What to do when you accidentally recommend discontinued products

Recently, I raved and raved to the internet about DDF's Glycolic body lotion.

I raved in person about it, too. In fact, if you were my husband, you were subjected to an appalling amount of fan girl squeeing: This stuff is great! Seriously! My butt is so smooth, babies envy it! You should check it out! Um ... when we're not in public.

Almost delirious over how fabulous my skin felt, I went browsing on the internet looking for a good, possibly cheaper source of my new BFF--only to discover that it had been discontinued.

So then I went searching through various message boards looking for a  replacement. I heard about AmLactin, and the next time I was at Walfgreen's, I bought a big bottle of it.

It sounds good. It has AHAs. It's 12 percent lactic acid with a pH of 4.5 to 5.5. This means its claims to "exfoliate and smooth rough, dry skin" are probably accurate.

I've only tried it on my hands so far, and it doesn't feel as luxurious as DDF's Glycolic Body Lotion--which makes sense, because DDF's formula is packed with lots more skin-softening ingredients. I'm no Paula Begoun, and even I can tell the difference. (But this is serious cosmetics geekery, so I'm burying it in a footnote.)*

I'll let you know how it works out.  But I'm telling you one thing. The packaging is really bothering me. Compare the DDF I recommended

to AmLactin

The DDF bottle says spa, and luxurious but not flashy. The AmLactin bottle says doctor's office, and medicinal but not in a sexy nurse way.

Even if I fall in love with AmLactin, I'm planning to decant it into a better looking bottle. Because there's no way that bottle sends out a come-touch-me vibe. Even if it does leave me raving to my husband about the texture of my butt.

---
* For my fellow cosmetics geeks--a comparison of DDF's and AmLactin's ingredients. First, DDF's Glycolic Lotion:

Water, glycolic acid, caprylic/capric triblyceride, (a fatty acid derived from coconuts) dimethicone, (skin protector) ethylhexyl palmitate, (skin smoothing wax) glyceryl stearate, (a combination of glycerin and fatty acid) propylene glycol, (attracts water) PEG-100 stearate,  c12-15 alkyl benzoate, cetyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, ammonium hydroxide, sodium PCA, glycerin, lactic acid, triethanolamine, sorbitol, polyglyceryl-6 isostearate, polysorbate 60, tocopherol, retinyl palmitate, allantoin, aloe barbadensis leaf juice, methylparaben, cetearyl alcohol, ceteareth-20, borago officinalis seed oil, disodium edta, propylparaben, panthenol, phenoxyethanol, tocopheryl acetate, vitis vinifera seed extract, camellia oleifera leaf extract, milk protein, zinc glyconate, butylene glycol, sodium ascorbate, dmdm hydantoin, fragrance.

And AmLactin:

Water, lactic acid netralized with ammonium hydroxide, light mineral oil, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, propylene glycol, glycerin, magnesium aluminum silicate, laureth-4, polyoxyl 40 stearate, cetyl alcohol, methylparaben, propylparaben, and methylcellulose.

Poppy's Top 10 of 2010: Clinique's Even Better Skin Tone Corrector

Another product I was hoping wouldn't work, because

1. It's ridiculously expensive. Retail is $49.50 for one ounce of product.
2. If you use this stuff morning and night, one drop all over your face, you'll use it up in about a month.
3. To make matters worse, you can't tell when the product is running out, because the pump is opaque.

So even though this product makes me a little crazy ... I do think it works.

I'd like to spare you the sight of my creepy bits, so I won't be uploading any photos. You'll just have to believe me when I tell you that I have a dark spot about the size of Rhode Island on my left cheekbone. It is, I guess, the price I pay for being a fair-skinned automobile driver.

It was also the result of a cruel beauty establishment taking a couple of decades to get around to telling me that UVA rays

1. penetrate glass 
2. do deep, invisible damage to the skin
3. are not blocked by the standard SPF15 moisturizers I was using back in the 80s.

Anyway, I'm using a Vitamin C serum twice a day and this serum on top, and I do actually see an improvement. There is noticeable lightening of the spot.

There is also a noticeable lightening of my wallet. But at least I'm not left racking my brain for a Clinique product I can buy when I want to qualify for a GWP. Right?

Also, I've noticed that Clinique has introduced a new, larger size of this stuff. Which means I'm not the only person who thinks it works. And the new 1.7 ounce size sells for $73.00, which at least saves a little money.



For more:


See this article on age spots and what we can do about them.

Read this for current sunscreen recommendations.

Poppy's Top 10 of 2010: DDF Glycolic Body Lotion

I was really hoping I wasn't going to like DDF 10% Glycolic Body Lotion better than anything else I tried this year, because the stuff is crazy expensive. I'm usually all about the biggest, cheapest bottle of body lotion, figuring I slather it on the way they tell you to apply sunscreen--frequently and copiously--so why spend more?

The thing is, so many of my lotions (Eucerin, Nivea, Lubriderm, Jergens) haven't been enough by themselves, so I've layered them over and under other products.

Whereas the DDF lotion does it all. It moisturizes so well that itchy dry places that tend bother me every winter are soothed. I'm not hearing a peep out of them. It exfoliates, so it helps gets rid of flaky skin and keratosis pilaris and foot calluses and dry cuticles. And it gives my skin a beautiful, youthful sheen.

When I put it on--and I put it on pretty much every bit of me from the neck down--I can feel that AHA tingle. Which means if you have sensitive skin, this product probably isn't for you. But me? I love knowing that all the creepy bits of me are being sloughed off. 

Unfortunately, due to the AHAs, there's a bit of a funky yogurt-y smell. And as I said, it's expensive--roughly $40.00 for an eight ounce bottle.

I know! Crazy! But it's so good, I'm looking for an on-line coupon or Friends and Family sale or something along those lines, because I'm halfway through my first bottle.

Poppy's Top 10 of 2010: Clinique All About Eyes Serum De-Puffing Eye Massage

For several years, in an attempt to keep my readers stopping by while they were on Christmas break, I did something I called The 12 Days of Blogmas, which, if I remember correctly, had something to do with Christmas songs and random Google images.

But now that I'm a famous beauty and style blogger,  I decided to do a top ten count down where I sing the praises of products and retailers that have surprised me with their wonderfulness in 2010. Because no one has ever thought of doing a year's-end top 10 list before.

Let's start with an eye product. Now, while no one has convinced me that there's a product out there that surpasses Garnier Nutritioniste Ultra-Lift Eye Cream, which if you click on that link, you'll be pleased to discover is on sale via Amazon for $3.05/jar. (I just ordered three of them.)

For moisturizing without giving me milia, this eye cream is tops. But it does nothing for puffiness.

Which is why I'm giving a Poppy's Top 10 award to Clinique's All About Eyes Serum De-Puffing Eye Massage.

Now, under-eye bags and puffiness are not my biggest concern. My big concern is under-eye shadows. Mine are very dark. I have under-eye shadows as in cue the opening credits to Dark Shadows. And this roller doesn't help with them at all.

But after a night of not-enough sleep, or the Morning After? This roller is a gift from the gods. It's so cool and refreshing and just what the doctor ordered.

I got mine as part of a gift with purchase the last time I stocked up on Clinique's acne products for the teenagers. As far as not-really-necessary beauty products go, at $25.50/15 ml., it's not cheap.

To soften the sting, you could find a Clinique GWP by doing some research on GWP Addict. (Here's a link to Lisa's Top 3 listings: Clinique, Estee Lauder and Lancome GWP.)

You could also look on eBay--lots of eBay sellers resell extra GWP size products--some in sets of three, which is the same amount of product as you'd get in a full-size bottle.

You could also try drugstore alternatives, because there are a bunch out there: Olay Regenerist, Garnier Nutritioniste, and even one from L'Oreal Paris,
which rather hilariously, is marketed for men.


Do these eye rollers make that much of a difference? Maybe not. But when you wake up on January 1st, you'll be glad you have one on your bedside table.

• For more on roll-on eye serums, see Prime Beauty's review.

• Full disclosure: I have an Amazon Associates account, which means that when I link to stuff on Amazon--and I just did, big-time--if someone clicks over from my blog and buys it, I make a small commission. Just so you know, this Amazon Associates deal has so far added up to an $11.52 gift card. w00t!

How can you miss me if I don't go away?

Hey internet? Miss me?

OK, maybe not. But I feel guilty, so I'm here to confess.

I haven't been blogging much. I'm part of a group blog, and I've been managing to do my Mamarazzi posts. Most of the time, at least. If you've been wondering where the hell I've been, and why I haven't been blogging, here's the deal.

Right about when school started, I signed up with LiveStrong's MyPlate program. I figured out things like if I want to lose 1.5 pounds a week, I need to eat about 1300 calories a day. And if I want to drink a glass of wine, I need to walk for half an hour. So anyway, with the weekly weigh-ins and the long walks and the food journal, I've been busy. I've also lost 15 pounds.

(Don't get excited, I weigh 175 pounds and am wearing a size 14.)

I've also been decluttering my house. I highly recommend it as a complementary activity. First of all, it gives you something to do besides eat. Also, as you shrink, you get to get rid of your fat clothes, which is kind of fun. And third, you get a huge sense of accomplishment. Really. I've been decluttering a space a day. Sometimes it's something small, like the junk drawer in the kitchen; sometimes it's something appallingly out-of-control and death-trap-y, like my closet. And it feels fantastic! I could have filled you in on this, but I don't know how compelling it would be. I've been boring my husband for weeks now.

What the hell, I'll give it a try. Hey internet! You should see my broom closet!!! Pfft. See what I mean?

So anyway, dieting and decluttering have kept me away from my laptop.

But here's a big one. Did you know, going into this parenting gig, that teenagers were such time- and energy-sucks? Color me naive, but I thought that as long as truly excruciating bad behavior involving drugs, alcohol,  unwed motherhood, and fresh back-talk weren't part of the picture--well, how bad could it be?

HA.

I won't go into the awkward stage where teenagers have a ton of extra-curricular activities and no driver's license, because you're all acquainted with the second shift, i.e., the karate / Girl Scouts / choir rehearsal / music lessons runs. That's all very well and good. As long as the curricular activities are going well.

But after too many days where I went to a board meeting and got home at 2:30, only to have some huge hairy homework debacle occur an hour later, it finally dawned on me that I needed to shed as much volunteer or unpaid activity as I could. There have been too many days recently where I had to chose between my family getting a decent dinner, and a child's homework being completed.

And I am NOT a helicopter mom. But if they flunk out, they'll never get into college. And if they don't get into college, they won't graduate and come home and clutter up my empty nest with pizza boxes and video game equipment. And that would never do.

So I had to put aside some of my favorite activities, i.e., the ones where I make an idiot out of myself. For example, this Christmas, I won't be putting on my red sequin Santa hat and singing "Santa Baby" to a roomful of retirees at the local nursing home. Even though those old guys think I'm smoking hot.

Also, the blogging thing had to go for a while. I needed to husband my energy.

I would have told you, except I was in the middle of it, and sometimes when I'm in the middle of things, I lack insight. I even (gasp!) sometimes lack the words.

So anyway. Miss Doxie is back!!!! and so--much less thrillingly--am I.

(And unlike Miss Doxie, I'll try to come back more often than once a year.)

Why didn't I think of that?

Usually I don't pay a lot of attention to the emails I get from Hermès. They have a tendency to make me feel like a have-not.

But this is brilliant. I could put an orange tube over my head and go out as a Twilly box!

Or use real Twilly boxes instead of going to the trouble of buying and carving pumpkins.

Oh, whom am I kidding, anyway? My job isn't to wear a costume--it's to play Maid of Honor for my daughter as she gets ready for four different Halloween events. And I'm so glad I never got rid of my circa 1992 black lace up ankle boots, because she'll be wearing them.

Recent faves, or Friday Fun

What I'm Reading

Une Femme made a video to teach us two ways to tie a long scarf.

Deb's post at No Nonsense Beauty has convinced me to try Retin-A again.

Sally at Already Pretty ran a thought-provoking post on age-appropriate dressing. I don't know how that whippersnapper got so smart, but you should definitely check it out.

The New York Times published Dominique Browning's "Why Can't Middle-Aged Women Have Long Hair" and so far, 718 commenters have weighed in.

Where I'm Shopping:

Talbot's is running a special sale today only, from 12:00 to 3:00. They're offering 30 percent of all tops, tees, and sweaters. The offer is good on-line and in stores. The code is TOPS30.

Did you know Saks is running a Friends and Family sale? Until October 24, you can get 20 percent off clothes, 15 percent off accessories, and even 10 percent off perfume and makeup. The code is FRIEND7.

Sephora's Friends & Family Sale is on now, too. Get 20 percent off an online order by using the code FF2010. So don't buy any makeup at Saks.

Need a new coat? J. Crew is offering 20 percent off women's outerwear.

Why I'm pouting

British Beauty Blogger has a post up about Selfridge's Beauty Advent Calendar, and it's making me feel like the Little Match Girl. I'm no fan of the brown crayon-flavored chocolate in my kids' Advent calendars, so little bitty beauty samples? Sold! But Selfridge's doesn't do on-line orders to the US.  The big meanies.

Enjoy your weekend!