Romy Raves

Even though I am California girl and am blessed with living in this beautiful mild climate, winter time still wreaks havoc on my skin. I tend towards normal to dry during most of the year, but during winter and I am even drier and my skin gets flaky and a bit sensitive–and it is buggy and annoying. So now more than ever I need effective yet gentle exfoliating products and great hydrating products to keep my skin smooth, moist, supple and well hydrated–and a couple of Kate Somerville’s fabulous products are really doing the trick right now and I’d like to share them with you.

 Mirco Glycolic Polisher ($90)

This is a professional-strength treatment peel (this is used on celebs in the KS Clinic BTW) that contains a wonderful combo of glycolic and lactic acid which gently exfoliates, resurfaces and restores the skins texture. It also contains blue lotus extract which has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant benefits to calm the skin and fight against free-radical damage.

The reason I am loving this product so much is because it does a wonderful job of exfoliating my skin in a very gentle yet effective way.You can put this peel on your skin for a few minutes (no scrubbing necessary this is a non-abrasive exfoliator) and instantly see a smoother texture–however a KS insider recommended leaving this product on overnight and the results in the AM are AMAZING. After a night time application of the Micro Glycolic Polisher, my skin is soft, smooth, even toned and free of my pesky dry winter skin. Genius!

Quench Hydrating Face Serum ($65)

This is a Kate Somerville cult favorite product because it has a superior hydrating complex that locks in water so your skin stays quenched 24/7. It also contains the most advanced form of Vitamin A which counteracts aging for a more youthful appearance. This magical product gives your skin continuous hydration and a gorgeous, glowing dewy complexion.

This is my all time fav KS product because it truly delivers constant moisture to the skin. I especially love this product in winter because my skin is starved for hydration and this really does the trick. I use it immediately after cleansing and then apply my moisturizer on top which results in luminous, happy, hydrated and healthy looking skin. This product ROCKS! You can find all of these wonderful Kate Somerville products HERE. Got winter skin fixes? Please share and post here.

If you follow beauty trends at all, you probably know that there has been an emerging trend in skincare towards using ingredients with caffeine to wake up the skin and make it glow. This sleep deprived mother and career woman needs all the help she can get in this department, and the right perk-up products make a WORLD of difference.

Fresh (one of my all time favorite brands) has been using instant results ingredients like caffiene for a while–in products like Lotus Eye Gel (one of my Hall of Fame Favorite products) because it hydrates and wake up the eyes rapidly. And now, Fresh is using Black Tea (as a skincare ingredient, not for drinking) in several of their products because it is a wonderful anti-aging, hydrating and instant results ingredient. I have become addicted to a couple of products in Fresh’s Black Tea line:

Black Tea Age-Delay Eye  ($65)

This delightful eye cream utilizes the powerful antioxidant and enzyme inhibiting properties of black tea to firm and smooth the eye area. This eye cream hydrates, maintains elasticity and firmness, diminishes under-eye circles, reduces puffiness, and instantly illuminates the eye area.

The active ingredients include: Black Tea extract which defends against free radicals and maintains the skin’s elasticity and firmness; Lychee seed extract which stimulates collagen growth; Blackberry leaf extract which preserves collagen and elastin; Peptides and antioxidants to diminish under-eye circles and reduce puffiness; Hyaluronic spheres to hydrate, smooth, and firm the skin; Illuminating microspheres to instantly brighten the eyes; and rose flower oil and cucumber flower extract are soothing and smell fresh and clean.

What I love about this eye product is that it is the perfect amount of moisture for my eyes, absorbs instantly, quickly refreshes and perks up my eyes and has a yummy fresh cucumber scent. I definitely notice diminished puffiness and a smoothing of my fine lines after I use this cream.

Black Tea Instant Perfecting Mask ($85)

This is an intense hydrating treatment mask that immediately reveals softer, more supple, and younger-looking skin. This innovative product firms the complexion and improves the skin’s elasticity; it leaves skin feeling velvety, soft and smooth and looking resilient and radiant; it smooths the texture of the skin and decreases skin roughness; and it hydrates, nourishes, soothes and improves skin tone.

The active ingredients include: Black tea to refine the skin’s texture, enhance radiance and smoothness; Lychee seed extract; Firming polysaccharides which give an immediate lifting effect and work to reduce fine lines and wrinkles over time; and Hyaluronic spheres to immediately hydrate and plump up the skin.

I absolutely LOVE this product! It is uber cool to use and touch because it has a very silky lighter than air texture that glides on beautifully, is slightly cooling calming hydrating and plumping all at the same time. My skin adores this mask, especially when it is dry and irritated (like now). My face drinks in the moisture and it instantly looks plumper, refreshed and brighter (I use it before special occassions for the that ‘wow’ effect). And I think the best part about this product is that the user experience is SO good, you feel it working to heal and transform your skin. You can find all these wonderful Fresh products HERE.