The Daily Beauty Break

Oh Yeah, my beauties…..This stuff R-O-C-K-S!…And you know I’ve tried every dermatologist-developed eye cream on the market. This bad boy makes my dark circles not so dark (just as well as Teamine, but waay more moisturizing)…It helps my fine lines seem finer, without stinging (like the Vivite did). Even better, I don’t have to go to my derm to get more…(but I do have to avoid the shoe section at Nordstrom)!

ZO Skin Health Olluminate Intense Eye Repair has that covetable, balmy texture that absorbs fast without any greasy feel….helps concealer and makeup go on seamlessly….I”m in love.

It’s loaded with all the stuff that is proven to work..Retinol, Mica & Titanium Dioxide and Vitamin E. Pricey…at $130, but I swear it is working on my dark circles (or could it be the Mica?)….either way, it’s pretty amazing to find a product that can give me the moisture I need without stinging like FIRE or making those disgusting little balls once you put your concealer on….and I swear the handbags I sport under my eyes look more like evening bags now!

So I’m in love…(with my eye cream)…I know, I need to get a life.

Be Beautiful!!!

Hello my beauties!!! Well as some of you know, Dr. Obagi was in Dallas a few weeks ago and I got the amazing opportunity to sit him down and pick his expert anti-aging brain. Dr. Obagi was in town  promoting his new department store skincare line called ZO Skin Health (read the reviews).

Mainly, I wanted to know what made Dr. Obagi’s skincare line (and philosophy) different than the other 18 million dermatologist-developed skincare lines out there….in a nutshell? Obagi says traditional moisturizers aren’t doing it for us. In fact, they may even be contributing to the sky-rocketing numbers of skin cancers (read the study here). Dr. Obagi told me that 50 years ago, “sensitive skin” wasn’t even an issue with women….until we began slathering ourselves in lotions and potions 24-7.

Basically Dr. Obagi says that in order to really effect change in our skin and look younger we have to “wake it up”….He ways that moisturizers are basically crack for the skin….initially satiating the skins need for moisture but then paralyzing the cell from repairing on it’s own….ultimately resulting in older-looking skin that becomes sensitive and prone to a host of other fun conditions.

So what TO put on the skin? Retinoids and other active ingredients that actually “turn on”  the skin cell by spurring it to repair on it’s own. Retinoids increase our cell-turnover rate…..causing the skin to get rid of the old, dead cells quicker and revealing newer, healthier skin. He says, in fact, that if we get a good skincare regime with the right amount of retinioids in our 30’s, face lifts and any kind of “cutting” of the skin will become obsolete. Dr. Obagi believes that skin aging should be prevented, not “treated”…( I so agree….)!

Which is why I am (in a weird way) grateful that I have been using some kind of prescription retinioid product since I was 15 for acne…….I mean, it makes me throw up in my mouth a little bit when I remember the days when my girlfriends and I would literally hit 3 different tanning salons in one day. If I hadn’t been using those retinioids I am afraid to see what my face would’ve looked like from all that sun damage (actually I can see it on the rest of my body)……Kind of makes me wish I could take a bath in Retin-A most days!!!

But to summarize….Dr. Obagi’s message only confirmed what I think I already knew about skincare…..and his ZO Skin Health products contain the highest amount of active retinoids that you are going to find over the counter in a formulation that stabilizes the molecule so it can be the most effective (most OTC retinol formulas aren’t stable enough to effect real change in the skin). My skin is looking fabulous and obviously from the amazing feedback I have gotten from you, the dear readers……. YOUR SKIN IS TOO!!!

Much thanks to Dr. Obagi for the taking the time out to visit with me…….

Stay tuned as I’ll be reviewing ZO Skin Health’s Oclipse Sunscreen + Primer SPF 30 and Dr. Obagi’s Olluminate Intense Eye Repair soon!

Be Beautiful Ya’ll!

Hello my beauties…First off, I want to thank ya’ll so much for taking the time to leave all the great comments  personally sharing your amazing “skin transformations”   with Dr. Obagi’s new ZO Skin Health Products! I first posted my successful review of Dr. Obagi’s products MONTHS ago and am still receiving new feedback from happy clients everyday.,,,,,WOW!

Well, nobody is more thrilled to hear of your successes than Dr. Obagi himself….I first heard of Dr. Obagi from a photographer friend who used his prescription products to beat her hyper pigmentation and adult acne (and boy did SHE EVER….Dixie, you look fabulous darling)…..In fact, Dr. Obagi is so thrilled that he is treating us here at The Daily Beauty Break with our own little Q & A…..I’m calling it “Ask Dr. Obagi”!

Dr. Zein E. Obagi is an “internationally renowned dermatologist, educator and innovator, Dr. Obagi, M.D. is an expert in skin care. He is a Board-Certified Diplomat of the American Board of Dermatology and a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology. As one of the best known skin health experts in the world, Dr. Obagi is esteemed for his work in correcting a wide range of skin conditions, including facial melasma, precancerous lesions, deep wrinkles, age spots, acne scars and sun-damaged skin.”

Just the kind of guy whose brain I’d like to pick!!! So bring on the questions beautiful people!!! What’s your skin care concern? Bring us your sunspots, your acne, your wrinkles……Let Dr. Obagi tell YOU PERSONALLY what path you need to take to look… (and most importantly), FEEL BETTER!

Feel free to leave your questions for Dr. Obagi below in the comments questions….or email me I will forward it on to Dr. Obagi personally….

So stay tuned.… Since you asked (and you know I’ll do anything for my readers..lol) I’ll be reviewing ZO Skin Health’s Olluminate Intense Eye Repair & the Oraser Anti-Aging Hand Care Program….( can’t wait to say goodbye to my grandma hands!)……

Be Beautiful…..

Ah, Dr. Obagi….a dermatologist after my own heart…..when it comes to skincare he believes that “more is better”….and the tag line for his first OTC skincare line, ZO Skin Health is… “Fight Aging. Fight Hard.” I agree…(when it comes to looks anyways…)! , I’ve read up on Dr. Obagi and as far as derms go he is THE MAN…. for over 20 years he has been a leader in his field and has “been there done that”, with his own line of px products and products only available from your dermatologists…Well, finally Dr. Obaqi decided to come up with his own line for department stores…and it is available as of this month exclusively in Nordstrom stores, at the Studio at Fred Segal and at ZO Skinhealth.com.

Turns out Dr. Obagi has once again “shattered the status quo” and introduced a brave new world to the anti-aging community ( yes, I figure we are a community, lol!) ZO Skin Health was developed with a revolutionary idea….That moisturizers actually make the skin LAZY….when we constantly moisturize our skin our cells come to depend on it…and instead of repairing, renewing and growing new cells itself,our skin cells hit the couch….complete with TIVO remote and a large pizza…. (well maybe only MY skin) and gets OLD!

Makes sense if you think about it! Well…I’ve been on the juice now for two weeks and I gotta say…my skin is definitely becoming more active!!! I’ve been using ZO Skin Health OSSENTIAL Radical Night Repair in tandem with thier OSSENTIAL Growth Factor Serum. ..and my skin has definitely gotten off the couch ya’ll! The Radical Night Repair has a stellar 1% Retinol…(about 10 times the industry average). It’s the strongest thing available on the market right now without a prescription….BUT it works like one….my skin has been pretty peely….not as bad as with my prescriptions (thank god) but enough to know that it’s working!!! And BONUS, BONUS…my cystic acne is a third of what it was!!!!! The Growth Factor Serum goes on last….it smells kind of vitamin-ey (a good thing I think) and is super soothing (and feels moisturizing even though there are no traditional “moisturizers” in it).

Bottom-line, I can see real change in my skin with these two products…..WAY more than I ever got with department store skincare in the past (and I’ve tried them all…from La Prairie to Philosophy)….I’m looking forward to seeing even more new skin revealed……but first, you gotta get through some dirt to see the gold underneath!!!

Stay tuned…..(and be beautiful ya’ll)!

Putting the word “EASY” into a skincare regime is new to me……..I (surprise,surprise) am what they call a
“beauty nazi”….I never mind extra steps if it means my skin will look great. More time on skincare, less on foundation actually.

I’ve been a fan of Dr. Gross ever since we picked up his Alhpa-Beta peel a few years back at Nordstrom ( I won’t date myself, besides I suffer from slight “swiss-cheese brain” lately). At the time, his peel was the first on the market and the world of “cosmesceuticals” was just opening up. I was preggers at the time and was paranoid because I was going to have to go off my beloved Retin-A. Well, Dr. Gross came at the perfect time….I never had such beautiful, flawless skin as I did with that first pregnancy….and I credited it to my daily regime of Alpha-Beta peel.

Fast forward and several prescription Retinoids later, here I am…..wrinkles and sunspots in hand ( don’t want to think about how bad my face would be if I HADN’T started using it all those years ago)! Well the last week I have been using Dr. Gross’s EZ4U 4-in-1 Cleansing Towelettes in place of my regular toner and my skin looks and feels great! I am on day 4 of my cycle even and have no big uglies lurking on my jawline….(knock on wood, knock on wood). I am so superstitious about my skin….as soon as I mention a clearing it flairs up!

But anyways…these towelettes are great…..perfect for after the gym or whenever you need to get makeup off fast..( say 3 or 4 am after a great night out, ladies?)  EZ4U towelettes manage to clean, tone, treat and moisturize in ONE step….and what’s even more amazing to me is that these bad boys are anhydrous…meaning water-free! More room for good ingredients to help rid skin of all the crap we do to it everyday……

Perfect for the girl-on-the go or “lazy” skincare types….EZ4U 4-in-1 Treatment Towelettes give beautiful skin, FAST!!!

EZ4U Towelettes retail for $35 for 30 applications and are available at Sephora, Ulta and Dr. Gross’s website.

Be Beautiful Y’all…

Check

I LOVE dermatologists………and I have to admit that in my industry it’s pretty important to “put your best face forward” (if you know what I mean)….who wants a makeup artist working on their face with a mini-mountain range on it? (been there, done that)…….So ever since I got my first pimple it’s been “war on acne” for Josi…I’m a REAL control freak when it comes to my face….zits just are NOT acceptable…. LUCKY for me though, the same ingredients that actually work on acne also help keep wrinkles and hyper-pigmentation at bay….. So now at 33 I get a lot of “Wow, you have a 4 & 7 year old? Your skin is amazing…”..proof that it pays to trust your skin to a dermatologist.

I have had a regular derm since I was teenager and today am pretty glad I did….if I hadn’t started prescription Retinioids as a young’un I probably would be in a very sorry state…I am a SUN JUNKIE as well (not anymore, it’s all about the sunscreen)…. But seriously, the tanning bed was a home away from home growing up in Seattle. Today (luckily), because of my doc and some serious skincare technology you wouldn’t know it!!!! (no I have not gone under the knife or needle yet….although I have been flirting with the idea of Botox, y’all).

Now back to Dr. Perry’s NightSkin™ ($49.95)..this amazing formula  “represents an accumulation of decades of studies and personal knowledge. It is the most innovative, practical, and effective skin serum that Dr. Perry has ever seen, and he believes it will effectively reduce the need for some surgical procedures such as Botox and Restylane injections, and chemical skin peels. When Dr. Perry’s team began brainstorming on the ultimate skin formula, they considered the factors that bother people the most about physical aging: wrinkles, age spots, and drying skin. “

So how does the good doctor manage to deliver on his claims?…well in my opinion is that it’s the 10% Glycolic Acid that NightSkin™ contains. I have been using products with this magic ingredient for years and have seen amazing results….

Watch out though because NightSkin™ can bite (of course me being the beauty freak I am, kind of like it)…it stings a tad bit going on but once it is applied feels GREAT (you won’t get an effective Glycolic Acid product that doesn’t bite, take it from me).  I love this stuff because it is a one-step wonder..no moisturizer needed! I have been using it along with my prescription Retinoid product called Ziana and (knock on wood) have no cystic acne at this moment!!!!

Stay tuned to hear how  NightSkin™  helps clear up my old acne scars!

Thanks for a great new product Dr. Perry….NightSkin™ Rocks…and you can order it here.

Be Beautiful ya’ll!!!!!