I’ve been feeling a little Goldilocks-esque lately when it comes to facial cleansers. Some are really moisturizing, but take too much scrubbing to wash off. Others wash off easily, but don’t do a thorough job when it comes to taking off all my makeup and sunscreen.

Dr. Lewinn by Kinerase HydraBalance Foaming Cleanser

Dr. Lewinn by Kinerase HydraBalance Foaming Cleanser

And then I found Dr. LeWinn by Kinerase HydraBalance Foaming Cleanser.

Based on past experiences, I generally shy away from foaming cleansers since the ones I’ve tried tend to be drying. However, I have used Kinerase products for years now, so I had hope that their mass market line in connection with Dr. LeWinn would live up to it’s claim of being not just non-drying, but hydrating. And it does. My skin is soft, hydrated, and bright after cleansing. And as far as taking off makeup? It is exceptional. No scrubbing needed, it just takes everything off on both face and delicate eye skin. I’ve been using a liquid liner lately that is fabulous, but it is pretty tough to take off at the end of the day. Hydrabalance Foaming Cleanser takes it off easily and with no tugging. Yay!

HydraBalance Foaming Cleanser is soap-free, which will make your dermatologist happy (mine was the one who turned me on to the Kinerase line in the first place years ago). But I can’t say enough how well it cleanses while it treats the skin with great ingredients like Kinetin (which is in the whole Dr. LeWinn by Kinerase line in the same amounts as the regular Kinerase line). I’ve tried products from both the Kinerase line and other lines that contain Kinetin, and they are always so soothing to the skin. It encourages cellular turnover without irritation – a great alternative to retinoids. It also contains SK-Influx to protect your skin’s moisture barrier, and Aquaxyl to hydrate the skin. All in all, a great way to start your skincare for the day and end it at night.

In an act of sisterly love, I let Lyn use the cleanser, and her comments were interesting – she said that she’s never used a foaming cleanser that felt soft. She hit the nail on the head – there is something that feels kind of rough about most foaming cleansers, but HydraBalance Foaming Cleanser isn’t that way. It is gentle, soft, and luxurious feeling. I’ve been using it with my Clarisonic – it feels like a spa cleansing!

I’m pretty thrilled with this cleanser. We’ll be reviewing other products from the Dr. LeWinn by Kinerase line in the upcoming weeks (spoiler alert: Skin Tone Perfecting Serum is so effective it’s kinda spooky), and I will purchase HydraBalance Foaming Cleanser in the future. And since my derm loves the regular KInerase line, I can’t wait to tell her about this very affordable and very effective new line!

Find Dr. LeWinn by Kinerase HydraBalance Foaming Cleanser at Walgreens for $10.49.

Want to be glowing by Saturday? Try this at home facial tonight:

This works best if you have a prescription retinol at home (Retin-A, Retin-A Micro, Renova, etc), but any cream that has retinol in it will do. Wash your face and wait about a half hour. Apply the retinol – if you are using Retin-A and typically use a pea-sized amount, and use a little extra. Let it soak in for a few minutes. The add a deep hydrating mask or cream over the retinol – we like CeraVe Moisturizing Cream or  Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Cream-Mask Face and Eyes. To make sure that your skin is more dewy that flakey the next day, really slather on the moisturizer. Leave it on overnight, and wash it off in the morning (try using a Clarisonic for extra smoothness). Your skin will be glowing and bright all weekend long!

Now, obviously retinols are a long-term skincare commitment, but if your skin needs a little extra boost after a long week, this mask does the trick!

Tuesday night I was leaving the gym and the wind was bitter and brutal. As in, have to brace to not be knocked over, hair flies straight up into a Marge Simpson hair configuration kind of wind. Despite having slathered my face with moisturizer before I left the building in knowing that I was headed out into unpleasant conditions, this was a matter of damage control when it came to treating my raw skin when I got home.

Caudalie Premier Cru Cream

Caudalie Premier Cru Cream

So I decided to try my sample of Caudalie Global Anti-Aging Premier Cru Cream after I had gently washed my stinging face. First thing that I thought was how truly luxurious of a cream it is. The texture struck me as somewhere between La Mer Cream and La Mer Concentrate. You don’t have to spend the time melting Cru like La Mer Cream, it easily warms up on your finger and then the consistency and feel is a bit more like a non-sticky La Mer Concentrate. I applied it to my raw skin, expecting a bit of a sting. It didn’t sting, in fact, it was instantly soothing. It felt good while applying it. It felt like a treat. It felt like what my skin needed. 

Cru absorbs nearly instantly and leaves skin with a super-smooth, glowing look. Skin moves well and stays creaseless. I thought the clinical results mentioned on the Caudalie website were interesting – the cream gives a 1/10th of a inch lift to the skin (at least that much - my skin looked incredibly firm after application), 80% more radiance (again, my skin went from raw and red when I went to sleep to glowing when I woke up – for me it was far more than 80%!), continuous moisturization after application (check!), and incredible anti-oxidant protection via Caudalie’s thrice-patented titrated Resveratrol, Viniferine from Chateau Smith Haut Lafitte grapevines, and grape-seed Polyphenols. All I can say is that I’m ready to pick a new one up as soon as this one runs out so I can have continuous use of this amazing cream!

If there was no other use for Premier Cru, what it does for lips is incredible. I’ve tried a lot of topical lip plumpers and found some really great ones (various ones from Fusion Beauty for example), but most leave lips a bit dry, even the ones with humectants in them. Premier Cru plumps and contour lips better than any lip plumper I’ve tried in quite a while. Your lips aren’t swollen, they are your lips, just far better. And the best part is that lips are beyond soft!

If you like La Mer Concentrate for it’s moisturizing properties and luxurious feel and would like a less expensive product that moisturizes just as well with less product per use and has lifting and plumping properties, I would very highly recommend Caudalie Premier Cru!

Find Caudalie Global Anti-Ageing Premier Cru for $150.00 at Caudalie-USA.com.

There are certain words that encompass not only your appearance, but your personality, enthusiasm, happiness, exuberance, your youthful outlook. And when someone says “You look…radiant!” that’s exactly what they mean.

Now, beauty products can’t give you a truly radiant appearance if you aren’t feeling it. There are some great products to fake it, and your skin might look brighter, clearer, but not radiant. On the other hand, you may feel radiant, but your skin doesn’t quite show it. Let’s let your inner radiance out.

Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum

Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum

Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum is a truly luxurious serum that packs a punch. It takes a very small amount to adequately cover your face and neck, so the 1 oz bottle will last awhile. Even the heavy glass bottle feels good – Caudalie has taken every measure to make sure this is a pampering treatment for the product user.

This product will probably result in the most Style Chicks updates from us over the next few weeks and months, since it not only gives an initial boost to skin, but works over time to make skin brighter, more luminescent, and works to get rid of those areas of surface skin damage like brown spots. But I am thrilled with the initial results I’ve gotten in the past week using Caudalie’s Radiance Serum.

Like most serums, Radiance Serum is meant to be applied under moisturizer. It’s quite light so it works beautifully in tandem with other products, but I’ve also used it alone, since it is so moisturizing. I am especially impressed with the effect it gives under makeup. This morning I applied it and let it absorb, then applied my regular sunscreen. Now, usually I add in a drop of Remede Soft Focusing Lotion to my sunscreen to give a subtle glow to my skin. I skipped the Soft Focusing Lotion today since my skin seemed to already have a slightly airbrushed effect with just the Radiance Serum. Even better, it held the look of facial contours perfectly, which is rare (Remede Soft Focusing Lotion also falls into this category but works as a light defusing cosmetic). I applied my regular makeup and was thrilled with the results – my skin had a smooth, dewy, flawless appearance, and when I smiled, the apple of my cheek had that inner glow that is only seen on children and acne free starlets under the age of 16. If the product did nothing else, this effect makes it worth every penny.

I can’t wait to see and share how Radiance Serum works over the upcoming weeks and months!

Find Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum Complexion Correcting at Caudalie-USA.com for $79.00.

Today we’ll be talking about our initial impression of the amazing Caudalie Pulpe Vitaminee 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream. It comes from Caudalie’s Energizing Regimen, and “energizing” is a perfect description. Do you ever have times where your eyes look more tired than you feel? That’s where this cream steps up to the plate. When your orbital skin looks tired, puffy, dull, and a bit less perky than you would like, 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream makes you look wide awake again.

About an hour after I first applied it, I noticed a nice surprise. There is a certain curve between my cheekbone and undereye skin that is the difference between looking wide awake and energetic and people telling me I look tired. (When I’m not. And even if I was, why do people feel the need to inform you of the perceived state of your alertness?????) After one application of Caudalie 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream, that curve was perky, radiant, and perfectly contoured. If an eye cream can do that, it’s an instant hit in my book. Usually when I find a cream that does that, it contains high enough levels of caffeine that it dehydrates my eyes, but 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream does the opposite – it is incredibly hydrating and emollient. In fact, it’s moisturizing enough that I use it twice a day and continue to have the same great results. This is due in no small part to the amazing humectant and anti-oxidant ingredients, including grape-seed polyphenols, ceramides 3, tetrapeptides, horse chestnut, liquorice (which is amazingly soothing if you have rosacea), plant glycerine, and calendula amongst others.

I am also thrilled at how smooth eye makeup went on after applying the cream. In the picture we used to show the lush lashes that d.j.v. beautenizer Volume Lash mascara imparted, I applied 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream first, and after I massaged it in I put on concealer and shadow. By accident there was too much shadow on my brush, and usually this would result in a cakey look. Instead, the eye cream left such a smooth surface that just the right amount of shadow was deposited, and it provided such luminance that I really didn’t need that much concealer on my undereye. That which I did apply went on soft and dewy.

The package has a great suggestion for amping the product up – keep it in the fridge, so when you apply it, not only will this fab cream be a little thicker, but the cold will take down puffiness in no time and add some lift to your eyes. I do this with a few products and it really does work – just make sure that everyone in the house knows not to eat your $49 eye cream…

1st Wrinkle Eye Cream also says it reduces dark circles and, as the name implies, wrinkles. I’m thrilled with the results after a week of use, and will continue to report back on ongoing results over the next few weeks of use.

Find Caudalie Pulpe Vitaminee 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream at Caudalie-USA.com.

Caudalie 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream

Caudalie 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream

Note: This week is Caudalie Week here at Style Chicks – we’ll be giving our initial impressions of a few products and then we’ll update you in the upcoming weeks with further results as we use this fabulous skincare line. Today, Lyn lets us know why she loves Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Cream-Mask Face and Eyes!

The winter weather has been frightful and my skin has been less than delightful.

Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Masque-Creme Face and Eyes

Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Masque-Creme Face and Eyes

I have managed to have multiple skin issues at once this week:  some breakouts, dry and peeling skin on my nose/nostril area and I am red all around my mouth and really raw, and my skin feels very tight and dry around my eyes and it is making me look much older.  The skin around my eyes is just dry and tight no matter what I do, and too flaky to apply any concealer or foundation on my dark under eye circle skin. Even my silk pillowcase feels scratchy (FYI:  silk pillowcases are a great investment as they are gentle to facial skin and reduce hair damage and breakage when hair rubs against the pillowcase).  

My standard go to creams and lotions are just making my skin feel raw, as in serious debating about applying Vaseline directly to my face kind of raw.  I am not sure what this winter storm is doing that I have both pimples and such tight, raw skin at the same time, but when I look at my skin in the mirror and the phrase “what is important is to be pretty on the INSIDE” comes to mind, with all due respect to inner beauty, what that means to me is it is time to get aggressive on the hydrating.

So I look at my creams, lotions and potions, and my new Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Cream-Mask Face and Eyes catches my eye because it is a moisturizing cream mask for both face and eyes.  It is used as an intensive skin mask twice a week, but in the case of extremely dehydrated skin, it can be used as a daily moisturizer by applying a thin layer to the face. Sounds like a good excuse to try it out.

I rarely like a cream for both my face and delicate under eye area, but this is for around the eyes and on the face. It is not too thick for the face but still does the trick for the eyes.

APPLICATION:

When the skin around my mouth gets this raw, even the uber-gentle Clinique DDML stings a bit upon application, but this didn’t sting at all. This was really soothing and almost melted the dry skin. I put on a second application on spot areas like around my mouth, forehead crinkle, the dry flaky skin on my nose, the crow feet area of my eyes, under eye and lips. There is a light pleasant scent upon application but I can’t detect any scent while wearing it.

My skin had a luminous glow without being greasy, it could be worn nicely under makeup and would make a great go-to product after a sunburn or a cold or flu when skin around nose is flaky and raw, this would be a great quick-trick to look healthy again.

I am impressed by the feel on my skin. Usually a cream product that is this emollient feels heavy or looks greasy after application, but this dries down undetectable as a product – not sticky or wet or shiny – it just leaves behind better skin.  You can definitely leave the house with the cream on under makeup which is especially nice when the weather is still so cold and raw outside. 

My skin immediately looked better and feels hydrated. Some products feel like a soft wax just on top of your skin, but this feels like my skin.  My face felt good quickly and within about ten minutes felt very spa like without feeling heavy or sticky at all, I can see how this would be nice as a at home spa night “mask”.  My face did not feel dry, cracked or itchy.  Usually when my skin gets this raw, I have to slather on so much Crème de la Mer Concentrate that my face is too greasy of a base to wear any makeup, so I am glad to find a deep hydrating product to wear with makeup so my skin can get through the rest of this winter.

I will try Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Cream-Mask Face and Eyes as a traditional “mask” on at home “spa night” in about a week or two and report the results.

Get Caudalie Vinosource Moisturizing Cream-Mask Face and Eyes at Caudalie-USA.com for $40.

I’ve been searching for the perfect body butter for awhile now, without success. I’ve tried some nice ones, but there is always something that keeps me from using it regularly – it takes too long to absorb, the scent is too heady, too greasy, or it just doesn’t hydrate all that well.

Caudalie Vinotherapie Vine Body Butter

Caudalie Vinotherapie Vine Body Butter

I was recently sent Caudalie Vinotherapie Vine Body Butter, and I tried it with a guarded excitement – the other Caudalie products I’ve tried have been absolutely jaw-dropping (we’ll be reviewing a few in the next couple of weeks – Vinoperfect Radiance Serum and Pulpe Vitaminee 1st Wrinkle Eye Cream are life changing!), so I had hope that if Vine Body Butter was as good as the other products, that I had found the Body Butter I have been looking for. The verdict? It’s the perfect body butter, light fragrance, and mini spa experience rolled into one.

Let’s start with the scent. It’s incredible. The top note is like the freshest, most perfect peach you’ve ever had, and a more subtle citrus scent. When I asked the other Style Chicks what scent they detected, though, I kept getting different answers. Interestingly, it reminded each of us of scents we loved, and none of us came up with the same first answer. It seems like it’s an universally likable scent. I asked what the actual scent is, and it consists of sweet orange zest, peach pulp, carrot and iris. I could go on for pages on how great the scent is, but I’ll sum it up this way - the amazing scent of Vine Body Butter is replacing my regular fragrance now. It’s a subtle scent that just makes me happy. If you are interested in complimenting the scent, try Caudalie’s Hand and Nail Cream and their Foot Beauty Cream. Oh, and did I mention how fantastic the scent is?

Of course, efficacy and texture are top priorities in picking a body butter. On those scores Vine Body Butter hits it out of the park as well. It is a relatively lightweight consistency and glides on the skin with absolutely no greasiness. None. Massage it in lightly and your skin is just smooth, supple, silky, and dewy, but not greasy or oily. This is a big plus for me, especially for a daily use product – sometimes you can’t stand around waiting for several minutes for a body product to sink in before you get dressed. Vine Body Butter super-hydrates the skin upon application, and you can get dressed immediately. Of course, feel free to take your time if you have a few minutes. In fact, it makes for an amazing massage cream.

The results are the best I’ve seen in a body butter. I especially noticed the change on hands. I realize I sound like a broken record lately in my reviews, but it is really cold here on the East Coast. And cold, windy weather always wrecks havoc on the skin on my hands. After apply Vine Body Butter after my shower each day, I’ll rub whatever I have left over on my hands. My hands look sooooo smooth and, well, like skin of a child. My nails look instantly buffed and cuticles are quickly tamed. If it can do that for my incredibly dry hands, I can’t wait to use it during summer to get super supple skin all over! In fact, numbering among my reasons that I wish winter would hurry up and pass include being able to show off how great it makes arms and shoulders look – really makes you resent having to bundle up instead of wearing a sleeveless top!

So how does it work? Like the rest of the Caudalie line, Caudalie Vinotherapie Vine Body Butter has highly effective, super hydrating and repairing ingredients. The Caudalie website product page mentions that it contains: “Grape Seed Butter, rich in Omega 6, Vitamin E, minerals and proteins and Grape Seed Oil to regenerate skin cells and fights effects of ageing, rich in Omega 6, Vitamin E. Caudalie exclusive ingredient, Vinolevure, which holds 100 times its weight in water, nourishes and strengthens. A Hydra-complex – from plant active ingredients, increases skin water reserves”. The tube also mentions shea butter, which works superbly in tandem with the other ingredients. These ingredients form a lipid layer on your skin to protect it. I am quite impressed at how well this layer works – I noticed that after several good hand washes, my hands still felt moisturized – this isn’t a cream you have to apply after every hand wash.

All in all, I’m thrilled to find Caudalie Vinotherapie Vine Body Butter. It makes skin look, feel, and smell phenomenal, and protects against future damage. The tube is 6.7 oz for $36, which is a great price considering the relatively small amount you have to use for good coverage. It also makes a fantastic gift – baby showers, brides, get well gift, etc – it’s a luxuriously enough product that everyone will think that you found them the product that addresses their exact need – even if it’s just to be pampered.

Find the amazing Caudalie Vinotherapie Vine Body Butter at Caudalie-USA.com.

Skinstore.com is offering a generous 20% coupon through February 14 with code 20LUV.

Here is some items that caught our eye(s) with their prices after the 20% off:

Caudalie Vinoperfect Radiance Serum – we’ll be giving a rave review on this amazing product in the next week or so, $63.20 after coupon

La Roche Posay Anthelios 60 Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid – Courtney’s fav sunscreen, $22.32 after coupon

Clarisonic PLUS Skin Care System with Spot Treatment – $180.00 after coupon

Oscar Blandi Pronto Invisible Volumizing Dry Shampoo Spray – $18.40 after coupon, a truly fab dry shampoo

HairMax LaserComb Premium – $396 after coupon

Luminess Air New Beauty Edition Fair – this set piqued my interest, $159.20 after coupon

Osmotics Anti Wrinkle Vitamin C Patches – $38.40 after coupon

Topix Replenix Intensive Eye Lightening Serum – $56.00 after coupon

T3 Featherweight Luxe Hair Dryer – a must for any girl short on time and/or thick on hair, $200.00 after coupon

Pure Inventions Green Tea in Raspberry – this stuff tastes great, $24.80 after coupon

Stila Yumberry Crush, a staple in my purse, $19.20 after coupon

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