I&apos;m a serum junkie. If there&apos;s a new one on the market, I&apos;ll try it. For some reason, I have this notion that a serum is going to be the magic key to keeping my skin youthful. Sometimes I&apos;m right. Sometimes I&apos;m wrong.
Since it just came out in stores last month, there&apos;s one I thought I might mention, since I&apos;m a huge fan of their night cream. LiftActiv Serum 10 is Vichy&apos;??s anti-aging formula that has a 10 percent concentration of Rhamnose. It has an odd name, but it&apos;s a cool little worker bee. This naturally derived plant sugar boosts skin rejuvenation to fight wrinkles and lift your complexion. It comes from plants like Buckthorn and strangely enough poison sumac. So if you&apos;re itchin&apos; for younger skin...Just kidding.
This serum works on the four main types of facial wrinkles that age can bring about: crow&apos;??s feet, brow line wrinkles, laugh lines and neck wrinkles. Note: Wrinkles caused by dealing with your mother in law and kids fall into those categories. It&apos;s lightweight and melts onto skin in a thin veil, leaving it smoother, softer and more hydrated. &apos;?¨&apos;?¨It&apos;s also absorbed quickly, something I look for in a serum.
As a highly concentrated formula, it packs a powerful punch of Hyaluronic Acid and ceramides with just a few drops. They give you a little in-top dropper, so you can push out the perfect amount to smooth over your skin. It must be doing something right, becuase it won Allure&apos;s 2012 Best of Beauty Award for Big Breakthroughs.
Did I see anything happen in the 10 minutes they claim to bring about a change? Nope. But I loved how it felt and did see a smoother complexion eventually. So with this serum, one might say, you&apos;??re a step closer to being that perfect 10.
LiftActiv is available for $52 at vichyusa.com.
sjÃ¤l is derived from a Swedish word meaning &apos;??spirit, mind, heart and soul&apos;?, and that&apos;??s exactly what they put into their line of skin care wonders. They blend all this TLC in the form of ancient eastern medicine principles, the purest eco-ingredients, and the latest Western bio-technology. And let&apos;??s not forget that they toss in a few precious minerals and gemstones for good measure. Yes, this is beauty with bling.
Take for instance the coupling (achem) of their two masques--the pearl enzyme exfoliating and kashmir saphir perfecting. These two when used together wrap your skin in ridiculous luxury.
You&apos;ll begin with the exfoliating mask. It has it&apos;??s own one-two punch with dual function. The micropearl extract evens skin tone, while the crushed pearls gently polish skin. But the bling doesn&apos;??t stop there. It also has blue sapphire, diamonds, ruby, amethyst, citrine, tourmaline, quartz, smithsonite and rhorochrosite for energy and purification. I just got energized even thinking of all those gems. I guess there&apos;s definitely something to the idea that diamonds are a girl&apos;s best friend.
There are also funky (and skin savvy) veggies in the formula like mushroom, pomegranate, papaya and pumpkin enzymes blended with royal jelly, algae and fennel extract for anti-stress, inflammation and soothing.
Follow this skin lovefest if you wish with the kashmir saphir perfecting mask. This is pure luxury in a pearlized seafoam green formula that smoothes over your face and almost disappears. But it&apos;??s still there, restoring and firming skin with some of the most amazing ingredients out there. Think peptides, amino acids and DNA-boosters for lifting and firming, and Chinese herbs, silk proteins and blue lotus for calming and toning.
It also boast gemstones and precious minerals like blue sapphire, gold, silver, platinum, chromium and copper within the masque to regenerate cells, minimize pores and create a little more clarity. See? Even your skin opens up to the idea of gems. It also has a sweet nod to nature with fruits and botanicals like ginger, ginseng, tamanu oil, sugar beets, lavender, bergamot, lime, and grapefruit to calm, condition and revive.
Next time you need a little boost, do sjÃ¤l&apos;s 20-minute two-step to uncover the gem that is your beautiful skin.
sjÃ¤l&apos;s kashmir saphir perfecting mask is $150, and the pearl enzyme exfoliating mask is $165. Both are available at shopjalskincare.com.