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my physician has been recommending retinol for about a year and I keep saying I'll start it and then not starting it.

it's not that I don't believe it works. everything I've read says it does. it's the getting-there part that keeps stopping me. the accounts I've seen are around peeling, skin that looks worse before it looks better, sensitivity that makes your whole routine feel like a minefield. one person I know stopped after three weeks because her skin was so raw she couldn't wear anything on it.

I don't have the kind of schedule where I can look like that for two months and just wait it out.

my physician mentioned ZO's new retinol specifically and said the delivery system is different. not just a lower dose but something about how the retinol actually gets into the skin. I'm trying to understand whether that changes the experience in any real way.

for people who were hesitant and started anyway: was the reality as bad as what you'd heard? and for anyone on ZO specifically, did the experience feel different?

Hey guys so I have very dark eye bags. They aren’t puffy. Just dark and purple. Has anyone had any eye creams that genuinely helped them?!! No not just help them for an hour and then went back to normal but like actually shown a different even if you forgot to use it for a night or two.

My mom’s birthday is at the end of October. She doesn’t have a skincare routine currently, but wants one and isn’t sure where to start. I was thinking about getting her something, but I’m not exactly sure. She has dry, mature skin. Wrinkles are obviously a concern. Is there any holy grail products you guys could recommend? I would like to keep it budget friendly. I want to make sure whatever I get her she is able to purchase when she runs out.

Has anyone used the dr Althea aqua marine jelly mist or the byphasse face rehydrating mist for this purpose (refreshing cracked makeup). Or can anyone suggest one that’s available at pharmacies?

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Edited to add: wow, so many great ideas, thank you all! I should add that I am learning to do more out of necessity, but I’m not patient with the process of applying make up, so lower frills approach is my go to.

I've been playing around with different products and haven't landed on anything I'm thrilled with for this stage. I was a powder blush gal for years, and I like the control I have with it, and it seems to last, but it also settles more into my lines, and I notice it a lot more as we move into fall. I need something with more moisture.

I want to love Miracle Balm but don't. I find it too lightly pigmented and it doesn't hold up all day, and my face looks flatter/less dimensional with it. Similar result with Revolution Beauty Balm Glow, though it has more pigment.

Help, somebody steer me in the right direction...

I don't usually lots of makeup, but am practicing for my son's wedding. I am willing to buy new, but what I currently have is Laura Geller (both double take and balance and brighten), NARS natural radiant long wear, elf halo glow, L'Oreal age perfect radiant serum, L'Oreal true match blendable. Oh and I have some ilMakiage too. None of these seem great for my skin. I th

I use a hyaluronic acid, true skin c serum, CeraVe Facial moisturizer and recently got L'oreal Blurring Face Primer. My skin (especially on my chin) looks not quite flaky but sort of - not sure how to describe it.

I have pics, but not sure if we can post them here. It seems grayed out as not an option.