Last week, Dr. Michelle Copeland Skin Care sent me travel-size products of their line to review for you, dear Chic Critique readers! I received their Daily Cleanser, Daily Normalizing Toner, and Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30, along with  their Advanced Acne Solution, Rewind Eye Formula, and Pigment Formula, and a weekly Microdermabrasion Formula.

I can’t comment on the microdermabrasion yet which I’ll test out this weekend, but I can give you my initial thoughts on all the other products, which I’ve been using as directed – twice daily. I also received her book, The Beautiful Skin Workout which I’ve begun reading, and I’ll keep you posted on that too!

I’ve got a lot of products to share initial thoughts on so this is going to be fairly long… here’s the Cliff-notes version for those who can’t keep reading: More intense than my normal routine, doesn’t smell like anything which is wonderful, and I’ll let you know the results after I’ve tested for the full 8 weeks.

Having used the Clinique 3 Step System for a while, I’m familiar with the twice daily cleansing, toning, moisturizing that goes with it. But the Dr. Michelle Copeland Skin Care samples I received also included solutions for hormonal occasional acne, dark circles under my eyes, and general skin discolorations. This system claims to improve your skin condition in 8 weeks. These products are not cheap, so over the next two months I’m going to test that claim out for you!

Thoughts so far? The Daily Cleanser is light, doesn’t feel as though it penetrates my skin, but it seems to do the job – my husband noticed how soft my skin felt this week. The Daily Normalizing Toner does have a slightly stronger effect, and after using it I feel like my skin is clean and tight.

After the toner, I apply the Advanced Acne Solution with a cotton round. This is seriously intense stuff – I’ve learned to keep my mouth sealed tight because if even the tiniest whiff gets in, I feel like I’ve swallowed poison. Okay, I might be exaggerating a bit, but it really does not taste good. The main ingredient is salicylic acid, which amazingly, hasn’t dried out my skin at all.  I’ll be honest though – so far this week it hasn’t done much to keep little blemishes away.

Next I apply the Pigment Formula which feels light like the cleanser. After that, I apply the Rewind Eye Formula to my dark circles, and around where I see the beginnings of creases and fine lines forming.

Finally I apply the Daily Moisturizer. I love that this stuff has SPF 30 – it saves me a step which is wonderful given how many extra steps I’ve been taking this week. But it also feels a lot like sunscreen – it’s really thick and I feel like I have to push it into my skin. Still, my skin is soft as can be, and given the amount of salicylic acid I’ve been putting on my face, it’s surprisingly soft and non-flaky.

Overall my skin already feels softer and tighter, but it is a lot of work to put 6 products on my face twice a day. I’ll let you know in 8 weeks if it was all worth it

Note: I received samples of the Dr. Michelle Copeland Skin Care line at no cost to me. My opinions, however, are my own.

One of the perks of writing for my own women’s blog and several others is I get to try a lot of health and beauty products for free.  Though I appreciate this job, I’ve noticed one downfall of subjecting my face to various formulas: My skin hates it!  The glowing, creamy skin that I once had is breaking out, lackluster, and downright dry. 

What gives? 

According to Dr. Michelle Copeland, M.D., D.M.D, author of  The Beautiful Skin Workout: Eight Weeks to the Smoothest, Healthiest Skin of Your Life and Change Your Looks, Change Your Life, if you frequently hop from one product to the next in search of something better, you won’t be happy with the results.  “Daily or weekly alternation of your topical serums and lotions is a form of skin abuse.  The tissue reacts by becoming irritated or breaking out.  All that back-and-fourth shocks the skin; it gets revved up because it’s not sure what’s going to hit it next,” says Copeland.

I had read the words and even reviewed her book on my site but somehow let them go right over my head.  It took about a month or so before I started noticing the bad changes in my skin.  So, the new manifesto for trying and reviewing new products is this:  All future skin care trials will be done on the back of my hand or on a small patch of facial skin no more than once a month.  I feel this new plan will still give me accurate results and allow me to be objective without risking my skin’s integrity.  I’ve worked too hard to keep beautiful skin to lose it now in my forties. 

A Long-term Relationship

I hate to admit that I have been a skin care junkie.  I have used so many different products that I can’t even remember them all.  However, I’ve seen the error of my way; I’m making the commitment to my beloved Aveda products.  The Tourmaline-charged line is the best thing I’ve ever used for my skin.  I’m not saying that it would be for you, only that you should find what does work and stick to it. 

Obtaining and keeping a creamy complexion takes work and discipline.  And, as I’ve found out the hard way, you aren’t going to get from hopping from Clinique >Olay >Lather> Origins> Loreal.  Just pick one already!  Your skin will thank you! 

Photo by Dark Jessica

This contest is closed, and the winner is Jacqueline in Atlanta!  Congratulations, Jacqueline!

I think the 30s and 40s is the hardest age to dress. We’re too old for the hip, trendy styles of the 20-somethings, but we’re too young for the classic, stodgy looks of the 50- and 60- somethings. I don’t want to look like my mother OR my teenage daughter (if I HAD a teenage daughter, which I don’t, but I COULD, and if I DID, I wouldn’t want to share her clothes.  KWIM?)

SO. What’s a stylish 35+ mom to wear?

In Steal This Style by Sherrie Mathieson, “moms and daughters swap wardrobes secrets” to find inspiration for a “forward-looking, timeless, and youthful wardrobe.”

This is SUCH a cute book.  I think it would make the perfect Mother’s Day Gift.  Throughout the book, Sherrie Mathieson takes you through all sorts of different occasions, and with different mother and daughter pairs, she shows you how to take inspiration from the “younger set” while still maintaining a modern, age-appropriate style.  It’s full of colorful pictures to showcase her ideas.

She shows what NOT to wear and how to do it better.  There are TONS of practical nuggets of fashion and beauty advice throughout that are practical for women of any age.  The book really is geared more for the older moms, taking inspiration from their younger grown daughters, but the book is fun for moms of any age.

WIN IT! One lucky reader will win a copy of Steal This Style!

1. Just leave a comment on this post telling me your biggest fashion challenge.

2. Give yourself a second (OPTIONAL) entry for being a subscriber.

3. And you may earn a third (OPTIONAL) entry for sharing this contest on Twitter or Facebook or your blog.

Just make sure you leave separate comments for each entry so they’re sure to count!

As a mom with straight hair I was at a loss when my daughter’s locks started to take on their current shape.  By the time she was 2 1/2 years old we were both so frustrated with her curly hair that I considered shaving it all off.  Instead of such a hasty reaction I turned to the Interwebs and asked for help.

Two bloggers recommended that I get Curly Girl by Lorraine Massey with Deborah Chiel.  The rest of the advise I received on that post worked well enough that I didn’t bother looking into the book.  One of the things that helped to bring sanity back to our mornings and kept her beautiful curls from turning into a rat’s nest every day was to keep it in some kind of up-do.  For the past year and a half we have put her hair into braids, ponytails or pig tails almost every single day.

Then my daughter, Princess turned 4 years old and she started wanting to wear her hair down more often.  She begged and pleaded and pulled out the big guns saying “pretty please with sugar on top.”  Then I remembered the recommendation to get the Curly Girl book.  Fortune was on our side and my local library had the book!  I checked it out the very next day.

This book really is the handbook for anyone with curly hair.  Did you know that there are essentially 4 different types of curls and each type has different care needs?  I didn’t.

After reading this book I now know what type of curls my daughter has (Botticelli) and discovered all sorts of tips on how to clean, care for, treat and style her hair.  Some of this we had figured out on our own or were recommended by friends but there were a few little tips, not to mention the recipies in the book that were brand new knowledge.

Armed with the book we have been able to come up with the right line of products and techniques which allow her to wear her hair down every day.  It still gets pulled into a gentle ponytail every night to prevent snaggles and knots.  This book has helped our mornings go faster.  The tears have been minimized.  Best of all my daughter is beginning to love her hair and all the compliments she gets on those shiny ringlets.

If you have curly or even wavy hair I highly recommend spending a little time curled up with Curly Girl – The Handbook.

***UPDATED:  We have a winner!  Congratulations  Chel, commenter number 23!  Thanks to everyone for playing along!  ***

Be sure to check out the super-fantastic giveaway at the end!

When I was first offered an opportunity to review The Green Beauty Guide, I’ve got to admit, I was initially skeptical. 

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m all for healthful eating (I don’t do high fructose corn syrup or trans fats, and I buy organic when I can), but when it comes to “green” beauty products my knee-jerk reaction was something along the lines of, “C’mon.  That is such a ploy to get you to spend more money.  Does it really matter if my moisturizer is ‘certified organic’?”

Well turns out, it actually may.

Author, journalist and holistic nutritionist Julie Gabriel, points out that what you put on your body can be just as important as what you put in it.  Skin, after all, is your body’s largest organ and it tends to absorb like a sponge. 

“Cosmetic products are food for our skin,” writes Gabriel.  “And each chemical ends up in thousands of hungry mouths covering our skin — pores that is.”  She continues, “When you use beauty products loaded with chemical ingredients, you are feeding your skin highly processed, artificial junk food.  If you try eating healthfully, why use junk beauty products?”

And that’s when the lightbulb clicked on for me. 

The products I apply to my body eventually do get absorbed by my body.  If I care enough to eat right, I can’t overlook the “food” I choose to feed my skin.

Now, lest you think “green beauty” is going to require you to stop coloring your hair or shaving your underarms, fear not.  Gabriel shares easy and realistic suggestions for adopting an all-natural beauty routine, while highlighting which toxic ingredients to avoid.  She also spends time exposing common “organic gimmicks.”  (After all, just because you buy a product at Whole Foods does NOT make it the most “natural” choice.  There are plenty of chemicals to be found in organic and non-organic products, alike.  You’ve got to know what to look for.)   There’s even an entire section on baby care — with a listing of the best green products for your baby’s ultra-sensitive skin.

Now. 

Stay with me here — because I know what some of you are thinking (exactly what I thought), “Going green is going to cost me more money.” 

That is not necessarily true. 

Gabriel does a great job of offering up product suggestions to suit every budget – from drugstore brands to higher-end lines.  She then goes a step further by sharing 50 recipes for green beauty products that you can make easily — for pennies – at home.      

The Green Beauty Guide has become my new beauty bible.  It opened my eyes to the potential dangers of certain products I was using and offered realistic and affordable alternatives.  I cannot recommend it enough. 

And…here’s the great news!  One lucky Chic Critique reader will receive her very own copy of The Green Beauty Guide, as well as a personalized Green Beauty Makeover by Julie herself.  Julie was kind enough to do a Green Beauty Makeover on me – and her suggestions have been instrumental in helping me “green up” my beauty routine.  For example, here’s how Julie modified my cleansing routine:  remove makeup with pure olive oil (”free” from my kitchen) and follow up with oatmeal soap (available for about $3.50).  See?  How easy (and affordable) is that? 

So, here’s how to enter:

1) Leave a comment giving one reason why you want to green up your beauty routine.    

2) OPTIONAL:  Get a second entry for twittering the contest.  Just be sure to leave a 2nd comment so you get your second entry.

3) OPTIONAL:  If you aren’t yet subscribed, you can get a 3rd entry for subscribing to Chic Critique.  Again, just leave a separate comment telling us you did so.

This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern (8:59 p.m. Pacific) on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009.  Winner will be determined by the good ol’ random number generator.   

So, get commenting already.  It’s a brand-new year and that makes it the perfect time to turn over a brand-new (greener) beauty leaf.

My most recent beauty book report is Robert Jones' Looking Younger.  You can see my full review at 5 Minutes for Books, complete with photos of me using some of the techniques I learned from reading this book.  Like this one:

Along the top lash line, the definition should start at the inner
corner, and it should be thinnest there, becoming wider as you apply it
across to the outside corner of the eye. This is hard (for me, anyway)
to achieve. I tend to keep it the same thickness all the way across.
But I've been practicing and it really does make a big difference.
Likewise, on the bottom, you want to bring the color all the way across
to the inside corner, but the color should be most intense at the
outside corner. The same thickness all the way across can close in the
eyes and make them appear smaller.

And here on Chic Critique, I get to give away a copy for free!  To enter the giveaway, just leave me a comment.  Tell me about your Thanksgiving plans or your biggest beauty blunder or that my sweater's pretty.  Anything except "great giveaway!"  You get the picture.

I will select a winner at random on Friday.  Good luck!