Two good things happen for your skin with the advent of autumn: you’re less prone to sun damage – and you’re drinking red wine again.
Red wine contains resveratrol, which activates collagen production while also blocking certain aging processes.
So go ahead: chug that red wine in the name of good skin.
Red wine and kale: that’s like a steroid for your skin. Along with spinach and beets, all of which are high in antioxidants. Eat those winter vegetables, such as Brussels sprouts and broccoli.
Good nutrition is the best complement to good cosmeceuticals. And since you’re cleaning the fridge and cleansing your closet of summer clothing, think about adding some new product to your bathroom cabinet. Your face deserves a new attitude, too.
Think of the French and you often think of their effortless chic – and their flawless skin. What in the world are they drinking over there? Are they bathing in Perrier and red wine? Is that what keeps their skin looking so radiant?
One of the items in the luxury gift bags for People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful of 2012” was Matriskin’s High Performance Cream. Used by celebrities such as Eva Longoria, who contends that Matriskin has “dramatically reduced the wrinkles in my face,” the high-performance French skincare system is now available in the US.
Matriskin promotes the production of collagen with a high concentration of active ingredients and a unique use of patented molecules. The line is recommended for ages 25 and up for Matriskin’s preventative and curative properties in treating wrinkles, acne, and dark spots.
One of Matriskin’s most popular products, High Performance Cream is a lightweight cream that utilizes a combination of peptides and polysaccharides to help fortify the protective function of the skin. The result on your skin is smooth and silky. Or as one Matriskin devotee contends, High Performance Cream is “like Botox in a bottle of cream.” Leave the needles for sewing and use Matriskin instead.
PRICE: $120.00 / 1.7 oz.
LINK: Matriskin Technology High Performance Cream
You see those gruesome ads on the subway cars advertising facial peeling – and you think, Really?
Relax. We’ve moved into the next generation in facial peeling with a one-step resurfacing treatment that gently exfoliates the skin without burning off your face.
Created by Dr. Marko Lens, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Zelens products are based on Lens’s expertise in the field of skin cancer and aging skin. Plant-derived ingredients are utlized with biotechnological cosmeceuticals to create products that protect and repair the skin.
The key thing to remember about facial peeling is that it reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. (Frankly, what more do you need to know?)
Zelens uses PHA (polyhydroxy acids), as well as bio-available AHA: lactic acid produced from the fermentation of sugar and citric acid derived from citrus fruit. Think sugar scrub and orange peels; think natural. The sodium lactate acts as an exfoliant, while also enabling plant-derived ingredients to penetrate deeper into the skin. AHA also helps with the production of collagen, giving your skin that healthy plumpness that signifies youth and vitality.
Use Zelens Bio-Peel Resurfacing Facial Pads in the morning – and before you collapse into bed.
And don’t be surprised when you look younger than Honey Boo Boo.
PRICE: $95.00 / 50 pads
LINK: Zelens PHA+ Bio-Peel Resurfacing Facial Pads
Dermalogica: Multivitamin Power Serum
Yum. We took this one with us on a recent trip to Istanbul – where the median age is 23. When in Rome, right? You want to blend in as best you can – and Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Serum is determined to make you look as young as you feel.
Rather than relying on only one key ingredient, Multivitamin Power Serum is like a multi-vitamin for your face. An age-fighting serum fortified with vitamins A, C, E, and F, all of which increase cell renewal by providing fatty acids and antioxidants, this serums also contains a new ingredient called HPR, a retinoid ester that helps reduce surface roughness and sun-induced aging. The result is a smoother skin tone – the kind of skin you recall from when you were in your twenties.
Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Serum goes on your face like the softest velvet – or like the fuzz on a fresh peach, which is how it makes you feel, too: like something blooming in morning sun.
The truth is, we didn’t get carded at any of the Istanbul bars, but on the other hand, no one mistook us for a fossil either.
Best of all, this is one those emollients that packs easily. You might even think about keeping it in your pocket as you glide through security at the airport. If someone asks, tell them it’s your fountain of youth.
PRICE: $65.00 / .75 oz.
LINK: Dermalogica Multivitamin Power Serum
Certain men that we know find certain moisturizers anathema to their skin – but not Liz Earle Skin Moisturizer Light. Something about this light and gentle moisturizer appeals to many men who might otherwise eschew face lotions.
Maybe it’s because this moisturizer is easily absorbed, without any residue on the skin. And maybe it’s because Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturizer Light leaves your skin looking radiant without looking shiny.
Founded in 1995 by two long-time friends with beauty industry backgrounds, Liz Earle’s award-winning skincare products are formulated with the finest quality naturally active ingredients.
Skin Repair Moisturizer Light is fortified with plant oils, including borage seed, one of the richest sources of the GLA fatty acid, which locks moisture onto the skin. There’s also hops extract, noted for its astringent and toning properties, echinacea, and beta-carotene, which has antioxidant properties. Avocado oil provides vitamin E and leaves the skin smooth and soft.
Something about this light and effective moisturizer makes it right for nearly every man we know. We’re thinking ahead to the holidays.
PRICE: $31.00 / 1.6 fl. oz.
LINK: Liz Earle Skin Repair Moisturizer Light
Olive oil is everything – as the Greeks knew and as does everyone who eats a Mediterranean diet. Think about it: think about the skin of those people who live along the Mediterranean. Salt water and olive oil equals beautiful skin.
Olive oil is a great source of vitamin E, as well as a superb antioxidant that helps fight the signs of aging. Skin&Co. has a two-in-one product that is both a serum and a facial oil that combines olive oil with shea butter from West Africa. The olive oil soothes dry skin while the shea butter provides deep hydration. Olive Sier-Oil also contains bee’s wax to combat dry skin and panthenol, which is a potent form of vitamin B5.
Founded in 1911, Skin&Co’s first emporium in Umbria, Italy produced personal hygiene products for a local clientele. A century later, Skin&Co. is still owned and managed by the third generation of the founding family.
This light oil immediately absorbs into your skin, almost as if you’ve airbrushed your skin with egg white, leaving your face with a hint of a shimmer. You can almost feel the rich shea butter moisturizing your pores, while the bee’s wax soothes and tightens. You look in the mirror and your face looks as though you’ve spent a week at a spa in Scottsdale.
Packaged in elegant containers that look like something the royal families of Europe might sanction, Skin&Co products are as seductive on the shelf as they are on the body. You might consider Skin&Co. products for the upcoming holiday season – and especially for those friends and family members who remark upon your radiant skin.
PRICE: $32.00 / 1 oz.
LINK: Skin&Co. Roma Olive Sier-Oil
