OooOOooOooOO What to blog on first?!

Well, this is probably one of the hardest decisions I'll ever have to make concerning this blog! What do I write about first? I love so many, many wonderful things...but let's start with moisturizer!

As I mentioned in my introduction, I've got an obsession with Therapy Systems products so it's no surprise that I entrust the moisture of my skin to them and their amazing line. Let me give you a little back story on who they are and what they do before I begin. Therapy Systems is a high-end skin care and makeup line started in Nashville, TN by Linda Roberts (read more about the creation of TS by following the link on her name). What makes them stand out, and quite frankly makes their products appeal to celebs like Faith Hill, Leann Rimes, Ashley Judd, etc. is that they only do short runs of product. So no longer are you buying something off the shelf that you haven't a clue how long it took it to get from factory to shelf and then how long it's actually been sitting there, you know it's the freshest stuff out there and your skin really does reap the benefits. If nothing else has worked for you, try this stuff out!

Alright, now on to the moisturizer. I spent pretty significant time on their oil-free moisturizer, which is probably amazing for teenage or really oily skin, but it wasn't right for my skin and didn't give me enough moisture. This was a really hard step for me giving up the concept that I thought oil would break me out and that I needed oil-free everything. Well, I was proven wrong. I switched to their Skin Normalizer 24 Hour and immediately noticed a difference!

First things first, let's get down to packaging. Therapy Systems is in the process of redoing a lot of their packaging so I don't know what will happen with it once they're done, but right now it comes in a beautiful glass jar which I love as I feel it really does give this moisturizer the elegance it deserves. They also sell it in a travel pump style for a few dollars less (it's out-of-stock right now). I know it says they're both 2 ounces, but I just feel like I'm getting more in the glass jar, and I want to feel like I have control over the amount of product I dispense and with the jar I can do that. With that said, the pump is likely more sanitary as you're not dipping your fingers in over and over again.

Okay, so now I can get to the good stuff. When you put this on your face the first thing you're likely to  notice is going to be the amazing smell. Reason being is that it's infused with the fresh scent of real oranges and it smells delightful. Actually, It smells so amazing I would want to put it on my face if only for the smell! But I also know how great it's been for my skin, so let me get serious here for a second. The citrus actually does serve a purpose and creates an antibacterial environment on the surface of the skin, how wonderful is that, a scent that actually serves a purpose?! The moisturizers penetrate the skin leaving no residue and it's really perfect for nearly any skin type. I've also talked to some of the aestheticians at Therapy Systems who say that this moisturizer actually redistributes your oil to your dry spots and really helps to create an even surface. I think it works wonderfully under any type of makeup and over any of my nightly active ingredient products! I just LOVE IT!

So, how much is this going to cost me you're thinking? Well, I'm not going to lie Therapy Systems is a high-end brand and you will pay for it, but to me it's worth it for what it's doing for my skin. Their glass jar Skin Normalizer 24 Hour is $48 and their pump style (which again, is sold out right now) is $42. Keep in mind, they'll both probably last you about 3-4 months depending on how much you use. So thats an average of $12-16 a month for the jar and $10.50-14 a month for the pump. That's not a whole lot when you think of it that way. I do find that I run out of moisturizer far faster than any other products of theirs, but I use it twice a day and I apply a moderate amount to my face and neck.

You can buy Therapy Systems products at the Mall in Green Hills at the store by the same name, at Private Edition, at any of the Cosmetic Markets here in Nashville or at therapysystems.com. They're also carried in a few other states, so check out this link on where to find them. Therapy Systems also has an amazing return policy. If you try something and you don't like it they'll exchange it for the first 30 days. So don't feel like you're stuck with something that doesn't work for you! They also give samples so you can try something before you buy it, which to me is THE BEST! I can't tell you how many friends and family I've gotten hooked on Therapy Systems because of their samples! Oh, and I can't forget their rewards program...you buy 12 Therapy Systems items and you get a $68 credit towards any Therapy Systems product!

Alright friends, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!

Donielle
The Skinthusiast

An Introduction!

Those of you who know me have probably heard me (on more than one occasion) talk about some sort of skin care product or gaget or makeup line...in fact, other than food and my dog and my boyfriend, it's one of the only things I love to talk about. I absolutely love finding amazing products that work well on my skin because, lets be honest, my skin is one difficult creature with a mind of it's own.

When I was three I was bit by a dog leaving a (large to me) T-shaped scar on my left cheek. They only used 12 stitches, which as we now know is a massive no-no for closing up a wound on someone's face as it's gonna leave a scar. Needless to say, it's a bigger deal to me than it's ever been to other people and I've always been convinced that it's all people notice, especially when I was a kid. In middle school I used to walk around with my hair covering half my face just to hide it from people until one of my friends said, "You can stop hiding your face with your hair, we all know you have a scar and it's not that big of a deal!" But like I said, it was a big deal to me and this was right around the time when I started using vitamin E oil to try and reduce the redness and soften it, in other words, it was my very first skin product. Obviously, since then there have been much in the advancements of scar treatments (and I'll get into that later when I have more time) since I was 12 and now my scar is no where near as noticeable as it once was, but it's taken me a long time and trial-and-error to get here!

The other major issue I've been plagued with since the teenage years and is the main concern of most teenagers is acne. When I was a junior in high school I'd get about 1 to 3 zits on my chin at a time, nothing too crazy, but I thought if I could stop break outs altogether that'd be fantastic. So I went to my doctor and he prescribed Retin-A Micro, a topical prescription acne medication that basically consists of a high level of vitamin A that you apply to the skin on a daily basis. Almost immediately my acne got worse and when I say worse, I mean a very serious problem. My entire chin was covered with massive cystic acne mixed with dermatitis from being overly dried and irritated because I thought using more would help it go away. This went on for months until finally I made an appointment with a friend's dermatologist who took one look at my skin and knew that retinol was overkill for my highly sensitive skin and switched my prescription to Sulfacet, a sulfur-based acne medication that worked wonders and cleared up my acne almost immediately. I'm sure you can imagine how relieved I was!

Well, as you get older your skin changes and eventually the Sulfacet stopped working, right around my early 20's. My doctor then switched me to Duac gel, a combination of clindamycin and benzoyl peroxide, the effect was amazing and it also worked well on my sensitive skin without over drying (the only downside is it bleaches your pillow cases!). But that too ran it course and stopped working after a few years.

After trying almost everything over-the-counter from Neutrogena and Clearasil to Proactiv and SkinID, I decided it was time to try and find a miracle product. That's when a friend mentioned Therapy Systems. At first I didn't believe there could possibly be anything short of prescription that could help my skin. But after trying everything else I thought "What could it hurt?" and went for it. And now I can't say enough about it as this has been my miracle product! If you read a lot of reviews on Therapy Systems products, that's because it's really worked for me! (I'll elaborate on that later).

So that brings me to the changes in my skin as I've gotten older. I've never really been an oily skin kinda gal, I've had a lot of dry skin with acne. This has been hard to find the perfect balance in a moisturizer, one that will sufficiently moisturize and not irritate my skin or clog pores. As of lately, this has actually been my biggest problem, which leads me to my final topic of makeup. I'd been using Bare Minerals since I was 22, and while that was amazing when I was younger and didn't irritate my skin, I'm now nearly 28 years old and the minerals now tend to enhance my dry spots and draw attention to them as do they tend to show off any fine lines. I simply can't have this and now I'm in the market for my miracle makeup!

With that said, I hope you'll join me as I try new products and review them. I want to be as thorough as possible, so I'll be sure to try and educate you on the products as much as possible because I know a lot of people have finicky skin like I do! What works for me, might not work for you which is why the road to flawless skin is no where near an easy one!

Oh, and I'd absolutely love to hear from you! What do you love? What works for you? Where are the steals and what are the splurges? Just leave me some comments and I'll be sure to get back to each and every one of you as often as I can!

Thanks for reading, and I hope you'll stop by often!

Donielle
The Skinthusiast