Though I’m not worried about aging per se, at some point during the last decade I started listening to my mother’s advice to stop sunning and start taking better care of my skin. I’ve heard a lot of people extol the virtues of Arbonne (including a few girlfriends with lovely, creamy skin...), but it wasn’t until late in the summer that I started using Arbonne FC5 products, thanks to Michelle Lenaghan. Read on for my thoughts about Arbonne’s FC5 facial care products, as well as for information on how to get free samples and a great shopping discount.

As a foodie and eco-enthusiast, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by a facial care collection that’s infused with fruit and vegetable extracts. (Arbonne’s FC5 collection also includes fruit and veggie infused body cleansers, body moisturizers, shampoo, and conditioner.) Really, in another life, I’d like to be the person who knows how to make homemade fruit and veggie scrubs and skin treatments from scratch.

I’ve been using the Arbonne FC5 normal/dry skin care system, which includes a hydrating cleanser + freshener infused with strawberry cell extracts, SPF20 day lotion infused with kiwi cell extracts, and moisturizing night crème infused with mango cell extracts. The cleanser is very gentle (no eye irritation!) and somewhat lotion-like in consistency. The day lotion and night crème both apply smoothly and absorb well with no greasy residue, and I especially love how soft my skin feels after applying the night crème. And all of the products smell yummy; when chatting with fellow beauty obsessed friends, I’ve described FC5 as fruit salad for your face.

As I mentioned above, these products feel very gentle, and when I first started testing them out in the late summer, I actually thought that they were unremarkable, in the sense that I wasn't seeing major changes in my skin. However, I did like the composition of the products so I kept using them. Then, as the weather has grown colder it dawned on me that my skin has not been drying out like it usually does when the temperature drops. It made me think back to my summer facial at Rosaline’s Skin Care & Spa, during which Rosaline said my skin looked normal and in good shape but that I probably would want to come back once the weather got cold and I started drying out. At that time I nodded in agreement; my skin always dries out and gets flaky when it gets cold. And this fall, for comparison, when it's been cold, I have experienced this dryness in my hands and lips, but not on my face. Sweet!

Also excellent: Arbonne products are vegan certified and formulated without PABA, petroleum based ingredients, animal products or animal by-products, or formaldehyde donating preservatives. They also are committed to green production and packaging. (Further green details can be found here and here.)

In a nutshell, I love how well FC5 is keeping my face hydrated and free of dry flakiness. Now I just need to look into similarly hydrating products for my poor hands and lips...

Michelle Lenaghan is happy to provide FC5 samples to you fabulous readers. Simply e-mail your mailing address to her at michellelenaghan@verizon.net and tell her I sent you. And if you want to shop Arbonne, Michelle is offering a 20% discount on products when you mention Boston Mamas. Again, e-mail her to redeem this offer.