Recently skinspot brought on two new skin care lines Lira Clinical and Epionce, which means that I am dabbling in oodles of new skin care education. Woot!  Basically my former approach to radiant skin has been through two major modalities: exfoliation and nourishment, with an emphasis on exfoliation.  I am still advocating for exfoliation and nourishment; however, after recent training I am beginning to believe the emphasis needs to weigh heavy on nourishment.   Here’s why… chronic inflammation (i.e. when you are constantly dry, red, or peeling) puts in the skin in a constant state of stress.  Consistently stressed skin leads to fine lines, acne, rosacea, psoriasis, eczema, and a few other thrilling skin conditions that I am sure I am missing.   This is not news to me, but the emphasis that both Lira and Epionce put on repairing the skin’s barrier over all other modalities was a bit of a light bulb moment.  Basically if your first line of defense is down, healthy skin is a pipe dream.  While creating and maintaining a healthy skin barrier is the most important goal, stimulating new, healthy skin via exfoliation is crucial. However, over exfoliation can take one’s barrier down in a heart beat, so what is a radiant-skin-seeking-being to do?  Honestly…. Peel then Heal.  Figuring out which modalities are the most efficient for your skin type and condition can take a minute, but once you discover this magical formula you have officially received your ticket to luminous-skin-ville.  In my humble opinion the two new lines that skinspot is now carrying compliment each other oh, so well.  Lets meet the contenders….

Lira Clinical

{source}

Miss Lira’s speciality is that all of the products in the line contain stem cells.  What the heck are stem cells?!! Stem cells aid in repairing the skin and regenerating new and healthy skin. So if you get a chemical peel, a sun burn or perhaps picked too long and hard at an acne lesion, you want stem cells in your daily skin care arsenal to expedite the skin’s recovery. Another speciality of lady Lira is exfoliation via lactic acid, retinol, peptides, enzymes and salicylic acid.  As a brief overview here is what do these ingredients do….

Lactic Acid- Derived from milk. This is one of the more gentle AHA’s out there and It exfoliates the skin while hydrating and brightening the skin.  Lactic allows for new healthy, skin to shine forth without being overly stripping.

Retinol- Derived from Vitamin A and the gold standard in anti-aging ingredients.  Honestly, I have a deep love affair with retinol- if used correctly.  Retinol essentially teaches your dead skin cells to behave, which helps to alleviate acne, pigmentation and create overall glowing skin.   As if glowing skin isn’t enough, retinol also promotes collagen and elastin stimulation, which equals tighter skin and less fine lines. Be still my heart.

Peptides- Peptides are the building blocks of protein and are all the rage as of late.  Peptides are winning hearts due to their ability to aid in skin regeneration like an AHA (aka retinol), without the irritation that AHA’s can cause.  Peptides while they are superb at  creating new healthy skin, they also expedite the healing process, so your skin gets to repair with more efficiency.   Peptides also have a reputation of producing a Botox like effect on the skin.  They are NOT Botox, but they help in moving the muscles less that produce those pesky fine lines.

Enzymes- Derived from papaya, pineapple and pumpkin.  Enzymes work like pacman on the skin.  They come in and gobble up any dead skin hanging around without irritation, which allows smooth skin to make itself known and it allows for any topical treatment product to penetrate with greater efficiency.  Win!

Salicylic  Acid-  Sali is a beta hydroxy acid (BHA) derived from the leaves of wintergreen and sweet birch bark that helps to dissolve the oil and dead skin cells in the pore , which aids in keeping sir pore free and clear.  Stunning Sali also helps control oil production and is mildly antibacterial.  Sali is a great friend to have when trying to achieve clear skin.

While Lira does a stellar job on exfoliation all of their products are formulated with oodles of antioxidants and several skin healing minerals and botanicals.  This review on the product truly is just scratching the surface of what Lira has going on.

Now lets meet Contender Number 2:  Epionce

{source}

Oh Epionce, you continue to surprise and amaze moi.  As a former glycolic acid junkie (i.e. I loved to feel the burn) Epionce’s approach to radiant skin via non stripping ingredients and formulations has truly provoked me to reevaluate how I care for skin.  Epionce nourishes the heck right out of your skin and protects it like only the best suit of armor could.  This line works wonders on acne, rosacea, psoriasis, and highly sensitive skin.  Epionce’s star players in their skin care are any of the renewal skin care lotions or creams.  These products repair via antioxidants and the perfect combination of ceramides to ensure your barrier remains firmly intact.  These products are no ordinary moisturizers and good Lord do they make your skin look radiant. Epionce’s Lytic cleanser and Lytic toner have my heart.  They are great for acne prone skin and they do not strip the skin, so your visage is not feelin’ parched after your cleanse.  And, to boot, the cleanser and toner make your skin feel so cool and fresh. What more could one want in this world?

These are top 6 (yes, 6) products that I am currently using and adoring:

1. Epionce’s Lytic Gel Cleanser- clear skin cleanser
2. Epionce’s Purifying Toner- great for keeping skin clear
3. Lira’s Pro Lite TX- great for pigmentation
4. Epionce’s Renewal Facial Lotion- protecting & nourishing
5. Lira’s Pro Retinol TX- great for pigmentation, acne, fine lines, overall amaze-balls skin
6. Lira’s Bio BB Tint-  SPF, makeup, & treatment all-in-one