L’Oreal Age Perfect Cell Renewal: Testing, Testing, 1, 2, 3!

I am participating in a Vibrant Influencer Network campaign for L’Oreal Age Perfect. I am receiving a fee for posting; however, the opinions expressed in this post are my own. I am in no way affiliated with L’Oreal Age Perfect and do not earn a commission or percent of sales. #sponsored #cellrenewal

I was recently selected to try the L’Oreal Age Perfect Cell Renewal regimen, and, as at 55 I’m the Perfect Age for it :-) , I was delighted to be selected! I've always wanted to try a complete anti-aging skin care regimen, where all the products are made to work together and complement each other, but in the past I've usually wound up using only one piece of the skin care puzzle, and this may be the reason I've never seen any great results… This time I got to try a complete regimen, using all three products: the Age Perfect Cell Renewal Golden Serum, Age Perfect Cell Renewal Day Cream, and Age Perfect Cell Renewal Night Cream, and I used them like a Good Girl, every day and night, and exactly as instructed! I also got hubs to shoot “before" photos of my face (see below), so we'll all be able to see if there are any real, visible improvements, and to prove to all of you that I really am 55 and no beauty queen! LOL Unfortunately, Age Perfect can’t take off 40 lbs. or 15 years (LOL), but when used daily, and according to the instructions, I do find that it made an immediate and positive difference in the appearance and texture of my skin, and I'm hoping it will just get better and better! The regimen promises to accelerate skin cell renewal, by enhancing exfoliation, so surface cells are revealed faster, resulting in "refreshed, re-plumped, and visibly renewed skin", and also promises firmer skin after only one month! (The “instant gratification” girl needs to see something fast!) I have always been pleased by spa and salon facials which incorporate exfoliation, so I have high hopes for this regimen!

For more information on the products, see the L’Oreal Age Perfect Cell Renewal website: www.lorealparisusa.com/cellrenewal  

I have used L’Oreal products for years, and one of the things I like best about them is that they are readily available and affordable- so you can actually afford to try a complete line of products to see if they work for you. So many of the highly-touted anti-aging skin care lines are So incredibly expensive ($75, $150, $200 and more, per item…), that even purchasing one product is prohibitively expensive, much less a whole regimen! 

I was intrigued by two innovative ingredients in all three of these L’Oreal products: LHA, to stimulate surface-cell renewal, and Natecium DHC, a powerful antioxidant to help protect from free radicals. 

I started with the Age Perfect Cell Renewal Golden Serum each morning after washing my face, followed by the Age Perfect Cell Renewal Day Cream. At night, after washing my face, I again used the Serum, followed by the Age Perfect Cell Renewal Night Cream. I used all the products on both my face and neck, (rubbing the last of the creams on the back of my hands), and I didn't add any other products, so I'll truly be able to tell if these products worked for me. My initial experience with the products was delightful: the serum goes on smoothly and velvety, and it has a pale, golden sheen, which is quite flattering. The Day Cream is creamy and richer, and goes on smoothly, on top of the serum, as does the Night Cream. The products were all absorbed readily into my skin, and left no oiliness or greasiness, but I did have a nice, dewy glow! My skin felt soft and velvety after applying the products, and that feeling lasted throughout the day- and I liked the way that felt! I had no breakouts or any negative reactions. I find the smell of all the products pleasant, too, and not overpowering. The Serum has no perfume to speak of; the Day Cream has a light, sweet perfume, and the Night Cream has a stronger, sweet perfume, and I liked them both. (I know some people do not like perfumed skin care, but I have no problem with them- IF I like the scent).
I’m self-employed (my husband and I have the Elkhorn Inn in Landgraff, West Virginia), and I don’t wear makeup every day (as I used to when I lived in NYC), so when I first started using the products I didn't use makeup over them. When I did wear makeup, I simply applied my foundation, etc., after the Serum and Day Cream, and it went on smoothly with no problems. To cleanse my face, I used a gentle facial cleanser, and sometimes a non-alcoholic toner with a cotton pad, which I also used to remove my makeup. I also used a microdermabrasion tool once a week, as that’s been a part of my “beauty regimen” for quite a while, and I think it may help the serums and day creams be more readily absorbed.

Me: before

The things I would like to correct about my skin are some blotchyness and discoloration, the lines around my eyes and mouth, and the deeper ones between my brows. I’d love my skin to be firmer, too… in essence, I’d like to look younger, of course- 42 would be nice! LOL- but I’ll happily ‘settle’ for looking as good as I can possibly look right now! As I mentioned, I am Totally (and, of course, unrealistically) into “immediate gratification”, so I can hardly wait to see the results after a month!

"Selfie" with light makeup,
 over the Serum & Day Cream

I will say that the one (and only) thing that I wasn't so crazy about, was the four sunscreen chemicals in the Day Cream: Avobenzone, Homoalate, Octisalate, and Octocrylene, which are literally listed as the Day Cream’s “active ingredients”, a.k.a. medicines, and I prefer not to ingest- or slather my skin (the body’s biggest organ) with- unneeded medicines and chemicals. I would much have preferred the Day Cream to not include these chemicals, so one could choose to add a sunscreen or not. I, personally, would have chosen not to. On the advice of doctors for many years I never jumped on the “anti-sun” bandwagon, as all my doctors have told me that sun is good and necessary, and that the recent anti-sun hysteria has been, in fact, harmful, with many people now suffering from Vitamin D deficiencies as a result. I’d much rather get my Vitamin D from the sun than from a bottle! I know there are people who really can't and shouldn't be in the sun, but my philosophy has always been “all things in moderation”, and I do feel that genetics, as well as what you do for a living, both have a great deal to do with how one ages. I don’t go to tanning booths, and I use a sunscreen (and sometimes a sunblock) if I’m out in the sun for many hours, but both my 92-year old golfing, bowling mother and I have always enjoyed sunshine with no ill effects; on the contrary, we both always feel Much healthier after being in the sun, and a nice tan has always made us look our best, too! 

My next post will have some "during" photos, so we'll hopefully be able to see I'm getting visible results!