Did you know that artificial lighting can do damage to your skin? Many people protect their skin from the sun’s harmful rays with sunscreen, but don’t protect themselves indoors.

Artificial lighting emits high levels of blue light which penetrates all the way to the dermis level. The blue light can cause free radical damage to cell membranes, leading to accelerated skin aging - and who needs that!

Bioelements Lutein Indoor Protective Day Crème is the first and only product on the market designed specifically to address harmful blue light.

This new, rich cream moisturizer utilizes 100% natural lutein derived from the petal of the marigold flower. The natural yellow carotenoid pigment only found in lutein absorbs and filters out potentially damaging blue light from visible light. It sounds like an interesting technology and we can all use as much anti-aging protection as we can get.

The lutein in this cream is a highly effective antioxidant that hydrates the skin and also helps to protect it from indoor pollution. You can get Bioelements Lutein Indoor Protective Day Crème for $49.50 (2.5 oz). It is available online at Dermstore.com or SkinCareRX.com, as well as in spas nationwide.

Bioelements is used by makeup artists on the sets of Ugly Betty, Brothers and Sisters, Dancing with the Stars, and Kath & Kim.

Photo credit: Dermstore

From the Splendicity community, comes this week best in beauty, fashion and shopping.

SHOPPING

NY Spender suggests that “if you buy only one pair of shoes this fall, buy one with stacked heels.“

Her Accessories is celebrating the cooler weather with a roundup of her favorite fall jackets.

Gleaming Things loves Givenchy’s look of layered chains, but they just aren’t in the budget right now - these picks are though!

Shopalicious finds a very stylish quilted handbag — with an eco-friendly twist! (Plus a coupon for 10% off!)

Chic by Nature has a great wrap top that you can wear out and then to bed.

There’s some serious inspiration afloat over at All That & a with more inspiration-themed jewelry.

FASHION

Sasha of Style Manila creates a boho-look on an 11-year old named Sylvie.

Tops 2 Bottoms shares an style idea, Layered, Belted, and Plaid for her weekly Work Wear Monday series.

Viva Woman shows you how corsages can make your attire more feminine and romantic.

Style…a work in progress finds inspiration in a little bear called Paddington

Petite Fashionista shows you how to update your Fall wardrobe with pieces that will keep you; comfy, cozy and chic!

The Space Between My Peers categorizes the looks at the bottom of the formality scale into Three Levels of Leisure.

BEAUTY

Beauty Bento Box features the elegantly packaged, eyeliner-slash-eyeshadow Kohl cosmetic, Guerlain Terracotta Loose Powder Kohl Liner.

Karen from Makeup and Beauty Blog shows you how to get an easy, elegant smoky eye with the Smoky Eye Quad from Chanel.

My Women Stuff discusses whetherSilicone is good or bad for the skin.

Krizia from Beauty Match declares: We tried Pro-V Restoratives and said bye-bye FRIZZ!.

Beauty and Fashion Tech looks at three bright handbags that look more expensive than they are”.

Today is the day.  Through the end of the day today, you can use the offer code MACFF8 on MACcosmetics.com ONLY, and receive 15% off of all of your purchases.  w00t!

I would love to recommend the *coolest scrub evah* – the Volcanic Ash Exfoliator, but it is sold out (*sob*).  Watch for this to reappear online, or get thee to the store and pick it up.  It is a big 4.5 oz  tub of the neatest, blackest, most effective scrub you have ever seen (Tia, you will love this if you haven’t tried it – it is a SCRUB, baby!!).  Fun!  And at only $19, its a don’t miss from MAC. 

I still say to pick up MAC’s Mineralize powder foundation – it is great.  Dazzleglass – this is a don’t miss lip gloss.  I am also super duper in love with Solar Riche, a bronzing powder from the Solar Field collection.  This is one of the few bronzers that is cool enough to use on my skin.  No orangey bronzer here, no ma’am!  They also have another color, Refined Golden, if you are a warm skin. ;)   This is gorgeous, $20, in a cool neon orange compact, and is Limited Edition, so hurry on over to MAC!!

Image:MAC Cosmetics

Dr. Nicholas Perricone’s cosmeceutical skin care line has had a makeover.  Out are the medical looking jars and bottles, and in is a sleek new look for each product and a new name, PerriconeMD Cosmeceuticals.

PerriconeMD’s Lynda Berkowitz, VP of Sales, tells WWD the reason for making these changes to the aesthetic of the system: “It used to be that she relied on the recommendation of her dermatologist or aesthetician. Now she has the confidence to make her own decision.”  Good for you!

The line now is divided into color coded categories (which I think is a GREAT change for the better):  Age Prevent for youthful skin, Age Correct for fine lines, Age Less to plump deep lines and sagging skin, Skin Clear to treat and prevent acne and Targeted care for specific needs.

I love Perricone’s products, but one of my biggest beefs with them was that there were so many products in little brown jars that it was really hard to pick and choose what you needed.  This should solve that.  My other beef is that all those little jars are crazy expensive.  But hopefully now that I know what I need via the color codes I won’t waste money trying to discern all those little jars now. 

via WWD (check out a preview image of the product line here)

And check out Dr. Perricone’s latest book, Ageless Face, Ageless Mind at Amazon.

Image:  Amazon.com

I have had some big fun playing with some Nicole Paxson cosmetics of late. Nicole has designed a range of foundations that are meant to have great coverage in order to cover up skin disorders due to - well, any reason you might have. Nicole has Lupus, which has caused her a wide variety of unpleasant skin reactions - rashes and photo-sensitivity among them. Her range includes powder (one color works for all), cream foundations, liquid foundation, bronzer and concealer. Each product has a nice SPF - from 15 (powder) to 30 (most foundations) with both UVA and UVB coverage. All of these products, while having great coverage, are not heavy or mask-y like some others you may have used.

While thankfully I don’t have some of the skin problems that her line is designed to cover (and does cover, very well), I have found great use/need for the Pudding - for my old lady spidery veins on my leg. I know, not so beautiful. The color I have, Light, matches my winter skin very well, but I am going to purchase a darker color (it comes in three shades, Light, Medium and Dark) and then have both to mix for any time of the year (this is what I do with most foundations, btw). Unlike Dermablend, which is what I used to use for this, is a very creamy light formula (really, think pudding) with incredible coverage and it lasts forever. It dries down to a powder/matte finish and is going on my next big pimple that comes along, for sure. Pudding is $38.50 for a 1 ounce jar - and really, this should last a good long time, as it only takes the tiniest bit to do the job.

Have you tried any of Nicole Paxson’s foundations? Let me know what you think…

Vichy Laboratories, which is currently a division of L’Oreal, has been around since 1931 and have had a strong foothold in Europe.  Up until recently I hadn’t been very familiar with their line, not for any particular reason other than I just hadn’t made it around to check them out.  But I have now a little, and I do like very much what I’ve seen.  All of their products contain Vichy Thermal Spa Water (with the one exception of their Nutrilogie Lip product), a mineral filled spring water from Vichy, France,water which has been recognized by the French Academy of Medicine and recommended for sensitive skin.

Their skin care line is broken down into skin types: 

• Purite Thermale - for sensitive skin
• Nutrilogie - for dry skin
• Thermal Fix - for dehydrated skin
• NormaDerm - for acne prone skin
• Oligo 25 - for dull skin
• Meokine - for signs of aging
• LiftactivPRO - for skin that has aged
• NeOVADIAL - for hormonal related aging - saggy skin structure
• Reti-C  for wrinkles and uneven complexion
• Dermablend - makeup for skin imperfections
• Capitol  Soleil 15 - sun protection
• Lipo-metric - body care for cellulite
• Lipidose - for dry body skin

Each of these lines have specific products geared towards a particular skin type/problem.  While the huge list above might be a little confusing, Vichy has covered nearly every issue that you might need covered.  For me, I would probably jump back and forth between the NormaDerm and the Purite Thermale for my cleansing regimen and use the LiftactivPRO for moisturization, as I have discovered that only using acne products is causing my aging (aged?  ugh.) skin even more problems. 

Right now I am using one of Vichy’s best sellers, the Detoxifying Rinse-off Foam Cleanser (from the Purite Thermale collection - $15).  To me, this feels more like a cream cleanser, is super easy to use and does a fantastic job dissolving makeup.  I alternate this with their NormaDerm Deep Cleansing Gel ($14), because I have all of those acne issues to contend with.  So far, this program is working really nicely for me - my skin is looking better and better every day.  We will see what happens when “that time” of the month rolls around where the pimples roam free.

My next purchase will be the NeOvadiol - as sagginess is something I have really been noticing lately.  Thankfully, Vichy Laboratories skin care products are really priced reasonably, making finding what is just right for your skin a little easier on the wallet.  A little more expensive than your general drug store brand but nowhere near some of the more luxe brands.  Vichy has a long and great history, and I am happy to see them showing up more prominently in the U.S.

Have you had experience with Vichy Laboratories products?  How did they work for you?

All images:  Vichy Laboratories

And starting today! Actress Emma Samms (love love love her!) and Dr. Victor will be on ShopNBC the first part of this week selling his skin care line, stevenvictormd. My best girlfriend is a HUGE fan of this line - it is very luxe (and I expect they will have some really good deals on ShopNBC) and has some wonderful anti-aging components that you don’t want to miss.

Here is the schedule:

Image: stevenvictormd.com

Ok, I admit it.  Sometimes I get sucked in by great sales pitches on HSN (and QVC, and my alma mater JTV).  Such a thing happened a few days before I left for SXSW.  I was having a sleepless night and watching M. Asam present on HSN.  They have a line of anti-aging face care that really, compared to what I spend on my skin care normally, is quite a reasonable price.  I was doing well resisting until they pulled out the Perfect Teint.  I wish I had a clip of the video, because MAN was it convincing.  What this product essentially is is a primer.  A wonderful, amazing primer.  A primer that you can smooth over your wrinkles and see them disappear.  Yep, disappear.  Right before your very eyes. 

To me, Perfect Teint feels like Smashbox’s Photo Finish primer, but thicker - it is more of a cream than a liquid, whereas Smashbox is closer to a liquid.  Perfect Teint has the same silicon-y texture as Photo Finish as well.  This was something that had to grow on me with Smashbox, but I loved the way that it smoothed over my imperfections so much that it was worth getting used to.  This product is exactly the same.  The biggest difference that I can see between Perfect Teint and Smashbox is that the PT really will cover deeper wrinkles, pores and imperfections than the Photo Finish will.  Really, you can see your wrinkles leave your face as you smooth it on.  My mother used it while we were in San Antonio over the weekend and inquired how we could buy this by the gallon.  It really is quite good.  The effect lasts through the day, and I have been using it for about 2 weeks now, and have no signs of breaking out, clogged pores or anything untoward at all.  The only place I can really find this is through HSN - this is supposed to be a product that has gained some popularity in Europe - if there are any folks reading that have any sort of history with this product, I would LOVE to hear from you. 

Check it out at HSN, where you can get Perfect Teint by itself for $29.95 (with an autoship option that I think I WILL be taking upon my next order), or as a part of a kit.  I bought the kit, and the other products seem to be quite nice too, but will reserve judgement until I have really given it a full run.  But the Perfect Teint is too good to hold off on.  Check it out if you haven’t - really.  Man I love home shopping.

Image source - HSN.com

‘ Tis the season for lizard skin.  It is for me anyway.  This time, every year like clockwork, my skin turns pasty white and disgustingly scaly.  Really, its not cute.  So I am always searching out body creams desperately this time of the year.  There are, of course, no shortage of good ones out there, but the one I have been using most recently is the new Vitalization from Bioelements.  Bioelements is one of my all time favorite skin care brands so I always really love to check out what they have out that is new, and Vitalization is, not surprisingly, a great, rich body cream. 

The key features of this multifunction cream are:  “Regulates moisture to banish dryness, smoothes away rough brittle surface cells (hello!), encourages a firmer body (uh huh), restores radiance to skin and surrounds the body with the enticing aroma of pure botanical oils.”  Pretty dreamy stuff.

Along with some groovy peptides and amino acids, Vitalization also contains 10 botanical oils, shea butter, red tea and beta carotene.   The fragrance is good, but light and nothing that clashes with your fragrance at all.  It is thick, but creamy, not REALLY thick like some of the other shea butter products out there. 

For those of you that are concerned about this sort of thing, Bioelements products are not tested on animals, use no artificial colors or fragrances and contain organic botanicals (have you visited Pretty by Nature lately?).  Vitalization is sold in a big 8 oz jar, and can be purchased at DermStore for $49.50.  DermStore also has a deal going on right now, with a $125 purchase, receive a free Pumice Peel (exfoliating cream - $48 value).  That’s a great product too - in fact, I really have never met a Bioelements product I didn’t really love.  Sleepwear - the best night cream going.  So spend a little time at DermStore and try out Bioelements if you haven’t - I am positive you will love it!

Derivatives of the active ingredient in Lumigan, a glaucoma drug that has a beautiful side effect - lengthening of your lashes - have been showing up over the last couple of years in the beauty trade, most notably in Jan Marini’s Age Intervention Eyelash. The FDA became concerned about the non-prescription use of this prescription drug and embargoed the supply last year, and seized more of the old supply this week. Also there are several products with a derivative of Lumigan in some relatively expensive products, that have been among those named in a lawsuit earlier this month from Allergan, the makers of Lumigan:

Jan Marini’s Age Intervention Eyelash Conditioner ($160) (a new product made in response to the embargo of the Age Intervention Eyelash last year)

Athena Cosmetics RevitaLash ($150)

PhotoMedex’s MD Lash Factor ($140)

This is the eyelash product that I use on occasion, and the company claims that it is not made from the same product, but the closest I can get to the ingredient is “Eyelash Growth Promoter Complex”:

DermaLash from DermaQuest ($90)

These types of products will most likely not cause permanent change, meaning that you will have to keep using them to keep reaping the benefits, and you should be able to use them on your eyebrows if yours are sparse. I have honestly been too willy-nilly, and too skeptical to keep using them for a long period of time, so I don’t have a great testimony to offer you, but I think I will give my DermaLash a better try now and see what happens.

Now, should you want to try Lumigan itself on your lashes, there is no law barring your doctor from prescribing it to you, as once a prescription drug is approved by the FDA, it can be prescribed for anything. The trick is finding a doctor who will do it. I would love to hear from any of you who are doing this. Is it easy to get doctors to prescribe this for you? Have you found one who won’t? What are their concerns with using Lumigan without glaucoma?

Source: Wall Street Journal