Category: DHC

DHC skin care

Cold Cream 'n' Roses
DHC. Perhaps you receive its print catalog, the one with the sample packets glued inside.

Did you know:

  • DHC sells fine foods in addition to skin, body, and hair care products and makeup? 
  • DHC stands for “Daigaku Honyaku Center”? 
  • DHC skin care products are a fixture in Japanese drugstores? 
  • DHC sells a wider range of products, including food, clothing, and lingerie, in Japan? (visit its Japanese site, www.dhc.co.jp – the auto-translations from Japanese to English are really quite hilarious)

I was curious enough to open the sample packet of DHC Deep Cleansing Oil to give it a try. DHC Deep Cleansing is the brand’s “iconic” product.  It is formulated with olive oil (first in the ingredient list), and has a slight herbal fragrance, thanks to the presence of rosemary oil. What pleased me was that the DHC Deep Cleansing Oil removed all makeup, including eye makeup. No need for a separate eye makeup remover!

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil

Whereas DHC Deep Cleansing Oil is the first step in DHC’s skin care routine, the second step is the clear DHC Olive Soap to wash your face. It creates a lot of lather, rinses clean, and leaves the face feeling soft.

DHC Olive Soap

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil and DHC Olive Soap are part of my nighttime skin care routine. Sometimes I follow up with moisturizer and/or serum, sometimes I don’t. Less is sometimes more, I think.

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil comes in TSA-friendly 1 fl. oz. ($5.50) and 2.3 fl. oz. ($14.00) bottles and a larger 6.7 fl. oz. ($28.00) bottle. DHC Olive Soap comes in a 0.35 oz. mini-bar ($3.00) or 3.1 oz. bar ($22.00). DHC skin care may be purchased through www.dhccare.com: my complaint is that there is a high threshold ($85.00) for free shipping.

Disclosure: DHC furnished samples of its Deep Cleansing Oil and Olive Soap. Opinions are my own.

My favorite skin care products

Cold Cream 'n' Roses1 Comment

Seven fave skin care products

Cold Cream 'n' Roses2 Comments
sigh.  Skin care.  I hesitate to write about it, as I don’t know the science behind it: for that, I refer the reader to medical student Nicki Zevola’s FutureDerm blog and Paula Begoun’s cosmetic ingredient dictionary.

Nonetheless, here are seven skin care products that I enjoy using:

1. Perlabella PureDose Pearls are airtight capsules containing serum that offers a fresh product with each dose.  You may find Perlabella at Walgreen’s stores. See my post New skin care at Walgreen’s, dated April 2009, for more on Perlabella.  Later in this post, I’ll provide an update on skin care at Walgreen’s.

2. Lisa Hoffman Beauty A & C Serum goes on slick and oily, but when you wake up in the morning, your skin is soft.  I also like her Day Cleanser, which I use at night.  I have never understood the purpose of washing the skin both morning and night.

Lisa Hoffman Beauty skin care is no longer sold through her web site, as she seems to be focusing on her fragrance concepts.  Nonetheless, you can find some products through DermStore.

I received a treasure trove of Lisa Hoffman Beauty skin care products from her former PR rep, but let it lie in the closet: bad 😦  I’m glad that I pulled it out.

3. The Solution by Envision Beauty streamlines skin care. It is designed as a multi-tasking product that replaces night cream, serum, eye cream, and makeup primer. It also advertises itself as a replacement for day cream, but since it’s not rated for SPF, I hesitate to call it a replacement for day cream. The Solution by Envision Beauty is a lightweight lotion that leaves a non-greasy, non-oily finish.  This is one of the few samples that I have received that I’ve used to the bottom of the bottle and went back to become a paying customer!

Since I reviewed The Solution by Envision Beauty in April 2009, my skin has become dryer and my skin care needs have changed.  I need a richer moisturizer.  Nonetheless, I occasionally apply The Solution by Envision Beauty as a lightweight primer before my makeup.  Founder Kimberly Snyder has since fashioned herself as a “celebrity nutritionist.”

You may shop The Solution by Envision Beauty at its web site.

4. Better Botanicals Rose Tulsi Toning Mist (“tulsi” is Sanskrit for basil) is not a necessary skin care step, but I love spritzing this fragrant mist on my Beautyblender sponge with it before applying makeup.  You may shop Better Botanicals through its web site.

What are my three other picks?

5. Neutrogena Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover is a dual-phase eye makeup remover.  I like dual-phase eye makeup removers so much better than ordinary eye makeup removers, as they do a better job at removing eye makeup.  Use after your cleansing routine to remove the last trace of eye makeup.  Neutrogena is widely available at drugstores, supermarkets, and big-box stores.

Source: dhccare.com via STYLE on Pinterest

6. DHC Deep Cleansing Oil leaves the skin feeling soft.  It removes makeup so thoroughly that you might not need a separate eye makeup remover after using this!

You may shop DHC at its web site.

MJCare Pearl Essence Mask

7. Face Mask Sheets are a weekly treat for me.  I like kicking back in the reclining chair for 15-20 minutes and listening to music as I wear a face mask sheet. Unfortunately, Walgreen’s is no longer carrying face mask sheets from The Face Shop (Korea).  I have not tried SK-II, but there are more inexpensive options.  Fortunately for me (don’t hate me! :-), I’m near the Cinderella boutique, which carries a variety of Korean face mask sheets, some for as little as a dollar.  Cinderella is located in the courtyard of Lotte Plaza, a huge ethnic supermarket in Chantilly, Virginia.  Grocery shopping is a contact sport at Lotte Plaza! 🙂

In a subsequent post, I’ll reveal a product that adds sheen to the skin and protects the skin from the elements.  It also adds shine to the hair and smooths flyaways.  And it’s 100% natural, food-grade, vegan, and organic!  Interested??!!

Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture by Young Living

Cold Cream 'n' Roses
Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture by Young Living

I still have the Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture kit by Young Living that I purchased from a friend at church 4 years ago.  Since then, she’s retired and relocated to Asheville, North Carolina.  I use the oils as inhalants (no, I don’t get high!) and keep the kit in the night stand to enjoy the resinous fragrances wafting from the kit as I lie in bed.

Now comes news that frankincense could be on the verge of extinction, due to a number of factors.  All the more reason to cherish the bottle of essence of frankincense in the Twelve Oils of Ancient Scripture kit.

Frankincense in The Bible:
Frankincense is identified as one of the gifts of the Magi, as identified in the Gospel of Matthew.  The Sydney Morning Herald goofs in calling frankincense the “bitter perfume.” That distinction belongs to myrrh.

Here are the symbolic meanings of the gifts of frankincense, myrrh, and gold (from Wikipedia):

  • Frankincense – deity
  • Myrrh (an embalming oil) – death, anticipating Christ’s death.
  • Gold – kingship on earth

BTW there is no mention of the names of the Magi in The Bible.  The names – Melchior, Caspar, and Balthazar – ascribed to the Magi in western tradition come from other sources.