VoxBox Review of L’Oreal Age Perfect Cell Renewal Rosy Tone Due

 

Why marketing to older women kinda blows:

As I get older, I kinda hate the way companies market to us.  Wrapped in a pretty box, with metallic and rosy shades, the words jump out at me.  “VISIBLY YOUNGER LOOKING SKIN.  FOR MATURE, DULL SKIN.  MATURE DULL TONE.”  Okay, I get it, I get it. I’m old.   But, if you head to the L’Oreal website (https://www.lorealparisusa.com/products/skin-care/concern/anti-aging.aspx), it’s kinda amazing how many creams L’Oreal has designed for older women, not to mention the young.  So many!  Are so many really necessary?  Isn’t marketing to older clientele just a way to sell more product?  How different are the anti-aging product lines anyway, compared to products marketed to younger women?

Being a VoxBox recipient, I shouldn’t look a $50 gift horse in the mouth (they retail for about $25/each), but I must admit the words on the box kinda bother me.  Isn’t there a better way to market to us?  Don’t we need to celebrate age, start a “PROAGE” Movement?  While we all want to look the best we can at every age, shouldn’t gray hair, wrinkles be considered beautiful too, can’t they emanate wisdom and a life well-lived?   Isn’t that beautiful too?

What makes these creams different?

Okay, okay.  So, as we age, our skin cells don’t turn over as quickly, which can give a less than radiant appearance… Nothing an at home PMD can’t fix.  The product description says the cream is for “mature skin (and) is formulated with Imperial Peony Extracts and LHA (which) gently exfoliates dull, sallow skin and revive(s) skin’s natural rosy tone.”  But, do we really need to say it’s anti-aging?  Younger women can have these same qualities to their skin.  Don’t women, a.k.a. anyone beyond an acne-prone stage of skin, want to have these same improvements to their skin?  Aging, after all, doesn’t happen overnight.  Many, many women in their child-bearing years already have damaged or aging skin.  Surely the same cream would be good not just in a corrective way, but preventative too.

 

Beauty is what’s on the inside.

So, now the goods.  What’s on the inside?  Peony (and other flowers) have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.  It’s a hot ingredient right now and can be found in many, many skin care products.  It has anti-oxidant/anti-inflammatory properties and can brighten and improve skin firmness, something everyone could use, right?   Now LHA, or beta Lipohydroxy acid, is actually an ingredient similar to salicylic acid, an ingredient commonly used in products for those with acne.  So, why then is it in an anti-aging cream?  Indeed, LHA Studies have also shown that” LHA appears to have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal and anticomedogenic properties, combating acne and even dandruff.”  (European Journal of Dermatology, 2002.)   So, it’s a heavy hitter.  And, cheaper than Retin-A, or Retinol products commonly, so look for it in over the counter products.

 

So how did it perform?

The Rosy Tone Day Cream looks like it might cause a blush to the skin, but it really doesn’t, maybe just the slightest brightening.  The application, overall, was gentle, with only a mild fragrance.   In truth, it feels like any face cream you might use, not one that has an acid in it, which is something I appreciate, having pretty sensitive skin.  The Night Cream was the same feel, except it was cream colored, not rosy.  I’m not sure the pink tinge to the Day Cream is anything more than marketing, since it provides no change in color to your cheeks.  Don’t plan to use it in place of blush.

The consistency is not heavy, so a little goes a long way.  With daily application, despite being gentler than prescription Retin-A, you will, nevertheless, find in time upon a quick look in the mirror, the unfortunate sight of shedding skin.  Ahhhh!  Crocodile skin!!!!   Granted more subtle than Retin-A, but very much there, which caught me by surprise.   So, it’s a good idea to keep some facial wipes in your bag to gently exfoliate the dead skin, unless you want to be a peeling mess out in public, with a little light moisturizer to apply afterwards.

While this is a little annoying, it shows that the product is  working!!!  Very good for the price!  If you have the start of fine lines, as I do, around my eyes and lips,  you will notice them fading a bit, as well as lightening of dark spots (though not in a dramatic way).  So, overall, the product is a good one.  Would I buy it again?  Hum….not exactly sure, if I’m honest.  I think I’m happy with my Retin-A prescription from Curology, which also has other ingredients added specific to my own skin.  (Go to Curology.com, for an photo analysis of your skin by a Nurse Practitioner and order a prescription specific to you.)

When I’m not applying Retin-A at night, I think I prefer my own non-toxic skin care products from doTERRA.  They are gentle, they work and I get the multiple synergistic benefits of essential oils being absorbed through my skin and limbic system (via inhalation of the products) which ultimately effect the brain and the whole body.

I’m always curious about new products and love trying them, but I think as I get older, less is more.  Gentle and non-toxic is better.   And, importantly, I don’t think I like being defined and marketed to so negatively by companies.

If you want to find out how to add non-toxic products to your beauty routine, check out my DoTERRA website: my.doterra.com/KathleenMurrayRN, or reach out to me via my personal website:  www.kathleenmurrayrn.com.  I’d be happy to do a free Wellness Consult.  There are business opportunities too, for those of you who need or want to work from home.

Heh, ladies, we all age.  It is inevitable.  Being the best we can be at every stage of life, should be the goal, not beating ourselves up because we don’t have the skin of a 20 year old anymore.  We have other stuff.  And, those who’ve lived more than a few decades on the planet, know that to be true.  That fact alone, would probably make me avoid products in my future that negatively market to older women.  We vote with our dollars.  And that determines the future of what’s available.  For now, I’m voting for non-toxic, cruelty-free products.

Cheers and thanks for listening.

 

XOXO

Mrs. Sassy Pants