High End Corner: Nerium AD Day & Night Creams (Review)

Hey everyone! If you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw a post about a high end product I was sent to try and review. If not, I'll give you a little background info about the product and then jump right into the review. While on vacation, I met a lady who is a Nerium AD salesperson. We exchanged contact info and she gave me information, books, and brochures about the product, and I was really excited when it came in the mail two weeks ago. This is an anti-aging product that is said to tone the skin, reduce the appearance of dark marks/hyperpigmentation, smooth, and also tighten the skin, reducing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. The active ingredient in Nerium AD products is Nerium oleander, which is an evergreen shrub. I won't get into the specifics of it, but if you want to read more about it, here's a link: http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/nerium-oleander-oleander. These are high end products, most definitely. If you get it directly from the company, there are two packages that are sold, $500 and $1000. These packages include several bottles of the day cream, night cream, and other miscellaneous Nerium AD products. If you find them online for purchase, such as on Ebay or Amazon, the day and night creams usually come together for no less than $100. Alright, let's get right into the review!

 

I used these products for 2 weeks from the date that I received them, which ended yesterday. The first thing that I noticed was the smell. The night cream doesn't smell great AT all. It's heavy and sits on the skin, which I don't mind since it's supposed to work overnight. Once you put it on, your skin feels smoother instantly, and I absolutely loved that. The day cream feels light and has a pretty pleasant scent. Within the first few days, I noticed improved smoothness in my skin...which was awesome! However, a few days later, I began to get really deep and painful cystic pimples. I used to get these years ago, but I had gotten them under control for the most part. These cystic pimples, once they went down, actually left additional scarring on my skin. Looking at the before and after pictures, you can see some additional scarring, as well as the pimples that it caused. In my opinion, my skin didn't improve at all aside from feeling smoother. I personally wouldn't recommend trying this expensive, high end product out. Everything doesn't work for everybody, and this definitely didn't work for me. I give it a 4/10.

Ok everyone, I hope you enjoyed this review! If you do decide that you're still interested in trying out these products, let me know and I'll put you in contact with the lovely lady who gave me the opportunity to try them, as well as send you some additional info about them. If you have any budget beauty products that you would like for me to review (makeup, skin care, hair care, and related items), please send your request to me at lindsi.green@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you! ;)

Managing Breakouts During Hormonal Fluctuation

Hey everyone! This post will be speaking specifically to my ladies, but gentlemen, feel free to share it with your sisters, friends, mothers, or the special lady in your life. Ok, now ladies, I know I'm not the only one who breaks out around the time of my cycle. Some of us break out a lot, some of us may get a pimple or two, but most of the women that I know experience some form of skin changes around the time of their monthly cycle. I'm going to give a few really quick tips that will be helpful during this time that will work for every skin type. Keep in mind, it is not always possible to completely prevent breakouts due to hormonal changes; however, you can significantly decrease the severity of the breakout or pimples by following these tips.

1. Learn when your cycle is coming. For some of us, this may prove to be very difficult since every woman's body is different. However, when you know what to expect, you can start preparation ahead of time.

2. Drink lots of water before and during your cycle. It's always good to drink water, but it's important to increase intake during this time to flush out any toxins that may cause breakouts or a pimple to pop up.

3. Cut down on greasy and fried foods around the time of your cycle. We shouldn't be eating much of this anyway, but I digress lol.

4. Avoid sweets and sodas/sugary drinks! Sugar already breaks some of us out, but when your body is under the stress of a menstrual cycle, it can get a LOT worse.

5. Increase your fruit, grain, and vegetable intake. Berries, grapes, tomatoes, watercress, fennel, broccoli, kale, and more have all been shown to help improve skin in ways varying from flushing toxins to improving overall tone. For a more detailed list of these skin clearing foods, please visit this site: http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/features/health-fitness/2011/02/top-20-skin-clearing-foods

6. Don't fall asleep with makeup on. Falling asleep with makeup on is already bad, but it can make a breakout that is coming much worse, since sleeping with makeup on clogs up your pores.

7. Invest in a good spot acne treatment. There are times when even if you follow the steps above, a pimple or two will still surface. When this happens, it's important to be able to deal with it, and a spot treatment is the way to go. My two favorite spot treatments are Clean & Clear Advantage Acne Spot Treatment and Noxzema Original Deep Cleansing Cream on pimples and small areas where there is a breakout. Both are awesome! Noxzema Deep Cleansing Cream can also be used as a facial mask (it's AMAZING!)...but I'll talk about that in another post.

Hope you enjoyed these tips and that they're useful to you in some way! If you have any budget beauty products that you would like for me to review (makeup, skin care, hair care, and related items), please send your request to me at lindsi.green@gmail.com. Looking forward to hearing from you! ;)