Ask Marissa...Moved to the Desert

Jane Doe: Do you have any recommendations on skincare products. I have been using Clinique, Shiesido, and other stuff, but looking for a good affordable one to try out. The weather here in Vegas is dry so something new will be good. Thanks for your help!

Me: It depends on what your main skin concern is. I like different brands for different things.

Jane Doe: I have sensitive skin but mainly dry out here in the dessert. Funny, my skin was oily in the Bay (Area) haha. Any good suggestion on moisturizer?

Me: For the day time, I would stick with Clinique. I love their Superdefense cream for very dry skin ($42.50). Here's my blog about it:

http://pompsngloss.blogspot.com/2010/07/marissas-pick-of-week-moisturize-your.html

At night, I love Origins Night-A-Mins cream ($36). It's really thick, but it won't break you out.

I know you wanted something less pricey, but you really get what you pay for in a moisturizer. 
Cleansing can be a little cheaper though. I like either Aveeno Positively Radiant cleansing pads (average price, $7) or Oil of Olay Daily Facial Hydrating cleansing cloths (average price, $6). 

Hope this helps.

Marissa's Pick of the Week- Moisturize Your Stress Away

YES! YES! AND YES!!! Clinique's Superdefense Triple Action Moisturizer had everything i wanted in a day cream. Then they went and changed it on me...for the better! The original formula launched back in 2005 when I was a proud lab coat wearing skin care geek. Since then, I haven't tried a moisturizer (almost a dozen) that I liked better. I loved it it because I was a fresh faced 20-year-old concerned with preventing skin damage and signs of aging such as fine lines, age spots and loss of radiance. The original formula was a skin care technology break through, offering broad spectrum protection and pollution filters in 3 formulas for different skin types.
Jammed packed with potent antioxidants, Superdefense shielded you from UVA (aging) and UVB (burning) rays with an SPF of 25 (the highest SPF I had seen in a basic daily moisturizer at the time), and had IPF (Immune Protection Factor) technology.
At the time, most moisturizers with SPF only protected you from UVB rays, leaving your skin vulnerable to the harsh effects of UVA damage. Remember that UVA are the sun rays that age your skin. It attacks the layers of your epidermis that can attribute to age spots, wrinkles, and The Big "C." Yes cancer. The Langerhans cell, which identifies skin cancer cells, is a big fat target without UVA protection. Can't get much better than that! But wait...
The new formula IS better than that! This amazing face armor, now called Superdefense SPF 25 Age Defense Moisturizer ($42.50) does all of the above PLUS battles emotional stress damage and repairs signs of aging. How? I don't know. That's the stuff only Clinique people know, but it's pretty awesome!