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.

Tony & Tina Skincare
This line has some unique ideas about the mind/body connection when it comes to health, well-being, and looking and feeling your best. Whether you are on board with all of that or not, you don't have to be New Age to appreciate Tony & Tina's notable collection of skincare products. I recently had the pleasure of trying a sampling of almost all the products, with mostly positive results.

Herbal Makeup Remover with wild pansy ($18 for 3.2oz)
Unlike most makeup removers, this one is a thick cream rather than a liquid. I did not have good luck with this product at all - it made my eyes sting and tear up, and the cream left a filmy feeling on my eyes, like I had squirted the remover right into my eye. Not a good fit for me...

Herbal Cream Cleanser with neroli ($24 for 3.2oz)
In contrast to the makeup remover, I had good luck with this lotion face cleanser. It's not designed for the eye area (stings a little) so I just used my Mary Kay eye makeup remover to get my mascara and such off, but as a face cleanser it works well. I like to smooth it on my dry face, massage it in to loosen any makeup, then gently wipe it off with a warm washcloth. It has a nice scent from the neroli oil, and the lotion texture is lightly moisturizing without feeling greasy. That said, if given the choice between this and my all-time favorite Better Botanicals Calendula Cleanser, I would choose Better Botanicals.

Herbal Face Mist with bergamot ($22 for 1.7oz)
This is basically an alcohol-free toner in spray form. I'm not big on these and really don't see the point. It smells nice thanks to bergamot, geranium and lavender, and it feels cool on the skin, but it feels like an extra and unnecessary step.

Herbal Skin Refiner with apple seed extract ($32 for 1.1oz)
I like to put on an extra layer of treatment, like a vitamin C product or an AHA or something under my moisturizer to get a little extra boost. I like this light lotion because it gives my skin an immediate glow, plus it has the added bonus of apple extract, rose mosqueta oil (moisturizing), aloe leaf juice, cucumber extract, lavender, and vitamins A, E, and C. Of all the "active" lotions to choose from (ones that are exfoliating or have anti-oxidant vitamins), this is one of the more gentle that I've found, which my often-sensitive skin appreciates.

Herbal Eye Refiner with rose mosqueta ($36 for .61oz)
I am thankful that I don't really have any lines to speak of around my eyes, so I look for soothing, moisturizing properties in an eye cream. This one is light, absorbs quickly, can be used in conjunction with eye makeup and concealer or foundation without crumbling or caking, and leaves the eye area looking awake and hydrated.

Herbal Skin Serum with white tea ($40 for .68oz)
Again, I like light serums or lotions that I can wear under my moisturizer or sunscreen to give my skin an extra boost of moisture or anti-oxidant protection or whatever my skin seems to need on a given day. This one is super-light, disappears in an instant, and has some nice anti-oxidant benefits from the white tea. It is also moisturizing from rose mosqueta oil, jojoba, and allantoin. I like that it's not filmy, or overly matte or velvety like some brands can be (the white tea product from Origins springs to mind...).

Herbal Eye Serum with blue corn ($38 for .51oz)
I'm not clear about what the blue corn is supposed to do for your eyes, but aside from that this is a nice lightweight eye gel with extracts of cucumber, rooibos red tea and green tea, jojoba, hibiscus, and ginseng, to name a few. I use the herbal serums (this one for eyes and the white tea one for face) in the morning under my sunscreen. I like the light texture and quick absorption.

Herbal Face Cream with borage ($34 for 1.6oz)
I love this cream! I think it's one of my favorite products of the line. Even though it's a cream (and fairly moisturizing at that), it never feels greasy or oppressive on the skin. Since it has no sunscreen, you can use it night or day, or both, and it has the most intoxicating earthy aroma. This cream is loaded with extracts and oils: borage oil, aloe leaf juice, soybean extract, apple extract, grapefruit extract, mango butter, shea butter, wheat germ oil, calendula oil, apricot oil, bergamot oil, plus vitamins A, C, and E.

AHA/BHA Fruit and Nut Acid Peel One Step Daily Pads ($38 for 30 pads)
I don't normally have very good luck with AHA products, especially exfoliating pads, because they are just too harsh for my skin. I break out in a terrible rash and I wonder why I ever subjected my face to such torture. I am thankful that these are different - gentle, but still effective. How do they do it? Maybe it's the oat, green tea, and willowherb extracts that actually do soothe the skin enough to make the glycolic, lactic, mandelic, malic, and salicylic acids work more gently... I notice a smoother complexion with no irritation and no nasty rashes. Yay!

Herbal Daily Face Scrub with oat honey ($28 for 1.7oz)
If acid peels aren't your thing, T&T's oat and honey face scrub is a great alternative. This delicious-smelling paste has oat flour, kaolin clay, corn meal and jojoba wax to give it texture, plus honey and glycerin to moisturize and soothe. It smells great, feels great, and you don't have to worry about excessive scrubbing because the texture is gentle enough for daily use for normal skins or 2-3x a week for sensitive or very dry skin.

You can find out more about Tony & Tina at tonytina.com.

We hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!