Update: NV Perricone Cold Plasma

With the current focus on blogger integrity and honesty in reviews, now seems as good a time as any to face the music on this one.

NV Perricone Cold Plasma was given to us to review. Owing to the high RRP of this cream and the reputation of the brand, I wanted to trial this thoroughly and bring you a comprehensive review of how it addresses the "ten signs of aging" it sets out to improve or correct. You can see my initial post about it here.

It has a light, easily absorbed consistency and sturdy glass packaging. It looks like a white version of Clinique's Moisture Surge moisturiser - almost more gel than cream. In fact it is designed to be used along with moisturiser - it's more of a treatment product than a traditional face cream.

It has a patented "delivery system" designed to carry beneficial nutrients and fortifying substances across the cell membrane and thereby improve the look and feel of skin. This is an interesting premise but one that I found slightly disconcerting from a biological point of view - my skin is there to protect my body from outside invaders after all and I'm not sure I want its integrity compromised in this way. However it seems that a lot of work and expense have gone into designing this stuff, and it would have been nice to tell you exactly how well it worked and what the effects were over time.

Unfortunately there is only one definitive thing I can say about this cream, which is that the smell of it is bad. I have tried to steel myself and put it on after cleansing, but the odour put me off and most times I just skipped it. So I can't in all honesty tell you whether it works or not. It may do absolute wonders for aging skin. But it also smells like slightly-off meat or fish.

I am very sorry - I have failed you all. *Pushes fish-cream into back of cupboard with great relief*

This cream may work out well for you if you are anosmic or have a poor sense of smell. Or you may find, as many seemingly have (this product is a best-seller on NV Perricone's site) that it works well for you and you don't perceive any bad odour. The issue may be a quirk of my olfactory system, which is quite sensitive to certain protein smells. (I can't stand using crockery that has been used to serve eggs, for example, unless it has been washed very thoroughly.)

But as far as I am concerned - this is not one I am going to be purchasing. The smell is something I just can't get past.