Spring on My Skin
I am really quite dizzy with the excitement of sharing a couple of discoveries which are performing miracles for my face at the moment. But first off, I must let you know that this is not a sponsored post, it is pure secret-sharing.
Prepare yourself. These products aren't for the economically feint-hearted, and they are most definitely luxury prices. It's a bit like flying first class: once you've done it you suddenly know what you've been missing and it's hard to forget.
In my Instagram photographs, I don't always show my face, in fact I rarely do. It's not the thing that interests me that much, preferring a kind of mood picture than a more conventional selfie. But I am beginning to think that had I actually tracked my face photographically over the past couple of months, I would definitely have seen a change.
When kind family ask what they can give me for Christmas or as a birthday present, I don't usually think twice. Vouchers/gift cards are the best and biggest treat I can think of. Being able to walk into a shop you love clutching your little card and taking your time looking at what you can put the vouchers towards is a really luxurious pleasure. And this year I was lucky to receive vouchers for Anthropologie and Space NK. I still have my Anthropologie unspent, but I parted with my Space NK vouchers a couple of months ago. Thank you to my lovely sister Juliet!
No. 1. Omororovicza | gold rescue cream
I walked in to their Regent Street store with a face that was in dire need of vitamin D and hydration. My skin isn't really dry as such, but it can take a LOT of richness from a cream and it doesn't usually result in a breakout. The sales assistant told me about this wonderful cream which has actual colloidal gold in it. It sounded so exotic I was pretty much sold on the story behind it regardless of what it would do to my face. I am close to the end of the pot now sadly, and am gearing myself up to part with the cash or wait until my birthday before I buy more. It is the most amazing cream. I use it morning and night and the effect on my skin is incredible. It's hydrated, plumped and even if I've not had enough sleep I look as if I've had at least 7 hours.
It's called Omorovoicza Gold Rescue Cream and it's from Budapest. This is what Omorovoicza say about it:
This intensely nourishing cream is powered by a potent thermal water-in-oil barrier formulation. Colloidal gold promotes a youthful appearance while a combination of peptides helps to reduce the appearance of wrinkles. Even the most dehydrated of complexions feel revitalised and rejuvenated.
INGREDIENTS
- Anti-inflammatory colloidal gold heals microdamage and strengthens skin.
- Omega 6 ceramide retextures the lipid matrix for a stronger barrier function.
- Polypeptides (palmitoyl tripeptide and caprooyl tetrapeptide) strengthen dermo-proteins such as elastin and collagen for renewed elasticity and vitality.
- Omorovicza’s patented Hydro Mineral Transference™ system, leaves skin firmer, more supple and younger-looking.
No. 2. venefect | lip treatment
Now, this one is for anyone who gazes sadly at what used to be quite nice lips. I don't know when it happened but I noticed that my lips were looking a bit underwhelming. No matter what I put on them, nothing changed. I ventured in to Space NK and asked if there was anything that could help. This little pot was presented to me, and at the time I couldn't afford it. But the assistant was incredibly knowledgeable and told me all about the idea behind it. Phytoestrogen it is the key.
The product is called Veneffect
This is from their website:
This delicate, yet powerful anti-aging lip treatment, with the VENeffect advanced phytoestrogen technology, helps reduce and prevent the appearance of vertical lines, as its deeply hydrating and protective formula smoothes, softens and plumps.
KEY BENEFITS
- Instantly hydrates and smoothes delicate lip area skin
- Helps minimize and prevent vertical lines around your lips
- Gently plumps and enhances the rosy glow
- Prevents lipstick bleed and enhances long lasting lip color
I've been fooled before, and have noticed no change in a product sold to me as amazing. So I am a wary customer. But I went home and researched it and even watched a video on YouTube. My incredibly kind husband said he wanted to buy me an easter present and the next thing I knew I was applying this delicious-smelling-and-tasting cream to my lips and their contours morning and night. Oh. My. This stuff REALLY works. I promise you, my lips are smoother, plumper, and their contours are back. I'm beginning to like my mouth again, or possibly for the first time in my life. I am so impressed by it that I'm going to save up for the eye cream and see if the same thing happens. Then I'm going to sell my house and buy as much of all of it that I can and apply it to my whole body, and I may even eat it. Then I will NEVER GET OLD....
It's OK, I've come back . I've taken some deep breaths and realised that maybe that's a little extreme.
no. 3. Le Labo Fragrances | rose 31
Last but in no way least, is my pretty passionate and continuing love affair with the relatively recent, sublimely unique, Le Labo Fragrances. I have to admit that I have a crush on the whole bang shoot. Reading about the two French guys who started the company was enticing enough and I found myself mentally wandering around the cool Manhattan streets of New York talking pepper and cardamom and rose and oud in an exotic-sounding mix of a French and New York accent.
I discovered them before they contacted me, and so when I was told they wanted to send me a gift of a candle I was actually as excited as I was when I opened my Ballet-dancer Sindy Doll on a stand aged about 6. And it didn't disappoint. I'm just a tad ashamed to admit that I guard it with my life and only light it when we really need a treat. The other night we were all angsty and shattered - such is family life sometimes - I lit it in our bedroom and got everyone on their way to bed. Ten minutes later when I went in to the room the air was full of the scent of clarity and wood, spices and earth.
Then, recently Le Labo invited me to an event in their Soho Beak St shop - my favourite part of London. My husband has recently started working from a fantastic old building on Lexington Street, and we met over prosecco and olfactory chat at Le Labo one evening last week. I find perfumery really fascinating, and being an overly-sense-driven person, how something or someone smells is really quite a big deciding factor of whether I'm going to be hanging about or not. I came away with a small bottle of Rose 31, a fragrance that smells like no other rose-scented product I've ever come across before. The pepper and the spice in it quite literally make me pause in an actual mini-ecstasy as I use it, and I let myself travel to and indulge in the world it conjours.
The interior of Le Labo, Beak Street, Soho
That's all folks. Definitely worth checking these goodies out if you've got a birthday coming up. Or simply if you're in need of a lovely treat.
