Archives for 2018

How to Use Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

January 19, 2018 · 3 Comments

I wondered about Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara, how could I not, it’s everywhere, even my Mom said I should try it. But every mascara makes claims, and every mascara had its’ die-hard fans.

Many “BIG LASH” mascaras seem like shellac-like lash-clumpers that turn into fallout and flakes. I want full but defined lashes from a mascara that stays put. I’ll shell out the big bucks if it works, but that’s a big IF.

Here are our thoughts on Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara and how to get the most out of it.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara comes in regular formula and waterproof

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara comes in a regular and waterproof formula

MY FANTASY MASCARA THEORY

I was a big fan of two discontinued Shu Uemura Mascaras, the Basic and the Fiber Extensions. I’ve never really gotten over them and I haven’t found something I ADORED since.

But as faithful StyleChicks readers know, we’ve tried plenty of mascaras to forget my long-lost mascara loves.

I want it to be BLACK BLACK dark, lengthening and separating, and to be able to keep a curl. I like a major lash, but reasonably natural looking, not a terrible mess of clumps and smudges and flakes.

TOO FACED’S CULT-FOLLOWING

There were the devotees who said this was the best…but I didn’t believe it until became mascara desperate and saw a 2-pack at Ulta that had a full size with a free waterproof mini.

It is also $12 for the mini, which is not so little considering the full size is absolutely huge. With Ulta’s amazing return policy, what do you have to lose?

Picked up Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara with a free Waterproof mini on an Ulta haul.

The TOO FACED BETTER THAN SEX MASCARA Experience

I found the regular and the waterproof to be very similar, albeit the waterproof seems a little drier, not in a dried out way, just a slightly less wet formula.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara brush has an hourglass shape, clumps tend to accumulate at the tip and require attention to clean

THE WAND: I do like the wand brush that comes with this mascara, and it works well if you do only one coat for the day.

BUT, I prefer to do three VERY thin coats throughout the day, and this way, I get NO clumps and virtually no fallout. I apply first in the morning at home during my typical makeup routine, then a coat before lunch to refresh the curl and add some intensity. Then a fuller, more dramatic lash for dinner and after-hours plans. That sounds like a lot of mascara, but hear me out, it looks natural if applied carefully.

HOW TO APPLY TOO FACED BETTER THAN SEX MASCARA

Each coat I do VERY lightly by dipping a disposable mascara wand into the tube just once per eye for both upper and lower lashes. Then I comb through with a dry disposable mascara wand or my trusty MAC or Paula Dorf Mascara Fan Brush.

MAC 205 Mascara Fan Brush Bristles allow for defined wispy mascara application

A fan brush eliminates any clumps and gives lashes a wispy look. I bring extra disposable wands with me for use during the day, and my trusty mascara fan brush, and a few cotton swabs just in case.

STYLECHICKS hack: Apply wet mascaras with disposable wands for maximum control

FIRST COAT: Thin first coat, lashes feel soft, it is difficult to hold a curl, but it is fine for the morning in the office, gives the effect of tight-lining the upper lashes
SECOND COAT: midday quick one-stroke coat to refresh for lunch plans.
THIRD COAT: A final third coat before dinner plans gives GIANT bombshell eyes. GIANT. For best curl hold all evening, I do a final thin coat of the Waterproof mascara after allowing the final coat to dry, give a quick curl, and the Too Faced Better Than Sex Waterproof Mascara nicely sets the curl.

After application, comb through wet lashes with a dry, clean disposable mascara wand for a well-defined lash finish that won’t clump

USING DISPOSABLE WANDS

I use Wayne Goss’ trick of bending the brush head of the mascara wand, but I use a clean disposable wand, this gives me the best access to upper and lower lashes and allows me to use the least mascara to get the best effect. I can also get in nice and close to the actual lash line, which gives a tight line effect and makes eyeliner use somewhat optional or minimal.

How to Apply Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Bend a disposable mascara wand for optimal control and to get in close on bottom lashes

The angled bent brush gives the best access to little lashes even in corners

I Forgo eyeliner other than tight lining or upper rim only for when I really want to bring it. Full-on liner is just too much, like crazy eye kind of big eye. If using eyeliner, do so very gingerly, perhaps something with a soft metallic such as a copper or taupe, or a smudge of shadow for some definition.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara Pros and Cons

Currently, this is my favorite mascara, I don’t use anything else. At $23 it is a bit steep, but it lasts for as long as one should hold onto a mascara (three months). The $12 mini is not so mini, it can last you a good six weeks to two months.

Lashes can look huge with one coat from the full specially shaped brush, and it is buildable, like how I use it in multiple coats throughout the day. It does not get stiff, so lashes remain workable, but this is more difficult to curl. The waterproof leaves lashes more curl-able, with no discernable difference to me in appearance, only in the feel of the application. I personally found any of the reported Better Than Sex Mascara dupes to be flaky, whereas actually Better Than stays put. It eliminates the need for eyeliner on most days and defines the eye so well, I don’t need much else as far as eye makeup for a dramatic yet natural looking eye.

PROS:

No flaking. I mean none
Dark black that makes eyes look huge
Nice lush looking lashline

CONS:

Removing the mascara at the end of the day. I use safflower oil-soaked cotton pads, let them sit on my closed eyes for about 30 seconds to melt it all, then wash my face. Not dramatically worse than other mascaras, and there is no tugging involved if a proper oil remover is used.

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara has a thick brush with an hourglass shape

WHERE TO BUY Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara

Find Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara at TooFaced.com, Ulta, Macy’s, and Sephora

New Mascara Application Hack: The Clump Cleaner

January 11, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Urban Decay Big Fatty. Benefit Bad Gal. Too Faced Better Than Sex. Dior DiorShow. Maybelline Great Lash. Lancome Monsieur Big. There are some big, fat, wet, blacker-than-your-heart mascaras out there. But if you prefer a big, buildable yet well-defined lash, many of these go-to mascaras also are too wet and clumpy to apply straight out of the tube. Typically we wipe a mascara wand on a tissue before application. But after investing in pricey mascara doesn’t this feel like throwing away more than you use in the name of removing a few clumps? A superior method is the Clump Cleaner, a patent-pending device that quickly removes the clumps without the mess and doesn’t waste lots of mascara in the process.

The Clump Cleaner removes clumps and debris from all types of mascara wand brush sizes and shapes

THE PROBLEM: HOW TO GET THE CLUMPS OFF THE BRUSH

The problem with common de-clumping techniques is you either use the tissue trick or try to use the open lip of the mascara tube to scrape off the excess.

The tissue trick is not that reliable or consistent with results, especially on shaped brush heads. Wiping the brush on a tissue also gets micro lint fibers on your brush bristles, leaving the potential for errant mascara placement, black stringy bits getting on your lashes and into your mascara tube. It also delivers inconsistent results – you can wipe away too little or too much, which leads to uneven application. And it often still leaves a blob of mascara on the tip, which is crucial for best application on lower lashes. And the tissue trick is messy, I always get mascara on myself.

The other option is attempting to scrape the excess off back onto the tubes’ opened lip. But the excess mascara doesn’t go back into the tube, it’s deposited on and around the lip and dries up and embeds onto the screw thread that is supposed to keep the mascara tightly closed. Instead, this wastes mascara and makes it increasingly more difficult for the top to close securely, drying out the tube contents faster.

Scraping bristles on the tube lip causes dried debris on the mouth of the lid, resulting in more flakes and dried out mascara

THE SOLUTION: CLUMP CLEANER

Cue the Clump Cleaner: this ingenious little contraption doesn’t crush your wand, attract lint or a mess, and also cleans the mascara off of the tip of the brush.

Meet the Clump Cleaner

SUITS ALL BRUSH TYPES. It works with all types of brush wands skinny to fat, shaped or curved. I like that it works with shaped brushes because I find the tissue trick particularly not helpful with shaped brushes that are geared towards definition. There are three hole sizes to accommodate skinnies and fatties.

Three holes to accommodate different brush head sizes

I tried it with several mascaras including Shu Uemura, Kevyn Aucoin, Too Faced, MAC, Clinique, Tarte, Benefit, Maybelline, Cover Girl, Loreal, Lancome, and Urban Decay

Clump Cleaner works with all my favorite mascara brands and completely removes clumps and debris

Clump Cleaner works with all my favorite mascara brands and completely removes the clumps, debris, and excess fibers from various kinds of brush heads

Skinny brush examples include a few MAC mascaras, Tarte Best in Faux, and Kevyn Aucoin The Essential Mascara.
Fat, fluffy brush examples: Urban Decay Big Fatty and Benefit Bad Gal
Silicone brush heads such as Benefit Cosmetics Roller Lash Curling & Lifting Mascara
Shaped brush examples: Too Faced Better Than Sex is fat and hourglass shaped, Hypnose Drama Instant Full Volume Mascara is sort of an S-shaped squiggle, Givenchy Phenomen’Eyes is a thin brush with a spikey ball shaped tip, and a few MAC mascaras and Make Up Forever Extravagant Mascara all have Christmas tree-shaped brushes.

Christmas tree shaped brushes frequently get globs of mascara on the tip, rendering them ineffective for vertical application

MY CLUMP CLEANER EXPERIENCE

Select the hole size that best accommodates the brush and bristle size

It’s pretty easy to use:

Open the mascara, brushing off excess while still inside the tube

Line up the base of the brush head (where the brush meets the wand, not the entire wand) with the best matching hole size.

Put only the bristled head into the hole, not the whole brush

Close the box and pull the brush through.

Close and hold the top with your thumb and slowly pull the brush out of the Clump Cleaner

All the clumps, debris are removed and the mascara is evenly distributed on the bristles.

To clean the brush head tip, use the other side of the Clump Cleaner. This works for orb shaped tips as well.

Clean the tip of the wand with this side of the Clump Cleaner

It is NOT at all messy. It removes just the perfect amount of mascara, leaving the right amount on the brush to give a full, thick and most importantly, even coat without the clumps or mess. And no mascara got on my fingers when cleaning or applying. No clumps!

REUSABLE

If you need do re-dip and feel it is necessary to de-clump again, you can use the Clump Cleaner immediately without the brush picking up the residual from the previous use. This also works if you use two types of mascaras on your lashes, such as a Waterproof final coat or a different mascara for the top and the bottom lashes. The removed mascara will not re-deposit onto the brush bristles.

I also like using it with disposable one time use mascara want brushes for a very clean mascara line.

CLEANING

Clean out with the included tool as needed once the mascara has dried. It can be cleaned wet but there is not really a need.

Included cleaner tool

CLUMP CLEANER ENABLES BETTER MASCARA BASECOATS AND REFRESHER APPLICATION

While not cited as an “official” intent of the Clump Cleaner, we also found Clump Cleaner to be quite useful with mascara base coats or builders. Mascara base coats are often so clumpy that they can’t apply thinly and evenly enough for mascara to coat evenly over it.

Urban Decay Subversion Lash Primer, Lancome Cils Booster, Shu Uemura Lash Builder and Tarte Opening Act Lash Primer are some examples of primers that are an opaque white base coat that serves as a pre-coat to mascara to add some oomph of volume or length to lashes. They are often a thick and clumpy consistency, but because they need to go on wet, so wiping them down with a tissue defeats the purpose.

If you liked the idea of a pre-mascara base coat but found them too problematic, you may be able to finally make this idea work by trying it with a Clump Cleaner.

TIP: Using the Clump Cleaner with a lash primer, I work the tip cleaning a bit extra since it’s needed for best defining the bottom lashes.

HAIL MARY MASCARA HACKS: USING THE LAST OF THE MASCARA

Yes, yes, we shouldn’t hold onto mascara more than three months, but sometimes… you want to eek out just a bit more. Placing your mascara tube into a mug of hot water softens up the mascara to get that last bit out, but the consistency is slightly different. I found the Clump Cleaner quite helpful with getting an even coating on the brush head while removing the clumps and excess wetness.

Use Clump Cleaner to get the last useful product out of an older mascara by straining out dried pieces, clumps, and debris, smoothing product evenly onto the brush

CONCLUSION

I really like the Clump Cleaner! It’s much neater and reliable than using a tissue, the results are more even, and for all the money I spend on pricey mascaras, Clump Cleaner lets me use more of it instead of throwing most of it away when I wipe the wand off on a tissue. The means of cleaning the tip off the mascara, which is vital for vertical application to lower and outer edge lashes, is much more effective than trying to wipe it back onto the mascara tube top, which just leaves messy and dried out bits on the mascara. I can use my very black and very thick, wet mascaras without clumps and get a natural, defined lash line each time.

Clump Cleaner is small and portable

Clump Cleaner is small enough to keep in a makeup bag, but depending on your mascara, you may only need to clean the brush off periodically.

I’ve abandoned some mascaras and pre-mascara bases that I expected to love but they were just too messy to apply, but now I am giving them a second chance now that I can get a good clean application wand out of them by cleaning them up first with Clump Cleaner.

Clump Cleaner allows for clean, natural, clump-free mascara application.

WHERE TO FIND IT

Find the Clump Cleaner at http://www.clumpcleaner.com

Style Chicks received Clump Cleaner in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.

Easy Makeup Removal Hack: AuroTrends Makeup Remover Towels

January 11, 2018 · Leave a Comment

Makeup removal after a late night when you’re dead tired feels like a herculean feat. You know you’re SUPPOSED to, but just don’t want to. The solution? AuroTrends Makeup Remover Towels quickly but gently remove makeup, including foundation, mascara, and eyeliner using just the towel and water. There are no chemicals, no stinging eye make-up removers and no leftover greasy residue on your skin. And they are gentle enough even for problem skin.

AuroTrends Makeup Remover Towel Set removes makeup without chemicals – just the towel and water

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN MAKEUP IS LEFT ON OVERNIGHT

If you DIDN’T remove your makeup, what’s the worse that can happen? Actually, it’s bad, not just clogged pores and acne bad, but break down your skin collagen bad.

The worst offenders when not removing makeup at night are foundation and mascara.

Unwashed foundation left on the skin overnight leaves skin unable to breathe and thereby prevents skin from renewing itself. It also blocks pores, trapping sebum, oil, dirt, and bacteria to create blemishes. Environmental toxins and pollutants stick to makeup and seep into the skin as free-radicals, breaking down collagen. Less collagen means prematurely older, duller, and wrinkled skin.

Removing makeup - primer, foundation, powders, blushes, highlighters, and concealers, is mandatory to allow skin to breathe and regenerate

You invest time and effort into applying your makeup. But removing makeup completely is very important to the health and appearance of your skin. Do it quickly and gently with AuroTrends towels.

Mascara left on overnight causes eye irritations and redness secondary to flaky debris in the eye, as well as transferring to your pillow and getting on your face. Dry, hardened mascara can cause eyelash breakage while sleeping. Tiny follicles on the lash line can infect or fill with sebum, causing a pimple-like stye or hordeolum (infection of the gland) on your lashline, causing lash loss, at the minimum, and potentially medical intervention. Eye makeup left on overnight can lead to swollen, puffy eyes, stretching delicate eye skin and premature wrinkles.

Mascara must be removed at night to avoid lash breakage and possible infection

So… what’s the fastest way to remove makeup?

ABOUT THE AUROTRENDS MAKEUP REMOVER TOWEL SET

This is a two pack of reusable, chemical-free microfiber makeup remover cloths, they wipe away cosmetics, sunscreen, oil, dirt and even heavy-hitters like foundation as well as BB creams and primer.

AuroTrends is a boxed set of two towels, one is pink and the other is black

The set contains one pink and one black towel. At 15.7″ long x 7″ wide, they are large enough to remove all types of makeup from your face and they have a hanging loop to dry and store them. They’re machine washable and can each be used up to 1000 times, making them cost-effective.

One side feels like soft velvet, the other is like Vellore.

Made with quality stitching and seams, the AuroTrends towel has a soft velvet feel on one side, a velour feel on the other.

WHAT’S SO SPECIAL ABOUT AUROTRENDS TOWELS?

What makes them different than a regular washcloth? For starters, they can remove makeup by only using water and the cloth, no cleansers are necessary despite their being no embedded chemicals. Second, they’re exceedingly soft and gentle on the skin, even around the delicate eye area. Yet they effectively remove even stubborn makeup.

Soft fabric does not irritate even sensitive skin yet wipes makeup away without any chemicals

AUROTRENDS FEATURES

Detailed instructions for speedy makeup removal.
Gift-Boxed
Multi-functional for all your makeup including eye makeup and lipstick
Doesn’t stain, even the blackest mascara and liners
Promotes healthy skin
Gentle enough even for sensitive and problem skin. Skin conditions such as eczema, acne, and psoriasis often require more durable makeup to conceal the problem, such as mineral makeup or heavy-duty foundations. But traditional cleansing methods require too much rubbing and scrubbing that can irritate sensitive skin. AuroTrends is gentle enough for problem skin but still gets the job done.

Each AuroTrends Towel is amazingly gentle but super effective at removing even stubborn eye makeup and primers

BREAK BAD HABITS: MAKEUP REMOVAL FOR THE TIRED OR LAZY

Do you frequently not remove your makeup before bed? Maybe you came home sick, or you laid down for just ten minutes and woke up groggy after a three-hour nap and can’t muster the energy for makeup removal, or you just delay removing your makeup until you are too tired to do it properly. If this describes you, then you probably have developed the bad habit of not removing your makeup before bed.

If so, consider keeping one of the two AuroTrends towels in this set and a bottle of water by your bedside for emergency makeup removal and break this bad beauty habit. Your skin will quickly look so much better.

AuroTrends towels are long so they can be used to wash off both eye and face makeup

MY EXPERIENCE: PUTTING AUROTRENDS TO THE TEST

I like thick, black mascara and liquid top-liner, I always wear sunscreen and primer, Vitamin C serum, and hard-to-remove lip stains, and use a setting spray to keep my makeup lasting as long as possible. This requires more effort to remove the makeup and sunscreen. My skin is also somewhat sensitive and I try my best not to pull on or rub my lashes, brows and delicate eye skin when removing makeup.

Easy to use instructions – just wet the towel and gently massage the face in circular motions

USE: I wet the towel, and gently massage my face in a circular motion to remove makeup. Once the makeup is off, I flip the cloth over and go over my face another time to wash non-makeup oil and dirt. There was no excess rubbing and my face didn’t feel any residual or dry or irritated after use.

I also tested out AuroTrends with a few makeup items that I typically find difficult to remove, including a BB cream, a mineral makeup foundation, a long-wearing eyeliner, lipstain and Dermablend brand concealer with the setting powder. While it took a bit more effort to remove, it removed it completely without leaving my skin red or irritated.

Some tough makeup to remove: (from left) a long-wear Lipstick, lipstain, Urban Decay 24/7 long-wearing eyeliner, and long-wearing foundation

A damp AuroTrends towel removes it all in a few gentle swipes!

EYE MAKEUP:Â Â Even blacker-than-black mascara and cream gel eyeliner came off quickly. To avoid excess rubbing, for my eye makeup, I set it on my closed eye for five seconds, just to be sure, but my makeup wiped right off gently with very little effort. If you use waterproof mascara, an oil-based makeup remover can be used with the AuroTrend Towel, even baby oil or safflower or coconut oil work. I find it faster and less messy than cotton pads and I didn’t have to use as much oil to get the job done.

Mascara, eyeliner, shadow, and foundation all comes off in a few light wipes without chemicals or scrubbing

Then AuroTrends rinses clean again!

CONCLUSION

Removing your makeup before bedtime is vital for the health of your skin to keep it free of infection, toxins, and acne-causing bacteria. Even if you are dead tired, AuroTrends cloths remove makeup quickly and gently, without chemicals or harsh irritants. Remove even stubborn makeup in a flash with these reusable, washable, gentle cloths that are great for use at home, traveling, at the gym or anywhere you may wish to remove your makeup. These versatile, washable towels are gentle enough even for problem skin.

AuroTrends Makeup Remover Towel Set

WHERE TO BUY IT

Find the AuroTrends Makeup Remover Towels Set at http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071R2QPF3

AuroTrends Makeup Remover Towel Set removes makeup in a flash at home, the gym or while traveling

Style Chicks received the AuroTrends Makeup Remover Towels Set in exchange for our unbiased review and received compensation for our time and effort. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.

Vitamin C and Retinol Skincare What to know

January 1, 2018 · 11 Comments

The first time one spots fine lines, crows feet, brown spots, or eleven lines on their face, one is probably only in their late twenties, but it feels like the start of a slippery slope into looking like a full-fledged card-carrying AARP member on their way to get a free senior coffee. To combat signs of aging, dermatologists recommend a combination of Vitamin C serum and Retinol. Considering starting a Vitamin C/Retinol topical skin care program? Find out exactly what to expect and when from this topical anti-aging power couple, as found in Lordsbury Retinol+C Moisturizer.

Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer contains both 2.5% pure Retinol and 20% Vitamin C Serum

WHY RETINOL AND VITAMIN C ARE THE FIRST LINES OF DEFENSE

Aging skin sneaks up on you. Your skin may seem dull, less dewy or vibrant, but not old, just… lackluster. This aging starts in our late twenties when collagen starts to decrease, and by 40, aging typically exhibits in increased uneven pigmentation, dark spots, redness, broken capillaries, along with the usual aging suspects of wrinkles, crinkles and sagging.

It’s easy to focus on the wrinkles and sagging, but the discoloration, dullness and cumulative sun damage effects are far more aging to the overall facial appearance. According to an article in the December 2006 Clinical Interventions in Aging Journal, “solar UV radiation unquestionably is the single major factor responsible for skin aging” (Clin Interv Aging. 2006 Dec; 1(4): 327â€“348).

Fortunately, both Vitamin C and Retinol excel at both building more collagen and undoing sun damage, its’ resulting discoloration, and skin texture changes, as well as restoring a youthful glow regardless of age. While there is a slew of anti-aging remedies and products out there, this sun damage reversal ability is one of the chief reasons that dermatologists will recommend a Vitamin C and Retinol combination.

CHOOSING YOUR TOPICALS

The temptation in anti-aging skin care is to panic and use too much too soon, attempting peels, scrubs, and topical treatments all at once, leading to dry, irritated skin. But the tried and true combination that addresses the broadest scope of anti-aging issues is Retinol and Vitamin C. We like Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer because it’s an all-in-one product that combines a 2.5% pure Retinol with 20% Vitamin C serum plus Hyaluronic Acid for deeper penetration, plus a host of moisturizers to buffer the powerful active ingredients.

Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer provides gentle but effective Retinol plus Vitamin C in an all-in-one product

ABOUT VITAMIN C: HOW IT REVERSES SKIN AGING

Vitamin C is needed for collagen production. Collagen is the scaffolding of the skin, keeping it supported and firm. We produce less collagen as we age, and we also lose collagen, which is tantamount to pulling bricks out of a wall – it eventually causes sagging and deterioration. But these missing “bricks” in the skin can be patched with Vitamin C application to produce more collagen. Because the skin makes less collagen as it ages, it’s helpful to apply Vitamin C topically to have it present at the cellular level where skin makes collagen, as Vitamin C is involved in all three collagen production processes. Vitamin C also fights free radicals which age the skin via oxidation and exposure to pollutants. Vitamin C fades away discoloration without bleaching it, just returning the skin to its’ natural tone.

Vitamin C can build collagen even around the delicate eye area

ABOUT RETINOL: HOW IT REVERSES SKIN AGING

Retinol helps retain existing collagen by preventing collagen breakdown and stimulate new collagen production. It is a great pairing with topical Vitamin C that provides the production process tools while Retinol gives the skin “orders” to make more collagen. It also increases skin thickness which makes it less prone to wrinkle and appear more even in tone. It breaks up discoloration and scars, which makes it easier for Vitamin C to fade it away. And it sloughs away dead skin cells and encourages new, younger skin to take its’ place. It shrinks pores, which tend to enlarge with age, and purges blackheads.

Retinol also uniquely retains the healthy glow or luminosity of youth that no other product or active ingredient can truly emulate or effect. If you have ever seen an older person without wrinkles or sagging, but their skin does not glow, you know they are maintaining their skin in some unnatural (surgical, laser or injectable) fashion. That glow is what gives older skin a natural young look.

Vitamin C and Retinol both accomplish different parts of many of the same tasks, making them a great team.

Just one pump of Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer treats the face and throat with a potent combination of Retinol, Vitamin C and a bunch of natural, effective moisturizers

TIMEFRAME: WHEN CAN I EXPECT RESULTS?

Results can be seen between a week to three months, depending on the type of aging concerned. The return of skin radiance happens fairly quickly, whereas reversing deep wrinkles and sagging requires collagen production which can take a few months of daily Retinol and Vitamin C use to start to visibly show.

A key factor in how long it takes for Retinol and Vitamin C to improve skin is how well you tolerate the flaking, redness, and dryness that occurs with many retinol and even some Vitamin C products. Many people can only tolerate every other day Retinol use. This will delay results. A Retinol we like is Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer because it contains 2.5% pure retinol, 20% Vitamin C serum and a host of natural moisturizers that serve as a gentle buffer so effective that it can be used twice a day with zero skin irritation, even around the delicate eye area, and even for those with very sensitive skin, like myself.

LUMINOSITY: ONE TO TWO WEEKS

This famous elusive Retinol glow appears just after a major skin sloughing. And it is fabulous.

SMOOTH AND EVEN SKIN: TWO WEEKS TO TWO MONTHS

Within the first week or two, the combination of Vitamin C and Retinol leads to rapid dead skin turnover, which makes skin look and feels soft and smooth, like after exfoliating. Wrinkles appear smaller and less deep because the light reflects better off of smooth skin than dead skin cells, but wrinkles are not actually improved at this stage, they are just attractively “buffed”. Prescription retinol is highly effective in dead skin sloughing but tends to have several weeks of itchy peeling to suffer through. Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer also has rapid dead skin turnover, but without tell-tale peeling or redness often seen in prescription retinol.

REDUCED PORES AND REDUCED BLACKHEADS: ONE TO THREE WEEKS

A particularly satisfying part of Vitamin C/Retinol use is watching pores shrink down to nothing and blackheads mass exit your face, even the stubborn ones around your nose. This pore-shrinking is surprisingly youthifying, as it’s something that unknowingly makes one look older.

ACNE: WEEKS THREE AND FOUR

Vitamin C tackles acne quickly. Retinol removes the dead skin cells and sebum congesting pores. There is a brief period a few weeks into retinol use that the pores purge with a temporary major breakout, then skin remains largely clear after that period. Cystic acne takes longer to clear but daily Vitamin C use is excellent for shrinking the inflammation out of cystic acne.

DISCOLORATION FROM PHOTOAGING (SUN DAMAGE): 2 to 6 MONTHS

This is one of Retinols and Vitamin C’s best tricks, reversing years of sun damage. How fast you see results depend on how much damage you have, but even severe sun damage can be vastly improved within three to six months. Vitamin C builds collagen and fades discoloration, improving sun damaged skin’s texture and even tone. According to the same article cited above, Retinol is the most effective treatment reversing skin damage, generally within three to six months, but most users won’t tolerate the burning, scaling, itching, peeling and general dermatitis issues associated with retinoid therapy. This is where buffering your retinol with moisturizers, such as those found in the all-in-one Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer, becomes crucial to assure regular, consistent use.

CONCLUSION

Few treatments can hold a candle to what daily use of Retinol and Vitamin C can do for the skin in terms of reversing sun damage and restoring the skin. The key to making this program work for you is finding a Retinol and Vitamin C that you can use consistently each day without excess irritation or redness. Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer provides 2.5% pure Retinol with 20% Vitamin C serum in a highly moisturizing cream base that contains many natural moisturizing agents so that you can tolerate daily use. In fact, you can use it twice a day without irritation. Once you see the wonderful youthful luminosity that Retinol can give your skin, you won’t want to stop, so Lordsbury gives the ability for daily use without any irritation, just soft, smooth, increasingly younger and better skin.

WHERE TO BUY IT

Find Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M3PSEQX/

Lordsbury Retinol+C Cream Moisturizer contains 2.5% Pure Retinol, 20% Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, Jojoba, Wildcrafted Green Tea, Shea Butter and many other Retinol-enhancing ingredients

Style Chicks received compensation for our time and effort to test this product. However, our experience with the product and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% ours.