IECSC Product Haul: A Review

Out of the hundreds of products at the Esthetics convention, I only purchased a few of the most exceptional cleansers, creams, and treatments. So, let’s get down to business as promised!

Hydropeptide:

When you visit this company’s website, your immediate impression is that the line belongs in a medical facility based on all the beakers filled with skin saving concoctions and droppers of the most advanced serums. Truth is, this line definitely deserves that type of association and recognition. The first time I was introduced to Hydropeptide was at the LakeAustin Resort and Spa in Texas. (Amazing experience, and you should see Erin if she still works there. She was one of the most in-tune estheticians ever).

Anyways, I was super excited to see Hydropeptide’s booth at the convention and decided to go up and chat with the sales reps. They had some great deals going on so I was able to nab a few products and samples to test out.

5x Power Peel DailyResurfacing Pads: These pre-soaked pads come individually packaged and are meant for use 3-7 times a week. It uses a blend of AHA’s (Alpha hydroxy acids; glycolic and lactic acid) and BHA (salicylic) to exfoliate the skin, and mushroom enzyme to help brighten the complexion and even tone. After cleansing my face, I applied the pad, wiping evenly over the entire face. I was pleased that there was absolutely no burning or tingling sensations- If you’ve ever done a glycolic peel you know what I’m talking about- ouch! That’s because green tea extract helps to buffer the pH and prevent that deep burn. While wiping the pads across my face, it felt mostly like I was wiping water on my skin and had a nice, fresh scent. Afterwards, I had a cooling sensation and if felt very refreshing. This would be great for all skin types but those with extremely dry skin may want to watch out since the retinoic-like action may dry the dermis slightly.

Overall score: 9/10 

Cleansing Gel: This cleanser comes in a sleek aqua colored pump and is designed for more 

combination skin types. The consistency of the gel is really nice – liquid without being too runny and suds up nicely to give you that deep clean feeling. What I love about this cleanser is that it contains Lactic acid- a more hydrating but still deeply exfoliating AHA. Witch hazel and geranium help to tone the skin (it’s advertised as a toner as well!) and give it a fresh, mildly minty or lemony- floral scent. This cleanser didn’t dry me out or irritate my eczema, so I’m pretty happy with it! I’d also recommend using this with your Clarisonic 2-3 times a week for an even deeper cleanse!

Overall score: 10/10

Hydrostem +6: Stem Cell Antioxidant Serum: The serum comes in 1 fl. Oz. blue pump and doles out exactly what you need to apply for the entire face, neck, and even décolletage. The texture is extra smooth and comes out rather runny- almost like a creamy toner, so be prepared that your hand is cupped appropriately. I like that it was very spreadable and acted as a great based to my moisturizer. After about a minute or so, you’ll notice a cooling tingle to your skin, something I find to be very refreshing! My skin is combination oily-dry, and I found that this serum absorbed really well without leaving me feeling greasy. The power of Hyaluronic acid is evident in this serum, as my skin drank up the moisture stat! Other active ingredients include Botanical Stem Cells, peptides (that activate CoQ10) and deliver collagen boosting results. You’ll also receive antioxidant benefits from Green Tea extract, licorice root, and cucumber to help tone, calm, and even your complexion.

Overall score:  8/10 (I’m picky with my serums. While I liked that it did not irritate my skin very much, I find it a little too expensive for the average budget, retailing at $160)

Purifying Mask: I’m so excited to get to this one! I first tried this during my facial at Lake Austin and fell in love with it. It’s by far one of my most favorite Kaolin clay-based mask. This is great for most skin types (very dry or sensitive skin types may find this irritating) because it has a nice balance of oil absorbing clay, lightly exfoliating enzymes, caffeine to tone, peptides to plump, and hyaluronic acid to bind water to cells to reveal a plumper, more youthful complexion. The mask glides on very smoothly and has an instant cool and tingling sensation where applied. I keep this mask on for about 10 minutes after cleansing my skin thoroughly. When done, rinse off with a facial towel- now you’ll really feel the coolness!

Overall score: 10/10 (love this mask and I really can’t say enough great things about it!)

 

Hydropeptide (left to right): Hydrostem 6+, Cleansing Gel, 5x Power Peel, and Purifying Mask

Onward to Hydrafacial MD…

This line is probably not as widely available to the public due to its exclusivity to pairing it with Hydrafacial treatments. If you haven’t had one of these treatments, go get one now! Your skin will thank you (but your pocket book won’t). It’s a treatment that combines a bit of microderm with hydrating “chemical peel” treatments, but without the irritation. It even extracts pesky blackheads! Seriously, it’s one of the best treatments out there and leaves the skin SO smooth and hydrated afterwards.

Antiox +: This serum is one of my favorites I’ve ever tried. Loaded with peptides and Hyaluronic acid, it helps to deeply moisturize the skin. I’ve found that using this with LED therapy treatments drives the product even deeper and leaves skin super soft. I feel as though this product penetrates a little deeper than just the first layer of the dermis because my skin feels extra soft the next morning. I’ve been using this morning and night and I’ve seen great results! Also, love the feeling of the spring pump. 

Overall score: 9/10 (docked a point because I think it may have irritated my eczema a bit)

UV Smart Daily Sunscreen SPF 40: This sunscreen uses zinc oxide, octinoxate, and octisalate to protect the skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays. While I really appreciate the combination chemical and physical sunscreen factors, I’m not a huge fan of octinoxate in my sunscreen because of the mixed reviews of it actually causing hormonal disruptions or progression of aging. Otherwise, I really wanted to like this sunscreen because of its rich and creamy texture. It absorbed nicely into my skin and felt great; actually one of the better ones I’ve tried (Skinceuticals still tops my list!).

Overall Score: 7/10 (loved the texture and application, not a fan of the ingredients)

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Big Apple Visit: International Esthetics Show!

Last month, I had the opportunity to head up to NYC for the International Esthetics, Cosmetics, and Spa Conference. As this was my first conference in the five years of being an esthetician, I was super excited!

Taking the train from D.C.’s Union Station up to New York’s Penn Station is usually the best way to get there- plus you get to meet the most interesting people on the train! As I made my way out of Penn Station, I headed west towards 11^th and 34^th street and knew I was getting closer as I saw people dressed in their all black, makeup done up, and bags filled with the newest hair, makeup, and skin tools and supplies. Javits was swarming with people. If you’re one who gets overwhelmed easy, it’s pretty much your worst nightmare dressed in hair extensions and show biz people.

Since I made my reservations early in the year, I also made sure to get my International Beauty Show pass. With my wristband and name tags securely fastened, I made a bee-line straight towards the skin show. Waxing demos, organic skin care, pageant skin care, the newest trends, machinery, enzyme masks, you name it, was at my fingertips. I made a few laps to scope everything out before devising a more systematic approach.

I visited just about every product booth there was and sampled as much as I could. There were brands ranging from the barely known to those well known to resort settings. With all the products I tried, I bought a few products from Hydropeptide, Hydrafacial, Pure Fiji, and a handheld LED therapy device.

All in all, I’d recommend going to a conference in your early years as an esthetician to get a feel for all of the treatment options, products, gadgets, tools, etc. I ended up spending two days at the convention without paying extra for lectures, but if you spend your time wisely, it can easily be done in one day if you’re there just for products. Next time, I will definitely take advantage of the guest lectures and classes to make it more worth the time spent in the city. And, the bonus, any excuse to visit NYC is a good one to me! 

Trying out an LED mask! 

Beautiful mermaid makeup demo from Makeup Forever

Stay tuned for product reviews in my next post!

xo Drea

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Books for a fresh start

If you know me at all, you know that I'm one of the biggest fans of Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love. Today marks her 10th anniversary of publishing this gem, and I am so glad she shared her experiences with the world. For me, this was one of those life changing reads that leaves you feeling empowered to follow your dreams- even if that dream doesn't entail selling everything you have and moving to India on a soul searching yogic journey where your new nickname becomes "Groceries." 

Eat, Pray, Love was more a story of finding what is weighing you down in life and keeping you from attaining happiness YOU created for yourself. I think we all get caught in the rat race of life. Once we graduate from college (or maybe you didn't go to college and jumped right into the workforce) we're expected to find the perfect career, the perfect partner, get married, settle down, have kids, and then ten years later you don't remember how you got there and you've lost who you thought you would be. Elizabeth Gilbert so distinctly portrays those very human emotions of feeling lost once she thought she had it all. Those feelings of emptiness, like, "is this really it?". To some people, maybe it is what they've dreamed of. But, to others, it takes a heck of a lot longer to find what makes us happy, and that's okay too. Our twenties, and even thirties, put so much pressure on getting everything done at once. I commend Gilbert in her ability to make that very scary decision to do some serious soul searching half way across the world. 

Which brings me to her next book, Big Magic, which she recently published and I just started reading. I am in love with the message of this book. Put simply, the point of this book aims to push you in the direction of living a life that is not driven by fear but, rather, by doing exactly what makes you happy. Simple, right? Hah! Depending on your upbringing, social circle, financial situation, or whatever it is, this can be a really difficult thing! We have so many road blocks that prevent us from getting out there and doing what we really want. But, the biggest road block ends up being ourselves. Seriously, if you believe that you can do anything, you really can! Your abilities are endless and once you change your thought process, you'll see and feel it. It's clear as day. 

Big Magic is my badass breakfast read. 

So, if you're in need of an uplifting, motivating, empowering, positive read (seriously, who doesn't?), check out Big Magic. It's sure to get your creative gears working towards a happier you! 

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Movement

2015 ended with the completion of 1 year in grad school. Can you say 'heck yeah'?! 

After that, I traveled to Dresden, Germany to hang out with my younger brother who's living there, and it got me thinking about city life. If you're like me, a girl in the suburbs, you rarely can walk just about anywhere you need to go. We were averaging at least three miles a day! 

View from the east of Dresden, Germany. We covered maybe half of that on foot! 

There's an Upworthy video on city planning that I saw a while back about smarter designs for cities that hits the nail on the head with problems we face. If you haven't seen it, please stop what you're doing and watch it right meow!  More public transportation access, promotion of walking, and incorporating green space are just some topics the CBC news report covers. These types of things foster movement and community among those living there. It's such a simple yet effective idea, you'd wonder why most American cities haven't thought it important to keep us healthy just by building a common sense environment. 

It really resonated with me that the video calls our surroundings obesogenic. That means, you get fat just by existing in your environment. For us suburban folk, really think about when you had to go for a walk today. Or, maybe when you were out running errands and didn't have time to make yourself a snack to go, what were the food options around you? Were you sitting for most of the day (yes, driving means sitting) or were you walking? Chances are you may have grabbed a drink at Starbucks or some chicken nuggets at Chick-fil-a just to hold you over until you got home. Those calories and sedentary behavior pack on the pounds over time, which is why we wake up one day wondering what the hell happened to our bodies! 

So, do you yourself a favor. Create some movement in your life. It could be just waking up five minutes earlier to do some stretches or calisthenics, going on a quick walk around the corner on your lunch break, taking the stairs instead of elevator, or even just standing up from your work desk to stretch out your hips every half hour. Changing habits is hard so, don't beat yourself up. One thing at a time and soon you'll be on your way to burning up some extra calories! 

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