s one). The best thing to do is experiement because everyone’s skin is different, and luckily body wash is pretty cheap. I also returned the $5 cyst-causing soap back to the store becaue I was so mad about the health scare it gave me!

Good Body Wash for Normal to Oily Skin
I also like Caress Evenly Gorgeous Exfoliating Body Wash and have had no problems with it at all. It’s not as hydrating as the Johnson’s, so it’s better for normal to oilier skin types. It has a very strong spicy, sweet smell, which you will probably love, or hate! Luckily you can smell the soap at the store before purchasing it.

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You’ve probably heard of Renova, Retin-A Micro and Retin-A, and know they are good for treating acne and wrinkles, but which one is best? All three prescription-only products share the same main ingredient – topical tretinoin, a form of Vitamin A. Generally, Renova and Retin-A Cream are used to treat fine wrinkles, discolored skin, and rough facial skin, while Retin-A Gel and Retin-A Micro are used to treat acne. You can also get over the counter retinol products that work the same way as tretinoins, but they just aren’t as powerful. Tretinoins are thought to be the best anti-aging treatment for wrinkles, and they can work well for acne as well.

Retin-A Gel
Retin-A has been around the longest, and I remember using it in high school for acne. I believe I got the gel version, and after about a week my face was so red and on fire that I couldn’t bring myself to use it anymore, so I suffered through high school with pimples instead. Even though I followed the instructions and started out slowly, and I had oily skin at the time and lived in a humid climate, it was still too much for my skin. If your skin can tolerate it, the advantage of Retin-A Gel is that it comes in a generic version, which can save a lot of money.

Retin-A Micro
This gel product is the newer form of Retin-A, and it’s also used to treat acne. It has a special microsponge technology, which release the tretinoin slowly over time, so this helps minimize skin irritation. I tried Retin-A Micro maybe 5-7 years ago when I got acne once again in my late 20s. Despite the new microsphere technology, I still couldn’t handle Retin-A Micro and once again found myself with red, flaky, painful skin, so once again I gave up. A lot of people have great success with Retin-A Micro, and it’s best for oily skin, so it’s definitely worth trying if you have oily skin and acne. This would also be a great product to try if you have oily skin and want to combat fine wrinkles, facial roughness, or uneven pigmentation. Unfortunately, I don’t believe Retin-A Micro comes in a generic, but if you have good health insurance, that shouldn’t matter.

Retin-A Cream
I tried Retin-A Cream last year to see how it would work for my fine wrinkles, slight hyperpigmentation and enlarged nose pores. I made the mistake of not checking the ingredients of Retin-A Cream, and I totally broke out after a few days, and every day after using it. It turns out isopropyl myristate is one of the first few ingredients in it, which is a major pore clogger. The cream is much more hydrating than the gel version, but I had to give up on this product after a week due to the acne it caused. This would be a great cream to use if you aren’t prone to acne because it comes in a generic, so it’s cheaper than the name brand.

Renova
Finally I decided to try Renova, which does not contain any pore cloggers, plus like Retin-A Cream, it’s good for normal to dry skin, and it’s meant to treat wrinkles, and smooth out the texture and tone of your skin. The first time around I thought I was being smart by getting a generic version, which was still expensive, but the generic was made by a compounding pharmacy, and they didn’t use the exact same ingredients as Renova. The cream also expired after two months, but I probably would have had a lot left over since I only intended to use the product every other night. The generic Renova also made me break out like crazy! Ugh. Not all compounding pharmacies use the same ingredients, but I wouldn’t risk it, and you aren’t really saving much money by having to throw out a half-used container every two months.

Finally I bit the bullet and paid the big money for the brand-name .05% Renova (it’s like $170 but should last me a year since I don’t use it every day). Success! Most insurance companies don’t cover Renova because it’s indicated for wrinkles, so if you have acne and your skin can handle it, Retin-A Micro will help with wrinkles and acne, and your insurance might cover it. So I’ve been using Renova for at least six months now, and it doesn’t cause any breakouts! Yay. It still took a lot for my skin to get used to it, and my skin was peeling for at least a month when I first started using it every other night. I didn’t get any redness or pain, though. In other parts of the world – Asia, Mexico, and Europe, for example, Renova is call Retacnyl, which is exactly the same thing, so if you don’t live in the US, you can probably save yourself a ton of money by getting Retacnyl.

I haven’t seen too much change in my skin since I’ve been using Renova, but that’s probably because I’ve been using .1% Differin for the last several years, which has probably already improved my fine lines.

Differin
Differin is another prescription acne treatment, and it’s generally more tolerated than Retin-A Gel or Retin-A Micro. It contains adapalene, instead of tretinoin, which is a different type of retinoid. It doesn’t come in a generic. I’ve had good success with Differin helping my acne, in conjunction with other acne products, and I haven’t had any of the peeling, stinging, or redness that I had with Retin-A Gel. Differin comes in an acne-safe cream or gel, so if you have dry skin, try the cream first, and the gel is better for oily skin. However, I use the gel on my currently normal to dry skin, and my skin can tolerate it well. For acne, some people do better on Differin, and some do better on Retin-A Micro. The reason I wanted to try Renova is because I wanted to see if it works better on my wrinkles than Differin. I have yet to find any studies that say how well Differin works on wrinkles, and if it does reduce them, I wanted to see if Renova was even better. From what I’ve concluded, most doctors believe Differin does work on wrinkles, but that a tretinoin like Renova may work better.

Conclusion
Renova, Retin-A, Retin-A Micro and Differin all come in different strengths, so talk to your doctor about what strength is right for you. Bottom line: Do Not use Retin-A Cream or generic Renova if you have acne. If you have acne and dry or sensitive skin, try Differin before trying Retin-A Micro. If your skin can handle it, Retin-A Gel generic is cheapest for acne, and Retin-A Cream generic is cheapest for wrinkles. Do you use one of these products? What do you think?

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I love taking pictures, and I don’t mind having my picture taken, but sometimes cameras seem to bring out the worst in my skin, and I feel like I look terrible half the time in pictures. Luckily I know how to use Photoshop, so I can enhance any photo that needs it! But it would be nice to look great without having to do anything, and that’s why I’m excited about the idea of having a camera that makes your skin picture perfect straight out of the camera.

In my quest for a new digital camera, I found out Casio cameras have a feature called Makeup Function, which is basically instant airbrushing. The feature smoothes out the appearance your skin, minimizes fine lines, wrinkles, blemishes, dark circles, and sun spots, and it helps make bad lighting look better by softening it. You can control the effect in 12 different increments, so that you can get picture perfect skin, without looking too fake. Too bad it just works in the pictures, and not in real life.

If I was rich, I would get a Casio and give it to all my friends so I wouldn’t inevitably end up having to untag more horrible pictures of myself on Facebook in the future. I also read some people hire professional photographers to shoot their Facebook profile pics(!) and their profile pics on dating websites. Since a lot of people don’t know how to use imaging software, there are also places online where you can pay someone to Photoshop your pictures for you to make your skin and makeup look perfect.  Maybe this camera could save you a lot of money in the end? I haven’t tried a Casio with Makeup Function yet, so I do wonder if this is just a gimmick, or if it works really well. Usually I buy Canon or Nikon cameras, but would totally switch to Casio just for the airbrushing feature (and they come in cute colors)!

Check out Casio cameras with Makeup Function

Do you have a Casio camera that has the airbrushing feature? Does it work well?

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Latisse is the new FDA-approved eyelash growth treatment that has been shown to grow thicker, darker, and longer eyelashes. Latisse is made by Allergan, the company best known in the beauty industry for Botox and Juvederm. The main ingredient in this prescription-only product is bimatoprost, which is thought to work by keeping your eyelashes in the growth phase longer than normal.

Does Latisse work?
Allergan did clinical trials and found that 78% of patients saw a significant increase in eyelash length, thickness and fullness after 16 weeks. The treatment is meant for people with eyelash hypotrichosis (inadequate eyelashes), so it’s ironic to me that Brooke Shields is their spokesperson, since her eyelashes were plenty thick to start with, although not quite as impressive as her thick eyebrows. The Latisse website also has before and after pictures of other patients, and the results are quite pronounced. What I found odd, though, was that not one person on the Latisse website had “inadequate” lashes before they used Latisse.

The downside of Latisse
Patients are supposed to apply the Latisse solution to the base of the upper eyelash margin only (not the bottom), and results can be expected starting at 8 weeks, and full results will be seen after 16 weeks. I have no problem waiting patiently to see results, however Latisse costs $120 a month! So you will need to spend $240 to even begin seeing results, and you won’t see the final results of your eyelash growth until you’ve spent $480. You also must keep using Latisse forever to keep up with the results. Like Rogaine for scalp hair, Latisse stops working when you stop using it and your eyelashes will go back to their pre-treatment state.

Given that some women spend a small fortune on eyelash extensions, which don’t last that long, and seems like a really uncomfortable process, I guess Latisse could be a good alternative for people that already get eyelash extensions.

Latisse side effects
While Latisse has been shown to be safe for most people, it can have some serious side effects. 4% of patients reported itchy eyes and eye redness. Less common side effects include darkening of the skin where the solution is applied, dry eyes, and red eyelids. Finally, there’s a small possibility that Latisse can permanently increase the brown pigmentation in your eyes, so brown eyes would get darker, or blue, green eyes or hazel eyes could develop brown pigmentation. The main ingredient in Latisse has been used to help glaucoma patients prior to its new cosmetic use, so it’s not a new treatment, but I do still wonder about the long-term safety of the product.

My take on Latisse
I never gave much thought to my eyelashes before I started seeing the Latisse commercials, but now that I’ve studied my eyelashes in the mirror, I am slightly horrified that they are pretty skimpy and inadequate. Thanks for giving me another thing to worry about:( Nonetheless, I personally have no interest in using Latisse because I have found a cheaper solution to small eyelashes – mascara! There are so many great mascaras on the market, and in one minute I can achieve the longer, darker, thicker eyelashes that Latisse promises, but for a fraction of the cost. And if you use mascara and aren’t happy with the results, switch to something else! I have no idea why Maybelline Great Lash mascara is always willing awards and is such a best seller, because it does almost nothing for me, so if you are using that, move on!

Aside from the prohibitive cost, and potential side effects, if you really do have inadequate eyelashes, maybe Latisse would be something to consider – ask your eye doctor, or Dermatologist about it.

Have you tried Latisse? Tell me what you think about it.

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