Ever since I started taking regular care of my skin, I’ve been searching for the perfect skin care program for me. I have oily, acne-prone skin, and I’m also concerned about skin damage from all the years (basically birth through age 25) that I didn’t wear sunscreen on my face. I’m not going to go nuts worrying about wrinkles, but I’d like to keep my skin smooth for as long as I can – who wouldn’t?

I only really started a basic skin care routine about two years ago. When I think of basic skin care, I’m talking about a cleanse, treat, moisturize routine. Now that I do take care of my skin, I am getting just a little bit obsessed with finding THE best combination of products to achieve skin perfection…

I think I have my favorite cleansers nailed down. In the morning, I like to use Juice Beauty’s Exfoliating Cleanser. It’s basically a light lotion-y cleanser with jojoba beads for scrubbing. It’s gentle enough to use everyday, and is really refreshing in the shower first thing in the morning. At night, it’s a toss-up between MD Skincare’s All-in-One Cleanser or Caudalie’s Instant Foaming Cleanser. If I’m washing makeup off at night, it’s the MD Skincare one, hands down. I don’t need a separate makeup removal step with that one. If it was a no-makeup day, then I prefer the Caudalie cleanser at night. I suppose if I really had to narrow it down, though, I’d pick the MD Skincare cleanser for both day and night.

As far as treating goes, my favorites so far are the Wet n’ Wild acne gel I mentioned here, as well as Caudalie’s Vinoperfect and fresh’s Anise Day Serum. The acne gel I’ll continue to use – it seems to really help with breakouts and blackheads. It’s not too drying to use twice a day, either. The Vinoperfect was my first introduction into a serum – I don’t particularly have age spots so I can’t comment on that aspect, but I did notice almost immediately how much brighter and fresher and, well, radiant my skin looked. I was impressed. I used it twice a day until… I got the Anise Day Serum and started using that in the morning instead. And… I love it! Again, there was a jump in how smooth and clear my skin looked after I started using it. When I run out of the Vinoperfect, I probably won’t repurchase, because I think I can get the same results with just the Anise Day Serum.

Now, to moisturize… This is where I’m still like a single gal searching for the perfect man. I just can’t seem to find the moisturizer that really knocks my socks off. I’m currently using steep clean moisture lotion from bliss and it’s okay. It’s pricey though, and not *that* great. I’m considering trying Cellex-C Sea Silk Oil-Free Moisturizer or Murad’s Skin Perfecting Lotion.

I’ll talk eye cream in another post.

In looking over what I’ve written about since I started this blog, it would seem that poor body care has been sorely neglected! Since we’re starting to get into the lovely winter weather, I figured body exfoliants would be apropos.

Wintertime can be hard on skin – heated buildings that frequently feature dry, dry air, and a penchant for hot showers and baths can really dry out your skin. This can lead to scaly skin… you can combat this with a good scrub. If you like to use a self tanner any time of the year, a scrub will really help it go on smoother and with less likelihood of streaking.

Being something of a scrub junkie, I’ve tried a few. Here are some of my favorites:

Freeman Truly Luscious Body Scrub, Chocolate Brown Sugar is really yummy smelling. The price is right, and the ingredient list is excellent. Because the first ingredient is glycerine, it’s not as oily as some scrubs, but is still quite emollient. You can find this in most drugstores that carry Freeman products.

At the other end of the spectrum is fresh’s Brown Sugar Body Polish. At $62.50 a jar, this isn’t something I can afford to purchase often. But I must admit, it’s lovely.

Bliss’ Sweet Orange + Spearmint Sugar Scrub is slightly more affordable at $36 a tub, and smells just delightful.

Bath and Body Works and The Body Shop also have some good body scrubs as well.

You can pay a little or you can pay a lot for your scrub, but either way make sure you find one you love! Banish scaly skin this winter!

I was browsing around New Seasons Market a while back and discovered Earth Science products. New Seasons is a really cool locally-owned Portland grocery chain with a natural/organic focus. Earth Science is a skin care brand with a botanical focus.

The product that especially caught my eye was the Papaya Enzyme and Fruit Acid Skin Peel. At home peels are a favorite of mine – I’ve been a fan of the Microdelivery Peel from philosophy for a while now. But at $65 a box, ouch. I’ve been wanting to try the Green Apple Peel from Juice Beauty, but I’m cheap – it’s $39.

Which brings me back to Earth Science. The Papaya Enzyme peel has a nice list of ingredients – papaya enzymes loosen, bentonite clay, potato starch, kelp extract, and almond meal. It combines alpha hydroxy acids with mild physical exfoliators to soften and smooth the skin. I’m hooked! The only drawback is the scent – it also contains thyme oil, and my oh my… it surely does smell really strongly of thyme to the point of almost being overpowering. Luckily, it dries very quickly (it takes about 5-7 minutes) and then it’s ready to wash off. Other than that, I love it.

I’m really eager to check out other products in the line. At the moment, I’m a bit overloaded with cleansers and toners, but they are on my list of things to try. I’m also interested in the moisturizers and treatment products… it seems like a nice line, very well priced too…

So I thought it might be a good idea to write a short biographical post for my readers. Who the heck is Claire??

I live in Portland, Oregon, with my husband of (almost) eight years and our two cats. I work at a large beauty store, currently as a “beauty consultant” aka salesperson. I love my job, despite the eight hours shifts standing on hard, hard floors. My feet do not love my job! I usually refer to my work as The Beauty Emporium, because I don’t want to be dooced. Hence, the obligatory disclaimer: the views presented on this website belong solely to me, and should not be connected or attributed in any way shape or form with my employer. *grin*

I love makeup and cosmetics, and found that I was devoting far too much content to such on my personal blog. So, Claire’s Beauty was born as a place for me to blog to my hearts content about all things beauty-related. At some point I’d like to add advertising, to cover the costs associated with hosting, etc.

Thanks for reading!

Oh Holiday. A word that strikes terror into the retail worker’s heart, and sends thrills down the spine of every beauty shopper… those of us lucky enough to be both (or unlucky enough, depending on your point of view) know it’s going to be exhausting, but oh the discounts! Let’s not forget getting to see all the new holiday stuff first! Whee!

So, what’s on my wishlist this year?

The Holiday House gift set from philosophy is definitely on my list. I’m not super crazy about the Sugar Cookie lip shine, but I love love love the Cinnamon Buns and Eggnog scents.

Also on my list is this gift set from Garden Botanika. A few years ago, Garden Botanika was one of the trio of stores I loved to visit – along with The Body Shop and Bath and Body Works. At some point, the stores closed, but the business continued on as a mail order (and now the products can be found at some Ulta stores). Anyway, the gift set features three hand creams that I really want. I received a 4 oz. bottle of the Pomegranate Wine hand cream as a gift with purchase, and I’m hooked. I want to try the other ones now. I have chronically dry hands from all the hand sanitizer I use at work, so I’m hooked on hand cream.

Let’s not forget makeup. Is this not awesome?? I *heart* Urban Decay, so this is definitely on my list.

I’m sure there will be more as the new stuff keeps coming in… but so far, these are the things I’m eyeing with lust.

I love red lipstick. It’s the easiest way to a sophisticated face when you don’t have time for eye makeup. Just a little black eyeliner (and a taupe shadow if you have time, just to even out your eyelid), a delicate blush, and the red, red lips, and you are set!

The red lipstick pictured here is Christian Dior Dior Addict Lipstick in Positive Red 857. It’s the first red I discovered that looked really great on me, and in fact, it looks really great on just about everyone. It is also the red lipstick that was used in the movie The Devil Wears Prada on Anne Hathaway’s lips. I’ve been in love with this color since waaay before the movie came out, so I was tickled to see it used.

A red I just recently discovered (and love!) is from Lancome. It’s Rouge Sensation in the shade Ambrette. What really impresses me about this lipstick is how moist it stays on the lips. For once, the advertising for a product that is actually true – glamorous color that feels fabulous and wears for hours. It’s true! I’ll be taking a closer look at the other Rouge Sensation colors based on how much I like this one.

My third favorite red is from Paul & Joe and is called Tomate Cerise – French for cherry tomato. Paul & Joe also makes a nicely moist lipstick, which was my previous favorite. The Lancome product really knocks my socks off, but I love how bright the cherry tomato red is, so it’s still worth wearing.

Tips for red lips – try the colors on your lips, not your hands, to really see how it’s going to look. Also, use a lip liner for the best definition. I use a neutral one like Bobbi Brown Naked, or one from Stila, but any will do.

I’ve always wished for some magic zapper to get rid of zits. A little backstory: when I was a teenager, I had near-perfect skin. I had dark circles, a few blackheads, but actual zits were few and far between. My friends hated me. Then, when I got to be in my early twenties, the zits attacked. And attacked. And attacked some more.

Okay, maybe I’m overdramatizing. It wasn’t terrible cystic acne or anything like that, but just some seriously large pimples in places like the middle of my cheeks or right between my eyes. What’s up with that???

After trying this and that with little success, I discovered Acne.org, “Home of the Clear Skin Regimen.” I followed the program, and low and behold (and at least one bleached out favorite t-shirt and several towels later), it worked. So now what? It was time to switch to a maintenance routine for my skin.

Salicylic acid is a pore refiner – it helps to unclog pores. I wanted a 2% salicylic product to use in place of the benzoyl peroxide recommended in the Clear Skin Regimen. After looking at both high end and drugstore products, I settled on a product from an unlikely source: Wet n Wild’s Fresh Face Skincare Spot Treatment. It fit the bill – 2% salicylic acid gel, NO alcohol (I wanted to put this all over my face, after all, and alcohol is SO drying), and lots of friendly botanical exracts like aloe, chamomile, tea tree, algae, licorice, green tea and cucumber. At $5.99 a tube, the stuff couldn’t be cheaper. It really rocks.

So, look no further if you need a zit blaster. Just run to your local drugstore and pick up a tube of Wet n Wild. How cool is that?

I’ve been interested in trying to create a smoky eye look for a while now, but I’m always intimidated by how intense it looks. DuWop’s new Smoke duo takes the guesswork out of it with easy instructions printed on the back.

The Smoke duo consists of a cream eyeliner and coordinating powder eyeshadow. The one I have is the “Black Gold” shade. It also comes with two mini-brushes, but I have regular brushes I prefer – although the little “liner” brush is pretty decent. The idea is to use the cream liner first all around the eye, and then use the powder second to create the drama. Does it work? Yes. The liner is very smooth to apply, as is the powder. Using a blending brush worked the best for me to smooth out the edges and create a really soft look.

I took it a step further and used Bare Escentuals’ True Gold Glimmer under the browbone and lightly on top of the whole eye, to enhance the gold effect. It looked stunning. I also used a Stila Smudge Pot in black on the inner rim of my lower lashline – I felt the cream liner wasn’t “sticking” as well as it could. The Smudge Pots don’t budge, and the enhanced black line was awesome. I completed my face with Nars blush in Plaisir (I think it’s discontinued) and a fresh Lip Shine in Wallflower.

I received more compliments today on my makeup than I have in a LONG time. The black gold was, quite frankly, stunning on me. I was very pleasantly surprised – and you’ll be prying Smoke from my cold, dead fingers.

FYI, I have dark brown eyes, dark brown hair, and somewhat fair skin, thanks to the religious application of sunscreen.