Dr. Murad's assistants, or, what I did to bump up my skincare regimen

If you've been reading The Beauty Boomer for a while, you might remember that last May, I popped for a Murad Resurgence 90 Day Kit.*

I never really reviewed the kit, because I felt that I hadn't given the products enough time. I didn't want to be one of those Makeup Alley reviewers who use a new moisturizer and are all "Squee! Holy Grail!" and then two weeks later are leaving another review saying "THAT CRAP GAVE ME HIVES."

But at this point, I think I can give a pretty thorough review of the products, and explain why I added some additional skin care products to my regimen.

Mostly it's because the Murad products are so gentle. I have dry, fair, freckly skin, so you'd think it would be sensitive, right? But it really isn't. And I don't know ... maybe it was Death Becomes Her, or too many episodes of AbFab, but I kind of equate effectiveness with a degree of stinging, redness, and/or peeling. When a product warns me that my skin might react, I'm like a kid at a horror movie. I think "Cool!" grab a tub of popcorn, and get ready to watch the show.  What can I say? When it comes to complexion flaws, I'm a little bloodthirsty.

So I ended up being a little disappointed in the Murad products. The very slight tingle I felt the first couple of times I used Murad Resurgence Age-Diffusing Serum dissipated pretty quickly, to the point where I started using it every night. In fact, of the four products I received in my starter kit, it's the only one I've almost used up. But honestly, it's just an AHA product, and the stuff at the drugstore is probably just as good.

As for the other products in the kit, I've got about half a tube left of the cleaning cream and the AHA BHA Exfoliating Cleanser. Just as I had suspected, the cleansing cream didn't leave my skin feeling particularly clean, while the exfoliating cleanser was so incredibly gentle, it didn't feel like it was doing anything at all.

The Murad night time moisturizer is lovely, and I love its cake batter smell, but I find it a little rich for summer. So I'm saving it for colder weather, when my skin will appreciate it.

Long story short, the Murad kit is only OK. So I added a few products to my regimen. Here are two products I've liked. And one I've hated:

1) NuFountain® C20 Vitamin C Serum (19.99/1.0 oz.)
NuFountain's serum comes in a brown bottle (since Vitamin C degrades with exposure to light) and is dispensed with a dropper.

You're advised to start by putting five or six drops in the palm of the left hand, and painting it on with the right. This is another one of those products that warns you your skin might react to it. It has a pH of 2.5, so it's sort of like applying lemon juice or vinegar to your skin. I didn't have a problem with it at all, and since it's only 19.99/bottle, and since the manufacturers warn you that the product will degrade over time, I've been applying it all over my face, neck, décolleté, hands, and rubbing what's left on my lower arms.

I can't really describe what I think it does. I've seen some lightening of age spots, and my skin feels firmer, but more than that, there's a kind of ... well, the word is glow. I've gone through two-thirds of the bottle and will definitely be ordering more.

2) Avene Eluage Cream ($40/oz.)
This is a retinol product, where the retinol is suspended in a very emollient base. I've used both Retin-A and Renova, Retin-A's supposedly more moisturizing little sister, and Eluage feels completely different. It has Hyaluronic Acid Fragments and feels like a luxurious night cream. I've noticed no particular benefit from it, but I've also noticed no dryness or peeling from the retinol. Again, the price is right, and even if it only has a slight effect on surface lines, it's a keeper.

3) Retin-A (by prescription only, unless you sneak some of your son's supply)

OK, leading up to BlogHer I felt a certain pressure to look AMAZINGLY YOUTHFUL, stylish, slim, and gorgeous. Naturally there was nothing I could do about the slim part of things, but I got my hair color refreshed--no tell-tale roots on the Beauty Boomer--stuffed my Stila train case full of fabulous makeup, and made sure I left my baggy t-shirts and Mom Jeans at home.

But I also dipped into my son's supply of Retin-A.

I know, I know. Bad Poppy! But Internet, I couldn't help myself. He gets 11 refills in the next year! There's no way he could use even half that, and it would just be going to waste.

So this is how my skin punished me for sneaking dabs of someone else's prescription and blithely applying it every night for five nights:

OW. BURNING. PEELING.

And that's why this beauty blogger used nothing but Vaseline on her face for a few days before BlogHer.

Of course, when I showed up at Blogher, I was probably DIVINELY EXFOLIATED. But I don't recommend it.

So here's my current regimen:

A.M.

• wash face with uber gentle Murad cream cleanser
• apply nufountain Vitamin C serum
• apply Garnier Nutritioniste eye cream
• apply Garnier Nutritioniste SPF28 moisturizer

PM

• remove eye makeup with eye makeup remover of choice
• wash face with uber gentle Murad cleanser
• apply Garnier Nutritioniste eye cream
• apply Murad's Age Diffusing Serum/Avène's Eluage on alternate nights

--
*This link, as well as most of the other links on my site, goes to Amazon. Full disclosure: I finally managed to get the Amazon Associates doohickey set up properly, and last time I checked, I had earned forty cents! So feel free to click through and purchase stuff I link to, even though at this rate, it will take me until Christmas to earn a cup of Starbucks.

Sunday afternoon click-a-thon (with random remarks as a GWP)

Want to smell like me? Or at least, Coach's notion of what a Poppy smells like? (Apparently we're fruity/floral--and hey, who isn't?) Beauty 411 has the 411.

The votes are tallied and the griege shoobooties won, so they are on their way to me from Zappos. Yes, I originally found them on Nordstrom, but the free two-way shipping won me over. After all, I'll probably try them on, wonder what I'd been smoking, and run over to the P.O. to return them.

Once I start thinking about a subject, I see it everywhere. And right now, I'm all about the neutral eyeshadow. So I was awfully pleased to see Jennifer Hudson's Got Milk ad. Check out her eye makeup--it looks fantastic. (Please to ignore the icky milk moustache, though.)

Anyone finding their concealer looking awfully pale these days? For now, I'm blending a dot of Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer (shade #3, Golden Bronze) with my old faithful (and now discontinued) Maybelline Instant Age Rewind concealer--(and talk about combining high and low!) But what I really need to do is pop for a darker shade. I want to try the new Revlon ones.

I don't see as many ageless looks on The Sartorialist as I'd like. I'm often left feeling bereft. But this lovely brunette in a black top with a white collar has a great Coco Chanel-meets-Pierrot vibe.

In the time lapse between my writing a BlogHer post about serums and it going live, I dug around and found even more serums--like these two from from Phyto-C--that sound intriguing. But Vitamin C degrades when it's exposed to light, so I popped for a serum in a brown bottle. A budget-friendly one, at that. My bottle of nufountain C20 L-Ascorbic Vitamin C Serum arrived yesterday. I'll review it after I've been your guinea pig for a while.

Hey! College Fashion shows 25 summer sandals for any budget.

Finally, if you're fair-skinned, it can be really hard to find a bronzer that adds a little color but looks natural. Physician's Formula consistently comes out with colors that work for pale porcelain princesses like me. Right now I'm loving their Bamboo Wear Bamboo Silk Bronzer in Light.

With my usual high/low outlook, I'm applying my $9.95 bronzer with a $52 Nars bronzer brush. I load the brush with color, tap it off to remove the excess, and apply the bronzer in a sort of circular, rubbing motion over the areas that would get some sun: (that is, if I ever got up from my laptop) cheeks, nose, chin, forehead. It adds just a touch of color and a minimal amount of shimmer, and it's subtle enough to work in partnership with my blusher.

Finally, Une Femme has recommendations for summer weight scarves.

Click, read, enjoy!