Then I was disappointed in 2009 to learn that the maker had decided to improve the formula. Unrelated story: I'll never forget a certain improvement that was made to a face cream I had used for a few years (Paula's Choice). It was for seriously dry and sensitive skin, and it worked really well. Paula decided to put retinol in it. I called the company and complained. "Don't you, the experts, know that retinol can do serious damage to sensitive skin?" The representative basically told me I was "misinformed." I guess that meant my dermatologist was misinformed about my skin too. After suffering through losing a skin treatment that had really worked for me, I was petrified when I learned that Prevage MD would be "improved," meaning replaced with regular Prevage with a lesser percentage of its active ingredient. I stopped using it. If you want to read about that story, go here.
Anyhow, Elizabeth Arden, the maker of Prevage (although not its original maker), has released a new version of Prevage that caught my eye: Prevage City Smart Broad Spectrum SPF50 Hydrating Shield ($68), a multipurpose product that really appealed to me. Before I tell you more about it, I'll share some of Elizabeth Arden's press about Prevage skin care.
Reverse the face of time, now! Scientists have proven that environmental threats are the leading cause of aging skin. Exposure to smoke, pollution, and sun can cause free radicals, leaving skin dry and uneven in tone, and increasing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. That's why the scientists at Elizabeth Arden developed Prevage, the leading solution to the #1 cause of signs of aging.
These groundbreaking treatments leverage the brand’s scientific research and over a decade of leading innovation within the environmental protection category. The power of Prevage comes from Idebenone, the single most powerful antioxidant. By protecting the skin from oxidative stress, Idebenone not only shields the skin from future environmental effects, but also helps support the skin’s natural repair process and restore a youthful appearance. The look of lines, wrinkles, age spots, and sun damage are diminished as the look of firmness is improved with continuous use of Prevage.
The brand’s exclusive Idebenone Ester Technology is an advanced delivery system that fuses Idebenone with a skin compatible ester to provide a time-release reservoir of Idebenone, targeted where and when it’s most needed. This delivery system allows for a more effective and gentle use of Idebenone, even on those with sensitive skin. Idebenone has been tested under the rigorous Environmental Protection Factor TM 3 protocol, which uses a multifaceted approach to measure the power of an ingredient’s topical antioxidant performance.
EPF assesses how much protection you'll get against environmental aggressors such as stress, pollution, and smoking (God forbid) — all of which accelerate the signs of aging. When tested, Idebenone scores an EPF rating of 95 out of 100. In fact, Idebenone was proven to be more effective than the six other leading antioxidants.
The Prevage portfolio of products is large. I don't have time here to tell you about all of them, and I don't have or use all of them. I'm smitten with the newest City Smart Broad Spectrum SPF50 Hydrating Shield. I purchased mine from Nordstrom.
City Smart provides all of the wonderful features of other Prevage products, but also protects the skin with an SPF of 50. It is lightweight; you'd never know that it's so laden with sunblock.
It offers superior anti-aging technology. It’s in our DNA. Every day, in cities all over the world, the environment - from UV rays to pollution and smoke - is visibly aging your skin; in fact, 80% of all signs of skin aging are due to the environment. I'd guess genetics comes in second.
City Smart is a DNA Enzyme Complex, an anti-ollution protective agent, and an antioxidant broad spectrum SPF 50 Hydrating Shield - all in one. It's the first-of-its-kind skin shield to combine pollution and UV protection with Arden's DNA Enzyme Complex to strengthen the skin. It provides sheer, hydrating, invisible protection to help the skin look younger, longer. Truth!
- City Smart screens out skin-dulling pollutants and 98% of UVB rays.
- It visibly improves the skin’s condition in many ways.
- Plus it's formulated with a powerful antioxidant blend to maintain optimal skin health even in the most heavily polluted environments.
You can find the ingredients here. Key among them are Idebenone (When compared to antioxidants in face products, Idebenone in Prevage surpasses alpha lipoic acid, kinetin, vitamin C, vitamin E, and ubiquinone in environmental protection against oxidative stress), Green Tea, Thiotaine, Ferulic Acid, and L-Carnosine, all included to neutralize free radical damage.
Enough of that scientific stuff for now. City Smart is a lovely product. It is yellow, as its predecessors were, but it does not leave the skin yellow. I could swear, though, that the pigment in the product evens out my skin tone just a tad. That's a superb "side effect." It applies easily, quickly, and evenly, and it absorbs quickly, leaving my skin look radiant and even-toned. I really can't tell it's there after I apply it. As a rule, I apply my moisturizer over it, although I believe those with oily skin will not need additional moisture. I'm just so dry!
I love the fact that my skin treatment provides a high level of sun protection, without any of the usual effects of sunscreen: tackiness, whitewash, heaviness, and other undesirable qualities. It does this through zinc oxide and titanium dioxide. If you don't react well to those physical sunblocks, this may not be the sunscreen for you.
Otherwise, I highly recommend you try it. Give it a test of a few months, and I'll bet that your skin will improve in tone, texture, hydration, and appearance. One nice thing? It's relatively inexpensive. You won't have to lay out a fortune to find out whether it works for you.
I'm excited again about Prevage. It's nice to find skin care that meets its promises. You can find Prevage City Smart and its sister products at Elizabeth Arden's Web site and Elizabeth Arden counters. There's a special promotion this week at Elizabeth Arden counters (Macy's) and the Web site. Good time to try.
Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Arden
Sounds interesting. It does seem a bit pricey at first but because it eliminates the need for an anti-oxidant serum, the cost probably balances out. I have mild rosacea and cannot tolerate any chemical sunscreens on my face. I only use physical sunscreens and, because I don't like the Casper look, I favor micronized zinc oxide and micronized titanium dioxide. I have an excellent one (TIZO2) but I do have to apply it over my anti-oxidant serum. Perhaps I'll give this new one a try.
ReplyDeleteI had to smile over your experience with the Paula's Choice "experts". I had a similar experience a few years back because they kept finding fault with moisturizers and foundations that did not contain sunscreen while applauding those that did (invariably chemical sunscreens). They wouldn't publish my comment--and yes, I was registered--so I finally called and asked if they did not realize that those of us with certain skin conditions absolutely, positively could not use products with chemical sunscreens. I said that although I thought it was good to note whether or not a product contained sunscreen, the lack of it shouldn't be considered an automatic fault. I was politely told that at Paula's they believed everyone should wear sunscreen. I told the customer service rep that I agreed 100% and that I had been wearing sunscreen for about five decades--but only physical ones. Evidently, this rep hadn't drunk the kool-aid because she said she understood and would pass my concern on but that she didn't think it would change how they judged products. I thanked her for her honesty and stopped reading their skewed reviews. Now the only time I visit the site is if I'm searching for an ingredient list.
Eileen
DeleteI feel the same way you do about The Experts at Paula's Choice. As I've said to other friends, they are very skewed and biased; they hate La Mer and no, you can not substitute Estee Lauder serums for La Mer serums. When I read that some years back I quit reading the column. It was a good source for truly bad things in cosmetics but they got carried away by the sound of their own voices. Gigi
CG
DeleteI used Prevage Eye Serum for years. I used one of the face creams and serums too. I loved it and would recommend it highly. I have dry skin and it never bothered me. I wouldn't have used it. I also used the sunscreens. There weren't too many products when they came out. I used to buy it at Macy's. Gigi
This is a sunscreen, not a serum. It should be applied AFTER moisturizer to achieve the full sun protection benefits.
ReplyDeleteYou raise a good point, Anonymous. Chemical sunscreens go on before skincare because you want maximum absorption for them to function at their most effective level. Physical sunscreens, on the other hand, go on after skincare because they create a reflective barrier to block the sun. Two different mechanisms are at work and so they need to be treated differently to be at their most efficacious. I always use my skincare first (essence, serum, moisturizer), followed by my physical sunscreen, followed by my foundation which is patted on with a beauty blender so as not to disturb the sunscreen. Since this EA product is a physical sunscreen it would go on after skincare to get the most benefit from it. These hybrid products often cause confusion.
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for your review of this new Prevage product! I used Prevage faithfully about 10 years ago, and received constant compliments on my skin. Then, my derm. suddenly stopped carrying it in the office, as they found it "irritating" to too many patients. I switched to various equally costly skin medica products which were recommended instead, but nothing has been the same. I have periodically thought about going back to prevage again, and now that I am 10 years older (52), the brown spots are emerging here and there. Yikes! Having an spf 50 prevage item in my arsenal sounds like a dream. You were my angel today! Thanks for the report! Best, Jackie Chicago, IL
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