What is Matrixyl 3000? Matrixyl 3000 is a combination of two peptides palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7. This is an advanced formulation of the early edition of Matrixyl. These peptides are believed to stimulate collagen production by approximately 117% and also increase the hyaluronic acid production in your skin. The peptides stimulate the skin to reduce wrinkles and will also increase firmness in the skin. It is also believed that Matrixyl 3000 is less irritating on the skin than retinol or vitamin C. Even the most sensitive skin types can use this peptide, as it does not cause inflammation.
A combination of the palmitoyl oligopeptide and palmitoyl tetrapeptide-7, will provide greater benefits then versus when used alone. Together, they increase collagen production, reduce wrinkle depth and density. There has also been reports of an overall improved tone and texture of the skin. Matrixyl 3000 is said to firm the skin by reversing and preventing glycation damage to your skin. Glycation occurs when glucose and protein link together and cause the skin to stiffen resulting in dramatic decreases in collagen and elastin within the skin. This ingredient is a skin saver because it slows down the skin’s natural aging process, by promoting healthy skin from the inside out.
Here are some featured products on SkinStore.com that contain Matrixyl 3000:
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 So it’s nothing new that money may be tight for everyone these days, even for the avid spa goers. There are priorities like kids, appointments, friends and family to attend to. Relaxing a little usually falls to the bottom of our to-do list. Here are some great products and tips for an at home facial, that will guarantee refreshing results.
The DIY facial consists of a few main components. You need just an hour of your day, a few products, and a calm mind. It is important to relax and have a little fun. You may want to get your kids involved by putting a mud or clay mask on them. Otherwise your spa getaway can be a solo project, or a fun time with your girlfriends.
Supplies:
- Warm towels (hand towels work perfectly)
- Cleanser, toner, exfoliator, mask, treatment, moisturizer, eye cream.
- Tea bags or cucumbers for the eyes. To use up the leftovers, you can make an iced tea or sip on some cucumber water while you relax.
- Hand or body lotion and cuticle oil if you have it. (olive oil is a great alternative to soften hands and cuticles).
- Essential oil of your choice. Any health food or specialty store should have a selection. Pick the scent that speaks to you and enjoy.
Applicators for products: A paint or nylon foundation brush will work great for your applying your mask.
- Quiet place to lay down with relaxing music. This is simply a must!
Tip: You can store very hot towels inside of a large ziploc bag by rolling them up; this will keep them warm for a little while. For a longer lasting approach, try putting water on the bottom of your crock pot, enough to cover the bottom and fold up a few wet hot towels. Then put the lid on and presto… instant hot towel cabby! You can also put a few drops of essential oil into the pot for an aromatic experience.
While you’re masking you can give yourself a nice hand and arm massage. First apply your cuticle oil generously, and then follow with the body moisturizer of your choice. You also may have one of those spa foot tubs lying around from a few Christmas’ ago, now is the perfect time to dust it off and put it to use. You can place a few drops of essential oil in the water and enjoy a relaxing foot soak. For some bubbles add a teaspoon of bubble bath or shower gel to the water and enjoy. Hot towels will also come in handy for your foot bath.
After you cleanse remove with hot towel. Then apply a toner or water to your skin. You then will want to apply an exfoliator of your choice. For something quick, easy and non messy try an exfoliating peel pad. The Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare Alpha Beta Daily Face Peel/2 Steps is an amazing two step treatment with real results. For the lips you can use a little brown sugar and a few drops of water or olive oil (if you have some honey you can a little to the paste), this will give you a smooth finish for soft, healthy lips. After you have exfoliated and cleansed your skin and lips off with a towel you will want to apply a mask of your choice for 10-15 minutes.
Click here for some ideas on homemade masks.
After masking in pure bliss you will want to apply a treatment serum of your choice. You will need to go out into daylight and face the world after your relaxing facial so choose an antioxidant serum like Skinceuticals CE Ferulic. This will hydrate and protect your skin from free radical damage. Lastly, don’t forget the moisturizer preferably one that contains an SPF and an eye cream. Moisturizing your skin will seal in the benefits of the facial and also soften and hydrate your skin. An eye cream will do the same and will make your under eyes feel hydrated all day long. Try the Lisa Hoffman Spa Facial Eye Treatment. This is a weekly eye treatment just perfect for that spa facial experience. In every good facial your Esthetician will finish off with a lip balm or treatment, don’t forget this step just because you’re at home. The lips are important too!
We hope you take steps to put yourself first sometimes. You can try these simple tips and tricks for a luxurious facial all in the comfort of your own home.
 It’s no secret that glowing skin resonates with youth and good health. Here are the cardinal rules that you can follow to ensure pretty, radiant skin.
- Diet: A healthy diet provides for healthy skin. To ensure that your complexion glows eat lots of vegetables, berries, fruits, healthy grains, calcium-rich foods like milk, yogurt and buttermilk. Incorporate healthy proteins like chicken and tofu, and omega-rich foods like fish and nuts. Eating healthily will not only make you feel better and healthier, it’ll also contribute to pretty, fresh, youthful and glowing skin!
- Antioxidants: it’s a buzz word for a good reason. Antioxidants ward off aging (and many health problems) by protecting our cells from free radicals and oxidative stress. While a diet rich in antioxidants will contribute to healthy skin from the inside out, antioxidant-rich topical treatments that we apply to our skin will also help to ward off oxidative stress externally, resulting in a bright and even complexion. Topical antioxidant treatments come in many forms; serums, gels, lotions, creams, even built into cleansers and sunscreen products that we use… so there’s no excuse to not use an antioxidant product!
- Sunscreen: Everyone should wear a sunscreen daily, even when it’s overcast the sun’s harmful rays penetrate through the clouds and can seriously damage our skin. Sun damaged skin is dull, lackluster and drab. It can also develop sun spots and excess freckles, resulting in an unsightly and uneven coloration. Skin cancer is caused by sun damage and can be prevented through regular use of sunscreen. There are many available sunscreen formulations on the market, so everyone will have their favorite (& no excuse to forgo one)!
- Exfoliation: Just as everyone should wear a sunscreen, everyone should also exfoliate. Exfoliation is key to smooth, radiant skin. Exfoliation helps to remove dead skin cells (which make the skin look lifeless and dull) and it helps to even the skin tone, so if you have existing sun damage or hyperpigmentation, exfoliating regularly can help to lessen the appearance of bothersome spots. Manual exfoliants have small granules to remove dead skin cells- look for products that contain jojoba beads, which are rounded particles that effectively scrub the skin. If you prefer a chemical exfoliant an alpha hydroxyl acid will do the trick; look for products that contain glycolic, lactic, citric, malic or mandelic acid. If you prefer a very gentle exfoliant, try enzymes which eat dead skin cells without disturbing the healthy skin barrier.
- Hydration: Hydrated skin is plump and dewy, so everyone must use a moisturizer (even the oiliest skin types need to hydrate with a light, oil-free moisturizer). A moisturizer will lock hydration into the skin so treatment products can work more effectively- and a moisturizer will ward off premature aging too!
Remember that you can fake a little bit of a glow too- use illuminating products that boost the skin’s radiance, here are some of our favorites:
Philosophy Divine Illumination; what makes this anti-aging moisturizer especially unique are light diffusers and natural skin enhancers that help give skin luminosity for a healthy glow.
Stila Illuminating Tinted Moisturizer SPF 15; Skin instantly looks softer and younger with this handy multi-tasker. It delivers a hint of sheer coverage, subtle shimmer, SPF 15 and added moisture in one effortless application.?
Poof…wrinkles be gone! Don’t you wish it was that easy to make wrinkles vanish from your pretty face? We all know that with consistency and the use of the right products, over time an even complexion can be attained. What is sometimes overlooked however, is products that can give instant gratification to your long days. 
Instant gratification products are products that will fill in, plump, and create an even appearance to the skin. Usually after application, they will start working in about 1-5 minutes and will provide results that last anywhere between 6-8 hours throughout the day. There are two main ingredients that are in instant gratification products as well as various others. First there is Argireline which acts to keep the muscles in your skin relaxed and smooth by blocking transmission from the muscle to the skin. Next you’d want to look for GABA in your products for instant results. GABA stands for gamma amino butyric acid and it is a breakthrough complex that releases the skin’s own muscle relaxers to calm and relax the skin. So if you want a smooth canvas before makeup application or a smooth clear complexion to display, look for instant gratification products. An added bonus is that with most of these types of products you’ll also receive long term benefits with continued use as well. Here is just a short list of some recommended instant gratification products:
Find more great products at SkinStore.
 A huge pet peeve of mine is having dry hands, and it doesn’t seem to help that I’m constantly washing my hands or using hand sanitizer at work. No matter how much moisturizing hand cream I apply afterwards, it never seems to be hydrating enough.
So on the days it’s really bad, a little trick of mine is to use a moisturizing foot cream on my hands. These products are made extra emollient to penetrate into the thick skin on feet. AHAVA Dermud Enriched Intensive Foot Cream works fantabulously! The Dermud line is a bump up from the original AHAVA line, because it contains a higher amount of the Dead Sea mud to dramatically increase moisture levels in skin. I like to use it at night right before bedtime on my hands and feet. It’s a great hydrating treatment to do at least once a week.
Learn more about AHAVA Dermud Enriched Intensive Foot Cream at SkinStore.com.
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 What is your skin like? My skin is a real trouble maker. It’s oily… everywhere, but it’s also dehydrated. It breaks out…..everywhere. And there is sun damage…..everywhere. Oh, and it doesn’t appreciate frequent use uses of aggressive products. I have tried this approach but it retaliates with redness and dry, irritated areas. I have to coerce it into behaving properly with a balancing/ juggling act that I have choreographed over the years. To top it off, I am trying to ward off signs of aging, so I have added a couple new products to my routine.
What is your main concern? All of the above.
What does your skincare regimen consist of? See below.
Morning
Cleanse: Topix Gly Sal 10-2 Cleanser – exfoliates and deeply cleanses.
Tone: PCA SKIN pHaze 2 Smoothing Toner – I love it because it has an aloe base and is alcohol free.
Treatment #1: SkinMedica TNS Essential Serum – This is like 3 serums in one. An anti-aging serum full of peptides and growth factors, an antioxidant serum to prevent and repair free radical damage, and a hydrating serum with sodium hyaluronate. I could go on and on.
Treatment #2: Jan Marini Bioglycolic Bioclear Lotion – I am lost with out this product. Chemical exfoliators work best for my acneic skin.
Treatment #3: Lightener – SkinCeuticals Pigment Regulator - Hydroquinone makes me red, so this is a great alternative.
Eye: SkinMedica TNS Night Eye Repair – Yes I use it during the day too!
Hydrate/SPF: DDF Mattifying Oil Control UV Moisturizer SPF 15 - dries completely matte. If I am going to be out in the sun longer than 20 min, I use La Roche Posay Anthelios 60 Ultra Light Sunscreen Fluid.
Evening
Cleanse #1: Cosmedicine Healthy Cleanse Foaming Cleanser and Toner in One – apply to dry skin. This breaks up all makeup. It is really meant for normal to dry skin so after I rinse this off I use my regular cleanser.
Cleanse #2: Topix Gly Sal 10-2 Cleanser
Tone: Yonka PG Toner – this helps purify the skin and is very anti-inflammatory.
Treatment #1: SkinMedica TNS Essential Serum
Treatment #2: Jan Marini Bioglycolic Bioclear Lotion with Jan Marini Benzoyl Peroxide 5% on top or SkinCeuticals Retinol 1.0. I alternate, but some nights I skip this step all together to give my skin a break.
Treatment #3: Lightener – SkinCeuticals Pigment Regulator
Eye: SkinMedica TNS Night Eye Repair
Hydrate: H20 Plus Face Oasis Hydrating Treatment if I want something super light (it can also be used as a hydrating mask) or I use Jan Marini Transformation Cream if I want a bit more hydration and I really slather this on if I accidentally over do it on the retinol.
Weekly (As Needed)
Peter Thomas Roth Cooling Sulfur Mask is awesome for controlling my breakouts too. I use it once or twice a week.
Ahhh… the warm weather is here. Break out the sandals and sunscreen. Lose the heavy foundation and lighten up with these warm weather tricks:
Opt for tinted moisturizer instead of traditional foundation. Sheer, see-through coverage with a hint of hydration is  the ultimate product for hot weather. Most tinted moisturizers not only offer tint and moisture but also pack antioxidants, minerals and sunscreen. I’m in love with Somme Institute Treat and Tint. It contains ingredients that repair sun damage, reduce fine lines and wrinkles, treat and prevent moderate to severe acne and rosacea, as well as significantly improve skin discoloration, tone, texture and clarity.
Those of you that read the blog know that I love lip and cheek stains. They’re super versatile, flattering, easy to use and can provide either a very natural effect or a very dramatic one. Use a liquid or gel lip/cheek stain on the inner rim of your lips for that ‘just-ate-a-cherry-popsicle’ look. It’s simple and sexy. For a classic red fool-proof lip  outline your lip line with the stain and fill in the volume of the entire lip for old Hollywood glamour. Finish it off with a clear gloss for some extra va-va-voom. Giddy red cheeks courtesy of a stain outlast humidity, sweat and water and unlike traditional blushes that streak, stain will stay on until it’s washed off with a facial cleanser. Don’t wear dramatic cheeks with dramatic lips (unless you’re into the clown trend). Do wear sheer lips and sheer cheeks together for an effortless summer cool.
Try Stila’s Convertible Colors or Stila Cherry Crush.
Stay away from excessively dark eye color in the warm weather- especially in the day. Try beiges, champagnes, light pinks and nudes. Iridescent shadows are fresh and bring out the natural beauty of the eye with a pop. We’re obsessed with Stila’s best selling Kitten shade, it’s a shimmering nude pink that’s flattering to ALL skin tones- and if you’re not a eyeshadow powder fan it also comes in a creamy silk shadow wash formula (which I love to also use on the  cheekbones for gorgeous highlight).
To tame the shine on your t-zone skip the cakey powder and opt for bareEscentuals mineral veil instead. The new(ish) bareMinerals Hydrating Mineral Veil is a winner… instead of making skin look matte and dull, it brightens (I swear I have a halo around my face when I wear this stuff) AND hydrates – what’s not to love?!
 When you are busy covering up, trying to keep warm in the winter months it’s easy to neglect the dehydrated skin on our bodies. Our faces get all the attention and we have a tendency to ignore our body’s cries for help. It’s time to give your body the care and respect it deserves! Here are a couple of our beloved and most effective body products.
M2 Skin Technologies Body Refinish (formerly known as Mama Lotion) is an excellent treatment body moisturizer. Be warned, this isn’t your standard froofy, smells pretty, but doesn’t hydrate body lotion. This is a highly concentrated treatment product for the body. It’s great to even out skin tone, soften skin, repair sun damage, keratosis pilaris and eczema. The formula contains several active ingredients that effectively treat various skin conditions. M2 Body Refinish has a blend of 15% Malic and Mandelic Acid, which evens out skin tone and texture. It also has a hydrating combination of humectants like sunflower seed oil, hyaluronic acid, algae extract, aloe and vitamin E that smoothes and softens the skin. After just a few days of use your skin will show noticeable improvement. (FYI don’t use immediately after shaving, wait a few hours before application, it may sting because of the acid content.)
Clarisonic has added a new tool to their lineup, the Clarisonic Plus SkinCare System with Spot Treatment. This machine  can not only be used on the face, but the body as well. Say adios to dry, rough skin! This machine speeds up the exfoliation process into hyper drive. It’s especially nice for troublesome areas like the decollate, knees, elbows, and feet. With continual use your skin will have fewer dry patches, be softer, firmer, and smoother with improved texture. Make sure to use it with the Clarisonic Refining Body Polish for awesome results. The body polish contains green tea, jojoba beads, prickly pear, and acai fruit oil, which leaves your skin extra smooth and hydrated.
If you’re looking for an instant fix, for a last minute night out NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Golden Shimmer Multi-Usage Dry Oil Splash does the trick! This is one of my new favorite little wonder products because it instantly gives our skin a golden youthful glow. It’s a dry multi-usage oil spray that gives a tanned shimmer effect. The skin looks like it’s radiating from within, without all the work. The formula contains a mix of 30% plant oils and vitamin E to nourish and repair the skin. It can be applied to the face, body and hair. It’s fabulous for bare legs, arms and decollate when you’re getting all dolled up for a hot date or special event. Your skin will be hydrated, golden and vibrant in a snap!
Products featured in this article: M2 Skin Technologies Body Refinish, Clarisonic Plus SkinCare System with Spot Treatment, NUXE Huile Prodigieuse Golden Shimmer Multi-Usage Dry Oil Splash.
Visit SkinStore for more great body products!
 The days of our lives are very draining and our schedules are always filled to the brim. We wear ourselves down and forget to snap out of our dazes to take a moment to refresh. The hours pass as we try to accomplish all of the goals we set forth for our day, but as our body winds down, our skin becomes tiresome and dull. Sometimes it’s easier than you’d think to take a moment away to rejuvenate your day!
Actually, all you really need is 30 seconds, about 3-4 spritzes, and a minute to refresh the mind. Many people skip these well deserved daily time-outs and are not aware that all they need is a revitalizing face mist. These face mists are becoming a must have these days! Keep a bottle at home (a minute to escape from the kids!), one at your desk (used to revamp & stay alert), and you can even add one to your many beauty vices stashed in your purse. It’s really that necessary and useful. Many different lines are starting to carry these mists and they come packed with a punch. Not only can these mists rehydrate your skin; many can help tone your skin, soothe your skin, firm your skin, but can help purify your skin as well. They can also be used as a prep for makeup application or to help set your that you beautiful face we work hard to maintain. Some are even made with different essential oils which help to stimulate your mind and your senses. Wow! If you are looking for a great suggestion, I’d suggest that you try the De-Aging Mist in Papaya Pineapple by Pevonia. Just close your eyes, give yourself a few spritzes, take some deep breaths, and imagine your mini tropical get away from stress; ending with a sense of refreshment and a smile! Indulge.
Product featured in this article: De-Aging Mist in Papaya Pineapple by Pevonia.
 It’s hard to muster up the energy to get ready for work when you feel like you have been hit by a truck …or two. So what to do when you’re tempted to go to work in your pajamas and you know that’s a bad idea? Try adding these energizing additions into your routine to start your day on the right foot.
First, you will want to channel your sleeping beauty. Go to bed early and get as much rest as possible. Using a humidifier is a great idea to prevent a dry, scratchy throat.
Next, wake up and take a shower using any type of invigorating, energizing shower gel, like Molton Brown Energizing Seamoss Bath & Shower. This aromatic pick-me-up will awaken your senses and banish stress and fatigue in an instant.
Once it’s time to wash your face try using the Phytomer Marine Breeze (Souffle Marin) Energizing Oxygenating Serum to get rid of a sickly, sallow complexion. Follow with a bronzing moisturizer to bring natural looking color to your face. Yonka Bonne Mine Tinted Antioxidant Bronzer Moist contains antioxidants for an added bonus!
Eat a good breakfast and remember to stay hydrated by drinking lots of water. You can add Pure Inventions Green Tea – Tropical to provide yourself with additional antioxidants that promote energy and healthy looking skin.
Life doesn’t always tend to accommodate your schedule when you need time to take care of yourself. The sooner you find time to rest, the sooner your body will be able to heal itself. So listen to doctor’s orders if told to stay home; your co-workers will probably thank you.
Products featured in this article: Molton Brown Energizing Seamoss Bath & Shower, Phytomer Marine Breeze (Souffle Marin) Energizing Oxygenating Serum, Yonka Bonne Mine Tinted Antioxidant Bronzer Moist, Pure Inventions Green Tea – Tropical.
Find more great products at SkinStore.com!
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