ROC Retinol Correxion Sensitive Night Cream

As a 26 year year old I've already started preventative aging practices. My 48 year old mother shunned eye cream that I tried to pass on to her because she's "not an old lady". Sigh! I, for one, want to prevent aging before it starts but if genetics are in my corner I know I'll be doing fine. Despite living with a smoker for the last 9 years my mom still has pretty amazing skin. She's got some lines but she doesn't look "old".

Retinols are the most effective products for aging and they have the added benefit of being great for acne as well. I picked up ROC's overnight retinol but found it a little too strong for every day use. If I use it every night my face starts to peel and flake although it never gets red and raw. What I started doing was layering it over Estee Lauder's Advanced Night Repair Serum. I let the serum soak in for five minutes and then add a light layer of the retinol. The baby powder scent is a little much for me but it's not annoyingly strong. And I ALWAYS end up with an itchy nose about 10 minutes after I apply this stuff. What is up with that? I can still only use it every other day but most nights I forget anyway.

Over the course of my trials I've tried a few different retinol products, one from Neutrogena and one from ROC as well as prescription retinoids. Wow were those strong. I got immediate peeling and redness after just one use, I guess my skin is too sensitive. Now ROC has a new product Retinol Correxion Sensitive Night Cream. How great is that? Retinol for sensitive skin. I can skip the extra step of adding a serum and get the full benefits of a retinol product. At $23 it's also highly affordable and available at most drugstores and mass market stores like Walmart and Target. Check it out if you wanna head off looking "old" before you're actually O-L-D!

Origins Plantscription

Origins Plantscription is a product I've been meaning to write about for a while, I just never got around to it. Well, it's about damn time, made even better by the fact that Origins is giving away a week's supply both in store and with online orders from Origins.com.

While I'm lucky to have good genes, aging wise, in my family I know I can do even better if I hop on the anti-aging bandwagon now at the ripe old age of 26. It's never too soon to start and Plantscription claims to give 88% of the visible wrinkle-reducing power of a prescription with 0% irritation. I don't know about you but I don't have the time or inclination to sit at the doctor's office for a prescription when I could just pop into Origins (or order online, since my state is too unsophisticated to have an Origins) and get the same results without the peely, red skin. Seriously, I've used Retin-A for acne and let me tell you even a low dose, used every other day leaves me looking like a flaky mess, so dry and irritated that I feel like scratching my face off. Um, no thanks! Plus, at $55 Plantscription's a heck of a lot cheaper for a lot more product.

The texture of this serum is on the lighter end of the spectrum to help it sink in to get right to work firming up the skin. I'm a huge lover of serums for the way they make my skin feel, they don't even feel like they are there, perfect for hot summer days and under heavier creams in the colder months. It's formulated for use day or night, alone or with other products from the line or those you already use and love. The barely there fragrance won't irritate those with delicate sniffers or offend you as you go about your day. As you probably gathered I'm highly picky when it comes to the scents in my skincare products, I love light and fresh, fruity smells but I can't get down with heavy or lavender based scents.

As with any anti-aging product make sure to really load up on SPF to keep your skin looking fresh, not that lobster red you can easily get. I'm not a dermatologist but I believe that the more quickly your skin turns over and sheds the more susceptible you are to the sun, therefore products that speed up cell turnover are going to leave you more vulnerable. If you normally wear SPF daily I'd even suggest adding perhaps another layer in the form of a moisturizer, serum or cosmetic product or upping your SPF factor to be on the safe side. Better safe than sorry!