L’Oreal’s Wrinkle De-Crease Collagen Filler

Guest blog written by Candice Stone (@CandiceStone)

My first fine lines around my eyes arrived along with my 35th birthday a few years ago and since then I have tried a whole host of products that claim to help reduce fine lines and wrinkles.

I used Strivectin MD when it was touted as the new wonder treatment. Wonder treatment? Not really, but it does help – the only downside is the high price tag. (*Editor's note: This is our favorite eye cream).

I then tried Alpha Hydrox products after hearing from Dr Oz on Oprah that Alpha Hydroxy Acids are one of the few things that really work to support aging skin. I didn’t find that at all.

Finally I tried L’Oreal’s Wrinkle De-Crease Collagen Filler which you can get at the local drugstore or supermarket for less than $20. L’Oreal claims the Collagen Bio-Spheres in the product expand on contact with the water found naturally in the skin to fill fine lines and wrinkles immediately – I have certainly found that there is an immediate noticeable improvement.

They also claim that you will continue to see improvements over time with continued use and again I have found this to be true. I apply it at night after washing and again in the morning under make-up to take advantage of the ‘immediate plumping & filling’. No sensitivity or break-outs with using the product either.

Why pay more than $100 for a beauty product when a sub-$20 dollar product works so well! My only concern is that I have been trying to move towards only natural products in my beauty bag and this does not fit the bill – however, until I find something natural that works as well I am not prepared to give the lines and wrinkles an inch!

Review of L'Oreal Double Extension Beauty Tubes

I was going to wait to do a review on the new L'Oreal Double Extension Beauty Tubes until I'd used the mascara for a month, but I can't take it any longer.

I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate this beauty product! Everyone knows I love my mascara, but this is not a good one. At all.

Let's start with the first application. It's white and is supposed to nourish and strengthen your lashes. Okay, I'm willing to apply mascara in two steps, if it works. But the first step clumps and I've not yet been able to get my lashes to separate by using it.

The second step is the mascara, and this is where the tubes extend your eyelashes. As I sat at breakfast with @LoisAtVistage this morning, I could feel my eyelashes hit my eyebrows and it made me feel like they were jumping off my face like two ugly spiders!

Now I'm going to admit that I am a bad person. I never wash my face at night. Partly because I'm lazy and partly because my skin is really dry and washing it twice a day really dries it out. So when I washed my face the day after I tried the mascara for the first time, I thought my eyelashes were falling out. There are actual tubes that come off with soap and water.

IT'S FREAKY!!

Lastly, the brushes are on the wrong side of the tube so you have to get used to applying it differently.

I have nothing good to say about this beauty product. Don't waste your money on this one.

Foundation Options

Guest blog written by Jessica Dietrich

So I have been using Bare Minerals make up for more than a year now. I need foundation to cover up the freakish red coloring on my face, but I hate the heavy feeling of liquids. I love, love, love the powder from Bare Minerals. Plus I found that it lasts way longer than liquids...with the liquid foundation, it may last me five hours of my 12 hour work shift. By the time I got off work, I looked like one of the sick patients instead of a healthful nurse.

Anyway the other day I had a real issue...I was totally out of my powder foundation-YIKES! And to make it even better, I am in Columbia (Mo.) and couldn't find any place that sells Bare Minerals...so I had two options, go without any foundation and scare those around me with my naked face, or drag myself out to find a quick replacement until I could get to a Sephora in St. Louis. I chose option two for the sake of all those that had to see me.

So off I went in a rush to my second home, Target, and I grabbed the only thing that looked promising. And at $12.50 a pop I figured the least it could do is get me through the next couple of days without making me look too horrible. So I get home and start getting ready for work, so I drag out the new generic Target makeup and get started......to my surprise IT WAS AWESOME!

It was L'Oreal's new Bare Naturale gently mineral powder foundation....ummm...dare I say I like it better than the Bare Minerals?? It was great coverage, nice and light, lasted all day, and even goes on easier than the other stuff. It's cheaper and you get much more powder than you do with Bare Minerals. It also comes with a brush, so if you don't have one, it's a perk. I know most girls are into buying make up at Sephora, or MAC and all those places but this Target-normal-everyday L'Oreal purchase is WAY worth your time and money to try.

So there you have it....my amazing make-up discovery...enjoy the story for yourself or share it with the world..I'm just happy I look good!