About face.

I've noticed a lot of women spend an endless amount of time and money on products based on which celeb is spruiking it, the hype, and the shiny packaging.

I don't claim to be immune to this - certainly not, because nothing gets my attention like a bit of carefully placed bling, or a shiny haired, poreless spokesmodel.

But I've come to realise that over time I keep going back to a group of go-to products which has withstood the test of time.

These are the goods (IMHO), and are worthy of your attention.

Click for product information!

Here's some of my picks ...

• Neutrogena cleansers - I like to rotate within the range. A personal favourite is the Deep Clean Cream Cleanser. I think I love it more cos you can buy it in the supermarket!
  
• Neostrata Ultra Smoothing Lotion - An absolute winner. No nonsense. All action. I like it!
  
• Paula's Choice BHA liquid - I've tried numerous other "skin smoothers" of this ilk, and The Paula's is still the best, naff packaging and all.
  
• Kiehl's Microderm scrub - I'm sounding like an exfoliant addict now... But it's really good. And I use it (only) once a month.
  
• Neutrogena sunscreen - See my review for Primped here
  
• Elizabeth Arden Ceramide Gold Capsules - I apply one of these maybe once a week before bed, and awaken with amazingly soft skin. And they come in delightful capsules you can stash in your travel kit! A great choice for in-flight hydration.

It should be noted here that I have combination skin. This list makes my skin sound schizophrenic. And most days it is - so there's a little something in this list for everyone!

Primped VIP: Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry Touch Sunscreen Lotion

For the purposes of this Primped VIP review I had the the boy J, test this out on his weekend squidding jaunt.



It was a bit of a struggle to get some feedback but I think J made some great points:

• It's not greasy at all (J is a regular user of "man product" and grease is enemy number one)
  
• It smells like sunscreen (translation: It doesn't have a strong frangrance, and is suitable for men and women, even those of us who find strong scents overpowering)
• It lasted a really long time (we were out from 11am to 2 pm, after having applied it at 10.30am before leaving the house)
• I didn't burn (which is ultimately what we're trying to avoid!)

I used it too - and though I wasn't actively fishing or squidding, another delightful plus side of this particular product is that sand doesn't stick to the powder dry finish!