Justifying My Next Fix ... I Mean, Cup

My name is Cade ... Hi Cade …and I’m a tea junkie. I admit it. I love tea. I love coffee too, but it’s the leafy stuff in hot water that I go for. I’m an equal opportunity tea lover too—I love black, green, white, red (it’s a tea, too, don’t argue with me!), oolong, and all the flavor combinations that exist. I must have picked it up from my mom because she always drank tea in the mornings and throughout her school days as a teacher. Anyway, though teas are healthy for us because they contain antioxidants, some new and exciting information may change the way we protect our skin. This is especially cool because, while it may block lots of UV rays from getting to our skin, it does something other sunscreen products don't—naturally heals damage already sustained. This is especially good if you like natural or organic lines like CARE By Stella McCartney or Dr Hauschka’s Skin Care. These two lines do not have SPF ingredients in them, because they refuse to include chemicals to provide this protection. I believe we should be able to have it all—maybe soon we will. Now only if they could make honey a sunscreen ... —Cade Peterson, Sephora

Elixir Fixer

Feeling that cold coming on? Me too. Despite pumping myself full of fluids and over-the-counter meds, I can’t seem to feel any good—until now. Sitting on my desk is a little bottle of Caudalie Beauty Elixir, which I normally use about once a day for an afternoon pick-me-up. Turns out, spritzing it on when you’re sick feels ten times as good as it usually does. Who knew? Brimming with essential oils and plant ingredients, it delivers a menthol-esque freshening and microcirculation. Just spritz on face, décolleté, back of neck or anywhere you need a little refreshment. With cold a flu season approaching, this is one item you will want to have in your purse or travel tote at all times. —Brianne Rieck, Sephora

Ah, Sweet Wrinkles

Last month, I wrote about how eating sugar might lead to acne (see Eating Your Way To Acne). Not only did it get some of you out there to comment, but it even stirred up a bit of a controversy here in the office. Now, it turns out there's a new study out that says there is a direction correlation between sugary foods and wrinkles. Yes, wrinkles. I know you just cringed. According to a study in the British Journal of Dermatology, a process called glycation is to blame for the aging process. Here's how it works:

• You eat sugar, or anything that turns into glucose in your body.
• When the glucose enters your bloodstream, it grabs onto proteins, forming a new molecule.
• This new molecule is called an advanced glycation end product, or AGE.
• The more AGEs you produce, the more they bother neighboring proteins, like collagen and elastin, which are the proteins skin needs to be strong, supple and wrinkle-free.

Of course, this won't stop me from eating the occasional morning muffin, but it will certainly have me thinking. For more information on the study's findings, check out this article. --Brianne Rieck, Sephora

SPF of The Future

Sun Protection Factor? Soo 5 years ago. According to an article in this month's Allure, the newest SPF is actually an EPF—an Environmental Protection Factor—that measures how well an antioxidant defends us from pollution and sun damage. For instance, Vitamin E (that’s in so many of our much-loved products) ranked 80 out of a possible 100 points. That's great news! Other antioxidants rated in the study—conducted by dermatologists and chemists—included kinetin, Vitamin C, Coenzyme Q10 and Idebenone, which all were proven to have EPFs. In fact, Idebenone had a rating of 95, and it's available in one of our own products: Prevage's Anti-Aging Treatment. Look for EPF ratings on other product labels in the near future. —Brianne Rieck, Sephora

Would you be interested in a product offering EPFs, rather than just offered SPF?

Are You A Flexitarian?

According to this article, a Flexitarian is someone who eats "a primarily plant-based diet composed of grains, vegetables, and fruits, but occasionally obtains protein from lean meat, fish, poultry, or dairy." Essentially, it's someone who has a diet high in fiber and low in saturated fats. Actually, I am one of these flexy people (I had no idea there was a name for us). Are you a flexitarian? --Brianne Rieck, Sephora

Eating Your Way To Acne?

Like a never-ending tennis match, the back-and-forth battle over whether what you eat can give you acne seems to have no end in sight. First, the rumor was that chocolate gives you zits (kill me now!). Then, it was greasy foods (Now two food groups are off limits?!). Then it was said that no, none of these things produce acne. I'm confused: am I allowed to have fried chocolate or not? Well, according to October Allure, diet and acne may not be so unrelated after all. In one group, men with facial acne went on a low-glycemic-index diet - meaning they ate lean proteins and whole grains that release sugars into the body more slowly - and cut out high-glycemic-index foods (example: foods with white flour). The men in the other group had an equal calorie diet and had the same skin care regimen, but they were allowed to eat high-glycemic-index foods. After 12 weeks, the men on the low-glycemic diet had a 50% decrease in acne, opposed to a 30% decrease in the other group. In my opinion, just like what goes up must come down, the junk you put in your body, well... must come out. As someone who has had a battle of the wills with my acne for years, I happen to believe that there is a correlation between a healthy lifestyle (diet, exercise, being well-hydrated) and a clear face, but I am also a believer in a good, medicated skin care regimen and frequent trips to the derm. Think of it as a balance. Along with a tweak in diet (why not give it shot?), here's a list of my favorite products that have helped me over the years. And, if you have an acne-buster you live by, help a sista out and leave a comment. -- Brianne Rieck, Sephora

Boscia Purifying Cleansing Gel
Murad Acne Spot Treatment
DDF Sulfur Therapeutic Mask
Peter Thomas Roth Blemish Buffing Beads Body Wash
Evian Mineral Water Spray

The Moral of the Tainted Toothpaste Story? Read the Ingredients!

We should all be eternally thankful that Eduardo Arias reads his labels. Why? Because the 51 year-old Panama City resident unearthed one of the largest health scandals of the year--and probably saved thousands of lives--by discovering that the 59-cent tube of toothpaste sold in his local market contained diethylene glycol, the antifreeze ingredient found in a cough syrup that killed or disabled 138 Panamanians last year, the New York Times reported today. The toothpaste, which was manufactured in China, made its way to 34 countries. Contaminated toothpaste was given to prisoners in the US, and high-end hotels worldwide gave it clients. From the story:

Mr. Arias, who lives alone and does not own a car, went to buy blank CDs on May 5 at Vendela, a discount store where he had heard prices were so low that street vendors bought supplies there. Stepping into the store, a large display of toothpaste caught his eye.

“Without touching the tube, the letters were big enough for me to read: diethylene glycol,” Mr. Arias said.

A year ago, those words would have meant nothing to him. “Nobody had ever heard of this stuff,” Mr. Arias said. But a steady drumbeat of news about poison cough syrup had engraved the words in his mind.

“It was inconceivable to me that a known toxic substance that killed all these people could be openly on sale and that people would go on about their business calmly, selling and buying this stuff,” said Mr. Arias.

Diethylene glycol is a sweet-tasting ingredient that counterfeiters use as a cheaper substitution for glycerin, which is a a common sugar-derived ingredient common in medicine, food--and beauty products. Here's an interesting article that explains it all from The Why Files (brilliant image from them, too). Our advice--make like Mr. Arias, and read your ingredients. - Laura Kenney