Serum Saturday: Dior HydraLife Skin Energizer Pro-Youth Hydrating Serum

$73.00 for 1.7 oz.

Pledge One: I may be a brand-junkie, but I know when to admit that something is not worth the price.

Pledge Two: I may love Dior and the DiorDiva Program, but I know when it's not worth my money or the points to get next to no effect.

Dior Hydra Life Skin Energizer Pro-Youth Hydrating Serum has me all in a tizzy of confusion and frustration. Perhaps my oily/combo skin does not need the extra hydration, but personally that already sounds like an excuse. The pure description of this serum is a yellowish-orange thin consistency gel that goes on to skin non-sticky but non-smooth in texture. I saw and felt no improvement in the very top layers of my skin, much less deeper down, and I didn't think my skin felt very nice after use (again not sticky, but perhaps just less soft and harder to keep from oiling over).

Even if my skin had become more hydrated, the nastiness of how my skin felt made me self-conscious and uncomfortable throughout the day. It wouldn't be worth $1 for that kind of result, so I pass entirely on this product. If you've had success with this, please let me know if you have a different skin type or a certain situation in which you use it; I genuinely what to know when this product works and who for!

Beauty Newb Rating:✪✩✩✩✩
Available at Sephora, Nordstrom, Macy's, and other fine retailers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DADDY!!! I may not be able to tell anyone your age, but I can tell them how much I love you! I would give up every single thing I own and person I know to have you by my side forever, and I hope you know just how much your baby girl loves you on such a special day. XOXO I hope I can visit you soon!

Serum Saturday: Aveda Enbrightenment Brightening Correcting Serum

$50.00 for 1.0 fl oz

It's been two weeks of lack-lustre serums for the blog, but hopefully we'll get out of the dumps soon, or at least as soon as I can get some samples to try some more. I'm really interested in trying the DiorSnow brightening products, but they are currently extremely far out of my price range (anywhere from $50-$125, YIKES!). One thing remains the same for Serum Saturday, however, and that is my never-ending quest for a hyper-pigmentation treatment that's worth its salt.

Enter Enbrightenment: a line specifically designed for reducing hyper-pigmentation and renewing that damaged skin to its natural healthy glow. Enbrightenment's key ingredient is naturally derived salicylic acid (a beta-hydroxy, if anyone's wondering) which increases the turnover of skin cells in the area of use. In layman's terms, it keeps your skin exfoliating itself so new skin comes to the surface. It's a very nice thought that such a natural product will do more to improve your skin than a synthetic form of the same ingredients, but my biggest problem with this serum is beyond ingredients--to get close to the results I wanted, I had to use the toner along with this serum.

That may not sound like a big deal, I mean, if you are looking for skincare that does something specific. Enbightenment Toner cost another $42 for 5.0 fl oz, which brings us to nearly $100 for results that aren't all that great for me. Yes, these products work, but I cannot afford that long-term of an investment at the moment. Because my skin is so oily and needs to be slowly transitioned to richer product (or richer products used only intermittently) my results will not be truly visible before I have to repurchase. It's just too costly for the time it takes.

One bottle of Aveda Enbrightenment Correcting Serum lasted me about three and a half months when used morning and night. Since my pigmentation comes from healing acne scars and I still break out, new pigment appears before I see significant healing or improvement of old hyper-pigmentation. The cycle makes the whole line necessary to really grab the pigment by the melanin, but the price makes it impractical for me.

Bottom line: worth the money for a more natural product that works, but not in my budget to use practically.
Beauty Newb Rating:✪✪✪✪✩
Available at Aveda and partner salons and spas, and online at Aveda.com.

Serum Saturday: philosophy When Hope Is Not Enough Facial Firming and Lifting Serum

$38.00 for 1.0 fl oz. or $87.50 for 4.0 fl oz.

About a year ago, yet another acne system started to fail after roughly 6 weeks of decent results. The blemishes didn't come back worse, but they did come back seemingly more painful. Then the frequency went down when I switched to a sensitive skin cleanser, but there were still several coming in every day. It's weird to have found something that works since then, but one key thing that helped heal the old scars and quicken the recovery from the new blemishes was the philosophy No Makeup Kit, which included this serum.

I know that it's targeted for aging skin, but lifting and firming are done mostly through stimulating the regeneration of skin cells. My scars healed faster, which was the point, so I know for a fact that this does something. I can't attest to its efficacy in lessening wrinkles and fine lines, but I can tell you that it speeds cellular regeneration in order to improve your skin. Healing is good; vitamins are really good too. So this power-packed formula is worth it since I have finished my second bottle already!

Serum Saturday: CHANEL Précision Pureté Idéale Sérum

$75.00 for 1.0 fl oz.

My god, Sparky has been a huge sweetie this week and is coping well with all the change (a taste of the nip helps him now-and-then), but Snowy's interaction with him is driving the dog-person in me nuts! Seriously, I'm not even a little used to cats yet...ugh. On a brighter note, this lovely, snow-covered morning at the end of the first month of this new year, I'm reviewing maybe my favorite serum I've ever used!

A purifying oil-free serum formulated with an advanced Marine-Bio Extract to help rebalance skin. Helps control oil production and reduces the appearance of pores for clear, smooth and refined complexion.

The Intense Refining Skin Complex from CHANEL was actually a bit of a shock for me. I'm not trying to knock the brand, I promise, but I think the reason I own as much CHANEL as I do is because I had this pedestal vision of the products. However, as with every brand, it's some stuff works for me and some stuff really, really doesn't. This is the product I believe I will use for years to come (budget allowing).

Serum Saturday: Estée Lauder Idealist Pore Minimizing Skin Refinisher

($46.50 for 1.0 fl oz.)

Oh man, all I want to do right now is tear into my newly arrived Vogue issue and screw the posting for the day, but alas, I have a Serum scheduled and have important things to say about this one. Maybe just a peek at one article....NO, BAD BLOGGER, bad bad blogger. Focus!

Today, we have a great serum to take a look at with Estee Lauder's Idealist. It's soft and smooth, absorbs easily and leaves your skin feeling very fresh. Here's what the brand's website describes (from EL.com):