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This week, and particularly today, the weather has been bitterly cold, hovering around 0 degrees. Not only this, but the air is very, very dry. Dry air coupled with cold is the key to dehydrated skin, zapping all the skin’s natural moisture, slowing down oil production and often leaving it visibly dull and flaky (particularly around the nose and mouth on many people).
So this evening, I decided to delve into my review stash and pulled out 5 totally new products in order to put together a winter-busting regime and now my skin feels like absolute silk; I can’t remember the last time it felt so good! The products I’ve used are:
Perricone MD Chloro Plasma Mask
MOA Daily Cleansing Ritual Balm
Mauli Rituals Sandalwood, Rose & Saffron Exfoliant
Bodhi & Birch Rosa-Rosa Hydrating Toner
Colbert MD Illuminating Face Oil
Perricone MD Chloro Plasma Mask
Perricone MD Chloro Plasma Mask is available here from John Lewis for £67.
Celebrated by beauty press the world over, this is one of Dr. Perricone’s most popular products. Formulated with his famous Plasma technology and Phytonutrient-enriched Microcapsules including Blue Green Algae and Watercress. The mask is quite light in colour but as the capsules burst, it goes lovely and dark green. The ingredients also deliver plant chlorophyll deep into the skin which helps to detoxify and cleanse the skin deeper down.
Always apply your mask with a brush. I have two different kinds of mask brush – the first is a normal makeup foundation brush which is great for softer masks, then I have a stiffer, almost paint brush-like brush, for muddier masks like this.
Apply this all over the skin (avoiding the eye area) and leave for 5-10 minutes. I found that even though it dried a little, it doesn’t turn into a hydration-zapping clay and is very creamy when you rinse it off.
MOA Daily Cleansing Ritual Balm
MOA Daily Cleansing Ritual Balm is available here from Amazon UK for £17.52
Before I continue, bear in mind that I normally have slightly oilier/normal skin. The MOA Daily Cleansing Balm is a solid balm with a base of coconut, soybean, sweet almond and beeswax base that turns into an oil when pressed into your finger ends. Massage the oil into the skin to deliver the hydrating base as well as calming yarrowroot and bacteria fighting tea tree oil (also works as a natural preservative).
When it came to using probably the world’s most luxurious bamboo cloth, I couldn’t get the bloody balm off. Literally it would just not wipe from my skin even after using hot/warm water. It reminded me a lot of the very popular LUSH Ltd Ultrabland cleanser!
If you have very dry skin, then this is your new best friend, but if like me you haven’t, just use it with caution. I probably used too much but did manage to remove it with my standard gel cleanser (the ingredients in most usually break down fats like those used in the balm). However, my skin felt amazing once I’d finally got it off, much better than it does when normally using my facial wash and I don’t put the softness down to just the mask either; so take from this what you will!
Mauli Rituals Sandalwood, Rose & Saffron Exfoliant
Mauli Rituals Sandalwood, Rose & Saffron Exfoliant is available here from Mauli Rituals for £32.
To try and even begin to explain how amazing this smells and how incredible it feels on the skin, here are the ingredients:
Rose Petals and Absolute, Mysore Sandalwood Powder and Oil, Kashmiri Saffron Extracts and Root,Turmeric Root, Vetiver Root,Rose-hip Oil, Asparagus Root Extract, Mineral Rich Clay.
This ultra-fine but high-impact exfoliant is an absolute dream. I first used a small amount on its own with not a huge amount of success. The real wonderment came when I did what I do with the Aesop Tea Tree Leaf Exfoliant and mixed it into my gel cleanser (at the moment I’m using La Mer The Cleansing Gel – my regular favourite). This provided an intense but non-irritating exfoliation and the fragrance is just unbelievable; my whole body relaxed. You really need this in your regime!
Bodhi & Birch Rosa-Rosa Hydrating Toner
Bodhi & Birch Rosa-Rosa Hydrating Toner is available here from Amazon UK for £29.99
I’m a bugger for not toning; I usually just can’t be bothered so please don’t follow my example. However, on my quest for hydration, toning was an essential and Bodhi & Birch’s Rosa Rosa Hydrating Toner with its infusion of flower waters was the natural candidate. Damask Rose, Orange Blossom and Camomile soften, calm and brighten the skin.
I sprayed over the face and gently pressed into the skin, gently patting off the excess with my towel.
Colbert MD Illuminating Face Oil
Colbert MD Illuminating Face Oil available here at Space.NK for £100.
I’m slowly coming around to the idea of facial oils. I’ve been using Origins Night-A-Mins facial oil on an evening for a few weeks and although I love it, it’s not the most nourishing meaning its perfect for normal use and non-extreme weather).
However, tonight called for something more powerful and Colbert MD Illuminating Face Oil was a good choice. Argan Oil, Marula Oil, Yangu Oil and Passion Fruit Oil based; the ingredients are certainly worth a browse:
Caprylic/capric triglyceride, olea europaea (olive) fruit oil, sclerocarya birrea seed oil, argania spinosa kernel oil, vitis vinifera (grape) seed oil, passiflora incarnata seed oil, calodendrum capense seed oil, peg-12 glyceryl dimyristate, borago officinalis seed oil, fragrance, retinyl palmitate, ascorbyl palmitate.
My one comment on the actual product rather than it’s effect is the slight fragrance – it’s a bit floor-cleaner-esque or like a multi-surface spray. However, it’s very mild and dissipates very quickly but you’d expect something better from a product with such a high price tag.
You’ll be pleased to know that you really don’t need to use much at all! A pump at the most. It’s not like normal facial oils for normal/oily skin, this is much richer and a little goes a long way. On realising it wasn’t going to sink in quickly, I laid back and gave myself a quick facial massage, working the oil into every nook and cranny on my skin. After I’d had enough, I gently patted the rest away with my towel. My skin felt amazing!
The Rest
Finally, just as I needed to still apply a moisturiser (always one suited to your own skin type) as well as an eye treatment (Dermalogica) and lip balm (REN). Use whatever you find works best for your skin at this stage, but with your moisturiser, I’d recommend one that’s water-based (oily skin) or oil-based (dry skin) and alcohol-free; Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream is a perfect example and even though does contain a little oil, is perfect for normal/oily skin and sinks in like a dream.
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