Category Archives: Found at Sephora

Best Skin Lighteners for Fading Discolorations

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I’m slowly starting to figure out that the all-natural stuff just doesn’t make my skin look as good as it does when I throw something more advanced its way. I’d love nothing more than to use straight nuts and berries on my face, but unfortunately it’s not helping to fade out some old scarring and redness I have going on. Believe me, I’ve tried.

In the cluttered skincare landscape filled with claims and promises, I can say that skin lighteners typically live up to their hype and are worth a try. There are so many ways to fade out age sun spots (sounds nicer), scars, discolorations and add more clarity and tons of radiance, it’s just a matter of finding something that works for your skin (and budget). I’ve put together a list of skin lighteners I’ve tried and ones I hear work great- look into them to see which might be best for the changes you’d like to make in your skin.

Ole Henriksen Sheer Transformation $45:

I’ve read so much about this line and heard stories from people who are crazy devoted so I bought Sheer Transformation to see if I can kick out the last of my scarring and redness. It’s especially effective when used over Invigorating Night Gel but I use it over Obagi Exfoderm Forte that also has Glycolic and Lactic acids for cell turnover and brightening so it’s along the same lines. It’s a weightless gel/cream that absorbs quickly and gives your skin a dose of vitamins, fruit acids, and licorice for non-chemical fading and brightening. I love the way it feels so far, can’t wait to see the results.


Murad Rapid Age Spot and Pigment Lightening Serum $60:

Murad’s serum uses known skin lightener Hydroquinone (2.0%) for a quicker approach to fading out those age spots within weeks. Most people in their trials saw a difference in their spots in just two weeks in fact. If you’re looking for something to work quickly and effectively, this is a serum to check out. There’s still some back and forth about the safety of Hydroquinone (typically when it’s used in a much higher concentration), but it’s still regarded by many as the gold standard for skin lightening.


Estée Lauder Idealist $85:

Idealist has been the most effective in fading out the freckles on my chest that I’ve had since forever. It uses a more gentle approach so the results aren’t instant but if you hang with it you’ll definitely see even, more radiant skin in about a month with better and better looking skin over time. $85 is an investment, but so are the laser treatments I was looking into. I’m glad I found something much less invasive for a lot less money.

Iman Time Control Skin Tone Evener $16:

This treatment is the least expensive of the bunch and hydroquinone free. It’s meant for all skin tones, but it’s especially effective for fading spots on darker skin tones which can be harder to lighten.

Kiehl’s Clearly Corrective Dark Spot Solution $50:

Clearly Corrective is a new lightening serum free of silicones, fragrance, and parabens using vitamin c and white birch to get skin glowing. You should see some changes in just a few weeks with full results after 8, and continued use will help keep future spotting away.

Spots and uneven tone are easy problems to fix, so start with a skin evening treatment before thinking about Botox or more invasive things. You might find that your skin looks so great, you don’t need to do anything else.

New From Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare and Peter Thomas Roth

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A few new launches have caught my eye recently in a vast landscape of ‘more of the same.’ I haven’t tried either one, but I’m looking forward to checking out new innovations by two companies I’ve grown to really love.

Dr. Dennis Gross Skincare has a new Vitamin D Serum Oil $65 for those of us who are so good with sunscreen that the sun’s own vitamins can’t penetrate to nourish the skin. I was way low on D years ago because I’m a crazed SPF weirdo and now take a vitamin D daily, but haven’t explored using it topically until seeing this serum. It’s formulated to be available to the skin without sunlight and they mixed it with Vitamins A, E, B, CoQ10, as well as Glycolic and Ferulic Acids to get some hydrating and brightening benefits in there as well.

Peter Thomas Roth added a new addition to their way popular Un-Wrinkle line to hydrate and brighten up dull skin. Illuminator Instant Brightening Moisturizer $68 combines 3 color correcting shades of light pigment that blend with the skin to brighten dullness and neutralize redness. For me, the home-run is the combo of a wrinkle fighter with a skin perfecter – I love multi-tasking skincare that helps your skin to look great so you don’t need to use as much makeup in the end.

Lavanila The Healthy Baby Bundle

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I love giving lotions and bath care at baby showers because moms are usually so inundated with clothes that it’s a welcome gift to open. Lavanila has a chic line of baby bath care that’s free of GMO’s, dyes, petrochemicals, parabens, and other nasty things you’d rather not be slathering on baby in (or yourself for that matter.) Their Healthy Baby Bundle $46 gift set contains their Lotion, Wash, and Healthy Baby Bottom – a vitamin enriched diaper rash cream that I hear also doubles nicely for use on skin irritations and severely chapped skin in kids and adults alike.

I’ve tried the lotion (on myself) and it’s thankfully without the annoying baby lotion scent that’s so often used in traditional formulas. It is creamy, but not overly so – just the right amount of hydration so my skin felt like it had a really nice, even coating of moisture on that wasn’t heavy or overpowering. Probably why it’s a cult fav among adults with overly sensitive skin who rash easily from other lotions and washes.

Check out their complete line HERE, an exclusive to Sephora.

Laura Mercier Holiday 2011

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When it comes to color, Laura Mercier is hard to beat especially if you’re like me and revel in great quality makeup. Their holiday collection is still available and really worth a look. Just a few new shades and techniques can make for a new updated look for 2012.

Their Baked Eye Colour Palette $48 was probably my favorite offering from all of last year’s holiday collections. Now it’s back with 5 new shades, a double ended brush, and the same rich formula that’s easy to wear and blend.

If a smaller palette is more your speed, check out their Petite Eye Colour Trio $25 in Smoky Neutrals and Smoky Taupes – which is the one I have. It’s a mauve, plum, and neutral pink that compliments most skin tones and gives some fresh options for those who want to escape the ho-hum brown rut we so easily get sucked into.

Their best deal of the bunch, I think, is the Kohl Pencil Set $45 with 5 eyeliners in Stormy Grey, Black Violet, Brown Copper, Black Gold and Black Navy that end up being just $9 a pop. Their creamy formula is so easy to apply because it doesn’t drag on the skin so you can even lay a coat of it down on your lids before you apply shadow for extra dimension to a smokey eye.

And while you’re at it grab a Caviar Stick Eye Colour $24, a creamy liner/shadow hybrid of intense color. They’re pretty unique and way cool for a smudgy, imperfect look which is my favorite for totally sexy morning-after eyes.

All but the Caviar stick (thankfully) are limited, so once they’re gone they’re gone.

They Look Cool But… Paperself Lashes

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I ordered these ultra thin paper lashes for a shoot over the summer where the model wore peacock feathers in her hair because I thought they’d look cool fitting into the theme. It was before Sephora picked up the Paperself lash line so I ordered them from Asia and payed a fortune for shipping. While the quality and look are very cool, they aren’t without problems.

First, they’re paper (obvs) so you can’t curl, mascara, or even manipulate them much. I tried my best to make them ‘curl’ back the way her own lashes did, but they wanted to stick straight forward totally hindering a view into her eyes rendering them pointless (she couldn’t really see out either.) It pained me to rip them off of her knowing I wouldn’t be able to use them again (once the paper is wet from the glue- forget it, they’re a one-time deal), but I decided to switch to the smaller outer corner Peach Blossom ones hoping for the same look without the full strip that covered her eyes. Again, no dice. After the photog snapped a quick test shot, it was clear that what looked really cool in person just didn’t translate into anything on camera. It just looked strange and got lost against the color I’d placed on her lids. They also have a mind of their own – each lash in the same set had a different shape (one curly and the other more straight), even with some manipulation I wasn’t able to get them to look the same.

But they look so damn cool.

They might work if you don’t use dark shadow or much liner so you can see the full pattern against your lid, or if you just want to compliment a Halloween costume where your interactions were up close and not for a camera. I really wanted to love them and rave about them, but it just didn’t work out that way.

See the line HERE at Sephora.com and note that the model wearing the lash on Sephora’s site has what I believe to be a photoshopped version of the lash, they aren’t that large – if they were it would be easier to see them on.