ORIGINS Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Advanced Face Serum

ORIGINS blazed the trail for mainstream natural and organic cosmetic and skin-care products. Dr. Andrew Weil, an authority on holistic health, has collaborated with ORIGINS to create a collection of state-of-the-art treatments to help optimize our skin's defenses and address myriad concerns. The proprietary blends used in the products feature Dr. Weil's potent blend of health-promoting plants and herbs, including the mushrooms that are used in the new Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Advanced Face Serum (available in three sizes from $66 to $110). I wanted to discover why those who use Dr. Weil's ORIGINS products swear by them, and along came a serum for me to test. Happy me!

There is an excellent two-minute video by Dr. Weil at this link. Pop over to watch it. In the video, he explains why imperceptible inflammation is the silent cause of skin aging, resulting in redness, dryness, loss of elasticity, and eventually wrinkling. He explains the ingredients in the new advanced serum, such as sea buckthorn, a spiny shrub that's a powerful antioxidant; Chaga (used as a heath tonic) and Pleurotus mushrooms; spike moss (with biflavonoids that inhibit UV damage and increase the activity of growth proteins in human fibroblasts); ginger; holy basil; and mangifera extract (protects against heat stress) - some pretty exotic plants.

Women who participated in the clinical study of Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Advanced Face Serum were from North America and Japan. Some noticed immediate changes in their skin; others noticed changes with continued use. The vast majority saw improvements in suppleness and resilience. This serum is said to be fabulous for women who suffer from rosacea or who have sensitive or dry skin, and the reviews on the ORIGINS Web site from women with stubborn rosacea are impressive.

I haven't been troubled with rosacea for years, but I definitely have sensitive and dry skin. I was delighted to try Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Advanced Face Serum. I have been wearing it every day for a couple of weeks. Even though the directions say to apply it at night too, I have been testing other products at night.

The lightweight serum has a slight and pleasant "earthy" smell on application - a scent that disappears within seconds. I try to keep my skin in good condition, so I start testing any new product with a baseline that's hard to improve (without lasers or other expensive treatments). I look for a couple of qualities in a serum, and Mega-Mushroom has them all.

1. Do no harm. I don't want my skin to regress, and I don't want to have unpleasant side effects, such as redness. My orthopedic surgeon and I share a belief: "No pain, no gain is bunk." Check!
   
2. I want the serum to feel good and form a protective, moist base for my moisturizer. It's especially nice if it forms a barrier on my skin - one that I know is there, but isn't heavy or sticky. Mega-Mushroom serum does this so well, I sometimes forget to moisturize before I get ready to apply foundation. Then, I have to add my moisturizer and give it a few minutes to absorb before I add makeup.
   
3. Along with moisturizing qualities, I like my serums to simultaneously firm my skin, tighten my pores, and make my face appear smooth - a bonus. Check!
   

Mega-Mushroom passed my tests and did so extremely well. I am enjoying using it! I plan to purchase some of Dr. Weil's other products, including Dr. Andrew Weil for ORIGINS Conditioning Lip Balm with Turmeric. Since I'm a lip conditioner addict, I will try it!

I must confess that I've passed by the ORIGINS display at Macy's for years, thinking that the products were targeted toward a younger age demographic. Now that I know better, I'll be stopping now and then to see what's new!

As my readers know, I appreciate companies that give back to our society and environment. Dr. Andrew Weil donates all of his after-tax profits from royalties from sales of Dr. Andrew Weil for ORIGINS products to the Weil Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting integrative medicine through training, education, and research. For more information, visit the Foundation's Web site.

You should give ORIGINS Mega-Mushroom Skin Relief Advanced Face Serum a try. Add it to your skin-care routine. I think you'll be glad you did. It performs as well as serums that are many times more expensive. If your skin tends to be red, you are in for a treat.

You can find the Mega-Mushroom advanced serum, along with other Mega-Mushroom products, at the ORIGINS Web site, free-standing ORIGINS stores, and Macy's. There's a store locator at this link.

White Tea - Antioxidant and Anti-Aging Properties

Cosmetics & Toiletries reported on September 1 that researchers studying the antioxidant and anti-aging properties of 23 plant extracts from 21 plant species found that white tea, along with 11 other plants studied, exhibited high or satisfactory effectiveness in inhibiting two enzymes that contribute to the aging of our skin. Nine of the 11 extracts inhibited both of the enzymes studied.

The nine plant extracts with activities against these enzymes, elastase (which breaks down elastin) and collagenase (which attacks collagen), included white tea, bladderwrack, cleavers, rose tincture, green tea, rose aqueous, angelica, anise, and pomegranate. White tea inhibited both enzymes the most.

The article is pretty technical, but here's the bottom line. The researchers concluded that white tea reduces the risk of inflammation and wrinkles. Neal's Yard, which specializes in organic skin and body care and was a study collaborator, plans to use this information to select effective anti-aging ingredients for its natural skin care lines.

This isn't the first study that has found white tea to be beneficial to skin. In 2003, another study found that the ingredients in white tea are effective in boosting the immune function of skin cells and protecting them against the damaging effects of the sun.

Who makes products with white tea? Origins offers the well-regarded A Perfect World moisturizer for face ($35), and the new Nivea My Silhouette for body ($15.99) contains white tea and anise. Origins products are available at Origins online, Beauty.com, Amazon, some department stores, and Target. The Nivea product is available at CVS and other drugstores.

This is good news for anyone who loves organic skin care products!

Photo courtesy of Cosmetics & Toiletries.

Tonic for the Soul

Ever left work and felt overworked and unappreciated? Go home and take a bath. Warm water and your favorite beverage (wink!) should offer some temporary relief. Make sure to think about things you like, not the day's events. Like meditation, only better!

There are more than a few "relaxing" aromatherapy bath products available. Two of my favorites are Kiehl's Muscle Soak Foaming-Relaxing Bath ($18.50) and Clarins Relax Bath & Shower Concentrate ($27.50). They both smell good, with a bit of a "mineral" fragrance.

The Kiehl's product contains sea salts, aloe vera, and a natural humectant to keep your skin soft. It is not tested on animals, which makes it even better.

Clarins offers the pricier Relax Bath & Shower Concentrate ($27.50), which seems to have disappeared from some department stores, but is still available at Macy's and Dillard's - or Canadian or European Web sites. Filled with aromatic plant extracts, this bath additive really is relaxing. "Relax" is also available in a Relaxing Body Balm ($37.50), which is perfect if you can't find time for that bath. A bit like using Origins Piece of Mind.

Interesting that they are both blue? Soothing blue for the blues.

Photo courtesy of Kiehl's.