I will preface this by admitting I'm totally waffling lately. I recently wanted to try using next to nothing on my skin and now I'm trying new things. When will I learn??
I was just at the mall exploring the cosmetics counters and asking loads of questions about products for rosacea. I also looked at all the ingredients. Here's what I found:
La Prairie: Super expensive. The reps said the La Prairie "Nurturing Cream" was an amazing moisturizer for rosacea skin. After touring all the counters, I did like the ingredients in this moisturizer the best. It wasn't overrun by extracts (only a few), and it's specifically made for red sensitive skin. The ingredients appeared to all be for sensitive skin. At $190 per jar, I opted for a sample to try out first. The foundation recommended had way to many plant extracts in it for me and a bit too sheer looking.
Clinique: Tons of plant extracts, which I tend to react to. Also, one recommended for rosacea had salicylic acid in it. Even the lady at the counter was taken back by that. Salicylic acid is probably to harsh for rosacea used every day (in my opinion). I really didn't find anything by Clinique I wanted to try :( Even the rep steered me toward another counter - Lancome I think. I have read good feedback on the City Block, though.
Keihl's: The rep said the product most raved about by rosaceans was the "Centella Skin Calming Facial Cleanser". She said it's super gentle yet totally melts everything off. It is soap free, and has a few extracts in it: Aloe, Centella, Chamomile. These were very reasonable - under $20 or so. Looking at the cleanser now, I see it has Sodium Laureath Sulphate in it. That's more mild than Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, but there are several surfactants that are more mild. It was not near the top if the list of ingredients, so perhaps the concentration is low enough not to matter..
La Mer: These reps were the most enthusiastic, saying the products "Changed their lives" when referring to rosacean who had tried their moisturizer. Looking at the ingredients, though, I saw that it has arnica and alcohol denat. in it. Aren't those bad? Or, perhaps I'm overly paranoid about one or two ingredients in a formulation.. Hard to say, but I'm not sure I'll ever try this one. Anyone tried La Mer moisturizing cream? I didn't ask the price.
Lancome: I saved what I think may be the best for last. The products she suggested were the most simple and mild appearing overall: My favorite was her suggestion for foundation. She suggested their undereye concealer - no fragrance, waterproof, and extra gentle since it's made for under the eye. She applied a super, super thin layer with a soft brush and it actually looks really good - and it was under $30. It looks smooth and slightly dewy, not dry like I expected from a waterproof product. I love this so far! Anyone else use it?
I was also impressed by a cleanser that looked just like plain water called "Eu Friache(sp?) Doucer". It had very few ingredients that appeared to be very gentle and inert, and no fragrance at all. Anyone tried this? I got a sample.
Next was the Lancome UV Expert 20 Sunscreen $35. Even the Kiehl's rep saw me with this one and said it was an excellent product. The ingredients on this one look to be extremely gentle, without any plant extracts at all, and Mexoryl as the Spf. Finally, she gave me a sample of the Primordiale Night (moisturizer) and it looked to have good potential, but I was more excited about the La Prairie Nuturing Cream.
So, I'll probably spot test some of these over a period of time and report back. I hope I can use the La Prairie Nurturing Cream, the Lancome Sunscreen, and the Lancome Concealer.
Cheers!
Artist
Ps. I'm not saying plant extracts are bad. They just seem to set my particular skin off more often.