June Specials at the Spa!

We hope you are enjoying our warmer weather!  Now is a great time to take advantage of some fabulous savings on summer skin care essentials, SmoothShapes, facials and more!

Aesthetic Services:

• Buy one SmoothShapes package and get the second area half off!

• Buy a SmoothShapes maintenance treatment package of 8 for $1000!! (over 20% off!)

• $600 off the Affirm SmartSkin package! (Treatment must completed by August 31st, 2010).

• 20% off the ViPeel!

• Buy any two Refresh Signature facials and get one free!

Latisee, Botox, and Juvederm Specials:

• $10 off Latisse lash conditioner

• $50 off 20 units or more of Botox (applies to first time injection clients).

• $100 off Juvederm XC (applies to first time Juvederm injections).

• $465 per syringe for Juvederm Ultra and Ultra Plus!

• Also – we have qualified to offer special Latisse anniversary rebates going on through Allergan until July 15th. $50 Allergan rebate on the purchase of Latisse with Botox OR Juvederm XC. $100 Allergan rebate on the purchase of Latisse with both Botox and Juvederm XC injections. We only have 12 of these special rebates available for our clients. If you are considering purchasingLatisse with Botox, Juvederm XC, or both – this is a great offer to take advantage of!

Colore Science:

• Buy one regular price Colore Science Brush and get 15% off any other regular priced Colore Science product. Special includes: NEW Sunforgettable SPF 50 brush, SPF 30 mineral primer, and SPF 35 lip gloss! Colore Science Sunforgettable brushes make great Father’s Day presents for active Colorado Dads!

• Also, check out our Colore Science Clearance basket – several new clearance items at great prices!

Image Skin Care:

• 15% off when you trade in one old product, 20% off when you trade in two products, 30% off when you trade in three products.

• 20% off any professional Image chemical peel facial (soft or medium peel). Choose from anti-aging, acne prone, or skin brightening peels.

Sesderma Clearance:

• 30% off all in stock Sesderma products!!

Jan Marini:

• 20% off Jan Marini Lash Conditioner and Conditioning Mascara

Clarisonic:

• Did you know we have the brand new and wildly popular Clarisonic Opal for $200?! It retails elsewhere for over $250!

All special offers and sale prices good until June 30th, 2010 unless otherwise stated

Hot ColoreScience Press from around the web!

Just in time for Summer, the internet is bursting with praises for ColoreScience Mineral Sunscreen!

Gone are the days of greasy, smelly, oily sunscreen that runs into your eyes, attracts sand, and spills all over your towel bag.

And now, with ColoreScience’s newest Sunforgettable Brush with SPF 50 (!!!) there is absolutely no reason you shouldn’t be looking gorgeous (not greasy!) AND protecting your skin!

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Oxygen.com says,

“For most, Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer and all the fabulous things that come along with it: ice cream, sundresses, trips to the beach, etc. It also serves as a reminder to stock up on something we should actually be using all yearlong—sunscreen.

We’re Obsessed with having our fun in the sun, while protecting our skin from its harmful effects! But who wants to slather on some thick sunscreen on top of regular face lotion, every day? Fortunately, mineral makeup lines like Colorescience Pro provide an even easier way for us to incorporate sunscreen into our daily beauty regimen. Their Sunforgettable SPF 50 comes in a powder form that is filled with broad-spectrum UVA and UVB sun protection. The chemical-free formula can be worn on the bare face or under makeup. We especially love that it gives us water-resistant protection without any greasy sunscreen sensation. Plus, the built-in brush makes it so convenient for on-the-go reapplying—a sunscreen must!”

And again, TeenVogue.com sings the praises of SPF 50 Mineral Suncreen Powder,

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It reads,

“Colorescience Sunforgettable Mineral Powder SPF 50: This colorless SPF 50 sun protectant is my go-to for mattifying my face (hot weather = super- oily skin for me!) and keeping it protected from UV rays. This is perfect for days when I’m mostly inside, but have to run to and from events. $60″

To pick up your Sunforgettable SPF50 brush or the rest of the Sunforgettable line, call or stop in today!
720.314.1965

Protect Your Skin from the Sun the Refresh Way!

Preventing sun damage and skin cancer is very serious business, especially for us folk living so near to the sun here in Colorado.

As we have said before, and will again: There is an 8-10% increase in UV intensity for every 1,000 feet gained in altitude.

Here’s a great way to visually see what variables effect UV intensity:

Now, before we even get into the great ways to protect yourself from the sun’s UVA and UVB rays, let’s lay down some serious (and frightening!) facts about Skin Cancer:

• Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More that one million skin cancers are diagnosed annually.
• Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of breast, prostate, lung and colon.
• One in five Americans will develop skin cancer in the course of a lifetime.
• Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common form of skin cancer; about one million of the cases diagnosed annually are basal cell carcinomas. Basal cell carcinomas are rarely fatal, but can be highly disfiguring.
• Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common form of skin cancer. More than 250,000 cases are diagnosed each year, resulting in approximately 2,500 deaths.
• Basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the two major forms of non-melanona skin cancer. Between 40 and 50% of Americans who live to age 65 will have either skin cancer at least once.
• In 2004, the total direct cost associated with the treatment for non-melanoma skin cancers was more than $1 billion.
• About 90% of non-melanoma skin cancers are associated with exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun.
• Up to 90% of the visible changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun.
• Contrary to popular belief, 80% of a person’s lifetime sun exposure is not acquired before age 18; only about 23% of a lifetime exposure occurs by age 18.

Onto the good stuff!!!

Vitamin C (l-ascorbic acid): Vitamin C (applied topically) is truly a wonder vitamin for you skin in terms of sun care, and most importantly anti-aging. According to the American Chronicle,

“Vitamin C, being an anti-oxidant, reduces the sun damage caused on the skin by neutralizing free radicals. It thus reduces sun damage to an extent. Though it cannot be used as a sunscreen, but if formulated with sunscreens, it adds to the property of protection against sun damage. Vitamin C also stimulates collagen and elastin production in the skin. As we age, we lose collagen. We also lose collagen because of sun exposure. Vitamin C helps reduce this loss of collagen. Vitamin C topicals are therefore used to reduce age lines and sun damage. It may also protect against sunburn to a certain extent.”

In a similar article, the role of Vitamin C in photoaging is discussed,

“Vitamin C plays a potent role in diminishing the effects of free radical damage and in this role can be quite effective as a protectant from ultra violet (UV) light damage. The advantage of Vitamin C over a sunscreen is that Vitamin C can be absorbed into the cells and is generally still present about 30-36 hours after it has been applied topically to the skin. It will, therefore, still give sun protection even though the subject may have washed their skin or gone swimming. As a result of this we can expect that Vitamin C can slow down photoageing.”

Here are our favorite Vitamin C products:

• ViDerm Vitamin C 20% Serum: Contains the highest concentration of Vitamin C available, visibly and immediately tones and firms skin, leaves skin glowing, and stimulates collagen. Plus, it goes on silky smooth and absorbs immediately- no sticky or filmy residue like some Vitamin C serums. ($80 Buy it now)
• Vital Therapy’s Vitamin C with Caffeine: Ted (owner/scientist/skin care god) says, “This is probably the most important skin care product. It only protects the skin from UV damage, it also is the best anti-aging compound for the skin. The increase of collagen and elastin only takes place if Vitamin C is present in the skin! This […] is a highly concentrated Vitamin C serum with proven antioxidant and regenerative properties to help fight and repair the signs of aging by building collagen and elastin. The ingredients in the Vitamin C serum contain active ingredients that provide a direct benefit to the skin and are not just carriers.” It also contains 20% Vitamin C. ($40-$80 Buy it now)
• C-Vit Revitalizing Facial Lotion: Reduces wrinkles and signs of aging such as spots. It can help control losses of luminosity, flaccidity and skin lacking smoothness. It prevents facial photoaging and fights free radicals. ($40 Buy it now)

Sunscreen (at least SPF 15. At least.): According to the Skin Cancer Foundation,

“Sunscreens are chemical agents that help revent the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) radiation from reaching the skin. Two types of ultraviolet radiation, UVA and UVB, damage the skin and increase your risk of skin cancer. UVB is the chief culprit behind sunburn, while UVA rays, which penetrate the skin more deeply, are associated with wrinkling, leathering, sagging, and other effects of photoaging. They also exacerbate the carcinogenic effects of UVB rays, and increasingly are being seen as a cause of skin cancer on their own. Sunscreens vary in their ability to protect against UVA and UVB.
Most sunscreens with an SPF of 15 or higher do an excellent job of protecting against UVB. SPF- or Sun Protection Factor- is a measure of a sunscreen’s ability to prevent UVB from damaging the skin. Here’s how it works:  If it takes 20 minutes for your unprotected skin to start turning red, using an SPF 15 sunscreen theoretically prevents reddening 15 times longer- about five hours. Another way to look at is in terms of percentages: SPF 15 blocks approximately 93% of all incoming UVB rays. SPF 30 blocks 97%, and SPF 50 blocks 98%. They may seem like negligible differences, but if you are light-sensitive, or have a history of skin cancer, those extra percentages will make a difference. And as you can see, no sunscreen can block all UV rays.
But there are problems with the SPF model: First, no sunscreen, regardless of strength, should be expected to stay effective longer than two hours without reapplication. Second, the ‘reddening’ of the skin is a reaction to UVB rays alone and tells you little about what UVA damage you may be getting. Plenty of damage can be done without the red flag of sunburn being raised.”

Here are our favorite Sunscreens:

Sunforgettable SPF 30 Retractable Brushes: The first mineral sunscreen with the Skin Cancer Foundation’s seal of approval! ColoreScience SPF rated products are full-spectrum sunscreen to protect your skin from harmful UVA and UVB rays. These products are rated “very water resistant.” The key to physical sun protection is micronized titanium dioxide and micronized zinc oxide. Found naturally in minerals, neither will clog pores nor dry the skin. Both are quite remarkable in that they allow light to pass through the visible ray region (light is needed for healthy development of skin) while intercepting ultraviolet rays. Both ingredients guard against the damaging effects of ultraviolet rays ,while giving the skin a natural looking, flawless finish. Research shows that both provide a natural barrier to UVA and UVB radiation without irritating, burning, or stinging. Available in All Clear, Perfectly Clear and Almost Clear ($45 Buy it now)

Wild to Mild SPF 20 Skin Bronzer: This product truly does it all! It is a sunscreen, a bronzer, a makeup primer, a skin soother, line smoother, and an antioxidant!!!! Whew! And although it appears very bronze and café au lait in color- the nature of the minerals allow for a very sheer application that blends to any skin tone. Or, crank up the volume and get tanfastic the safe way! ($45 Buy it now)

Sunforgettable SPF 30 Eyescreen: This silicone-based powder comes in the softest shade of pink to not only protect that delicate skin around the eyes from sun damage- but also to conceal those obnoxious dark circles. It goes on like butter and really should be a necessity in any gal’s makeup bag. ($20 Buy it now)

And lastly, I think this is really useful information for us ladies who awake each morning, only to stare into the abyss that is our cosmetic bag and go, “Well- what do I do???!”

Take the Skin Cancer Foundation’s word and follow these steps:

“If you’re a regular sunscreen user who also uses cosmetics or topical medications, you’ve probably wondered what the proper order is for applying these products. Does sunscreen go on first? Last? In the middle?

“I suggest if you’re a regular sunscreen user who also uses cosmetics or topical medications, to apply them first, then suscreen,” says Bradford R. Katchen, MD, associate professor of dermatology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York City. “If sunscreen is applied first, it might interfere with the medication’s penetration and might inactivate the active ingredient. For that reason, medication should always be the first product applied to a clean, washed face.”

“If you’re also using a moisturizer, it should go on after the medication and before the sunscreen,” adds Rosemarie Ingleton, MD, attending physician Beth Israel Medical Center and clinical instructor, Mount Sinai Medical Center. “Applying a moisturizer after the medication could actually enhance penetration of the medication,” she notes. “If the moisturizer does not contain an SPF, apply a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher next. Finally, apply foundation, powder, blush, and any other colored cosmetics.”

To recap, the layering process goes as follows: medication, moisturizer, sunscreen, foundation, powder, and blush.

To get any more information about skin care, preventative care, or any of the products mentioned:

Call 720.314.1965