skincare

I remember when I was in my early teens, just starting to be able to afford cosmetics, I used to covet my mother's Olay moisturiser. It came in a fancy pump bottle like this one, and it seemed SO expensive. So, when I needed a new night cream recently, I found myself in Boots looking at the Olay display, and decided to try the Total Effects Night cream, in a bid to recapture my youth in more ways than one.

I'll admit I wasn't really expecting a lot from this cream. I've been using it for several weeks now, and I'm very pleasantly surprised. The cream is fairly light, yet still rich, and sinks in very quickly. In the morning, my skin is soft, plumped up and smooth, with no residual oiliness or that film that too-rich creams can give. Three weeks on, my skin is much smoother, the tone seems more even, and I'm fairly sure that my hated frown lines are looking less deep too.

The packaging is also a win for me - the very hygienic pump bottle allows you to dispense exactly the right amount of cream while keeping it safe from the air and contamination from the fingers. The only downside I can think of is that I'm not sure how I'll know when it's empty. The price of this cream is also pretty fab - at around £16, I think that on balance, it out performs my previous £45 Darphin cream.

If you'd like to try it for yourself you can find it at Boots, for £16.63 for 50ml, and many other places - Olay is very widely stocked.

I'd always strolled past the Eau Thermal Avene concession at Boots, and I'm not really too sure why - possibly because their packaging is more simple and elegant than brightly coloured and shiny, which I'm generally more attracted to. Anyway, after accidentally overmoisturising my skin and ending up with some spots and oiliness, I decided I wanted a gentle toner to clear my skin out a bit, without overly drying it out.

I decided to try Eau Thermal Avene's Cleanance Purifying Anti-Shine Lotion. It has a very long name, and as with all of the products in the range, contains a high proportion of spring water. It takes the form of a dual-layered liquid which is shaken to produce an opaque fluid, which doesn't sting when applied to the skin, but does seem to lift off any excessive oil.

My skin was left feeling fresh, clean and ready to be moisturised, but I'm not particularly convinced that I experienced any less shine than usual; my t-zone can become shiny half way through the day, and still did with this product. I imagine that for someone with oily or very oily skin, it would make very little difference. For my dry/combination skin, however, this is a lovely freshening lotion, which lifts off extra oiliness without being drying.

If you're curious to try it yourself, you can find it at Boots.com, £8.49 for 200ml.

Contender - rrrrrrrrrrready!
Gladiator - rrrrrrrrrrrrrrready!!

OK, not a massively original idea for a post - today I'm comparing a high end product with a low-end dupe and deciding if An Saving can be made.

Clarins Pure Melt Cleansing Gel has been resident in my bathroom for about a year now, and I've finished two tubes in that time. It's a cleansing oil makeup remover in the vein of MAC and Shu Uemura's, but it comes in the form of a gel, so there's less risk of spillage and it's easier to apply. The gel is rubbed onto the skin where it reverts to oil state in response to body heat and pressure, and there it unites with the oils present on the face and the dirt trapped with them. Then with the addition of water, the whole lot emulsifies into a milky consistency and is easily rinsed away. It's quite foolproof and leaves the skin soft and feeling very clean. I use it when I am very tired because - and I know this is morally EVIL - I can get away without moisturising afterwards.

It costs around £19 per 125ml tube.

Boots Botanics Organic Face Nourishing Eye Make up Remover (and I would love to shake the hand of the copywriter who came up with that catchy name) is a similar idea, and is made with olive oil. It's designed for the eyes in particular, but you could certainly use it on the rest of your face too. It comes in a smaller tube - 75ml, and has a thicker consistency. Though it will rub down to an oil with a bit of persistence, it doesn't have the "melt" factor of the Clarins. I also didn't feel that it quite transformed into the milk phase completely - there was still a greasiness to my skin after I removed it. Finally another drawback was that after use my eyes were slightly blurry with residual oil in my lashes and around my eyes.

But it did remove my makeup very effectively, and it wins points for being organic and free of parabens etc. The ingredients list is short and sweet and contains nothing I can't pronounce - and that's definitely more than can be said for the Clarins, which contains quite a lot of chemical compounds that I don't understand and therefore instinctively mistrust.

The Botanics one (I'm not typing out the name again) costs £4.89 or thereabouts (it hasn't appeared on Boots' antiquated old website yet, so this is from memory - but it's not more than £5 for sure) for a 75ml tube. So it's less than half the price, ml for ml, of the Clarins product.

Verdict - despite lacking a bit of finesse, the Boots version wins on grounds of economy and use of unrefined ingredients.

When I hit the bottom of the pot on my usual night cream, I decided it was time to try something new. Having heard good things about Vichy, I popped into my local Boots and picked up Vichy Oglio 25 Anti Dull Hydrating Care moisturiser, which claims to hydrate dry and sensitive skin for 24 hours.

For the first week, I loved the effects that this rich moisturiser had on my skin. While it is very hydrating, it sinks into the skin quickly and leaves it feeling moisturised, but not at all filmy - the finish was sort of powdery, satiny, and very soft. While you can use this during the day or at night, I chose to use it only at night, as I prefer something with built-in SPF for daytime. When I woke up in the morning, my skin still felt moisturised.

Unfortunately, after first week, I started to get spots around my chin, cheeks and forehead. I soldiered on with the product, so that I could be sure it wasn't just a random crop of spots. After three weeks though, I couldn't really attribute the spottiness to anything but my new moisturiser, and had to stop using it.

I suspect that my skin has a problem with the 24 hour moisturisation part of this product - the initial application was not too rich at all, but after several days of use, my skin became over-moisturised and broke out. So, I think this'd probably suit people with very dry skin which dries out during the day/night. Not one for me though!

If you'd like to learn more, you can find the product description at Vichy's website. Boots don't carry this particular product online, but it was around £15 instore.

Naked is a relatively new company producing what they claim to be "97% natural" products. "Natural" is a word slapped upon many beauty products nowadays, often completely meaninglessly, so what exactly do Naked claim is different about their products?

According to their website, the products are entirely paraben, petrochemical, SLS and phthalate free. All of these ingredients are widely used in cosmetics and toiletries, but there are arguments for ditching some of them - for example, SLS is considered by some as too harsh for curly hair. As Naked's products are SLS free, they could be a more gentle cleansing option.

Whether you're a believer in the more "natural" approach or not, Naked have a wide range of products to try including shampoos, conditioners, facial skincare, body care, and bath and shower products. They're also all reasonably priced; most of the range costs £3.91, with none of the products costing more than £7.82. I've just bought a tube of their conditioner, so reviews will be forthcoming!

If you'd like to try out the range for yourself, you can find them at Boots, or buy online through the Naked website.

Steam Cream launched last year with great fanfare, claiming to be a multipurpose cream made with "pure, unrefined steam for maximum absorption". Pure steam, according to Wikipedia, is steam that's not been allowed to mix with air, but unrefined steam? I'm not sure quite sure what that means.

Anyhow, I've owned a pot of Steam Cream for a little while now, and have found it to be a very rich but conversely light textured. It feels very silky to the touch, and true to the marketing, is very easily absorbed. Over time, though, the cream has started to become thicker in texture - it's still light, but noticeably less light than when it was opened (around 2 months ago).

In my opinion, this isn't a multipurpose cream in that you can use it on your face and on your body. I've used this on my face a few times, and have found it makes my (fairly dry) skin quite oily. In addition to this, it is very heavily scented - mostly lavender, and so strong that my husband complains that I smell "like a hippy" if he's nearby when I apply it. The high proportion of fragrance alone is a good enough reason for me not to want to put it on my face any more!

For dry hands, elbows, feet - this is a lovely rich cream, but in no way anything extraordinary. If you'd like to try it yourself, you can find buy it direct from the Steam Cream website, where it costs £9.95 for 75ml, and comes in a variety of funky tins.

Disclosure:  PR sample


Did you know that Philosophy claim to have pioneered the first medical microdermabrasion machine that exfoliates while delivering Vitamin C deeply into the skin?  This product, the Microdelivery Peel, is intended to be the less expensive, less invasive home based equivalent.  Philosophy recommend it to anyone with dull, uneven skin, and claim that in addition to the instant results, it will also help to "de-age" the skin.

Those are some pretty lofty claims, and ones which I was more than happy to put to the test.  The peel is delivered in the form of two products - a tub of vitamin C crystals, and a bottle of activator fluid.  To apply, you massage the crystals over the skin, then pat on the activator fluid, and leave for a few minutes.  If you're feeling the need for some extra exfoliating action, you can massage the crystals+foam mixture over the skin instead of just leaving it to sit.

The packaging is, as usual with Philosophy products, pretty fabulous.  The two products are presented inside a sturdy box, with usage instructions clearly printed inside - making it useful to keep as a reference, and also as a way of keeping the two products together, particularly as this is a weekly maintenance product which you won't want to leave out all week.  One thing I've found is that the amount you are supposed to use, according to the packaging, is possibly a little too much (unless of course I have a smaller than average face).  The instructions, for instance, say one teaspoon of crystals, whereas I found that a third of a teaspoon was plenty.  Similarly, a "good" teaspoon of activator translates into about three quarters of a teaspoon for me.

Anyway - application, thanks to the clear instructions, is pretty easy.  The vitamin C crystals are more of a fine, grainy paste, with a slightly citrus-y scent, and are easy to spread on the face.  The instructions say to massage them in, not scrub - and personally I'm not too sure what the difference is, apart from maybe the amount of pressure applied.

After applying the activator gel with my fingertips, I noticed a small amount of foaming on my face, coupled with a little bit of warming. At this stage, you have the choice of massaging further, or leaving the foam/crystal combo to sit on the skin - I've tried both options.  On my dryish skin, massaging the foam on the skin resulted in a very deep exfoliation which was almost too intense - my skin felt very smooth and soft afterwards, but was pretty dry and needed plenty of moisturiser for a couple of days afterwards.  Leaving the foam on, however, resulted in the same smoothness and softness, but without the excessively dry feeling.  If your skin veers towards oily, the extra massage might be more beneficial, but on drier skins, it might be a step too far.

I did take before and after photos, but they didn't really show much visible difference for me.  Instead, the texture of the skin was the big difference; after use, my skin felt ultra-smooth, with bumpy areas of my face (such as my chin and forehead) feeling significantly smoother.  I also found my skin to look more fresh and radiant in the days following the treatment, even when I myself was feeling pretty grey.

All this exfoliant and radiance boosting goodness does come at a price, however.  At about £57 for the kit, this is a fairly spendy product.  That said, if you use it weekly at the levels shown in the photos above, then it should last you a good few months, making the price more justifiable.  My only reservation is that the activator might well run out before the crystals do - luckily, the crystals are a decent exfoliator on their own, so it's not like they will go to waste if the activator doesn't last as long as they do.

Even if you don't see immediate results, this is a fantastic maintenance treat for the skin.  I've been using it weekly, and have found that my skin is more radiant and smooth, and bar a few monthly breakouts, much clearer too. Definitely one to try out if you have trouble with dullness, or are a firm fan of a good scrub.

If you'd like to try it out for yourself, you can buy the kit from HQHair, where it will cost you £57, or from QVC, where it will cost you £69.90, and will turn up with a exfoliating wash for daily use.

Have you tried this product?  What do you think?

Disclosure:  This was a PR sample.


For me, masks fall into two categories.  Those which don't really have much of an instant effect, but that help to maintain healthy skin, and those which don't really do much long term, but give a quick, visible immediate result.  Neither type is better or worse; I use the former type for weekly maintenance, and turn to the latter type before a special occasion.

Elemis' Fruit Active Rejuvenating Mask claims to restore "the glow to dulled complexions".  It's sold as a pick-me-up, perfect as a pre-occasion treat, and for me it definitely delivers.  With extracts of strawberry and kiwi in a base that contains kaolin (clay), the mask is a medium thickness white cream which spreads easily over the face.  Left on for fifteen minutes, I found that it left my skin looking much more even and bright, and feeling ultra smooth.  The scent is quite subtle; slightly dessert-y, and only a little bit fruity, it's rather non-offensive.

But anyway - on to some before and after photos, after the jump.





While the effects aren't staggering, I think there's an improvement in brightness, evenness and clarity in my skin, and I'll definitely be using this product before any upcoming occasions.  At £26 for a 75ml tube, this isn't the cheapest of products, but given that you need a relatively small squirt, I'm expecting to still be using the same tube in three or four months time.  If you'd like to try it yourself, you can get it from TimeToSpa, Elemis' official online stockist.

Disclosure:  these products were provided as PR samples.


For the past month, I've been slathering myself in Boots No. 7 moisturisers, having been given samples of the day cream, night cream, and of course the famous serum.  Despite having heard the rapturous praise for the original serum, I never got around to picking up a bottle, so it was lovely to be able to try the Intense version alongside its sister creams.

Firstly, the famous serum itself - it has a lovely texture.  Slippy, velvety, and very smoothing, it sinks in quickly, and leaves the skin feeling very silky.  I found that the texture was very similar to the significantly more expensive Estee Lauder Idealist serum.  I used about four pumps of the serum morning and night, and found that this was about enough to cover my entire face without resulting in an excess of product sitting on the skin.  Using it twice a day, I emptied the entire bottle within about 7 weeks.

The day cream, applied atop the serum, was rather emollient and left my face feeling a little bit slick, although after fifteen minutes or so, the residue was absorbed into the skin.  I found that I had to be very careful about the amount of product I applied to my face; a tiny bit too much and my skin felt overwhelmed by the richness of the cream.  It was a similar story with the night cream, although I don't really mind a bit of a residue overnight so long as it doesn't encourage spots by over moisturising.

And the effects?  Well, I suspect that my fine lines were a little bit softened by the regime, but I could just be subconciously justifying the hype in my own mind.  One thing's for sure, my skin definitely started to look brighter after a few weeks, and that brightness has been maintained since.  I didn't really notice that my skin looked noticeably younger - and that doesn't surprise me, given that I'm still under 30 and thus not really in the target market for these products.  I have heard colloquial evidence from my mother that the regime has had a very positive effect on some of her friends, who are more likely to appreciate the cream's richness.

So, in short - I really like the serum, and would definitely use it again.  I feel that the moisturisers are a little bit too rich for my dry/combination skin - they'd probably suit a more mature or drier skin type a bit better.  If you'd like to try these products for yourself, you can grab them from Boots.com, where the serum will set you back £20.50 for 30ml, and the day and night creams £20.50 and £21.50 for 50ml respectively.

Disclosure:  this was a PR sample.


Having had a go with Aromatherapy Associates facial oil a while back, I was sent a sample of their Overnight Repair Mask to try.  It claims to tighten and smooth the skin, and to "restore moisture and encourage natural collagen production".  It's a cross between a face mask and a night cream, designed to be used two or three times a week; at a minimum, you leave it on for two hours, and for best results, you leave it on overnight.

As with all Aromatherapy Associates products, it smells rather delicious - if you're not fond of essential oils, this is likely to be a little too heady for you.  The scent, while quite deep and musky, is not overpowering, and is quite relaxing if you apply just before bed, as I've been doing.  The product itself is in the format of a reasonably thick cream, which despite its density is fairly easily absorbed into the skin, leaving a little bit of  residue.  That's not to say that the skin is left feeling greasy - the residue feels much like the slight slip you get after a facial oil application, which in itself makes this product rather nice if you fancy a spot of facial massage before you sleep.

I've been using this about twice a week for the past month or so, and I don't think it has really contributed much to the state of my skin (twice weekly is probably not enough for a product to have a profound effect, in my opinion).  It does, however, make a noticeable difference to the state of my skin the morning after I've used it.  My skin feels perfectly soft, and looks plumped up, healthy and smooth.  I think the key word is healthy - while this doesn't impart a particular glow, or have any easily describable effect, it makes my skin look like it's in good condition.

It follows, then, that this is a fantastic product to use if you're working late, not quite sleeping enough, suffering from dull skin, or in preparation for a special event.  Because the one product acts so effectively alone, I've tended to use it when I'm too tired to go through the whole serum, night cream, eye cream, massage regime.  It's also a bit of a gem for hungover skin - so long as I've taken my makeup off and used this after a merry evening, I wake up with skin that doesn't look lifeless, regardless of how lifeless I feel!

Now, here's the kicker - this is a very expensive little tube of goodness.  £43 for 50ml is a bit on the steep side for your average wallet, even though the amount of product used each time means that the one tube will probably last at least six months.  For me, this is too expensive to claim a permanent place in my skincare regime - but I expect I will definitely repurchase in November in preparation for my best friend's wedding and the Christmas/New Year party season.

If you'd like to try this for yourself, you can get it from the Aromatherapy Associates website, where it will cost you a slightly eye watering £43 for 50ml.

Wow, the weeks are just flying by.  I've now been using my Clarisonic for three weeks.  Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your point of view), there's no cheek photo this week, as I wasn't quite awake this morning and took a photo of the wrong side of my face.  Muppet.

I'm still not having entirely good skin days.  This week I've had a couple of really nasty spots, and some strange bumpy bits have appeared on my forehead.  Before I blame the Clarisonic, though, I've decided that regardless of what results I do or do not see in the first month, I'm going to continue on for a further month with a different skincare regime, just in case it's my current set of lotions and potions which are making me bumpy (and spotty).

On the upside, my skin is still exceptionally soft and smooth, and all forms of product continue to sink in ever so quickly.  I'm exfoliating less than I used to, as I feel that the Clarisonic is giving my skin a pretty good exfoliation twice daily, and I don't really want to overdo it.  Read on after the jump to see my full face photo for this week.  It was taken early this morning, so excuse the bleary eyes.

I've now been faithfully using my Clarisonic every morning and evening for two whole weeks, and it's time to review whether it's making any difference to my skin.  Again, while I can't see much visible improvement in the tone and evenness of my skin, I continue to be very impressed with the softness and smoothness of my skin overall.

One difference I am seeing this week is in the depth of my frown lines, which are a big concern for me.  They look much shallower, smoothed out, and to my eye less noticeable than before - although I'm unsure as to whether this is a direct result of the Clarisonic's sonic action, or a secondary result from the improved absorption of the anti-ageing No 7 skincare I am using (and have been using since before I started with the Clarisonic).

I'm still staggered by how much product my skin soaks up after using the Clarisonic.  This week I've applied plenty of facial oil and found that regardless of how much I apply, I generally wake up with smooth, non-greasy skin, as my face has absorbed all of the oil.  This is a marked difference from before, when I would wake to a greasy nose if I overapplied.

Anyway, read on after the jump to see this week's photos.





The breakouts I experienced in the first week have largely calmed down, although the reddish patches which I am usually left with post-spot are still present.  I'm not sure that my skin looks any better, but I guess comparisons are best left until the end of the full month!

Disclosure - service was provided free of charge by PR

Earlier this week I wandered out in the blazing sunshine to attend a skincare tutorial with Liz Earle's treatment manager and skincare expert Jo Givens at the Liz Earle store in Chelsea.

The skincare tutorial is part of Liz Earle's range of treatment services, and costs a rather daunting £45 for 45 minutes. It's a one-on-one session designed to allow clients to discuss skincare concerns and learn how to adjust their skincare routine to address them. It's also a chance to learn exactly how to use Liz Earle products and how to get the best out of your skincare generally through application techniques and advice.

On arrival I was given a cup of iced tea and a very thorough pre-treatment questionnaire to  fill in, covering my medical history, current skincare routine and  various other relevant details. I filled it out sitting in a very welcoming relaxation area at  the back of the store.

As Beauty Mouth points out in her  excellent "facials  checklist", you should always expect a history to be taken or to  have some discussion with your therapist before any treatments. Liz  Earle's questionnaire is very thorough (down to asking how firm you like  the pressure during a massage).

Then I was introduced to Jo, and led through into the treatment area of the store, which is blocked off from the shop floor by a door and passageway (good for keeping the noise out).

I'd say the service is probably most suied to those with a particular or acute skincare concern, like an outbreak of acne, eczema or rosacea. I am lucky enough to have pretty easy-going skin, although I have started to see the dreaded First Signs Of Aging in the last year, particularly in the form of smile-lines and crows feet around my eyes. That was the first thing I raised once I was sitting in the treatment room (light, very spacious, spa-esque music playing) with Jo.

Jo had set out a tray containing all the Liz Earle skincare products for us to run through, and we sat down and started chatting. Jo explained that she could either talk me through the products, or I could apply them myself following her instructions. As I had come bare-faced to the session, I thought I would opt for the latter.

She showed me a simple 2-minute massage technique I could use with my cleanser, and also gave me very detailed advice on how to handle my skin, what sort of strokes to use and what level of pressure I should be applying (I am far too rough with it at the moment). She explained, using a diagram, how fine lines appear and where they originate in the skin. Her explanation made good sense to me and tied in logically with the advice she gave me. Having studied biology, I'm generally pretty sceptical about "the science bit" when I hear it from beauty professionals, but Jo's reasoning seemed very sound to me.

We moved on to treatments, and Jo showed me several auxiliary products in the Liz Earle line, including the Gentle Facial Exfoliator. This is simply a version of Cleanse & Polish with additional Jojoba beads for mechanical exfoliation. I liked the simplicity of that, and it seemed very logical to me to keep the formula the same and just add exfoliators rather than create a whole new product for skin to adjust to.



We also discussed eye treatments, and Jo taught me exactly how to apply eye cream (this had ALWAYS mystified me) and also how to use it as an eye mask. She answered my questions about the role of serums and oils in skincare (her verdict was that the format of a product matters much less than the ingredients it contains and the way it's used) and assessed the type and condition of my skin.

I could go on, but as my treatment was specific to me, it won't be relevant to most people reading. Suffice it to say that I found the service extremely thorough and professional, and I came away feeling that I had acquired some valuable new skills. It could so easily have been a Liz Earle sales pitch, but I didn't feel that was the agenda at all. I did get to know the products in the Liz Earle range better than I had previously, but I didn't feel Jo was trying to push them at me in any sense. Her approach was more about listening to my needs and concerns and tailoring the tools we had available to my particular skin and lifestyle. She provided me with as much useful information as she could within the 45 minutes, without swamping me with too much detail.

At the end of the session she wrote down all the products and  techniques for me, and we finished  up the session with a hand and arm massage. I left feeling very relaxed,  positive and happy.

Verdict - a pricey but very professional service with lots to offer, especially for those with specific skincare concerns.

You may have heard of this Italian skincare line on other blogs. It's an interest-grabber, mainly because of the unique way it's formulated.

The concept behind all 7 products in the line is 100% active ingredients. Everything in the bottle does something for your skin. Literally everything. So no carriers, no preservatives, just active substances.

Two things came to mind on reading this. Firstly - how will the products last over time without preservatives, and aren't carriers a necessity with chemically volatile substances? Secondly - with no fillers, the proportion of each active ingredient must be pretty large. I usually take claims of "contains natural/active XYZ" with a pinch of salt because I assume the said ingredients will be present in miniscule amounts, far too small to have any real impact on the skin. With this line, not a concern, since there are only active ingredients involved.

Another fact that leapt out was that these products are stupendously expensive. Most are £85 for 30ml (one or two are £90 for 30ml). So not for the faint of wallet. But if you're a skincare fiend, this line is definitely one to have on your radar.

I haven't used these and I can't tell you how they perform, but I am intrigued!

Here's a quick run-down of the Bakel line. Quotes are from press materials.

So, I've had my Clarisonic for a week now.  Angels have not started singing every time I pick it up, but I'm definitely enjoying using it - it's quite staggering, the feeling of cleanness, compared to how clean my skin felt after a single oil cleanse before.

My skin doesn't seem to be loving it quite as much as I am, though.  I have suffered a few spots this week, possibly because the deep cleaning has been dredging up dirt from deep within my cavernous pores, or possibly because I'm a bit stressed at the moment.




I do think, though, that my skin is looking clearer - well, the bits around the spots are looking clearer at least.  The biggest difference, however, is in the feeling of my regular moisturisers - they just sink right in, much faster than they used to do.  I've not tried one of my oils this week, but even my heavy night cream is soaked right up.  As a result I've been using less product, which can only be a good thing.  My fine lines are still looking pretty much the same (but after only seven days, this isn't surprising), and the bumpy bits on my forehead are looking a little less, well, bumpy.



I've been using the Clarisonic twice a day - once in the morning, before I moisturise and apply makeup, with a creamy cleanser, and once in the evening, after my oil cleanse, with the same creamy cleanser.  The initial surprise I felt at the non-scrubby, non-harsh feeling of the Clarisonic is still there, and I have caught myself pressing it into my skin a few times, which I'm trying very hard not to do.  Sometimes no pain, no gain is just not true.

In the next week, I'm hoping that the spots will heal and go away and that I'll start to see some more clarity, and I'd like to become a little less blotchy around my cheekbones.  Next update will be in another week's time!

Disclosure - PR sample

Here's another of our illustrious MAN REVIEWs, this time from Vas, who you may remember from my post about my experience at his podiatry practice, The Shah Clinic. Vas sportingly agreed to continue his LBR involvement with a review of Soap & Glory's Knock Your Spots Off, a topical blemish treatment from S&G's new(ish) men's range.

Take it away Vas...


Knock Your Spots Off is £5.99, available at Boots, who are currently offering 3 for 2 on men's skincare.

Disclosure - PR sample

First things first - this product is great. It's not great because it's ECO-Cert accredited, or because it's cruelty free, or because it's infused with active naturals (although all those things are good).

It's good because it is an absolute pleasure to use. I added this moisturiser to my daily routine after receiving it from Melvita PR a few weeks back. It has plenty of competition on my dressing table, but it is one of the few things I reach for daily.

There are a few aspects to its awesomeness; one is the smooth, clean-looking packaging and the satisfying ergonomic pump, which dispenses just the right amount of product per push. Another is the gentle, uplifting scent (oaty-herbaceous, with a slight floral hint). Maybe the best thing of all is the texture - this is the only anti-aging-type moisturiser I've used that is light enough to sink straight in without greasy residue. It hydrates more or less instantly, leaving behind nothing but softness and that lovely gentle scent.

I'm getting to an age (28) where I'm starting to think about anti-aging skincare, and it's good to know that Naturalift is working on keeping the wrinkles at bay. Honestly though, I'd buy it even if it had no such properties. Simply put, I just like it.

If I have a complaint, it's the lack of SPF, although I suppose that would interfere with Melvita's commitment to organic. Other than that, pretty much my perfect moisturiser. £30 for 50ml from Melvita.

I've been hankering after a Clarisonic ever since I heard about them.  It's a beauty product! It's a gadget!  It vibrates!  Instant love.  However, it's also pretty darn expensive, with the classic version costing a cool £150.  Which goes some way to explain why I didn't buy one as soon as they landed in the UK via SpaceNK.

I was lucky enough to get some SpaceNK vouchers for my birthday this year, and as I pondered just how many NARS blushers and Rococo nail polishes I could buy, it struck me that I could buy a Clarisonic.  Actually getting hold of one was pretty difficult - I walked into SpaceNK, and asked for one, only to be told that the classic isn't normally stocked in store, and that I couldn't use my gift vouchers online.  The store ordered one in for me, and I faced a gruelling wait of a whole week before I could get my hands on my new gadget.

So, now I have it in my sticky hands, and I've charged it for the requisite 24 hours (which was a bit of a chore - honestly, if I buy something, I want to use it IMMEDIATELY, not wait a full day).  What I propose to do is this - in order to decide whether it actually makes a difference to the skin, I will use it for a month without changing any other product in my regime, take photos every week, and compare at the end.  Read on to see my initial before photos (if you dare).



So, here are the photos, taken in natural light.  My skin is slightly dry, with a little bit of oiliness around the nose.  In recent years, my pores have become more prominent around my nose, and I'm developing a set of frown lines from scowling when I concentrate.  While I don't get spots all that often, they tend to be of the cystic variety when they do pop up (and I can't help squeezing them.  I know.  I'm sorry).  Mostly, I'm looking for some evenness; I don't feel confident enough to go without foundation, as my skin can be blotchy, and I have a little residual scarring from a few pretty nasty spots.

My first use of the Clarisonic was strange - I was expecting something quite harsh and abrasive, and I was expecting my skin to be pink and very well scrubbed afterwards.  Not so.  My skin was left feeling squeaky clean, but not at all scrubbed; in fact, it was just soft and smooth.  The classic model has a handy timer that allows 20 seconds for the forehead, 20 seconds for the nose and chin, and 10 seconds for each cheek, with little beeps in between each phase so you don't overdo it.  Gently smoothing the brush head over the skin in circular movements feels slightly tickly, but that's about it.  It's worth mentioning that the classic comes with a "sensitive" brush head, presumably so you start off slowly, moving on to a less gentle brush head if necessary.

So far so good.  My moisturiser sank in very quickly after I'd cleansed with the Clarisonic, and my skin feels soft.  I'll be interested to see how it deals with removing the residue of a full face of slap after a normal day at work!

When I ran out of cleanser and moisturiser recently, I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Mir skincare sample kit, having heard good things about the range via other blogs and Twitter.  Created as a minimalist, holistic alternative to overly complex products which can irritate sensitive skin, the Mir range doesn't subscribe to the "organic is better" mantra that's become so fashionable in recent years.

I chose sample pack B, which contains sample sizes of the main Mir products:  cleansing gel, gentle exfoliating cleanser, skin refresher (toner), Argan beauty oil, Silk Skin lotion (which doubles up as an eye cream), and moisturising lotion.  The samples range from 5ml to 20ml and the set costs £16.95.  I was slightly disappointed to find that the sample sizes were essentially decants; the jars had sticky paper labels on, which isn't particularly durable (especially for me, with my clumsy elbows which knock things into the bath), and doesn't look all that professional.

The products inside, however, are pretty nice.  The Cleansing Gel in particular is a lovely light, cool product which cleanses effectively and is incredibly gentle.  It left my skin feeling completely clean but not stripped of moisture.  The exfoliating version is slightly scrubby, non irritating and definitely skin smoothing, albeit not the most dramatically effective exfoliator I've ever used.

The moisturising lotions seemed to be the most unique products that Mir makes - and the Silk Skin lotion definitely stands out.  Despite being a thin, light lotion, it packs a pretty impressive moisturising punch, and leaves the skin feeling quenched.  Impressively, it isn't too rich for the eye area, and I found that it made an effective and refreshing eye cream, although it didn't help out at all with puffiness in the mornings or my rather dark shadows.

The brand's recommendation is that most people believe that their skin is more dry than it actually is, and that such a rich moisturiser isn't necessarily needed by everyone, and I found that to be true - my skin, which usually requires a fairly rich cream, felt overmoisturised after a few days of using Silk Skin, although unusually it didn't break out as a result.  Having determined that I didn't need the rich moisture of the Silk Skin cream, I moved on to using the moisturising lotion, which was even lighter in texture.  While still being decently moisturising, the lotion was very thin in texture, which I found hard to get used to.

Overall... I'm not bowled over by Mir.  The products are refreshingly simple and definitely gentle on the skin, but for me, I didn't notice any improvement in the overall condition of my skin.  In fact, as I stopped using my usual shadow-reducing eye cream, I found that my dark shadows increased with this regime.  If you have sensitive skin which reacts badly to many high street (or high end) products, you might well find that this minimal, simple range calms your skin down.  But if your skin is normal(ish) like mine, you might find it underperforms compared to other ranges you've tried before.

If you'd like to try the range yourself, sample packs cost between £14 and £16.75, with the difference being the inclusion of the moisturising lotion in the more expensive pack.  Mir products are available direct from their website, which also contains a wealth of skincare information.

Disclosure: This product was sent for consideration by PR.

I love a good facial oil, me.  There's nothing quite as luxurious as massaging a few drops of oil into your skin in the evening, and waking up to well moisturised soft skin.  This oil, which is of the "nourishing" variety and contains rose and sandalwood oils, fulfils all of my facial oil needs - it's luxe, it smells nice, and it's a very effective night time moisturiser.

First off - the bottle is tiny.  Really tiny.  You get a mere 15ml for £35, so it's definitely a luxury purchase.  That said, you need a really tiny amount of this oil to cover the face, as it is very spreadable.  In the past, I've used oils which I've had to apply to a damp face to enable them to be distributed evenly over the skin due to their inherantly heavy and oily nature.  This, however, is somehow light, and is easy to smooth over the skin without dragging, even over freshly scrubbed thirsty skin.  Because a little goes a long way, the bottle I've been using for the past 3 weeks is still about 85% full.

If rose isn't your thing, then this product is likely to turn you off - the scent is fairly deep and strong, and is heady with rose.  I personally love it, but I can understand that it might prove to be too much for some people.  I've mostly been applying it at night, and find that the scent fades within an hour of application (although I'm usually asleep by then).  When I wake, all of the oil has been absorbed into my skin, and my skin feels beautifully soft and plump, although if I apply too much, I find that sometimes my nose can be a little greasy and shiny in the morning.

And the long term results?  I've been using this product for a good three weeks now, and while it's not made a massive visible difference to the state of my skin, it does keep my skin well moisturised and supple.  I've not had any dry, flaky patches since I started using it.  As part of a good regime, it will definitely help to keep dry skin adequately hydrated. 

I'm sure I'll keep using this lovely oil until it runs out, but I'm not sure I'm blown away enough to repurchase, although I suspect that this could be one of those products that's a background essential you only appreciate when you run out!  If you'd like to try it for yourself, you can get it from SpaceNK or from Aromatherapy Associates online for £35.  Note that the SpaceNK link is an affiliate link; if you buy, we get a small commission on your purchase.