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.

Vicky is a 38 year old office manager who has always loved makeup and skincare products. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona where the dry climate and high summer temperatures make taking care of your skin and melt-proofing your makeup a challenge! Vicky has dark brown curly hair, dark brown eyes, and a medium/light olive complexion. Her skin is normal-to-oily (t-zone) with large pores and occasional breakouts. Her hair is fine, highlighted, on the dry side, and Vicky regularly straightens it with a ceramic flat iron.

SONYA DAKAR SKIN CARE PROGRAM
New season, new skin care routine, I always say! It seems lately I have been noticing a lot of skin care products that are developed by dermatologists, estheticians, or similar "service providers to the rich and famous" and I decided to see for myself what all the buzz is about.

I decided on Sonya Dakar products because they have different systems that address specific problems you'd like to focus on. Since I am approaching 40, live in a hot, dry climate, and have noticed a little less clarity and elasticity to my skin, I thought the "Anti-Aging/Maintenance" program would work best for me. After a brief consultation with a Sonya Dakar representative (over the phone), she recommended the following products: Red Grapefruit Wash, Cellular Patch Cream, Omega-3 Repair Complex, Hydrosoft Lotion, 365 Sun Protection, and Drying Potion.

As I began using the products, I noticed how much I liked the addition of natural extracts/ingredients: sweet almond oil, geranium, lavender, shea butter (one of my favorites). Not only do they make the products smell good, but as we all know by now, herbal extracts and oils can be effective at maintaining good skin.

The Red Grapefruit Wash comes in a flip-top tube (my favorite, since it is convenient in the shower and no bacteria from fingers gets into the product). I like the consistency of it - a light lotion - and how it did not leave my skin tight after rinsing. I thought the grapefruit extract might have been too acidic, but happily it was not. There is also cardamom extract in this formula, which is supposed to reduce puffiness and shield the skin from bacteria.

The Sonya Dakar products are supposed to be used in a particular order, AM and PM, for them to work together for the best results. So the next product in line is the Cellular Patch Cream. This product is more like a light cream, not heavy at all, that with one pump morning and night is supposed to restore clarity and firmness to my skin via a non-acid exfoliating system that apparently stimulates collagen production. It has other ingredients like shea butter, apricot kernel oil and green tea extract. While I appreciate the concept of a non-acid exfoliate to minimize irritation, I don't think it was strong enough for me to really see a difference.

I then was instructed to continue with the Omega-3 Repair Complex (at night only). Now here is a product I really like! This serum is infused with geranium extract and frankincense, which are supposed to combat dehydration (just what every 40 year old skin needs), and fatty acids to nourish the skin. I'm not sure about the repair effect, but my skin really looks great after several weeks of using this product! Oh, and half a pump is plenty to achieve results.

The HydraSoft Lotion is a great lightweight, oil-free moisturizer with ceramides to restore moisture loss, antioxidants (vitamins C and E) to fend off free radicals, vitamin B5, and frankincense extract. You get a lot of bang for the buck with this moisturizer! This is to be applied morning and night.

The final step of the daily program is the 365 Sun Protection Cream. When I applied this light cream to my skin, I felt like it would truly protect it. The texture felt wonderful. A little goes a long way, so you need only a dime-size amount of product for your whole face and neck. This is great stuff! It has an SPF 30, is waterproof and oil-free. Titanium dioxide is the physical sunblock, with wonderful lavender and orange extracts, no PABA, and it blocks UVA and UVB rays.

I figured out the "star" product of the Sonya Dakar line is its Drying Potion, a "white-out" like bottle that is supposed to dramatically reduce the size and redness of pimples. The main ingredients are alcohol, camphor, and sulfur. Strong stuff! After reading the product literature about this product, I had high hopes for it. What I found was that Drying Potion is best for bringing down that big beast of a pimple (you know, the one that pops up out of nowhere) overnight. So, the product delivers what it promises (but it promises nothing more, as I found out when I tried to apply it all over my face; more is better?? I don't think so!) While I was happy about the product's effectiveness, I wasn't happy about its behavior in the bottle. The applicator is in the cap of the bottle, which is a great idea - or so I thought. After about a month of using it, the drying potion began to clump up around the applicator and the neck of the bottle. Even though I was careful to close the bottle tightly each time I used it, I couldn't help but think of how a bottle of "white-out" looks when it dries up.

On the whole, I was happy with the Sonya Dakar line. I got a lot of results from the products. The products are pretty effective and not outrageously over-priced, and I will probably buy replacement bottles as I need them, and try out other specialty products as well.

Sonya Dakar products can be purchased directly from their website at sonyadakar.com.

We hope you enjoyed this issue of The Cosmetic Report!