Priori Perfection: The Dream Foundation/Sunscreen Combo

Today I went to the Bradford Skin Clinic just down the street from me. I have walked by this place numerous times, but was hesistant to check it out. I didn't think I had any real, serious issues with my skin, at least not enough to see a clinic about. But after feeling frustrated with all my recent breakouts and oily feeling skin, I emailed the clinic inquiring about a chemical peel.
What is a chemical peel you ask? Well, it sounds scary but they really aren't. Back in the day they used to be, but technology has advanced and they can do wonders for your face. Essentially, the peel goes beneath the surface and does a very deep clean of the pores and gets rid of dead skin. Within a few weeks of your peel, your skin will actually start to peel off and renew itself, giving you a fresh, rejuivinated look. After doing some research online, I thought this was the answer to my problems. But after my appointment today at the clinic, I am not so sure that is what I really need.

I met with the specialist, Mia who did an assessment on my skin and asked me lots of questions regarding my stress levels, my sun exposure and my skin routine.
She was very nice and honest and I appreciated all the knowledge she shared with me about the skin.

After my assessment, she said my skin was not that bad but pretty oily. She said eventually I could do a chemical peel if I really wanted, but instead reccommended switching my skin care routine.
She brought me to the back room where she cleansed my face with a deep sea facial cleanser called "Arad". Immediately I felt my skin almost "dry up" of all the oil. It was like magic. She informed me that products from the dead sea are the best things to use on your skin. You have probably seen those sales people at the mall in kiosks trying to encourage you to test out and purchase their dead sea skin products before. Mia said that most of those places do not sell real dead sea products because in order to actually go to the Dead Sea and obtain the minerals, you need a license. Very interesting. So I was assured that the products on my face were real Dead Sea products, coming from Israel (as it said right on the bottle).

Now the next product was a sunscreen/mineral foundation combo by Priori, called CoffeeBerry.  This foundation has an SPF 25 and is used mainly for sun protection. (The most important anti-aging product you can use). She applied it with a brush like any regular foundation, and I was amazed with how quickly my blemishes and imperfections blurred away. The coverage was amazing! I looked airbrushed once she was done. And of course, I was sold!  Piori is not sold in stores but through dermatologists and skin specialists (and of course online!).

I was happy I went to this consultation because I felt like I am now steered in the right direction towards better skin. It is worth checking into if you are looking for better ways at improving your skin care routine or have more serious skin issues. It was very interesting and I learned a bit more about my skin type and what it needs.

I will give an update in a couple weeks after I have used the products for a while. Oh and in case you are wondering about the cost....hopefully my boyfriend is not reading this....but the cleanser was $49 and the foundation was $60. The foundation she said will last me for a year, so that is a good investment. The cleanser is very pricy, but hopefully it will help keep my skin looking better.

PS - July Glossybox is in the mail so stay tuned for a review later this week!

Clean and Clear - Semi Under Control!

It's summer. It's hot, hazy, humid and just plain sticky. With this heat, my face can't stop sweating! (Gross!) In the past few weeks with temperatures rising to above 40 degrees, my face somehow transformed into a graveyard for blackheads and dirt, thus causing a lot of breakouts. The worst was last weekend while at an outdoor concert, my face got too much sun. The next day my whole face felt like someone stretched a piece of leather over it and more pimples started to form. The dehydration plus all the dirt and oil had taken its toll. I had to do something!

Since I am on a bit of a budget these days, I decided to forgo the expensive trip to Sephora and went to Shoppers Drug Mart instead to see what I could find for my face. This is where I sat 20 minutes in the moisturizer section looking for a facial moisturizer that had/combatted:

-SPF 15 (or higher)
-Antiaging
-Acne/Breakouts
-Sensitive skin

And could you believe, there was not ONE product that did all of these things? Sheesh! I thought we lived in a consumer's market here. Anyways, I ended up having a hard time deciding on the right one for me because not all of them did everything I wanted.

I decided to go for Clean and Clear's Dual Action Moisturizer. It's oil free (which is good for my sensitive skin) and treats and prevents pimples. I remember using this back when I was in high school and it worked wonders for me back then. It was only $8.99 for a 118mL bottle.

Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturizer

The downside is that there is no SPF 15 or antiwrinkle properties in this one. Oh well. I thought the current pimples on my face were more important than my non-existent wrinkles at the time. Besides, I can always use my Neutrogena SPF that I got in last month's Glossy Box after I use my moisturizer.

It's been about 5 days since I bought Clean and Clear and my face has definately improved. I love that there is salicylic acid in this moisturizer, it tingles as soon as it hits your face. And as the commercials used to always claim, that's how you know it's working!

If you are having trouble battling with breakouts this summer and are looking for a budget friendly product to help out, I would surely reccommend the Clean and Clear Dual Action Moisturizer. Your face will see sunnier days.