DHC Resveratrol Range

I have long been a fan of DHC, their Mild Lotion is one of my favourite toners for hydrating the skin, and their Acerola range is great for evening out the skintone. We all know Japanese skincare is said to be ahead of the curve, so when I heard of the Resveratrol range I was excited to see what wonders DHC had in store.



DHC Resveratrol Skincare Range

Being a 30 plus blogger I'm fortunate that anti-ageing is not massively high up on my agenda, however I do want to preserve what I have for as long as possible, so I see skincare with anti-ageing benefits as a bonus. The Resveratrol Range contains Resveratrol (obviously), which is a polyphenol antioxidant found in the skin of red grapes, that helps to fight the visible signs of ageing. Resveratrol is also a phytoalexin, one of 600 microbial compounds produced by plants to protect them from adverse conditions, including UV rays, harsh conditions and climate. In lab studies, it has been shown to promote the Sirtuin “longevity” gene, I'm not sure how or whether this can be transferred to humans through topical application, but if anybody can get it to benefit the skin my money would be on a Japanese skincare brand. The range also has moisturising cereal extracts to help boost skin’s natural moisture barrier and bolster it's defences against environmental stresses.

First up is the Resveratrol lotion, to save on any confusion let me explain that DHC call their toners 'lotions', because they are so hydrating. This deeply hydrating Toner promotes smoother more resilient skin, it has a light scent, it's applied after cleansing with fingers or a cotton pad.

Next up is the Resveratrol Essence, this moisture promoting booster is a well known extra step in your skincare routine for Japanese women, and has slowly started to make it's way to the UK. This lightweight serum textured essence is applied after toner, but before moisturiser and gives an added layer of hydration to the skin. 

And the final product in this range is the Resveratrol Cream, an intensive 'age-defying' moisturiser, it cushions and seals all the moisture onto the skin. It's a very thick cream, but not greasy, I think this would be good for both day and night depending on your skin type.

Despite words like 'age-defying' I think anti-ageing skincare should be looked at as a way to preserve what you have and make small improvements to your skin, after all nothing will help you 'defy' your age other than genetics or surgical procedures. This range however is a good place to start, each item cost £43, so not the cheapest, but also not the most expensive when it comes to anti-ageing skincare.

Have you tried anything from DHC, you can find the Resveratrol range here?

Deciem; Hylamide Multi-Depth Rehydration Booster

So my love for Deciem brands continue, see here, here, here and here. I think you get the picture, and it seems it hasn't gone unnoticed as the brand kindly sent me one of their five new Boosters.

Deciem; Hylamide Multi-Depth Rehydration Booster

This is a super strength hydration serum with 5 forms of hyaluronic acid with varying molecular weights to target rehydration at multiple levels. This booster has very low molecular and hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, which is said to encouraged better absorption and therefore hydrate lower and middle levels of the skin. The hyaluronic acid ferment is purified from a non-animal source and is oil free, also hyaluronic pre-cursor's encourage hyaluronic production and visible plumping of the skin, while the tamarind derived plant hyaluronic acid aids with improving visible skin elasticity.

This booster is to be used once a day before your moisturiser, in conjunction with your usual skincare products, for short and long term below and above surface rehydration for plumped up hydrated skin. Dehydration is something any skintype can suffer from, this lightweight gel is absorded easily, with no sticky or tacky residue on the skin and a great addition to my skincare regimme.

With all these things consider you'd imagine this is where I state how expensive it is,but at £18 for a 30ml pipette style glass bottle and only a small amount needed once a day, I think this will last a good while too. There are 4 other boosters for one for sensitivity, a Glow Booster, Photography Foundation (Blurring primer) and C25 that targets pigmentation, the latter two are currently on my wishlist.

have you tried any of the boosters?

Sodastream and Dermalogica; To hydrate the nation from the inside out (SparklingSkin Kit)!!!

Last month I attended a beauty blogger event between collaborating brands Sodastream and Dermalogica, on the face of it you might think, what do these two brands have in common? Hydration, which makes perfect sense. It probably won't surprise you that the average Brit drinks less than the recommended daily amount of water, and for every cup of coffee you drink you should be drinking two cups of water to undo the dehydrating damage caffeine can have.



Dermalogica and Sodastream; SparklingSkin Kit #hydrationstation

Beauty and Melody Salon; Environ Facial

If you follow me on Instagram you will know that in February I attended a Keziah Connections event at the stunning Beauty and Melody Salon, so when I was invited back by Matthew (Manager) to experience an Environ facial I obviously jumped at the chance.

Beauty and Melody Salon

I actually didn't fully understand what an Environ facial was, it was developed by a doctor in South Africa and uses soundwaves and small electric pulses to drive the treatment down into the dermal layers of your skin that it wouldn't be able to reach with just manual application. This Environ facial is effective at treating sun-damage, pigmentation, premature ageing, dryness and scarring to name a few. The process starts with the usual cleansing of the skin, steaming to allow easier access to pores for extraction and then your treatment is applied. You can have either a vitamin treatment (vitamins A, C and antioxidants) or hydration, I choose vitamins. The electric pulses didn't hurt at all, and you quickly get use to the sensation, below you can see the little electrodes attached to the top of the algae mask, that was applied after the vitamin treatment had been done.

Beauty and Melody Environ Facial

I have really be loving my skin at the moment, and I believe it's down to the skincare I'm currently testing (review soon), being properly absorbed into my skin as a result of the facial. There's no point buying expensive skincare products, that will just sit on the surface of the skin, I now see the importance of facials in my skincare routine. There are also Environ skincare products available to purchase, to continue at home what the facial starts in the salon.

Sylvia was welcoming and knowledgable about skincare, even for women of colour and the usual concerns of pigmentation, I felt comfortable and confident in what she was doing. The facial can be done monthly, but for those with particularly problematic skin it can be done weekly or it can be done just before a special ocassion. So it can be adapted to your budget, but at £90 (1hr) - £110 (1hr 30mins), most people like myself will be saving this for a treat or special occassion. There are alternative treatments available at more purse friendly prices, so do have a look at their website beautyandmelody.co.uk.

Beauty and Melody Salon

Located a short walk away from Marble Arch tube station, they don't only do facials, but everything from weaves, wigs, makeup to laser hair removal, and yes the machine they use is suitable for darker skin tones.

Do you regularly get facial treatments done? Have you had an environ facial before?

Thank you for visiting the blog today

Alex

Trilogy Rosehip Oil Antioxidant+ Facial Oil

So last month I applied on facebook, (for the upteenth time lol), to be a beauty club VIP and get to receive and review a product. I got the Trilogy Rosehip Antioxidant+ facial oil, to be honest prior to this I had never heard of the brand Trilogy, and had not fallen prey to the trend of facial oils. Trilogy was founded by 2 sisters in New Zealand, they extract the purest most potent oil from rosehip seeds, they pride themselves on producing ethical, high performance natural skincare that works.

This 30ml bottle cost £26.50 on the debenhams website, it contains a carefully selected blend of oils including rosehip seed oil, tomato seed oil, cranberry seed oil, and acai fruit oil. This combines to make the rosapene formula, bringing together these natural restorative and protective properties in one bottle. It claims to brighten and even the skintone, reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and improve elasticity and firmness when used twice daily for 8 weeks.

It's a gorgeous golden coloured oil, delivered through a pipette dropper attached to the lid, it smells a little of cod liver oil. The oil is absorbed easily into the skin, 2-3 drops is enough, if you apply too much then you will feel a little greasy, but this can be easily resolved by blotting with a tissue (learnt the hard way lol). I love applying this to my face, neck and decolletage area after cleansing in the evening, my face feels soft, smooth and hydrated.

Sans make-up (apologies) right after applying the oil

I've really enjoyed using this oil, and will definitely be investing in other products from the brand. If you're looking for a natural skincare brand that delivers results, then Trilogy is a safe bet.

Have you tried any products from the brand?

Thanks for visiting the blog today

Alex

Clinique Moisture Surge SPF 30 CC Cream!!!

We had BB creams and now CC creams, next it'll be DD creams lol, but seriously I actually read somewhere that this is next on the market. I've only ever tried one BB cream, the sleek be beautiful blemish balm, review here. Let me predicate this post by saying, I think some of these creams are labelling and hype, so I just think of them as tinted moisturisers or bases with added extras. So for my first ever CC cream, I went with clinique, the shade range of CC and BB creams are usually quite limited compared to foundations. Clinique have 9 shades for their moisture surge CC cream, but most beauty counters only stock the most common 6, the darkest shade Deep was the closest match for me. So if you're darker than an NC55 you may not find a shade to match, saying that the coverage is light-light medium and can be used under foundation, so if used like this colour match isn't as important.

 

The cream is very thick and almost feel like it would be difficult to blend, but it does blend, I use fingers and/or a brush. This will not cover blemishes completely and if applied over a heavy moisturiser or sunscreen with leave you looking very shiny, oily skinned gals beware. I find it applies best on my combination skin without moisturiser or sunscreen, the product offers good hydration and has good lasting power like this, it evens out my complexion nicely.













I like this cc cream and how clinique don't claim that the product will do a million and one things for your skin, just hydration, SPF protection and colour correcting. My skin always feels soft when I take this off, for a little extra coverage I set it with MAC's MSF, otherwise I just use my Hourglass ambient lighting powder (review here). But it doesn't really need to be set, depending on your skin type. I do think the shade range is limiting for a darker skin girl, but clinique offer more shades on the whole than some other brands with similar products.

I love how it evens out my skin, with a supper natural, my skin but better look!!!

Have you tried this CC cream or any similar product, let me know your experiences?

Thanks for visiting the blog today

Alex