Look for the moisturizer that matches you

Standing at a counter in the Newbury Street outpost of their store Fresh, Lev Glazman and Alina Roytberg test different moisturizers on the back of a visitor's hand. Some are thick and rich, some are light, but all absorb into the skin with a gentle rub.

When shopping for a facial moisturizer of your own, the couple says, one of the things you want to pay attention to is how quickly it absorbs. It should only take a few seconds.

``You're looking for something your skin will drink in," says Roytberg, the company's president and creative director.

Glazman and Roytberg, who are married and live in Brookline, founded Fresh in 1991 when they began selling soap at a shop in the South End. Today, the company sells cosmetics, fragrances, and hair-care products around the world, and skin care makes up about a third of its business.

The couple advise to look for products that match your skin type -- dry, oily, or combination -- and remember that skin care can be seasonal: As the weather turns colder and drier, you probably want a richer moisturizer, Roytberg says. Richer creams typically have more oil but can still be suitable for people with oily skin, the couple says.

Sun protection is also important, even in winter, and is often built in to moisturizers. Women tend to have more sensitive skin that reacts to hormonal changes. Men's skin can feel drier because they shave. In extreme cases, Glazman says he will sometimes use two moisturizers at once -- one for his nose and forehead, and a stronger one for his jawline.

But he advises both men and women to be cautious about using too many products, noting that after a few layers the moisturizers probably aren't penetrating much anymore.

Fresh likes to use natural ingredients -- its rich Creme Ancienne uses components such as meadowfoam seed oil and beeswax.

``Sometimes it's good to go back to basics," he says.

But some ingredients and processes come at a premium. Creme Ancienne, for instance, costs $250. Products by companies like La Mer and La Prairie, which sell creams for several hundred dollars a jar, also have become popular in recent years.

Glazman, who admits he used to like trying any new product, says how much you spend is a matter of choice. ``If it works for you," he says, ``you've got to go for the best out there."

In 2005, Americans spent $737 million on basic facial moisturizers that are available in department stores, according to NPD Group, a Port Washington, N.Y., market-research firm.

But don't judge a product by its price. Jeffrey Dover, a Chestnut Hill dermatologist who helped develop a skin care line for CVS, believes products available in drugstores and other retailers such as Olay and Neutrogena are just as effective. He advises trying out different products, paying attention to things like scent and texture, and then returning what you don't like. CVS, for instance, will allow you to return opened products with a receipt.

Whatever you end up spending, Glazman notes that skincare is no longer only about the creams and cleansers you put on your skin, but also about what you eat and how much you exercise. If you shop at a department store, expect salespeople to ask a bit about your daily routine.

``People today cannot just put creams on their face and expect a miracle," Glazman says.