Sneak Peek
Clarins Truly Matte Foundation SPF 15
 ($34) Clarins Truly Matte Foundation SPF 15 has an utterly accurate name! This fluid is a beautiful, silky liquid foundation that provides sun protection solely from titanium dioxide, which helps contribute to its powdery, long-wearing matte finish. Even better, this provides light to medium coverage while looking surprisingly skinlike. Someone with very oily skin will be pleased with the application and finish, not to mention the sun protection, because that means you wouldn’t have to layer products. Drawbacks include a strong scent and the fact that the darkest shades tend to look a bit dull due to the amount of titanium dioxide and the dry finish of the silicones. Among the 15 shades (Clarins’ largest selection) are options for fair to dark (but not very dark) skin tones. Most of the shades are very good; the ones to avoid are the slightly peach Ginger, Real Honey, and Hazelnut, the slightly pink Sunlit Beige, and the orange-tinged Nutmeg.
Dermalogica Overnight Clearing Gel
 Overnight Clearing Gel ($40 for 1.7 ounces) has a pH of 4, which is borderline for its 2% salicylic acid to exfoliate skin. While some exfoliation is assured, this product contains several irritating plant extracts and oils, including sage, rosemary, and citronella. Camphor is also in the mix. What a shame, because without the copious amount of irritants this would have been an above-average BHA option for all skin types.
MD Skincare Hydra Pure Vitamin C Serum
Hydra-Pure Vitamin C Serum has a beautifully smooth silicone base and contains an impressive amount of vitamin C (as ascorbic acid, whose acid component can be a skin irritant). Two other stabilized forms of vitamin C are also in the formula, along with the antioxidants quercetin, vitamin E, willow bark, and kudzu. Gross also added cell-communicating ingredients and salicylic acid, but the amount of the latter is too low (and the pH of this product too high) for exfoliation to occur. All in all, this is a well-formulated antioxidant serum that is packaged to ensure potency.
Eminence Organics Pear & Poppy Seed Microderm Polisher
 Pear & Poppy Seed Microderm Polisher ($42 for 2 ounces) doesn’t contain any problem ingredients, and it’s possible the pear pulp and apple juice’s enzymes have a mild exfoliating action on skin. However, the stability and shelf life of these food-grade ingredients is questionable due to this product’s lack of preservatives. The walnut powder and poppy seeds serve as abrasive agents, though neither is as effective as a well-formulated AHA or BHA product (and the amount of glycolic acid in this product is too low for it to function as an exfoliant). Price-wise, you can make this product yourself at home for mere pennies: simply mash an apple, pear and a handful of walnuts in your blender and massage gently over skin as you would a standard scrub.
Lancome Renergie Microlift R.A.R.E., Superior Lifting Cream SPF 15 Sunscreen
Renergie Microlift R.A.R.E., Superior Lifing Cream SPF 15 Sunscreen ($78 for 1.7 ounces) doesn’t deserve consideration because it does not contain the UVA-protecting ingredients of titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, avobenzone, Mexoryl SX (ecamsule), or Tinosorb. Lancome knows better and should be ashamed to offer such an inferior product as a means of making collagen-depleted skin look better. By the way, the base formula is as boring as watching paint dry.
Advanced Eye Area Therapy($95 for 0.5 ounce) launched with the announcement that it is the evolution of eye area care, designed to address ALL concerns one might have for aging skin in this delicate place. Although you won’t see that claim fulfilled, there is no denying that this is one of Perricone’s best formulations. The second ingredient is stabilized vitamin C, an anti-irritant is present at a significant amount, and antioxidants are plentiful, including alpha lipoic acid, tocotrienols, and borage seed oil. Perricone also included cell-communicating ingredients and some good water-binding agents, making this an all-around fantastic (though pricey) lightweight moisturizer for all skin types. It is fragrance-free, too. Other than the overinflated claims of remedying every eye-area concern, the only other issue I have is that Perricone states this contains “unique ingredients rarely found in one product.” None of the ingredients in this product are unique or exclusive to Perricone’s formulas, and there is no reason several of his other products couldn’t have the same blend of state-of-the-art ingredients. The real question is: Why don’t they?
Revlon 3D Extreme Mascara
 3D Extreme Mascara ($7.99) promises lashes that are curvier, fuller, and longer, and it really delivers! This proves Revlon’s Fabulash Mascara wasn’t just a fluke—they are steadily improving their previously average mascaras. 3D Extreme Mascara has a patented brush in which two-thirds of the bristles are short and densely packed, and the other third are longer and wider-spaced. The result is immediate thickness and lengthening that goes on and on, and, yes, a curvy finish that can get quite dramatic with subsequent coats. The formula wears well and removes easily with a water-soluble cleanser. Watch out, L’Oreal!
Avon Anew Ultimate Age Repair Elixir
Anew Ultimate Age Repair Elixir ($54 for 1 ounce) goes on and on in ad copy about how it can make sagging facial and neck skin feel firmer and become more elastic in just three days. Sadly, this ultra-pricey Avon formula doesn’t put its money where its mouth is, which is to say this serum is truly disappointing. It contains mostly water, thickener, slip agents, alcohol, more slip agent, film-forming agent, silicones, more film-forming agent, and a handful of exotic plant extracts. The two promoted peptides are not present in tiny amounts, and neither of them have the capability of lifting or firming skin, nor can they restore lost elasticity. And what is this much alcohol doing in a product designated as skin-repairing? That’s sort of like someone on a fat-restricted diet consistently eating mashed potatoes with gravy! All told, the story behind this product is far more fantastic-seeming than the results, and it isn’t worth considering over serums from Olay, Neutrogena, or Clinique.
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