Review of the Best Skin Care Products

There are an abundance of products claiming to work wonders on your skin and many can definitely work over your wallet. Do the expensive products work better? Are there less expensive but effective options? Does anything really help dark under eye circles? The good news is that the answers are out there if you are willing to invest the time to do a little research. The other good news is that I have consolidated much of the information right here from sources such as Beautypedia, Good Housekeeping, Total Beauty and Consumer Reports.

Top rated cleansers from Consumersearch.com are:

1. Cetaphil (Consumer Reports also recommends this product)

2. Olay Foaming Face Wash

3. Philosophy Purity

Paula Begoun, aka Cosmetic Cop and author of Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, works with Beautypedia.com. Top recommendations:

1. Alpha-Hydroxy Foaming Face Wash and the Nourishing Cleanser

2. Boots No7 Beautifully Balanced Purifying Cleanser and several other Boots cleansers were recommended (sensitive skin, Time Dimension, Anti-blemish, etc.).

3. Anti-Aging Cleanser by M Lab ($60)

4. Universal Anti-Aging Cleanser by Patricia Wexler, MD ($16)

Good Housekeeping

1. Chanel Ultra Corrective Lift Firming Day Cream, SPF 15 ($150)

2. Olay Definity Deep Penetrating Foaming UV Moisturizer SPF 15 ($28)

3. Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Plump Perfect SPF 30 ($68)

Beautypedia

1. Beauty Control Facial Defense and Restore SPF 20

2. For Goodness Face by Avon SPF 30

Top reviews were given to Olay Regenerist by TotalBeauty and Consumer Reports (2007).

Good Housekeeping

1. L'Oreal Paris Advanced Revitalift Deep Set Wrinkle Repair Night Cream ($20)

2. Vichy LiftActiv Retinol ($42)

Beautypedia

1. Retinol ResQ by Alpha-Hydroxy ($15)

2. Calming Lotion by Kamins ($75)

3. Restoritive Night Cream by Boscia ($48)

Good Housekeeping

1. Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Intense Beauty Serum ($23)

2. Mary K TimeWise Replenish Serum

Beautypedia

1. Time Defiance Derma Erase Artistry by Amway

Good Housekeeping

1. Boots No7 Intensive Line Filler ($18)

2. Olay Regenerist Filling and Sealing ($19)

Beautypedia

1. Regeneration Tight, Firm and Fill Extreme Wrinkle Concentrate by Beauticontrol ($39)

2. Instant Wrinkle Write Off Line Filler by Cosmedicine ($15) Begoun did not like the fact that this product does not contain antioxidants.

3. Wrinkle Filler by DHC ($28)

4.. Perfectionist Targeted Deep Wrinkle Filler by Estee Lauder ($40) Paula Begoun claims that this does not do well with silicone based foundations. It gives a patchy appearance.

5.. Tri-Aktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler by Good Skin Labs ($40)

RoC, Olay Regenerist, Sephora, and MD Formulations also received high ratings for wrinkle filler products.

I must admit that I have never been a fan of "fillers". I wasn't interested in buying a cream that only addressed wrinkles cosmetically and did not improve my skin. Then I found a cream at Kohl's called Tri-Aktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Filler by Good Skin Labs (apparently owned by Lauder). It does fill in the lines and seems to improve the skin as well. see the results. After reading the review by Paula Begoun, I think I may try the Regeneration product.

Good Housekeeping

1. Boots No7 Glycolic Peel ($25)

2. Clarins Bright Plus ($44)

Beautypedia

1. AHA Alpha-Hydroxy Acid Beauty Fluid by Derma E ($17)

Other products are listed under "exfoliants" at Beautypedia.

Evidently the folks at Boots weren't prepared for the Good Housekeeping review. Stores everywhere were out of the product for months. I even checked online and it was still a 2-3 month wait. They have since solved the problem. It must be good!

Good Housekeeping

1. Peter Thomas Roth Firmx Growth Factor Neuropeptide Serum ($150)

2. Kinerase Restructive Firming Cream ($98)

Paula Begoun rates both products as mediocre.

After reading reviews from many sites, the two brands that consistently had products with top reviews were Olay, especially the Regenerist line, and Boots. Olay products are available at most grocery and department stores. Boots is available at Target and other department stores.

I chose to not include eye creams because I don't think they are particularly effective. Many of the eye creams contain the same ingredients as face cream but at a much higher cost.

So many products claim to treat dark under-eye circles. I have tried many products and the fact is...the don't work. Circles can be caused by darkened pigment or small, leaky blood vessels. There is not a cream available that can have an effect on leaky blood vessels. Some initial research points to vitamin K as helping to strengthen blood vessels, but there is NO indication that topical application is effective.

Dark circles are often accompanied by puffy eyes. Chilled cucumber slices, ice packs or frozen tea bags are all worth trying. Cold can act as a vaso-constrictor and so can caffeine. Does caffeine work topically? That is unknown, but it won't damage your skin and therefore won't hurt to try. There is another option, but I don't know if you are ready for this: hemorrhoid cream. Yep, you read it correctly. It is a vaso-constrictor and can reduce puffiness. Of course, if you try it, buy a new tube. The down side is that the cream can be quite irritating so daily use is difficult.