Stuff Parents Need

Easing the chaos in the nest, one find at a time.

Elizabeth Grant’s The Socializer Skincare Collection: Review and GIVEAWAY!!!

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Recently I came across Canadian Skincare company Elizabeth Grant. I’d been hearing glowing reviews about her products from some other moms on a few chat boards about how great the products were for brightening, tightening and giving your skin an all-around tune up!

When I checked out the site, I was drawn to The Socializer Skincare Collection. These products are specifically aimed to help you look refreshed and awake, even after a LONG night. Their marketing strategy is a very interesting one, as it seems focused on women in their twenties and thirties who rock the board room during the day, and rock the club at night. It’s sort of that glamorous Sex and the City type of life. Sounds fun.

It also sounds a million miles away from my own life. I rock the work-at-home mom routine during the day, balancing blog posts, grocery trips and increasingly frequent doctors appointments since I’m getting close to my due date. Night time for me is spent tossing and turning in a desperate attempt to find a comfortable sleeping position. Two months from now, I’ll be doing awesome to get 3 hours stretches of sleep, so its going to get even worse.

While my days and nights are not as sexy as what is projected by The Socializer collection, the end result is the same. I look TIRED, and yes, even a bit older than I should. I need some specialized skincare products that can really help out, and I can tell you that Eliabeth Grant’s products are doing a fantastic job. I’m so pleased! Here’s what I’ve been using lately:

Bright Lights and Late Nights: This product has two tubes for different needs. You apply late nights just before you head to bed (or perhaps during one of your late night/super early morning wake up sessions with baby) and it helps to reduce the puffiness that you know is coming. The Bright Lights tube is meant to be applied in the morning, and it literally helps brighten the area under your eyes, helping you go from looking haggard to looking bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. This product retails for $40

Porefection: This is a product designed to help with the “extra dull” look overtired skin gets. It helps stimulate exfoliation, reduces the look of pores and adds a boost of hydration to your skin. You apply it in the evening so that it can work its magic while you (finally) sleep. The retail price is $22.

Spotlight Exfoliator: This product is designed specifically for an area that is a trouble spot for most women: the t-zone. It is a very gentle exfoliator that helps reveal more radiant and healthy looking skin. I use it in the shower about twice a week. It retails for $26.

Can You Keep a Secret? This might be my very favorite product in the line. It has two components: one size of this tube has a gentle vibrator as part of the applicator, and you apply it to your lips in order to remove the dead skin on them and reveal a MUCH prettier smile! The other side of the tube has a deep conditioning balm with anti-aging properties to help keep your fresh lips looking kissably soft. This product retails for $38.

I’ve been very pleased with the results of using The Socializer products from Elizabeth Grant. I can definitely see some improvement in how I look, despite the fact that I most certainly don’t FEEL any more rested (on the contrary!). So even though I don’t need to look my best for an important meeting, and even though I wasn’t out until 3am partying hard, I still suffer from the same struggles as the Carrie Bradshaws of the world, and The Socializer products really help out!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader is going to win two products of your choice from those I reviewed in the post!

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Ma Mi Skincare Review

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Today I’m bringing you a skincare line designed just for us moms, that has the following great features:

  • True anti-aging properties at an affordable price
  • Natural, high quality ingredients with no wasteful fillers
  • Uses a high percentage of active ingredients
  • Safe, toxin-free, and paraben-free
  • Clinically-formulated by doctors

Sounds pretty good, right? Well it IS pretty good, too! Introducing Ma Mi Skincare. I was really drawn to the approach this company has to creating products. From their site, “With Ma Mi, your skin receives everything it needs and nothing it doesn’t; our products contain pure, highly concentrated active ingredients that produce quick, visible results.”

Aren’t you always surprised by the ENORMOUS list of “inactive” ingredients in face care products? If you’ve never noticed, take a moment to read some of the boxes and labels. There’s a whole lot of stuff you can’t pronounce that is going on your skin, and for what?! Ma Mi Skincare keeps that list as small as possible, and what’s on that list is pronounceable!

I was sent two cleansers to review. I have been using the Reawaken Cleanser, which is for normal to dry skin. I LOVE the foam pump dispenser, which makes it perfect for use in the shower. I’m finding it to be a gentle but effective cleanser. I also really like that it has a built-in toner. I never really use toners, but I always feel kind of bad that I don’t. Problem solved here, folks! And the rose hip seed oil in the product gives it a really nice, but mild, fragrance.

The other cleanser I received is the Revitalize Cleanser, for normal to oily skin. I handed this over to Tim to use. You see, even though this skin care line is geared toward women, I’m sure it will do just as great of a job on a man’s skin. And in my book, a man who takes care of his skin is a smart one! He also happened to be running out of the face wash he was currently using, so the timing was great for him. His report back to me is that so far, he likes it, “just fine.” When I asked him to elaborate, he said that it worked, and he didn’t really know what else to say about it. So there you have it; perhaps this is some insight into why there aren’t very many men out there who write product reviews. 😉

Buy it!: Ma Mi Skincare products are more expensive than some of the stuff in the drugstores, but are far more affordable than what you typically find in department or specialty stores. The cleansers I reviewed are available for just $14.00. BONUS: SPN readers can score 25% off their total purchase using the code gomami at checkout! Sweet! That really gives you an opportunity to have specialty skincare at a drugstore price!

Win it!: One lucky Stuff Parents Need reader will be bringing home a the cleanser of your choice! The contest will run until January 18th at 11:59pm EST when a winner will be selected using Random.org. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to winning notification before the prize is forfeited and a new winner is selected. Open to residents of the United States. Limit one entrant per household, please.

Mandatory entry: Tell me one other product in the Ma Mi Skincare line that intrigues you. Also tell me if you would prefer the Reawaken (normal to dry) or Revitalize (normal to oily) cleanser if you win.

My answer: Would love to try the Nightshift Eye Serum!

Additional entries:
1. Sponsor love: “Like” Ma Mi Skincare on Facebook
2. Blogger love: Subscribe to Stuff Parents Need by RSS or email

Be sure to enter my other current giveaways, found on the sidebar of my home page.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com.  I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255 Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Tomoson Product review & giveawayDisclosure.