Rejuvenating eye balm – Adamant About Beauty

Dr. Polla (aka Dad’s) top skin care tips

September 4, 2019July 23, 2020Alchimie Forever, BeautyLeave a Comment

Earlier this Summer, I had the chance to share my Dad’s (aka Dr. Luigi L. Polla, Switzerland’s leading dermatologist) favorite tips about how to age gracefully with consumers and influencers across the country. For those of you whom I did not have the chance to preach in person, I would like to preach in writing… thank you for humoring me.

Here are my Dad’s top dos and don’ts to age more gracefully:

No smoking. Ever. It increases the presence of free radicals in your skin, accelerates aging, gives your skin a leather look, and creates terrible upper lip wrinkles.
No straws. Just don’t do it. These are bad for the environment and bad for your upper lip wrinkles.
Sleep on your back. And yes, you can teach yourself to do it. Even if you sleep half the night on your back, your face and décolleté wrinkles will thank you. (My Dad can always tell how a woman sleeps by looking at her facial wrinkles… deeper on the side you sleep on).
SPF daily. From January 1^st to December 31^st. When it rains, When it snows. Every. Single. Day. No excuses, no exceptions.
Don’t go to a tanning salon. Ever.
If you’re old enough to drink, you’re old enough for a good anti-aging eye cream. Prevention is key, and the skin around the eyes is so thin it needs more help and earlier help than the rest of our face.
Your face ends on your décolleté. Treat your neck and bust as you do your face, with effective anti-aging products and SPF every day. Nothing is worse than your face saying “I am 37” and your décolleté saying “I am 44.”
Wear less “skin” makeup (ie foundation, powder, concealer, etc.). Take care of your skin and let your natural beauty show through.
Leave your pimples alone. Don’t ever pick at them, don’t do your own extractions. All that will accomplish is scarring.
Drink water. Your skin is as much a reflection of what you put on it as what you put in your body.
Exercise. It’s great for your body, but also great for your skin.
Choose to be happy. It shows on your skin.

Thanks Dad for everything you have taught me. About life, about love, and about skin. What tips would you add to these? I can’t wait to hear!

All About Eyes

August 4, 2016July 23, 2020Alchimie ForeverLeave a Comment

In the battle to continue to get carded when I order a drink even though my 39th birthday is fast approaching, the eye contour plays a key role. It is typically the first area that starts showing signs of skin aging, partially because the skin in the eye contour area is the thinnest (thus the most delicate), and partially because of the constant movements the eyes make (blinking, crinkling during laughs, and more). So good eye contour care is key.

Here is a breakdown of how I take care of this essential area.

Skincare: My go-to products are of course by Alchimie Forever. (And one of my favorite pieces of advice to give you young women is that if you are old enough to drink, you are old enough to use an eye cream!).

I apply our Tightening eye contour gel religiously every morning. The apple and mate extracts tighten and lift, and open my eyes. This is like a shot of espresso for my eye contour.
I apply our Rejuvenating eye balm in the evening, for hydration and anti-dark circle effects (thanks to the European blueberry extract and the Vitamin K found in alfalfa).

Both of these are applied gently (no need for more tugging in this area) with my ring finger (the weakest of our fingers).

Makeup: I am a makeup minimalist, but I can’t imagine leaving the house without mascara. My go to is Trish McEvoy High Volume Mascara (I love that it tubes off) and Dior DiorShow Iconic High Definition Lash Curler Mascara. That’s it.

Brows: The eye contour area will only look as good as your eyebrows. I am an eyebrow waxing fanatic, and have Erwin Gomez from Karma on my speed dial (he might be the man with who I have had the longest relationship – we started “seeing each other” in 2002). I also use the Blinc Eyebrow Mousse in Light Blonde daily.

And, because my eye doctor says I have dry eyes (indeed I am not a crier LOL!), I use Similasan Dry Eye Relief eye drops daily, and especially on the plane.

What do you do about your eyes?

How to combine Alchimie Forever with your WrinkleMD device

February 10, 2016July 23, 2020Alchimie ForeverLeave a Comment

I love it when my partners send me a case of Veuve Cliquot just because they love our partnership (and because our best-selling Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask is featured in this month’s Vogue Magazine). I also love it when my spa partners “invent” new ways to use my products, often in conjunction either with other brands they carry or devices they use in their treatment rooms.

This week, one and the same spa partner did both. Progressions Salon Spa Store sent me a case of champagne. And told me about the amazing results they are getting by combining Alchimie Forever products with WrinkleMD advanced ion-infusion technology patches. This brand focuses on enhanced infusions of hyaluronic acid and peptides through the use of ion technology. According to the brand’s marketing materials, “in independent clinical testing, 95% of women experienced an immediate improvement in skin texture and smoothness.”

I asked Teresa Hinton, master aesthetician and the spa director, to tell me more about this treatment she came up with. Here are her pearls of wisdom.

Since this is not out of any “company-approved” protocol manual, she initially tested this concept with guests she has been working with for quite some time, who know and trust her, and are willing to experiment. The ones who have tough, heavily textured, very dry on. She describes them as “those guests that I can go big on.” Here is her protocol:

Step 1: Cleansing of the skin with Alchimie Forever Purifying Facial Cleanser.

Step 2: Exfoliation, which can range from microdermabrasion or other advanced exfoliation, Alchimie Forever Gentle refining scrub, or Alchimie Forever Brightening Peel, or a combination of these.

Step 3: WrinkleMD around the lips; while WrinkleMD is doing its job in that problem area, she applies the Alchimie Forever Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask to the rest of the face; both remain on her clients’ face for 30 minutes.

Step 4: During these 30 minutes, she performs a massage the hands, arms, neck, shoulders to enhance the guest experience.

Step 5: Mask and WrinkleMD removal; she then follows WrinkleMD’s protocol for the WrinkleMD-treated area before applying the Kantic Brightening Moisture Mask to that area as well and leaving it on for a few minutes.

Step 6: Final removal of the mask with a hot towel.

Step 7: Application of finishing products including our Rejuvenating Eye Balm, Kantic Calming Cream or Protective Day Cream SPF23.

I ask her about the frequency of treatment. “While results are immediate,” she recommends “alternating a series with the professional WrinkleMD treatment exclusively every two weeks, and the full treatment ever four.”

Contraindications include pregnancy, having a pacemaker, peel ingredient contraindications, epilepsy, or any metal in the mouth.

While she started with the lip contour area, she is now performing this treatment on the forehead and in the eye contour area as well. She concludes: “The results are beautiful and transform the skin. The blend of the two brands is really amazing!”

Indeed, the before and after photos speak for themselves!

Try it if you carry WrinkleMD. And if you have your own “special” Alchimie Forever treatment you have created in combination with another product or device brand, please do share!

My favorite skin care tips

March 24, 2012July 23, 2020Alchimie Forever, Beauty5 Comments

In honor of National Wellness Week, which is coming to an end, I thought I would share some of my favorite skin care tips, so that you might add to and enhance your wellness resolutions as they are proposed by SpaFinder.

1. Listen to your skin. If your skin breaks out when you use a product, that product is not for you. If your skin feels uncomfortable, irritated, blotchy, raw when you use a product, that product is not for you. Think of your skin as a baby – it can’t express itself in words, so it finds other ways of telling you how it feels. Listen to it. Try our Kantic Calming Cream which helps to soothe and calm irritation and redness.

2. Always apply products from thin to thick. That means serums first, gels second, creams third, and sunscreens last. Watch this video to learn more about how to layer your skin care products.

3. Don’t mix your treatment product with your protection product. Do you use a shampoo and conditioner in one? I didn’t think so. Why do to your skin what you wouldn’t do to your hair?

4. If you are old enough to have a cocktail, you are old enough to be using an eye cream. No ifs or buts about it. The skin of the eye contour area is the thinnest (other than the skin of our lips), and will start showing age earliest. Check out our eye care products here.

5. Always apply your eye cream or gel with your ring finger (our weakest finger), and from the outside in. That will minimize the likeliness that you will tug at this delicate area, stressing it further instead of treating it with some TLC.

6. Our faces lie, our necks tell our age. Make sure you use your facial products on your neck and décolleté. Even better, invest in a product that is specifically designed for this delicate area such as our Firming gel for neck and bust.

7. Our hands also tell our age. Aging does not happen from forehead to chin, but on our entire bodies. Our hands in particular, which are as exposed to the elements as our faces, deserve the same anti-aging care. Try our Dry skin balm to help soften and nourish any dry skin.

8. Prevention is key. Don’t wait for the brown spots and wrinkles to show up before you start using quality anti-aging products. Our Pigment lightening serum is especially formulated to help reduce the appearance of brown spots and even out skin tone. It’s suitable for all skin types and skin tones.

9. Sunscreen is also key. SPF 15 during the winter months (SPF 50+ on the ski slopes), SPF 30 during the sunny months (SPF 50+ on the beach or by the pool). Check out our Protective day cream SPF 23 for your daily skin care regimen.

10. Don’t expect of your products the same results you will get from treatments in a spa or medical office. Products are a complement to treatments, not an alternative.

Just as National Wellness Week was to serve as a reminder that we need to take care of ourselves, that we need to commit to health and wellness, let us also commit to a healthy skin care regimen. Find the products that work for you, and use them morning and evening. Every day, as part of your self care ritual.