I've been in the market for some new skincare products, so I've been trying a number of different items lately that I will post about. I tend to "mix and match" my skincare products (an eye cream from one brand, a serum from another), but I know that some prefer to use one brand for everything. Keep in mind that although chemically some products work better together to enhance the benefits, which is the primary idea behind using a single skincare line for all your needs, the main reason to use one skincare line is the convenience and ease of one-stop shopping. If you do some research and understand what types of products work best together (and I hope to demystify this process in the coming weeks with my "Magic Potions" breakdown as well as other skincare posts), you will probably get more benefit by tailoring your skincare to your personal needs and budget regardless of brands. Some skincare lines make a great eye cream but not-so-great or overpriced cleanser.
That said, if you do prefer to stick to one line for your skincare, StriVectin is certainly a beauty-insider favorite. StriVectin earned cult-status as a skincare miracle line when it burst onto the scene with its famous stretch-mark cream turned anti-wrinkle powerhouse. It then came out with an eye cream to seriously battle dark circles, even those vicious genetic dark circles that other eye creams couldn't touch. Since then, the line has expanded to include more basic skincare as well as other breakthroughs in anti-aging. I decided to try using StriVectin -- and only StriVectin -- products for seven days to see if I saw a noticeable improvement in my skin during that time. Since StriVectin does not yet make a facial cleanser, I used Cetaphil, a very gentle fragrance-free cleanser. In fairness, I will note that you won't see the maximum benefit of most skincare products until you have used them consistently (that's twice a day) for 30-90 days. However, we live in a world of instant-gratification, and many skincare products now tout their instant and short-term benefits, so while I did not approach this experiment expecting a miracle, I was hoping to see some noticeable improvement in my skin's overall appearance and texture. Here's what I tried, what it was supposed to do for me in terms of short-term benefits, and my review.
Intensive Concentrate for Stretch Marks and Wrinkles
This is a new-and-improved version of the original stretch mark cream that turned out to be even better at treating wrinkles on the face. After washing my face, I applied this in the morning as a spot treatment to the areas on my face where I'm starting to see some lines, especially those pesky expression lines on the forehead. Although ideal results are promised in eight weeks, I can tell you that I did see a visible improvement and softening of my expression lines in just one week. I am going to get a full-size bottle soon and conduct a full eight-week experiment and take pictures to test just how well this stuff works, but I was happy with my one-week results. I do have one complaint: this cream is very thick and difficult to blend in. The upshot is that a little goes a long way, and at $135 for a 5 oz tube, you want to use as little as possible in order to make it last. But it definitely takes some time to blend in. About twice as long as it would take to blend virtually any other anti-wrinkle treatment I've tried. That is a minus for me because I like to get through my skincare routine as quickly as possible. If it takes too long, I won't do it. On the other hand, if it really does produce the kind of results it promises (25% reduction in deep wrinkles in 8 weeks), then it might be worth the extra time and attention. Overall, I liked this product and will definitely revisit it in the future for a longer trial despite its hefty price-tag.
Overnight Facial Resurfacing Serum
In lieu of the wrinkle cream, I used this as my nighttime treatment. It is a serum that comes in a dropper, but one thing that I really liked about this serum (having tried many many serums that are liquid-like in texture and drip all over the place) is that it had an almost-gel-like texture, making it easy to dispense a dropper-full of it on my finger tip and blend it into my skin without having any product slide off my finger before getting it to my face. There are serums for nearly every skintype and problem, but this one is designed to be a universal product for all ages and skintypes. The primary benefit is exfoliation or "light" resurfacing. It's nice to get exfoliation from a smooth serum as opposed to the typical grainy scrubs. It's supposed to give you brighter, smoother, more luminous skin instantly. The first thing I noticed about this is that it left my skin with a somewhat filmy/sticky feeling. That would be a death sentence if it was designed as a day treatment, since it creates a poor base for applying makeup, but as a night-treatment, that's not automatically a deal-breaker for me. What was a deal-breaker is that after a week of use, I did not see a real improvement in my skin's look or texture to the touch. I'm used to using Estee Lauder's Idealist as an exfoliating/refinishing treatment, and I must say that the Idealist makes my skin feel much smoother and silky to the touch and I can use it during the day under makeup. Idealist is also a bit cheaper than the StriVectin product, so I'm going to have to give StriVectin's overnight serum a thumbs-down.
Eye Cream
This is a multitasking eye cream, designed to combat dark circles, creases, lines, and puffiness all in one. I am a huge fan of multitasking eye creams so I was excited to try this one. Eye cream is the main skincare product that I am passionate about. The eye area is the first part of your face to show signs of aging, it's extremely delicate skin, and it's very dry even if the rest of your face is oily. I always tell people who are not into skincare, especially men, that if they do nothing else they should at least use eye cream and sunscreen. I really wanted to like this eye cream: it has a nice texture, a non-offensive scent, and it doesn't feel sticky or greasy as some eye creams can. I did notice a tiny improvement in the lines around my eyes, but my big problem with this eye cream is that I felt like it wasn't really that hydrating. The skin around my eyes is dry but normal-dry, not extremely dry. So if I feel like it's not really moisturizing, I imagine that someone with very dry eye-skin would not like this cream at all. I've tried some other eye creams lately (Arbonne, Skynn Iceland, and Korres), which I will blog about as part of my Magic Potions series that blow the StriVectin one out of the water. While I think that it does deliver on its promises to de-puff, de-circle, and de-line, it fails to do the most important things an eye cream should do: hydrate. Hydration is the key to prevention. Unless you have very oily skin around the eyes, I would look elsewhere for an eye cream.
Instant Moisture Repair
This is StriVectin's signature moisturizer. It's supposed to go deep into the skin cells to replenish cell-moisture and your skin's natural "moisture cushion." It promises to increase the skin's moisture by 30% within the first hour. Hello instant results! But did it deliver? Well yes, my skin definitely felt more hydrated than immediately before when I didn't have moisturizer on. But I don't think that is really the relevant comparison. At minimum and by definition, a moisturizer should increase your skin's moisture instantly. The relevant comparison is how well does it hydrate in comparison to other moisturizers. The answer is: better than some, not as good as others. Overall, I was underwhelmed. On the plus side, this moisturizer was very lightweight and left my skin feeling refreshed rather than greasy. My skin looked visibly healthier and softer immediately after use. On the downside, I look for moisturizers that do a little something extra for me: like giving my skin a healthy glow or noticeably firming and tightening. I just didn't get that "something extra" out of it that sets apart the cream of the crop when it comes to moisturizers. And while I felt that the hydration-level was sufficient for my summertime skin which tends to be more combination, I don't think it would provide enough moisture during my dry-skin winters. I liked it, and I think it's reasonably priced at $59 for 2 oz, but I wasn't wowed. I would recommend this as a solid introductory moisturizer for teenagers who aren't really concerned with firming or dullness yet and those who have more oily skin.
Neck Cream
I was very excited to try StriVectin's night cream because I've never used one before. In recent years, I have started to notice a loss of elasticity in the neck and general dryness, so I've been considering adding a neck cream to my skincare routine. But since it's an additional investment of time and money, I haven't really gotten serious about it until I got a small tube of this neck cream in my 7-day sample kit. This particular cream promises to smooth and tighten the neck and decolletage as well as improve any discolorations. First, the goods stuff: this cream felt fantastic going on, and within a few minutes, my neck felt firmer, moister, and more elastic to the touch. It also just looked better, less dull and more healthy in general. I would rush out any buy this tomorrow if it wasn't for one major complaint: it smells bad. It's not just that it smells bad in the medicinal way that is common among cosmetics, it's odorous. To be frank, it smells like sweat. At first, I blamed myself. It has been a hot California July, and I thought maybe something in the cream was just bringing out a smell in my skin. But after using it for one-week straight and sniffing the tube, I have confirmed that it is definitely the cream. I can smell it in the tube, but it intensifies when you apply it to the skin, even freshly-showered perfectly clean skin. It's really disappointing because it makes my neck feel and look so good. But the smell lingers for an hour at least, and god-forbid that you go to the gym after applying it or do anything where you actually DO sweat, because that will make the smell worse. And forget applying perfume to your neck because it will just get funktified. After reading the ingredient list to try to find out what could possibly be the culprit, I suspect that it's the yeast extract, which is one of the top five ingredients. I've never seen that ingredient used in a skincare product before, and I'm not sure what type of benefits it provides, but I hope that StriVectin will reconsider using it in their cream or devise some sort of a way to combat the scent. If you can get past the smell, it's a great neck cream. In fairness to StriVectin, I do have a friend in the cosmetics industry who loves this stuff, and she claims that it smells more like beer to her and it doesn't bother her. Perhaps I'm just sensitive, but I'm going to look elsewhere for a neck cream.
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