The Best Tinted Moisturizer, Hands Down

Last week after I had my Fraxel treatment my derm handed me a goody bag, or maybe it was a 'trust me, you're going to need this bag.'  Besides moisturizers, SPF's and ointments there was a tinted moisturizer from a brand I've never heard of.  How could I have never heard of it?  Really?  She swore to me that it was her favorite and told me to try it.  Since my derm is my new BFF (come on, my skin is in her hands!), I trusted her and gave it a try.  Well, now it's my favorite new tinted moisturizer too. The product – Revision Intellishade SPF 45 Anti-Aging Tinted Moisturizer, $50.  It comes in original and matte versions and just replaced my Laura Mercier one.  Why?  Because it's lighter, has an SPF of 45 and has anti-aging properties.  The intellishade formula acts like a one size fits all t-shirt and adapts to your skin tone.

I typically don't like wearing makeup on my face (and yes, I count tinted moisturizer as face makeup) unless I'm in front of a camera for a gig and need to, but this doesn't count for me.  It's literally moisturizer that adds a bit of a healthy glow and evens out my skin tone.  The one downside?  You can't get it online or in stores!  It's sold through dermatologists offices and medical spas, but you can locate one near you here.  Trust me, it's worth a trip!

The Fraxel Diaries... Photos of My Week of "Down Time" and My New Skin

Now that I tried Fraxel everyone's asking me if it was worth it... truth is, I'm not sure yet as I'm not completely healed.  Here's a diary of the recovery so far with some really embarrassing pics, but I wanted to give you the full experience minus the discomfort.  Would I do it again?  Since I had fairly good skin with some hyperpigmentation and was just being anal, probably not.

Day 1: Check out my blog post.  My eyes and cheeks were swollen, face was beat red and hot.  Picture the worst sun burn you've ever gotten, only it's only on your face and neck.  I iced and moisturized like there was no tomorrow.  Before Joe got home from work I wrapped my face in a scarf leaving out only my eyes and lips.  Once he made me de-robe from my masking job, he described my new look as "a raw burn victim."  Go to product: Cerave Facial Moisturizing Lotion with SPF 30.

Day 2: I touched my face as soon as I opened my eyes and it felt like sand paper.  OMG.  I actually skeeved my skin. I ran to the mirror and saw a brown, crusty face.  Attractive.  At least it didn't hurt, wasn't swollen or raw.  Ok, I'm healing.  Hiding behind sunglasses and a scarf I only left the apartment once to take a train home to NJ where I can hibernate.  I looked bad enough to cancel appointments for the rest of the week.  Moisturizing every half hour.  Go to products:  Cerave and Skinceuticals Epidermal Repair and Aquaphor at night.

Day 3: Sandpaper.  That's what my face feels like.  It still looks pretty much the same as it did yesterday.  I noticed that all of my brown spots are brought to the surface including those I didn't even know I had.  It's all brown.  Daytime routine: Skinceuticals then Cerave with SPF 30.  Nighttime routine: Skinceuticals then Aquaphor.

Day 4: My face is falling off.  I thought the peeling I would experience would be like peeling form a sunburn and my skin would come off in strips.  Nope.  Everything that turned brown and feels like sand paper is literally crumbling off like sand.  It looks better today, I guess because it's half fallen off.  At this point I'm just hiding my identity behind my sunglasses.  It's impossible to hide my face.  Still laying low.

Day 5: Fresh skin!  Most of my skin has crumbled crumbled off and my fresh skin looks brown spot free.  I'm beyond excited.  However, I still have rough brown patches around my hair line and on my nose that need to flake off.  It's frustrating.  The fresh skin is pink.  Nothing hurts, but it looks raw-ish.  I can't moisturize enough and have been applying SPF 30 like it's my job.  It's like starting over.  A new chance with new skin.  I'm not going to mess it up.

Day 6: My skin looks awesome.  It's all done peeling except for a few rough spots around my neck.  I have a party to go to tonight and I was nervous all week about how I was going to manage my face.  Well, I've never felt more confident.  Truth is, my skin never made me feel insecure, because it wasn't bad to begin with, but seeing how clear it looks now is definitely an added confidence boost.  My parents said I look like a porcelain doll.  The only brown spot that didn't fade is a stubborn one on my nose, which got significantly lighter and I plan on attacking it with a hydroquinone cream.  Over time, I'll get that one too.

*Note: I took all of the photos myself with my iPhone and lighting wasn't controlled.

Determined to Rid My Brown Spots, I Tried Fraxel and Here's What Happened

I've had my post-summer Fraxel appointment booked since summer began and it finally came. The last week of August seemed like the perfect time.  Even though it was right before Labor Day Weekend, I knew my plans wouldn't have me basking in the sun.  Yesterday, I entered my trusty derm's office, Dr. Ilyse Lefkowicz, anxious and excited, but more than anything nervous as I'm big on instant gratification and this is as close as it gets when it comes to clearing your complexion of hyperpigmention.  I was ready to say good by to my brown spots – all of them. So what have I done so far to get rid of them?  Most recently I've been using topicals like Vitamin C, but I've even bleached my face out in an unsafe way with hydroquinone in the past.  I've also done an IPL (targeted laser treatment that gets rid of brown spots), which worked, but obviously like any obsessed beauty guru who is about to turn 30 (in 6 months) I wanted more.  After speaking with my derm about whether or not to do a few more IPL sessions she recommended one Fraxel treatment as it would be more cost effective and get the job done.  I was after a perfect complexion.  Fraxel is a cosmetic laser treatment that helps to renew the skin.  Depending on the setting, it can rid brown spots, acne scars and help diminish fine lines and wrinkles.

Prior to lasering, Dr. Lefkowitz coated my face with a thick numbing cream and I sat for an hour checking my emails as my lips went numb... then, everything else.  She explained that she was going to do eight passes over my face with the laser and I would feel a tingling sensation.  The machine has a cooling agent attached to the laser so I felt cool air blowing on my numb skin as I felt an irritating, yet tolerable scratching pins and needles like sensation. My forehead was the most sensitive and I just kept breathing as Dr. Lefkowitz fried the skin on each section of my face.

Overall the treatment took about 20 minutes and then I iced.  I left embarrassed as I left her office as I looked like I had a horrible sunburn on my face and neck with puffy eyes and cheeks.  Being that I'm so pale everywhere else I really looked ridiculous.  Wishing I had a scarf to wrap myself up in, I did my best to hide behind my sunglasses and ran home.

This week, as I hibernate I'll experience peeling (new skin!) I'm using gentle cleansers and moisturisers with SPF provided to me by Dr. Lefkowicz.  One of them being Cerave.   This time next week my face will be as soft, smooth and clear as a baby's bottom.  The type of setting my Fraxel treatment was set for was key for targeting photo-damage: brown spots from the sun or aging.  Dr. Lefkowitz did mention that treating melasma is tricky and this may not be the answer.  Some patients may also need more than one treatment to rid their photo-damage.  Looks like I'll only need one (I hope).  I'll write next week and post "After" pics to show you how it came out!

Dr. Ilyse Lefkowicz can be found at 875 5th Ave, New York, New York 10065.  Call her for an appointment at (212) 288.3200.