The cold hard reality has smacked me in the face this summer. Literally. I looked in the mirror, and what I used to think was youthful, dewy, smooth complexion had transformed. Overnight, it seems, my skin had gone from the skin of my early 20s to my, ahem, 30s. Where was I in the last 10 years that I didn't notice this?!?!

There are dark spots on my cheeks that aren't cute little freckles. I have bags under my eyes. I have crow chick's feet (not quite crow's feet, but the beginning of crow's feet) at the outer corners of my eyes. I am starting to see laugh lines around my mouth.

It's quite a tragedy.

I decided to test out skin care that is specifically designed to "turnaround" my aging skin. Okay, so I know there's no such thing that actually reverses the aging process, but at the very least, I want to get my face looking like my actual age, not 10 years older.

Principal's Secret is a line of beauty products from actress Victoria Principal. The skincare line, Reclaim, is supposed to reduce the visible appearance of facial expression lines and wrinkles, "attacking" four different causes of wrinkles. The line has two products called "Age Braker" that hydrate and increase elasticity.

The products I tried are the facial cleanser, an anti-aging moisturizer, and an eye serum. The entire system however, also includes a fourth step, Age Braker Benefit Boosters, which I didn't use.

Total Facial Cleanser: The cleanser, like all cleansers, is supposed to be good enough to remove eye and face makeup, as well as act like a toner. The cleanser is a thick cream, similar to a cold cream, which is usual for a lot of anti-aging products. It smells delicious, and for a long time I couldn't figure out what the familiar scent was. The website says melon, but I thought bananas. I was right. There are bananas in the cleanser.

The problem with the cleanser is that although it's supposed to be gentle, yet strong enough to remove eye makeup, it stung my eyes. It also has that age-old (no pun intended) problem of not feeling completely rinsed off. I realize that a squeaky clean rinse is dehydrating to the skin, but this was unusual. For the rest of the trial period, I was careful not to get the cleanser near my eyes, and had to use a separate eye makeup remover.

Anti-Aging Cream: I loved the feel and smell of the anti-aging cream on my fingertips, but on my face, it felt a little bit greasy. It can be used during the day, but I was afraid to put makeup on over the cream, thinking it would be too slick. However, at night, the Anti-Aging Cream was fie right before bed.

Eyemazing Eye Serum: I didn't mind the eye serum, but because the cleanser had stung my eyes, I was a little wary of putting another product from the line so close to my eyes. Oh, the price we pay for our vanity! I threw all eye caution to the wind and went for it. You only need a small amount, so I used it every night. It didn't have any noticeably greasy effects on my skin.

I suspect that I would have to use the system for a longer period of time before seeing any noticeable difference, but I will say that using it sure made me feel better because I felt like I was doing something to make it look better. And in the end, if you feel younger, you probably look younger.