When I first tried Twelve Beauty (2 years ago now) I wasn’t blown away by how it made my skin feel. Although the formulations are exquisite, at the time it was far too rich and more than my skin needed. Two birthdays and a boat-load of stress later, my skin needs more these days! I’m still blemish and shine prone, but increasingly more dehydrated – enter Twelve Skin Care.

Twelve Beauty Founder, Pedro Catalá

Back in March 2014, I attended a Workshop for Twelve Beauty by its founder Pedro Catalá at the JC Apothecary just outside of Barcelona. The event was blogged by Elle Spain blogger Diario de Estilo here. Pedro, who in Spain lives in the town over from my parents, is a botanist and pharmacist and what he doesn’t know about plants in medicine really isn’t worth knowing. Here in the UK (he goes back and forth), he practices as a pharmacist at a private hospital based on Harley Street, Central London.

Research through cancer treatment

Pedro also specialises in the skin treatment of chemotherapy and cancer treatment patients with a lot of his progress and developments being put back into Twelve Beauty. Whilst my mum was undergoing treatment for her breast cancer and her skin was going nuts, Pedro actually sent her a tub of his personal-blend treatment cream which worked absolute wonders. We were unbelievable grateful and there couldn’t have been a better opportunity to see the power of his research at work.

Twelve: What’s in a name?

So why Twelve? Well that’s down to the 12 key ingredients of course! These are: white genepi extract, imperatoria leaf extract, mallow flower extract, butterfly bush leaf extract, squalane, hialuronic acid, fleischer’s willow herb extract, spent grain wax, argan kernel oil, shea butter extract, tocopherol and cupuaçú butter.

Essential Biotechnological Moisturiser

Although you can really smell those gorgeous natural ingredients, the fragrance is minimal, completely natural and still renders this perfect for sensitive skin. It has actually been designed for skin that’s delicate, flush prone, environmentally damaged, hormonally imbalanced and/or skin that’s prone to allergic reactions. It’s the healing cream. 

The cocoa butter and cupuaçú butter provide an incredibly hydrating and moisturising base without being comedogenic/blocking or greasy. Then the hyaluronic acid, a very powerful humectant/moisture binder then restores hydration whilst pulling in the reparative ingredients deeper into the skin.

This is the richest cream I’ve ever used that sinks into the skin without leaving a drop of excess on the surface. Even my beloved La Mer original formulation, that I use when winter has ‘totalled’ my skin, still leaves a little residue on the surface. The Essential Biotechnological Moisturiser promises to restore moisture, calm the skin and restore healthy skin function; it does not disappoint.

Rapid Eye Treatment

Featuring more or less the same ingredients but formulated for the more delicate, thinner eye area; the Rapid Eye Treatment has a gorgeous hydrating, more watery texture.

As well as the 12 active ingredients, there’s a propitiatory blend of plant peptides that have been included to help improve lymph draining below the eye to increase micro-circulation, reduce eye bags and puffiness whilst activating microcirculation to decrease dark circles.

Ideal Rebalancing Level Serum

This is where the range comes together for my skin as this serum is formulated specifically for oily, combination and younger skin. Although I might be dehydrated a lot of the time, as mentioned I still suffer from blemishes and blockages, all of which the Idea Rebalancing Level serum has been designed to help treat and prevent. The serum is oil-free which is a surprise as it feels so rich and nourishing (but again, not shine-inducing). 

A problem with many oily-skin treatments is that they can be incredibly harsh, stripping and take oil away. This, instead of reducing oil, restores the skin’s moisture barrier / acid mantle meaning that through use the skin won’t over-produce oil because it has no need to. Outside of hormonal imbalances, oily skin over-produces oil because it’s dehydrated and therefore by restoring water in the skin, the oil will calm down (this is the most simple explanation). 

Twelve Beauty can be bought here, directly from the Twelve Beauty online store or here from Content Beauty & Wellbeing who specialise in organic active skin care. Also the packaging is in the process of being redesigned so don’t worry if what you receive doesn’t look exactly the same!