I am lucky to try amazing products at 2nd Street Beauty so I can write about them, and as much as so much here is so good, every once in a while there is that product that makes you think, How Did I Possibly Ever Live Without This? Welcome to DDF Skincare! DDF (Doctor’s Dermatologic Formula) products are silky, and smoothing, and delicately-fragranced. They penetrate, hydrate, even things out, and brighten. The DDF Lines are built to cleanse, treat, moisturize and protect, and the experience of using their products is creamy and fun and delicious. I open the jars, and bottles, and it’s a bit like dessert, for your skin! It is that wonderful.

First on the list: the Brightening Cleanser. This clear, liquid cleanser is part of DDF’s Hyperpigmentation Line, made to even out uneven skin tone and diminish brown spots. Glycolic and Salicylic acids work to exfoliate while bearberry and mulberry extracts and licorice condition and brighten. I am very fair skinned and don’t sunbathe, so I am not seeing a lot of sun or age spots on my skin (yet!), but I am addicted to this cleanser! It has a soft licorice smell, leaves a light layer of moisture after cleansing, and my skin is indeed immediately brighter and feels fresh.

After cleansing,  I use a few drops of a moisturizing serum that is part of DDF’s Preventative Anti-aging line. This Wrinkle Resist Plus Pore Minimizer is instantly absorbed in to the skin. Its vitamin peptide complex works to reduce pore size and minimize wrinkles over time. It has an incredibly silky feel and is perfect to smooth over the face and neck before applying moisturizer.

Okay, so, moisturizer! How does one choose?! I have sampled four of them and I love them all. The first I tried is the Ultra-Lite, Oil-Free Moisturizing Dew - it is fresh, lightweight and - as promised - moisturizes with out being oily. For my forty-four year old skin, which tends toward dry rather than oily, this is a perfect warm-weather day cream. In the winter months however, when it tends to be drier, I need something with some emollience to keep my skin hydrated and protected. So I’ve tried three of DDF’s slightly heavier moisturizers, and really, I cannot figure out which one I heart the most.

The Advanced Firming Cream smells and feels fresh, with a slight peppery quality, due to DDF’s turmeric complex, an anti-oxidant powerhouse. Copper and zinc serve to firm, tighten and replenish moisture. This is a rich cream, perfect to use before bed on your face and neck; for daytime the Advanced Moisture Defense offers the same benefits - tones, gives moisture and fights free radicals with turmeric-based antioxidants- with the added bonus of a built-in SPF15 . I love both of these moisturizers! They hydrate thoroughly without any oily residue (even after sleeping), and my skin feels soft and protected from less forgiving weather and sun.

But my fave of faves, the thing I would cling to in the lifeboat as I approached the deserted island, is DDF’s Dramatic Radiance. One of DDF’s best sellers, this anti-aging moisturizer is perfect for most skin types, as it is built to replenish moisture without heaviness, creating and retaining a luxurious, silky quality. it smells fresh and clean, leaves my skin dewy all day, and its TRF (tissue respitory factor ) revitalizes fatigued skin by augmenting oxygen utilization, helping to restore the appearance of youthful suppleness and elasticity. The essential fatty acids in flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil and green barley extract, soothe and heal with their cell-membrane protecting properties. Trust me, your skin will just drink it up.

Finally, to take care of my whole face (and finish a perfect make-up or make-up free look!), I’ve been dabbing  just a bit of Advanced Firming Eye Concentrate under my eyes and around the outer edges - where the laugh lines are - careful not to get anything in my eyes. The cream helps to firm and lift eyes immediately, using caffeine and turmeric to tigthen. It works! Right away! I have seen improvement in my dark circles after only a week and a half. Actually, I’ve seen improvement in my entire complexion in only a week and a half. Who doesn’t have time for that?