What brands do you all use/recommend? BHA? AHA? Vitamin C? Retinol? Peptides? I have just run out of my olay age defying bha cream and am satisfied with it, but there are so many wonderful products out there that I may use this as an opportunity to try something new.

I love Clinique's Superdefense, and use a vitamin C serum and hyaluronic acid in conjunction. (Retin-A at night).

I make a point of using a variety of products. If I had the space, I'd have three or four or more bottles going at one time, but I don't, so I finish one before switching to another. This way, I feel that I'm getting the advantages, if any, of all the products. The companies I rely on most are Olay, Neutrogena and L'Oreal.

The best ingredient for good skin, of course, is good heredity. My mother died at 82 without a wrinkle.

Ditto for me (same as SandraL). I have a plethora. Add La Mer and Avon Anew to the list too. Oh and daily microbrasion with a buff puff and a tube of that walnut dust stuff that Armanis told us about. Can't remember the name. Dermabrasion makes a big difference.
Oh! St Ives!

Sunscreen.

SPF 15 is the minimum I use even in winter. No matter what other attributes a day cream has, if it lacks SPF, it's useless, unless you are willing to use an additional product.

The most important thing, I think, is to start taking care of your skin when you are young. By the time you see something to "repair" all you can do is maybe slow down further damage. I started using moisturizer and sunscreen when I was in my teens and began to see the results when I was in my 50s and could compare my skin with other women of the same age.

Thanks for all the replies. SandraL, I agree with starting early. I started putting oil of olay and other creams on when I was 25 and started experimenting with products like Avon Anew when I was in my late 20s and early 30s, which is when I first heard about alpha hydroxy acids. I used a lot of St. Ives products. I still use their cleansing cream in the yellow tube. I know girls my own age who have never taken care of their skin and it makes a big difference.

ABSOLUTELY the best thing is to use a sunscreen and I'm NOT talking 15! NO kidding.
I use a plethora of stuff. Retin A. Sometimes the Neutrogena microdermabrasion. I use nightly the Guerlain ORCHIDEE which is crazy good but .........if I run out of it I'll go get Olay.
I've heard that the Vitamin C drops are good.

I basically stay out of the sun...........and take good care of my skin. I do believe my skin looks really good for my age. Haven't been in the sun on purpose for about 15 years. No kidding.

Now, I had very dry and rough skin due to atopic dermatitis all my life so I use some heavy duty stuff.

Cleanse with either Kiehl's Washable Cleansing Milk (non foaming) then Cucumber toner or if my skin seems a little dull, (not more than twice a week) Mario Badescu's Glycolic Foaming Cleanser then Glycolic Toner.

Moisturize everyday with Kiehl's Panthenol Protein Moisturizing Face Cream which has vitamin E, A and Beta Carotene. Feels light but is a very big gun, moisture-wise, summer and winter.

In the winter, I use Kiehl's Epidermal Re-Texturizing Micro-Dermabrasion twice a month.

For the past two weeks on top of my moisturizer I've been using Kiehl's Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing Concentrate with continuous delivery of 10.5% Pure vitamin C. Excellent product. My skin has never been so soft and smooth.

If I'm going to be outside I use Kiehl's Abyssine Cream with an SPF of 15 as a moisturizer.

I've just recently started Kiehl's products, too, and I'm very happy with them. I have very dry skin and was wondering about the Micro-Dermabrasion product and the Line Reducing Concentrate. I think a trip to Kiehl's is in order!

I use zinc based sunscreen everyday, spf 65, by ZCote. I also use Rosa Mosquetta oil by Aubrey Organics on the eye area every night and I'm convinced it's softened up the lines there. I use Jojoba oil to moisturize and I seal it with Vaseline - this at night. During the day I use SUperfood Oxygen gel, under Cliniques Moisture Lotion, then the Sunscreen. Right now I'm looking for antiaging stuff too, but I tend to stick to the more natural products with few ingredients. Sunscreen is the best anti-aging product, and regular exfoliation.

I try to be really obsessive about using sunscreen as I'm outside a lot gardening. And I'm planning to get some Retin-A creme from my dermatologist soon. I used Olay Regenerist night creme at night along with an eye creme and Neutrogena daycreme with high spf during the day. I started using sunscreen when I was in my teens and my skin's in pretty good shape for my age.

Irina, what is the consistency of your SPF65? Others I've tried with that high a number end up being too heavy for everyday wear.

Out of all the high spf's sunscreens I've tried, even the European ones, this one is better in that arena. It is thick, but not at all greasy. As a matter of fact, I'd say it'd be very good for oily skin. My skin is dry so that is why I have to use a moisturizer underneath. The thing about this sunscreen is that you have to spread it rather quickly once you put it on b/c it dries fast. It is also very, very lightly tinted to avoid giving you a whitish cast, in works in my case though b/c I'm very fair. Overall, I wish it was easier to apply b/c I do use it daily. But the protection is unbeatable. I get it from Dermadoctor.com and it's by a brand called TOTAL BLOCK. it comes in SPF 65 and also a 55 which is tinted and almost looks like foundation, but I don't like the tint on that one. If you use foundation - I don't know how this will wear. I do find however that it offers some coverage, and all I wear afterwards, if anything, is a little concealer and some powder.

Using Renova .05 has really made a huge difference in smoothing out wrinkles on my face. When I quit using it, of of course, my skin reverts back to some crepiness (sp?) around my eyes. This has been my holy grail for the past few years. I also stay out the sun without sunblock.

Just a warning. If you use any Retin A products. Be sure that you use a HIGH sunscreen because you are taking off protective layers of your skin!!!

The best stuff you can get without a prescription is Avène's products with retinaldehyde. They're called Ystheal and Eluage in Europe, Retrinal in the US. Retinaldehyde is the direct precursor to retinoid acid (Retin-a, Renova etc.) so it's more effective than regular retinol, and strangely enough much less irritating. There are *heaps* of studies on it and my skin is visibly better when I use it. Smoother, plumper and better textured.

Sunscreen is very important of course. Make sure it has good UVA protection. The SPF only refers to UVB protection., In the US the best ones are made by Neutrogena (the ones with Helioplex), L'Oreal (Revitalift UV) and La Roche Posay Anthelios SX. My European favourites are also by La Roche Posay but has Mexoryl XL in them for even better UVA protection: Anhtelios Dermo-kids SPF50+/PPD28, Redermic XL SPF15/PPD8, Hydraphase XL SPF15/PPD11, Rosaliac XL SPF15/PPD10.

And don't smoke! I wish I never started.

Accolon, I understand what you mean about the USA brands not having enough UVA protection. But, Z-Cote TOTAL BLOCK and Sheseido SPF 55, are very high in UVA protection compared to other USA brands - so that is an option too. I tried the Sheseido but didn't like the fragrance. I believe that Clinique's SuperDefense SPF25 is pretty good too but doesn't rate as high as the others. When selecting a sunscreen it pays do your research and learn about ingredients and what offers the most protection. I've heard good things about La Roche.

Is the Retrinal easy to find? I think I want to try Retin-a but I don't have a dermatologist and am too lazy to find one.

My mom's friend went on a cruise with stops in Mexico. She was able to get Renova (called Retacnyl there, I think) and Retin-A gel at a drugstore in Mexico for around $15 a tube without a prescription. She said it is OTC in Mexico and goes for about 1/10 of the US price.

I think I may try the La Roche Posay Anthelios SX (I have my fingers crossed I won't be sensitive to the smell). I also think I'm going to try the Avene Retrinal as I've been curious about reinoids. I was debating getting a prescription but I think I'll try this first and see how my skin reacts.