Elizabeth Arden Prevage Anti-Aging Treatment Review

My relationship with Prevage began 4 years ago. I was wandering through Sephora for a skin treatment that could erase discolorations left by acne and the salesperson who was helping me introduced me to Prevage. She described it as a 'magic' anti aging treatment that fades acne spots miraculously. She couldn't stop raving about it! Supposedly she suffered from a very bad scar that covered a fourth of her face and this stuff healed her. I'm not sure if I believe her story as her skin looked very clear, but I was curious and excited at the same time. And then I saw the price ... $150!!! I was stunned. I've never spent more then $75 on a night cream in my life, let alone a treatment! With a treatment like Prevage, I would still need to wear a night cream over it, so $150 + $75 = $225!!!!! Whoa! But I bought into the sales lady's hype and purchased it regardless and what can I say... I'm in love! I'm not addicted, but I'm definitely in love!

Quick note, if any of you are thinking about buying this, DO NOT buy it from Sephora. Instead, buy it from Costco for only $99.99 or find this treasure for even less on EBAY. You'll save at least $50!!!

As for the treatment itself, it is very light and in a sort of caramel color. The product lasts about 6 months to a year because you only need to use a pea size for the entire face. I concentrate the treatment on my acne spots, any wrinkles, and then moisturize as usual with my normal night cream. I'm not convinced that I look much younger (I'm 29 and luckily have my mom's awesome skin), but I have definitely seen a "HUGE" improvement in fading my acne spots and I feel that it "plumps" my skin a bit. Overall, the treatment seems to work very well with my skin. Most of my acne spots have pretty much disappeared.

As for the packaging, the treatment comes in a smooth and slick looking silver bottle with pump dispenser and clear lid as you can see from the photo. It looks classy and expensive with the product name embossed up the side.

The bottle contains 1.7 fl oz so you don't get a lot for the price. The active ingredient is something called "Idebenone". I read somewhere that Idebenone is the most effective antioxidance for addressing the visible signs of aging when compared to other anti aging ingredients like alpha lipoic acid, kinetin, vitamin C, vitamin E, and coenzyme Q10. Idebenone supposedly helps maintain collagen levels in skin so skin looks firmer and resilient, and it serves to scavenge free radicals and binds to them in order to prevent degenerative cellular damage. In my experience using this treatment, I have not seen much reduction in wrinkles as I don't have many to begin with, but it has improved the appearance of skin roughness and dryness, and it definitely reduced the appearance of discolorations caused by acne!

Please keep in mind that this product has received very MIXED reviews online. From my research, it seems most either HATE IT OR LOVE IT!!!! I happen to be a lover of this product, but I have read awful reviews from some who have developed allergies from using this product. So I would suggest testing a sample (if you are able to get your hands on one) from one of your beauty counters before paying the $100+ for a full bottle.

I will try to find a "BEFORE" photo and post a "BEFORE" and "AFTER".

2009 Orange County Fair

Yesterday evening, my friend and I visited the Orange County Fair. The fair is held every summer at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa. This year's event is being held from July 10 - August 9. The first few weekends are usually the busiest, so with that in mind, I waited a while before attending. :-)

Here are some things you can expect at this county fair: entertaining shows, carnival rides, street artists, games, giant stuffed animal prizes and lots of fattening food. Some of my favorites are below:

• Peking Acrobat Show is a MUST SEE in my opinion! This show is free with admission and it is worth so much more than the admission cost of $10. A team of acrobats, called the Peking Acrobats, boggled our minds with their gravity-defying feats. My favorite stunt was one that involved an acrobat stacking chairs 50 feet in the air on top of four Champagne bottles before climbing over the chairs to balance herself at the top in a one-armed handstand. My heart was pounding!!!! Here are some photos.

• The Sky Ride Gondola is a relaxing and neat ride. The cable car took us from the front to the back of the entrance of the fairgrounds. It's especially nice to ride it at night for the sky view. We could see the brightly lit fairground from end to end.

• When we entered the fair, we first headed to the Main Mall to visit “Weird Al’s Brain," a 3-D comedy show featuring Weird Al Yankovic. Before entering the show, we were provided with a pair of 3-D glasses and a wet napkin to clean the glasses before putting them on. The show is educational. Al gives insightful facts about the brain like the length of the brain when it's stretched out. I think he said it was more than 2 street blocks long (I forgot) :-) Also, during the show, random people and celebrities ask Al questions about how the brain works. The best question was from Fabio, who asks Al, “Is it true that I use only 10 percent of my brain?” Al replied "YES! YOU only use 10 percent of your brain, BUT THE REST OF US use all of it!" haha. Al also sings in a fancy 3-D music video teaching kids about the brain at the end of the show. I don't have any children, but if I did, I would defintely want to take them to see this show.
  

Admission costs $10 per adult and $5 per child. Not bad for an eventful evening filled with entertainment! It's less than the price of a movie ticket and Ralph’s offers a coupon if shoppers purchase more than $10 worth of groceries. The coupon is good for five admission tickets for only $5. Parking costs $5 at the fair parking lot, but the price is definitely worth it. All shows (except the music concerts) are free, but the games and rides cost tickets which are about 50 cents a ticket.

For more information, visit www.ocfair.com.

Overall, we’re glad to have gone to the Fair. I'm looking forward to visiting again next year.