Adventures in Moisturizer

It is a truth self evident that a young...ish woman with rosacea, sensitive skin and cystic acne must be in want of something that helps her face the day without a ton of steps.

It is also a truth self evident that when the young...ish woman finds such a thing, at least one of those products must be in short supply and/or discontinued.

I have recently discovered Stila's Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer with SPF 30 in 01 Light. As you can see, this lovely product is in Stila's Last Call section of the Stila site, and 01 Light is no longer available there. Just. My. Luck. Still, on to the review!

The moisturizer goes on thickly, so I was a little concerned that it was going to clog my skin and irritate my already irritated rosacea. Fortunately, this was not the case. After using this product for a week, I'm used to the thicker, more opaque texture of this moisturizer, the Light color blends in flawlessly with my skin with no itching or irritation, just a smooth wash of even color on my face. So you can imagine how I felt to find out that this amazing wonder product that actually works for me is now on the way out. Stila does make a newer version of the tinted moisturizer that is oil free, but at a lower SPF level. I know the Light tint works, since this is the product I tried in Sephora, but I did not know it was oil free at the time. So I guess I'll switch to the new version when I run out of the old version, but to delay the change a little while, I've purchased two more tubes of the Light shade from a makeup vendor who still had them in stock. If you're not quite as pale as I am, you can still give the SPF 30 product a go. At $17, it's a less painful-to-the-pocketbook way to see if Stila's tinted moisturizers will work for you.

Next up, a new foundation. I have...issues with mineral foundations. I love what they do for my skin, but so many of them make me itch, and so many others just don't look that good on me. So it was with not very high hopes that I tried the also recently discovered Almay Wake Up Make Up in Ivory. It has encapsulated water, so it feels wet when you apply it. It's kind of a weird sensation, but not unpleasant. It is not so moist that it causes the foundation to smear or streak when you apply it, but does seem to be a little less chalky/powdery than many of the mineral foundations out there. Here again, I was extremely lucky to find a good color match for my skin.

So far, I've been ecstatic at the combination of the two products in my morning routine. I have finally achieved the "your skin but better" look so many makeup products claim, and I can wear it without bother for over 16 hours with no ill effects. After so many years of dealing with makeup products that just didn't work for me, it makes getting ready in the morning much more pleasant. I just wish Stila would have left the Oil Free 30 SPF product in their line. I guess you can't win 'em all.