Adding skincare elements into makeup is not a new concept, but you'll be hard-pressed to find such products at affordable price points. Maybe the ingredients that go into it are pricey or maybe by virtue of the added skincare, the makeup is already branded as a premium product. But that's not the case with Max Factor's newest foundation: the Max Factor Ageless Elixir Foundation + Serum (P895).

The foundation feels like a thick, heavily tinted serum. It's very moisturizing and has a velvety, mousse-like texture that's easy to spread and work with. Another distinctive feature is the floral scent - some people might be turned off by it, but since this is specifically marketed towards more mature women, the scent seems to be a preference for them.

The coverage is pretty good - medium to heavy - and goes on very smoothly without emphasizing fine lines and creases.

"Proof, not promises," says Elizabeth Arden about their flagship anti-aging cream, the Prevage Night Anti-aging Restorative Cream (~P5,000/ $132). So what is it? Basically, it's a night cream that has a powerful anti-oxidant component to battle fine lines and dullness.

...an intensive overnight moisture cream with advanced Idebenone technology that was specially formulated to work during the night in synch with the skin’s sleep cycle, as it’s the time our skin is most receptive to treatments.

Mature skin tends to be duller, with age spots, wrinkles, and dry skin overall. That means normal makeup just won't cut it anymore! To enhance older skin, makeup artists would recommend products that have intense moisturizing and brightening effects.

One foundation that fits the bill is the Revlon Age Defying with DNA Advantage Cream Makeup (P975). I wouldn't recommend you put too much stock on its "DNA advantage" that is, its claims to protect your DNA from aging, but it is certainly a good foundation for its intended market.

Texture. It's thick, creamy, and easy to spread on even the toughest, wrinkle-ridden skin. It also helps soften lines due to its light-reflecting properties. Has SPF20.

Coverage and finish. Coverage is medium to heavy.

There is a dizzying bevy of anti-aging products out there, with extraordinary claims to bring back your skin's youth. How do you find out what actually works? Simple, you try them! After some research on reviews and ingredients, of course.

That said, I want to give you a bit of information about Avon's latest anti-aging product: the Anew Genics Treatment Concentrate (P1,799). It claims to help skin look ten years younger with the help of the brand's patented YouthGen Technology. It is supposed to re-activate one's "Youth Gene", that genetic component in our cells that keeps skin elastic, wrinkle-free, and glowing - young, in other words. 

Sounds too sci-fi? Perhaps, but it is quite intriguing. Promises aside, the quality of the serum itself is pretty good.

Let's face it, we're all much too young here to be using heavy-duty anti-aging products like the Filextra Facial Revolumizing Treatment with Collagen (P2,800) *wink*. But I'm sure you know an aunt, grandmother, or even your own mom, who might need something like it!

Filextra is a face moisturizer that is designed to "revolumize" a face that has devloped sunken cheeks or eye sockets due to loss of collagen over time. As we age, we produce less collagen, thus resulting in sallower, thinner skin that sags. Filextra targets that particular sign of aging by providing instant brightening with light-reflecting ingredients. In the long term, it's supposed to rebuild the skin using collagen boosters, refill by replenishing H2O levels in the skin, and revolumize by using an advanced lipid filling complex.

Of course, I can't use and review this for you since I'm quite young, but I can tell you about how light and easily absorbed the texture is.

Vitacreme B12 is a relatively new skincare brand here in the Philippines, but I hear that it's been making a name for itself since 2006. The Vitacreme B12 Regenerative Cream is popular in Asia and the US, with users claiming that it moisturized and evened out their faces pretty well.

Nonetheless, when the brand contacted me for a review, I requested to the Vitacreme B12 Body Milk (P2,495) instead. I have too many face moisturizers as it is! Anyway, I've been looking for info about the body milk online with little success; the product packaging doesn't help much in specifying what it actually does. I did find a useful product description on Sasa.com:

It corrects the skin suffering from fatigue, dehydration, aging or dullness.

It enhances skin’s resilience and firmness.

It prevents premature wrinkling.

It smoothes away fine lines and wrinkles.

Haven't you always wondered how orchids can live so long while looking as fresh as the day they first bloomed? Guerlain did. They gathered 30,000 species of orchids to discover their secrets until they found "the one". It's called the Vanda Coerulea, a blue orchid found in China that could live more than 80 years in extreme weather conditions. After ten years of research in three different parts of the world, Guerlain has finally managed to distill the molecular extract of Vanda Coerulea with two other orchids into the Orchidee Imperiale Cream.

The Orchidee Imperiale is Guerlain's flagship anti-aging product which they released just last year. It promises to reduce fine lines and wrinkles and restore the skin's strength and luminosity. Now, I put this to the test for more than two weeks, so I can confidently say this: it's awesome. If you can afford it, go run out and get it. This is the best moisturizer I've tried to date although I will admit that I didn't like it at first.

We were off to a rocky start.

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of going on a conference call with Anthony Gonzalez, the Senior Manager of the global research and development center of Avon skincare products. He's based in New York and wanted to share the latest Anew line called Reversalist to the Asian press. The talk happened at the Avon Philippines headquarters in Makati Avenue.

ANEW Reversalist's Activinol technology boosts Activin, to reactivate skin’s repair process and help recreate fresh new skin and dramatically reverse the look of wrinkles. Avon’s patent-pending Activinol Technology is shown to increase the production of Activin to help boost skin’s ability to repair itself and recreate fresh, new skin.

Anthony Gonzalez

Now I know a lot of you are jaded about anti-aging products since so many of them come out with claims of miraculously solving skin issues, so I cut straight to the chase and asked Mr. Gonzalez The Question: what makes the Anew Reversalist unique? He answered quickly and confidently, "Other anti-aging products focus on stimulating collagen and elastin. But we approach aging differently. We go to the cellular level and look at aging as a result of tiny wounds to the skin."

I am currently using Estee Lauder's latest moisturizer called Time Zone Night Anti-Line/Wrinkle Creme. It's so good, I want to use it during the day! It's the first heavy cream moisturizer that my skin enjoys. There's none of that greasy feel I just can't stand in other brands. And believe me, I have tried quite a few cream moisturizers.

This age-defying moisturizer works overnight to help dramatically reduce the look of lines and wrinkles. Our exclusive Sirtuin EX1 Technology helps reverse the appearance of aging for a years-younger look-more lineless, radiant and rested.

Helps support skin's nightly restorative actions including natural collagen production with an amino acid complex. And while you sleep, the soothing scent calms and relaxes. 

I am way too young to need help in the wrinkle department, but I like it mainly for its moisturizing and soothing properties. I highly recommend this for mature or maturing skin because this product is designed with repair during nighttime in mind.

Do you know that Estee Lauder is actually more popular for its skincare products than its makeup? The brand was born when Joseph Lauder and his wife Estee started selling skincare in 1946. Six decades of experience and technology later, Estee Lauder has produced a cutting-edge skincare product called Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lift Age Correcting Creme.

The new Re-Nutriv Ultimate Lift Age-Correcting Creme designed to repair, recharge, and restore. It is a fusion of Estée Lauder’s exclusive Life Re‑Newing Molecules™, the most advanced lifting technologies, and precious Black Tourmaline, a charged mineral known for its energetic properties. Together, they deliver a revolution in luxury skincare with Estée Lauder’s most dramatic age-correcting results ever.

The launch was held at The Establishment, The Fort, where members of the print media and bloggers where invited to a classy dinner all dressed in black. We all got to sample the Re-Nutriv Creme by way of a relaxing hand massage by EL assistants. I felt a difference in my skin texture immediately after the product was applied; it wasn't just absorbed, like most skincare products are.

At the tender age of 22 I am already becoming paranoid about lines forming around my face, especially near my eyes. I wish I was kidding, but the wrinkles near the corners of my eyes are progressively becoming deeper. And deeper. 

Of course, Clinique has a hi-tech solution to that problem! The brand didn't become a trusted leader in skincare if they didn't always innovate and have a feel for the evolving needs of women. In a press launch last February 18, Clinique introduced their newest anti-aging line - Youth Surge.

Clinique introduces its latest patent-pending de-aging treatment line – Youth Surge.  NEW Youth Surge Night Age Decelerating Night Moisturizer and Youth Surge SPF 15 Age Decelerating Moisturizer incorporate groundbreaking Sirtuin technology to help slow down the visible signs of aging while simultaneously promoting cellular repair.