Cosmetic Connection

The first thing I always do when I wake up is splash my face with cold water. Not only does it feel good, it wakes me up and I need all the help I can get sometimes. For the most part, that has always been my morning routine. I don't require much of anything else on my face and I fear that with the oil I have, even in its smallest measurement, will cause my face to break out and my makeup to slide off of my face. It was quite nice to add something to my morning "routine." I first started off with cleansing my face with the Purifying Face Wash, which is a lightly-scented, gel cleanser designed to unclog pores and get your face ready for the next steps. It is extremely gentle and doesn't strip my skin of its natural oils and moisture. It leaves my skin feeling refreshed and soft. Next, I applied the Elderberry Toner with the unique Cotton Pads. The cloths are small, thin little squares that do not waste product like cotton balls do and they feel incredibly smooth on the skin. The toner is soooo fabulous, and I am not and never have been a toner user. This alcohol-free, Vitamin A and C-filled toner is so smooth and makes my skin feel amazingly soft. It is specifically designed for the sensitive-skin set and those with redness (me! me!). I am scared of toners because they typically have a drying agent in them, but this one does not and I just love how it makes my skin feel refreshed and calm. Definitely nice at 6 A.M. Just to give you an idea of its refreshing quality, I was a recent victim of Hurricane Rita and during the first 5 days of our evacuation we had no electricity or running water and record high temperatures, which means I didn't have my feel-good morning splash of water. This toner instantly calmed my skin and made me feel "normal" again. Plus, it was just plain nice! After the toner, I applied the Vitamin C & E Complex. Designed to give your skin more smoothness and clarity, this super-smooth skin saver has earned its place in my bathroom. It goes on incredibly smooth and just goes right into my skin without leaving a greasy or oily residue. My skin is so soft after using this. I find that two pumps of this stuff is more than enough, so even though the bottle is little, it should last you for a few months. Next up is the Daily Protection SPF #30. I have never used a separate SPF when I am about to put on makeup. I have found them to be too heavy and greasy and my foundation already has SPF 20 in it, so I've never seen the point of using a separate one. I must say, this product surprised the heck out of me. It is a fabulous moisturizer and provides a smoothness to my skin that makes my foundation glide right on and it stays put! You only need a pea-sized amount for your whole face. The last thing I use before I apply my makeup is the Vitamin C Eye Serum, a very lightweight, super-silky eye cream that melts right into my skin. You only need a half of a pump of this stuff, too!

After all of this, I am surprised that my face doesn't feel heavy or greasy and even more surprised that my makeup stays on all day. What is also surprising is that instead of dreading the morning routine, I actually look forward to it. I am all about having a quick and easy time in the morning and I thought that I would get bored with the routine, or at least not have time for it, but it takes less than 5 minutes to do. I also like the fact that I don't have to wait for the products to "settle" forever so I can apply my makeup.

At the end of the day, when it's time to take off my makeup and prep my skin for the night, there's another routine specifically designed for the evening. Renee's philosophy makes sense since the needs of your face are different in the morning than the evening. The evening routine consists of taking your makeup off, calming your skin, and prepping it for your night's sleep when your whole body rests and rejuvenates. First, I cleansed off my makeup and remains of the day with the Aloe Cleansing Milk, a creamy lotion cleanser. These scare me a bit since I feel like I am not getting my face clean, but this one is nice and leaves no greasy residue. A small amount is to be applied with dry fingers to a dry face, massage, add a bit of water, massage again and rinse. It took my makeup right off. The Elderberry Toner is used again. The next two products are not used at the same time, but they alternate every other week. For 7 nights, I applied the Glycolic Serum Plus 17%, which provides a mild exfoliation to your skin. For the next 7 nights, I used the Skin Drink which is a moisturizer. I can't say I've ever seen a moisturizer in serum form, but hey, if it works, use it! The reason for the alternation is that your skin would get irritated with continuous use of the Glycolic Serum Plus and the Skin Drink retains moisture. The last step is the application of the Sheer Moisture, a super-lightweight moisturizer chock full of skin smoothing goodies. Let me tell you, this is a fabulous moisturizer. My skin feels like velvet after applying it and it sinks right in. I cannot believe how soft and supple my face is after using this. I can't say good enough things about it other than I will keep this stuff stocked on my shelf and that says a lot in this business!

To keep my skin happy, I treated it to a once-a-week mini facial. It consists of the use of three products: Mint Buffing Beads, Skin Drink and the Vitamin C Mask. After cleansing my skin, I exfoliated with the Mint Buffing Beads. The granules are plentiful in the cream, but it is a wonderfully awesome exfoliator. When I first had my consultation with Renee and told her about the bumps I had on my forehead that are always there, she told me it was a matter of exfoliation. After a couple of weeks of using this refreshingly minty stuff, my bumpy friends were gone! You can also use this separate from your facial, so I love to use it in the morning because it so refreshing and the minty feeling and scent is a great pick-me-up. After proper exfoliation (and total indulgence!), I applied the Skin Drink serum which is supposed to make your mask work better by pushing the serums in your skin. Lastly, I applied the anti-oxidant filled Vitamin C Mask to absorb excess oils and hydrate my sometimes sensitive skin. It has a fairly thick consistency like clay, so it's really easy to apply. Leave it on for 10-20 minutes and rinse off with warm water. The result is soft skin without the stripped feeling.

For the treatment of my acne, I used the Drying Lotion for everyday, normal 'ol zits. It's a liquidy white chalky disinfectant that dries out the offending visitor. If you are familiar with Sonja Dakar, this stuff is just like her Drying Potion. You pat it on zits at night and wake up to either no zits or significantly reduced ones. Since you don't blend it in, you have these white spots wherever you applied it, so I looked mighty scary, especially when I had to apply a bunch to really irritated skin. My cats freaked out, but it works, so they'll be okay! If you're like me in that you get cystic acne, use the Anti-Cyst Treatment. It's a clear serum (the cats were happy) and it does a good job of shrinking big, painful pimples. It gets down into the skin where the infection lies as opposed to drying out the surface, which is not the effective way to combat these because your skin would just dry and flake like crazy.

I must say after using this many products on my face, although they all have a different purpose, didn't drive my skin crazy like I thought it would. I was really expecting the worst because although my skin is not super sensitive, it doesn't like a lot of stuff and I was thinking due to the number of products, there was bound to be at least one my skin would hate. It didn't happen. After 2 months of religiously using all the products, my skin looks better and more refreshed. The bumps on my forehead are gone and my pores don't seem to have as much gunk in them. I am really excited about trying some other things from Renee's line of awesome products. If you are wanting to try them out and money is no object, by all means get all the products designed for your specific skin type. There is contact information on her website so you can have a consultation to determine what would be best for you. I thought I would be Skin Type 3, but Renee recommended Type 2 products after explaining my skin. If you cannot or do not want all those products, the few I would definitely get are the Vitamin C & E Complex, the Elderberry Toner, Sheer Moisture, Mint Buffing Beads and the Daily Protection SPF. While I loved them all, if I had only a few to get, those would be it. Check out Renee at her website at reneerouleau.com. If you are blessed to live near Dallas, she has a salon. Since I am the closest panelist to her salon, I am thinking I may need a road trip. You will be the first to know how that is! Happy Shopping!

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