Neutrogena Sheer has sunblocks especially formulated for the face, and another for the body. The one for the body offers 100 SPF, and I was pleasantly surprised since I thought what I have been using Armada Sport 70, is high enough at 70 SPF. Though as to wearability, Neutrogena Sheer’s formulation is thicker. I still prefer Armada because it glides on my skin.

Anti-aging properties and organic ingredients are also on my list when I look for sunblocks. And to prevent UV damage and stave off photo-aging look no further than Dermalogica  and L’Occitane brands. Dermalogica has formulated a fragrance-free sunblock with its patented ChromaWhite system to prevent hyperpigmentation and shield the skin against damaging UV rays. Dermalogica Oil Free Matte Block inhibits oil production yet glides on skin and acts like an invisible sunscreen.

L’Occitane’s Buriti, on the other hand, is made with organic vegetable oil from the palm-tree Buriti, a magical sun-care ingredient with concentrated antioxidant beta-carotene that prevents photo-aging.

Clarins also has a topnotch line that features Sunscreen Cream High Protection SPF 30 as well as the After Sun Gel to soothe, re-hydrate and even prolong your summer tan.  If you happen to have stayed under the sun longer than necessary and got sunburned, Clarins SOS Sunburn Butter has shea butter and mango to soothe and repair skin. A less expensive option would be Nivea’s Soothing After Sun Spray which I used during the summer months, when the sun was so harsh on the skin. 

Sisley also has its own line of suncare. Sisley’s Grand Ecran Solaire Visage facial sunscreens come in porcelain, colorless and low-protection facial sun care. Sisley’s Body Sun Oil also effectively protects the skin, while the Fluid Body Sunscreen provides high skin protection.
Global makeup brands have also introduced sunprotection in their range of products through the years. I love Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizers until I shifted to Olay Complete. They offer the same sunprotection at SPF 15.

Only recently, Bobbi Brown recently came up with its own sunscreen/base. The Bobbi Brown Brightening SPF 50 UV Protective Face Base is a soothing lotion that helps shield your skin from the harmful effects of the sun with a high level of broad-spectrum UVA and UVB protection. Lightweight and quick-absorbing, it can be layered over Brightening Moisture Cream to help prevent future damage and help maintain a radiant, even skin tone.

To prevent UV damage and stave off photo aging look no further than Dermalogica  and L’Occitane brands. Dermalogica has formulated a fragrance-free sunblock with its patented ChromaWhite system to prevent hyperpigmentation and shield the skin against damaging UV rays. Dermalogica Oil Free Matte Block inhibits oil production with an invisible sunscreen and promotes skin health.

L’Occitane’s Buriti, on the other hand, is made with organic vegetable oil from the palm-tree Buriti, a magical sun-care ingredient with concentrated antioxidant beta-carotene that prevents photo-aging.

Sisley’s Grand Ecran Solaire Visage facial sunscreens come in porcelain, colorless and low-protection facial sun care. Sisley’s Body Sun Oil also effectively protects the skin, while the Fluid Body Sunscreen provides high skin protection.

Clarins also has a topnotch line that features Sunscreen Cream High Protection SPF 30 as well as the After Sun Gel to soothe, re-hydrate and even prolong your summer tan.  For sunburn remedy, SOS Sunburn Butter has shea butter and mango to soothe and repair skin.

To use, after cleansing and toning, dab the cream delicately on the upper and lower eye area. To ensure that all the product is absorbed, start out with a thin sliver and blend until no striping occurs, especially in the eyelid creases. For evenings, eye creams are best followed with serum and night cream; for day, follow up with a tinted moisturizer with SPF, or use it together with a non-Retinol serum as a makeup base.

Estée Lauder Advanced Night Repair Concentrate does its work as you sleep at night. The non-acnegenic formula, applied after cleansing and toning and before moisturizer, removes damage from the day’s skin stress. A follow-up application in the morning sets you up with a strong dose of protection against environmental damage and free radicals, which, as studies have shown, cause 80% of premature skin aging; while providing a steady flow hydration to the skin via its infusion of hyaluronic acid.

 Artistry Time Defiance Lifting Eye Crème has active ingredients (a highly effective mix of buckwheat, Vitamin A, citrus extracts, green algae, caffeine, licorice and their wonder drug, the DermaCell Exchange) that lift, smooth, de-puff, firm, brighten and get rid of undereye circles—all while providing the old reliables of moisturization and line reduction. Sagging is reduced with continued use, and with it virtually disappearing under makeup with almost no scent whatsoever, everything was that much easier and gentler to use.

 Avon ANEW Clinical Eye Lift has been formulated to offer a triple lift to the upper eye, under eye and brow bone and promises less puffiness after just a week and better clarity and skin under the eye area after a month.

 Bobbi Brown EXTRA Eye Repair Cream is a rich, concentrated cream packed with peptides, natural plant oils and humectants that target fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, puffiness and dryness around the eyes. Use morning and night – warm between fingers, then pat gently around eye area. Once cream is absorbed, follow with Corrector and Creamy Concealer.

Murad Renewing Eye Cream combats the triple threat to the eye area such as puffiness, crow’s feet and dark circles. Its primary benefits include increased elasticity and firmness around the eyes.

The Body Shop Vitamin E eye cream reduces the appearance of fine lines, puffiness and dark circles while protecting the delicate skin around your eyes. Vitamin E is a nourishing natural antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals, moisturizes and helps to protect against premature aging and environmental impurities.Also includes shea butter and rose hip oil, which are rich in essential fatty acids to help repair skin’s moisture barrier and Algae extract to revitalize skin.

Skin Brighteners are designed to lighten the pigment of the skin, removing discoloration, dark spots, and other dark blemishes. If you have acne scars or other troublesome spots that make your skin look blotchy and uneven,include brighteners in your daily skin or makeup routine.

Brighteners usually come in serum form and because serums are water-based thus, easily absorbed into the skin. They also deliver anti-aging ingredients into the skin in a concentrated way and can be layered under other products without interfering with them.

Evening out your skin tone is easy with a simple overnight application. After cleansing and moisturizing your face, apply a thin layer of the serum; you should start to see a difference in about 2-3 weeks.

A key ingredient in skin brighteners is Vitamin C, along with other ingredient such as  hydroquinone, Alpha hydroxyl acids (AHAs), kojic acid, Vitamin E and licorice.

Here are some of the latest skin brighteners in the market today:

In addition to salicylic acid (to exfoliate skin’s top layers), Clinique Even Better Skin Tone Corrector contains vitamins C and E as well as ferulic acid, all of which fight pigment-encouraging free radicals, plus a mushroom extract to minimize dark spots. Perfect for all skin types.

Clarins MultiActive Skin Renewal Serum restores brightness, softness and a healthy glow to the skin with its cocktail of Nopal flower extract along with Phytosphingosine, a patented technology that promotes cell renewal and the absorption of collagen into the skin. Apply morning or evening, before your usual day or night moisturizer.

Shu Uemura White Recovery Pure Vitamin C Intense Brightening Serum is an intense brightening serum that contains a combination of pure Vitamin C, prune extract, sakura leaf in its signature deepsea water to counter pigmentation and whiten the skin and reduce spots. Works best when used along with the line’s cleansing oil and brightening cream.

Bobbi Brown Brightening Intensive Serum is part of the makeup brand’s latest brightening skincare line. Layer this highly concentrated serum over Brightening Hydrating Lotion morning and night. Its Vitamin C Complex along with a unique botanical blend of grape, Mulberry and Scutellaria helps diminish the appearance of dark spots. Included in the reknowned makeup’s brightening line are the Brightening face base  SPF 50 and the spot corrector SPF 25.

Murad’s Environmental Shield line contains a potent cocktail of Vitamin C and plant extracts along with its patented cellular water that help restore, renew and protect skin against environmental aging due to sun damage and other stressors. The line includes a cleanser and toner, lightening gel, day moisturizer with SPF 30 and night cream.

Smashbox High Definition Healthy FX Foundation SPF 15 comes in a special formulation that makes skin healthy from the inside out because of its moisturizing and lifting benefits to the skin. It has a  time-released moisturizer that lasts all day as well as Vitamin C and antioxidants to nourish skin and provide sun  protection all day, everyday. It is oil-free and comes in 13 shades.

Christian Dior Capture Totale High-Definition Serum Foundation not only contains optical correctors and liquid crystal pigments, but it also contains anti-aging ingredients and an SPF 15.  Its patented formula of  Alpha-Longoza™ complex, combined with Centuline, helps to deeply correct visible signs of aging.  The result?  Visibly smoother, firmer and more luminous skin that is supple because of  its hydrating properties. Best applied after the  Capture Totale skincare routine. Available in 8 shades.

photo by:cosme-de.com

How we wish we could go back to the time when we were young, when our skin was soft and dewy. But as time advances and with the many environmental factors that assault the skin, particularly the weather, skin becomes dry and leathery.

We have been told time and again to moisturize, moisturize and moisturize as lack of moisture tends to make wrinkles more pronounced. The main complaint however, is that it is difficult to find the perfect light moisturizer, one that does its job and at the same time, not clog pores and, give you ample protection from the sun.

Chanel’s Hydramax Active Serum provides a non-greasy surge of moisture for the face yet feels light and not heavy on the skin. It is not so rich that it will clog your pores and make you break out. Credit Chanel for coming up with a patented technology that help maintain an optimal level of moisture from the deepest layers of the epidermis all the way to the surface. You can use this fresh, light gel serum day and night.

Another favorite is Olay Complete Moisturizer SPF 30 with its light, non-greasy formulation for a barely-there feel. This all-day moisturizer replenishes moisture and absorbs quickly into skin with its anti ageing ingredients made up of vitamin E, B3 & pro-vitamin B5. What’s more, it defends the skin against UVB/UVA rays that lead to premature skin damage 97% of the time because of its SPF 30.

What’s the point of having a perfectly made up face if the skin in your neck is loose and discolored? The discoloration can be promptly remedied by applying foundation but the loose skin cannot be easily fixed.

L’Oreal Revitalift Face, Contours and Neck is a new anti wrinkle, firming cream that nourishes the neck and helps keep skin around the chin from sagging. Use upward strokes to apply a nourishing cream on your neck and throat every night. You can use this cream on your face too and presumably it will do the same for the face by lifting, contouring saggy skin. If you’re using another product for the face, then use this solely on the neck so you more mileage out of the product.

Black ingredients are recognized for their many health and skin benefits as a source of lasting youth and vitality. Consider the fact that most antiaging creams come in black packaging. Here we feature the power of black in the latest anti aging creams:

Shu Uemura Radiance boosting lotion

Shu Uemura Phyto-Black Lift  anti aging line expertly blends unique black Asian phyto-ingredients to address the major skin concerns of aging. These are: black tea ferment, an antioxidant; and, black sugar (molasse extract) + Pro-Xylane, another complex sugar molecule, that has the ability to retain moisture in the skin and has a collagen-boosting effect.

Dior Hydra Life Youth Essential Hydrating  Essence in Gel (Php3,800) . This hi tech cream uses high performance plant ingredients particularly the anti-oxidant black rose which is grown by Dior in its gardens in Brittany.

I also like their anti aging soap

I have always been a fan of Olay since I started using it and found that the product really does wonders to my skin. How I wish I had used it sooner. The first Olay product I used is Olay Complete All Day UV Moisturizer SPF15 someone brought home from the US. At night, I used the Olay Classic Hydrating Beauty Fluid.

I got a lot of mileage from both products and used it every single day because however sensitive my skin is, it never caused my skin to break out. I never saw the need to buy the Total Effects line, also a moisturizer but has the added benefit of anti ageing ingredients in a beautiful pump dispenser, since I switched to the Regenerist line right away. Its purported selling point? Laserless option to reduce lines and wrinkles, more potent than Total Effects. The star ingredient? Amino peptide complex, the secret behind the power of laser therapies. Laser works by wounding the skin, which triggers skin cells to release amino peptides. These in turn signal the skin to produce more collagen and elastin, resulting in a finer, smoother and younger-looking complexion. That Amino Peptide they later called KTTKS is potent enough to kickstart the wound healing process by itself. With that in mind, Olay scientists set to work and created a modified version called pal-KTTKS which they incorporated into the skin product,which resulted to the breakthrough Olay Regenerist line.

 Apart from pal-KTTKS, another star ingredient in the product is Carnosine, an Amino Peptide antioxidant that works synergistically with other oxidants in the product (Niacinamide or Vitamin B3, Allantoin, Pro Vitamin B5, Vitamin B and Green Tea extract) to boost the antioxidant protection of Olay Regenerist up to 30%, giving skin cells better protection from environmental damage.

photo:www.olay.com

Now comes news that Olay is set to launch in 2009 its Pro-X line that will feature six products that addresses wrinkle repair, skin firming,hyperpigmentation, rosacea and general skin ageing. The products include Age Repair Lotion SPF 30, Wrinkle Smoothing Cream, Hydra Firming Cream, Deep Wrinkle Treatment, Eye Restoration Complex, and Discoloration Fighting Concentrate. A starter kit will be available in January 2009 online and in drugstores stores for 62 USD, which will feature smaller sizes of all the products in the new line. I’ve asked a relative to bring home the kit as I don’t expect Pro-X will be available in the Philippines until mid-2009 at the very least.

How is it any better than the Olay Regenerist line? While Regenerist has the collagen/elastin-inducing pal-KTTKS (otherwise known as palmitoyl pentapeptide- 4), the anti-oxidant boosting Carnosine and niacimide (Vitamin B3) which targets hyperpigmented spots, red blotchiness and skin sallowness, Pro-X has Palmitoyl dipeptide-7, a silicone based filler. According to the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, dipeptides are relatively new and increasingly popular in skin care. The addition of fatty acids (i.e., “palmitoyl” = palmitate) to dipeptides allows them to better diffuse across the outermost layer of the epidermis. With that said, the palmitoyl dipeptide 7, is a new addition for Olay as it is not found in their either  Regenerist or  Total Effects lines.

Anti Aging Skin Care
Anti-aging skin care in your 30’s is not only about using anti-aging products but also about following a healthy lifestyle and caring for your skin and body in a holistic way. Some turn to yoga, pilates and other Eastern disciplines to integrate the mind and body as stress levels are high at this age. Yoga lowers your blood pressure and brings down your cortisol levels. It reduces anxiety and gives more flexibility to your muscles. It helps in better blood circulation. All these contribute towards slowing down your aging process.

Pregnancy and post pregnancy problems arise such as cellulite or orange peel skin, stretch marks, excess skin around the tummy area, flabby arms and facial hair. You may need products that can correct these concerns. Weight gain is one other problem that aggravates your skin’s condition because metabolism slows down at this stage in your life. This is where diet and exercise become a priority.

Diet for a Youthful Look
Diet is important and if you want to retain a youthful look in the years to come, eating healthy foods is the right way to go. I eat a lot of salads and sandwiches now than I do before and take fiber and calcium supplements. I take moderate amounts of carbs and stop at 1/2 cup of rice daily, even less if I can manage it. Control, after all, is key. No amount of diet pills will help if you eat the way you do back when you were in your early 20’s. Hold off on carbonated drinks as these are known to deplete calcium deposits in your bones.

Try eating organic for a change and control your desire for high-fat, high-sugar foods. Eat a lot of fresh green vegetables, fruits, milk and select lean meat over red meat. Anti-aging foods such as cauliflower, turnips, cabbage, broccoli and radish help your body flush out toxins and raise your body’s immunity against disease.

Avocado is another anti-aging fruit and is rich in Vitamin E. Soya helps to maintain estrogen level in women which helps to delay aging. Watermelon, a fruit that most of us are familiar with, is rich in vitamins and prevents aging of your skin because of its high water content.

Exercise to Sweat Out Toxins
Exercise regularly. When you exercise, you also sweat out all toxins in your body. Regular facials and body massages relax the mind and body and improves blood circulation. Skin is tightened and toned as well. Follow the simple three-step formula in your skincare regimen: cleanse, tone and moisturize. Make it simple and easy so you don’t feel you are pressed for time. Women in their 30’s after all, have careers and a household to run.

If you can, choose a moisturizer that doubles as a sunblock and choose one that has a high SPF to protect the skin from further sun damage. Collagen, a protein which maintains the elasticity of our skin, is destroyed when exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the sun. Avoid squinting and wear sunglasses to protect your eyes.

Face Brighteners
Because skin at this age starts to show signs of dullness, your best ally should be face brighteners. Choose products that address this concern and start looking for anti-aging properties in the products you buy. Start using night creams to hydrate skin and eye creams that lift the eye area. Use concealers under the eyes to hide dark circles and blemishes.

Regular exfoliation with face scrubs are a must. Don’t forget other parts of your body that usually betray your age when overlooked such as the neck, hands and feet. Get neck treatments along with your facials. There are firming lotions now available in the market made especially for the neck. Paraffin waxes even out the veins that start to show on your hands and feet. Foot spas take care of the feet to prevent cracked heels and make them look neat and trim. 

Microdermabrasion Treatment
If you can, get microdermabrasion treatment every two weeks. I find it easier to get a treatment packages for diamond peeling and facials because it is cheaper in the long run. Since maintenance is what you aim for, it is best to shop around for treatment packages that offer you more value for money.

Get enough sleep. No matter how much you spend for beauty treatments, if you lack sleep you will hasten the aging process. Sleep allows the skin cells to regenerate and the body to repair itself. Cut down on caffeine and alcohol and avoid smoking. Drink a lot of Water. It keeps your skin hydrated and prevents early wrinkling. Herbal teas are also a great way to keep your skin hydrated. Green tea is best since it has anti-oxidants and help slim you down.

For women in the 30s, here are a couple of procedures you should be getting:

Microdermabrasion
Chemical Peels
IPL
Facial rejuvenation
Laser Skin Resurfacing
Laser Skin Tightening
Laser Hair Removal and underarm lightening
Body Contouring treatments designed to target problem areas and can effectively tighten and refine specific areas of the body
breastlift, tummy tucks
Mesotheraphy for cellulite reduction