Product Review: Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Daily Moisturizer

Ever since I was 13, my mom and grandma reminded me constantly to moisturize my face and my neck. My grandmother would say to both of us, "Look, I moisturized my face, but not my neck, and now I have crocodile skin. You be sure to put lotion on your neck." My grandma was a lovely lady with a good work ethic and was never afraid of the sun, but 70+ years of gardening and farm work in short sleeved blouses made her neck look years older than her face. I've moisturized right down to my cleavage (what little there is) with SPF protection. I swear it's the best reason after good genetics to prevent getting wrinkles, especially on the delicate skin on your neck.

Since I wear so much lotion, I don't like a lot of perfume in my moisturizer. Have you ever noticed that women's beauty products that claim to be "unscented" rarely are? How stupid: spend lots on fragrance, but your makeup and hairspray and deodorant and lotion will have scents to drown it out. For years, I wore Oil of Olay because their version of unscented was pretty much... unscented. When they rebranded to Olay, I continued to wear the Complete All Day Moisture Lotion - UV Defense With SPF 15 - Sensitive Skin because it worked and still had very little fragrance.

Now that I'm over 30, I'm trying to keep those dang wrinkles at bay, so I've upgraded my approach. I've been testing different products for an all-around moisturizer, but the best one I've found so far is Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging UV Moisturizer - Plus SPF 15.

The 7-in-1 claim:

1. Diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
2. Smoothes skin texture – visibly and to the touch
3. Evens skin tone for younger-looking, more balanced colour
4. Improves surface dullness, giving skin a radiant, healthy glow
5. Minimizes the appearance of pores
6. Visibly reduces the appearance of blotches and age spots
7. Soothes dry skin, hydrating with Olay moisture

I am very skeptical about most claims to shrink pores, but evening out skin tone is a nice goal. I find that with Total Effects my skin does feel more even. Olay keeps the fragrance very light and gives you a silky moisturizing cream that does the trick. I find it's thicker than the regular lotion but still absorbs nicely. I can apply makeup over it after about three minutes without it being sticky or streaky. One negative comment I have is that with my combination skin I find that by mid-day my T-zone is a little oily. I'm guessing the claim to give your face a glow is the cause of this. Glowing and oily or matte and dull - I haven't found a balance yet!

I'm not finished with my search for the perfect moisturizer, but in the meantime Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 will tide me over while I look.