September 2007
BEST
Good Skin Tri-Aktiline Instant Deep Wrinkle Fixer ($39.50 for 1 ounce) now adds a works-like-Botox product to the arsenal of skin care available from the Kohls-sold Good Skin line. Applying this product is supposed to help eliminate wrinkles, frown lines, brow lines, and lines around the eye, leaving you flawless, lineless, and, presumably, expressionless. Not to worry. This water- and silicone-based serum doesn’t come close to achieving its goals (and, of course, Good Skin’s “stringent tests” establishing efficacy were neither available for review nor published). Although it won’t send wrinkles and expression lines packing, it does provide a dose of antioxidants, sophisticated water-binding agents, and cell-communicating ingredients, and it comes in packaging that will keep it stable. It has what it takes to promote and maintain healthier skin and does so without adding fragrance, a lack that’s always a plus. You’ll only be disappointed if you believe the wrinkle-eliminating claims. Those with realistic expectations should definitely consider this product, though its texture is best for normal to slightly dry or slightly oily skin.

WORST
Guerlain Terracotta Tan Booster Active Bronzing Powder ($54.00 for ) ranks as one of the most expensive pressed bronzing powders around. Its talc-based formula has a smooth but noticeably dry texture that tends to apply a bit unevenly, though it can be softened with little effort. Both shades are workable and the shine deposit is minimal, making this an acceptable option for daytime. What’s unacceptable is the company’s claim that this powder contains a tan-boosting ingredient. Supposedly, plant-based UV sensors detect when skin is exposed to any amount of sunlight, and in turn cause the skin to increase melanin (pigment) production, resulting in a real tan beneath your cosmetic tan. None of the plant ingredients in this powder has such an effect, anymore than the amino acid tyrosine does. (Tyrosine cannot stimulate melanin production when applied topically.) The very notion of selling a bronzing powder to obtain a real tan from the sun is unethical and threatens the health of your skin, and that means this is a product I cannot in good conscience recommend.