Favorites: Eye Treatments from Dr. Perricone, Kate Somerville, and Le Métier de Beauté

You have asked me to describe my skin care - what I use and why. I thought I'd start today with eye care. Before I tell you what I've been using lately - and I do mean lately - I need to explain a blogger's routine.

I often switch products. A company will send me a product to use, and I normally test skin care for a full month before I will write about it. As a result, it's rare that I use a single product for a year or more. Right now, I am using three products around my eyes - products I have used a year or more - but I continue to test new things. One new-to-me product that impresses me (so far) is Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Repair Eye Serum. I love the glow it gives my under-eye area. It may make its way onto my more permanent list.

I usually wear a serum and a hydrator. I start with Perricone MD Acyl-Glutathione Eye Lid Serum ($115). I have been using it for over a year, and I love it. Claimed to be a first in skin-care technology, Acyl-Glutathione Eye Lid Serum topically replenishes the skin’s glutathione levels around the eye to dramatically reduce the visible signs of aging in the upper eyelid area and deliver a youthful, more awakened appearance. Additional benefits include dramatic tightness and firmness of droopy eyelids, smoothing of fine lines and wrinkles, and minimized redness and dark circles anywhere around the eye. The light, fast-absorbing texture of Acyl-Glutathione Eye Lid Serum also enhances make-up application by acting as a primer to help makeup glide on more smoothly and improve its wear throughout the day.

A patent-pending molecule, acyl-glutathione replenishes the glutathione levels in the skin. Glutathione is the chief, master antioxidant that rapidly depletes with age, stress, the environment, and less-than-optimal health. Its replenishment is critical to help the skin defend itself against accelerated aging. Glutathione deficits show up on the skin as fatigue, dullness, severe loss of elasticity, deep wrinkles, extreme loss of hydration, and visible change in skin texture.

Had I participated in the Perricone's test group, I would have been among those who saw dramatic results. I use Acyl-Glutathione Eye Lid Serum day and night. My concern was crepiness in the inside lid above the crease, closest to my nose. It happens to everyone with age, but I hate it. This serum clearly and significantly reduced that crepiness.

Dr. Perricone recommends applying the serum directly to the eyelid, working up to the brow bone in gentle patting motions. Also apply it to crow's feet and lower contours of the eye area. It takes only a few moments to absorb and then you can follow it with an eye cream if you wish (I do). There is no fragrance, and it is so lightweight, I cannot feel it on my skin. Additionally, a very tiny amount is adequate for coverage around both eyes; a light-handed pump is all you need. In short, it works!

I have been topping the serum with one of two eye creams/hydrators. One is Le Métier de Beauté's Revive Eye Concentrate ($175), which I adore. Revive Eye Concentrate with Syntoc Actif + HydrationPlus Complexe (to use its extended name) is an innovative eye treatment featuring a hydrating protein-peptide complex that penetrates the dermis to reduce puffiness and improve lymphatic circulation and elasticity. It's designed to repair and plump the delicate skin around the eyes. Using Le Métier de Beauté's exclusive Syntoc Actif delivery system, which delivers the active ingredients directly to the dermis where they are needed, it offers these key ingredients.

• Hesperidin methyl chalcone decreases capillary permeability to reduce edema (water retention that causes puffiness and even worse, slackening skin).
• A state-of-the-art dipeptide improves lymphatic circulation and further reduces edema.
• Palmitoyl tetrapeptide, a regenerating peptide that has been shown to improve elasticity and strengthen the skin around the eyes. It can slow or inhibit glycation and inflammatory damage too.

In the past couple of years, I have found eye creams with peptides to be enormously effective, and I'm a proponent of anti-glycation products. The experience of using Revive Eye Concentrate is extremely pleasing. I really like the pump container, although I'll admit I had to learn to use a light hand. The first few times I pumped, I got too much product. I used the excess around my mouth because I didn't want to waste it. I've got the touch perfected now. The only thing I might request to improve the container is the addition of a window. I'd like to know how much I'm using and when I'm approaching the day I need to buy a new one. One day I'll pump and get a spurt, and it's only then that I know I need to buy more.

The light pink, creamy serum smells like rose hip oil. It's a very light, pleasant fragrance that I smell on application, but not long after. I use it over and under my eyes. The concentrate absorbs rapidly, leaving the feeling and look of moisture on my skin without any greasiness that can interfere with makeup or trap water overnight. I have found that it's perfect for use on its own; I don't need any additional cream around my eyes. I am also enamored with the fact that my concealer or other products do not pill over it.

Even better, it works - really well. Since I started using it, I've noticed two major changes. The crepiness on the inner side of my eyes over the crease has been reduced significantly, making my eyes look younger and better, and the fine lines under my eyes have been blurred. I can crinkle my face (or smile) and force them to reappear, but they have definitely diminished. I've also experienced no puffiness in the morning - even after one nine-hour night sleeping on my side.

Early in my use of this product, I found the effects to be somewhat miraculous, so I tested it. I used a hydrating cream without peptides on one day and nothing on the next, a hide-out weekend day. I certainly noticed a difference. My areas of concern were back. That little test told me two things: 1) I need to use Revive Eye Concentrate every day, twice a day, as directed, and 2) a month's duration may not have produced lasting effects at the cellular level. That stands to reason, given a skin cell's life cycle. I've been using this product for two years. I would recommend Le Métier de Beauté Revive Eye Concentrate to everyone.

Another eye cream I love is Kate Somerville's KateCeuticals Multi-active Repair Lifting & Lineless Cream ($195), shown at the top of this feature. Rich and powerful, KateCeuticals Multi-Active Repair Lifting & Lineless Cream delivers unmistakable anti-aging results. This potent formula uses a proprietary blend of collagen-building peptides (there's that word again) to effectively tighten and lift the look of sagging skin, dramatically reducing the appearance of lines and wrinkles with instant relief of dryness and long-term moisturization. Designed to renew and rejuvenate, this powerful formula creates a lifted look and bright, youthful glow. The following description from Kate Somerville describes the cream's merits.

• A proprietary blend of peptides stimulates collagen production, helps prevent the breakdown of elastin, increases skin’s moisture levels, and dramatically reduces the appearance of lines and wrinkle.
• Commiphora Mukul resin extract (from an Indian tree well-known in Ayurvedic medicine) produces a volumizing effect to plump the skin from within.
• Blackberry leaf extract inhibits the breakdown of collagen.
• Natural sugar beet root extract promotes collagen production and long-lasting hydration.
• A unique brightening complex, featuring natural herbal extracts, improves luminosity and evens out skin texture and tone.
• A special blend of soybean lipid extracts repairs the skin’s lipid barrier for long-term hydration.

Why do I love it? For the same reasons I love . It works. Not only that, I like the container, which dispenses just enough and not too much cream for one application. Press on the top and out pops a "dose." My makeup never rolls off in sheets when applied over it. You wouldn't believe how many eye creams can't handle normal color products like concealer or foundation.

I must mention another product that have pleased me enormously when I tested it: HydroPeptide Eye Anti-Wrinkle Dark Circle Concentrate ($60). I am currently testing a new product that's already showing me great results: RéVive Intensité Volumizing Eye Serum ($350).

There you go. Part 1 of my daily skin care. Bored yet?

Photos courtesy of Kate Somerville, Perricone MD, and Le Métier de Beauté's Revive Eye Concentrate

Kate Somerville Quench & Correct Plumping Lip Gloss and Restorative Lip Treatment

Your lips should keep your age a secret (your hands too). Kate Somerville has given us a reason to smile! Quench & Correct Plumping Lip Gloss and Restorative Lip Treatment ($29) is a dual-ended dynamo that performs triple duty. It moisturizes, replenishes, and makes your lips shine.

One end, Correct Restorative Lip Treatment with Hydra8, reduces the appearance of lip lines and eliminates dryness. The other end, Quench Plumping Lip Gloss, helps restore moisture for an instantly plumped, youthful look that’s bound to keep you beaming.

The Correct Restorative Treatment offers the following ingredients and benefits.

• Dual peptides are designed to boost hydration and smooth the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• A special, trademarked skin-conditioning agent, Hydra8, is formulated to bind moisture to the lips for up to eight hours.
• The treatment reduces the look of lines and cracks for a softer, smoother smile and a more comfortable feel.

Quench Plumping Lip Gloss adds a pretty, light pink shine along with beneficial ingredients.

• Naturally derived peptides help to increase lip volume, creating the perfect pout without any stinging or odd sensations.
• A moisture complex provides long-lasting hydration.
• The gloss creates a long-lasting shine and a rosy glow.

You can use this duo as often as you want throughout the day for lips that look and feel good. Staying within the lip lines, apply the Correct Restorative Lip Treatment directly to the lips and follow with the Quench Plumping Lip Gloss. I love it! I bought mine at Neiman Marcus as soon as it arrived (exactly what you'd expect from a gooey lip lover), and I'm impressed. The lip treatment adds instant moisture and comfort. The lip gloss is the icing on the cake.

Why is the treatment so enriching? It's packed with hydrating ingredients beyond those trendy ones listed above. This is quite a list: soybean oil, olive oil, jojoba oil, beeswax, macadamia seed oil, passion fruit seed oil, rice bran oil, açaí pulp oil, babassu seed oil, and manuka honey extract.

The treatment and lip gloss are flavored with a pleasant spearmint. I usually dislike flavors and fragrances in my lip products, but this one's familiar - and not at all obnoxious like some cheap lip products that are long on flavor and short on proven ingredients. I know it may not seem like a compliment, but I mean this in an extremely complimentary way. When I use the treatment before bed, I don't have to apply Vaseline to my lips to get the hydration I need. I love that!

I await more lip gloss shades. I think Kate's onto something!

I bought my Kate Somerville Quench & Correct Plumping Lip Gloss at Neiman Marcus. It should be available at all Kate Somerville counters now. You can also purchase it at Kate's Web site.

Photo courtesy of Kate Somerville

You Must Experience a Kate Somerville DermalQuench Oxygen Treatment

Last week, I had an appointment to have my second-ever complimentary Kate Somerville DermalQuench Oxygen Treatment at Neiman Marcus Tysons Galleria. I had booked the last appointment of the day for a DermalQuench. What a way to end the day! I wish I had had somewhere to go.

Two of Kate's lovely team members, Nina Montelibano and Aleen Vartkessian, had come to the DC area for a couple of days, and we lucked out with a full day of treatments for those who knew the magic of DermalQuench and had booked an appointment.

The DermalQuench Oxygen Treatment produces instant, unbelievable results. Neiman Marcus and other Kate Somerville counters occasionally offer the treatments for free - treatments that cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere. When Nina finished my hour-long treatment, I looked as if I had stepped out of a time capsule into a face that I had about five years ago. It was amazing. My face had a glow, and it had "lost" all the fine lines. Even my nasolabial folds (smile lines around the mouth) weren't as deep. My skin was plumped, youthful, and pretty.

Kate Somerville's DermalQuench Oxygen Treatment is delivered through a pen-like wand (connected to the oxygen machine) that pumps booster serum and oxygen into the skin in short alternating bursts. It's so hydrating and plumping it literally takes off years. This treatment is well-known among celebrities who suffer from jet lag or have to walk the red carpet looking fabulous. It's starting to be well-known among my set (ordinary women), unwilling to look "older," but not willing to endure expensive, painful, and bruising injections. I hear many women have asked where they can buy the DermalQuench machine, and I know why. The treatment could be addictive. I'd like to have one before I leave the house for important events!

By delivering oxygen, vitamins, and hyaluronic acid serum under hyperbaric pressure, DermalQuench produces age-defying results. The treatment feels like a high-powered airbrushing. It's cool, gentle, and relaxing - hard to explain - and there's absolutely no discomfort. After a treatment, the skin is hydrated, plumped, soothed, softened, toned, and firmed. The treatment can be used anywhere on your face. Concerned about your undereye area? No problem - the treatment can be applied there. Concerned about your whole face? No problem! The treatment can cover your entire face; it will just take a little longer. Nina did most of my face. She worked around my eyes as we chatted about everything. Once Aleen had finished up with her customer, she joined our chat. I felt like I'd spent an hour with my girlfriends. It was over before I knew it. I had fun while Nina made me look good!

The results are said to last two to three days, long enough to look younger (and great) for a big event. I've experienced two days of bliss (not three) on the two occasions I've been treated to a DermalQuench treatment.

If you live in the DC area, call Margarita Vega at (703) 761-1600, extension 3304, to find out the next date for treatments and book an appointment. While you're at a Kate Somerville counter anywhere, you should take the opportunity learn about Kate Somerville's fabulous skin-care products that will make you glow. You'll want to prolong the effects of your treatment after you have one. I love Kate's skin care and have slowing been adding more and more of her products to my rotation.

If you don't live in the DC area, you have options. Most Kate Somerville counters offer DermalQuench Oxygen Treatments now and then, so ask. Kate's own clinic in Los Angeles provides all Kate Somerville services.

You need to do this! I have never experienced a treatment that took off years in just a few minutes - until I had a DermalQuench. Want to see a cool video? Check out this one from just one clinic that uses this fabulous Kate Somerville technology. Or Google DermalQuench to see what the commotion's all about.

Kate Somerville Detox Daily Cleanser Giveaway Contest

Congratulations to Harshleen!

By popular request on Twitter, a skin-care giveaway...

Kate Somerville's Detox Daily Cleanser ($32) will give your skin a clean start by detoxifying and restoring clarity to your complexion. It's billed as clean perfection for those who want to fight acne, even the occasional blemish, and treat their skin to an anti-aging cleanser.

Detox Daily Cleanser removes impurities without irritating or over-drying stressed skin. It fights the bacteria that cause acne, while stabilizing oil production to counter future breakouts. The salicylic acid takes care of bacteria. The cleanser includes among its ingredients phytic acid to help fade post-acne scars and reduce inflammation. It's also packed with soothing ingredients, such as aloe, and tea tree leaf oil.

Kate Somerville's products have become a favorite of mine over the last year or so. I like everything about them. If you have any oiliness in your skin or struggle to keep it free of the gunk (technical term) that exacerbates breakouts, you will love Detox Daily Cleanser.

How can you enter to win? Here's the "fine print."

There are a few simple steps. First, all you really have to do is leave a comment on this feature. After you comment here, feel free to send me an e-mail at bestthingsinbeautycontests@gmail.com and identify your comment. You can never be too careful about sharing an e-mail address you care about on a blog, so feel free to follow this step (an alternative is to code your e-mail, e.g., myname at gmail dot com, in your comment).

You can earn extra entries. Follow this blog (through an e-mail subscription or though one of the many Google readers - see sidebar at right) or my Twitter account, @BTiBeauty. That will earn a second entry.

You can earn a third entry by tweeting this contest. Just make sure to include "@BTiBeauty" (without the quotes) in your tweet. I will tweet the contest this evening, and you can simply retweet it to earn that second entry. Only one tweet will be counted as an entry. I appreciate multiple tweets, but it's not necessary.

The deadline for entries will be Saturday, July 23, at midnight. The next day, I will use a random number generator (random.org) to select the winner. I will e-mail the winner on Sunday. The winner will have 48 hours to reply to my message and provide a shipping address. After 48 hours, the prize will be forfeited, and another winner will be selected. Make sure to check your e-mail - and look in your spam folder - when the contest ends.

This contest is open to anyone anywhere. Here are the terms. I will carefully pack and ship the prize (as I always do). I cannot insure the prize for overseas shipment - it's amazingly expensive to do so because of the way I have to send insured mail. If it's lost or stolen in transit, I won't be able to replace it with another. I'll do my best on this end; let's see if your mail services do right by you on the other end if we have an overseas winner. We had one in Norway this month. I'm hoping her prize gets to her unscathed.

Good luck!

Photo courtesy of Kate Somerville

KateCeuticals Multi-Active Repair Lifting & Lineless Cream

Recently launched, Kate Somerville's KateCeuticals Multi-Active Repair Lifting & Lineless Cream ($195) is a Neiman Marcus exclusive. Multi-Active Repair is a potent anti-aging moisturizer, formulated with a proprietary blend of collagen-building peptides to effectively tighten and lift sagging skin.

• The moisture extracts in the formula immediately repair the skin's lipid barrier to enhance moisture content, providing instant dryness relief and a proven long-term increase in skin hydration levels.
• A combination of volumizers helps to plump up the skin from within for a lifted look while dramatically reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• It's fueled by something called Chromocare to visibly even and rejuvenate the complexion, improving skin uniformity.
• A unique brightening complex adds a healthy, natural radiance for an immediately brighter and even-textured skin tone.

I wish I knew a lot more about it because I love it. I tested it before the last moisturizer I featured, and it's fabulous. What else would you expect from Kate Somerville?

I love everything about this treatment moisturizer: the dispenser (press on the lid, and up pops the cream you will use - protects the rest of the product from contamination); the texture; the lack of any strong fragrance (but what's there is pleasing); the moisturizing effects; and, I hope, the coming of younger-looking skin. I'm ever hopeful. For now, I can tell you that it feels exceptionally nice and is definitely protective.

I have very dry skin most of the year. In the middle of summer, it's only dry. This treatment moisturizer seems like it was made for me. Here are some of the ingredients (yes, I realize they may have "foreign" names). I'm listing them so that you can understand the combination of new skin-care technology and proven botanical ingredients in Multi-Active Repair.

• Glyceryl betaine/polyacrylic acid esters, moisturizing ingredient that provides instant dryness relief and efficiently promotes collagen synthesis
• Diisopropyl dimer dilinoleate, a synthetic ester that functions as a skin-conditioning agent and emollient
• Ethylhexyl olivate, a natural olive-based emollient
• Olive fruit
• Palmitoyl tripeptide-5, a tripeptide that stimulates the skin to activate collagen biosynthesis, stimulating and strengthening the dermis to reduce fine lines and wrinkles
• Soybean seed extract
• Blackberry leaf extract
• Sodium hyaluronate
• Grapefruit, orange, lime, bergamot, and ginger oils.

There's more, but I think you'll appreciate this partial list. Multi-Active Repair is packed with good stuff for your skin.

I'm sold, and I've only had it a short time. I wanted to tell you about it as Neiman Marcus InCircle starts. You should look for KateCeuticals Multi-Active Repair Lifting & Lineless Cream, along with other Kate Somerville products. This is a good time to buy. There is a Kate Somerville cleanser gift with a purchase of $150.

Photo courtesy of Neiman Marcus

Kate Somerville CytoCell Dark Circle Corrective Eye Cream

I have been using Kate Somerville's new CytoCell Dark Circle Corrective Eye Cream ($75) for over a month, and I love it! It's so much more than a dark circle corrector, I wonder how it got its name. It's clinically proven to treat all signs of aging in the delicate eye area, including fine lines and wrinkles, puffiness, dullness, uneven skin tone - you name it - and dark circles.

I was lucky to be given a "pre-production sample" at the Neiman Marcus Mazza Gallerie blogger party. It has lasted since late February and shows no signs of running out yet. It must have been close to a full-sized product. I feel privileged because it's so nice.

The eye cream, something like a creamy serum, is intended to reactivate dormant stem cells around the eyes, which “helps with dark circles, fine lines, wrinkles and puffiness,” said Somerville. Just in case you haven't noticed, stem cells are a focus of luxury skin care lately. Key ingredients in CytoCell Eye (nickname for it) include Peptide P-199, said to enhance skin tissue and cellular regeneration, and Eyeseryl (also a peptide) to treat under-eye puffiness and dark circles. Eyeseryl has anti-edema properties.

Somerville's four-week clinical trial demonstrated these fabulous results.

• Reduces under eye dark circles by up to 60%
• Reduces puffiness around the eye area by up to 75%
• Diminishes fine lines and wrinkles around the eye area by up to 60%
• Helps to improve radiance, skin tone, and smoothness

I don't really have dark circles under my eyes, so I won't be the best person to evaluate its effectiveness on them. I can tell you that it reduced the crepiness over my eyes. My crepiness (it comes with age) is not awful, but it's there, and it bothers me. CytoCell Eye also reduces the appearance of the fine lines around my eyes. I have used it day and night and at night alone, and I settled on night only. I like using an effective, but not overly heavy eye cream at night. I don't want to encourage the pooling of fluid while I sleep. CytoCell Eye seems to help banish that wake-up fluid. I did find this cream to ball up a little under my eye primer in the morning, which may be totally due to my primer, not the cream. So, I use it at night.

I love the texture of CytoCell Eye. It is so creamy and nice. I feel hydrated the moment I apply it, and the feeling lasts all night - probably because it absorbs so perfectly. One ample pump (yes, I love the pump container too!) covers both eyes, under and over, with a little for the sides toward my hairline. CytoCell Eye is free of fragrance and parabens, another reason to try it. While some of you may think CytoCell Eye is expensive, I think it's extremely reasonable for state-of-the-art skin care. Compare the prices of Somerville's products to the other latest and greatest eye creams at the department store, and you'll understand why I find the prices extremely reasonable.

Kate Somerville is dedicated to using scientifically proven ingredients in her skin care, and it shows in her products. This isn't the only one of her new introductions; I will be featuring others this week and next. I am a believer.

You can purchase Kate Somerville products at Neiman Marcus, Kate Somerville's Web site, and other department store counters.

DC-area friends: Margarita Vega, Product Specialist for Kate Somerville at Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria, will be doing DERMAL QUENCH facials on May 24. Call (703) 761-1600, extension 3304, to book an appointment. I have never experienced a treatment like it; it took years off my face in just a few minutes. If you didn't see my feature, you can read it now at this link. Don't miss an opportunity to have a DERMAL QUENCH treatment. I would buy the machine if I could!

Photo courtesy of Kate Somerville

Why You Need a Kate Somerville DERMAL QUENCH Treatment

After work today, I had an appointment with Margarita Vega, Product Specialist for Kate Somerville at Neiman Marcus at Tysons Galleria. I had booked the last appointment of the day for a DERMAL QUENCH treatment and facial (referenced in some materials as DERMAQUENCH).

Margarita was ready for me when I arrived a few minutes early. Our weather was horrendous, and she had had a few cancellations. I can't imagine why anyone would have given up a slot to avoid getting wet. I got drenched multiple times today, but I wouldn't have missed this treatment for rain or anything short of hospitalization.

DERMAL QUENCH Oxygen Treatment produces instant, unbelievable results, and Neiman Marcus is doing the treatments for free - treatments that cost hundreds of dollars elsewhere.When Margarita was finished, I had stepped out of a time capsule into a face that I had about three years ago.

Margarita did a facial before she did the oxygen treatment. Naturally, she used Kate Somerville's pro-level products for all phases of my relaxing treat. She cleansed my skin with Gentle Daily Wash and then exfoliated with Micro Glycolic Polisher, a professional-strength treatment peel that resurfaces and restores skin. I told her that my face could handle glycolic acid, despite the sensitivity of my skin - and it did. Kate Somerville has products for every skin type, and Margarita was careful to talk to me about my skin and what it likes before she selected the treatments she applied.

The Quench Hydrating Mask was an incredibly cooling pleasure. While it was working, she made my treat even better by a quick arm and hand massage, using Goat Milk Body Lotion. She also applied Neck Tissue Repair in such a soothing way. By that point, I was so relaxed, she could have done anything and I would have been happy. The reason I went, though, was to experience Kate Somerville's DERMAL QUENCH Oxygen Treatment - applied with a machine that pumps serum and oxygen into your skin, hydrating and plumping it to take off the years.

This treatment is well-known among celebrities who suffer from jet lag or have to walk the red carpet looking fabulous. It's starting to be well-known among my set (ordinary women), unwilling to look "older," but not willing to endure expensive, painful, and bruising injections. Margarita told me that women want to know where they can buy the DERMAL QUENCH machine, and now I know why. This could get addictive.

What does DERMAL QUENCH do? It's a hydrating treatment that delivers oxygen, vitamins, and hyaluronic acid serum under hyperbaric pressure to produce age-defying results. After complimenting my skin, which was very sweet and totally unnecessary, Margareta told me that she would concentrate on the lines on my forehead. I asked her to also work on my nasolabial folds, which bother me more than my forehead, and she was game. The machine and the HydraKate Line Release serum used with it are intended to hydrate, plump, soothe, soften, tone, and lift the skin. The treatment can be used anywhere on your face. Concerned about your undereye area? No problem - the treatment can be applied there. You will glow when your treatment is over. In fact, you probably won't want to leave. The treatment feels like a high-powered airbrushing, but it's gentle and relaxing. The results are said to last two to three days, long enough to look younger (and great) for a big event.

HydraKate Line Release, used with the oxygen treatment, has some high-tech ingredients.

• HSC Complex - a proprietary ingredient that counters the loss of lipids
• Hyaluronic Acid - a moisture magnet
• Leuphasyl - reduces the depth of expression wrinkles and is a safe alternative to Botox
• SNAP-8 - reduces wrinkles and muscular contractions at the surface
• Pepha-Tight - algae extract and pullulan to strengthen connective tissue and firm the skin, while hydrating
  
• Peptides - the darlings of state-of-the-art skin care, which help to build collagen and reduce the signs of aging
  

Margarita showed me my face in a magnifying mirror after she did the initial facial treatments and before she did the DERMAL QUENCH treatment. I saw my "expression lines," hard to miss in the mirror. Then she set to work with her little spray wand, a pleasant experience once I realized how it felt and exactly what she was doing (concentrating on any little wrinkle she saw). After about five minutes (maybe a few more - I was totally relaxed in her hands), she was finished and handed me a mirror. I was stunned - totally stunned. While I still had some wrinkles on my forehead, they were significantly reduced. The nasolabial folds and the other shallow parentheses around my mouth? They were gone - truly gone. She noticed the dramatic difference. So did I. It was amazing. No wonder women want to buy the machine.

Margarita finished my treatment with more serum and Line Release Under Eye Repair Cream. I was relaxed, hydrated, dewy, and free of the surface wrinkles that plague me. You can experience this too.

If you live in the DC area, Margarita will be doing the DERMAL QUENCH treatment on November 11. Call (703) 761-1600, extension 3304, to book an appointment. If you would also like the luxury of a facial and the oxygen treatment, you can make an appointment for November 23. She does them about once a month, and they are complimentary. You should take the opportunity learn about Kate Somerville's fabulous skin-care products and the ones that will make you glow. I'm building a list, and Margarita kindly gave me some samples to bring home so that I can continue to experience the luxury of Kate Somerville and make my treatment results last as long as possible.

If you don't live in the DC area, you have options. Many of the Kate Somerville counters are offering DERMAL QUENCH treatments, so ask. Kate's own clinic in Los Angeles provides all Kate Somerville services.

You need to do this! I have never experienced a treatment that took off years in just a few minutes - until today. Want to see a cool video? Check out this one from just one clinic that uses this fabulous Kate Somerville technology. Or Google DERMAL QUENCH to see what a phenomenon it is.

Photo courtesy of Kate Somerville

Kate Somerville Products for Sensitive Skin

Sensitive skin? Turning red as winter air and product overload assault your skin? Check out Kate Somerville's products for sensitive skin. She even directs her skin care to three types of sensitive skin - dry, oily, and aging - because she knows that sensitive types are all different. Her skin care pyramid, shown at right, has five steps to protect, hydrate, feed, stimulate, and detoxify the skin. Each Kate Somerville regimen covers all the bases.

Kate's products are available at select Sephora stores and from her Web site. I have a few samples here and plan to give them a try this week. I love test drives! I just wish this one could be longer. I'm intrigued.

Photo courtesy of Kate Somerville