the B. spot

Ok so, I was sitting at my desk and wiped my forehead with the back of my hand and was horrified at the amount of shine on my hand.  I was ready to get up and quickly mix up a mattifier with a silicone crosspolymer and low viscosity dimethicone when Bela, my super fab admin assistant/idea factory, brought me a package from Neostrata.  I opened the box and to my surprise a sample of “Matte Perfection” was in my hand.  Was it an answer from the beauty gods?  To make matters even better, on that same day there was a package waiting for me at home that contained “Skin Genesis Pore Minimizing Skin Re-Smoother” by L’Oreal Paris Dermo-Expertise.  The heavens were smiling upon me-it might sound a bit dramatic but the actual events of this story are real!

Exuviance Matte Perfection makes a great finishing product.  It can go on under makeup or over it to “set” your makeup in place.  It doesn’t really dry your skin out but absorbs excess oil creating what I would describe as a dewy look. 

L’Oreal Skin Genesis Pore Minimizing Skin Re-Smoother is definitely a product that should be used under a moisturizer.  It will absorb any and all moisture from your skin- almost to the point of dehydration.  But for someone like me with oily skin, this is good because when I apply my moisturizer my face is not shiny but it “glows”.  However, because I always have to use my blemish control products, by the end of the process I was a bit shinier then if I were to have a simple three-four step regiment.  (That’s where Matte Perfection comes into play)

Science Behind it:

It’s no surprise that when I compare the ingredient list of these products that Skin Genesis contains far more oil absorbing components.  They both contain silica silylate (a treated silica) which are small hydrophobic (doesn’t like water) particles that are 90% porous (holes that allow the passage of materials).  In essence this spongelike material hates water so sucks up all of the oil that it can handle through it’s pores. 

Fyi, this material is also great for masking wrinkles.  Wrinkles are deadzones for light (light shines on them and does not reflect) so they appear dark and are very noticeable; when light is diffused it makes the wrinkle less noticeable.  The silica silylate fills up the wrinkle allowing light to be reflected and diffused creating the appearance of fewer and finer wrinkles.

Exuviance also contains dimethicone crosspolymer that effects light the same way as silica silylate.  It’s a network of highly linked very heavy silicone elastomer (soft rubber like material) with some oil absorption capabilities and a great silky after feel. 

Skin Genesis not only has silica silylate but also straight silica with decent oil absorption qualities but a horrible dry and draggy skin feel during and after application.  To make up for the application (sort of, this product does have a drag) they incorporated other crosslinked polymers such as methyl methacrylate crosspolymer, methylsilanol/silicate crosspolymer and allyl methacrylates crosspolymer to help absorb oil while offering better sensorial benefits.  Realizing that a product like this could completely dry you out they also included hyaluronic acid and zinc pca for hydration.  Salicylic acid is also included to purge and reduce swelling of pores therefore minimizing their appearance.

Well that’s that, until next time B. spotters………