Sunday 27 February 2011

My Dermalogica Top Five........

Whilst I have always been a product junkie, my true love for a product happened when I was first introduced to Dermalogica! I have used this range for about eight years on and off and have used them professionally for about five years.

As with all ranges you have your favourites and then the ones you don't like quite as much,for whatever reason. So I just thought I would share with you my current top five products.

5th This is Tri Active cleanser, this is a fantastic brightening cleanser, it is packed with active ingredients to really make your skin appear brighter - but isn't drying at all. Fab for the spring / summer when the tinted moisturiser replaces the foundation.

4th This will have to be Ultra calming cleanser, this can be used on any skin even the most ultra sensitive. It is a mixture of a gel and a cream,feels and smells divine. It is so gentle it can be used as a makeup remover as well - so a good one for saving a bit cash and time. It is so soothing and because it is so gentle it doesn't even have to be rinsed away it can simply be wiped with a cotton pad. Great after a night out for a quick cleanse.

3rd Age Reversal Eye Cream, this is the latest product from Dermalogica and I love it. It is packed with retinol A, peptides, UGL complex to refine eye area without irritation and lots and lots more. I have only been using a couple of weeks but do really love this. The eye area feels smooth and with no dryness.

2nd Daily microfoliant - whenever I have any dry patches my skin feels a little lack lustre,this is my go to product. Guaranteed to smooth and brighten my skin in 2minutes flat. It has a mixture of phytic acid, enzymes and brightening agents. It isn't drying at all and as the name suggests can be used daily on some skins. I personally can only use it 2 to 3 times maximum each week, but it is an absolute gem.

1st Multivitamin Recovery mask - this has been described as 'ambulance in a tube' as it just seems to fix your skin. It is packed with vitamins to feed your skin - perfect to nourish your skin at any time, but works wonders if you have been feeling unwell,very tired or even hungover. This is always at hand in my bathroom and I always take a tube away with me on my hols to fix my skin in extremes of weather - definitely my number one.

Are you a Dermalogica fan?

What's in your top 5

Wendy xx

Friday 25 February 2011

My introduction to Liz Earle........................

When Looking for some new products to review the Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish kept coming up time and time again. I have a number of clients who use it and my twitter friend @bevstubbs is also a fan. So I ordered on line using the Liz Earle site.

My product arrived within a couple of days and I was delighted when I opened the box to find my pump action cleanser in a gorgeous little wash bag complete with 3 wash muslin wash cloths. I also had a lovely little extra of a 50ml Instant Boost Skin Tonic, great start.

I was a little surprised when I first went to use the cleanser as I thought for some reason it was going to be a balm type product, when it was rather like a thick cream and so silky therefore really easy to apply to your face. I massaged the product into dry skin for a minute or so and loved the aroma, it just makes you take a deep breath and inhale the aroma inducing relaxation. To my surprise all makeup - mascara and lippie included, was simply melted away and not just moved around the face like some products. Using the cleansing cloth rinsed in hot water I then polished the cleanser off in circular movements to reveal a perfectly smooth and hydrated face. I then rinsed the cloth in cold water and placed over my skin to close the pores after the cleanse.

I am a couple of weeks in now and I am still loving the Cleanse and Polish experience. I look forward to my cleanse morning and night. The mixture of cocoa butter, beeswax and other moisture binding ingredients clearly hydrate the skin and then the blend of rosmary, chamomile and eucalyptus soothe and tone the skin and create that fabulous aroma. I am a great fan of using a muslin cloth with a cleanser to give a gentle exfoliation each day.

I also gave the Instant Boost Skin Tonic a try at the same time and have to report that I was equally delighted with the results of this product. Again a fab aroma and it just felt cooling and hydrating with no stinging which is quite common in a large number of toners, this one is alcohol free. I followed the toner immediately with my serum to ensure all the goodness was locked in.

So all in all I would say that this is a great cleanser, great ingredients at a great price. Only £13.25 for the cleanser, little wash bag and 3 cleansing cloths. Definitely worth a try. You can buy this cleanser and tone and look at the rest of the range online at www.uklizearle.com

Let me know if you are a Liz Earle fan and have used any other products in the range.

Wendy xx

Sunday 13 February 2011

Oxygen products and treatments - good or bad hmmmmm

For a few years now I have considered investing in an oxygen machine for the treatment room. I have heard some fabulous claims about what the oxygen can do to rejuvenate and enliven our skin. However, part of me is always a little bit hesitant as the same oxygen that helps us live, also produces free radicals which attacks our skin cells - so i have always wanted to love the idea of this burst of freshness being applied to my clients skin, but always a little wary that a short fix would actually not help the skin at all. So the jury is still out, I am still carrying out research on this machine and if the science can back up the positive claims, I know I will be very tempted to innvest as for acne/rosacea type skin it could be a godsend for the treatment room.

In the interim I decided rather than spend £5000 on a machine I would try an oxygen product to see if this would wow me.

I decided upon the Nubo plumping oxygen boost as I loved their serum 'The Essence' What i love about Nubo is that they have have taken alot of the nasties out of products that can cause irritation - so I was expecting great things. Nubo state the product will plump skin and relax tense facial muscles.

I also liked the fact that this product only had 7 ingredients, so i was hoping for a simple yet effective formula. Perflurodecalin is one of the main ingredients and is said to mimic the bloods ability to carry oxygen to the cells and improve the skin's barrier function helping to maintain skin moisture levels, triggering collagen & elastin production,killing acne bacteria - so sounding very promising indeed .

The package was very appealing visually, in a sleek little (very little)canister with a glass pippet type applicator. I have to say the applicator didn't work, it didn't draw up and dispense any product as you would expect and so i improvised and just wiped the side of the applicator to get some of the product. Instructions advised to use a small amount daily in the morning to face and neck which i did for two to three weeks. I was expecting as promised a plumped up fresh looking skin. Unfortunately this didn't materialise. My skin didn't suffer any as a result of using it I must add and although the product felt great as it was applied and didn't leave any sticky residue as alot of serums can - I didn't notice any particular improvement with my skin and at £80.00 for 15mls I have to say I was expecting a bit more bang for my buck. To add to my disappointment, I dropped the applicator one morning whilst trying to extract some of the product and dropped the pippet, as this is made out of glass this smashed which left me with a very sharp applicator :-( (a plastic one may have been better Nubo!

So this is one I won't be trying again guys, I did notice Nivea have brought out an oxygen based product priced at a very reasonable £12.99, so I will be giving this one a try and reporting back on that one.

I have to say first one of Nubo's products that I haven't particularly liked, but this is definitely not one for me. Let me know if you have tried and loved it.

Wendy xx