The last week before Christmas I had come down with strep - pain killers and cold medicine were my best friend. Silly me forgot that cold medicine contains ibuprofen already but the pain was so excruciating I ended up taking Motrin - religiously every 4 hours.
Within 2 days, my face had swelled to a balloon and my skin had broken out into an itchy red rash! I had a severe reaction to the overdose of ibuprofen. I was beyond horrified and all this just before Christmas. I got on antibiotics and ditched the pain killers.
You can imagine my dilemma. Severely dehydrated, flaky and itchy skin. Thankfully I had a few moisturizers to choose from! Which one ended up on top? Read on!
Within 2 days, my face had swelled to a balloon and my skin had broken out into an itchy red rash! I had a severe reaction to the overdose of ibuprofen. I was beyond horrified and all this just before Christmas. I got on antibiotics and ditched the pain killers.
You can imagine my dilemma. Severely dehydrated, flaky and itchy skin. Thankfully I had a few moisturizers to choose from! Which one ended up on top? Read on!
1. Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentre 24 Hr Miracle Cream: This is a makeup artist staple so obviously this was the first moisturizer I turned to. The formula is rich and creamy but for really dehydrated irritated skin it just didn't cut it. My skin still felt extremely tight and I was reapplying every half hour. The upside is that it did not irritate my skin further. If your skin is normally dry, it works just fine but not when your skin is in a crisis!2. La Mer Creme de la Mer: I was ecstatic when I had found a travel size of this "miracle" cream in one of my bins. If you don't know the history, La Mer was created by aerospace physicist, Dr. Max Hubert, to help heal his chemical burns. The result was dramatically improved and smoothed skin.
If it could work on chemical burns, it had to work on my scarred flaky skin. Well, it was definitely more moisturizing than Embryolisse. It help rid of the flaky skin and improved the texture - even the scarring was starting to disappear. Yet, it did not completely get rid of the flakiness or tightness. I had to reapply every 2 hours.
3. Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream: This multi-purpose balm is a cult classic for a reason - it just works! This is the only cream that relieved my skin in all areas. I rarely ever use this because of the rich heavy texture, but my skin just drank it up. It feels a little heavy but once it sinks into the skin you don't even feel it.
Once I started applying day and night my skin quickly improved. After applying in the morning I didn't have to reapply until I washed my face at night. I didn't have to worry about embarrassing flaking skin when I was out - bonus! I also use this on my dry cracked hands and lips. I got over the flowery-medicinal smell - it's just worth it. A definite winter essential!
Have you tried these creams? What is your go-to winter essentials for chapped skin? Makeup Junkie wants to know!
5 comments:
I recently discovered Oil of Olay Regenerist Cream...I like it because it is a lot richer than the normal Oil of Olay SPF15 stuff I use. I notice they came out with Regenerist Cream with SPF 25, even better! I will buy this when I am done the cream I am currently using!
Wow! I can't believe the Eight Hour Cream came out on top of La Mer! Although I can't use it on my face (I'm oily already), perhaps on my scaly legs? LOL oh if I only had the money to burn.
I'm still looking for a good winter lotion, but my body scrub, Crabtree & Evelyn Cocoa Butter, Nutmeg, & Cardamom Body Scrub, is hands down the best scrub ever. Smells great, the texture is perfectly gritty, plus it is super moisturizing. I use it on dry skin before I step into the shower to wash off. I've been singing praises to everybody about it. :)
@MizzRobin - I've heard so many good things about Olay Regenerist but have never tried. Will make a note to check 'em out. :)
@Arianne - the Eight Hour Cream will feel pretty heavy if you have normally oily skin so I'd only recommend for someone who suffers from severely dry. Ohh, the Crabtree & Evelyn scrub sounds lovely! I have never tried anything from that line too...
Thanks for the lovely comparison here as most of us either scared or less informed to try new products...but skin texture differs from one to another and if it suited your skin does not mean it will also do good to mine...so you will have to explain your skin first so that we can identify with it.
@mineral cosmetics - you're right everyone skin type is different and will affect everyone differently.
I thought I was pretty descriptive of what my skin was like - severely dehydrated, flaking, irritated red rash. Embryolisse works great if you have normal dry skin but if you're skin has suffered from a reaction then I found Elizabeth Arden to work the best. Hope that clears it up ;)
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