An Aesthetician Suggested This Product to Transform Beauty Wonkette's Sister's Skin—and It Worked! BONUS: IT'S ONLY $49

 

After a year of going through the motions with her skincare routine (what's the point of all five steps when you're working from your bed?), my sister's complexion was looking less than stellar. And with her wedding fast approaching, she was willing to shell out whatever it took to get a glowing complexion. Beauty Wonkette's favorite aesthetician introduced her to  Anak of Anak Cosmetics—and more importantly, her excellent toner.

Anak Cosmetics is a skincare brand that's free of sulfates, parabens, carcinogens, DEA (the lathering agent diethanolamine), and more potentially harmful ingredients that was founded by the one-named Anak, a makeup artist and medical aesthetician. What sets the line apart is that it's personalized to your individual needs—there's a helpful skincare quiz to get you started based on your concerns, or you can do a virtual consultation with an expert to assess your skin type. It's like accessing your own in-house facialist via your computer. 

Beauty Wonkette convinced her usually stubborn sister to take both the skincare quiz and the virtual consultation for the best results, which required her to send images of her makeup-free face for Anak to analyze. Having spent years in the sun, my sister is hyper-aware and insecure about her sunspots and discoloration, but during her virtual meeting, Anak seemed more concerned with the things she had overlooked.

By zooming in embarrassingly close to her photos, Anak  pointed out that she had congestion around her nose, blackheads and whiteheads on her chin, and overall dullness and dryness. She suggested trying to clear the impurities before dealing with the hyperpigmentation by adding just one new product to my sister's skincare routine: the Sulphur and Salicylic Acid Toner.

The toner has acne-fighting salicylic acid, clarifying witch hazel, and antibacterial azelaic acid to help clean, decongest, and tone skin all at once. Beauty Wonkette was naturally skeptical that a toner was all her sis needed to see a breakthrough in her complexion, but urged her to take her advice.  She did and began applying it to her face and neck after cleansing both morning and night.

It is amazing how much cleanser often does not was fully cleaning your skin. A cotton-ball swipe of the toner picked up dirt, makeup, oil, and even towel remnants that her daily face wash had been missing. She reported that not only did her skin feel cleaner with the addition of the toner, but after one week, she also noticed it was brighter.

After two weeks, the blackheads and whiteheads that had previously been living rent-free on her nose and chin were virtually gone. Her pores appeared smaller, her skin was more hydrated, and there was an evenness to her complexion that never achieved before. All because the brat broke profile and listened to Beauty Wonkette and added this toner to her routine.

If you're thinking about dropping hundreds on new skincare products,  Beauty Wonkette suggests trying the $49 Sulphur and Salicylic Acid Toner from Anak Cosmetics first. It might just be all you need.

AFTER COVID19 LOCKDOWNS AND MASKS WE COULD ALL USE A NEW SERUM TO GET EXCITED ABOUT (and Beauty Wonkette may have found it!)

 

Combining traditional botanical Korean beauty ingredients and formulation technology plus the antioxidant astaxanthin that’s all the rage in beauty at the moment, Beauty Wonkette has never experienced a texture quite like AZN Labs' Afterglow Ampoule.astaxanthKind of a hybrid between and oil and a gel, this stuff is THICK, but it glides on smoothly and absorbs quickly without leaving any greasy residue., if you take Beauty Wonkette's advice and tames the stuff. It also instantly leaves Beauty Wonkette's skin feeling tighter and looking significantly healthier and more refined—and the improvement in fine lines and wrinkles is pretty major.

But, but, but - because Beauty Wonkette does NOT bullshit you, the truth is that this product was NOT an instant love. When BW says this product is THICK, girl. it is THICK,. like honey thick. It’s the most beautiful amber rose color and it certainly does give your skin a sun kissed glow. But here’s the real tea, you need to LISTEN to BW and tame this product. Literally two drops max. Why? Well, it isn't really tacky, but Beauty Wonkette hates any tacky feeling. So, what to do? Beauty Wonkette used one or two drops plus an equal amount of a favorite toner (even witch hazel works) and thinned it out. Beauty Wonkette doesn't have a hyperpigmentation problem, but if you do, concentrate a little more on those areas. The main antioxidant ingredient is extremely powerful so consistent use will def lead to results. What is that ingredient??? Read on....

The serum carries a high concentration of astaxanthin, and this ingredient is no joke. Sourced from rainwater microalgae (but don’t go splashing puddle water on your face, please), it has been found to be 6,000 (yes, 6,000!) times more potent than vitamin C. The formula includes other super-antioxidants like ubiquinone and ferulic acid, plus arbutin, camellia extract and so much more—which means uneven skin tone, loss of firmness and other visible signs of aging don’t stand a chance. (And it has a nice, slightly peachy scent.)

Afterglow Ampoule also plays nicely with other products, and I haven’t experienced any pilling, Even if your in a rush and apply additional products in rapid succession. you won't experience any pilling. All in all, this serum turned out to be a real gem that has made an impact on Beauty Wonkette's skin and overall skincare regimen. Yes, my lovelies, it’s a winner!

Awwww you're blushing!!! No stupid it's ROSACEA.....

 Rosacea??? If you have it, you likely know it. You might get flushing of the cheeks when you have a glass of wine, go out into the cold (or heat!) or eat spicy food. Perhaps you’ve seen little liquid filled ‘pustules’ around the nose and cheeks that you initially thought were pimples - only to observe that they didn’t disappear after a week or so as a blemish might. 

Beauty Wonkette doesn't have rosacea, but more than 10% of the adult population of the U.S. does.  And, while Beauty Wonkette agrees that rosy cheeks are often cute, rosacea is not.  You COULD head over to your derm and if your rosacea is bad enough, he might give you a prescription.  But Beauty Wonkette loathes running to the doctor and she's hear to tell you that there are alternatives - GOOD alternatives - you might want to try first....

LICORICE!!!  YES I SAID LICORICE

LICORICE is anti-inflammatory, soothing, antioxidant, depigmenting / brightening.  No, Beauty Wonkette isn't suggesting you eat it (although it IS delish), but that you go for products rich in licorice extract.  Licorice extract is a potent anti-inflammatory for rosacea. That’s because liquorice root (aka sweet root and glycyrrhiza glabra) has coumarins, flavonoids, plant sterols and glycyrrhizin, which all reduce rosacea's redness. Glycyrrhizin, one of the main ingredients in licorice, has been shown to help reduce inflammation and soothe irritation.

How to use: AM and PM...licorice is good any time!  

Good to know: Look for licorice in everything...It compliments nearly any ingredient deck. 

Beauty Wonkette's picks:

Procure Rosacare Soothing Sheet Mask (a great ‘treatment mask if you're wanting to quell redness before, say, an evening out) https://amzn.to/3j4HUel 

Another excellent licorice product Beauty Wonkette recommends is the Cetaphil Redness Relieving Light Moisturizer https://amzn.to/36tfHJa

Oh Beauty Wonkette WHERE have you been.....

 Hello lovelies

Where has Beauty Wonkette been?  Have you felt forsaken? Awwwww....

Work, family, life got in the way.  But Beauty Wonkette is back and back with content that will blow you away.  Promise.  

So watch this space.....

Want a Great Butt? Be Prepared to Work Your Ass Off with the Booty Belt!

In the ‘90s, Suzanne Somers inspired Beauty Wonkette to try the Thighmaster. Today, Kate Hudson is working to convince Beauty Wonkette to give the Booty Belt a try.

Hudson, super-fit celebrity and face of Fabletics fitness, endorsed the $115 workout device on Instagram, saying it was her “new obsession.” The post has boosted sales of the product, and garnered more than 84K likes. But will we like it, too?  There's only one way to find out.  Marching off to place an order.....

One week later, The Booty Belt arrived, looking like something from an indiscreet adult toy store: a big black box with a pink graphic of a rear end and giant white “Booty Belt” decal. Inside the box are TRX bands in pink, grey and black, with Velcro strips, a black foam square with that same booty graphic and an instructional DVD.

After popping in the DVD, BW listens to muscly trainer Dominic Banks, who wears a black Booty Belt T tucked into jeans, talk about how the Belt “is a story about how strong the human spirit is when spaced with adversity. It’s my way of paying homage to my mom and all the women out there.”

Okay, now Beauty Wonkette is half-inspired, half-weirded out (honestly ALOT more weirded out than inspired).  Time to just watch the instructional segment of the video.

It's easy enough to wrap the belt around one's waist and move the pink stretchy bands that are attached to the belt to the back as instructed. Attaching the foot straps to one's feet requires greater finesse, but not much...lol.

The DVD takes you through a series of workouts on your forearms: kick-ups, toe touches and kick-outs. Those work the glutes. Then you move to your back for various crunches, leg lifts and holds to work my core and quads.

The Booty Belt is no joke!  After completing all of the “standard” exercises, as the pamphlet calls them, Beauty Wonkette, who is no slouch btw, is shaking, sweating and tired. Try it, but know that your glutes are going to be sore tomorrow (but that's probably a good thing, right?

A Dermatologist-Loved Skin-Care Brand You Probably Don't Know but Should

Beauty Wonkette believes that an effective anti-aging regimen should tackle several skin problems at once.  Agree?  OF COURSE YOU AGREE!

The problem is, you can’t squeeze the best skin-care ingredients—like retinoids and alpha hydroxy acids—into one bottle without causing a chemical reaction or serious irritation. Until now...  Introducing (drum roll please) AlphaRet Overnight Cream.

Researchers at Skin Better Science have figured out a way to mix retinoids (which fade discoloration and kick up collagen production) with lactic acid (an alpha hydroxy acid that evens out skin tone and texture). Each active ingredient is encapsulated in its own bubbles, and those bubbles are linked together to create the new ethyl lactyl retinoate molecule. When you put the cream on, the water in your skin kick-starts a release of the active ingredients that’s gradual and gentle—but effective. “Lactic acid, a humectant and mild chemical peel, enhances the wrinkle reduction that comes from retinol,” says cosmetic chemist Jim Hammer. In fact, in company-sponsored studies, the formula was as effective at smoothing lines and fading discoloration as tretinoin (a prescription-strength retinoid) without causing irritation.

It has been referred to as the new gold standard in skin rejuvenation and Beauty Wonkette agrees that it does indeed qualify as a breakthrough product.  Even better, once your skin has acclimated itself, you can move on to a more intensive concentration of glycolic acid that enhances the results of AlphaRet with AlphaRet Intensive.

Get Your Eye Cream to Do Double Duty

We all know that eye cream is essential for keeping the delicate skin around under our eyes looking fresh and youthful. But did you know that eye cream is also a total multi-tasker? It’s true: you can use this daily skin care staple in multiple ways that far exceed the bounds of it’s normal purpose. And because we are nothing if not thorough in our quest for product excellence, we asked the experts for their tips on the best uncommon uses for eye creams.

“I love having products around that work double-duty, and eye cream has a wide array of uses that will help moisturize, replenish and even rejuvenate your skin,” says Dr. Jill Waibel, owner of the Miami Dermatology and Laser Institute.

And she’s not the only one: Makeup artist Tomy Rivero agrees. For optimal double-duty use, he suggests being aware of the formula: “Some are made to plump and smooth the skin in preparation for concealer, however ones with alcohol and caffeine ingredients are used to drain and tighten the eye area. This is the opposite of why you would want to use you eye cream anywhere else in the face,” he says. “Look for products with the words ‘hydrating, plumping, and smoothing’ for best results.”

Once you have the right product in hand, Beauty Wonkette suggests five new uses for your eye cream you can start using right now.

 1. To smooth the lines between your eyebrows

While you’re using eye cream under your eyes, also pad some of the leftover product to smooth out fine lines between your brows, Rivero suggests. Bye bye to those angry-looking 11s between our brows!

 2. To adjust your concealer’s texture

“I love mixing in a bit of eye cream with cream concealers,” Rivero says. “It makes the product creamier and smoother.” Adding in some eye cream can also help cut down on creasing and can prolong wear, he adds, something that’s totally crucial in summer.

 3. To smooth your cuticles

Eye cream on our hands? That’s right! Waibel notes that the extra-hydrating properties of eye cream can be a “a great way to moisturize the cuticle area when the cuticles are dry or damaged.” Next time you’re tempted to pick at that hangnail, reach for the eye cream instead—your hands will really thank you!

 4. To hydrate your lip line. 

Whether it’s from drying products or too much fun in the sun, if your lip line is super dry, Rivero says to mask it with your favorite hydrating eye cream. “It will work better and faster than a waxy Chapstick and infuses time released hydration,” he explains. Goodbye dry skin; hello perfect lip liner!

 5. To create an instant glow.

“If you feel like your foundation is not looking as radiant as it could and you want a pick-me-up, dab a very thin layer of your eye cream overtop your foundation, concealer and powder,” suggests Rivero. Not only does this give your skin a healthy glow, it also adds moisture to the places that you need it most. “Place it on the center of your forehead, along the highest point of your cheeks by your temples, and a light touch on your chin for an instant refresher to your makeup.” This will give your skin an instantly fresh-faced sheen—without too much shine.