Winter Skin 2

Ahhh, country living. The air fills your lungs, the sun warms your soul and, the wind blows gently through your hair.

Well, that may well be true for a few weeks in May, but right now the air is drying out my skin, the sun is aging me, and the wind is wreaking havoc on my locks. Oh, yes, and I am over 40 now.

When I lived in the city, I HAD to wash my face at night, removing the soot and dirt that took up residence in my pores during the day. But here, if I want to be lazy once and again, I can rest easy knowing that there is not a pound of muck hiding in my hide. That’s the good news. The bad news is that during the winter I need to bring out the big guns to get my skin the moisture it needs, but since I am such a sensitive gal, I can’t just go putting just any old salve on.

Before I go on, I do have to offer a disclaimer of sorts. One of the missions of this blog is to support a buy-local mentality, encouraging you, dear reader, to go out and find treasures in locally owned enterprises. However, seemingly flying in the face of my own mission statement, I am now sending you to a branch of a multi-national corporation. But for good reason.

CVS is has always been a place to buy Q-tips and Band-Aids in my mind. But select branches of the drug store giant have begun carrying high-quality European skin -are lines. The products are given special display areas and the store employs a skin-care specialist to help you navigate through the products. Highly specialized, these products are worth a good, hard look. Ask for Deborah, the beauty department manager, at the 744 Dutchess Turnpike, Poughkeepsie, location (call (845) 452-7117), and she will talk you through the lines and even offer you samples so you can try before you buy.

HIGH-TECH SUN BLOCK: A breakthrough in UVA/UVB protection, La Roche –Posay’s Anthelios SX sunblock is finally available in the states. The paba-free formulation purports to offer the long lasting, complete UV spectrum protection available. $30 for a 3.4 oz tube.

ARTIC PURITY: From Finland comes Lumene, using berry extracts and rare ingredients from the Artic, these products contain high quality ingredients that won't stress out sensitive skin.

ALL THINGS FRENCH: France's thermal spring water provide the basis for the Eau Thermal Avene line. Classified as dermo-cosmetics, the products were formulated by a dermatologist, but what I like is the purity of the water that is the basis of all of the products. Give yourself a spray of the Avene spring water to wake yourself up, soothe angry skin or to make believe just for a moment that you can the cool ocean mist on your face.

Finally, for those among us who appreciate a big dose of science with their skin care there is Vichy. Another French pharmacy brand that bases its products on thermal spring water, Vichy marries science and nature to tackle some of our most pressing skin care needs.

Thoughts, comments, ideas? Write me at theshoppinglist@hvc.rr.com.

Alysa Sullivan learned to be a discerning shopper at an early age, when her taste for quality was outstripped by her measly 25-cent weekly allowance. She is very happy to now be applying her shopping acumen in the hills of the Hudson Valley.