An oasis of opulence and glam, Las Vegas sits in the middle of the Southwestern American desert, and the dry air here zaps what little moisture exists in my already parched skin, leaving it feeling tight and uncomfortable. Before braving the casinos this morning (momma’s gotta win big to fund her Sephora run!), I remedied the situation with facial moisturizing TLC, courtesy of Peter Thomas Roth’s Mega Rich Intensive Anti-Aging Cellular Masque.
Product: Peter Thomas Roth Mega Rich Intensive Anti-Aging Cellular Moisture Masque
Use: A moisturizing masque to hydrate normal, dry or sensitive skin
Price: $60
Makeup and Beauty Blog Rating: B+
Unlike clay masks with thick, heavy consistencies, PTR’s moisturizing mask feels light. The consistency upon application reminds me of Lubriderm body lotion but feels even lighter and less sticky than that. A product’s scent helps determine whether or not I would use it regularly, and PTR’s light, slightly medicinal scent smells nice and fades quickly.
I slathered a layer upon my face, neck and decollete and left it on for 10 minutes. The mask dried but didn’t flake off like most clay masks will. The formula actually seemed to soak into my skin. After rinsing it off and looking at myself in the mirror, my skin looked and felt smoother and less irritated.
What’s in this magical, moisturizing brew? Let’s see… in addition to edible-sounding (although the product is not approved for consumption) ingredients like sweet almond oil, aloe vera and pomegranate, PTR contains a laundry list of scientific-ish anti-aging compounds like Firma-Cell-4, Syn-Coll and Argire-Line, which, according to the product packaging, work together to combat fine lines and deep wrinkles. I have to be up front — I find it really hard to quantify how effective anti-aging products are because I’m 32 and don’t have a lot of wrinkles (yet, ha!). Looking in the mirror, I tried to see a difference in my fine lines but couldn’t really detect a change, so I’m not sold on the anti-aging aspect. To be fair, my results could be different after a more extended bout of testing.
But the mask is still incredibly moisturizing, making it a fantastic addition to any dry skinned gal’s (or guy’s) skin routine. I could really feel the difference out here in the dry desert air.
Today, I’ve got a few fun things lined up. First up, breakfast at our hotel, the Golden Nugget.
At some point today, I plan to win a jackpot while playing the slot machines (gotta think positive!). Then, I’ll head to the strip to visit Sephora and the cosmetics section of Barney’s New York department store. I hope to find a bunch of brands I can’t get back in the Bay. I suspect El Hub will drag me out of makeup nirvana and force me to eat lunch at a buffet, sigh. Viva Las Vegas!
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Alicia says
February 16th, 2008 at 9:20 amHave tons of fun Karen in Las Vegas:D What do the people look like there.lol??
Karen says
February 16th, 2008 at 9:22 amThanks Alicia! LOL, they look pretty much the same as they do all over the country…Hope you’re having a good weekend!
TUPRNUT says
February 16th, 2008 at 9:24 amEnjoy your time and I hope you win big! Can’t wait to hear what you pick up on you beauty hunt.
Christine says
February 16th, 2008 at 1:06 pmBut buffets are the best part about Vegas, LOL. Seriously, I only want to go to eat.
Carla says
February 16th, 2008 at 1:09 pmglad I’m the 4th one at least hehehe
why don’t you try the cherry blossom the body shop lotion? it smells good and moisture well, the body butters can’t live without (:
PeeChee says
February 16th, 2008 at 3:45 pmHey girl!
Check out Lipstick Queen from Barneys. They have it in SF but since your there….why not?
Anyway, I depotted a truck load of MAC e/s to put in my new palette. Brought it to a freestanding MAC store and the MUA said I couldn’t bring it in for “back to MAC” unless the metal tins were in there. WTF??? When did this happen??? Are you and any of your other readers aware of this?? I was in shock. I was about to just toss my little ziplock bag of depotted e/s in the trash when it dawned on me to try it at the MAC counter at Nordstroms (thank goodness there was one there at the mall). I wasn’t about to let my hard work depotting to go to waste. Woo-hoo, it worked but I could only get l/s and not e/s or l/g like at a freestanding store. Who cares at least I made out with 4 new lippies!!!
Karen says
February 16th, 2008 at 6:42 pmThanks Tuprnut! I’m still waiting on the big money … 🙂
Karen says
February 16th, 2008 at 6:44 pmHi Christine,
So far I’ve been able to avoid the buffet (huzzah!). I don’t think I’ll be able to avoid it for one day more though, it’s like, Vegas destiny or something.
Karen says
February 16th, 2008 at 6:45 pmHi Carla,
Oh yah, that’s a good one. It’s been a few months since I’ve used it though, because it’s more like a summertime lotion for me (’cause I need heavy duty moisture!).
Karen says
February 16th, 2008 at 6:54 pmHi PeeChee,
I’m not a eyeshadow depotting kind of girl (too lazy, and even though I like palettes I like more flexibility with my MAC shadows) so I’ve never heard of this rule before. Hmmm, it seems to me like the MAC stores really vary in their policies, so maybe it’s not a hard or fast rule (?). Anyway, glad to hear it worked out at Nordstrom! What lipsticks did you end up getting?
Dao says
February 16th, 2008 at 7:31 pmI’m going to yell “big money” so that you’re going to win big.
Regarding you reply to my comment on your last post, Bare Minerals has bismuth oxychloride which gives it a velvety smooth texture. But some people like myself are allergic to it. And you probably do too since it gave you breakouts. Most internet-based mineral makeup companies are aware of this problem and they’re super-nice to the customers.
Today I had to return a MAC mineralize skinfinish from the N-collection because of bismuth oxychloride. While waiting for the refund, the makeup artist there told me she’s also allergic to the mineralized eyeshadows. So I guest it’s not such a rare problem.
Dao says
February 16th, 2008 at 7:34 pmtypo, argh, “your reply” not “you reply”
Plus since you’re talking about face mask, what face mask out there that you recommend to refine pores?
Sorry for an leaving an extra comment.
Joanna says
February 17th, 2008 at 12:44 amMakeup and buffets. True bliss. Let us know what wonderful makeup finds there are in Las Vegas! Have fun 🙂
Aura says
February 17th, 2008 at 11:12 amHi Karen !
I dream of going to Las Vegas, a paradise where sin and bliss collide…sin being the betting and bliss well as others have said before, MU and buffet, among many other things I guess… !!
Are you not much of an eater? Don’t you like buffets? Well, as much as I loveee eating I guess that if I were to choose between food and a trip to any Sephora, the choice would be a no-brainer…MU all the way !! =)
Enjoy your time, and hope you hit the Jackpot !
Aura
Karen says
February 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pmThanks Joanna! I hope you’re having a good weekend so far 🙂
Karen says
February 17th, 2008 at 8:05 pmHi Aura,
I like to eat, but sometimes I can be very picky about the stuff I snack on. Sometimes buffets are just too much for me, especially if there’s a lot of really greasy, fried food, oy.
Vegas is fun, but I think I max out at about three days. Then it’s time to go home!
Hope you’ve had a great weekend! 🙂
Sylvie says
February 19th, 2008 at 12:35 pmHi Karen, I’ve been a fan of your blog and I often wonder where you get so much money to buy all these products and then review them. You seem to have rooms full of lipsticks and eyeshadows.In any case, a quick question about MAC brushes. I have a 150 but it sheds like hell. How do we get rid of that problem? I tried to return them when I had just bought them but considering that i’m living in Paris and the MAC artists here are really snobbish (cuz they are French and cuz they work at MAC), they wouldn’t let me change it and said that it would stop after a wash with soap and water. Right. It’s been 6 months now and I have to spend a good 3-5 minutes each morning picking the little bristles one by one off my face.
Karen says
February 19th, 2008 at 1:03 pmHi Sylvie,
I have a job and don’t have a lot of other “vices” (LOL) to spend my money on (like clothes or expensive handbags) so I purchase a lot of the products because I like collecting makeup. I also have friends in the cosmetics industry who hook me up sometimes. 🙂
I’m sorry about your MAC brush and that the artists haven’t been very helpful. I don’t own the 150 but do have a bunch of other MAC face brushes and none of them shed at the rate that yours does. I suspect that you may have just gotten a bad brush. It happens sometimes – I once purchased a Laura Mercier brush (it was supposed to be good) and the minute I pulled it out of the casing the barrel broke off :(. I’m sorry I don’t have a quick fix for you. But if I was in your shoes I’d probably ditch it and get another brush from another line.