Why am I so dry? Oh yeah, I forgot. I’m over 40.

When I hit 40, everything changed. My eyesight went south, my occasional gray hairs became an entire crop and my skin dried up. I could hear my mom and my aunt snickering “I told you so” in my head as I complained about how my body was betraying me.

I skipped the box of hair color (I’m just too lazy to keep up with it, so why start?), got a new prescription for my contact lenses and then contemplated what the heck I was going to do about my skin care. I’ve been in the skin care industry for a long time and have tried hundreds of moisturizers, but I knew that I needed something different this time. Gone are the days of my carefree 20s and my simple 30s. I need something serious in my 40s, especially with perimenopause right around the corner. I’ve got to undo some damage and prepare for the slow down in collagen production.

Striking Restorative Moisture Creme is just what the doctor ordered. It feels extremely rich at first, but within 5 minutes, my skin soaks it up and feels renewed. Because I’m an ingredient junkie, let’s talk about some of the performance ingredients that make this moisturizer worthwhile:

It’s full of shea butter which my skin drinks up. Shea butter is the natural fat from the karite nut which grows in Africa. It’s an excellent emollient ingredient that also smoothes the surface of the skin.

It contains sodium hyaluronate which is a super-humectant that can attract 1000 times its own weight in moisture to the skin.

Green tea is added to soothe the skin (inflammation contributes to the aging process)and provides antioxidant protection. Couple green tea with antioxidant vitamins C and E and you have got a powerful defense against free radicals.

The most powerful ingredient however is SmartPeptide Palmitoyl Hexapeptide-14, a patented ingredient that has been shown to increase collagen production, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and even skin tone. In a clinical study 97% of subjects said they had firmer skin in 14 days and 93% said that the overall appearance of their skin had improved in 14 days. This two week time mark seems significant to me because when we get feedback about Striking products, invariably the customer always mentions that she saw a different in that time frame.

Are you ready for something more serious? Are you ready to transform your skin?

Posted by Brigette, contributor


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A Clean Sweep - Striking Multi-Vitamin Cleanser

I do not like cleansers. Don’t get me wrong, I love the feeling of a clean face. I have eczema, so trying a new cleanser makes me tremble with fear. Worse yet, is that I love foaming cleansers, which are the worst for my sensitive, eczema-prone skin.

When I was asked to try Striking Multi-Vitamin Cleanser, I was nervous. I had just solved a 2 year long eczema breakout on my face by using a foaming baby wash and I wasn’t ready to trigger another flare up. On top of that, it’s a creamy cleanser. Not exactly my favorite because I haven’t ever used a creamy cleanser that left my face feeling clean. So, with major reservations, I tried it and surprisingly enough, I liked it and (bonus!) it didn’t trigger my eczema.

Striking Multi-Vitamin Cleanser is a lightweight creamy cleanser that is really efficient at removing makeup (even eye makeup), dirt and environmental grime from your skin. I’ve had long standing issues with feeling like my face isn’t clean after using a creamy cleanser, but that’s not the case with this cleanser. I use my Clarisonic (more on my love for the Clarisonic later) when I wash my face so that’s probably part of the reason I’m getting over using a creamy cleanser in the first place, but I’ve also noticed that it rinses very thoroughly. I feel clean but not stripped of all moisture.

This cleanser is chock full of age-fighting vitamins A, C and E as well as plant extracts that are rich in vitamins as well. For instance, it contains evening primrose oil which is full of essential fatty acids (vitamin F). EFA’s are excellent for eczema-prone skin. It also contains avocado oil (rich in 20 different vitamins and minerals), carrot extract (vitamin A) and seabuckthorn extract (high in vitamin C which supports the activity of vitamin E). All of these skin-loving vitamins help to fight free-radicals which can attack your skin, mangle your DNA and accelerate skin aging.

My skin feels comfortable and moist after washing and I’m not scrambling to slather on the moisturizer to get rid of that claustrophobic skin-tightening feeling that happens after I insist on using a foaming cleanser. I’ve definitely become a fan.

What cleanser are you using?

Posted by Brigette, contributor