L'Oreal Age Perfect Cellular Golden Serum

L'Oreal Age Perfect Cellular Golden Serum
$20.99 - ish

I honestly can't remember a colder winter in the Northeast.  Winter is my least favorite season, except for the clothes.  Between the freezing temperatures and being pitch black at 5 pm, I don't have much motivation to anything besides eating beef stew in my pajamas.  Another lament???  My face is falling off...

I told you recently about my discovering of Rose Hip Oil. The obsessions remains unabated.  I have used a serum under my moisturizers for about 9 years now.  One of my favorites is Instanatural Vitamin C Serum , which I have ordered from Amazon.com dozens of times.  With this extreme cold,  however, my face has not been feeling hydrated enough, so I decided to look for a serum with a richer consistency on my last CVS run.

(BTW- kudos to CVS! They have decided that any beauty ads that they shoot will only include photography that has not been retouched.  It's a nod to the women's empowerment movement, to not perpetuate presenting unrealistic beauty standards to its customers. It's bold and interesting and I do think more companies will follow suit.  Good for them!

Instanatural Vitamin C Serum; Simply the best

Instanatural Vitamin C Serum
&17.97 Amazon Prime

Why do I stray???

Well, every now and then I wonder if I can do better.  Sometimes I'm too lazy to swipe right on my Amazon app.(Yup. Doesn't get lazier than that!)   Trials of other serums from La Roche Posay, L'Oreal and Olay were just OK.  

Finally I caved...back to my tried and true, beloved Instanatural Vitamin C Serum.  It arrived in two days with Amazon Prime a service I'm sure I overpay for somehow, but nonetheless,  can no longer live without.

Flashback Friday: Instanatural Vitamin C Serum

Instanatural Vitamin C Serum
Amazon.com 16.99

The first time I ever heard the term, "serum", was in 2008, when I watched a fascinating PBS fundraising special, that featured the beautiful Hungarian Dermatologist Dr. Denese. She is now also a bestselling host, on QVC, where she sells her extensive skincare collection.

I learned a lot that night and literally, took notes.  Dr. Denese believes in cleansing, toning, exfoliating with glycolic acid and then applying a serum and a fatty moisturizer as a binder, to finish your regime.  Back then, it was not easy to find a serum.  I bought several of her products that night and I don't even recall if she had one to purchase.

Now there are so many, it's hard to know which one to buy...A few thousand dozen later, I have my Holy Grail serum, which I stumbled upon
while trolling Amazon.com.  It very much reminds me of Skinceuticals Ferulic Acid Serum, a fabulous, but very pricey product.  My dupe???

The Drugstore Discoveries a Beauty Editor Made When She Ditched The Good Stuff

When I do my daily rounds, scouring different beauty sites for interesting tips and tidbits to share with you, I always zero in on the ones about drugstore beauty bargains. If there is a hack for an expensive eye cream, mascara or foundation, I want in.

Today TotalBeauty.com ran a feature slideshow by one of their beauty editors. Allie Flinn made the ultimate sacrifice and gave up using luxury beauty products for a whole month.

Poor Darling...

Instanatural Serums; A fabulous find that wont break the bank

Instanatural Vitamin C Serum
$16.99 (Less on Amazon.com)

My gorgeous friend Christine Calzalano is a radiant beauty. A busy Mom, who actively fund raises for the Kidney and Urology Foundation of America, she is again Co-Chairing a benefit luncheon and Fashion Show on Nov. 5th at Orienta Beach Club (to attend or donate, please click on www.kidneyurology.org )

Debbi OShea and Christine Calzalano

In her spare time, (which I imagine is around 1:00 am), Christine sometimes researches beauty products. Some of her favorites, are well reviewed finds on Amazon  that are often, bonafide, bargains.


I have long been a serum fan. Longer than they have been popular and when they were harder to find. Nowadays, they are easy pickings, but really, not. How do you choose and how much are you willing to spend.

Despite all I have purchased and all that has sent to me to sample, I had hit the wall.  Nothing felt right. Not the texture, smell, or results.  One of my all time favorite serums is SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Antioxidant Serum.  Yes, it's wonderful.  It should be for $162 for 1 oz. Personally, I don't find that expense sustainable.

Taking a page from Christine's book, I decided to search for a new serum on Amazon. There I discovered Instanatural Vitamin C Serum.  With over 3,000 5 star reviews and for $14.99 (plus my "free" Amazon Prime shipping), I figured I had nothing to lose...

And apparently, everything to gain. I absolutely love it!

Instanatural is a U.S. company that scours the globe for natural and organic ingredients to use in their products. They are all alcohol, sulfate and paraben free and nothing is tested on animals. If you order from their website, they will give your 15% off your first order, shipping is free on orders over $25 and they accept returns unconditionally within 30 days.

The Vitamin C Serum, smells deliciously, of fresh oranges. It reminds me of Murad's Vitamin C Serum,  a pricier, but effective serum I have used many times. The texture is thin and gel like, which is my preference and it layers under my day and night creams perfectly.

Here are some product details:

InstaNatural’s Vitamin C Serum is a powerful solution to reverse the signs of aging. The benefits of its premium ingredients include fighting wrinkles, fine lines and skin pigmentation by nourishing and strengthening your skin to reduce their appearance. It contains 20% Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, Ferulic Acid and Vitamin E. Rosehip Oil, Sea Buckthorn Oil, Plant Stem Cells, Argan Oil and more work together to nourish your skin while restoring its health and beauty. Our formula works quickly to give you glowing skin and a more youthful look. 

I also noticed that they made another serum that contained Salicylic Acid and Retinol. When I ran out of the Vitamin C Serum, I decided to reorder it, plus purchase the Age Defying Skin Clearing Serum to use at night. 

I love it as well!

Instanatural Age Defying Skin Clearing Serum
$21.99

The Dets:

InstaNatural’s Age-Defying & Skin Clearing Serum is a nourishing blend of premium ingredients such as Retinol and Salicylic Acid to give pores a clean and minimized appearance, while also utilizing Niacinamide to help balance the skin’s tone and texture for an even and flawless look. Simultaneously, Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid work together to keep the skin looking soft, healthy and hydrated for a younger and more vibrant appearance that lasts.

I was impressed to receive and email the next day after receiving my purchase from Instanatural with suggestions on the based ways to use and store my serums.
Impressive, but even more so, is my glowing results for such an affordable price.

Instanatural makes other skincare as well as hair care products. I am certain I will be trying others in the future. 

So thank you Christine, for giving me another avenue to source my beauty obsession. There's a whole wide world out there and it can all be delivered to my door in two days.

See you at the luncheon...

xox,
DD