This week I am pleased to share some new reviews from our Panelist, Kristen. Kristen is a 26 year-old government employee and mother of one from a Texas town just east of Houston. She has combination skin that is exacerbated in the summer (due to the extreme humidity in Texas) and normal to dry in the winter. She is acne prone with redness around the nose and chin and a handful of red acne scars, which she is always looking for something to even those out. Until then she has settled into finding the perfect foundation/concealer/powder system to cover it. Kristen has large, almond-shaped blue/green eyes that she considers to be her best feature. She is a natural brunette but highlights so it's blonde and "Julia Robert's curly" that she straightens. Have a question for Kristen? Email her here.

Take it away, Kristen!

Ocean Potion
Since I do not like to tan in the sun as much as I used to, combined with fact that I am not getting any younger, I was very excited to try out some new sun protection and self tanning products. My last experience with self tanner was a few years ago, but I decided it took a fair amount of patience to apply properly and I wasn't willing to spend the time to do it. I was in my early 20s, so I didn't think a whole lot about protecting my skin or using other means to achieve a tan besides the sun. Now I am a few years old and much more conscious. I will start with the system of products designed to give you a tan without the sun.

The first product in the series is the Before Sunless Exfoliating Body Wash. One of the cardinal rules of self tanning is to exfoliate your body. This gets rid of dry patches in your skin where sunless color loves to "grab" and look different. It provides a smooth canvas for the tanning lotion. It made my skin very smooth. I use this as a body exfoliator even if I am not going to use the self tanner. The granules in the exfoliator do not irritate the skin and I think it would be suitable for sensitive skin types. Next was the application of the self tanner. I had two choices: Medium/Dark Sunless Potion, or Deep/Dark Sunless Potion. Since I was my normal coloring, which is fairly medium, I used the Medium/Dark. I used it on my legs first, thinking it'd be the best place to start since I am new to the application. The cream is a bronze color which blends into the skin with ease. After applying, I sat on a towel waiting to dry. I made the mistake of standing up before it was dry and I got little crumbles behind my knees, but it didn't make the color streak at all. With one application, I was a pretty shade of golden brown. No orange to be found. No streaks, either. After I'd gotten some color from the sun, I used the Deep/Dark one and it made my natural tan even more brown, but not fake looking. Last in the series is the Color Balancing Lotion. It's a cream to be applied immediately after applying self tanner to even out color and smooth any dry patches that the color would grab on to.

The Ocean Potion sunscreen products I received are in SPF 8, 15, 30, 50. I used 30 and 50 on my daughter and protected her all day while swimming and sweating. I used 8 and 15 and didn't burn with either, but I noticed when I used the 8, I actually got a tan--and this is when I was pasty white with no sun exposure. Usually, I will fry in the sun my first two times, but I immediately tanned. These sun protection products contain Parsol 1789, which supposedly is better than regular sunscreen because it protects against certain very harmful rays from the sun, while regular sunscreen protects against the less harmful rays. To me, all sun rays are harmful, but Ocean Potion's protects against photodamage and premature aging, which I am guessing regular sunscreens do not. Whatever the product contains, it keeps my daughter and I from frying! And the products smell WONDERFUL! Like some ice cream I used to eat as a child, but cannot recall the name. I love products that smell like "summer."

All in all, all of the Ocean Potion Products work great, and they are quite inexpensive. You can find more information online at www.opotion.com.

Perlier Kiwi Energy
I had never heard of this line until I got a hold of the following three products: Bath and Shower Peeling, Refreshing Cream for Legs and Feet, and the Bath and Massage Oil. These are some wonderful products! The Bath and Shower Peeling is a lightweight, pleasantly scented, and very refreshing and invigorating body exfoliator in a gel form. The granules are not hard on the skin and I felt smooth and refreshed after my shower. Then I used the Refreshing Cream for Legs and Feet and, like the Gel, it was very refreshing. It is a white cream with what looks like little green dots in the bottle. Very cute looking. And it made my feet very soft when they needed some serious help. Finally, I used the Bath and Massage Oil and it was nice when my husband gave me a shoulder rub. It also works well as an additive for your bath, but like all oil-based products for the bath, don't apply a lot or you'll be greasy.

I really loved these products and I will say a little goes a long way. Also, since they are touted as Kiwi products, the pretty green colors are nice to look at. I was searching for something new to try and I think I found something I could live with. You can find out more about these Perlier products at www.perlierusa.com.

DHC
I've had decent success with DHC's skincare line, so I was excited to try these products. I received the Alpha Arbutin White Lotion, Alpha Arbutin White Cream, and Alpha Arbutin White Milk. Looking for something to brighten my complexion, I jumped at the chance to try these products. After all, I needed some help.

The Lotion is to be used after you cleanse your face and before the other two products. It's a nice, lightweight toner/lotion designed for all skin types, but more geared for those of us with combo/oily skin. It is touted as a toner, but it's not a liquid -it's a lotion, as the name implies. You can either use a cotton ball or your fingers for application. It's a nice lotion, but I can't see a difference in my skin after using it for a month.

Next in line after toning with the lotion, you can either use White Milk or White Cream, depending upon your needs. The Milk is a much lighter lotion. It does contain olive oil, which I have found doesn't agree with my face. While it didn't make my face break out, it just didn't seem to settle in my skin and I felt a bit greasy, even after 20 minutes after application, then my face felt normal. It didn't provide the "breathtaking luminosity" as it says it will, but in the product's defense, I've not found a product that actually does that. After a month of using it, too, I really didn't see that my skin was brighter, as it claims it will do. The White Cream is much too heavy for my skin. Those of you with drier skins might like this. I used it during the times when my skin goes haywire and gets dry, but it's not something I used often since I am more of a combination skin type.

Bottom line? I will use the Lotion while I have it, donate the Milk and Cream, and not purchase again. I didn't see any improvement in my skin. Oh well... Next?

Thanks, Kristen. I hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!