Late to the Party, Better Than Never – Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair

I am in marketing and advertising so when I see the same products touted in magazines and media again and again,  I am suspicious of the relationship and wonder if the products really work or are the reviews based on a great lunch and woo woo?

Anyway.

I’ve tried some products and have ended up throwing the product(s) away and others like Neutrogena Rapid Wrinkle Repair I am happy to report, actually work.

One bottle later, I have noticed that my pet-peeve area around my eyes and eyelids have definitely improved with regular nightly use of the night version of the product.

Prior to use, my “bunny” wrinkles on the inner corner of my eyes and eyelid corners, and the crepiness of my eyelid skin was REALLY starting to bug me.

I used my Nu Face electro shocker stimulator, but like all devices, rarely get used, but I did feel that I got a jump start on the problem when I did use the device.

But, the Neutrogena product is easy and easy to put into my routine. Instead of applying a gel and then manipulating the device for 10 minutes or so, I just spread the product on after cleansing my face, and DONE!

If it ain’t easy, it ain’t gonna happen!

But happen it did and does-this product is a huge thumbs up and I am ready to buy another.

To note, I chose the night version of the product because I figure the SPF version and the additional chemicals would probably interfere with the base product chemicals. I also did not have any skin irritation whatsoever as I did when I used the real deal Retin A.

k

Advertisement

Heading Down the Yellow Brick Road-Battle of the GWPS

Seriously, my eyes and fingers always answer the siren call of the GWP.  My favorite go to blog is GWP Addict-a daily update of all things GWP, written by Lisa of Arizona.

Over the years I have found some tried and true products that I like so much that I will always buy them for my basics and it takes a lot to turn my head to pull me away from my beloveds-Clarins’ SPF sunscreen, Kiehl’s Rosa Artica Moisturizer and Kitoko and Neuma hair products.

So, when I see it’s time to stock up on my basics, I go to gwpaddict.wordpress.com to see if there are gwp offers for whatever I have in mind.

I recently started using Estee Lauder’s Advanced Time Zone Age Reverse eye cream (which I haven’t written about yet!), which has the consistency similar to rosa artica moisturizer-a heavy (shortening like-yes like the baking stuff) cream that I rub a very small 1/2 pea sized or less amount on my finger tips and apply in the inner corners of my eyes.  It retails for $58 a jar.

I know that Macy’s is supposed to have an Estee Lauder event soon, early in September, so I’ve been waiting around-but I thought I’d check Lisa’s blog for any specials. So lo and behold Macy’s is having a Tuesday Flash Sale!* As you guys know, beauty products rarely go on “sale” unless they are about to expire or be discontinued so I snapped up the eye cream and a Laura Mercier Bronzer that someone put on me at NMs but I didn’t feel like buying at the time. The Estee product had a mini-gwp of advanced time zone eye serum(meh) and mascara(rarely buy mascara because companies always give samples. yay!).

So was feeling pretty happy about that.

However this morning, Sephora sent their daily blah blah of whatever is new, and I, heeding the call, open it and check out the new beauty lines, and failing to be sold, go to the Fresh products page, which eventually leads me off sephora.com to gwp addict in search of whatever.

I had seen the Nords $125 gwp gift bag with a bunch of samples, but I did not know there is also a gift bag for a $50 threshold. When you compare the two, I’d rather pay the $50, cuz from my point of view the $50 had better samples and less perfume which I don’t wear.

$50

 $125

I already knew I needed to restock my Clarins’ sunscreen-I had tried the Murad Invisible Blur which is great, but no great gwp so I bought the Clarins,plus Nords is offering a two-fer sale of $62, a savings of $22. But as I am checking out, I think to look at the Estee offer.

A much much better gwp than Macy’s for a $45 gwp threshold, plus spend $5 bucks more and you get the $50 gwp bag!

I know so what, but I work from home so little things are exciting.

The clincher for me is that Nords ALWAYS has free shipping to Hawaii which is a huge perk. It’s pretty much why I do not shop the Fresh or Clarins’ company online stores because shipping is outrageous to Hawaii. I mean it’s like they are sending the products to Russia.  (I recently got ballet slippers from Grishko Russia, and unbelievably, shipping was free!).

Anyway.

It pays to be a shopper, and a free shipper.

k

*These offers will expire and may not be available when you read this post.

FLUT-RapidLash

I don’t mind wearing mascara, cuz I’ve never had a lot of lashes.

I’ve had bfs with longer, thicker lashes than I have.

But that’s just typical of the men v women v looking good without any anything.

That’s a different subject.

I’ve used Revitalash and GrandeLash MD which both produced great results.

Lashes like hair are cyclical, meaning, there are going to be times, every 90 days or so, when lashes fall out, and are

stubby.

thin.

short.

I was in that period and started searching the internet for a deal on GrandeLash MD. I had paid $40 for it online, which seemed like the going price for the goods.

I also wandered onto their official site, and found that the $40 version was not necessarily the real deal.

Who’da figure?

Never even realized I was buying the bootleg version at the bargain basement price.

Searching more, and checking out reviews on various skincare product sites, it appears that sometimes the bootleg version does not work.

That might be that the product user was in the 90 day cycle and thus going against the grain, or the product was just a liquid tube of hopes and dreams. Or not.

Anyway.

I opted for Rapidlash-a product that appeared to not be anything more than a less expensive alternative to the grandmommy products revitalash and latisse whatever.

I use it fairly faithfully, applying it thinly like eyeliner.

It definitely works.

Maybe too good because the lashes on my left eye are growing unevenly, and there’s an actual clump of lashes in the middle that look like clumpy lashes when your mascara formula is for thickening. Plus the middle lashes are significantly longer than the others.

Otherwise, this product works well enough that I still don’t want to pay $125 for a tube of trailblazer products.

It cost about $40.

k

FIT FASHION-The Case For Crunches

I have a client who is a little younger than me, yet she is a LOT fitter than me.

I’ve known her about 10 years or so, and she has always maintained a fit shape because she runs, surfs, and probably everything else to be in triathlon level shape.

For me, it was American Ninja Warrior that inspired me.

I know, so far off the beaten path of tv watching of The Good Wife, So You Think You Can Dance and Netflix’ House of Cards.

But as I lay there on the couch in my urban comfort pod, with my happy belly pouching out, and my flabby arms wrapped around my doggie, I thought…

maybe if I got in shape I wouldn’t have to buy new clothes.

I was crediting it to old age that I have to wear sleeves instead of sleeveless, that I have to be conscious of armpit cleavage (nay spillage), and that baggy was starting to become the norm.

Me, only a few short years ago, walked away from the displays of blousy-blousson-flowy offerings to select the body-con, fitted and sleek choices.

Sans Sphanx girdles or any other means to smash it all in.

Heck, I was even thinking about wearing a sphanx type garment under my leotard for ballet.

What, seriously, is wrong with this picture?

Anyway.

I started small doing popsugar’s 10 minute videos for the arms and abs-because I rationalized that was all I had time to fit in.

Me, I used to be the girl who ran 4 miles, lifted weights, took aerobics, took yoga and a jazz dance class all in the one morning.

Compare the two.

I also thought about-do I eat differently than 3 years ago?

I now eat a lot more organic vs an unlimited bag of crispy whatevers and 2 glasses of wine that would be my “dinner”.

During the day 3 years ago, I wouldn’t say my nutrition wasn’t any better. Probably eating some chemical filled energy bar.

Yet, I was easily more in shape, without exercising any more.

No it’s not the M word.

I would call it fat and happy metabolism.

I seriously believe that the state of happy has slowed my metabolism and magnetized my butt to the couch.

The state of no-stress burns less calories too.

In any case.

My client dresses in simple lines, nothing too flashy, just put together without trying too hard.

So what’s the secret?

When you’re fit, you look good in a paper sack.

When you’re fit, you look good in anything in any price range from any store.

To add to that, I went to the Kit and Ace opening with a gf, and the store staff were wearing the clothes which are technical washable cashmere in simple silhouettes and very t-shirt dressing based.

One girl was wearing a dress that I would have worn 3 years ago. A simple, slightly racer back, tank dress that was all about the fit.

I was sad, that 3 years later, although I loved the dress, there was no way I would walk around town in it.

Even with a jacket on.

Or a scarf tied around the hips like I used to-as instructed by Anthony from Chocolates For Breakfast/Villa Roma/Audrey Fu.

So many months later, speeding back to the present, I do my Barre Abs by Jake Dupree and a variety of arm videos by pop sugar at least 5 times a week.

If I don’t do them before ballet, I come home and do them.

I attend a muscle fitness class once a week which is egregiously too infrequent.

And I am dedicating myself to a minimum of 10 minutes on the elliptical at 130 beats per minute heart rate, 3 times a week.

Hey,

I want to do the minimum,

to get the maximum results,

to be able to wear the

minimum.

K