Welcome to the Cosmetic Report^™ newsletter. It's our goal to bring you unbiased information about cosmetic products and trends so you can make educated buying decisions. If you've been searching for straightforward beauty information and advice, you've found it here. The Cosmetic Connection Panel of reviewers are consumers just like you who face the same issues and challenges, and look to the beauty industry to help solve them.

Heather started Cosmetic Connection in September 1996 from an idea that women would like to learn more about cosmetics and skin care than just what's on the product package. Heather lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and their two kids. Heather, 31, has medium (color treated) brown hair that is just north of shoulder length with long layers, blue eyes, and a fair, dehydrated complexion with cool undertones. Heather's best skin-matching foundations include Cover Girl TruBlend in Ivory, BECCA Luminous Skin Colour SPF 20 in Sand, and Kevyn Aucoin Sensual Skin Enhancer in SX05.

Mary Kay Timewise 3-in-1 Cleanser ($18 for 4.5oz tube)
I've dabbled in Mary Kay's color cosmetics and thought they were okay, but I've felt rather lukewarm about the skincare; it just wasn't very exciting or notable. Now, with the time-saving, pared-down Timewise products, I think Mary Kay is headed in the right direction. This thick cream cleanser has exfoliating beads, so you cleanse, tone and exfoliate all at once. I didn't care for the tightening effect from the toning ingredients, and I think that aspect of the cleanser makes it difficult for my skin to tolerate it more than once a day (and all that scrubbing isn't the best for my skin either, as you'll read in the rest of the review).

The directions indicate to massage the cleanser into your skin, then remove it with a warm washcloth. I use that same method at night already for my regular cream cleanser, and I think it works really well. It's really the only way to successfully use an exfoliating cleanser at the sink rather than in the shower, because the washcloth gets all the beads off of your face. The cleanser effectively removes makeup (but not eyes: read below) and leaves the skin soft and not dry, but with the sheen as if you've just used an astringent toner. This was a problem for me because the twice-a-day scrubbing combined with the astringent toner ingredients was more than my skin could take every single day. My skin got more flaky, almost rashy, so I switched to using it every other morning in the shower, and my skin was much happier.

Another thing to mention is that you should really use a separate eye makeup remover and keep this away from your eyes. I didn't have any problems with irritation, but just to be safe, you should keep exfoliating cleansers away from the eyes. Mary Kay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover ($14 for 3.75oz) does a nice job without stinging or making the eye area feel oily.

I want to thank Cosmetic Connection reader Katy Bixby for generously sending me Timewise samples to try. You can reach her for all your Mary Kay needs at 412-366-6393 (Pittsburgh, PA), kjbixby@marykay.com or on the web at marykay.com/kjbixby.

Joan Rivers Absolutely Magic Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser ($24.50 for 6.7oz)
I never imagined I would use a Joan Rivers skin care product, but one thing lead to another and I ended up with some samples. This cream-gel cleanser has microbeads and some interesting plant extracts including uva ursi leaf extract (anti-inflammatory), licorice extract (anti-inflammatory), quillaja saponaria extract (cleansing, anti-inflammatory; derived from the Chilean soap bark tree), mulberry leaf extract (anti-bacterial and astringent), plus sucrose cocoate (a natural soap derived from sugar beets and coconut oil) and lactic acid (a mild AHA derived from milk). I don't know that the product is really on your face for enough time for these ingredients to make a difference, but just as a cleanser/scrub, it feels nice, not overly granular. I also didn't find it to be drying or irritating.

You can find Joan Rivers skincare at QVC.com.

Peter Thomas Roth Botanical Buffing Beads ($35 for 8oz)
For a tried-and-true, can't-go-wrong scrub for any skin type, this one is worth a look. It's not complicated by AHAs, BHAs, or essential oils - this is a simple jojoba bead scrub with whole leaf aloe vera and some mild cleansing agents. The beads are very fine and are suspended in a very low lathering gel that is gentle to any skin type. If you are stumped and need a sure thing, I recommend this; you could just about use this gentle scrub every day and not have a problem.

You can find Peter Thomas Roth products at Sephora.com, Beauty.com, luxbeauty.com, and beautydoor.com.

Renee Rouleau AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel ($28.50 for 6oz)
If a plain, basic scrub isn't your style, consider this action-packed gel from Renee Rouleau. It's armed with just about every exfoliator you could want - jojoba beads, salicylic acid, glycolic acid, and lactic acid, so you are not only polishing the surface of the skin, you are also getting those exfoliating acids in the pores to clear out the dead cells. The base is a low lathering gel with gentle cleansers, so it doesn't dry your skin. Although the label indicates this scrub is good for sensitive skin, if you have any issues with citrus oils, be careful: it has grapefruit and orange oils. Personally I was not bothered by them, and as long as I use the scrub no more than twice a week, the AHAs and such don't bother my skin either.

You can find Renee Rouleau products at reneerouleau.com.

Avon Planet Spa White Tea Cleansing Face Polisher ($7.50 for 2.5oz tube)
If a nice scent is important to you, this white tea scrub from Avon is one to try. Whether the scent comes from the real thing (the white tea leaves) or just a synthetic fragrance, it still smells fantastic - like a walk through a blooming flower garden. The texture is like a rich face cream, different from the gel-cleanser consistency of the others reviewed here, with small exfoliating beads. I would say this is a treatment, whereas the others are cleansers that exfoliate.

You can find Avon products at Avon.com or from your local Avon representative.

One last thing to think about with scrubs is the size and nature of the scrubbing agent (walnut shells, jojoba beads, microfine sand, etc.) and the density of scrub particles in the base. The smaller the scrubbing agent, the more you are going to feel it, which plays a role in how often your skin can be exfoliated without getting irritated. Here is how I would describe each of these scrubs:

Mary Kay Timewise 3-in-1 Cleanser:
- large, soft, round beads; more cleanser than beads (low density)

Joan Rivers Absolutely Magic Gentle Exfoliating Cleanser:
- microfine, slightly scratchy grains; medium density

Peter Thomas Roth Botanical Buffing Beads:
- microfine, smooth round beads; very high concentration of beads (high density)

Renee Rouleau AHA/BHA Cleansing Gel:
- microfine, smooth beads; high density

Avon Planet Spa White Tea Cleansing Face Polisher:
- microfine, smooth wax beads; medium density

We hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!