Great Skin: You now have a choice

Having flawless skin is something everyone desires; man or woman of any age.

Having grown up being blessed with pretty good skin and minimal breakouts here and there, I never thought skin care would ever be a huge concern. Admittedly, during my teenage years I was on Proactiv® for quite some time and it seemed to work for me and skincare needs.

All that changed in my early 20′s as I started breaking out more and realizing my skin had become dull and lifeless. As a result, I began considering changing all my skincare products to chemical free, natural organics. After researching several different products I stopped using Proactiv® and started using an all natural, chemical free skin care line. Unfortunately, after using it for a month or so, my skin actually began to worsen, so I again switched to another natural product. Still seeing no positive results I began to panic as my once average skin had become severely acne ridden. Not knowing what do, and unable to find a useful organic beauty line, I ran back to Proactiv®, which at least made my skin better than it was at the time, but was a far cry from the skin I had in my early teens. After a month or so the Proactiv® suddenly stopped working altogether, and my skin condition again worsened.

In desperation, and with the advice of some friends, I made my way to the mall to find an esthetetion that could help me with a face now full of acne. In the mean time, to my horror, my fiance and I had set our wedding date a mere three months away. The thoughts overwhelmed me of how I used to have almost flawless skin to now having acne so severe that no make up could hide it.

My skin was inflamed, red all over, and covered with acne on my forehead, cheeks and chin. I was too embarrassed to take a photo so I do not have any to show. Believe me when I say that it was a nightmare. If the pain of the acne wasn’t enough, people constantly asked me what was wrong with my skin and why it was like that (as if I decided I wanted my skin full of acne and redness) made things 100(x) worse.

I was still hopeful however, thinking that an esthetition could help cure my skin in 3 months in time for my wedding. The first thing the esthetition told me was that your skin gets used to the ingredients in Proactiv® and after a while it no longer works. That made sense to me since that’s what seemed to be happening to my skin. I immediately trusted what he said and believed that the products he recommended would do miracles! He suggested I use products from Erno Laszlo®, which had been around forever and everyone who had used it seemed to have immaculate skin. I bravely put down hundreds of dollars in hopes that I had found a product that would make my skin flawless.

After a month and very minimal results I decided to go to a dermatologist, just to make sure things were actually improving. I needed to know if what I was using was really working and I also needed it to work faster. The dermatologist said if I was happy with the product and saw results than it wouldn’t be wise to change products again. Instead he gave me antibiotics and cortisone shots in the areas I was breaking out. My skin continued to only clear up minimally and I begrudgingly had to start accepting the fact that I would not have flawless skin for my wedding.

Despite all my efforts my wedding day came and went, but my face full of acne remained. I was able to cover up my acne with (a lot of) makeup for the pictures but up close you could see how bad my skin looked.

After trying Erno Laszlo® some time after the wedding as well, I decided to take matters into my own hands again and try something different.

It didn’t make sense to me that I was spending such a pretty penny for 5 months of minimal results. I researched many products and decided on Murad’s Acne System®. After about a month I saw more results than I had with using Erno Laszlo® for 5 months!

I was beginning to hope again that my skin would be flawless one day. My skin continued to get better, but after a year I kept having breakouts around my chin and cheek area and a slew of blackheads on my nose and chin. (Ugggh!)

My friend, who also had acne started researching the “Cosmetics Cop” and was amazed at the reviews on every product you could think of. I of course, was interested but done trying new things in fear of having my skin flare up again.

Eventually however, I gave in, and decided to just research it anyway. I began seeing how Paula Begoun (the Cosmetics Cop) had researched the majority of cosmetics and facial products on the market explaining what was in them, and how it was either good or bad for certain skin types. I learned so much about the ingredients in certain products and why they didn’t work for my skin type. Each product was rated as very good, good, average, bad or very bad depending on the ingredients and how it worked.

One thing she mentioned in her research about acne was that a lot of acne cleansers out there have medication in them. She said that a cleanser isn’t on your face long enough for the medication to work, so basically, it all gets washed down the drain. That’s why it’s important that the medication is in the toner and creams after the cleanser. This was just one of the many things I learned browsing her site, and reading her articles – but needless to say I took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

Figuring I could always switch back, I decided to try some of the products myself. She suggested many that were available at drug stores that seemed to work well with my skin type.

What I soon found however, was that Paula had her own line of products called “Paula’s Choice®” – This was the first major turning point for me and my skin care search.

I had trusted her reviews so much that I knew it would be best to try her products alone. To no surprise, I was also impressed with her reviews on cosmetics and have come to find the perfect foundation for my skin (that I am beyond happy with) along with other lipsticks, lipgloss, blush, powder, eyeliner, eyeshadow and mascara that have been nothing but amazing. Instead of spending large amounts money and realizing I am unhappy with the product, I research what the cosmetic cop says about it and find which one works best for my needs. With two of my other friends who had suffered from acne, we all bravely jumped into trying her facial products together.

Immediately we all felt the difference in our skin. None of her products dried out our skin like all the acne products we had tried before, and after just a couple of weeks we all noticed significant differences in our skin; less acne, more radiance and no dryness!

I have been using Paula’s Choice® now for 7 months. My acne cleared up completely after 2 months and my once stubborn and impossible blackheads are almost invisible. I started using Paula’s wrinkle products as well which have left my skin feeling like silk and preventing future wrinkles.

Before I had tried Paula’s Choice I believed strongly that everyone has different skin and you that you just have to find the product that works for you. I feel differently about this now, (especially since my friends and I have very different skin types) and feel that Paula’s Choice® can solve anyone’s skin problems.

I introduced Paula’s Choice® to my mother in-law a couple months ago. She has VERY dry sensitive skin and was using a very high end (and EXPENSIVE) crème that she wasn’t satisfied with. She also wanted something to fight her dark spots and wrinkles .

She is now in love with Paula’s Choice® and already seeing a huge difference in her skin. The dark spots are disappearing, the dryness is gone and the wrinkles are fading. My other two friends that tried Paula’s Choice are very satisfied with their results and are on their way to a perfect complexion.

I now have the radiant, flawless skin I always dreamed of and can finally believe in a product not only for myself, but I can confidently recommend it to everyone who ask’s about my skin – because I believe it will work for everyone! The price is well within any budget, and the results speak for themselves.

The products I use: http://www.paulaschoice.com/category/acne-blackheads-with-wrinkles-combo-oily-skin

Shop by concern: http://www.paulaschoice.com/category/skin-care-type-concern-shop/

Subscribe to Beauty Pedia to find reviews on many products, articles and research on ance, wrinkles, dry skin, botox and many more: http://www.beautypedia.com/

Expert Advice from the Cosmetic Cop Team: http://www.cosmeticscop.com/learn-paulas-choice.aspx

Make sure to check out the links above, and see what Paula’s Choice® can do for you! Remember, when it comes to having great skin – you now have a choice.