In the fall, I spent  a week at Rancho La Puerta, the original wellness retreat in Tecate, Mexico, with a group of travel bloggers. Another member of our group, Chicago TV reporter Nancy Loo, told all of us about an all-natural product line called Maylán that was developed by a Chicago chemist for his wife's sensitive skin.

I was curious, since I've been gradually trying to give up my department store products in favor of those with only organic and natural ingredients, but have found them to be inconsistent in their effectiveness. Maylán, which means "natural beauty" in Chinese, uses a high concentration of natural vitamins and nutrients, all sourced from nature. Nancy, who blogs at Big Tiny World and serves as spokesperson for the Maylán line, swore it was the secret to her gorgeous complexion and the fact that she looks ten years younger than she is.

So I tried two Maylán products myself, and I've got to say, I'm a serious convert. Given that anti-aging is my focus these days, I asked to try the face firming and moisturizing daily cream and the triple acting system eye cream. (I've written here before about my perpetual search for the perfect eye cream to banish my puffy dark circles.)

Both products are unassuming in their appearance, and absolutely outstanding in their function. The firming and moisturizing cream in particular immediately became the center of my morning skin care routine for two reasons. First, it's available with an SPF 30, so there's no need to add a sunscreen on top. Yet it doesn't leave my skin shiny or greasy, like most sunscreens do. Second, this cream has a rich, dense texture that truly penetrates; it feels like it's working deep down rather than just on the surface. You can see in the picture how think and creamy it is; it goes on like Shea butter without the oily finish.

The triple acting system eye cream fulfills its promise of fighting wrinkles three ways. It works instantly to fill in fine lines with silk protein; it goes to work deep down thanks to the mysteriously named "marine filling spheres," described as a "molecular sponge" created to replenish moisture; and it protects against future damage with antioxidants and collagen. I haven't been using it long enough to be able to demonstrate before/after effects, but I can say that my eyes look instantly brighter after I put it on, and I haven't noticed the dryness and flakiness that tend to show up a few hours later with ...