It is both obvious and refreshing when a face cream works wonders and brings that youthfulness back to a thirty year old face. Below are some of the best face creams for those who are beginning to show the first signs of aging.

1. Clarins Multi-Active Jour (Multi-Active Day Cream):

This cream is a perfect balance of moisture replenishing without being greasy.

Clarins Multi-Active day cream is made with light reflecting pigments to give a rosy glow to the skin and antioxidants including an ingredient made from oranges to fight off signs of aging .

2. Shiseido Bio-Performance Advanced Super Revitalizer Cream:

A great skin cream that manages to give you super hydrating ingredients like hyaluronic acid without feeling heavy and greasy.

The best part about this cream is that is great for night and day. It is balanced to give you a deep penetrating moisture for the night, but  lightweight enough to wear under makeup.

3. La Roche-Posay Redermic Anti-Wrinkle Firming Care (For Normal to Combo Skin or Dry Skin):

La Roche-Posay skin care is well respected by both Dermatologists and beauty critics in general.

Their Redermic line is perfect for 30-somethings with early signs of aging who  are looking for a skin care that fits their needs.

La Roche-Posay’s Anti-Wrinkle cream is packed with great ingredients like Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid and is made for different skin types like dry or normal and combination skin.

Step 1: Stop frizzy, dried out hair: During this time of year I often make the mistake of using a heavier conditioner to keep my strands soft. Ultimately, I end up with greasier, weighed down hair.

Solution: Hair mask! You can apply a hair mask once a month or as often as once a week depending on your strands. I love Ojon Restorative Hair Treatment. I coats your hair in a grainy, greasy, strange smelly mess, but then ends up giving you perfectly soft, shiny healthy hair without a trace of greasiness.

Step 2: Prevent flaky skin and exaggerated wrinkles on your face: The dry weather sucks out all the youthful soft and suppleness of my face. This is really two steps in one. You have to get rid of the dry skin by exfoliating and then prevent it by moisturizing. Many experts suggest using a facial cream with alpha hydroxy acid which acts as a two in one step process by exfoliating the top layer of the skin while moisturizing it. This can be an effective solution, however using a moisturizer with alpha hydroxy acids on sensitive skin can cause further redness, flakiness and irritation. Therefore I suggest using separate products for each step.

Solution: Use a mild exfoliant (not something with large beads that scrape the skin!) like Dermalogica’s Gentle Cream Exfoliant made with lactic acid, salicylic acid, lavender and aloe vera which combined help gently remove dead skin and sooth irritation. Then use a deep moisturizer at night like Prevage Anti-Aging Night Cream or take it one step further and use a 24 hour cream.

Step 3: Stop using soaps in the shower that dry out your skin and make you itch all over! Often times I find myself using a bar of soap in the shower and find myself lathering lotion on my dry skin afterwards. It’s messy, sometimes downright greasy, and even gets on my clothes. Oh yeah and it takes forever to rub in.

Solution: Use a moisturizing body wash like Kiehl’s Creme de Corps Nurturing Body Washing Cream which uses mild glycerin soap to cleanse and jojoba oil and shea butter to moisturize the entire body. Using a creamy body wash prevents itchy, flaky skin and gives you a break from slathering on loads of moisturizer after the shower.

Josie Maran, former supermodel, has created a makeup line which embodies green beauty. She uses organic botanical ingredients like Vitamin E, Coconut Oil and Aloe.  Natural ingredients along with eco-friendly packaging create the perfect line of beauty products. You can find Josie Maran’s green makeup line at department stores and Sephora. Josie Maran Tinted Moisturizer shown above.

Care, an organic skin care line from Stella McCartney, is an environmentally friendly approach to skincare. Stella McCartney keeps the environment at the forefront by combining a natural skin care line and a recycle program. Her green beauty products are free from chemical preservatives and parabens without sacrificing luxury. Stella’s Care line includes a three step program to cleanse, tone and rescue & revitalize using ingredients like Grape Seed Oil, Vitamin C, and Green Tea. You will be able to find Stella McCartney Care at Sephora.

Five Benefits Moisturizing Cream by Care by Stella McCartney shown above.

This little bonus bag is free with any $25 of Clinique exclusively at Nordstroms.  

With a value of $65, this hot little summer bag is stuffed with all favorite beauty products that Clinque has to offer. 

Looks like summer is off to a beauty-full start!

Which do you prefer…Clinque or Estee Lauder? Click here to vote!

Murad’s Hydrating Toner helps to combat hormonal aging and keeps the skin balanced and supple. Ingredients include chamomile and cucumber which help to keep skin feeling both soothed and rejuvenated.

Best Facial Toner for Normal Skin or All Skin Types: Dermalogica Multi-Active Toner

Dermalogica’s Multi-Active Toner has won rave reviews from beauty critics and gained popularity with magazines like Elle and Instyle Magazine. This toner is great for all skin types and includes great toning ingredients like aloe vera, lavender, cucumber, and arnica.

Read more about why Bravadora loves Dermalogica here! Or read Bravadora’s review on Dermalogica’s Daily Microfoliant here!

Best Facial Toner for Oily or Acne-prone Skin: Proactiv Revitalizing Toner

Proactiv Solutions 3 Step Program for acne treatment includes the very popular Proactiv Revitalizing Toner which was Instyle Magazine 2009 Best Beauty Buy for Oily Skin. This toner works to eliminate acne by preventing dead skin from your pores. Ingredients include witch hazel, which combats oiliness and aloe vera which soothes the skin and removes bacteria causing dirt.

Read more about Rosewater toners here!

Winning awards from Allure Magazine, Instyle Magazine and Sephora in the best bronzer category, Guerlian Terracotta has gained a massive following.

“Every 30 seconds all over the world a Terracotta is sold!”  (Guerlian)

This moisturizing bronzer is long lasting, comes in 6 different shades and gives you a year round tan.

Click here to read more about Guerlian Terracotta on Bravadora!

2.  Best Shimmer Bronzer: Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick

The original shimmer brick that started off all the buzz, Bobbi Brown Bronze Shimmer Brick creates a deep shimmery bronze glow. This shimmer brick  set off a makeup trend that captured beauty editors attention.  Due to the popularity of the original shimmer brick, Bobbi Brown created 6 other shimmer bricks in addition to the Bronze Shimmer Brick.

Read more about why Bobbi Brown Shimmer Brick is one of Bravadora’s Eight Most Demanded Beauty Products here!

3. Best Matte Bronzer: Mac Bronzing Powder in Matte Bronze

This lightly frosted bronzing powder is ideal for enhancing a tan.  Mac Bronzing Powder in Matte Bronze is described by Mac as “bare shouldered bronze” and is a long time favorite of Mac customers. This bronzing powder gives the skin a smooth even tone while conditioning skin.

4. Best Anti-Aging Bronzer: Cargo Bronzer

Cargo Bronzer is made with a touch of iridescent shimmer which gives skin a youthful glow and is made with Vitamin E, an antioxidant that helps to keep the skin conditioned and fight against the damages of free radicals. Cargo’s Bronzer has won awards such as Glam.com Editors Pick and Best of Sephora 2008.  Cargo’s best selling product comes four skin illuminating shades.

Read more about the benefits of Vitamin E on Bravadora here!

5. Best Natural Looking Bronzer: Hoola by Benefit

Benefit’s ever popular Boxed Powder Collection features great hits including Hoola, a natural looking bronzing powder.  Hoola by Benefit is a best of Sephora winner and reviews rave about its natural, seamless blending quality.

Which one is your favorite? Take the Bravadora Best Bronzer Poll and find out which one is in the lead!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

1. Face: Jason Red Elements Hydrating Night Creme  with Red Tea Extract. Jason Natural product line is pure, natural and organic. Jason’s Red Elements skin care line features Red Tea Extract from South Africa and Copper, a great ingredient for wrinkle reduction.  Jason Red Elements is hypo-allergenic and paraben free. 1.5oz container is around $20 at RiteAid or online at jason-natural.com.

2. Hair: David Babaii for WildAid Hydrating Shampoo. David Babii and Kate Hudson teamed up to create an inexpensive green product with natural ingredients like Cupaucu Butter from the South American Amazon, Wild Orchid, and Blue Algea Extract. This hair care line works awesome and 10% of profits go to benefit the WildAid Foundation. Hair products are sulfate and paraben free. Read more about David Babii for WildAid Hair Care here! You can buy a 13.5oz bottle for less than $10 at RiteAid or online at davidbabaii.com.

3. Skin: Kiehl’s Creme de Corps. One of Kiehl’s most popular products is Kiehl’s Creme de Corps body lotion made with natural ingredients like beta-carotene (found in carrot juice…read why carrot juice helps keep your tan here) which helps keep your skin glowing, cocoa butter, and sesame oil. You can find a 2.5 oz bottle for $9 at Target or online at kiehls.com.

4. Makeup: Almay Pure Blends Blush/Bronzer Almay Pure Blends offer a great green drugstore beauty product that you can find anywhere. Pure blends features natural ingredients like flower and fruit extracts (Acai, Orchid, and Lotus). Almay Pure Blend makeup products come in eco-friendly packages made from recycled materal. Read more about Almay Pure Blends on Bravadora here!

Almay’s new natural line, Pure Blends, includes a lightweight foundation, loose powder, eyeshadow, blush, and lipgloss.

The new line has over 95% natural ingredients, is hypoallergenic, and has eco-friendly packaging.

Bravadora is hoping to see mascara, eyeliner, lipliner, and lipstick in the future for Almay Pure Blends.

Click here to read about Cargo Cosmetics natural line, Plant Love, Bravadora’s article 6 Reasons to Love Cargo’s Plant Love.

UPDATE: Almay Pure Blends has introduced a their new Pure Blends Volumizing Mascara which is a hypoallergenic, 97.5% natural made with antioxidants like Lotus, Acai, and Orchid and features a container that is made from 36% recycled material. Mascara colors come in black, black-brown, and brown.