Cle de Peau Beaute Anti Age Spot Serum

I have quite a few new skin care secrets and discoveries to share over the next couple of weeks. I'm seriously giddy about the effectiveness and overall fabulousness of the new products top companies have been releasing. Skin care has come a long way since the days of cold cream, and we're the ones who benefit from it.

Many of you have been following my quest to get rid of some unfortunate sun damage that took up residence on my face in the form of freckles, dark spots or whatever you want to call them. Cle de Peau labels it "Age Spot", and I don't really mind as long as their serum actually works. And it does. I've mentioned before that I saw some change about 10 days after I first started using the serum. I wasn't entirely sure, but certain areas like the top of my cheekbones seemed a little lighter, more clear maybe, and a recent light scar (roughhousing with a cat is dangerous) has faded and disappeared almost overnight. But you shouldn't draw any conclusions until a minimum of 6 weeks using this kind of products.

So here I am, more than eight weeks later and I was right about what I saw in early May. But the biggest change doesn't even require spending hours gazing at myself. I have two annoying spots on my left cheeks. They've took up residence there about five years ago and I've been going after them with lotions and potions for several years now. The spots used to be a lot darker and more obscene, and in the beginning almost touched each other. Both faded quite a bit since then, the lower one has shrunk somewhat and the distance between them gradually grew. That has always been one of my indicators that the creams and serums were doing at least something. Now, the lower one is nothing but a dot and the bigger one while certainly present and noticeable, is much lighter and can be mostly covered by heavy duty concealers and foundations.

The overall feel of my skin is supple, soft and moisturizers seem to be absorbed very effectively. It's not that I've become Snow White or anything, but my skin is brighter and happier. So am I.

Bottom Line 1: Worth each and every one of the pretty pennies it costs.
Bottom Line 2: Wear your sunblock. Seriously.

Cle de Peau Beaute Anti Age Spot Serum ($155, 1.3 oz) is available from top department stores and select Shiseido standalone boutiques.

Images-
Snow White: teenangster.net
Bonne Bell ad with Cheryl Tiegs- Glamour magazine, July 1968: myvintagevogue.com

DDF Fade Gel 4

Every time I blog about my skin brightening quest I get a bunch of cranky emails from people thinking I'm trying to pull off a Michael Jackson, and I find myself explaining at length that I'm really really not. Long time readers know I've been working on undoing the consequences of past sins. My skin tans quickly. Fifteen minutes outside on a sunny day are enough to give me a "just got back from vacation" look. I have to wear a lot of sunblock on my hands even for a short drive to the store. It's not a bad problem to have, since I rarely burn. But let's face the facts: a tan, even a glowy bronzed one, is actually skin damage. And that's something to avoid and correct. Hence creams, serums and anything else that targets sun spots (I have four. Used to be five) and brightens the complexion.

After a couple of years of successfully treating my skin, getting back to my natural skin tone, lightening the sun spots on my cheeks (and completely eradicating the smallest one) I've reached a plateau. I'm paler than I've ever been, but the remaining spots don't seem to be going anywhere. I've heard and read good things about DDF Fade Gel 4 and decided to give it a try.

DDF Fade Gel 4 is a targeted treatment, meaning you apply it where needed and not necessarily all over your face (and cleavage, though I did after I forgot to use a sunblock when wearing a deep v-neck top and spending an hour or so outside). I've gone through a full bottle now and can say the results vary by the type of sun damage. Despite promises, it did absolutely nothing for the existing spots. I've spent more time than I care to admit staring at them, but all the fading has been the result of previous treatment. However, when it comes to accidental tan, the gel worked quickly and efficiently. The tanning lines on my chest disappeared after three nights, and the extra color has mostly faded. That might be reason enough to keep a bottle around, but I'm looking for a better product.

Next on my list: Cle de Peau. Testing commences tonight.

DDF Fade Gel 4 ($56, 0.5oz) is available from Sephora. I ordered it online.

Image from Homemaker's Encyclopedia, 1954 via retrolife.typepad.com

Nars Brightening Serum- There's Something About It

Last time we discussed brightening I was so impressed with Shiseido White Lucent cream, I decided to buy the matching serum. Somehow I got sidetracked and purchased something else instead- Nars Brightening Serum. In my defence, the Nars serum has been on my must try list for a couple of years, so it's not completely a case of product ADD. I had to cross it off my list, right?

Unlike many treatment serums, Nars Brightening Serum isn't a before-bed product. It's actually a multitasker which is part of one's makeup routine as well as a step in your skin care regimen. While it does suppose to do some magic to whiten, brighten and even out the complexion, it also has its own opalescent-iridescence thing going on that supports foundations and gives the skin a certain glow.

That glow made me a bit iffy about this product at first. The serum's moisturizing properties aren't enough for me to skip my regular face cream which is as essential to my morning routine as that first cup of tea. They both make me look and feel alive. Adding the opalish serum felt like a bit of an overkill and I wasn't too sure about having anything iridescent on my face. Add to that the regular adjusting hassle of a few clogged pores in the first couple of days and you get a product that wasn't likely to make it to my "best of" list this year.

The key word here is "adjusting". I found that the heaviness becomes bearable quickly, especially once I apply foundation (I also like to mix a drop of each in my palm and apply together for an even lighter coverage). It doesn't actually make the face into an opalescent mask though there is some subsurface subtle glow.

I can't say the promise to improve appearance after one use is serious, but then again, I'm extremely diligent (read: obsessive) about my skin care routine, so the only overnight improvement would have been if I were to wake up and find my face has turned into Sophia Loren circa 1959. What I can say is that after about a couple of months of nearly daily use, one of the sun spots on my left cheek has become a tiny, pale dot. Of course, I've been seruming myself out for two years now and I also keep using the Shiseido whitening cream at night, so it's not a scientific proof for anything except for the fact that good skin care makes a difference. But I'd guess Nars Brightening Serum has something to do with it.

Nars Brightening Serum ($61 for 2.5 oz) is available from the company's web site, several department stores and Sephora, which is where I bought mine.

Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Moisturizing Cream

Unlike Buffy (in the picture above), who is always white and glowing, my main skin care concern is brightening and fighting sun damage.

I picked the Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Moisturizing Cream on a whim, just because it looked promising and I wanted a change in my skin care routine (one doesn't become a beauty blogger without the endless curiosity about products and a minimal attention span). This is a rich product and contains vitamin C and some other brightening agent, so I incorporated it into my regimen by dropping my regular vitamin C serum and using the cream only at night while continuing to use my regular moisturizer (which is quite an over achiever by itself) every morning.

After over two months of use and nearly finishing the jar, I can happily say that White Lucent Brightening Moisturizing Cream is an impressive and effective product. It doesn't perform miracles and the leftover sun spots/freckles on my left cheek haven't vanished, but it brought them down another notch while the overall texture and color of my face has improved, including some pore minimizing.

The cream is quite heavy, and at first I was worried it was a bit too greasy, but I've realized that if I apply it before brushing my teeth, by the time the electric brush stops buzzing almost all traces of the White Lucent are already absorbed. By morning there's absolutely no oiliness, and my skin looks happy, though ready for its day cream.

I'm so satisfied with the results that I'm about to not just repurchase, but also give the serum from this line a chance and see how it goes. The nice thing about the White Lucent line is that they also offer a lighter version in the form of a moisturizing gel, which would be great for summer (and for those of you with oilier skin). Word of caution for the sensitive and allergy prone: the cream is (very nicely) scented.

Shiseido White Lucent Brightening Moisturizing Cream ($54, 1.4 oz) is available from most decent department stores and at Sephora, which is where I bought mine.

photo and cat are both mine