Dark Circles…Puffiness…Wrinkles…Loss of Firmness…Dryness…
Every time I'm in store, women (and some men) ask for an eye cream that will truly addresses these issues.
Through the years, I've had the opportunity to try many (many!) eye creams. Some I've received as gratis (free from the companies I've worked for) and quite a few I've purchased. All with the hope they would actually do what they promise. From exorbitantly expensive eye cream (La Mer $185) to cheapo eye cream L'Oreal ($24.99), none did.
I got so discouraged layering 3 eye products (serum for puffiness, one cream for wrinkles and another for lifting and firming) that I quit the regimen altogether and resorted to smearing a bit of my face cream in the vicinity of my eye area. And guess what? Sadly, I noticed no difference when I quit my eye ‘beauty' routine.
Until I discovered-
(This is where I disclaim that I desire to be completely non-denominational and give many options in my reviews and opinions. And that I never, ever want to sound like an infomercial for any company/product.) But today, I only have one option to present to you…
Clarins Super Restorative Total Eye Concentrate ($82) .5 o oz. (referred to as Total Eye from now on). Total Eye is the best eye cream I've ever used myself, on clients, or with family (like when I put it on my sister and my nieces could not believe the immediate and long term improvement). My droopy eyelids are not so droopy anymore. The botox treatments I might have indulged in every 4-5 months for my crows feet, now only need refreshment every 9 months or so.
Clarin's Total Eye contains the Forever Young plant (Pueraria Lobata). Harvested in China, it grows a foot a day. This crazy good cellular renewal process starts to happen in our eye area. Total Eye also contains Dermaxyl (a plant peptide complex) that boosts collagen production, along with shea butter for intense moisture and caffeine for dark circle reduction.
Here's the kicker: Total Eye is tear soluble, never migrates into our eyes, and is ophthalmologist approved for the entire eye area from lash line to lash line. It has to be in order to use the Draining Pressure Points Method of Application for Eyes, which releases excess fluids and toxins.
So now I use one eye cream, morning and night. Just a small pump (the size of a piece of rice) of Total Eye is needed. (More is not better, or more effective). Used this way, one bottle of Total Eye will last 5.5 to 6 months. At $82, that's a darn good investment. No other eye product is needed. I also like that it's in a vacuum sealed bottle, so it remains sterile. I hate to think what happens to our product when we dip our finger in it over a period of 5 to 6 months……
Pop on over to your nearest Clarins counter and ask the Skin Care Specialist to show you the ‘5 Second Eye Lift'. She or he should be well versed in the method. Also ask them for a sample to take home. They should have one, or can make you one- especially at Nordstrom where they are equipped with their own sample jars. Apply with the Pressure Point Method and check out the immediate results that only get better over time.
Gone are the days of layering 3-4 eye products haphazardly on my orbital eye bone and hoping they'll work for me. I've finally found something that does work. I hope it does for you too!
Here's a list of eye creams/serums I've tried and not seen results with. The list is extensive, but not exhaustive by any means. I've added comments when appropriate. I'd love to know what you've tried and what's worked. You can reach me: amyjo@groupfitnessradio.com
Lancome Progres Eye ($59) .5 oz. Progres Eye is like Crisco for our eye area. I do like this eye cream for intense hydration in the winter months and used it for that purpose until I found Total Eye, which takes care of all my eye needs, including hydration.
*I receive no compensation for writing PRO/STYLE- not even an eye cream to add to the list above :). If I do receive anything in the future, I'll let you know.
Bring your Garmin or other Ant+ compatible HR strap
Updated 10/30 below
Short notice… it's tomorrow night.
Here's the email invitation I received:
EDGE Cycle kick-off with Bahram Akradi & quests
This will be the 1st class offering in Minnesota of our “new”EDGE CYCLE signature Indoor cycle format!
Expect to have an experience that includes results, heart rate and community all with the future technology of LT Connect
Class time: 5:30-6:30pm
First come, first serve.
We kindly ask to arrive by 5:00pm for individualized LT Connect set up. Everyone who wants to experience this must have a heart rate strap (Garmin or Motorola).
Music will be provided by DJ Dan; guest instructors to get you pumped and a party at Rare to follow the hard yet fun work! J
We look forward to seeing you there~
What's being launched is the new EDGE Cycle class format that integrates with LT Connect – Life Time's branded heart rate display system. Similar to MYZONE or Polar's system, but no power like Performance IQ 🙁
Fun none the less as both Amy and I teach in the same room!
I'm planning to attend and will relay the details when I know more.
Update post class:
I took the class last night. If you teach at a Life Time, you might be excited if/when this gets to your club.
First stop when I got to the studio, was to check in and get my Garmin HR strap connected to the system. They had a desk setup and the person manning it asked for my name and if (and how) I knew my personal HR Zones. “What's your top of Zone one” was his next question – I couldn't answer, but I explained that I have been tested multiple times and my AT (VT2) was 162. My and base of Zone 3 (VT1) is… but before I could say 146, he had hit the button that auto-populates all the other fields and showed 145, close enough for me.
Next I was handed a little black box, a little bigger than an iPhone, that I pointed at my HR strap. This identified my unique Ant+ signal which connected me to my profile. And there I was “John” up on the screen with the others.
Suggestion: this isn't the time to puff your chest out and give the highest possible threshold you can imagine, with the intent of impressing others in the class. The accountability that comes from having your name up on the screen becomes very real, so I suggest being a bit conservative. So when the 3 minute effort is supposed to have you at the top of Zone 4 (and you're sitting one over from your Dept Head) with the last minute pushing into Zone 5, you don't find yourself wishing you have said 160. Pushing hard enough to add that one BPM that causes your gauge to go RED, is every challenging. Especially while you're convinced everyone in the room is watching to see if you can do it.
More when I have a chance to teach with LT Connect.
I attended Club Industry last week. The show was pretty small this year, compared with my last visit in 2011. There were no rides being conducted this year and only Star Trac, Schwinn, Keiser and Matrix had Indoor Cycles on display – only a few each.
Here's what I saw that was new, dumb or otherwise note worthy.
“The 1990's called and wants it's Maximum Heart Rate chart back.” I was in too good a mood to confront explain to this vendor as to why the promotion of discredited myths, like age predicted maximum heart rate charts, is a real detriment to our industry.
I’m not sure peddling this nonsense is in any way creative 🙁
Tae Yoo from Performance IQ was exhibiting with Schwinn. His system connects wirelessly via Ant+ with the AC Performance's M-Power console and displays it on the screen.
You wouldn't have noticed it walking by, but this AC Performance Plus has a Gates carbon drive belt. Not sure when it will be available – you'll need to check with your distributor if you're planning a purchase. In case you're wondering, this belt system (same as on the FreeMotion S11.9) would be my choice if I was considering either brand of Indoor Cycles.
Matrix was displaying the new version of the ICG Indoor Cycle. It was kind of sad not to have Jim Karanas there to ask him about it. There's a bunch of changes, but I couldn't get anyone's attention to explain them to me…
And last, but not least… how about taking a class lead by a Holographic Instructor? I took some pictures of a scaled down display of a company called HolograFit, but they didn't turn out. Keying off the “Virtual Instructor” craze (which I'm not seeing as being overly successful so far for anyone) HolograFit's display system projects a holographic 3D image in the front of the room, for everyone to follow. Like multiple other virtual Instructor systems, they provide a catalog of classes that can be shown between live classes or some enterprising studio owner could purchase the $80,000 system and eschew Instructors all together.
Instructor Dennis Mellon presents his A little Bit of Everything profile as our 60th Audio Class PROfile! What has me most excited is Dennis has included a Harmonically Mixed playlist he created with Mixed In Key software on his Mac.
Dennis exemplifies exactly what I refer to when I say; “we provide a platform for smart, talented Instructors here at ICI/PRO!” It brings me huge pleasure to discover and then promote Instructors to our members around the world + produce their class profiles for your enjoyment.
We're convinced these profiles, from a real diversity of contributors, with help you grow as an Instructor and then keep your class filed with energetic and excited riders!
This new Audio Class PROfile will make an awesome addition to your rotation of class profiles.
Ride Profile: “A Little Bit of Everything”.
This is my “Go To” profile. This workout, like the title says, is a little bit of everything. Riders will work on all energy systems and all types of riding. At some point in this workout every rider will work on both their strengths and weaknesses. The ride will start with a warm-up followed by a Threshold Check. The first set will be a longer “around threshold” ride. In the second set riders will perform three, 2-3 minute, “above threshold” intervals. The Third Set is a sustained “Race” effort. The workout will conclude with three 1 minute max efforts.
You'll need this track – Proper Education to complete your playlist. Right Click > Save As and then open in iTunes. It should show in your Spotify / Local Files library and you can add it before syncing to your phone.
Listen to Dennis' presentation below.
Want to learn more about Dennis Mellon? Check out his website.
I love Shazam… have I said that before? Well I do. It's one of the few Apps I've used more than once on my iPhone.
I'm using the premium version which connects the track to Spotify – makes it easy to then add to one of my “fun to use” playlists for future addition to a new class.
Keeping my phone close to me, with the intent to be ready to Shazam a track, has become a habit. I'll also bring it to a class I'm attending to covertly swip an interesting track I hear 🙂
But there's one thing I haven't figured out; how do I tag the song, so I know where I got it from? NOTE: we've published so many of these free tracks that I'm always concerned that where I got it from, was here!
