Olay Total Effects Tone Corrector Review and $50 Giveaway

After I hit puberty, and all through high school and university, I was regarded as the lucky one. Lucky, because I had minimal acne. While my sisters and friends battled mild to severe acne, I got away with occasional outbreaks which, when they quickly passed on, rarely left any spot behind. But I didn't really consider myself that lucky.

You know like when people keep pointing out your blessings, and you don't know how to say "but what about this other thing?" Yeah, that was me. True, my skin was mostly without spots but there was something I didn’t like so much about it, especially where my face was concerned.

I am quite hairy generally and I think, because of this, my face has somewhat large pores. I felt it made my skin look rough, and even when I applied makeup, it didn’t look like the smooth skin I saw on some other people. But then, I couldn’t complain too much because I couldn’t keep up when girlfriends started to list the beauty products they used. I was the wash-with-soap and keep it moving kind of girl. I got away with it when I was younger but as the years passed, the results began to show.

I had not been very careful when choosing skin care products, and moved easily from one to the other at any point in time. It wasn't as if I didn't know that sticking to one product gives the skin some stability, but back then, I just didn't care. Recently, as the effects of age and such a nonchalant attitude began to show on me, I knew I had to take better care of my skin. Olay was one of the products that I settled on to help me do that.

However the issue with my face was still not completely sorted.

So when BlogHer asked if I was interested in Olay® Total Effects Tone Correcting UV Moisturizer, and if would care to review it, I snapped it up. In addition to using a higher SPF moisturizer and being careful of the sun, I wanted to try a product that will tackle some of the past damage, as well as preventing future age-related skin issues.

I have been using the product for almost a week now and I'm really liking it. I've noticed that there is an exfoliating effect when I'm massaging the product into my skin using the tips of my fingers. After applying it, I actually see that my skin looks smoother and younger. My pores also appear smaller and I just feel like I have more of a glow than with my usual moisturizer. This product is like a two in one moisturizer and foundation base. I need far less makeup for more coverage of my dark patches, and any lines are covered too. My skin is also kept hydrated without any oily sheen. The cream is supposed to reduce puffiness around the eyes, but that hasn't happened in my case.

The moisturizer comes in three skin tones, and I got two bottles, the light to medium and the fair to light tones. I prefer the fair to light for when I'm at home, and the light to medium for when I'll be using makeup over it. Both have worked out very well and, so far, I'm really happy with the results I'm getting from using them, saving me time and making me look better with less makeup.

What do you do to save time during your skin-care routine? Respond in the comments for a chance to win a $50 Visa gift card.

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to U.S. Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by email. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 4/9 - 5/16

Be sure to visit the Olay TE page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers' reviews and find more chances to win! While we're on the subject of looking good, you might want to check out the "Looking Your Best" posts in the Life Well Lived section of BlogHer.com. There are some great tips and expert posts!

I was compensated and provided free product for this post.  

The opinions expressed herein are my own.