Product Recommendation: Cleanser

As I was perusing a few blogs recently, I noticed that a lot of people recommend products on their blogs, and that sounded like a pretty fun idea. I have a lot of opinions about products, styles, fashions, crafts, and many 'things' in general basically, so recommending products, yeah! That sounds like a nice topic about which to spend my time blogging. Jesse commented the other day that I was just shooting these blogs out like a Newspaper machine or something, and I guess I kinda am. Actually, when my counselor asked me last week if there were any things in my life that were bringing me joy or that I enjoyed, I told her that I was enjoying writing on my blog. I explained about how I get into obsessive hobbies, and that recently it had been blogging, and that I get particularly happy when people respond on my blog and we can have conversations. So here's to me doing something I enjoy: blogging! 

So here is my very first PRODUCT RECOMMENDATION. Are you ready??? 

DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!

Today's recommendation is......

 Boscia's Detoxifying Black Cleanser

 This black, warming cleanser gives your face a warm sensation as you apply it and actually leaves your face with a fresh, matte finish that I believe gives the immediate appearance of refined pores. It can be found at Sephora for $28 (which I think is well worth it if it actually does what it promises, which is to reduce the size of pores permanently over extended use time. Plus, you get 5 oz, and it takes only a tiny drop to cover my entire face, which I think is an average to large-size face).  

Excited??? Okay, well, I guess it's obvious enough that at least half of you (assuming that half of my readers are male), will be visiting the little 'x' at the top, right-hand corner of your screen right now (or wherever it is on macs...i haven't-a-clue). BUT WAIT. MALES...WAIT!  IF you are a male, and you have a girlfriend/wife/fiancee, then you JUST might be interested in this blog, especially if your girlfriend/wife/fiancee desires refined pores and less oily skin.

Ok now you are probably thinking 'what is a refined pore?' Ok try to concentrate men. Think hard. Try to remember all those conversations where she started talking to you about stuff that you didn't care about but that you pretended to listen to and to care about a lot and about which you nodded your head in agreement and sympathy and consternation. Do you have those memories in mind? 

Now did she ever utter ANY of the following words: 

pore, 

refine, 

breakouts, 

blackheads, 

oil, 

absorbtion, 

tzone, 

cleanser, 

makeup primer?

IF SO, then stick around, because she might be interested in this product, and if you bought it for her, and she liked it, and she thought you just thought of it on your own and found it and bought it for her, then she'd think you were like the most incredible boyfriend/husband/fiance in the entire world...and she'd love you so much more, and you'd never have to tell her it was my idea....no one would have to know... :) hehe

So with that said, and without further adieu, I suppose I'll get to some info about today's recommendation :).

FOR WHOM is this the right product?

• Anyone With the Following Problem: Oily skin, large pores, breakouts, especially in the t-zone area, even though you are in your 20's and getting dangerously close to having the first of your many 30th birthday celebrations. 
• Anyone Who Needs: Something that will shrink/minimize pore size and maintain facial oil while not completely eliminating it because we all know that if you take away all the oil, your face will just work overtime to try to replenish itself, AND, your face NEEDS oil to stay youthful and young and keep itself from getting all those fine laugh lines :). Also, this is a perfect cleanser to prep your skin for the best absorption of acne medication or lotions.
• Anyone Who Has Tried Other Products: and been disappointed.  You can trust my judgement when I say that I have tried pretty much EVERY product on the market that promises to reduce pore size. Clinique had a REALLY great product a few years back, and I used it religiously, and I LOVED IT. But then they 'upgraded' the formula and discontinued the old formula, and ummm the new formula is totally WAY MORE OILY and doesn't work. The old formula was amazing, but not so much the new stuff.

Now for many of you reading this, especially you men (if I haven't totally lost you by now), you are probably thinking that this sounds like one of the most ridiculous things of which you have ever in your dear life heard and you may be wondering why you would want to enable your wife/girlfriend/fiancee's body image issues by giving her a pore-refining cleanser. BUT YOU MAY NOT UNDERSTAND just how much some of us women suffer (I use that word in a very mild sense here, so please don't laugh) from these LARGE pores. I know that I grew up in a family where looks were overemphasized, and I have often wished that that was not the case as I have bore the burden of having to overcome that and square it away with the truth of the Gospel. Coming to terms with my appearance, accepting it, and not feeling like it must meet some standard in order for me to have worth or be accepted by others has been (often remains) a very hard battle. The mirror tells me one thing based on the world's standards, and the Gospel tells me another...mainly to stop looking in the mirror and to look back at Jesus. 

Just recently at the CC, the kids and I talked a lot about how being overly insecure is just another form of pride, and I can totally relate to that. One of my big insecurities when I was a kid, and teen, and young adult...WAS my large pores. Why you ask? BECAUSE I got picked on about it, AND because it had negative effects on my face, (specifically making me the most oily kid in school and making me very prone to breakouts). So yeah- I've always been super insecure about people being too close to me, like sitting next to me, because I've been afraid they'd notice how big my pores were, and if they were clogged or dirty. And it didn't help that one time, like 3 years ago I think, I was on the 4th floor with Kim during Adult Ed. discussion and she just burst out with "WOW, your pores are like HUGE!" I immediately backed away, gave her the sad puppy dog face, and said "that's mean." She laughed a lot and apologized a lot. I yelled at her a lot. 

Having large pores has also led me to bond with other girls who complain about their oily skin, like Libby! (Sorry to call you out on such a disgusting post Libby).  Mom always told me that I'd be thankful when I was older though because I'd have so few wrinkles, and she's right. I don't have any wrinkles even though I'm almost 30. 

So while I don't mean to FEED people's fostering of insecurities, the fact remains, many people do what they can to work on things they don't like about their bodies or to make positive healthy changes, and perhaps keeping one's pore size to a healthy size is one of those things :). So if you are looking for a nice, indulgent gift to give yourself or someone else, Boscia's Black Cleanser is pretty nice, and hopefully, over time, it will minimize the overall size of the very large pores. That way Kim won't have to be distracted during Adult Education by me or anyone beside whom she sits :).